The Official F1 2025 silly season *contains speculation*

[vaud]

While PigInAPoke continues his fine run of race threads, I will continue in my mission to encourage wild speculation backed by armchair experts and the occasional PH expert who has links to F1.

Off we go...

[vaud]

thegreenhell said:

It seems to be a lot of fuss over nothing. One senior guy with no prior F1 links has left, so what?

Well the CEO and CDO would normally be pretty influential to the board in terms of strategy. Arguably the 2 key roles.

[vaud]

520TORQUES said:

Why would Toto leave? He part owns the team. He might step down as TP in a few years if he fancies doing something else.

Has a 6 year old son - maybe to spend more time with the family? Take more of a chairman role once James Vowles has done a stint at Williams?

[vaud]

RB Will said:

If Jos pulls Max out of RB this season

He's not even Max's manager.

[vaud]

Still Mulling said:

I reckon Alpine will be for sale by the end of the season.

Possibly. The problem with Alpine is the board don't seem to like the truth in terms of just how hard it is to make big advances in F1, especially with an engine down on power.

[vaud]

Muzzer79 said:

I'd be surprised if that were the case because the value will have dropped from relatively recently and I can't see the consortium who invested heavily into Alpine last year (including Ryan Reynolds, Rory McIlroy, Anthony Joshua, amongst others) would be happy taking a loss.

Given F1's reluctance to allow new teams, I suspect the valuation is still pretty healthy, regardless of their current performance - you are buying the slot.

[vaud]

RB Will said:

Would like to think with a normal loving father you could say Dad, thanks for all your support and getting me this far, but I'd like to carry on on my own now. By all means keep coming to the races but just chill and enjoy the hospitality, see the sights a little. Though not sure Jos is that sort of father. Something for Max to figure out, he knows him better than anyone.

Or do what Lewis did and have a clean break.

[vaud]

Likes Fast Cars said:

History repeats…. I can already hear the excuses from Failonso

I think that IF Alonso goes to RB it would be for 2025 only, potentially win the title and then exit.

[vaud]

Forester1965 said:

Bearman is being way over-hyped. His double F4 season notwithstanding, he's been fairly unremarkable in single seaters so far, perhaps marked out for getting himself into needless penalties trouble. Last year he was well beaten by his team mate.

So what do Ferrari see in him? They have far more data that us in selecting drivers.

[vaud]

Forester1965 said:

Availability at incredibly short notice and more data to assess him.

Not arguing he's no good, I'm arguing he did a solid but unremarkable job, which seems to match his career so far. It didn't justify the level of fawning from some.

I think he did a remarkable job having only had one FP session, but would like to see a full race weekend or two to make a better judgement.

Maybe we need an additional race each race weekend for the nominated reserve drivers - a 3 lap quali and 25 lap sprint race on the Friday?

[vaud]

Forester1965 said:

Remarkable is a bit strong.

He's done a full programme of Karting, F4, F3, a season in F2, tests with the 2021 Ferrari and two FP1 sessions with Haas towards the end of last year.

It would've been remarkable if he hadn't put in a competent performance.

I'm not trying to persuade you, just sharing opinion.

[vaud]

It's a loss but providing the team he has mentored over the years stays, it's not insurmountable for Red Bull. He has bred a division of similar thinkers and the car is good for this year and next.

Longer term... depends on Max, etc

[vaud]

carl_w said:

think Bottas and Ricciardo will be out at the end of the season. Both have had their chances in the top teams.

Bottas and Bearman would be an interesting combination.

[vaud]

PhilAsia said:

...but I doubt RBR will nose-dive that quickly without AN - for that reason I do not see Max moving until 2026, and he will only move then if there is an obviously better option.

Agree - AN has built a team with depth and experience.

[vaud]

thegreenhell said:

You hope Albon will get a one year deal and then get dumped? That's not very nice.

Toto has been talking himself into a bit of a corner, if everything he says he hopes for comes true. On the one hand he wants Antonelli in the car ASAP, but on the other hand he's openly chasing Verstappen. If Max takes the bait and signs then he can't have Antonelli, unless George is gone.

Either way he's only really offering a one year deal with somebody as a temporary seat warmer, which isn't an easy sell when you're not the dominant team.

Antonelli + Verstappen would be a very interesting pairing. Risky if they are a similar pace.

Antonelli + George is riskier I think if George doesn't get more consistent and if Antonelli turns out to not have that extra 1%.

[vaud]

Leithen said:

Verstappen will go to Merc at the end of the year. Sainz will replace him and win the 2025 championship.

To be fair to Verstappen if he takes a risk and goes to Mercedes and leads them to a WDC over time then much like Lewis, he will be viewed as one of the best.

[vaud]

J210 said:

Most of the spray comes from the diffuser. FIA lets stick bins over the wheels and see if that stops the spray.....

bunch of morons

I think they were aware it was complex:

Nikolas Tombazis spoke about the project at the end of 2022. He explained:

"We only think it’s going to be something that gets used on a couple of occasions a year, maybe three, that sort of thing.

"We don’t want it to be that every time there’s a drop of rain, then suddenly you have to fit these things.

"We have done a lot of CFD simulations, because we want to make sure the effect of these devices is relatively small on the overall aerodynamics. There still is an effect, but not a massive one.

"Also, we are simulating the droplets of the rain and so on, and seeing how it affects spray. What is a bit of a challenge in the simulations is to determine the relative proportion of what comes from the diffuser to what comes from the tyres.

"Once we have a solution, we’ll get to do some prototypes and run them on some cars to try and evaluate that properly."

[vaud]

s-x-i said:

Sainz Sr. has signed for Ford to contest the 2025 Dakar.

https://www.autosport.com/dakar/news/ford-signs-ca...

I wonder what this means for Sainz Jr? (if anything)

Could it be a Redbull seat as they are switching to Ford for 2026? Are the ties with Audi now cut?

1+1 = potato

[vaud]

deadslow said:

wasn't D'Ambrosio being groomed as a potential future TP at Merc?

I think their efforts are behind James Vowles using Williams to test him in a TP role at lower risk to Mercedes.

[vaud]

asfault said:

Has Bearman got enough points for a superlicence or does he need a reasonable f2 finish this year?

Given he raced at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix I suspect he is ok....