2018 Silly season

[Sakae 0]

Button and his thoughts.

Hello!

Musical chairs on the move already.

Vettel, Kimi, Bottas,...

What will Alonso do? Will Hamilton stay?

There might be more action off track than on one.

 

[Sakae 0]

Race for new deals started. Both Seb and Kimi are out on contract at the end of this season. Is it too early to launch contractual negotiations? Maybe so, however I bet that monitoring of drivers was launched already in Barcelona. Interesting problem for Scuderia, when both drivers could be off the roaster when this season ends. Kimi is unpredictable at the moment, and he might decide to retire. I am calling it 50-50 at the moment between him deciding to continue and choosing to hang his helmet on the nail. He was really mad in the garage before last race. (I saw a video; it was either on Friday or Saturday). Seb surely sounds like he wants to continue, especially if car remains competitive but question is whether Ferrari will sign him up? His less than happy demeanor in the garage in an unguarded moment was something to think about. I am not so sure that the answer to his future with Ferrari is unequivocal Yes. I cannot put finger on what the problem is, but my feeling is, that despite all hip-hip rhetoric, there is tension between him and management. On the other hand, I could see one driver leaving for whatever of reasons, but they will not most likely not want to have two new personalities for next year, and starting all over in square one. Moreover, speaking hypothetically, should Seb receive an offer from Ferrari, however a rival team offers more money, will he jump the ship?

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Seb: If Ferrari keeps providing a competitive car to compete with the top 3 he has absolutely no reason to leave, no matter what differences he might have with management. Also, I might be wrong but the team is build around him as he is the future so it would be foolish for Seb to leave

Kimi: His frustration was recorded with his qualifying run, when he complained about the rear of his car, that he was STILL struggling with it. He might be asking for certain things which were not implemented as he has a narrow operating window thus not getting the optimal performance from the car.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

I see nothing but absolute commitment from Seb...

#Seb5 at work in Maranello. Met the team tonight to say #GrazieRagazzi

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Busy day for #Seb5 at the simulator. Getting ready for #ChineseGP

 

[radical-one 0]

If I were Seb, I will stay with Ferrari whether or not they take the Trophy this year.

Going elsewhere can be detrimental to his career at this stage.

[Sakae 0]

You both are making good points. As long as mgt doesn't start blaming drivers. In Melbourne Arrivabene was mad at Seb for not securing top spot in qualy.

[Emmcee 0]

Well where would Seb go? I honestly can't see him anywhere else for a long time if at all. He is to focussed on Ferrari on the emulation of schumi. 

[BradSpeedMan 6]

15 minutes ago, Emmcee said:

Well where would Seb go? I honestly can't see him anywhere else for a long time if at all. He is to focussed on Ferrari on the emulation of schumi. 

Yep. I think that moment when he was caught brooding and less than happy demeanor was more of a reflection on the challenge ahead

[Ruslan 0]

The sense I get at the moment is that Vettel stays with Ferrari and its too early to say what will happen with Kimi.

Hamilton stays at Mercedes (almost certain...where else would he want to go to) and may very well be joined there by Alonso.

I sense that Red Bull will be unchanged.

Unless McLaren greatly improves this season, it will not be a home for any big-name drivers.

Williams is Williams.

Renault may be the only other attractive place to go, and I gather Hulkenberg will be there for a while.

Perez is ready to move up (Ferrari?) and who know where Bottas ends up.

 

 

 

 

[radical-one 0]

19 hours ago, Sakae said:

You both are making good points. As long as mgt doesn't start blaming drivers. In Melbourne Arrivabene was mad at Seb for not securing top spot in qualy.

Maybe Arrivabene should go

[Sakae 0]

Arrivabene's position is solid, as long as car stays strong. Should Ferrari start lagging behind second year in development, then SM might become unpredictable (methinks). Problem is that getting rid of people is easier then hiring better replacements when you need them. For now Ferrari's TP is not doing too bad, so it seems from outside.