Let the fun of Driver RNGs begin. I will do the drivers by order of their championship standing last season.
Emerson Fittipaldi1-95 Ferrari (3) 1,000,000
96-99 March (2) 1,000,000
100 Williams (1) 1,000,000
Ferrari is his only front running offer.
RNG -
11 Fittipaldi wants the Ferrari but his position is dependent on either Lauda or Hunt turning their offers down.
Ronnie Peterson1-50 Lotus (2) 2,000,000
51-70 Brabham (2) 1,600,000
71-85 Tyrrell (1) 1,500,000
86-97 McLaren (1) 1,000,000
98-99 March (1) 1,000,000
100 Williams (2) 800,000
Peterson has lots of attractive offers though March and Williams are hardly worth considering.
RNG -
48 Peterson remains with Lotus.
Peter RevsonSurtees (1) 1,000,000
Just one offer to drive the #11 for Surtees. He accepts.
Denny HulmeNo Offers. So Hulme decides to call time on his F1 career.
Carlos Reutemann1-60 Brabham (1) 1,200,000
61-80 March (2) 1,000,000
81-99 McLaren (3) 500,000
100 Penske (2) 600,000
Brabham the obvious choice on paper with the most money though McLaren would be attractive if they were offering more money.
RNG -
49 Reutemann remains with Brabham.
James Hunt1-35 Ferrari (2) 1,000,000
36-70 Hesketh (1) 900,000
71-100 McLaren (5) 500,000
Ferrari offer more money and the promise of a top car but Hunt is vary of 'Ferrari Politics'. Hesketh are also offering a solid pay to keep him while taking less money for another top team in McLaren is also attractive.
RNG -
44 Hunt decides to remain loyal to Lord Hesketh and the party lifestyle surely didn't influence him either.
This means Fittipaldi can join Ferrari.
Jacky Ickx1-100 Lotus (1) 2,500,000
Are you kidding me? Williams (3) 600,000
Biggest salary on the grid for one of the top teams or peanuts for the small Williams team where he isn't even first choice? Simple choice really but to make things clear, he joins Lotus.
And that settles Lotus' lineup who prove that throwing money around can solve problems.
Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBrabham (2) 600,000
Brabham are the only offer on the table and he accepts but it depends on Carlos Pace turning them down.
José Carlos Pace1-50 Brabham (1) 800,000
51-90 Tyrrell (2) 600,000
91-100 Shadow (2) 650,000
Brabham offer the most cash and Tyrrell offers the championship defending team but the lowest salary.
RNG -
38 Pace chooses Brabham.
Arturo Merzario1-90 Tyrrell (3) 550,000
91-100 Surtees (3) 500,000
Tyrrell have the championship caliber team, Surtees have the low pressure of the midfield.
RNG -
57 Merzario wants Tyrrell but it depends on Scheckter turning them down.
Jackie OliverHesketh was the only offer and they got their first choice of Hunt. So he chooses to focus on Can-Am instead.
Andrea de Adamich1-95 Brabham (1) -150,000
96-100 Ferrari PT (3) -100,000 per race
Stay with Brabham where he gets the full season for less money or follow Patriotism for a far more expensive part time ride?
RNG -
87 De Adamich completes Brabham's lineup.
Wilson FittipaldiTrojan (3) -500,000
Trojan the only offer but he is their last resort. He has guarantee to get the required money from Copersucar. Stuck and Schuppan have priority on him though.
Niki Lauda1-85 Ferrari (1) 1,000,000
86-95 Tyrrell (2) 750,000
96-98 March (1) 1,000,000
99-100 Surtees (1) 1,000,000
Cheapskates McLaren (2) 500,000
McLaren are ruled out right away thanks to offering the smallest salary and little reputation thus far or whatever hilariously pragmatic reason Lauda would give. Ferrari are the obvious choice but Tyrrell are defending drivers champions. March and Surtees offer good salaries but barely register considering the other offers.
RNG -
78 Lauda signs with Ferrari completing their lineup in their full time cars.
Clay RegazzoniMarch (3) 1,000,000
March are the only remaining offer. He accepts.
Gijs van LennepHesketh PT (5) -30,000 per race
Hesketh's part-time ride is the only offer, he is final choice and he has to pay. He is able to raise a total of
31,000.
Howden Ganley1-90 BRM (2) 500,000
91-100 Williams (3) 100,000
BRM offer the better team and better salary.
RNG -
66 But depends on Hailwood turning them down.
Mike Hailwood1-60 BRM (1) 500,000
61-100 Penske (3) 525,000
Join the established BRM or take a chance on freshman team Penske for a little more cash?
RNG -
18 Hailwood signs with BRM. Thus Ganley turns to Williams who have Gethin and Belson ahead of him.
Jochen Mass1-90 Shadow (1) 100,000
91-100 Ensign (5) 100,000
Shadow are the more attractive offer.
