2015 Silly Season Thread

[go_Rubens]

Based on Sainz's GP3 performance in 2013 I didn't think he'd make the F1 grade (fast but inconsistent) but after his FR3.5 season, I'm glad he's made it into Toro Rosso. However, I can't see either Sainz or Verstappen making it to Red Bull in the short term, as Red Bull will likely try to build the team around Ricciardo. I think RBR want to stick with Ricciardo and Kvyat for the long term, so for me that brings the question of where will Verstappen and Sainz go when they might be pushed out in favor of Gasly and Lynn? Sure, one of them might be promoted if Kvyat or Ricciardo don't perform but I can't see that happening at the moment.

[Captain Hammer]

It's a problem that Red Bull will face eventually - two quality drivers in both teams. In that case, I am guessing that they will try and build Toro Rosso up to be a front-runner.

[Ataxia]

It appears Sainz has decided to go for the #55 next season.

[andrew2209]

Apparently and according to a much maligned journalist/blogger, it is more pending on Ron Denis negotiations with some Danish sponsors. That is probably why he wants Magnussen to stay unlike pretty much anyone else bar the said Magnussen and respective family (and Button haters like Klon ).

The potential Danish sponsor is LEGO, and negotiations are strained, as LEGO insist the car is made out of LEGO bricks.

[Backmarker]

Apparently and according to a much maligned journalist/blogger, it is more pending on Ron Denis negotiations with some Danish sponsors. That is probably why he wants Magnussen to stay unlike pretty much anyone else bar the said Magnussen and respective family (and Button haters like Klon ).

The potential Danish sponsor is LEGO, and negotiations are strained, as LEGO insist the car is made out of LEGO bricks.

Kevin Magnussen

[Sublime_FA11C]

I'm not very controversial and i haven't a crappy musical career to speak of, but i'll controversially come out and state that i belive Magnussen will be retained by McLaren for 2015.

Looking at his form at the beginning of the year and comparing his lack of stunning performances in a 2014 crapbox to Bottas' in a 2013 crapbox makes me think his talent has been hidden somewhat. Bottas had Maldonado as a team mate, Magnussen had Button which must have helped setup and development wise, but it raised the bar as far as results go. It's only sensible to drop him if the team belive he is a washout, but no one in Formula 1 seems to belive that. Being outperformed by a veteran champion in a rookie year is pretty much expected and nothing to be ashamed of, he was far from a deadbeat teammate.

[DanielPT]

I'm not very controversial and i haven't a crappy musical career to speak of, but i'll controversially come out and state that i belive Magnussen will be retained by McLaren for 2015.

Looking at his form at the beginning of the year and comparing his lack of stunning performances in a 2014 crapbox to Bottas' in a 2013 crapbox makes me think his talent has been hidden somewhat. Bottas had Maldonado as a team mate, Magnussen had Button which must have helped setup and development wise, but it raised the bar as far as results go. It's only sensible to drop him if the team belive he is a washout, but no one in Formula 1 seems to belive that. Being outperformed by a veteran champion in a rookie year is pretty much expected and nothing to be ashamed of, he was far from a deadbeat teammate.

I too believe Magnussen will be retained. But only because Ron Dennis > Everyone else at McLaren. Nothing to do to his performance. It is true that being outperformed by a veteran former World Champion is ok. But he was not far from a deadbeat actually. He ended up losing 14-3 to Button on racing trim. That is only two better than Raikkonen who is considered the DBTMOTY. I expected more specially since that debut podium. But afterwards he never looked to threaten a podium again unlike Jenson. Another thing that I had mentioned before is if the Danish is chosen, how wise will be putting him in the wrong side of a beating at the hands of Alonso?

[James1978]

Yep.....Button was Whitmarsh's signing....as was Perez!!

[Sublime_FA11C]

...he was not far from a deadbeat actually. He ended up losing 14-3 to Button on racing trim.

Yes but in fairness, a rookie is expected to screw up occasionally which he did. He also threw away points/results as a direct result of Ron Dennis insisting that Kevin race aggresively and show no quarter to the big names. This caused car damage and drew the ire of other F1 drivers, notably Alonso and Vettel who even pushed Kevin to the edge of track once (it was completely unneccesary) to teach him some manners.

He even could have lost 14-3 even without other circumstances getting in the way as long as his ultimate pace was on par or close to Button's, which it more or less was. But my other thought was that Bottas was nowhere last year, and once he got a decent machine he delivered. Kevin is also very young in addition to being inexperienced. He asked the team to park him in Singapore because the heat and humidity fatigued him too much.

