Formula One 2017

[Adam]

4 hours ago, Jasonmufc said:

di Resta looked very good for a guy who only got 11 laps under his belt in that Q1 session. I can honestly see him have a decent showing tomorrow as he gets more used to the car and the track evolves.

But if Stroll gets outrace by a reserve drive who hasn't driven F1 in 3 years... Yeah, he'll look like even bigger shit.

Dude came 3rd in Canada a couple of races ago, sure he's bought some goodwill there at least. I always thought Di Resta was a potential champion when he was on the grid before, would be lovely to see him back in a race seat next season somehow.

[The Lusophone]

Good race by the sounds of it, and growing tension between the two Red Bulls is an interesting development.

[JasonM]

12 minutes ago, MadJack said:

Good race by the sounds of it, and growing tension between the two Red Bulls is an interesting development.

Nah, Max apologized on Dutch TV for taking out Ricciardo. And Dan had already said that if Max apologized there wouldn't be hard feelings.

Shit happens, they're gonna talk it out. 

[Katsuya]

Yeah, I think Ricciardo was a bit hot-heated to begin with too - they pointed out on commentary that he was actually wrong when he was saying Max was trying to overtake him, and it was actually Ricciardo who was trying to overtake Max at that point.

Wasn't exactly a great race for on-track action, but was a pretty gripping one in terms of what was happening and the problems for the top two teams. The Merc's not having radio proved interesting and Vettel's handling going off made it a lot closer, even if the track kind of stopped anything happening from there. Also, fair play to Lewis in giving up 3rd place back to Bottas, he probably had pulled well enough away that he might have had reason to say "well I don't have to give it back". Will be interesting if those 3 points prove important by the end of the year.

[Lineker]

Quote

Renault driver Hulkenberg was angered by Magnussen's robust late-race defensive driving and approached the Dane during media interviews to sarcastically congratulate him on being "the most unsporting driver".

In response, Magnussen told the German: "Suck my balls, honey."

[Adam]

Surely he didn't. 

[JasonM]

Oh yes he did

https://streamable.com/ajpsl

[Adam]

Wow. Fucking ace.

[LUKIE]

Magnussen ran him straight off the fucking track!

[Katsuya]

So Kubica did the test today, and his fastest lap was about a tenth off Palmer's best lap in Q2. So not on Hulk's pace, but the end of the session was marred by lots of red flags so maybe he could have gone quicker.

More importantly he effectively did 2 race distances, and has done enough to earn his super licence again.

[Lineker]

If Renault don't sign him up then someone else will.

[Adam]

Right, I'm already bored of this mid-season break and have been looking at the driver market and as-yet unfilled slots for next season.

Do we think Alonso is going to leave McLaren / F1 altogether? If so, who replaces him? Perez?

For that matter, who do Williams replace Massa with, presuming he is only back for this one year as a last minute favour?

If Kubica doesn't come back, who goes to Renault? Cos Palmer surely isn't sticking around.

Does Gasly take Kvyat's Toro Rosso seat? Does Giovinazzi join Wehrlein at Sauber?

[The Lusophone]

I hope he doesn't leave McLaren because I like him there, but if they don't sort out the engine or at least make significant progress to, I can't see him staying.

[JasonM]

On 6-8-2017 at 21:21, Dwight K. Schrute said:

Right, I'm already bored of this mid-season break and have been looking at the driver market and as-yet unfilled slots for next season.

Do we think Alonso is going to leave McLaren / F1 altogether? If so, who replaces him? Perez?

For that matter, who do Williams replace Massa with, presuming he is only back for this one year as a last minute favour?

If Kubica doesn't come back, who goes to Renault? Cos Palmer surely isn't sticking around.

Does Gasly take Kvyat's Toro Rosso seat? Does Giovinazzi join Wehrlein at Sauber?

Kvyat's is pretty much out of F1 unless Marko needs someone to fill up a seat for any amount of time. Kvyat's been getting worse and worse since his demotion (and those weeks leading up to it), and the kid can't seemingly give himself a break, let alone catch one with that attitude.

At Williams, I think they'll once more go for the affordable option and promote Paul di Resta back into F1 full-time, his showing in Hungary made it clear he has plenty of pace even if he hadn't even drove ANY V6 era car prior!

The Renault car is a toss-up, mostly based on whether they want Kubica or not. If they don't want him, I'll see them make a cheeky play for any of the French drivers on the grid because a guy like Ocon is mad talented, and he'll help further the francophile attitude of Renault.

Gio is undoubtedly going to Sauber, but it won't be Ericsson that'll be out of a seat next year, Wehrlein is a Mercedes kid and they won't want him around in a pro-Ferrari paddock. Additionally Ericsson's sponsors are also majority owner of Sauber F1, so unless he has a falling out I can't see him getting dropped by the team.

This will leave Wehrlein out of F1 most likely, he's been better than Ericsson but at the same time not jaw-droppingly so. I see him dropping back into reserve-driving for Merc and doing a different motorsport on the side.

Despite Sainz having been announced for an STR seat in 2018, I don't know if that'll hold up by the time next season rolls around. He's had a very petulant attitude lately, and he feels he's entitled to driving for the main team ahead of either Max or Ricc (I assume he'd love to push Max out, who himself is always brought into context with Merc/Ferrari). If he can't get that, I can see him trying to sell himself to teams like Renault, Force india or Williams F1, and where applicable I could hazard him buying out his own contract to make such a move happen.

Alonso I see making one final desperate play for a Merc/Ferrari seat, and if Honda doesn't improve greatly (McLaren showed the chassis is top notch in Hungary), then he'll just fuck off and go hunt his triple crown. It's a shame, and I want to see Alonso competitive, but at the same time he's just wasting away at what is essentially a mid-field team in a formula that's getting deeper.

Crazy picks:
Alonso to Renault F1 on a 1 year deal to make a push at the top 4
Vettel to Merc (Merc loves Hamilton, but they'd love a 4 time German champion who could help them push for Schumi's record, personality clashes be damned.)
Ricc to Ferrari (If Vettel goes to Merc, then I see Ricc going to Ferrari rather than Max who Red Bull are protecting like banshees)

Edited August 8, 2017 by Jasonmufc

[Lineker]

I can see Leclerc getting in over Gioninazzi.

[hugobomb]

8 minutes ago, Lineker said:

I can see Leclerc getting in over Gioninazzi.

 

[Lineker]

Talks between Toro Rosso and Honda regarding an engine supply deal for 2018 have collapsed.

[Adam]

Hardly surprising, Sauber reneged on their deal and now this. Are McLaren still actively looking to get out of their deal with them?

[Lineker]

McLaren are going to have no choice but to stick with them. Renault won't want to supply more than three teams (including themselves).

[Adam]

1 hour ago, Lineker said:

McLaren are going to have no choice but to stick with them. Renault won't want to supply more than three teams (including themselves).

And is a return to Mercedes out of the question?

I hope they sort out the engine rules and spec for 2021 to allow more independent suppliers a shot at F1 again. When I got into the sport the grid had 7/8 different engine suppliers, now there's four and Honda only supply one team, so there's primarily only three.