2018 F1 News Thread

I have no idea if there is any credibility to the rumor that Andretti Autosport is interested in taking over financially-troubled Force India. I'm sure Liberty Media would be thrilled if it happened...

 
LewTheShoe said:
I have no idea if there is any credibility to the rumor that Andretti Autosport is interested in taking over financially-troubled Force India. I'm sure Liberty Media would be thrilled if it happened...

Click to expand...

This sounds like a terrible idea.
 
FLRacingFan said:
This sounds like a terrible idea.
Click to expand...

Michael seems smart that in he takes the Penske approach of if Andretti Autosport is going to do something, someone else is going to pay for it.

Who's paying for Andretti to do F1 if it's not Honda?
 
If this were to happen, could we see Alonso and Marco as teammates? Just saying!
 
Doc Austin said:
Pretty sure Andretti would go with Honda, which would free up a Merc engine. Wouldn't it be cool to see Red Bull with a Merc engine?
Click to expand...
Red Bull probably go Honda when they make their decision later this month. Mercedes (and Ferrari) won't supply one of their two biggest challengers.

Privateer said:
Michael seems smart that in he takes the Penske approach of if Andretti Autosport is going to do something, someone else is going to pay for it.

Who's paying for Andretti to do F1 if it's not Honda?
Click to expand...
Andretti will need a lot of buy-in from other investors even if an OEM helps foot some of the costs. Could be a case where Andretti owns a stake in the team, most of the team owned by others, but the main focus is running the team. Andretti won't be getting full factory backing from anyone.

Haas get not insignificant help and supplies from Ferrari but even they are midfield at best. I just can't see it being worthwhile while Ferrari and Mercedes continue to pull the strings and spend money out the ass in F1.
 
Mispeedway15 said:
I like those changes a lot. They finally fell inline with the lower downforce is better
Click to expand...
I don't think it'll be a cure-all, as we'll probably have to wait for the all-new regs reset in 2021 for that to happen. But it almost certainly can't help but move the needle a little bit - when Montreal, of all places, has 13 overtakes then you know things are bad (lowest from 2010-2017 there was 31).
 
Interesting table: (via Reddit)
Td553R5.jpg


Mercedes is sitting pretty, I mean holy moly look at Williams with plenty of spare parts. Puts into perspective just how solid the Merc engine is.
 
Stroll might be heading to Force India who needs someone to buy the team:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/stroll-linked-force-india-move-williams-1061540/

Stroll might be a huge hit to the market and getting the ball rolling in the mid-field. If, Stroll signs with FI, who will be walking in Perez or Ocon? Perez has big financial backing and Ocon gives a major engine discount.

I think Perez will walk then and Haas would be a pretty good destination for Perez to replace Grojsean. Also, it would be an injection of funds needed for Haas so Gene does not have to fund the races. A Magnussen and Perez duo sounds intrieging. Ocon and Stroll at Force India, then that leaves a seat open for Williams and Sainz is not confirmed with Renault.

Brendan Hartley will likely be gone at STR, at least IMHO. That leaves Sauber and Williams, will Ericisson stay at Sauber? Will Gio get that seat with the Alfa money there, I can see it happening. Williams would be a dead duck in water if Stroll pulls out and Martini leaving. Kubica has been rumored to be the TD for Haas, so Williams has a LOT of questions and no answers.

2019 is making my head hurt already.
 
Kiante said:
Brendan Hartley will likely be gone at STR, at least IMHO. That leaves Sauber and Williams, will Ericisson stay at Sauber? Will Gio get that seat with the Alfa money there, I can see it happening. Williams would be a dead duck in water if Stroll pulls out and Martini leaving. Kubica has been rumored to be the TD for Haas, so Williams has a LOT of questions and no answers.
Click to expand...
I don't know why Ericsson should leave Sauber, considering the huge financial backing he has. Also he hasn't been bad this season.
Hartley is likely going to be out at STR after this season. He could be replaced by RedBull junior driver Dan Ticktum if Ticktum wins the European F3 Championship (currently 13 points back with 18 races to go).

Rumour was that Räikkönen could leave Ferrari (and most likely F1 as well) and be replaced by Leclerc.
 
donthaveanickname said:
I don't know why Ericsson should leave Sauber, considering the huge financial backing he has. Also he hasn't been bad this season.
Hartley is likely going to be out at STR after this season. He could be replaced by RedBull junior driver Dan Ticktum if Ticktum wins the European F3 Championship (currently 13 points back with 18 races to go).

