Formula 1 2018: General Discussion Thread

GarIT

ELM327 wrote: »

What seats are left for next year?

Toro rosso, cant see him landing there either


Anywhere else? Can't believe the likes of stroll, sirotkin, etc are in F1 for next year but someone like Ocon is potentially out.

Toto Wolf has said that Ocon has a deal done for next year. Did say who but said he is guaranteed to be in F1 next year.

Sauber, Williams Toro Rosso and Staying at Racing Point are potential options.

Mercedes will pay cash to any team that lets Ocon drive as they want Ocon to replace Bottas when the time comes, how much is part of the question.

Toro Rosso have said they will be considering non-Red Bull program drivers as they have a passionate hatred of captain slow so want two new drivers and will take anyone decent they can get.

Williams has at least one free seat, they would ditch Sirotkin too in a heartbeat if you have some speed and enough cash.

Sauber has new investment both from Alfa and their shareholders, they are considering dumping Ericsson as they don't need a pay driver any more, but the shareholders are friends of his father so it's a complicated situation. Leclerc has a contract signed with Ferrari for 2019 but they are trying to get him to delay that by a year. Marichone signed the contract with Leclerc and then died less than a month laster, nobody else are Ferrari wants Leclerc this year, they all want to keep Kimi. If Leclerc does go to Ferrari there are two seats there.

Racing point hasn't confirmed any drivers. Perez has said he has a deal in place for next year with Racing Point but is talking to other teams.

HAAS said they were talking to other drivers, then said they will be keeping both drivers with Grosjean's recent performances but haven't actually confirmed anything.

Cool_CM

McLaren twitter just confirmed Norris as the 2nd driver for next season

https://twitter.com/McLarenF1/status/1036569605102288896?s=19

LollipopJimmy

Stoffell looked a real prospect in GP2, I had him earmarked as a future contender. That dog of a McLaren can't have helped either and with Alonso going chances are it'll be a race winning car next year - isnt that the usual course of events

El_Duderino 09

vectra wrote: »

Jordan 199 wrote: »

If Vettel wants to win the championship, I don't think he can keep on making mistakes like he did today.

I think at this point he is going to need the Gods behind him.
He is literally throwing it away,
I think Ferrari backed the wrong driver this season with the car they have.

I agree that Vettel needs luck like a Hamilton retirement. But I don’t think Kimi has been even nearly as fast as Vettel over the season so far. Occasionally Kimi has matched Seb, and in monks he beat Seb in quali. But Ferrari definitely backed the faster of the two drivers.

Even with the Germany crash and yesterday’s crash, Kimi is still well behind Seb in the drivers championship.

El_Duderino 09

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Renault have protested the Haas car. Desperation on their behalf?

Seems legit.

Haas has been disqualified and are appealing.

The FIA clarified a rule about the floor and expected fall teams to comply in monza. Haas emailed the FIA to say they are at the mercy of suppliers and will have the correct floor for Singapore.

The FIA didn’t respond to the email so haas assumed they agreed. But FIA say they didn’t get to the email so they can’t have agreed.

Hard to tell how it will work out.

GarIT

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Seems legit.

Haas has been disqualified and are appealing.

The FIA clarified a rule about the floor and expected fall teams to comply in monza. Haas emailed the FIA to say they are at the mercy of suppliers and will have the correct floor for Singapore.

The FIA didn’t respond to the email so haas assumed they agreed. But FIA say they didn’t get to the email so they can’t have agreed.

Hard to tell how it will work out.

I wonder if the floor has to be a particular material, would covering the slots they weren't allowed have with duct tape have been enough?

skipper_G

GarIT wrote: »

I wonder if the floor has to be a particular material, would covering the slots they weren't allowed have with duct tape have been enough?

No it was the dimensions of the floor's leading edge, not the material used.

AMKC

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

Yes Monaco was the big one in 2012.


43 when he finally packed up. Hamilton was signed before Schumacher made the decision to finally quit, which gives me the impression he was pushed out.

He retired too soon in 2006.

Kimi Raikkonen is 39 next month.

I agree about Schumaher retiring too soon. If he had of stayed another year or even a few more he surly would have won the WDC in 2007 and maybe the next year too.

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

Stoffell looked a real prospect in GP2, I had him earmarked as a future contender. That dog of a McLaren can't have helped either and with Alonso going chances are it'll be a race winning car next year - isnt that the usual course of events

Would not surprise me at all. Be great to see Mclaren racing at the front again.

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Seems legit.

Haas has been disqualified and are appealing.

The FIA clarified a rule about the floor and expected fall teams to comply in monza. Haas emailed the FIA to say they are at the mercy of suppliers and will have the correct floor for Singapore.