If F1 teams want to put teenagers in cars, then they better be prepared to stick with them and support them. Kvyat was another driver who was close to fainting in Singapore, and his bosses went on to promote him to a Red Bull drive. I hope Verstappen is given some time in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber to prepare for that race next year...

[DanielPT]

...he was not far from a deadbeat actually. He ended up losing 14-3 to Button on racing trim.

Yes but in fairness, a rookie is expected to screw up occasionally which he did. He also threw away points/results as a direct result of Ron Dennis insisting that Kevin race aggresively and show no quarter to the big names. This caused car damage and drew the ire of other F1 drivers, notably Alonso and Vettel who even pushed Kevin to the edge of track once (it was completely unneccesary) to teach him some manners.

There is even that going against Magnussen. But I'll admit that the stuff about aggressiveness is expected for a rookie, though he might have been over driving it. Those are indeed rough edges. He showed more pace in qualifying but still was beaten by Button (10-9), who isn't exactly known as a great qualifier. All in all, I still think Button is currently better than Magnussen and will still be in the next few years, I reckon. That, coupled with Stoffel Vandoorne waiting in the wings, means that McLaren don't need to go with the promising youngster now.

He even could have lost 14-3 even without other circumstances getting in the way as long as his ultimate pace was on par or close to Button's, which it more or less was. But my other thought was that Bottas was nowhere last year, and once he got a decent machine he delivered. Kevin is also very young in addition to being inexperienced. He asked the team to park him in Singapore because the heat and humidity fatigued him too much.

Bottas is an enigmatic case for me. He outscored Maldonado last year despite losing head-to-head. Maldonado isn't a slouch but he is not fantastic either so it was not a bad year for Bottas overall despite the car not allowing much. This year he ended with a flailing Massa as team-mate and was supposed to beat him, which he did, although a bit aided by a poor first part of the season from Massa, who, at the same time, endured the worst luck reliability wise. Now, I recognise some improvements from Massa this year and that is reflected in the later part of his season but nobody can convince me that he is suddenly back to 07 levels. So what narrowly beating an improved Massa tells us about Bottas? That he is the new Nico Rosberg.

[F1000X]

If F1 teams want to put teenagers in cars, then they better be prepared to stick with them and support them. Kvyat was another driver who was close to fainting in Singapore, and his bosses went on to promote him to a Red Bull drive. I hope Verstappen is given some time in a Hyperbolic Time Chamber to prepare for that race next year...

I see what you did there. Given that he is clearly the driver under the most public scrutiny and pressure to perform next year, it should come as no surprise if his career is in need of some senzu beans at the end of the season.

Bottas is an enigmatic case for me. He outscored Maldonado last year despite losing head-to-head. Maldonado isn't a slouch but he is not fantastic either so it was not a bad year for Bottas overall despite the car not allowing much. This year he ended with a flailing Massa as team-mate and was supposed to beat him, which he did, although a bit aided by a poor first part of the season from Massa, who, at the same time, endured the worst luck reliability wise. Now, I recognise some improvements from Massa this year and that is reflected in the later part of his season but nobody can convince me that he is suddenly back to 07 levels. So what narrowly beating an improved Massa tells us about Bottas? That he is the new Nico Rosberg.

Don't let him hear you say that.

[Sublime_FA11C]

Which one? Nico or Valtteri?

He [Kevin] showed more pace in qualifying but still was beaten by Button (10-9), who isn't exactly known as a great qualifier.

Sorry to keep nitpicking on your opinions. This "not a great qualifier" is almost a myth. Button deliberately sets up a car to have more race pace at the expense of maximising qualy results.

So what narrowly beating an improved Massa tells us about Bottas? That he is the new Nico Rosberg.

You're reading too much into stats i think. Bottas in 2014 confirmed that the praise heaped on him by Frank Williams was not misguided, whereas in 2013 it was considered that Bottas was a dissapointing rookie.

As for Verstappen and Senzu beans, what if he's too young to physically endure the race? I don't really belive that's the case, but i've never been though a Singapore GP, so what do i know?

[DanielPT]

Which one? Nico or Valtteri?

He [Kevin] showed more pace in qualifying but still was beaten by Button (10-9), who isn't exactly known as a great qualifier.

Sorry to keep nitpicking on your opinions. This "not a great qualifier" is almost a myth. Button deliberately sets up a car to have more race pace at the expense of maximising qualy results.