Rumour was that Räikkönen could leave Ferrari (and most likely F1 as well) and be replaced by Leclerc.
Click to expand...
Agreed that Ericsson stays with Sauber. He is basically ingrained there until his backers tire of him or Sauber or he wants to go do something else.

I also agree that Hartley is unfortunately probably out after this year, but that is the Red Bull way of life. He's had a ton of bad luck this year and not much real opportunity to showcase his ability. I don't think Ticktum can do F1 next year though, even if wins F3. Not enough Super License points I think in part due to his antics at Silverstone a few years ago.

Whatever Ferrari do with Kimi will really get the ball rolling.

And if what @Kiante says is true, Williams may truly be on the brink...
 
FLRacingFan said:
I don't think Ticktum can do F1 next year though, even if wins F3. Not enough Super License points I think in part due to his antics at Silverstone a few years ago.
Click to expand...
He'd have enough super license points if he wins F3 this year.
I do not really see another candidate for that seat. The two drivers who are dominating F2 (Russell and Norris) surely won't drive for STR and I don't see another F2 driver who could step up to F1.
 
donthaveanickname said:
He'd have enough super license points if he wins F3 this year.
I do not really see another candidate for that seat. The two drivers who are dominating F2 (Russell and Norris) surely won't drive for STR and I don't see another F2 driver who could step up to F1.
Click to expand...
I think they cut it from 40 to 30 points for winning Euro F3 to prevent another Verstappen from leapfrogging F2 so easily. He doesn’t have enough to test this month either.
 
Kiante said:
I think Perez will walk then and Haas would be a pretty good destination for Perez to replace Grojsean. Also, it would be an injection of funds needed for Haas so Gene does not have to fund the races. A Magnussen and Perez duo sounds intrieging. Ocon and Stroll at Force India, then that leaves a seat open for Williams and Sainz is not confirmed with Renault.
Click to expand...
If there's a seat open at Williams it could also be taken by George Russell, who is a member of Mercedes' driver development programme.

I also see the possibility that Vandoorne, who was outqualified by Alonso in every single race weekend this year, is replaced by Norris. But it's also possible that Vandorrne stays at least two more years and Norris moves up in 2020, when Alonso might switch to IndyCar.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/sauber-raikkonen-return-vasseur-1061977/
That'd be really interesting, but I don't think Räikkönen wants to run in the bottom half of the field, so Giovinazzi remains most likely to replace Leclerc if he moves up to Ferrari.

Could be a very strong Rookie class in 2019.
 
Force India has been forced into administration, roughly the U.K. equivalent of bankruptcy. I doubt anyone is surprised...

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/force-india-formula-1-administration-1064873/

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why-perez-took-action-against-force-india-1064955/

Force India went into administration on Friday evening after a hearing at the High Court in London. The process in effect allows the team to carry on operating while a deal is concluded with a potential new owner.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley, who stayed in London for the hearing instead of travelling to Hungary, told Motorsport.com last night: “An administrator was appointed by the court for Force India F1 this evening.”

No other official comment has been forthcoming from the team thus far.

Force India has faced an increasingly tight financial squeeze this season, with driver Sergio Perez calling the situation “critical” on Thursday, especially as the team couldn’t afford to bring developments to the car.

The team has owed money to several creditors, notably engine and gearbox supplier Mercedes and Perez himself. It’s understood that both parties were involved in the action that led to yesterday’s developments.

Several potential buyers and investors have been connected to the team in recent months, notably Lawrence Stroll. COO Otmar Szafnauer said on Friday that news was expected soon.
 
LewTheShoe said:
Force India has been forced into administration, roughly the U.K. equivalent of bankruptcy. I doubt anyone is surprised...

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/force-india-formula-1-administration-1064873/

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why-perez-took-action-against-force-india-1064955/

Force India went into administration on Friday evening after a hearing at the High Court in London. The process in effect allows the team to carry on operating while a deal is concluded with a potential new owner.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley, who stayed in London for the hearing instead of travelling to Hungary, told Motorsport.com last night: “An administrator was appointed by the court for Force India F1 this evening.”

No other official comment has been forthcoming from the team thus far.

Force India has faced an increasingly tight financial squeeze this season, with driver Sergio Perez calling the situation “critical” on Thursday, especially as the team couldn’t afford to bring developments to the car.

The team has owed money to several creditors, notably engine and gearbox supplier Mercedes and Perez himself. It’s understood that both parties were involved in the action that led to yesterday’s developments.

Several potential buyers and investors have been connected to the team in recent months, notably Lawrence Stroll. COO Otmar Szafnauer said on Friday that news was expected soon.
Click to expand...
Hopefully they can find someone to take over, even if it's Stroll buying an entire F1 team for his own kid...losing a solid midfield team would not be good for F1

Lord knows what that would do for Williams though. Not good.
 