RNG -
79 He signs with Shadow.
Henri PescaroloShadow (4) 500,000
Shadow is the only remaining offer but Jarier and Stommolen are ahead in the pecking order.
Jody Scheckter1-35 March (3) 1,000,000
36-70 Tyrrell (1) 650,000
71-95 McLaren (4) 500,000
96-100 Surtees (3) 500,000
March offer the most money but Tyrrell and McLaren are the top teams.
RNG -
83 McLaren finally get a driver as Scheckter is promoted to a full-time role. This means Merzario gets to join Tyrrell.
Rolf Stommelen1-90 Shadow (3) 600,000
91-100 Trojan (2) 500,000
RNG -
86 Stommelen chooses Shadow but depends on Jarier turning them down. This puts Pescarolo out of the frame with the team and he will have to turn to Surtees.
Jean-Pierre Jarier1-60 Tyrrell (3) 700,000
61-90 McLaren (6) 500,000
91-95 Surtees (2) 750,000
96-100 Shadow (1) 700,000
Jarier gets a surprisingly amount of offers considering he is yet to finish a Grand Prix in the top 10. Tyrrell is the best offer and he is their only remaining bid, same case for McLaren. Surtees and Shadow offer more money but only mid-field cars.
RNG -
39 Jarier completes Tyrrell's lineup. This means Stommolen gets to join Shadow. This also means that Pescarolo is the final bid for Surtees.
Rikky von Opel1-60 Williams (4) 100,000
71-100 McLaren (3) Pay Driver
Payed driver with midfield team Williams or try to raise money for top team McLaren who only have their pay driver bids left?
RNG -
53 Von Opel joins the queue waiting for a Williams drive where Gethin, Belso and Ganley are all ahead.
Tim SchenkenTrojan (1) 500,000
Trojan is the only offer and he is top choice. He signs.
John Watson1-50 Goldie Hexagon (1) 150,000
51-90 BRM (1) 50,000
91-100 Ensign (2) 100,000
You're Kidding Me Right? Hesketh PT (2) 20,000 per race
BRM offer peanuts but an established car and Goldie Hexagon have a decent car in the 73 Brabham and the best salary. Watson dismisses the Hesketh offer entirely given it is part-time and requiring money.
RNG -
63 Watson takes the conservative option in BRM.
Reine WisellEnsign (1) 550,000
Ensign is the only offer and he is first choice. He accepts.
Peter GethinWilliams (1) 200,000
Williams are the only remaining offer and he accepts. This means Belson, Ganley and von Opel have to depend on the other car being turned down by Laffite.
Mark DonohuePenske (1) 700,000
Penske are the only offer and he accepts.
Tony BrisePenske PT (1) 35,000 per race
Penske's second part-time car is the only offer remaining. Brise accepts.
Tom Pryce1-60 BRM (1) 50,000
71-100 Hesketh PT (1) 30,000 per race
BRM are the only full-time offer but Hesketh's part-time ride could give him more money depending on how many races he gets.
RNG -
29 Pryce signs for BRM completing their lineup.
Alan Jones 1-95 Hold out for paying drive.
96-100 Token (2) -400,000
Token are the only remaining offer and he has to find 400,000 for them, which is very unlikely and his pride might not be able to take it. However he knows that some of the established teams have run out of bids cough McLaren cough so the best option might be to try and make a deal with one of them.
RNG -
92 Jones decides to see if McLaren or March make an offer later.
A.J. Foyt1-70 Stick to USAC
71-100 Parnelli (1) 1,000,000
Parnelli have gone full left-field in offering Foyt a shot at F1.
RNG -
4 Foyt chooses to stick to USAC. But remains open to competing in the North American races.
Al Unser1-50 Stick to USAC
51-100 Parnelli (2) 1,000,000
Same decision to make as Foyt but Unser is more open to the idea of a switch to F1 given he is already with Parnelli's USAC team.
RNG -
56 Unser switches to F1 with Parnelli.
Jean-Pierre JabouilleToken (1) -400,000
Token's pay-driver mobile is the only offer. He is able to raise 180,000 for the season and hopes it is enough.
Jacques LaffiteWilliams (4) 150,000
Williams is the remaining offer and he accepts completing their lineup.
Richard Robarts Goldie Hexagon (2) 100,000
Only offer on the table and he accepts.
Leo KinnunenAAW Racing Team 100,000
Kinnunen joins his native team.
Brett LungerMcLaren (1) Pay Driver
McLaren's paydriver-Mobile is the only offer. Lunger is able to raise 415,000 for the season.
Tom BelsøMcLaren (2) Pay Driver
Belsø is able to raise 240,000 for the season.
