2019 Contracts - where do all the pieces land?

Aug 21, 2008
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Leclerc to Haas would be decent.
He could also spend another year at Sauber. That car looks like it is getting better and better.

So many dominoes to fall.
What will happen at FI? Seems like the Strolls are sniffing about. Perez should stay.
Renault are keen for Ocon, Sainz is keen to not be at Toro Rosso.
Dan will stay at RBR.
Kimi is doing very well and I think gets another year.
Alonso stays. Stoffel relegated to reserve driver.
Toro Rosso and McLaren negotiate to let James Key go early in exchange for Lando Norris on loan. Hartley looks like he's out.
Mercedes might be keen to shoehorn Russell into a Williams. A nice story would be Kubica getting a race drive.

I think it looks like this:

Mercedes: Hamilton, Bottas
Ferrari: Vettel, Raikkonen
Red Bull: Ricciardo, Verstappen
Renault: Hulkenberg, Ocon
Force India/whatever it gets renamed as: Perez, Stroll
McLaren: Alonso, Sainz
Haas: Magnussen, Leclerc
Toro Rosso: Gasly, Norris.
Sauber: Ericsson stays until the money runs out, Giovinazzi
Williams: Sirotkin, maybe Russell, hopefully Kubica.
 
Ricciardo's move to Renault has suddenly thrown a massive spanner in the works.

Alonso must now be eyeing that Red Bull seat - but guess who is supplying their engines next year?

Where does Ocon go, assuming ADR partners Hulk?
 
Another Aussie gets ****ed over by the European connection.

Sadly I cant see the Renault being much chop. Best of the rest at the very best.

I feel this is like Webber to Williams all over again.

Id luv to be wrong - really wrong - and I hope ADR feeds me this back with interest - but resource, technology, development and car wise i just dont see him having the hardware.

Best to him however - he had to get out as Seb and now Max were always the golden kids.

GO ADR.
 
Jul 20, 2001
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Dan was never going to win a title in a Red Bull Honda over the next couple of years.

Renault are improving, putting heaps of money behind their operation. Will have much better team harmony and support. And they are well placed for the new regs.

I feel it was the best of what was available to him.
 

davis_756

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Another Aussie gets ****** over by the European connection.

Sadly I cant see the Renault being much chop. Best of the rest at the very best.

I feel this is like Webber to Williams all over again.

Id luv to be wrong - really wrong - and I hope ADR feeds me this back with interest - but resource, technology, development and car wise i just dont see him having the hardware.

Best to him however - he had to get out as Seb and now Max were always the golden kids.

GO ADR.
Webber to Williams was a move to put him in a contenders seat and they dropped away massively once he arrived. Renault are a team that was the 8th best in season 2016, 6th best in 2017 and now 4th best in 2018.

If the Honda power unit is still behind the Renault and the expected improvement doesn't come he could easily find himself as the best of the rest behind the top 2 teams next year as red bull slide.
 
Red Bull Honda is as much if not more of a risk than Renault next season plus there's the advantage of being the #1 driver. Renault won't go backwards next season, conversely RDH may, so at the very least this move should help keep Ricciardo's name in discussions even if Renault aren't capable of producing a championship winning car themselves.
 

Thegibbsgamble

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Webber to Williams was a move to put him in a contenders seat and they dropped away massively once he arrived. Renault are a team that was the 8th best in season 2016, 6th best in 2017 and now 4th best in 2018.

If the Honda power unit is still behind the Renault and the expected improvement doesn't come he could easily find himself as the best of the rest behind the top 2 teams next year as red bull slide.

It was a dog act by Frank Williams to blame Webber for the s**t car he produced knowing it was a s**t car. He was protecting his brand and destroying the career of someone not European to do so
 
I can’t see a scenario where Japan is cut. Huge popularity there.

I’m going to suzuka for the race this year too. Cannot wait! Such an awesome track.

Enjoy. Suzuka isn’t under contract for 2019 but it seems it might be a choice between Suzuka and Hockenheim for the 20th race. Hoping it’s Suzuka. I read the 2019 calendar should be announced before the next race.
 

Gasly to RBR ?
Lando to Torro ?
That's what I've heard (re Gasy and Norris), but I also heard that Toro Rosso wanted Lando to be a free agent if he moved there, and I'm sure McLaren would want to hold his rights givien all the development they've put into him. Maybe the Sainz move to McLaren was the square up for the Norris move.

To me the big question if whether or not Ferrari are going to move on from Raikkonen as was reported in June. Leclerk suddenly hit a funk around that time and the delay in the Ferrari announcement must mean that Raikkonen is firming to stay for yet another season.
 
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That's what I've heard (re Gasy and Norris), but I also heard that Toro Rosso wanted Lando to be a free agent if he moved there, and I'm sure McLaren would want to hold his rights givien all the development they've put into him. Maybe the Sainz move to McLaren was the square up for the Norris move.

To me the big question if whether or not Ferrari are going to move on from Raikkonen as was reported in June. Leclerk suddenly hit a funk around that time and the delay in the Ferrari announcement must mean that Raikkonen is firming to stay for yet another season.
I still think the best move for Ferrari is to give Leclerc a year or two at Haas as a stepping stone to Ferrari to replace Kimi
 
Yep that's what I thought. Ocon at Force India, Sainz to McLaren, and then we wait on what Kimi wants to do? Gasly to RB and Alonso to Indycar?

Love all this speculation now that Ricciardo has moved to Renault - completely out of left field.

Got most right except for Ocon who you expect now misses out to Stroll and Alonso technically hasn't moved to Indycar, but surely that's his next goal - no secret that he wants the triple crown.
 

DamoESP

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Some strong words from Kubica here. Pity, as I don't think there are too many open spots for him to grab a 2019 seat :( (other than Williams, who he could be racing for at Monza this weekend.)

 
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