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  1. #31
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    So whom replaces him? Sainz seems like the logical choice to me. He has proven he is a top notch driver and, although he is contracted, RBR would probably be willing to release him for a relatively novel fee given they effectively overlooked him in favour of Verstappen, not due to lack of talent but lack of seats. It would also give RBR the opportunity to promote Junior Driver and GP2 champion Pierre Gasly to Toro Rosso and partner Kvyat. A win win for everyone, especially Sainz!

    Regards Pascal Werhlein, he hasn't proven himself to be anything special thus far so it would probably be too great a risk.

    Fernando and Vettel both contracted for another year. Unlikely Vettel will leave Ferrari but Alonso may enticed to leave McLaren given their relative uncompetitiveness. With the Honda engine another year from full maturity even with the token system now removed he may want to seize the moment for a title challenge now that it arises!

    It's going to be an interesting few weeks but my money is on Sainz and I hope he gets it too! He deserves it imo.

  2. #32
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    That was an unexpected announcement from Nico. Good luck to him though.

    The first thing I thought after hearing this news was that Fernando will be desperate to get that seat. It would be good to see him up against Lewis again in identical cars. I wonder if Fernando still has all his abilities. I suspect so.

    Next year will be interesting with the technical changes. It's not guaranteed that Mercedes will be the top team. It would be just Fernando's luck if he jumped ship again and the car wasn't what he wanted.

    If Red Bull make the necessary progress with their cars then Max is easily up to the job of fighting for the championship. We have a lot to look forward to for 2017!

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Black Knight View Post
    So whom replaces him? Sainz seems like the logical choice to me. He has proven he is a top notch driver and, although he is contracted, RBR would probably be willing to release him for a relatively novel fee given they effectively overlooked him in favour of Verstappen, not due to lack of talent but lack of seats. It would also give RBR the opportunity to promote Junior Driver and GP2 champion Pierre Gasly to Toro Rosso and partner Kvyat. A win win for everyone, especially Sainz!

    Regards Pascal Werhlein, he hasn't proven himself to be anything special thus far so it would probably be too great a risk.

    Fernando and Vettel both contracted for another year. Unlikely Vettel will leave Ferrari but Alonso may enticed to leave McLaren given their relative uncompetitiveness. With the Honda engine another year from full maturity even with the token system now removed he may want to seize the moment for a title challenge now that it arises!

    It's going to be an interesting few weeks but my money is on Sainz and I hope he gets it too! He deserves it imo.
    Sainz make sense to me too. But l doubt Redbull would want to release him to Mercedes. I can't see Alonso going to Mercedes, the previous pairing with Hamilton was problematic for Mclaren, l can also see it being problematic for Mercedes. It is probably not fair to judge Wehrlein based on the Manor. Even so, he has perform to best level ever attained in a back marker car. He scored one championship point which was the threshold for excellent backmarker drivers such as Bianchi etc. And we cannot really compare the Manor to the Torro Rosso where Verstapenn and Sainz has had a better opportunity to showcase their skills. Hence, we have not had the opportunity to see some aggressive driving from Wehrlein.

    I think given the opportunity, Wehrlein would step up to the challenge. He is very quick. One does not get to be DTM champion pottering along the track. That said, if Toto has a choice between Sainz and Wehrlein, l think he would pick Sainz without hesitation.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 2nd December 2016 at 23:27.
    Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.
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  4. #34
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    With Sainz there is a problem - I have read that RB asked 30 mil for releasing Sainz from his contract when Renault tried to hire him. But then again, Mercedes is so big and powerful that nothing is impossible for them.

    No doubt Wehrlein is quick. But for some reason FI chose Ocon instead of him. Obviously I don't know why but ever since his DTM success there have been rumors that he is difficult to work with and he showed that when he was not willing to turn off his engine when his engineers asked. I am not sure that Toto would want another difficult personality to his team.

