The 2017 Silly Season thread

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 22 Oct 2016, 15:55

Gasly must be pissed.

solarcold · Post by **solarcold** » 22 Oct 2016, 16:17

I'm glad to hear this news, though I'd apparently prefer him go to Force India, the very fact that after all this he stays in F1 is awesome. Open champagne!

Post by **mario** » 22 Oct 2016, 16:42

This Could Be You wrote:I suppose that will be good in the short term, but it's a shame he couldn't move to FI - it would have been good to see him race without all the pressure from the Red Bull management on his shoulders, and be allowed to fight with Ricciardo and The Golden Child - hopefully the latter can still happen.

There have been few drivers who have succeeded in leaving the Red Bull stable on their own terms once they started on their driver programme, so it would have been unusual for Kvyat to have done that.

I'm pleasantly surprised that Red Bull did choose to keep Kvyat - in all honesty, I was expecting them to kick him to the kerb at the end of the season and put Gasly into the seat. That, at least, will hopefully restore some of his confidence - having sounded so dejected throughout the season, this might hopefully restore some of that lost sense of purpose.

andrew · Post by **andrew** » 22 Oct 2016, 21:19

Is it me, or has Kmag been treated very badly by his employing team when it comes to the silly season. In 2014 he was led to believe that he would have the drive next year instead of button, but in December finds out actually no you won't dive next year. By which time all other seats had pretty much gone.

Roll on 2015 and he is sacked from mclaren in October having not done much wrong after having not really being given a chance to par himself or go to another team and he only got the Renualt drive when Maldonados sponsorship fell through.

Now onto 2016 he has outperformed Palmer scoring the bulk of their points (for example in Russia they were 7th and 8th ish at the end of lap one, Kmag stayed there with Palmer dropping back) Plus Kmag held onto 10th for the majority of the Singapore GP finishing only 8 seconds behind Perez and Kvyat (although when Rosberg finished he was right behind them and was backing off to let Nico past) Palmer did drive well In Malaysia but was helped up into 10th by the retirements of Grosjean Vettel and Hamilton. He was told. A Decision will be made by September, however he is still waiting and other options are closing up fast.

Post by **mario** » 23 Oct 2016, 07:26

andrew wrote:Is it me, or has Kmag been treated very badly by his employing team when it comes to the silly season. In 2014 he was led to believe that he would have the drive next year instead of button, but in December finds out actually no you won't dive next year. By which time all other seats had pretty much gone.

Roll on 2015 and he is sacked from mclaren in October having not done much wrong after having not really being given a chance to par himself or go to another team and he only got the Renualt drive when Maldonados sponsorship fell through.

Now onto 2016 he has outperformed Palmer scoring the bulk of their points (for example in Russia they were 7th and 8th ish at the end of lap one, Kmag stayed there with Palmer dropping back) Plus Kmag held onto 10th for the majority of the Singapore GP finishing only 8 seconds behind Perez and Kvyat (although when Rosberg finished he was right behind them and was backing off to let Nico past) Palmer did drive well In Malaysia but was helped up into 10th by the retirements of Grosjean Vettel and Hamilton. He was told. A Decision will be made by September, however he is still waiting and other options are closing up fast.

In 2014, I was under the impression that Magnussen had been told fairly early on that a potential seat was contingent on him meeting certain conditions that he failed to meet, so it was not entirely a surprise that he didn't get the seat in the end. Equally, it has to be said that, in 2014, the comparison between himself and Button doesn't make for hugely flattering reading (Button slightly edging him in qualifying and comprehensively beating him in terms of finishing position).

With regards to being sacked in 2015, Magnussen said at the time that he was actually expecting McLaren to sack him. He'd told them that he wanted a race seat and had been pursuing options elsewhere, given that both Alonso and Button had contracts for 2016, so he was expecting them to terminate his contract.

This year, it has to be said that neither Renault driver is being treated with much sympathy by the team - whilst I don't think much of Palmer, I do agree with his complaint that Renault seem to be expecting much more than the chassis is capable of delivering (we've seen from the onboard shots that both drivers are often struggling for traction and that the car doesn't look that stable).

