GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => F1 Drivers => Topic started by: Andy B on December 03, 2016, 06:27:57 AM
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Nothing like a poll to check if your in agreement with fellow GPW's or maybe you know more than the rest of us.
For me its between Wehrlein and Bottas but like everyone else I'll have to wait and see.
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I am going with the fantasy of Button joining Mercedes for a year, would love to see but realise I won't.
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My heart says Jenson, but my head said Pascal.
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My heart says Jenson, my head says Jenson. :D :D :D
But the heads of Merc GP will go for Sainz, Perez or as a last resort Pascal. :crazy:
Merc will buy out Carlos' contract from RBR, Bernie will lean on Mateschitz to release him for the good of F1...... or Checco's sponsors will offer to swap Guittierez into the FIF1 to keep the massive funding there and Merc will pay handsomely to the Silverstone outfit too.
Mind you I'd like to see André Lotterer given another chance to prove he is every bit as good as the current F1 pilots, he certainly had a good showing in practice & quali in his only F1 outing at Spa 2014 in the rubbish Caterham. :D
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I wouldn't mind seeing either Sainz or Perez at Mercedes.I'd
really like to see Button their and have a proper last year in F1
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I think that Mercedes is going to go with the lowest cost option.
They've got a solid chance at another champion with Hamilton. If the car is dominant, then the second driver won't make much of a difference. If the car isn't, it's probably a one year contract anyway.
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Don't know about the lowest cost, but they won't pay a premium to break a contract for a Vettel or Bottas. Since they have been sponsoring Ocon and Wehrlein it will probably be one of them.
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Another fact that would make McLaren and Williams unlikely to let Alonso and Bottas go it will leave both teams with inexperienced drivers and with all the regulation changes I doubt they can afford to do that.
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I agree Andy, can't see the teams letting either go. It's certainly stirred up the driver market.
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(http://cdn-1.motorsport.com/images/amp/0aRMPLw2/s6/f1-mercedes-amg-f1-driver-advert-2016-mercedes-amg-f1-driver-advert.jpg)
:DD
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:DD :DD :DD :DD
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There's no link to apply!
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There's no link to apply!
They don't want to make it too easy for Juan Pablo to apply. ;)
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Mercedes probably won't want a young inexperienced driver, they have the $ to get the best available driver to continue winning the team championship. If they do want a young racer, Verstappen is my pick. Ideally Vettel would fit in well and carry on the German connection.
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They would be the top picks, but I can't see Red Bull or Ferrari letting them go to Mercedes.
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Mercedes probably won't want a young inexperienced driver, they have the $ to get the best available driver to continue winning the team championship. If they do want a young racer, Verstappen is my pick. Ideally Vettel would fit in well and carry on the German connection.
Mercedes is a big budget operation, but they're also run by a board that has come close to pulling the plug several times. If you can save a few million dollars on a driver who is 'good enough', then why not?
If they get a top driver, they'll get the top ego that goes with it. It will be like Lewis vs Nico, but ramped up to another level. Is that what Mercedes wants, or do they want a nice, quiet smooth running team?
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Maybe they will realize drama = TV Time. Vettel vs Hamilton would be a humbling season for one of them. Maybe Vettel can find a way to get fired from Ferrari - Arrivebene seemed ready to send him packing a few times.
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I don't think all the turmoil within the team is good for the brand and with most of the top driver tied up till 2018 putting Wehrlein in the seat could be a stop gap but its also possible he could shine.
I doubt we'll have to wait too much longer to hear who that is and then we can have another thread titled "Is ? good enough".
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I don't think all the turmoil within the team is good for the brand and with most of the top driver tied up till 2018 putting Wehrlein in the seat could be a stop gap but its also possible he could shine.
I doubt we'll have to wait too much longer to hear who that is and then we can have another thread titled "Is ? good enough".
That's what I figure, put whoever on a one year contract, and if they're great, then keep 'em. If they're not, you've got room to add anyone.
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That's what I figure, put whoever on a one year contract, and if they're great, then keep 'em. If they're not, you've got room to add anyone.
Well that rules out most of the experienced drivers we've discussed on here then.
Can't see the likes of Perez, Bottas or Alonso accepting a single year deal to get in the Merc, so will mean only Pascal, Nasr or Gutierrez are likely candidates. ;) :D
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But you only taking a punt on new drivers, you will be fairly certain of the likes of Alonso. Maybe a two year contract, develope the new car and build. A lot will depend on the board members and possibly a bit on Hamilton.
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I don't think Jeri meant Alonso Bottas or Perez...they all have pretty solid contracts but enough experience that Merc would be happy to sign them to multi-year contracts if they could.
I find it interesting that Perez came into the sport as a heavily backed pay driver that most of us gave little respect because he was a 100% pay driver. Now he has matured and improved as a driver so much that we are talking about him being eligible for a top team race seat. Way to go Perez!! :good: :good:
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I find it interesting that Perez came into the sport as a heavily backed pay driver that most of us gave little respect because he was a 100% pay driver. Now he has matured and improved as a driver so much that we are talking about him being eligible for a top team race seat. Way to go Perez!! :good: :good:
I think Martin Whitmarsh was ahead of the game when he signed Perez in 2013, the MP4-28 was dog though, however Checo finished with about 2/3rds of Jenson's points total. Not a bad season in a top team against Button - teammates are the only real yardstick when judging new drivers in underperforming cars.
