quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
The money offered to Daniel may have been a lot different too.
Red Bull seems to see the future in Max and although they say they will treat them equally, who knows.
Daniel is at the point in his career that he needs to start cashing in. He probably was working for Red Bull based on a longer term contract with options from before he was a star. He has been signed with them since he was an unknown they may have been paying relatively poorly.
Renault has been on an upswing the last two years but they were way behind when they started. Getting to the next level will be harder than getting from the back to mid-field.

A story I read tonight said that Verstappen's contract pays him the third most in F1, and they did not offer Ricciardo the same. Nothing like saying - hey, I know you win more than this other guy, but take less money and be the #2 driver.

quote:

Originally posted by 280nosler:

A story I read tonight said that Verstappen's contract pays him the third most in F1...

The seas of orange in the stands have to be a factor.

A few days ago it seemed like the top three teams would stay as-is next year.
Now the Red Bull seat is up for grabs and Kimi hasn't been re-signed as far as we know.
Lots of questions regarding the Force India situation and Williams, and likely some changes at Haas, Sauber and McLaren too.
Should be interesting. This is supposed to be the summer break and relaxation time but I bet a lot of people are worried about their jobs next year. I doubt the drivers agents are on any sort of vacation.

I imagine MB, Ferrari, RBR & Renault are feeling ok, the rest of the field less so.
FI & Williams probably at the bottom. Sauber's performance this season has been a massive performance increase.
STR & Haas probably ok, no idea on McLaren.

The 3 things Ricciardo wanted are ticked:

- The switch to Honda engines for the next 2 seasons
- Move to Mercedes if Lewis Hamilton doesn't re-sign
- Financial parity with Max Verstappen


The Red Bull garage is not big enough.


Ricciardo is fifth in the current 2018 driver standing.

He wants to be an F1 champion, beat a regular path to 2019 podium finishes. And get Renault the constructors for 2019.

And Christian Horner thought he was joking.

DR is at Renault for two years, I'd imagine hoping for a seat at Merc or Ferrari down the line. The Red Bulls have probably had the best chassis the last couple years, just not the raw speed. DR has had advantage with that car, that extra squirt on the twisty bits that have set up his countless passes. He won't have that in the Renault.

Despite his considerable race craft, I don't see Ricciardo as a standout qualifier and starting position is absolutely huge in F1.

In the right team at the right time, Daniel could easily be a WDC, he could just as easily never win one. If I had my way, he'd be at Merc, I'd love to see him head to head with Hamilton.

Force India F1 exited administration today with a new ownership group led by fellow F1 driver Lance Stroll's father - Lawrence Stroll.

It is widely being assumed that Sergio Perez will not have his contract renewed, and Lance Stroll will move to Force India at the end of the season. Additionally, many believe that the new company will take on a Mercedes B team feel, such as Haas and Alfa Romeo has with Ferrari.

https://www.formula1.com/en/la...administration-.html

Interesting.
Stroll better be careful what he wishes for.
This year he is racing against a questionable talent with less than half the F1 experience. At Force India it could be a lot different with either Ocon or Perez.
The Riccardo situation is another story. Reports are that he signed 2 years for 20 million pounds a year ($1.29 to a British pound) so he finally gets to cash in for a little financial security while he waits for an opportunity. Meanwhile his benchmark will be Nico Hulkenberg, not Max Verstappen. He also must be privy to some of the news out of Toro Roso concerning Honda progress this year.
Meanwhile in other news, Niki Lauda had a lung transplant recently after a serious infection, likely related earlier to burn injuries in 1976 (the doctor said no but what do they know).

An interesting story on Lauda here.