    Alonso's name was mentioned here. I for one can actually see Alonso going to Merc. Toto has publically said that he likes his personality and obviously his driving skills. We should not underestimate his marketability as well. I think he is very likely the most marketable driver after Hamilton and possibly Verstappen. And Alonso being quite old by F1 terms and having spent 2 very frustrating years at McLaren I can see him getting desperate enough to jump ship to Mercedes. The biggest issues probably are Alonso's wage, his confidence in McLaren (if he thinks they can nail next years car) and possible Hamilton's veto right.

    As more possible replacements I would name Bottas, who is managed by Toto and Ocon, who, belonging to Merc young drivers' program has a clause to be easily released from his contract from FI if Merc needs him.

    Personally, I would like the seat go to Sainz because his carreer being at RB will go nowhere because there is no way in hell he could replace Verstappen or Ricciardo in the main team soon. Looking how RB has managed their young drivers they will keep him as backup for as long as possible and by then his carreer could be destroyed and he is far too talented for that.
    Last edited by onemanband; 3rd December 2016 at 00:36.

  5. #35
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    Please let it be Alonso, and if not then Max.

  6. #36
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    My intelligence sources are telling that Niki Lauda is on the phone with Gutierrez right now.

  7. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by zako85 View Post
    My intelligence sources are telling that Niki Lauda is on the phone with Gutierrez right now.
    Very unlikely that Gutierrez would land one of the most desired seats in F1 after he was dumped by Haas for under performance. My heart would love to see Alonso in a competitive car again before he retires. But my head cannot see that in Mercedes because l think Mercedes would want to select a young talent that would mature into a multiple world champion. Based on the state of play at the moment, l think Sainz is realistically the most obvious option available at the moment regardless of his contract with Redbull. Verstapenn would be more difficult to pull out of Redbull's grasps.

    I would not entirely rule out Wehrlein but l doubt Ocon is going to be pulled out of Force India. Bottas is a possibility but he has signed to extend his contract. I think picking Bottas or Ocon would have the consequence of upsetting their customer teams, but the right money would sooth any bruised egos.

    Vettel is a dark horse in all this. I would bet that he would love to drive the silver arrow given half a chance.

    I think whichever way Mercedes choose to go, they would be pulling someone from an active contract with a team. The least troublesome path is to put Wehrlein in the seat.
    Last edited by Nitrodaze; 3rd December 2016 at 02:15.
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  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stan Reid View Post
    Alonzo would take it but I can't think of two drivers who hate each other more than Alonzo and Hamilton so I'm not sure about the dynamic. Merc would be wiser in the long run to go for a new young hotshot driver like Verstappen who could be World Champoin in just a year or two.
    Alonso and Hamilton hate each other? They hide that very well when having a laugh and meeting up over a race weekend. I've not seen evidence for any hate to be honest.


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  9. #39
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    http://www.motorsportforums.com/show...etires-!/page4

    have to ask why Pascal Wehrlein is not Confirmed any ware
    In February 2016, it was announced that Wehrlein would make his F1 debut with Manor Racing. It is understood that Manor would receive access to Mercedes' wind tunnel in exchange for hiring Wehrlein.[
    In September 2014, it was announced that Wehrlein would act as a reserve driver for the Mercedes F1 Team.[11] He took part in preseason testing in Barcelona, driving for both Force India and Mercedes.
    VERSTAPPEN: ‘If I’d let Sainz past, dad would’ve kicked me in the nuts!’

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by henners88 View Post
    Alonso and Hamilton hate each other? They hide that very well when having a laugh and meeting up over a race weekend. I've not seen evidence for any hate to be honest.


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    Yeah they have both matured over the last 10 years and I don't see a future pairing being as difficult as the one McLaren had to endure. Both of them as team mates again would be a mouth watering prospect though!

    There is another fly in the ointment here, had there been no sweeping rule changes then Mercedes would have been without question the place to drive but now that there is, there is no guarantee of their competitiveness for next year so a driver going to their team is taking a bigger gamble than they normally would have than say this had happened last year. Plus, never in F1 history has any teams dominance survived massive rule changes.

    So, will drivers want to take the risk to drive for Merc is the question?

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