Formula 1 2018: General Discussion Thread

eviltimeban wrote: »

I wonder what's his ambition or motivation to race for a back marker?

Marchionne had a deal arranged for Ferrari to buy Sauber to have as a b team, that has been delayed but should happen eventually. Kimi has some Sauber shares and when Kimi to Sauber was "leaked"/rumored on some Motorsport news site last week they said he would be paid in shares. The same rumor said Kimi will take over as team principal after retirement and if the team is bought jointly between Kimi and Alfa/Ferrari it might be renamed as Alfa Romeo Raikonnen as the association to Sauber is long gone. It seemed a bit far fetched a week about but they have gotten the first part right, we'll see in time.

Great to see Kimi stick around.

GarIT wrote: »

Esteban Ocon has heavily implied he will not be in F1 next year in a tweet.

Merc tester for a year?

Whens Bottas contract up?

GarIT wrote: »

eviltimeban wrote: »

I wonder what's his ambition or motivation to race for a back marker?

Marchionne had a deal arranged for Ferrari to buy Sauber to have as a b team, that has been delayed but should happen eventually. Kimi has some Sauber shares and when Kimi to Sauber was "leaked"/rumored on some Motorsport news site last week they said he would be paid in shares. The same rumor said Kimi will take over as team principal after retirement and if the team is bought jointly between Kimi and Alfa/Ferrari it might be renamed as Alfa Romeo Raikonnen as the association to Sauber is long gone. It seemed a bit far fetched a week about but they have gotten the first part right, we'll see in time.

This is my favourite rumour of the entire silly season.

I get a weird feeling that RB's Verstappen will ruin a few of LeClerc's races next year. I am hoping that LeClerc excels immediately and gives Vettel a run for his money. It's all well and good being a number two driver, but if you're getting pole and having good races at the front, it'd be difficult to take it away from him if he's ahead on points!!

Gintonious wrote: »

It will be an even bigger shame if Ocon is not on the grid next year if some waster like Stroll is there. Money speaks more than talent.

I'd much rather Stroll being there rather than F1 losing another team and having only 18 drivers on the grid.

Next year there will be some deserving drivers not in F1: Giovanazzi, Vandoorne, Ocon, Russell, Kubica. Not for all of them there will be cockpits.
It is said that Sauber will take Giovanazzi to partner Kimi. Russell/Ocon might get to Williams, depending on Mercedes pay.

flazio wrote: »

Highlights of the 2019 season are confirmed to be airing on Channel 4 next year only.
http://www.channel4.com/info/press/news/sky-c4-to-bring-formula-1-tin-star-no-offence-to-more-viewers
No word if it's going to be with Channel 4s own team or Sky.
From an Irish prospective it's important to note that regardless of what happens with Channel 4 highlights coverage, this won't mean a continuation of Eir Sports live coverage. That contract goes over exclusive to Sky Sports from next year.

Nothing new there. I think most of us here knew that only Sky have the races live from next year. That just means there will be even less people watching F1 then which is sad as it seems like it could be a very interesting season. I thought about getting Sky sports F1 but you have to get all the Sky sports channels and none of the rest of them are of interest to me so I decided against it. Maybe I will think about it again for next year. No point having it at the moment when this season is getting near the end of it.

ELM327 wrote: »

Is sky sports F1 not free with the HD pack?
I've had it for ages and that's how I got it initially. Now I have the full sports pack as they have the rights to the football (us football) exclusively too.

Yes that was how I got the F1 channel as well, it's still included in mine but not sure if it's still included in bundles for new customers

Explains the reducing subscription numbers then. Sports pack is very expensive if you don't watch it other than for F1.

pjohnson wrote: »

Rather have 18 than have the same 2 drivers locking out the arsê end of the grid a la Stevens/Mehri providing absolutely nothing.

A bit of context is key, you're talking about two drivers locking out the back row of the grid in Stevens & Merhi. You do realise which car they were in ? A Manor that wasn't even on the grid in the opening race of the season, a car which was 3 seconds a lap slower than the next car up the road (which was a Mclaren Honda by the way) but yeah no good ever came from a guy floating around at the back of the grid :rolleyes:

I've said it before about Stroll, there are people who will never let go of the money issue. Stroll could win a race, and they would twist logic beyond comprehension just to arrive at the desired outcome, which is Stroll is bad.

I don't know how good he is, but he can only race the car he has in front of him. He has an impressive junior career behind him. In his rookie F1 season he finished 1 place and 3 points in the championship behind his teammate, whom by the way, is the 6th most experienced grand prix driver in history.

Is the money a factor ? Yes absolutely, as it always has been in F1. But it's worthless if they can't do the job on track.

If English is your first language and you are an F1 driver then you will get a hard time here on boards because you will be in the media more often. Hamilton and Stroll get the majority of the abuse. Alonso, Vettel and Verstappen get away with being pricks all the time. Same goes for Sirotkin and Erikkson. They are pay drivers the same as Stroll but don't get the same treatment from some posters here. Stroll is a better driver than both in my opinion. Hes not a great driver but solid enough to be in a middle to back of grid car.

Addyson Gray Glue wrote: »

Who was the most high profile pay driver to actually win a race? Maldonado? High profile for all the wrong reasons that is.

In recent years, yep probably Maldonado. Of all time, Niki Lauda.

muckwarrior wrote: »

As I've said before, unless it's a front running car capable of scoring points in almost every race, then points are a bad way to compare team-mates, as just one or 2 lucky results can massively skew the balance. Stroll vs Massa is one such case as it fails to show how he got his ass kicked by a driver in the twilight of his career, who was merely above average in his prime.

You make a good point, last year the Williams car scored points in 17 of 20 races, does that qualify as points in almost every race ? In race results it was 13-6 to Massa, he destroyed him alright.....
Massa had 14 years F1 experience and Stroll was a rookie, it's not normal for a rookie to beat a much more experienced teammate.