Your Fantasy 3 Car Grid.

[steveaki13]

So as we appear to be down to 18 cars and 9 teams in F1 2015, it got me wondering about 3 car teams.

I mean I want 26 cars and 13 teams really, but these days teams can no longer enter F1 as it is way too expensive.

So I was thinking, if tomorrow it was announced that every team could run a third car so end up with 27 cars. What would your fantasy 3 car teams be? Just for fun

You can either go with the current drivers plus one, or jumble them up to make your dream F1 3 car team grid.

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso

Red Bull: Daniel Ricciardo, Dani Kyvat, Jean Eric Vergne

Williams: Felipe Massa Valterri Bottas, Alex Lynn

Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Kamui Kobayashi

Mclaren: Jenson Button, Kevin Magnussen, stoffel Vandoorme

Force India: Nico Hulkenberg Sergio Perez, Susie Wolff (Just so we can see her race and move her on)

Toro Rosso: Max Verstappen, Carlos Sainz Jr, Felix Da Costa

Lotus: Romain Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado, Jolyn Palmer

Sauber: Marcus Ericcson, Felipe Nasr, Esteban Gutierrez

[anfield5]

Mercedes. Hamiltwit, Rosberg, Palmer
RBR - Ricciardo, Kvyat, Mitch Evans
Wiliiams - Bo77as, Massa, Vergne
Ferrari - Vettel, Grosjean, Hulkenberg
McLaren - Alonso, Button, vanDoorne
Force India - Perez, Guiterrez, Sam Bird
STR - Verstappen, Sainz, Magnusson
Toleman - Raikkonen, Kobiyashi, Cecatto
Sauber - Nasr, Sutil, Lynn.

Mostly I stuck with this year's drivers plus one

The only times I changed were.

Raikkonen to Toleman from Ferrari, simply because he seemed to go well at Enstone and he has always been crap in a Ferrari (yes I know his World title was for Maranello)
Grosjean to Ferrari from Toleman, because he deserves to be in a top team.
Hulk from Force India to Ferrari for the same reasons as Grosjean.
Guitierrez to fill the gap at F.I
Ericsson out of Sauber because I think there are way better drivers around than him

[Big Ben]

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Fernando Alonso

Now that's a lineup that could go supernova

[jens]

Ok, let me think about something...

Mercedes: Hamilton, Rosberg, Hülkenberg. The young German finally gets a chance in a true top team, against two very good drivers.

Red Bull: Ricciardo, Kvyat, Vergne. A good line-up of three young RB academy drivers. Vergne can prove himself in a good car and whether he was worthy of getting left aside by the other two.

Williams: Bottas, Massa, Frijns. The talented Dutch rookie, who was almost forgotten by F1 circles, gets a golden opportunity to showcase his skills.

Ferrari: Vettel, Räikkönen, Grosjean. The promising Frenchman gets a shot in the legendary team, alongside two World Champions.

McLaren: Alonso, Button, Vandoorne. The talented Belgian rookie, one of the most promising drivers currently in feeder seires, gets a chance alongside two World Champions.

Force India: Perez, Wehrlein, di Resta. The inclusion of di Resta might be surprising to some, but he was a decent driver, who collected decent ponts. A good competitor against the mercurial Perez. Meanwhile 20-year-old Mercedes reserve driver Wehrlein makes his debut, one of the most promising German talents coming up the ranks.

Toro Rosso: Sainz jr, Verstappen, Lynn. Three rookies fighting it out to get a promotion in the future.

Lotus: Maldonado, Kobayashi, Magnussen. Pastor for the cash, Kamui for the good entertainment, Kevin as a young driver for good measure. Hopefully the car is good, there could be some good action between them!

Sauber: Nasr, Ericsson, Marciello. Italian rookie gets a chance in Sauber as a Ferrari junior driver.

Hopefully didn’t forget somebody. Gutierrez, Sutil, Palmer, Chilton and the likes get left aside for me.

[AndyL]

Seeing some of these possible line-ups makes me wonder something about 3-car teams. How would it affect a young, inexperienced driver to go up against not one but two top drivers?

Imagine you're Jolyon Palmer as the newcomer in a team where Hamilton and Rosberg are knocking lumps out of each other every weekend as they try to win the championship. It would be a very different dynamic in the team, compared to the straightforward supporting role that a rookie driver would normally be expected to play. Who is he supporting, does his job become just to avoid getting between the other two? I can see it being a difficult situation for F1 newcomers.

[Warriwa]

Now that's a lineup that could go supernova

Mercedes:
Lewis Hamilton
Fernando Alonso
Sebastian Vettel

[jens]

Seeing some of these possible line-ups makes me wonder something about 3-car teams. How would it affect a young, inexperienced driver to go up against not one but two top drivers?

Imagine you're Jolyon Palmer as the newcomer in a team where Hamilton and Rosberg are knocking lumps out of each other every weekend as they try to win the championship. It would be a very different dynamic in the team, compared to the straightforward supporting role that a rookie driver would normally be expected to play. Who is he supporting, does his job become just to avoid getting between the other two? I can see it being a difficult situation for F1 newcomers.

Well, depends, how good the rookie is.

If he can genuinely match top drivers, he can probably race as long as somebody among contenders is mathematically out of the championship running. Imagine Alonso, Räikkönen and rookie Hamilton in McLaren in 2007. But to manage three such drivers is probably a huge headache for the team.

If his level is lower than the one of top drivers, he will be a "supporting driver" - and yeah, for both lead drivers. Plus for example in wet conditions it makes it much more easier for the team to use this third driver as a guinea pig for strategies, rather than try things out with one of the main drivers. And even in dry conditions he can be a strategical roadblock for other drivers!

It reminds me of DTM. There were times, when both Mercedes and Audi had 10 cars. And then in races some of the lesser performing drivers were deliberately kept out to hold up top drivers, who had just pitted.

[Tazio]

My dream (Mercedes) team would be:
Juan Pablo Montoya
Slash
Christian Klien

[steveaki13]

My dream (Mercedes) team would be:
Juan Pablo Montoya
Slash
Christian Klien

This is a team we could all get excited over.