Snappy D said:
Stunner. Has to be going to Renault or McLaren I would bet. The real intrigue is who takes over his seat? I’d love to see Fernando make a go of it for a year or two until one of the RBR junior drivers is ready
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/formula...o-leave-red-bull-end-2018-formula-one-season/
Click to expand...
One last "**** you" from Renault to Red Bull. :)

Daniel Ricciardo joins Renault Sport Formula One Team from 2019
https://www.renaultsport.com/daniel-ricciardo-joins-renault-sport-formula-one-team-from-2019.html
 
FLRacingFan said:
One last "**** you" from Renault to Red Bull. :)

Daniel Ricciardo joins Renault Sport Formula One Team from 2019
https://www.renaultsport.com/daniel-ricciardo-joins-renault-sport-formula-one-team-from-2019.html
Click to expand...

Renault is trending in the right direction though. A Ricciardo and Hulkenburg lineup sounds insane on paper. I guess the Honda signing and the team just did not suit him anymore. At the same time, Daniel not getting signed by Ferrari or Mercedes hurt him a lot.

This could be a Lewis esque move in '13 or Alonso going back to Renault in '08 (semi-successful) or worse Alonso going back to McLaren in '15.

This could has the potential to a field shifting move.
 
FLRacingFan said:
One last "**** you" from Renault to Red Bull. :)

Daniel Ricciardo joins Renault Sport Formula One Team from 2019
https://www.renaultsport.com/daniel-ricciardo-joins-renault-sport-formula-one-team-from-2019.html
Click to expand...
Really interesting move, I thought he'd stay with RedBull.
I don't really think he'll be able to contend for wins in 2019, considering how far back Renault is behind RedBull, Mercedes and Ferrari at the moment but Renault has been improving over the last years and they might be able to contend for a few podiums next year.
I'm really curious who's gonna replace him at RedBull now. Maybe Sainz comes back to RBR, but I also could see RBR "stealing" Leclerc.
 
It's a good move personally. I know Ricciardo has been wanting #1 status for a while and I think he felt as if he needed to get out from under the shadow that is Verstappen even though Ricciardo is a better driver in my opinion and has the wins and stats to back it up.

All the best to him. I've always liked him.
 
donthaveanickname said:
Really interesting move, I thought he'd stay with RedBull.
I don't really think he'll be able to contend for wins in 2019, considering how far back Renault is behind RedBull, Mercedes and Ferrari at the moment but Renault has been improving over the last years and they might be able to contend for a few podiums next year.
I'm really curious who's gonna replace him at RedBull now. Maybe Sainz comes back to RBR, but I also could see RBR "stealing" Leclerc.
Click to expand...
I wonder if they'd call Gasly up that quickly. I think Sainz is technically still on loan from them, but did he and Verstappen not get along at Toro Rosso?

Regardless, it's gotta be someone really young. Seems like that's Red Bull's M.O.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Introducing Stroll Force:

Stroll-backed consortium saves Force India
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/force-india-bid-stroll-consortium-administration/3155471/?nrt=54
Click to expand...
Stroll now has that ride secured until the end of his career. Still way better than losing an F1 team.
StandOnIt said:
This bunch didn't pull any punches ouch

Red Bull rules out signing Fernando Alonso because he causes 'chaos'

http://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/24326646/red-bull-rules-signing-fernando-alonso-causes-chaos
Click to expand...
​
LOL, but that's a fair point. I don't think Verstappen and Alonso could work together for more than five races.
That's one of the most interesting silly seasons for years.
 
donthaveanickname said:
Stroll now has that ride secured until the end of his career. Still way better than losing an F1 team.
​
LOL, but that's a fair point. I don't think Verstappen and Alonso could work together for more than five races.
That's one of the most interesting silly seasons for years.
Click to expand...
Point is not only did they say that, but they also pulled out the age card. They had another way to go like saying they had no plans to employ Alonso, but they went this way. He must have pissed them off at some point, or they are good at being jackasses..like they say Alonso is. :D
 
Last edited:
StandOnIt said:
Point is not only did they say that, but they also pulled out the age card. They had another way to go like saying they had no plans to employ Alonso, but they went this way. He must have pissed them off at some point, or they are good at being jackasses..like they say Alonso is. :D
Click to expand...

Agree with you on that. Alonso has burnt to many bridges in his past.

Brawn: F1 could go all-electric in ten years-http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/24328623/f1-go-all-electric-ten-years
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom