Crashtor to lose seat?

[Dare]

Wouldn'tmake me mad....Kevin deserves a F1 seat



http://planetf1.com/news/maldonados-race-seat-in-jeopardy/

[Irisado]

I think that he may well be on the way out.  The situation of the national oil company in Venezuela is no longer looking so rosy, in terms of profits, so the Venezuelan government may take a pragmatic view that allowing its oil company to fork out millions for a Formula 1 drive is not the best use of state money these days.

Magnussen has been given a tour of the Renault factory, so the team seem very keen to have him drive their car.  I also think that he would be a more consistent performer than Maldonado.  The only downside is that we'd lose an element of unpredictability from the races.  It helps to make the races more interesting when there are a few drivers who do crazy things from time-to-time.

[guest3164]

Autosport today saying he's gone and Magnussen is in barring some kind of minor disaster.

[Andy B]

There's also two seats at Manor who would probably appreciate the extra funding? I would be pleased to see him gone and its only money that has kept him there and other who deserve a seat out.

[Steve A.]

This is one of the worst things about pay drivers, if the funding stops it could seriously affect the team, even upto the point of stopping a team.getting on the grid. Ideal world would be talent only but at least limit it to one pay driver. Yeah I know funding is so very hard to come by

[Jericoke]

This is one of the worst things about pay drivers, if the funding stops it could seriously affect the team, even upto the point of stopping a team.getting on the grid. Ideal world would be talent only but at least limit it to one pay driver. Yeah I know funding is so very hard to come by

Sponsorship can dry up whether or not it is linked to a driver.  Lots of sponsors have abandoned the sport as either their industry came upon hard times, or a new executive started to wonder if it was a worthwhile investment.  I know there was serious concern F1 wouldn't survive the exodus of tobacco sponsorship.  It will survive the exodus of oil sponsorship too.

There might even be a correction in the price of running a GP as the petro-races drop away, and classic circuits open back up.

[cosworth151]

I'm glad to see K-Mag get the seat. I think he'll do well.

Jeri is right about sponsorship. As I just posted in Other Sports, Sarah Fisher's team just went from their best season ever to out of the sport due to loss of sponsorship. Wink Hartman's oil company is suffering from low oil prices.

[Steve A.]

I know all sponsorship is at risk at some point but on the driver you lose the cash, lose the driver or pay him and lose more cash. Then you not only need a new driver but a new sensor with him.

[Irisado]

I'm disappointed in the sense that Maldonado's absence removes one of the few unpredictable variables from modern Formula 1.  You could never be sure exactly what he would do, and his collisions and crashes helped to make things more exciting.

From a team point of view though, it's very clear that Renault has made a sensible choice.  No point in keeping someone as inconsistent as Maldonado when the money dries up.  Magnussen was solid if unspectacular at McLaren in 2014, so he's likely to bring the car home more often than Maldonado did.