Ricky von OpelMcLaren (3) Pay Driver
Is able to raise 660,000 for the season.
Hans-Jo Stuck1-70 Stick with Formula Two
71-100 Trojan (1) -500,000
Trojan are the only offer wanting him to pay Schenken's salary. Stuck is unlikely to raise 500k and may opt to continue gaining experience in Formula 2.
RNG -
40 Stays in F2.
Vern SchuppanTrojan (2) -500,000
Schuppan is only able to raise 180,000 for the season and hopes it is enough to trump Fittipaldi's bag of real from Copersucar.
Francois MigaultHesketh PT (3) 10,000 per race
Hesketh's #25 is the only offer. He accepts.
Lella Lombardi1-60 Ferrari PT (1) -100,000 per race
61-100 Amon (1) 0
Rip Off Token PT (2) -500,000
Pay money for part-time drive with Ferrari or take a free drive with likely backmarkers, Amon?
RNG -
26 Lombardi raises 340,000 and wants at least three races.
Harald ErtlAmon (2) 0
Ertl accepts and is able to offer 320,000 for the season.
Vittorio Brambilla1-50 Ferrari PT (2) -100,000 per race
51-90 Token (3) -400,000
91-100 Hesketh PT (4) -30,000 per race
RNG -
84 Brambilla chooses a full season with Token and is able to raise 260,000 plus the promise of raw speed and good wet-weather skills. He hopes this is enough.
Alberto ColomboFerrari PT (4) -100,000 per race
Colombo offers 144,000 to Ferrari for at least one race.
Giancarlo MartiniFerrari PT (5) -100,000 per race
Martini offers 107,000 to Ferrari for one race.
Alessandro Pesenti-RossiFerrari PT (6) -100,000 per race
Pesenti-Rossi offers 176,000 to Ferrari for at least one race.
Maurizio FlamminiFerrari PT (7) -100,000 per race
Flammini offers 134,000 to Ferrari for at least one race.
Ernesto BrambillaFerrari PT (8) -100,000 per race
Flammini offers 127,000 to Ferrari for at least one race.
Motoharu KurosawaMaki (1) Pay Driver
Motoharu Kurosawa is able to raise 225,000 for however many races he can get.
Noritake TakaharaMaki (2) Pay Driver
Noritake Takahara is able to raise 120,000 for however many races he can get.
Hiroshi FushidaMaki (3) Pay Driver
Hiroshi Fushida is able to raise 91,000 for however many races he can get.
All three hope to convince Maki to enter an extra car for Japan.
Teddy PiletteToken PT (1) -600,000
Teddy Pilette is able to offer 255,000 for the part-time Token ride. He hopes for at least four races.
So most notably, the March #10 and McLaren #55 are still vacant. Here are a list of the most notable free agents below.
Mario Andretti (North American races)
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Patrick Depailler
Denny Hulme (McLaren only, otherwise he retires)
Alan Jones
The rest of the TBAs left on the wiki are simply the case of which pay drivers do you want to use?
In summary the choices are.
#2 MakiMotoharu Kurosawa - 225,000 (Whatever races he can get)
Noritake Takahara -120,000 (Whatever races he can get)
Hiroshi Fushida - 91,000 (Whatever races he can get)
#42 TrojanWilson Fittipaldi - 500,000 (Full Season)
Vern Schuppan - 180,000 (Whatever races he can get)
#56 McLarenBrett Lunger - 415,000 (Full Season)
Tom Belsø - 240,000 (Full Season)
Rikky von Opel - 660,000 (Full Season)
#98/#99 TokenVittorio Brambilla 260,000 (Whatever races he can get in either the #98 or #99)
Teddy Pilette 255,000 (Whatever races he can get in either the #98 or #99)
Jean-Pierre Jabouille 180,000 (Whatever races he can get in either the #98 or #99)
#25 HeskethGijs van Lennep - 31,000 (One race, preferably the Dutch GP)
#46 FerrariLella Lombardi - 340,000 (At least three races)
Alberto Colombo - 144,000 (At least one race)
Giancarlo Martini - 107,000 (One race)
Alessandro Pesenti-Rossi - 176,000 (At least one race)
Maurizio Flammini - 134,000 (At least one race)
Ernesto Brambilla - 127,000 (At least one race)
Once you have sorted all these loose ends the next step will be for me to PM your car and engine stats.
Niki Lauda (receive a salary of 1,000,000)
James Hunt (receive a salary of 1,000,000)
Emerson Fittipaldi (receive a salary of 1,000,000)
Jody Scheckter (receive a salary of 1,000,000)
Alan Jones (receive a salary of 1,000,000)
Johnny Rutherford (receive a salary of 1,000,000)
Lella Lombardy (to bring 100,000 per race)