The FIA didn’t respond to the email so haas assumed they agreed. But FIA say they didn’t get to the email so they can’t have agreed.

Hard to tell how it will work out.

What have they been disqualified from? The rest of the season which would surly not look good for any team thinking of entering F1 in the future or just the the race gone or coming up. No Haas at Singapore would be a pity. Think Haas could do well there.

ELM327

AMKC wrote: »

What have they been disqualified from? The rest of the season which would surly not look good for any team thinking of entering F1 in the future or just the the race gone or coming up. No Haas at Singapore would be a pity. Think Haas could do well there.

As it stands they were excluded from the race results from Monza, pending appeal.

Charlie-Bravo

It's a DQ from the Italain GP for fielding a car that was not compliant with the regulkations. Be hard to apply this to previous GPs, and I'm sure they'll correct it for the future GPs.

Harika

AMKC wrote: »

I agree about Schumaher retiring too soon. If he had of stayed another year or even a few more he surly would have won the WDC in 2007 and maybe the next year too.

Schumacher was under fierce pressure from the young generation. Kimi and Montoya nearly defeated him the two years before, Alonso defeated him for two years in a row. It was time to call it an end, his generation had retired. I think only Rubens was still there from when he started.

El_Duderino 09

AMKC wrote: »

El_Duderino 09 wrote: »

Seems legit.

Haas has been disqualified and are appealing.

The FIA clarified a rule about the floor and expected fall teams to comply in monza. Haas emailed the FIA to say they are at the mercy of suppliers and will have the correct floor for Singapore.

The FIA didn’t respond to the email so haas assumed they agreed. But FIA say they didn’t get to the email so they can’t have agreed.

Hard to tell how it will work out.

What have they been disqualified from? The rest of the season which would surly not look good for any team thinking of entering F1 in the future or just the the race gone or coming up. No Haas at Singapore would be a pity. Think Haas could do well there.

Disqualified from the monza GP for having an illegal floor. As long as they have a legal floor in Singapore, they’ll be fine.

Same rules apply to every team every race.

pjohnson

Wait I never heard Magnussen was DQ'd?

PopePalpatine

Nope, I guess the stewards saw his early damage as punishment enough.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

They only went after the car that scored the points, will the decision be overturned by the court of appeal though?

Ferrari and the bargeboard saga comes to mind.

GarIT

skipper_G wrote: »

No it was the dimensions of the floor's leading edge, not the material used.

What I meant was their HAAS' defence was that they had to use an illegal floor as they couldn't have a legal floor made in time. I was wondering whether they could have just broken any offending bits off and patched over the holes with duct tape to make it legal.

HAAS said they couldn't make a new floor, I'm saying they could have, maybe just not with carbon fiber.

GarIT

Motorsport.com is saying that Leclerc to Ferrari is now a done deal as they have stopped trying to back out of the contract they agreed with him after Kimi didn't win.

Also saying that Toro Rosso said Kvyat is the favourite at the moment and either has a contract or will sign one in the next few days.

skipper_G

GarIT wrote: »

What I meant was their HAAS' defence was that they had to use an illegal floor as they couldn't have a legal floor made in time. I was wondering whether they could have just broken any offending bits off and patched over the holes with duct tape to make it legal.

HAAS said they couldn't make a new floor, I'm saying they could have, maybe just not with carbon fiber.

You're suggesting they could have made the floor legal by breaking bits off and patching up the gaps with gaffer tape? I can't see how that would be a realistic option in any scenario, the floor is too critical for how the airflow channels around the rear of the car. It needs to be stable to work effectively

GarIT

skipper_G wrote: »

You're suggesting they could have made the floor legal by breaking bits off and patching up the gaps with gaffer tape? I can't see how that would be a realistic option in any scenario, the floor is too critical for how the airflow channels around the rear of the car. It needs to be stable to work effectively

I'm not saying they could, I'm raising the question. What they did obviously didn't work because they got DQ'ed. My thoughts would be that a jerry rigged floor might have been a better choice than an illegal one.

skipper_G

GarIT wrote: »

I'm not saying they could, I'm raising the question. What they did obviously didn't work because they got DQ'ed. My thoughts would be that a jerry rigged floor might have been a better choice than an illegal one.

Okay now I get ya, it's an interesting question. But I don't think a jerry rigged floor would be legal either, there's something in article 3.7.4 in relation to floor construction in the technical regs, it states that all parts lying on the reference and step planes must produce uniform, solid, hard, continuous, rigid, impervious surfaces under all circumstances.

So a jerry rigged solution wouldn't adhere to this regulation. If you have to run an illegal floor might as well be the one with the proper construction

Faugheen

Prisoner 6753 wrote: »

GarIT wrote: »

I know but they should have seen that coming. They've been around long enough to see that many times before.

