F1 F1 2024 thread

[happy_eagle]

... and signing with Sauber 2 days later.

I don't think he will sign with a team like Sauber, and I don't think Sauber would be particularly interested in him.

I think they will look for a young driver to pair with Hulkenberg.

Ricciardo's only shot was to perform in the VCARB and get promoted to RB. If that's not going to happen (still not off the cards for 2025), he will be done in F1.

 

[Vader]

I don't think he will sign with a team like Sauber, and I don't think Sauber would be particularly interested in him.

I think they will look for a young driver to pair with Hulkenberg.

Ricciardo's only shot was to perform in the VCARB and get promoted to RB. If that's not going to happen (still not off the cards for 2025), he will be done in F1.

If he's forced out of VCARB then Sauber is literally his only option -

• Mercedes will be signing Antonelli.
• VCARB will be signing Lawson (which is the reason for Ricciardo leaving in the first place).
• Alpine is not an option, given his history with the team

There are only 4 seats available for 2025, and 3 of them are non-options for Ricciardo.

Whether Sauber would be interested is a reasonable question. They were chasing Sainz hard, so I don't think they're wedded to the idea of getting a young driver. Assuming Bottas signs with Alpine, then their other alternatives are Guanyu/Sargeant/Magnussen or a rookie. Given those choices, it's hard to see them going past Ricciardo.

Ricciardo will be down to 2 options as soon as VCARB announce Lawson - Sauber, or out of F1 completely.

 

[happy_eagle]

If he's forced out of VCARB then Sauber is literally his only option -

Not his only option

or out of F1 completely.

This was my original point. If he's not in VCARB (and not promoted to RB) he's done in F1 in my opinion.

If I were Sauber, I'd pair Hulkenberg with a rookie.
Pourchaire, Doohan, Drugovich or Hadjar. I'd even consider throwing Schumacher or Fittipaldi a lifeline.

 

[Barrybran]

Not his only option


This was my original point. If he's not in VCARB (and not promoted to RB) he's done in F1 in my opinion.

If I were Sauber, I'd pair Hulkenberg with a rookie.
Pourchaire, Doohan, Drugovich or Hadjar. I'd even consider throwing Schumacher or Fittipaldi a lifeline.

Schumacher wouldn't be a bad shout. It would be something Audi could sell.

 

[happy_eagle]

Schumacher wouldn't be a bad shout. It would be something Audi could sell.

Yeh, I feel like he was a bit hard done by in a shit Haas.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

I might be missing something, but the wording from RBR has all the hallmarks of Checo being absolutely on his last chance. They may as well have said "Checo has our full support".

 

[Vader]

Yeh, I feel like he was a bit hard done by in a shit Haas.

hehehe - hard done by in a shit Haas, so he moves to an even shitter Sauber.

 

[DrZaius]

I might be missing something, but the wording from RBR has all the hallmarks of Checo being absolutely on his last chance. They may as well have said "Checo has our full support".

I guess most of the general public just assumed he was already on his last chance

 

[happy_eagle]

hehehe - hard done by in a shit Haas, so he moves to an even shitter Sauber.

Next year maybe, but who knows what Audi have planned for 2026.

 

[Vader]

Next year maybe, but who knows what Audi have planned for 2026.

Fair call. Almost anything can happen with the introduction of new regulations.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

I guess most of the general public just assumed he was already on his last chance

To me it basically reads "you've done well on these tracks in the past, if you don't go close to matching..."

 

[99 Problems]

The problem is that the driver market is happening NOW, and everyone worth having will be contracted in 3 months time (i.e. by the Mexican GP).

Lawson's contract says he becomes a Free Agent if they don't give him a contract by September. They definitely won't want to lose him, so it's only a matter of time before he's announced as Tsunoda's partner at VCARB next year.

Ricciardo now knows that his window at Red Bull is probably closed, so he needs to start talking seriously with Sauber immediately, as they're his only realistic option for remaining in F1.

If they're willing to sacrifice the 2024 CC in the name of Checo's $$$$ and some extra wind tunnel time, then I can't see why they'd ditch him for 2025, given that they won't have any options for replacing him by then anyway.

Checo appears to be in the same category as Tsunoda - unsackable, regardless of how badly they perform. Tsunoda is tied to Honda, who supply the Red Bull engines. Checo brings so many sponsorship $$$$ to the table that they can't afford to get rid of him.

If Lawson is the alternate to Perez they don’t need to worry about the driver market. He knows he has a drive within RB, if Perez stays he’s in the VCARB and if he goes he’s in the main team.

This year it’s not an issue but next year they can’t have a non-factor in the other car the way things are tracking. It might cost them a constructors championship this year but next year it would become the drivers championship at risk and they won’t accept that. He’s lucky Max dominated the early season.

 

[happy_eagle]

Imagine a K-Mag and Max driver pairing at Red Bull

 

[Not Important]

... and signing with Sauber 2 days later.

sadly, i think danny ric is cooked. unless there's a remarkable turnaround during the last part of the season.

 

[99 Problems]

With Perez staying, I can see Daniel getting cut from VCARB later this week for Lawson.

Do they have another driver they could promote along with Lawson for 2025? It sucks for Daniel but the only reason I wouldn’t make the change now is what if Perez shows no improvement and they need to promote Lawson, have they got someone else ready for the VCARB seat?

If they can easily fill that seat as well then as sad as it is for him it makes sense for Danny Ric to have already driven his last F1 race.

 

[Vader]

If Lawson is the alternate to Perez they don’t need to worry about the driver market. He knows he has a drive within RB, if Perez stays he’s in the VCARB and if he goes he’s in the main team.