And I am sorry to keep nitpicking your nitpicking. That is precisely one of the reasons why he is not known as a great qualifier since maybe the Brawn days. The other is because he is not the type of racer of just nails a great qualy lap like others. He is a very smooth driver who is best suited to race and he takes advantage of it by setting-up the car that way. Whence not a great qualifier.

So what narrowly beating an improved Massa tells us about Bottas? That he is the new Nico Rosberg.

You're reading too much into stats i think. Bottas in 2014 confirmed that the praise heaped on him by Frank Williams was not misguided, whereas in 2013 it was considered that Bottas was a dissapointing rookie.

I am not reading too much into stats, I am just using them to back up my constant evaluation of him. And from what I've seen he lacks those special tenths to belong in the elite. Much like Rosberg really. And it is not like he is imune to pressure as Abu Dhabi springs to mind.

[Ataxia]

Why is being the new Nico Rosberg a bad thing? Hell, why is being the old Nico Rosberg a bad thing?

[DanielPT]

Why is being the new Nico Rosberg a bad thing? Hell, why is being the old Nico Rosberg a bad thing?

Beats me. But when I say being the new Nico Rosberg, I am talking about how difficult it is to measure his real abilities in the first years coupled with being a very quick driver but lacking those tenths that I talked about. That is how I currently evaluate Bottas. For instance Ricciardo is another kettle of fish. We all knew that Vettel was aided by having adapted the best to the best car but the way he, four time world champion, was decimated by Ricciardo... Well, it was amazing! Speaking about Vettel, I reckon Raikkonen will be closer to his team-mate next year.

[UncreativeUsername37]

korea wtf
Autosport has nothing to say (yet)

[dr-baker]

korea wtf
Autosport has nothing to say (yet)

It's now on both BBC and Autosport. Korea is 5th race of the year. Unknown if it'll remain in Mokpo or move to Seoul.

[Londoner]

Eurgh, not Korea again.

Worst thing about this is that it's on the same weekend as the 6 Hours of Spa...which was one of the WEC rounds that Hulkenberg was planning to do.

[dr-baker]

AND it's a 21-race calendar. I don't know what I think about that.

[F1000X]

korea wtf
Autosport has nothing to say (yet)

All these flyaway dates are helping to bankrupt the little teams.

[Ataxia]

So once again, we have to face the dull, tedious backdrop of Yeongam. Oh, goody.

[andrew]

So once again, we have to face the dull, tedious backdrop of Yeongam. Oh, goody.

Not necessarily, the way I read the article It seems that Korea is TBC still and it will either be Yeongam or Seoul

[Ataxia]

So once again, we have to face the dull, tedious backdrop of Yeongam. Oh, goody.

Not necessarily, the way I read the article It seems that Korea is TBC still and it will either be Yeongam or Seoul

If it IS Seoul, then that might be actually kinda cool. However, because Seoul is a good idea you can bet your bottom dollar that it won't be held there!

[Sublime_FA11C]

korea wtf
Autosport has nothing to say (yet)

All these flyaway dates are helping to bankrupt the little teams.

What little teams?

As it stands, this GP seems very unlikely. 1 week ahead of the Spanish GP is a pretty miserable slot for it. Much more likely the GP will be included provisionally to throw the organisers a lifeline before officially pushing the race into the 2016 calendar. We've seen GPs pushed back a year before.

[sswishbone]

No way this will happen, who is going to be able to promote and sell this race to attendees with less than six months to go? I am already looking at how to get Fuji WEC round in 2015, and that is in October.

[Backmarker]

I do wonder whether the Mexican Grand Prix will actually go ahead. I am dubious personally, there was still the majority of the work to be done at Hermanos Rodriguez as of June, so it wouldn't surprise me if it didn't happen.

[Bobby Doorknobs]

This is more 2016 than 2015, and it seems rather early for a 2016 thread, but anyway, Verstappen's youngest driver record is about to become unassailable: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/117026

I do wonder whether the Mexican Grand Prix will actually go ahead. I am dubious personally, there was still the majority of the work to be done at Hermanos Rodriguez as of June, so it wouldn't surprise me if it didn't happen.

IIRC there was still a lot of work to be done on Yeongam by the time the 2010 season started, so I wouldn't give up on Mexico just yet.

[mario]

korea wtf
Autosport has nothing to say (yet)

All these flyaway dates are helping to bankrupt the little teams.

