Formula 1 2021 - General Discussion Thread (Read 1st post rules)

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117652231#Comment_117652231

So that is Kimi retiring if that true then. He has had a good run of it anyway Kimi. I have seen Vasser saying he would be willing to go with an all new driver lineup next year. So the pressure is on both of the drivers to keep improving for the rest of the season.

By the way Red Bull have said there crash at Silverstown will cost them 1.8 million.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.red-bull-estimate-damage-to-verstappens-car-from-hamilton-collision-will.4KgQmjryYnBWvTbLQu5IYc.html

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117654994#Comment_117654994

Especially as there is no last years car for next year from Mercedes, Ferrari or Red Bull that there second team or the smaller teams can get hand downs of. I doubt the bigger teams are going to give up all there secrets straight away especially as they do not even know how good or bad there cars for next year will be except for simulator work.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117652461#Comment_117652461

Alfa have signed up again.

Harika

The Bottas Sauber Link is very weak and is based on Sauber`s rich tradition with finnish drivers. Kimi, Lehto and Salo. srsly?

If this would count, that is then the case for Mick S. As he was part of the Sauber Junior Team driving in LeMans. Else Sauber was with Frentzen, Heidfeld, Sutil, Wehrlein a really long tradition of German F1 drivers.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117660172#Comment_117660172

Is the driver deal part of the Alfa Branding deal?

Id be very surprised if it isn't part of the deal, along with the Ferrari engines

artanevilla

Not anymore. Alfa/Sauber have free choice of driver, before they had to take at least one Ferrari driver.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alfa-romeo-free-choice-drivers-2022/6631150/

Jordan 199

One week away to the Hungarian Grand Prix 😎

El_Duderino 09

That's good for Alfa as long as they can afford to pay for a decent driver. Their current driver lineup is possibly the weakest on the grid. I'd say there are only 4 really poor drivers on the grid and Alfa has 2 of them.

If they can afford a decent driver like Bottas, that would be a big Improvement for them -big step back for Bottas, but that's where the options are.

the_pen_turner

bottas hasnt got many option if he stays in f1 .

ferrari, mcclaren , redbull are all set driver wise

i cant see alpha touri dropping yuki and i cant see aston martin dropping stroll or vettle retiring

so his option are alfa , haas or williams

haas is so poor they would struggle to atract ay decent drivers. mick is there to test it out and hopeully move up to the alfa seat . not really working out though

the williams is prity poor. russel is doing a great job in quallifing but the car isnt there in the race. he has a good relationship with williams so maybe

alfa is probably he best option for a drive

Irishcrx

It's turning into a great season to be fair...

Interesting now what comes out before Spa on the driver movements and I think all teams ill be thinking about the new car next car, I think Russell for Bottas is happening - Mercedes will want a change of pace and direction and Russell is a hot prospect commercially as well for them , Bottas has been solid in his time there but no more really - agree he has limited options the Williams history is there but it's a poor car , better in the Alfa Romeo but again it's a downshift for him but that is all that's available.

Outside of that I think there will be minimum movement really , majority of drivers are contracted into next year and internal focus is on the new car development - Mercedes seem content to focus on next years car and not overdo this year , it's almost as if they are willing to fight for the title of course but somewhat happy for Red Bull to carry the pace and perhaps the championship whilst they get ahead next year , similar to what they did in the first hybrid era car when they began their period of domination.

Please god get Ferrari competitive again next year it's horrible watching their decline , Le Clerc did brilliant with the car at Silverstone but it's lack top level pace against Red Bull , Merc and even McLaren.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117660845#Comment_117660845

Usually a tad boring, but I think this one might be a bit different with some tension.

Hoping Max puts on a masterclass.

Jordan 199

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117664249#Comment_117664249

Well, I will be 'hungary' for a downpour there to liven it up.

McFly85

It’s a bad time for Bottas to be dropped alright, most teams are sorted after all the moves pre season.

Feels like the right time for Merc to get rid, though. Russell has a higher ceiling but still won’t be a challenger to Hamilton for a while yet, and should be looking to be no. 1 by the time he retires.

Bottas will move to Alfa or Williams possibly, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see him out of next season entirely.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117664596#Comment_117664596

Yeah this is a bad time to be looking for a seat. Lots of teams in the first year of combinations. So even a driver like Ricciardo who is underperforming will be given another year to prove himself.

This is why Saward says Ocon did the deal with Alpine now. He was pretty sure Hamilton was going to resign with Mercedes and Russell was going to get bottas seat so Bottas was coming on the market and he wanted to make sure Bottas didn't take Ocons seat. He was diddled out of a seat a few years ago at force India and didn't want it to happen again. A bird in the hand...

Cool_CM

Anybody speak Swiss German and looking for a new job? 😂

https://www.jobs.ch/de/stellenangebote/detail/10517904/

MadYaker

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117660851#Comment_117660851

Kimi has been odd, he shows flashes of brilliance and then does something really dumb, he has had a good run I guess it's time. I could see Bottas going to Alfa if it looks like the car is bit more competitive under the new regs. Any chance of him going back to Williams I wonder?

