Formula 1 2018: General Discussion Thread

PDiddy87 · 08-01-2018 06:29PM

Wonder is that the Martini sponcership gone? ðŸ€” I thought they demanded a drink over 25?

Infoanon · 08-01-2018 06:42PM

PDiddy87 wrote: »

Wonder is that the Martini sponcership gone? &#55356;&#56340; I thought they demanded a drink over 25?

Martini still the title sponsor

El_Duderino 09 · 08-01-2018 07:03PM

Infoanon wrote: »

PDiddy87 wrote: »

Wonder is that the Martini sponcership gone? �� I thought they demanded a drink over 25?

Martini still the title sponsor

They will probably get the drivers to do extra PR events and grow a beard and wear sandals and socks.

That should do the trick

kopite386 · 10-01-2018 02:31PM

Well I didn't expect this to happen
https://twitter.com/ScuderiaFerrari/status/951079594039369729

mickdw · 10-01-2018 02:49PM

kopite386 wrote: »

Well I didn't expect this to happen
https://twitter.com/ScuderiaFerrari/status/951079594039369729

Good result for him.

recyclebin · 10-01-2018 02:54PM

Who else have Ferrari on the books if Kimi retires during or at end of the season. Would Leclerc be favourite?

HighLine · 10-01-2018 02:56PM

mickdw wrote: »

Good result for him.

Not sure it is. He will never get an actual Ferrari drive. Probably hired to obtain any information, albeit slightly dated from Red Bull, from their competitors.

skipper_G · 10-01-2018 03:17PM

HighLine wrote: »

Not sure it is. He will never get an actual Ferrari drive. Probably hired to obtain any information, albeit slightly dated from Red Bull, from their competitors.

People may have forgetten that this is the same Ferrari who hired Esteban Gutierrez as a development driver. There are other considerations to be made, than just a race seat, a bit of exposure in the Russian market is good from a commercial perspective. He's a quick guy, but he needs to sort his head out. Very difficult to see a path back to a race seat with this announcement.

mickdw · 10-01-2018 03:23PM

HighLine wrote: »

Not sure it is. He will never get an actual Ferrari drive. Probably hired to obtain any information, albeit slightly dated from Red Bull, from their competitors.

Its as secure a job as it gets in f1. Driving and being familiar with current f1 machinery at a front running team. I think its as good a seat off the grid as you can get.
I believe he is very quick too and young so whats to say he couldnt in future pick up a drive somewhere.

Infoanon · 10-01-2018 03:51PM

mickdw wrote: »

Its as secure a job as it gets in f1. Driving and being familiar with current f1 machinery at a front running team. I think its as good a seat off the grid as you can get.
I believe he is very quick too and young so whats to say he couldnt in future pick up a drive somewhere.

Almost certainly helped by some Russian Money.

Sirotken to be announced as a Williams driver next week - 20 million reasons apparently...........

Harika · 10-01-2018 03:53PM

They can use him as driver in the simulator, who is proven to be quick and is used to modern cars. Good chance also for him to be long term employed like Marc Gene or Luca Badoer were.

HighLine · 10-01-2018 04:09PM

Harika wrote: »

They can use him as driver in the simulator, who is proven to be quick and is used to modern cars. Good chance also for him to be long term employed like Marc Gene or Luca Badoer were.

But that's a retirement plan. I'm sure he would much prefer an actual drive however unlikely.

Harika · 10-01-2018 04:46PM

HighLine wrote: »

But that's a retirement plan. I'm sure he would much prefer an actual drive however unlikely.

That might depend on his work and if Maserati-Haas gets more interesting or if he fits into to Alfa Romeo. Maybe he convinces them that he should replace Kimi? and tbh he is quick and his demise is mostly Red Bulls management failure.

skipper_G · 10-01-2018 04:53PM

Harika wrote: »

That might depend on his work and if Maserati-Haas gets more interesting or if he fits into to Alfa Romeo. Maybe he convinces them that he should replace Kimi? and tbh he is quick and his demise is mostly Red Bulls management failure.

He was clearly quick and definitely was harshly treated by Red Bull, but after he was demoted he could have gone back to Toro Rosso with the bit between his teeth to prove them wrong. He didn't, he did the opposite, he crumbled under the pressure. Quick yes, but without the mental strength required to be a World Champion.

Schorpio · 10-01-2018 05:24PM

skipper_G wrote: »

He was clearly quick and definitely was harshly treated by Red Bull, but after he was demoted he could have gone back to Toro Rosso with the bit between his teeth to prove them wrong. He didn't, he did the opposite, he crumbled under the pressure. Quick yes, but without the mental strength required to be a World Champion.

True, but I always take that with a grain of salt.

Carlos was/is a viable candidate for Red Bull. I think from the moment he was demoted, Daniil never was. Did he get the same upgrades as Carlos? What was his engineering support like?

Did Carlos get overall preferential treatment? I would imagine so. Hard to shine in those circumstances. I always thought he needed to get out of RB, and back into a supportive team structure. Only then can we judge whether Daniil has lost what made he so good during his first stint at TR.

skipper_G · 10-01-2018 05:53PM

Schorpio wrote: »

True, but I always take that with a grain of salt.

Carlos was/is a viable candidate for Red Bull. I think from the moment he was demoted, Daniil never was. Did he get the same upgrades as Carlos? What was his engineering support like?