To a certain extent, I don't blame Renault for taking their time given that Magnussen's form has been a bit inconsistent over the year - he's had some good races, but he's also crashed out more frequently than Palmer and has been in trouble with the stewards more frequently as well.

Aislabie · Post by **Aislabie** » 23 Oct 2016, 07:59

Aguaman wrote:Kvyat is staying at STR.

Gasly to Renault?

TheFlyingCaterham · Post by **TheFlyingCaterham** » 23 Oct 2016, 09:42

Aguaman wrote:Apparently Kvyat is staying at STR.

So there is a god out there.

andrew · Post by **andrew** » 23 Oct 2016, 09:58

Aislabie wrote:
Aguaman wrote:Kvyat is staying at STR.

Gasly to Renault?

Red bull don't tend to let their drivers drive for other teams whilst in their programme, the only one to ever do it I believe is Riccardo in 2011 for HRT.

Quickly to Force India, I have heard several drivers linked to the now vacated Hulkenburg seat, Nasr has links apparently as do both the Manor divers. But how about Alfonso Celis Jr (provided he has super licence points) force India tend to put a driver in a number of practice sessions if they intend to use them the following year, we say this with Di Resta in 2010 and the Hulk in 2011.

Post by **Ataxia** » 23 Oct 2016, 12:42

andrew wrote:
Aislabie wrote:
Aguaman wrote:Kvyat is staying at STR.

Gasly to Renault?

Red bull don't tend to let their drivers drive for other teams whilst in their programme, the only one to ever do it I believe is Riccardo in 2011 for HRT.

Quickly to Force India, I have heard several drivers linked to the now vacated Hulkenburg seat, Nasr has links apparently as do both the Manor divers. But how about Alfonso Celis Jr (provided he has super licence points) force India tend to put a driver in a number of practice sessions if they intend to use them the following year, we say this with Di Resta in 2010 and the Hulk in 2011.

Celis Jr is dreadful. He's paying for practice sessions, and I don't think Force India are struggling enough to give him race starts.

Force India have also used James Calado, Jules Bianchi and Dani Juncadella in free practice sessions too, so there's not too much of a precendent.

I'd imagine the seat to go to either Ocon or Magnussen. Nasr's backing might be a bit ropey thanks to the financial climate in Brazil, and according to motorsport.com they'd rather have Ocon than Wehrlein.

andrew · Post by **andrew** » 23 Oct 2016, 16:23

Ataxia wrote:
andrew wrote:
Aislabie wrote:Gasly to Renault?

Red bull don't tend to let their drivers drive for other teams whilst in their programme, the only one to ever do it I believe is Riccardo in 2011 for HRT.

Quickly to Force India, I have heard several drivers linked to the now vacated Hulkenburg seat, Nasr has links apparently as do both the Manor divers. But how about Alfonso Celis Jr (provided he has super licence points) force India tend to put a driver in a number of practice sessions if they intend to use them the following year, we say this with Di Resta in 2010 and the Hulk in 2011.

Celis Jr is dreadful. He's paying for practice sessions, and I don't think Force India are struggling enough to give him race starts.

Force India have also used James Calado, Jules Bianchi and Dani Juncadella in free practice sessions too, so there's not too much of a precendent.

I'd imagine the seat to go to either Ocon or Magnussen. Nasr's backing might be a bit ropey thanks to the financial climate in Brazil, and according to motorsport.com they'd rather have Ocon than Wehrlein.

There are several Spanish websites linking Nasr to the bit vacated Force India seat. I havnt heard Kmag be linked to the force India seat, he does not bring in a large amount of Money does he?
Earlier in the year Marcus Erricson said he was talking to 3 teams, could Force India be one of them? Or I'm throwing this one out there, Force india tend to find young talent, how about they take a punt and sign Antonio Giovanzzi?

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 23 Oct 2016, 17:14

Ataxia wrote:Celis Jr is dreadful. He's paying for practice sessions, and I don't think Force India are struggling enough to give him race starts.

Force India have also used James Calado, Jules Bianchi and Dani Juncadella in free practice sessions too, so there's not too much of a precendent.

I'd imagine the seat to go to either Ocon or Magnussen. Nasr's backing might be a bit ropey thanks to the financial climate in Brazil, and according to motorsport.com they'd rather have Ocon than Wehrlein.