They did it after Kimi's stop as well for whatever reason.

Time that practice was outlawed across the board.

Ah jaysus it was part of the reason that made the race interesting and you want it banned.

kopite386

Do any of you think that Antonio Giovannzi will get a racing seat this year. Obviously at this stage it isn't looking likely unless LeClerc moves and he gets that seat as a junior Ferrari member.

ayux4rj6zql2ph

I'm really hoping Kimi hold onto his seat, he has really upped his game this year, yes not as good as he once was but he is a solid number 2, I have visions of Leclerc doing a Ricciardo on Vettel.

skipper_G

kopite386 wrote: »

Do any of you think that Antonio Giovannzi will get a racing seat this year. Obviously at this stage it isn't looking likely unless LeClerc moves and he gets that seat as a junior Ferrari member.

The news coming out of Monza this weekend is suggesting Leclerc will get the Ferrari seat, so Giovinazzi might have a seat at Sauber yet

GarIT

kopite386 wrote: »

Do any of you think that Antonio Giovannzi will get a racing seat this year. Obviously at this stage it isn't looking likely unless LeClerc moves and he gets that seat as a junior Ferrari member.

All the major reliable sites have stated Leclerc has a contract with Ferrari signed by Marchionne and that Ferrari were trying to back out of it or delay it for a year because only Marchionne really wanted him and everyone else prefers Kimi and wanted the stability. Motorsport.com said Ferrari have changed their mind about delaying the contract after Kimi didn't win.

Based on tradition if Ferrari were keeping Kimi they would have announced it at Monza.

Leclerc to Ferrari is a 90% done deal, and if that happens then Giovanazzi to Sauber is a 90% done deal as Ferrari (Alfa) own the seat.

chicorytip

Prisoner 6753 wrote:

I'm really hoping Kimi hold onto his seat, he has really upped his game this year, yes not as good as he once was but he is a solid number 2, I have visions of Leclerc doing a Ricciardo on Vettel.

The reasons why he needs to be replaced were blatantly evident yesterday. Lack of speed overall and lack of energy in the latter stages of races. He was unable to open up more than a one second lead over Hamilton in the earlier stages and should have quickly overtaken Bottas in the latter stages and then driven on to victory. He is no longer capable of winning races as opposed to finishing second or third. Even Bottas chips in with the odd victory as do the Red Bull duo. If Seb has an off day his colleague needs to be of comparable standard to maximise the competitiveness of the team. In fairness to Raikkonen not many drivers on the grid seem to have this level of capability. Alonso, certainly, but he's leaving. Verstappen, certainly. Ricciardo, possibly. Hamilton, obviously. Leclerc would be a mistake. He's too inexperienced. Grosjean would be the best available choice.

skipper_G

chicorytip wrote: »

The reasons why he needs to be replaced were blatantly evident yesterday. Lack of speed overall and lack of energy in the latter stages of races. He was unable to open up more than a one second lead over Hamilton in the earlier stages and should have quickly overtaken Bottas in the latter stages and then driven on to victory. He is no longer capable of winning races as opposed to finishing second or third. Even Bottas chips in with the odd victory as do the Red Bull duo. If Seb has an off day his colleague needs to be of comparable standard to maximise the competitiveness of the team. In fairness to Raikkonen not many drivers on the grid seem to have this level of capability. Alonso, certainly, but he's leaving. Verstappen, certainly. Ricciardo, possibly. Hamilton, obviously. Leclerc would be a mistake. He's too inexperienced. Grosjean would be the best available choice.

Grosjean in a Ferrari would be a step backwards from Kimi, he's one of the most frustratingly inconsistent drivers on the grid. You can get barely get away with that in a Haas but no chance in a Ferrari. It's the single biggest criticism many people have of Kimi, you're suggesting to replace like for like

chicorytip

skipper_G wrote:

Grosjean in a Ferrari would be a step backwards from Kimi, he's one of the most frustratingly inconsistent drivers on the grid. You can get barely get away with that in a Haas but no chance in a Ferrari. It's the single biggest criticism many people have of Kimi, you're suggesting to replace like for like

He has the requisite pace,skill and experience and has scored impressive points tallies over the years with uncompetitive teams. Put him in a top car and see how he goes.

skipper_G

chicorytip wrote: »

He has the requisite pace,skill and experience and has scored impressive points tallies over the years with uncompetitive teams. Put him in a top car and see how he goes.

Forget about over the years, look at his body of work this season. He's made several mistakes that have cost the team points. That's not a sensible risk for a championship contending team to take

Charlie-Bravo

I dare to say it, Grosjean and Vettel are on par with the mistakes this year!