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/a5oypbl/

After his racing career he started his airline. Much like his racing, his attention to detail resulted in a well run airline with a perfect safety record. That ended in 1991 when a 767 crashed in Thailand killing all aboard. Boeing had a lot on the line to deflect any blame from their product.
The initial investigation blamed pilot error but Lauda didn't believe that. He went out into the jungle with the search parties and discovered the mechanical cause and proved why it wasn't possible for the pilots to overcome the problem. Without his persistence another major crash would have been the likely outcome.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
An interesting story on Lauda here.

https://www.carthrottle.com/post/a5oypbl/

After his racing career he started his airline. Much like his racing, his attention to detail resulted in a well run airline with a perfect safety record. That ended in 1991 when a 767 crashed in Thailand killing all aboard. Boeing had a lot on the line to deflect any blame from their product.
The initial investigation blamed pilot error but Lauda didn't believe that. He went out into the jungle with the search parties and discovered the mechanical cause and proved why it wasn't possible for the pilots to overcome the problem. Without his persistence another major crash would have been the likely outcome.

I like Niki, but that is something I did not know - thanks you for sharing!

He’s a larger than life character for sure.
I went to the Watkins Glen race in ‘76 where he finished 3rd, just weeks after his near life ending crash. He was still burned pretty badly but didn’t seem to want anyone to make a big deal about it and people mostly respected that and didn’t.
Hopefully he will recover and be back soon.

I knew he owned an airline, and that it had a crash, but didn't know about him being personally involved in investigating it.

Is it Sept. yet?

And where are all the pics of Shamilton jetting about to his yacht?

Made that comment yesterday. Only 16 days til Spa.

Alonso is teasing that he will have an announcement on the 14th. Who knows.
Force India now has some money to restart development that was halted due to lack of funds. Unfortunately they will only have the week before Spa to spend it due to the mandatory shut down for the summer break.
Looks like there will be a lot of movement in the drivers market soon.
Stroll likely to go to FI next year putting at least one driver out of the team, Williams likely losing the Stroll funding but opening up a seat in a backmarker team.
Red Bull will need a replacement for Riccardo. If it's Gasley there will be at least one but maybe two places at Toro Roso if Hartley gets the axe.
McLaren may need up to two if Alonso bails out.
Then there's still the question at Ferrari.
Haas and Sauber are likely to see some changes too.
I don't recall a year that this much action was happening in the driver market throughout the whole field. The driver managers/agents will be busy for a while.

Everyone keeps saying the Carlos Sainz is out of a job, but isn't he still under contract at Red Bull? Supposedly, he was just being loaned to Renault, and if you aren't putting Alonso or Hulkenberg in the 2nd Red Bull, you're just wasting a seat not putting Sainz back in the fold.

I had heard Sainz rumored to be part of a possible "Team Dad" venture at Force India/Stroll.

I think Sainz stock has fallen a bit since his Renault gig.
Nico Hulkenburg was once thought to be the next great thing but after years he just never seemed to have that little extra. He hasn't had a truly top ride but hasn't fared that well against teammates.
Now Nico seems to pulling ahead of Sainz just a bit and Carlos is looking more like a midfield driver, competent but not all that special.
Gasly has been mostly a bit under the radar but it's still his first full year and he has the Honda too. Time will tell if He's the real deal but I would be inclined to give him a shot if I were Red Bull.

Alonso announced his retirement, has not announced what is next. Sad to see him go, but will be happy to not see him in a lousy McLaren struggling. Great racer, not just a driver. Hope we see him in IndyCar

Here is my Updated guess at 2019 driver lineup:

Merc:
Hammy & Botas

Willaims Merc:
George Russell & Sirotkin (they need the $$$) Or Ocon

Soon to be renamed Force India Merc:
Stroll (daddy just bought the team) & Perez

Ferrari:
Vettel & LeClerc

Hass Ferrari:
Magnuson and Grosean (unchanged)

Sauber Ferrari:
Ericsson & Giovinazzi

Renault:
Ricciardo & Hulkberg

McLaren Renault:
Sainz &Lando Norris

Honda Red Bullshit:
Verstappen & Gasly (Sainz hates Dutch wonder boy)

Baby Honda Red Bullshit:
Some combination of Vandoorne, Kyfat & Hartly

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 280nosler,