Formula One 2017

[Katsuya]

Renault are apparently chasing after Perez for 2018, which would be awkward for Alonso as it'd mean another seat disappearing that he could move to. Effectively would leave him stuck at McLaren, or maybe even trying at Force India (which I can't see as a good move). I guess the only caveat would be if Ferrari decide they want Perez.

[Lineker]

He'll just leave F1 in that eventuality.

[Katsuya]

1 minute ago, Lineker said:

He'll just leave F1 in that eventuality.

I suspect he's got an open offer for IndyCar right now. He won Rookie of the race too.

[JasonM]

I think with Bottas at Mercedes, Ferrari are certainly going to be hunting for Checo in the near future. It's their best option on the current grid in terms of age, experience, and talent level.

It would be either Perez, or a shock move from Ricciardo that would reunite him with Vettel at Ferrari, and i'm unsure whether or not Ricc would accept a role being Vettel's deputy again. And Red Bull seems to be a team that has no issues with having equal drivers between Max and Dan, if giving them both the best tools means winning titles.

There's also the 'if' Renault keeps growing and improving their ride, if they manage to break into the top 3 with a future car, the issue will be Hülkenberg who has proven himself a worthy #1 driver himself, and seems to have enough talent to be a title contender himself.

Right now there's too many good/great drivers, and not enough competitive team to house them all in. And I think retirement might become Alonso's best option if McLaren can't show significant progress before the end of the season. As much as he loves one last title contention, he has already reached his peak over a decade ago, and going into WEC or INDY would be a career choice with much more to gain. It's just wild that we speak of 'old guys' in guys like Massa and Alonso when they're in their mid 30s only. It's crazy to think how much younger the average has gotten in the past 5 or so years.

Either way, I think next winter might be a very interesting one depending on what the likes of Kimi, Massa, and Alonso will do with their careers. And guys like Perez, Sainz, Ocon, and possibly Dan or Max will look to take the next step in their careers.

Heck, not even someone like Lewis Hamilton seems safe from the 'retirement' rumours, if he can take a title this year.

[Katsuya]

In today's "I'm not going to get excited because I know it'll never happen properly" news, Kubica's testing Renault (/Lotus') 2012 car.

[Katsuya]

Okay look so I know this only adds fuel to the fire but he ended up doing over 100 laps and was faster than Sergey Sirotkin, Renault's *actual* test driver.

[Adam]

Apparently he might not be able to do certain circuits like Monaco due to the hard shifting because of his injury, but god damn I'd love to see him back on the grid. Renault might well have an opening this season if Palmer continues to underperform, imagine the story if Kubica returned in his place?

[Gazz]

I'd take a one-armed Kubica over Palmer.

[JasonM]

I think at this point Renault has little to nothing to lose by giving Kubica a racing seat and a year-to-year deal.

You could have brushed off last year for Palmer as simply being stuck in a bad car and having rookie struggles. And he wasn't far removed from K-Mag, either.
Now he has Hülkenberg next to him who consistently puts the car on great qualification spots, and has pulled in points in half of his races. Meanwhile Palmer has been poor both in qualification and in races, moving up places purely by not being unlucky, but never really challening for points at any point.

Kubica is a former race winner, and has worked his ass off to get back into a formula one car after what should've been a career ending injury. If he has the physical stamina to drive over a hundred laps during a test day, he should more than be capable of driving all but the toughest tracks (e.g. Monaco). And you really can't get worse than Palmer is doing right now. He's also only 32 years of age, which is still a reasonable racing age, even with the shifted average.

Also, it would probably do wonders for their general popularity, because everyone loves Kubica and everyone wants to see him drive F1 again.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Jasonmufc

[Adam]

Honda's engine updates won't be ready by Canada apparently.

It's getting to the point now where McLaren might as well sack Honda and drive an old tractor around the circuit. Not gonna do any worse.

[Chris2K]

I'd love to see Kubica back but I think there are big concerns that he wouldn't be able to use his right arm enough to tackle the tightest corners, Valencia is one thing but Monaco, Canada or any other track with a hairpin or a corner that requires full lock on a steering wheel won't be possible.

[Adam]

Does anyone ITK (or just with a good memory) know why Bruno Senna never got another crack at F1 after 2012? He always seemed to have great potential, performed okay at Renault as a stand-in and did perfectly fine at Williams but got replaced by Bottas after a solid season and hasn't been seen since in the sport.

[MDK]

[JasonM]

3 hours ago, Adam said:

Does anyone ITK (or just with a good memory) know why Bruno Senna never got another crack at F1 after 2012? He always seemed to have great potential, performed okay at Renault as a stand-in and did perfectly fine at Williams but got replaced by Bottas after a solid season and hasn't been seen since in the sport.

From what I recall, he had a bad attitude and not enough talent to compensate for his personality. And in the case of Williams F1, they've always been dedicated to the mantra that cars are more important than drivers always, so the choice to do away with Senna was an easy one for them.

He then opted to go to other classes, rather than take a seat in a Caterham, or Marussia. Since the better teams were all filled with very good drivers at the time, arguably the worst drivers were di Resta and Sutil, who both were pretty damn good all things considered.

[JasonM]

Alonso has said in the driver's interview that if McLaren gets a win before september, he'll stay for sure. And if not, then it'll be all up in the air.

So what are the odds of Nando going to WEC next year?

[Chris2K]

You'll never guess who broke down in first practice today...

[Adam]

He said his priority is to drive in F1 next season. I guess it's a question of if a competitive seat at the front of the grid becomes available?

[Katsuya]

What seems weird is that he offered to drive for free with (I think)  Mercedes. May have been Red Bull. So I don't understand why he wouldn't go to Renault for free, because by the sounds of it, money is the reason they can't/won't sign him. I can't imagine that they won't be back up there fighting for podiums by end of next season / 2019 by the latest.
 

[Lineker]

This is a cool new thing. 

[Katsuya]

Kubica on Sky Sports Italia today:

"Despite my limitations, i know that i can do what i did 6 years ago. I feel like a formula 1 driver and if there is opportunity - i am ready".