Did Carlos get overall preferential treatment? I would imagine so. Hard to shine in those circumstances. I always thought he needed to get out of RB, and back into a supportive team structure. Only then can we judge whether Daniil has lost what made he so good during his first stint at TR.

Again, the same point stands. If he went back to the team and showed the mental strength to get the maximum out of the package in whatever form that may have been (upgrades or not, engineering support or not) the team would have seen and recognised that.

You may be right, and if somebody put their arm around him and mollycoddled him enough maybe he might have come back to his best but in F1, the kind of time required for that is a luxury.

recyclebin · 10-01-2018 09:25PM

To be fair doing simulation work for Ferrari will probably seem like a step up in F1 compared to a Honda powered Toro Rosso drive next season :P

boardsuser1 · 13-01-2018 01:42PM

If this turns out to be true, could Kubica get back on the grid in 2019 aged 34?

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/133874/kubica-in-talks-with-williams-over-f1-role

Top Dog · 13-01-2018 11:27PM

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

If this turns out to be true, could Kubica get back on the grid in 2019 aged 34?

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/133874/kubica-in-talks-with-williams-over-f1-role

Williams has insisted throughout the process that its decision on the driver to partner Stroll would be based purely on performance

And yet somehow no-body believes them :pac:

mickdw · 13-01-2018 11:35PM

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

If this turns out to be true, could Kubica get back on the grid in 2019 aged 34?

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/133874/kubica-in-talks-with-williams-over-f1-role

Assuming he is not in a car this year at some stage, id say he has lost his chance. He had all the surprise, hype, public support, paddock support and current world champ as manager for this push for a drive. I cant see such interest next year.
Its a chance lost for f1 and Bernie would have made it happen if he was still in charge.
I think williams are underestimating what he would have brought in terms of publicity for the team if he had the race seat nevermind the public goodwill it would bring also.

Frank Bullitt · 14-01-2018 08:42PM

Infoanon · 15-01-2018 11:48AM

Top Dog wrote: »

And yet somehow no-body believes them :pac:

Pirelli have waded in now - Pirelli who have the same data as Williams - believe Kubica did a good job in Abu Dhabi and deserves the opportunity to return to Formula 1.

Harika · 16-01-2018 12:20PM

https://twitter.com/WilliamsRacing/status/953223742271971329

#sad

boardsuser1 · 16-01-2018 12:26PM

Just read the bit on Sky about Paddy Lowe, basically in plain English “Sirotkin brings loads of money and that’s all that matters”

Frank Bullitt · 16-01-2018 12:49PM

Kubica gets a reserve role.

Its early days yet, but I would see the Williams line-up as the weakest on the grid by a fair shot.

skipper_G · 16-01-2018 12:50PM

That's a weak lineup when compared to the teams they will be fighting against.
They can spout all the rubbish they want, this was about $$$ plain and simple.

boardsuser1 · 16-01-2018 12:52PM

Gintonious wrote: »

Kubica gets a reserve role.

Its early days yet, but I would see the Williams line-up as the weakest on the grid by a fair shot.

I wonder is he an insurance policy against either Stroll or Sirotkin, if the team is doing crap will the money those 2 bring be enough to make up for the losses in the contructors championship.

Will Kubica get much time in the car over the course of the season?

Between now and Melbourne you'd expect him to be in it when the other 2 aren't.

Frank Bullitt · 16-01-2018 01:37PM

Cork Truck Driver wrote: »

I wonder is he an insurance policy against either Stroll or Sirotkin, if the team is doing crap will the money those 2 bring be enough to make up for the losses in the contructors championship.

Will Kubica get much time in the car over the course of the season?

Between now and Melbourne you'd expect him to be in it when the other 2 aren't.

He gets 8 practise sessions, winter testing and other tests as well. So he will be around.

Stroll didn't really improve at all last year, his Baku race was great but that was a mad race. The team also has a Mere PU in it, so they don't have a McLaren excuse either.

Mind you, if Kubica is developing the car, and they have Russian money, the car could evolve to a high performance degree, but ultimately they will be let down by Stroll and Sirotkin.

Cool_CM · 16-01-2018 01:39PM

Taking emotion out of it, I can totally understand this call. The team have been in the doldrums for years, have shown no signs of challenging for titles and it has obviously taken a financial toll on them. It's absolutely understandable that, at a stage where they are showing signs of financial recovery, they would take the money and invest it in the groundwork for getting back to where they should be.

Frank Bullitt · 16-01-2018 02:06PM

Cool_CM wrote: »

Taking emotion out of it, I can totally understand this call. The team have been in the doldrums for years, have shown no signs of challenging for titles and it has obviously taken a financial toll on them. It's absolutely understandable that, at a stage where they are showing signs of financial recovery, they would take the money and invest it in the groundwork for getting back to where they should be.

Indeed, its a business decision.

This does come with a big risk in 2 incredibly inexperienced drivers. Sponsors etc will roll if results don't show up.

Strolls results last year were so-so for a rookie, he had his moments but he was very inconsistent. Sirotken has some F1 experience but none in a race or in that capacity.

Its a bit of an unknown but you would be forgiven for looking at it as a glass half empty.

Formula 1 2018: General Discussion Thread

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