Nasr's backing is in a good shape. Don't expect he suffering the same fate of Maldonado. And according with Motorsport, his backing is more worthy than the engine price drop of Ocon/Wehrlein.

Post by **Ataxia** » 23 Oct 2016, 20:44

Dj_bereta wrote:
Ataxia wrote:Celis Jr is dreadful. He's paying for practice sessions, and I don't think Force India are struggling enough to give him race starts.

Force India have also used James Calado, Jules Bianchi and Dani Juncadella in free practice sessions too, so there's not too much of a precendent.

I'd imagine the seat to go to either Ocon or Magnussen. Nasr's backing might be a bit ropey thanks to the financial climate in Brazil, and according to motorsport.com they'd rather have Ocon than Wehrlein.

Nasr's backing is in a good shape. Don't expect he suffering the same fate of Maldonado. And according with Motorsport, his backing is more worthy than the engine price drop of Ocon/Wehrlein.

That bodes well, then.

girry · Post by **girry** » 24 Oct 2016, 09:39

Before Singapore, didn't Gasly prematurely announce his Toro Rosso drive without a permission?

I wouldn't be surprised to the slightest if this was Helmut Marko's payback for that...

Izzyeviel · Post by **Izzyeviel** » 25 Oct 2016, 17:57

BP look like they've done a deal with Mclaren - someone do a mock up of a Castrol Honda livery.

This could be the best livery in 2017 if they do it right.

This Could Be You · Post by **This Could Be You** » 25 Oct 2016, 19:43

You are forgetting- this is Mclaren we are talking about.

Considering this, I have done a realistic mockup:

Even with this, I expect their sponsor placing will be worse than mine

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 25 Oct 2016, 20:55

You guys don't understand, it's more professional that way...

:deletraz:

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 25 Oct 2016, 21:11

Rob Dylan wrote:You guys don't understand, it's more professional that way...

I find it to be very dynamic, predatory even.

Post by **Ataxia** » 25 Oct 2016, 21:19

I've had a stab at this, although I've still kept the McLaren-ness to it whilst going for Castrol colours.

Can't take too many liberties now, can I?

lance_rambert · Post by **lance_rambert** » 25 Oct 2016, 22:01

That's a livery I'd expect to see if Toyota decided to stick around.

Unfortunately, if we did see a Mobil 1-centered McHonda livery, we'd get something like this. Pretty plain in comparison.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 26 Oct 2016, 06:39

When it's done right a BP/Castrol livery can be a thing of wondrous beauty...

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 26 Oct 2016, 15:24

CoopsII wrote:When it's done right a BP/Castrol livery can be a thing of wondrous beauty...

Ahh, my favourite Lotus livery! (But only because it's the one that they used when I first followed the back-of-the-grid teams, as they were then.)

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 26 Oct 2016, 16:58

I'm just going to drop this here.....

Post by **Ataxia** » 26 Oct 2016, 18:25

Just to add fuel to the fire, the reason McLaren and BP look like hooking up is that ExxonMobil appear to be transferring their partnership to Red Bull at the end of the season. Well, oil be damned.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 26 Oct 2016, 18:31

Interesting stuff. Will be good to see BP/Castrol back in F1. Last time they were involved was with Williams in the late 90s/early 00s wasn't it?

And how long have Mobil 1 been with McLaren? Was it 94 or 95 they took over from Shell? That's a long partnership. I expect Total to be quite prominent on the Renault next year then.

Aislabie · Post by **Aislabie** » 26 Oct 2016, 19:11

Barbazza wrote:

I think it's remarkable that a Formula One car can look like it was designed to be driven slowly... even a Coloni

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 27 Oct 2016, 08:58

Aislabie wrote:
Barbazza wrote:

I think it's remarkable that a Formula One car can look like it was designed to be driven slowly... even a Coloni

Even despite the "Go Faster" stripes!

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 27 Oct 2016, 15:55

Aislabie wrote:I think it's remarkable that a Formula One car can look like it was designed to be driven slowly... even a Coloni

The Merzario A1 says "Hi there!"

