I don’t think he wants to drive round at the back. Mind you he doesn’t look like he’s much better than that this year!
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2020 Formula 1 Season Thread
- Thread starter pachyderm
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That would be a very big money pairing for a distinctly midfield team. Do Renault actually have the money?
Depends if they need to pay the money Vettel wants compared to how much he wants a drive. He’s not been at world championship form for a number of years now and I think his stock has reduced in price. Alonso has a bit more leverage as his output is consistent and he’s Renaults most recent world champion.
Listen son. Your not good enough. I’m going to give your seat to this guy from Germany who likes to spin, crash and moan!
Yes I think Stroll will keep his seat!
Curious, could Russell or Latifi lose their seat to Vettel? From reports online, Williams is the last team option that Vettel has in F1, no?
As above rumour is now that he's going to do a deal with Racing Point. So Russell and Latifi should be safe. Russell, in theory, is a Mercedes driver. He was probably hoping Bottas would have a bad year and get dropped
Not sure why exactly, but, I really want Russell to do well. Well, same for Albon.
They both 'seem' like nice guys.
Wait, Racing Point can afford Vettel? Honestly, not even sure of Racing Points finances. But...
Also, where would Perez go? Poor thing...
They both 'seem' like nice guys.
Wait, Racing Point can afford Vettel? Honestly, not even sure of Racing Points finances. But...
Also, where would Perez go? Poor thing...
Agree. Especially Russell. Anyone driving a Williams these days deserve a break! Would love to see him in a better car.
Racing Point will be Aston Martin next year as Lance Stroll's daddy has bought both the team and a sizeable portion of Aston Martin (who needed rescuing). In order to sell the road cars he will need a marketing tool: Seb
That would suck for Perez, but I can see some logic in it.
As Force India, that team punched well above their weight-class. They stumbled something fierce when they became Racing Point, but this year so far it looks like they got some of that "old Blade Runner magic" back and are starting to look strong again.
But even if the team can punch above it's weight, I do not think Stroll can pull his own weight. But he can't be tossed since his father owns the team, so if they think Vettel can still cut it - and if he really can still cut it - he could really help their fortunes.
And not having to carry the hopes, dreams and expectations of an entire nation on your shoulders like he has had to do at the Scuderia could be a positive for Vettel's mental focus as a driver.
I don't think it's a given that Aston Martin will keep Lance Stroll. As we've seen with Red Bull, having one fast driver and one slow driver really hurts strategy. A Perez/Vettel team is much stronger than a Vettel/Stroll team. Perez not only brings a ton of sponsors and has better pace than Stroll, but he also was instrumental in saving the team from the ruins of Force India. There's going to be a lot of loyalty to him in that team and for good reason.
I think Lawrence Stroll is a smart enough businessman to not let nepotism get in the way. Lance has shown very little to make anyone think he's earned his spot.
I think Lawrence Stroll is a smart enough businessman to not let nepotism get in the way. Lance has shown very little to make anyone think he's earned his spot.
The entire reason Racing Point exists is to make sure Lance Stroll has a drive. I don't think his father is going to put even more money into it if his son isn't getting a seat.
Vettel/Stroll is actually an ideal line up for everyone involved. The team keeps Lance, which means they still have the money to not only survive, but grow. Do you think they'd be running a Mercedes mock can on their old finances? Not a chance.
Stroll is happy because he's now being tutored by a World Champion. If he loses to Vettel it's fine because you can't really expect Stroll to be a 4x WDC. So Stroll is happy.
Vettel is happy because he gets a drive and is probably being paid a decent amount for it. Not only that, the pressure is off. You won't win titles in a Racing Point, so you get to enjoy some racing and get paid a huge amount for it, without the pressure of having to perform. And even if he's rubbish it's fine - his job is to tutor Lance and bring some experience to the team.
Whilst Lance has not been great, or even good - he is not dangerous. He is doing fine. F1 history is littered with drivers who are far worse than he ever was, or will be. I have no issue with Stroll on the grid. F1 has a massive history of pay drivers who weren't that good. Stroll ranks fine against most.
Vettel/Stroll is actually an ideal line up for everyone involved. The team keeps Lance, which means they still have the money to not only survive, but grow. Do you think they'd be running a Mercedes mock can on their old finances? Not a chance.
Stroll is happy because he's now being tutored by a World Champion. If he loses to Vettel it's fine because you can't really expect Stroll to be a 4x WDC. So Stroll is happy.
Vettel is happy because he gets a drive and is probably being paid a decent amount for it. Not only that, the pressure is off. You won't win titles in a Racing Point, so you get to enjoy some racing and get paid a huge amount for it, without the pressure of having to perform. And even if he's rubbish it's fine - his job is to tutor Lance and bring some experience to the team.
Whilst Lance has not been great, or even good - he is not dangerous. He is doing fine. F1 history is littered with drivers who are far worse than he ever was, or will be. I have no issue with Stroll on the grid. F1 has a massive history of pay drivers who weren't that good. Stroll ranks fine against most.