What little teams?

As it stands, this GP seems very unlikely. 1 week ahead of the Spanish GP is a pretty miserable slot for it. Much more likely the GP will be included provisionally to throw the organisers a lifeline before officially pushing the race into the 2016 calendar. We've seen GPs pushed back a year before.

It's a fairly weird situation given that this race has been announced pretty much out of the blue.

None of the teams seem to have been calling for the return of this event and even from FOM's point of view the race makes limited sense since, IIRC, the circuit owners had difficulty in paying FOM for the last GP there. It also feels odd that, given the FIA has recommended that the races should be scheduled so there is less of a chance of rain occurring during the race in the wake of Bianchi's crash, that the race should be scheduled at a time of year where rainfall tends to be higher (average rainfall is higher in May than October in Korea). It all feels like a slightly hurried deal, as if they've simply pushed it onto the calendar somewhere and are hoping to sort the details out later.

[andrew2209]

When they say Korean Grand Prix, maybe it's actually in North Korea?

[WeirdKerr]

When they say Korean Grand Prix, maybe it's actually in North Korea?

you win the Internetz

[Nessafox]

When they say Korean Grand Prix, maybe it's actually in True Korea, the ONLY one, the one with the capital in the glorious city Pyongyang, under the leadership of the Dear Leaders General Kim-Jong Un and Eternal President Kim Il Sung?

Fixed.

[Collieafc]

korea wtf
Autosport has nothing to say (yet)

All these flyaway dates are helping to bankrupt the little teams.

Gah, you beat me to the punchline! But it is looking like, as the old GPRO joke goes, the most expensive calendar yet

Its probably there as part of the annual brinksmanship Bernie plays with select circuit organisers whos contracts are on a shoogly peg. That being said, if it was for that reason, surely it would have been better to fit it round Singapore and Japan, as we wont know if another event is likely to drop out until the season wears on. And Abu Dhabi at the end again?

[DemocalypseNow]

One week between Korea and Spain?

Bernie is clearly trying to mess with somebody. Is he trying to shut down any ideas of F1 drivers thinking about doing the crown jewel WEC events? Spa happens to be on the same weekend as the new Korea date. Or perhaps it's twofold and there's something else to it. Regardless, either someone at the FIA or Bernie is trying to stop someone from doing something. The choice to wedge Korea in there so poorly must surely have an ulterior motive.

[Zetec]

What a nonsense.

They fly the equipment to Australia, then Malaysia, then China and then to Bahrain, just to fly everything back again to Korea?

Better would be:
Australia
Malaysia
Korea
China
Bahrain

Anyway, 21 races means more than 4 engines for every driver. Is that right?

[AustralianStig]

And once again, we have 2 weeks between Australia and Malaysia...

F1 has no idea how to cost-cut.

[LionZoo]

When they say Korean Grand Prix, maybe it's actually in True Korea, the ONLY one, the one with the capital in the glorious city Pyongyang, under the leadership of the Dear Leaders General Kim-Jong Un and Eternal President Kim Il Sung?

Fixed.

You joke now, but Bernie does love his dictators.

[dr-baker]

When they say Korean Grand Prix, maybe it's actually in True Korea, the ONLY one, the one with the capital in the glorious city Pyongyang, under the leadership of the Dear Leaders General Kim-Jong Un and Eternal President Kim Il Sung?

Fixed.

You joke now, but Bernie does love his dictators.

After all, it takes one to know one (dictators in this case). (And that's Bernie and Kim Jong Un, not you LionZoo!)

[DanielPT]

One week between Korea and Spain?

Bernie is clearly trying to mess with somebody. Is he trying to shut down any ideas of F1 drivers thinking about doing the crown jewel WEC events? Spa happens to be on the same weekend as the new Korea date. Or perhaps it's twofold and there's something else to it. Regardless, either someone at the FIA or Bernie is trying to stop someone from doing something. The choice to wedge Korea in there so poorly must surely have an ulterior motive.

Indeed. When Bernie does things it is for a) taking a piss or b) he has some obscure objective in mind. This looks to be b) as you said.

[Bobby Doorknobs]

Alonso expected to be confirmed at McLaren in the next week, and McLaren won't let him race at Le Mans : http://adamcooperf1.com/2014/12/03/alon ... m-on-hold/

[Aguaman]

So once again, we have to face the dull, tedious backdrop of Yeongam. Oh, goody.

I loved 2010's race

It was muddy and just girtty that made it awesome