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 27 Oct 2016, 22:13

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/126852/gutierrez-considering-leaving-haas-for-2017
Gutierrez seriously looking at alternatives to Haas for 2017. This can only mean that he has possible alternatives for 2017. The GutierrezGoldmine is a gift that keeps on giving :lol:

AustralianStig · Post by **AustralianStig** » 27 Oct 2016, 22:22

Rob Dylan wrote:http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/126852/gutierrez-considering-leaving-haas-for-2017
Gutierrez seriously looking at alternatives to Haas for 2017. This can only mean that he has possible alternatives for 2017. The GutierrezGoldmine is a gift that keeps on giving

Where would he go though? Force India have said they don't need a pay driver. Perhaps Bottas to Renault, Guti to Williams? I can't imagine Gutierrez would be all that keen on going to Manor or Sauber...

Post by **Ataxia** » 28 Oct 2016, 22:20

Ataxia wrote:Just to add fuel to the fire, the reason McLaren and BP look like hooking up is that ExxonMobil appear to be transferring their partnership to Red Bull at the end of the season. Well, oil be damned.

And that's confirmed.

Post by **Londoner** » 30 Oct 2016, 14:02

The end is nigh for Esteban Gutierrez. :dance:

Grosjean/Magnussen would be a incredibly strong line-up for Haas. It'll probably also mean Renault will keep Palmer for another season, unless they get permission from Mercedes to use Ocon.

The only place I can really see Gutierrez going is Sauber, and even then he might have burnt his bridges there, given most people would have been expecting him to stay there after 2014.

tBone · Post by **tBone** » 31 Oct 2016, 14:18

Izzyeviel wrote:BP look like they've done a deal with Mclaren - someone do a mock up of a Castrol Honda livery.

Challenge (finally) accepted:

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 01 Nov 2016, 23:46

Awesome painting, but I have a felling McLaren will keep the boring black and red.

Rumors about Ocon moving to Force India are getting stronger.

Aislabie · Post by **Aislabie** » 02 Nov 2016, 01:25

tBone wrote:

I love it!

- - -

Am I the only one who finds it deeply puzzling that Ocon is being linked with Force India? He's been deeply disappointing this year.

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 02 Nov 2016, 04:31

As far i know, FI prefer Ocon over Werhlein due the latter bad personality and the team think the Frenchman is better after comparing the test data from both. Another reason for Ocon in FI is Renault losing interest on him.

IceG · Post by **IceG** » 02 Nov 2016, 09:05

And yet Kvyat and Sainz who are both proven quality talents, capable of out-performing a lesser car and a top team-mate, are both still stuck at a team which is designed purely to come behind Red Bull and supply back-up drives "just in case".

Really hope Toro Rosso produce a great chassis to go with the Renault engine for 2017 and thrash the factory team and FI.

Izzyeviel · Post by **Izzyeviel** » 02 Nov 2016, 19:06

tBone wrote:
Izzyeviel wrote:BP look like they've done a deal with Mclaren - someone do a mock up of a Castrol Honda livery.

Challenge (finally) accepted:

Now that is a wall poster.

WeirdKerr · Post by **WeirdKerr** » 02 Nov 2016, 23:12

Izzyeviel wrote:
tBone wrote:
Izzyeviel wrote:BP look like they've done a deal with Mclaren - someone do a mock up of a Castrol Honda livery.

Challenge (finally) accepted:

Now that is a wall poster.

Number 22?? shouldn't it be 14 or 47 as Button isn't racing next year......

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 03 Nov 2016, 00:03

Dj_bereta wrote:Awesome painting, but I have a felling McLaren will keep the boring black and red.

Rumors about Ocon moving to Force India are getting stronger.

Wouldn't they use a livery similar to Honda in the WTCC, though? That on itself isn't a particularly flashy livery, so it's boring enough for McLaren standards, but it would defenitely be refreshing.

AustralianStig · Post by **AustralianStig** » 03 Nov 2016, 02:10

WeirdKerr wrote:Number 22?? shouldn't it be 14 or 47 as Button isn't racing next year......

Actually IIRC Stoffel hasn't chosen a number yet, 47 is just one of McLaren's reserve numbers for this season.