It was Ron's fight with Martin which led to the sacking of both Whitmarsh and Perez.
Later we've learned that Dennis ousted Whitmarsh not so much for under performance of the team but because he was too close to Mansour Ojeh, Ron's falling out with the other shareholders goes back an awful long way.
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Mercedes is talking to Williams about Valtteri Bottas. Williams wants to keep him.
I didn't know that Toto Wolff is part of Bottas's management team.
http://www.racer.com/f1/item/137129-f1-mercedes-approaches-williams-about-bottas
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I didn't know that Toto Wolff is part of Bottas's management team.
Yeah that's interesting. Was Toto still at Williams when they first got Bottas? I think Team Principals should be forbidden to have management contracts with drivers, just in principle. :tease:
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I didn't know that Toto Wolff is part of Bottas's management team.
Yeah that's interesting. Was Toto still at Williams when they first got Bottas? I think Team Principals should be forbidden to have management contracts with drivers, just in principle. :tease:
No kidding. How can you trust a driver whose financial security is handled by a guy running another team?
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Since both Alonso and Flavio have committed to McLaren I fully expect Alonso to be Lewis's team mate next year :D
That's what normally happens isn't it?
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Since both Alonso and Flavio have committed to McLaren I fully expect Alonso to be Lewis's team mate next year :D
That's what normally happens isn't it?
:DD :DD :DD
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But Fernando has stated that he will definitely be at McLaren next year.
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Flavio had Alonso when at Renault...I always thought that was the big
reason Fisichello was treated like crap.
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Bottas will get the second Mercedes seat in my view. The team has made it very clear that they want an experienced driver in the second car and that Wehrlein isn't ready.
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Wehrlein seems to have dropped out of the running, he's signed to Sauber according to reports on many websites.
Guess that only leaves Bottas still standing as a candidate then.
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Bottas maybe trying for a contract longer than a year when Vettel and Alonso come onto the market, next years musical seats is going to be interesting!
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I didn't know that Toto Wolff is part of Bottas's management team.
Yeah that's interesting. Was Toto still at Williams when they first got Bottas? I think Team Principals should be forbidden to have management contracts with drivers, just in principle. :tease:
No kidding. How can you trust a driver whose financial security is handled by a guy running another team?
Seems like a major conflict of interests to me.They have enough to do without managing drivers on the side.
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I didn't know that Toto Wolff is part of Bottas's management team.
Yeah that's interesting. Was Toto still at Williams when they first got Bottas? I think Team Principals should be forbidden to have management contracts with drivers, just in principle. :tease:
No kidding. How can you trust a driver whose financial security is handled by a guy running another team?
Seems like a major conflict of interests to me.They have enough to do without managing drivers on the side.
More interesting is how does Toto negotiate with himself over Valtteri's deal at Merc?
...........does he have to talk to himself??? ;) :D :DD
Seriously though how can he serve Merc or Bottas well in this circumstance, he will know both sides of any negotiations so lays himself open, at the very least, to a perception of serving one at the expense of the other. If the actual race team managers in Merc team favour a one year deal and Bottas wants multi-year how on earth can Toto advise either?
Toto should have resigned his driver management role immediately Bottas was identified as a target for the seat, tough for Valtteri as he would have to accept strangers as his new guardians - but necessary for the good of all concerned.
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Sounds like Briatore and Alonso...unfortunately there is already a precedent.
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It might have worked in Valterri's favor in the past. I wonder if having Bottas get a race seat at Williams helped them get favorable terms on Mercedes engines? Getting him race experience while waiting for a seat to open at Merc might have been the plan all along.
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It might have worked in Valterri's favor in the past. I wonder if having Bottas get a race seat at Williams helped them get favorable terms on Mercedes engines? Getting him race experience while waiting for a seat to open at Merc might have been the plan all along.
If that's the case, then Bottas might receive far more support over Hamilton than Nico ever did. That could make things very interesting if you enjoy Hamilton's tantrums!
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Sounds like Briatore and Alonso...unfortunately there is already a precedent.
Ask Fisichelli how well tat worked out?I remember one race Alonso slowed down for some reason I can't remember and Alonso about had a fit.
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Mika Hakkinen is also a part of Bottas's management team. He confirms that talks with Mercedes are ongoing.
"The situation could not be better from the driver's side than being wanted and being a driver that is being sought after, especially by a team that has dominated Formula 1," Hakkinen told Finnish broadcaster MTV. "So this is a great situation. A dream situation."
Asked if there has been negotiations between Bottas and Mercedes, Hakkinen replied: "Yes, I'm sure there has been. What's going on there remains to be seen and it's not up to me.
"I am not going to joke around or say anything about [a deadline]. [The Mercedes drive] will be confirmed of course before the first race and there is not a long time before things will start happening. A good time before the first tests I am sure we will find out what is going to happen [this year]."
It would only seem logical that any deal would be in place before testing starts next month.
http://www.racer.com/f1/item/137603-f1-no-deal-but-hakkinen-confirms-bottas-talks