I would have agreed were it not for the Stroll lead consortium saving Aston Martin. He now has a business reason for the F1 team to exists and be successful. The F1 adventure has to be a positive marketing opportunity to sell cars. If they are near the back of the grid this does not reflect well on the road cars. So if Lance is consistently and comprehensively outmatched by Vettel (and surely he will be) and it's received this is having a negative impact on the brand he might get pushed out
Only if F1 results have a direct effect on road car sales. Which is a debatable point. However, that isn't what Aston Martin marketing is about anyway - Aston Martin sells expensive cars to people with a lot of money, who generally have a bit of a status. Aston Martin merely existing on the F1 grid allows them to invite people of status (high end businessmen, footballers, celebs) to F1 events, and wine and dine them with expensive food and hospitality in the middle of Monaco. If the Racing Point Aston Martin doesn't win, nobody remembers. The clients remember being wined and dined in a yacht in Monaco, or the hotel in Abu Dhabi.
Whilst it was more important for the likes of Toyota, BMW, Honda and even Mercedes to win races to sell cars, it is less so for Aston Martin. They sell it on status.
Evidence of this is seen in WEC, where Aston Martin have been around since the start. They've been racing their GT1, GT2 and GTE cars in various classes at Le Mans and surrounding series for almost 20 years now. Even when it was just Corvette vs Aston Martin, they were still there. Even when it was clear the Aston was the complete dog of the class with no chance of winning they were still there. They even funded entire Aston Martin support events for the Le Mans 24 Hours - not because it was good marketing for the public, but because it allowed them additional paddock space to bring along more hospitality and bring in wealthy people who'll buy their cars. And that's why they've stuck around in WEC, even when struggling - whilst Ford has packed their bags and left, because they won't be selling road cars off of a project not winning. Aston even fund Am entries to various ACO events which have zero chance of winning - but allows them more hospitality to bring in potential car buyers. If had $200,000 to spend on a car, and Aston invited me to a race, there's significantly more chance of me buying an Aston. And then I tell my rich footballer and businessmen mates about how amazing my car is, and they buy one next time round too.
As long as Racing Point isn't last, it's a marketing success for the Aston Martin brand due to who their client base is. As long as the team isn't embarrassing it's fine - it isn't about the result, it's about giving the rich people the F1 experience. Which Aston Martin will do spectacularly (because they're bloody good at it at Le Mans).
No change at Williams: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/...21-driver-line-up.2buMT250BE0Ef8Q2bUBDFE.html
Shame as Russell will be driving that dog of a car for another year!
Shame as Russell will be driving that dog of a car for another year!
Someone please help me to understand this.
I get that the likes of Williams, don't have the money that Mercedes or Ferrari have. However, why do we have such a wide space between car performance?
Shouldn't Williams' cars be as quick as the likes of Mercedes or Ferrari, or is it simply that the likes of Mercedes and such have better engineers creating parts and such?
Serious question.
And to add, as in football, just because you buy the best players (Chelsea, Man City), does not mean you have the best team. We (Arsenal) won the league a few times, and we did not spend as much money as other teams. Hence, my above question...
I get that the likes of Williams, don't have the money that Mercedes or Ferrari have. However, why do we have such a wide space between car performance?
Shouldn't Williams' cars be as quick as the likes of Mercedes or Ferrari, or is it simply that the likes of Mercedes and such have better engineers creating parts and such?
Serious question.
And to add, as in football, just because you buy the best players (Chelsea, Man City), does not mean you have the best team. We (Arsenal) won the league a few times, and we did not spend as much money as other teams. Hence, my above question...
Aero package. Time to develop in the wind tunnel. Better designers.
Once you start with a dog, it’s hard to fix it. Especially with the same team and limited resources.
I know. Makes it all the sadder. I remember the glory years. When everyone wanted to drive a Williams.
Now you’d probably choose your road car over one!
Historically speaking, we actually don't have a wide range in car performance. If you go back through the 50s to the 00s, the gap between first and last was usually much much larger than today. The inclusion of the 107% rule meant a lot of the backmarker teams we were used to seeing were no longer viable. Now, nobody is outside of the 107% rule, or even close.
I'm picking random races here for an example.
1967 Dutch Grand Prix. The field spread was 6 seconds.
1973 Brazilian Grand Prix. The field spread was 12 seconds. 9 if you remove last place
1988 Brazilian Grand Prix. The field spread was 7 seconds of those who qualified. 4 cars DNQ'd. The spread with them was 10 seconds
1995 Portugese Grand Prix. The field spread was 12 seconds. 7 if you remove last place
1996 the 107% rule was brought in.
1996 Australian Grand Prix. The field spread of those who qualified was 4 seconds. 2 cars DNQ'd outside of 107% at 6 and 9 seconds off.
In 2020 it's really hard to judge field spread, as the qualifying is split into 3 sections. But the field spread using Q1 last place time and Q3 pole time was just 2.8 seconds.
The spread between first and last in F1 is closer than it ever has been. But the consequences of being last are larger than they ever have been.
Mercedes utterly dominant in FP1. Fastest on hard tyres vs the other cars on soft! Could be over a second a lap faster