They're not putting Lawson straight into an RB - he's going to be driving the VCARB next year, alongside Tsunoda.

The VCARB line-up is pretty much settled. The only question is what happens with the 2nd RB seat?

This year it’s not an issue but next year they can’t have a non-factor in the other car the way things are tracking. It might cost them a constructors championship this year but next year it would become the drivers championship at risk and they won’t accept that. He’s lucky Max dominated the early season.

They're obviously willing to accept it, given that they're almost certain to lose the CC this year (to McLaren) - and they still didn't give Perez the shove. Perez allegedly brings in $33M in sponsorship, which basically pays Verstappen's salary. Lose Perez, and they may lose Verstappen as well!

What makes you think that they will see things differently in 2025, compared to now (i.e. the summer break in 2024)?

Do you think their appetite for bad results will change? They're not batting an eyelid at finishing 2nd in the CC this year, so why would they think differently about 2025?

Perez' poor performance rarely impacts Max directly. Yes, it would be nice for him to have a tail gunner occasionally, but Max has rarely needed one - and Perez was rarely in a position to provide it anyway. Max's chance of winning the 2025 WDC rely much more on the car than they do on Perez' support (or lack thereof).

 

[happy_eagle]

Do they have another driver they could promote along with Lawson for 2025? It sucks for Daniel but the only reason I wouldn’t make the change now is what if Perez shows no improvement and they need to promote Lawson, have they got someone else ready for the VCARB seat?

If they can easily fill that seat as well then as sad as it is for him it makes sense for Danny Ric to have already driven his last F1 race.

They could retain Ricciardo as the backup/sim driver and have him as the 25 fallback for Sergio I guess ?

 

[Vader]

sadly, i think danny ric is cooked. unless there's a remarkable turnaround during the last part of the season.

He's outperformed Yuki in 4 of the last 6 races. There may be life in the old dog yet.

The question is whether Sauber want a rookie to partner Hulkenberg. We're already looking at having at least 3 rookies on the grid in 2025 (Bearman, Antonelli, Lawson). I'm not sure that Sauber will be looking to add a 4th.

But I do agree it's either Sauber or nothing (i.e. out of F1) for Ricciardo next year.

We'll probably know soon, as I doubt VCARB will wait much longer before signing Lawson.

 

[Vader]

They could retain Ricciardo as the backup/sim driver and have him as the 25 fallback for Sergio I guess ?

Ricciardo would probably take that, given it's essentially what he was doing in 2023.

I just don't see them knifing Perez, given that they refused to do so last night. The sponsorship dollars he brings in are just too much for them to refuse, and essentially make him unsackable.

 

[The Flying Belgian]

I just don't see them knifing Perez, given that they refused to do so last night. The sponsorship dollars he brings in are just too much for them to refuse, and essentially make him unsackable.

Did Carlos Slim make the money rain down on RBR?

 

[99 Problems]

They're not putting Lawson straight into an RB - he's going to be driving the VCARB next year, alongside Tsunoda.

The VCARB line-up is pretty much settled. The only question is what happens with the 2nd RB seat?

They're obviously willing to accept it, given that they're almost certain to lose the CC this year (to McLaren) - and they still didn't give Perez the shove. Perez allegedly brings in $33M in sponsorship, which basically pays Verstappen's salary. Lose Perez, and they may lose Verstappen as well!

What makes you think that they will see things differently in 2025, compared to now (i.e. the summer break in 2024)?

Do you think their appetite for bad results will change? They're not batting an eyelid at finishing 2nd in the CC this year, so why would they think differently about 2025?

Perez' poor performance rarely impacts Max directly. Yes, it would be nice for him to have a tail gunner occasionally, but Max has rarely needed one - and Perez was rarely in a position to provide it anyway. Max's chance of winning the 2025 WDC rely much more on the car than they do on Perez' support (or lack thereof).

The constructors championship is one thing, him costing Max a WDC isn’t something they will just let slide. If things stayed similar to how they have been recently he would desperately need a teammate capable of taking points off the others.

Lawson might be about to have 10 races in the VCARB and if they went well I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he went into the main team in 2025

 

[my name was taken]

Bummer, would have liked to see anyone else at least have the opportunity to drive against max and challenge for wins.

Ricciardo will probably stay as a sim driver, there will be a lot to do given 2026 cars are having a significant aerodynamics change

Which leads to the question, where will Newey be, if anywhere

 

[Vader]

Did Carlos Slim make the money rain down on RBR?

To the tune of $33M - I assume that's USD.

Essentially, Perez' sponsorship pays Verstappen's salary.

 

[jabba5114]

I don't think he will sign with a team like Sauber, and I don't think Sauber would be particularly interested in him.

I think they will look for a young driver to pair with Hulkenberg.

Ricciardo's only shot was to perform in the VCARB and get promoted to RB. If that's not going to happen (still not off the cards for 2025), he will be done in F1.

I think Sauber/audi will take anyone now.

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[Skull Face]

I think Sauber/audi will take anyone now.

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They are fresh out of quality options the way in stands atm

Mercedes - Antonelli * (Will swap with sainz if merc don't deem him ready at williams)
Alpine - Doohan (Sainz was their only other viable option, no one wants to go there with them basically looking like abandoning their f1 project)
Sauber - Bottas/Zhou/Ricciardo/Perez (Danny ric with 0% chance when siedl was still in charge maybe a slim hope now)

Then there is the red bull / rb lineup which is going to be max, yuki, lawson and either daniel or sergio, lawson vs ricciardo shoot out is on tomorrow if daniel wins he will stay until the end of the year and pray sergio keeps driving shit.