Katsuya

Damn. I feel for Stoff, but at the same time I'm glad to see Lando getting a chance. Kvyat is "moving closer" to the Toro Rosso seat again too. EDIT: Helmut Marko also said that they tried to get Giovanazzi for Toro Rosso, but he's apparently already signed up somewhere, which probably means he's off to Sauber.

Haas have had their cars disqualified after it turns out they ran with a floor that they knew was illegal. It means that Sirotkin moves up to P10, and therefore scores his first point - and it also means that this is the first season where every driver has scored a point. Provided that nobody comes in late, I guess. The Haas story is a lot more interesting though, it seems. Apparently, the FIA clarified rules on the floor before the summer break, and told teams they had until Monza to get this fixed. Haas apparently e-mailed the FIA and said that they wouldn't be able to get it fixed before Singapore, and asked for special exemption because of a shortage of parts etc. It seems that the FIA either never replied to the e-mail (which Haas then took as a "that's fine" signal), or said that they were free to run the floor, but if another team complained about it then they'd obviously be DQ'd. So Renault complained straight after the result, which also moved Haas above Renault in the Constructors - so either Renault happened to know about it, or they worked it out? Either way, Haas are appealing.

Chances that Kimi wins and announces his retirement?

Ericsson just had an almighty crash at Turn One, rolled one way and then the other. Looks like his DRS failed and it's also failed on Leclerc's, thankfully not resulting in a crash for him. Ericsson's okay too.

I suspect that Kvyat is only the option if Ticktum doesn't win F3 this year - that's the only way he can have enough points to get in the car. At the same time, a year out might have done Kvyat a wealth of good and he'll be able to come back and impress again. Also now the talk is Perez is going to McLaren and Ocon's staying at FI, but then another story came out today saying Perez is definitely staying at FI, and then there was the previous one saying he was off to Haas...at this point I almost want it all over and done with.

So it turns out that there's a very easy way to earn money now after all - if you find an abandoned building, you can mine the whispering eggs for a Larval Core. They sell for like 60,000 units each and you can get about 10-12 at one building. All you have to do to avoid the "Biological Horrors" from attacking you is to stand on something - so if you build a signal booster or something similar (or even stand on one of the eggs), they can't attack you and you can grab the Cores really easy.

I mean there's been a few times when drivers have slipped through the cracks and should have been signed - mainly Buemi/Vergne - but I think Ocon would be the worst example of someone missing out on a race seat in the last decade or so. I guess maybe Hulk having his off-year in 2011 because of Maldonado? Speaking of which, Ricciardo and Hulk will both take engine penalties; Ricciard to fit the new Renault engine, Hulk for the B-spec again, although given that Hulk had a 10-place drop anyway it really doesn't matter to him. Max also gets it but won't take a penalty.

Ocon confirmed that he went for a seat fitting at McLaren. Interestingly - it only says that he wouldn't fit in the 2018 McLaren, which might be a good sign for him for 2019. Apparently McLaren will announce Sainz's partner in September.

Two Point is out today!

Yeah, the on board from Hartley shows it pretty well too. Even if it might have been an inch or two away anyway, it’s an inch or two *too close*. Honestly, the fact Charles even drove that car away from the scene a little bit is just a remarkable testament to F1 safety these days

The shots of the halo with the tyre mark on it are the perfect example why it should be there

Feels pointless to post silly season stuff now given how crazy it’s got, but the newest rumour is that Perez has signed with Haas. EDIT: oh, and apparently Ocon physically does not fit in the McLaren 🤷‍♀️

Sometimes you've got to give Hamilton credit, that was pretty brilliant.

The merry-go-round continues. Apparently, Leclerc will move up to Haas (which honestly almost is turning in to a sideways move right now) and Giovanazzi will get the Sauber drive. Mercedes are also looking to put George Russell in to the Williams, with an agreement for reduced engine fees (which they'll probably need post-Stroll funding). Apparently Nikita Mazepin (4th in GP3) is also in the running because of his dad's money, but he'd need to win GP3 to have enough points on his Superlicense.

Apparently Vandoorne’s best time also had an issue in the first sector that lost him about half a second; even then though it’s pretty embarrassing.

So by the rules of F1, they have to keep Force India in the name until the end of the season - same with the name of the car (so that will remain the VJM11) - so next year it will just be Racing Point. Will be interesting to see what does happen in the driver market in the next week though...

I mean there's plenty of "it's a point for Racing Point" jokes to be made at least.

Force India is no more. Welcome...Racing Point. 🤷‍♀️ EDIT: It seems they're "Racing Point Force India" but I guess the FI bit will be dropped off sooner or later.

Bloody hell. Alonso rejected Red Bull

Hulk reveals a contract was drafted for him to replace Massa in 2014 at Ferrari, but then they went for Kimi.

I imagine that if JEV is going anywhere it’d probably be Williams or Haas. Can’t imagine him leaving to go back to Toro Rosso.

In even more fun silly season news: JEV has been approached about a race seat for 2019!

https://soymotor.com/noticias/lawrence-stroll-quiere-lance-en-force-india-desde-spa-953106?amp&__twitter_impression=true

Silly season might be going even crazier. New rumour is that Stroll will take Ocon's seat in Spa, with Ocon either taking the Williams drive or replacing Vandoorne (at his home GP, even). And then presumably, if Ocon goes to McLaren, then Kubica will be in the Williams.

Orwell is currently free at Humble Bundle, and having played it all last night then I can 100% recommend it heavily.