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117664893#Comment_117664893

Williams is probably his only other option apart from Haas so from that point of view, its certainly possible.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117664893#Comment_117664893

He has limited options it seems. I would favour Williams over Alfa but you never know when it comes to money and so forth.

I am not his biggest fan at all, but it would be a shame for him to not have a seat next year.

pjohnson

I wouldn't be suprised if Bottas went into Rallying and left F1.

Hes done a few Arctic Rallys each year afaik and has hinted at wanting to do rallying before retiring.

Burkie1203

Would love to see a Journo raise this with Lord Lewis this weekend

‐‐--------------------------------------------------------------

Lewis Hamilton has described Sebastian Vettel's five-second penalty for crashing into Valtteri Bottas as a "tap on the hand" and believes his title rival deserved a harsher punishment at the French GP.

Vettel collided with Bottas at the first corner and, though he was penalised by race stewards as both cars suffered damage, he recovered to finish fifth while Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate could only salvage seventh.

Hamilton avoided the chaos from pole, comfortably won the race and now leads Vettel by 14 points in the championship standings, but was still unhappy with the penalty the Ferrari driver received.

"Ultimately, when someone destroys your race through an error and it's kind of a tap on the hand really - they're allowed to come back and still finish ahead of that person he took out - it doesn't weigh up," said Hamilton.

"You shouldn't really be able to finish ahead of him if you took him out of the race."

Ultimate Gowlbag

Most drivers or teams have done this throughout the history of F1,outrageous stuff altogether!!

flazio

Firstly, having taken a couple of days away from this forum to cool down I want to apologize for my recent postings.

I still stirve to treat Lewis Hamilton just like any other driver on the grid, that is to praise him when he drives well and criticise him when he blatantly does not, at all times though, treat him with respect for his achievements to date.

Moving on. How water tight are Vandorne and DeVris's contracts at the Formula E team? Would Toto put some consideration into putting Bottas over there?

Harika

He could always join DTM

Ultimate Gowlbag

I think if Bottas plays out the rest of the season in a support role and makes peace with that role he will still be there next year

El_Duderino 09

Not good news for the Dutch GP

Netherlands banning festivals in August. While the GP is in September, these restrictions have a tendency of sprawling. But at the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if the Dutch make an exception for the Max Verstappen GP

https://joesaward.wordpress.com/2021/07/26/dutch-doubts/

McFly85

Surprised that they would cancel altogether if the fans can’t go, surely other events would have faced the same difficulty?

Although I do remember the Dutch pretty quickly binning off the rest of the 19-20 Eredivisie when COVID came in, so maybe it’s just how they handle things.

It would be a real shame, not only for Max, but for the F1 season - I think everyone had this race in mind after what happened at Silverstone.

McFly85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117665673#Comment_117665673

I would think so, and the most recent races suggest as much. Hasn’t been too outspoken about team strategy, and Hamilton has been singing his praises as a teammate. His best option in the sport is definitely to try and keep his Mercedes seat.

I think a big problem for him, if he is let go, is convincing another team that he’s their man. He’s not managed to set the world on fire at Mercedes-9 race wins in 4 and a half seasons in the dominant car is ok, but it’s fairly up and down, he hasn’t been consistently improving. And if he can’t be consistent in the Mercedes, how will he do in a lesser performing car?

Add to that his likely high wage demands and it’s basically only Alfa if Kimi leaves that would be an option, but by no means an obvious one. Alfa could easily decide to try and get a younger driver and save some money.

The more I think about it, the likeliest scenario for me now is that he either keeps his Merc seat or isn’t on the grid next season.

El_Duderino 09

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117666465#Comment_117666465

I'd say fans are essential to make it work financially. The circuit is on the edge of the city of Amsterdam so the city was in line for a huge boost in activity if it went ahead. No fans means no money so there's a great chance the government will bin it if the restrictions still apply.

They might decide to absorb the cost, but it would be expensive.

El_Duderino 09

It's interesting that nobody is pulling out the excuses from the vettel excuse list. It was used pretty reflexively last year for vettel but nobody has even thought about using it this year for Bottas. Some highlights include:

Treated terribly by the team, can't be expected to perform well.

Car doesn't suit him (no evidence needed)

Car is built and designed for his teammate (no evidence needed).

He's much faster than this, he's just not trying because he was treated badly.

I think the reason he's so comprehensively beaten by Hamilton is that he just isn't as fast as Hamilton, who is a tip top driver and extremely consistent. Bottas is decent but not top tier or even second tier and so is consistently outshaddowed by his teammate. But isn't is interesting that nobody has thought to rehash the Vettel excuse checklist for Bottas? Even the obvious ones like the car being built for Hamilton's preferences.

barryribs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117666491#Comment_117666491

I think he's driving really well this year, the only poor races he's had were in Baku when he was the sacrificial lamb, and France when he called the correct strategy on the radio but the team stuck with a one stop. In my opinion his key battle this season is to beat Perez consistently, which he has been doing. He's never been spectacular but he's been remarkably consistent throughout his career and I think he's ideal for a midfield team who want someone who is reliable and solid.

I think its unlikely he will end up back with Williams, primarily because of the money. Its hard to argue that he wouldn't be a massive upgrade on Kimi or Giovanazzi at this point in their respective careers.