Rodster wrote:PK, said Danny is the defacto #1, i'm not so sure about that. I think Renault will let it play out and both drivers are of such quality and skills that there's no need to set one or the other as a #1, though I seriously doubt Nico is making $26m a year. Zak Brown said they were in the hunt for Danny and thought they would land him but understood why he chose Renault over McLaren.
Come on. Hulkenberg is one of the most overrated drivers on the grid. Ricciardo will wipe the floor with him.
What has Hulkenberg done in his career other than win Le Mans in the dominant car? Zero F1 podiums. Christ, even Lance Stroll registered a podium finish in a Williams. I rest my case.
It will take maybe two races next season for Ricciardo to show his class and become the true No. 1 at Renault. I don't rate Hulkenberg at all.
Zak Brown is delusional. His time at McLaren will be up probably after next season, as results speak even louder than the snake oil bullsh*t spewing from his mouth on a regular basis. McLaren is a shell of itself -- a joke of a once-proud team right now.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Carlos Sainz was a highly rated young talent in the Red Bull stable and the Hulkster has dominated him all year. I'm just saying Nico is a quality driver and so is Danny who i'm a huge fan of especially after he showed Seb the door. I'll place my bet that Renault won't make either one of them a #1 or #2 starting the 2019 campaign and just let the results speak for themselves.
Agree on Zak, he's actually making Martin Whitmarsh look good.
Rodster wrote:Carlos Sainz was a highly rated young talent in the Red Bull stable and the Hulkster has dominated him all year. I'm just saying Nico is a quality driver and so is Danny who i'm a huge fan of especially after he showed Seb the door. I'll place my bet that Renault won't make either one of them a #1 or #2 starting the 2019 campaign and just let the results speak for themselves.
Agree on Zak, he's actually making Martin Whitmarsh look good.
Hulkenberg is a quality, steady mid-packer. Nowhere near the caliber of Ricciardo.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Seems like the best-case scenario for Williams is to become the de facto Mercedes Junior team, a George Russell and Esteban Ocon team would be a step up.
Dave wrote:Seems like the best-case scenario for Williams is to become the de facto Mercedes Junior team, a George Russell and Esteban Ocon team would be a step up.
There was a rumor that Williams is pursuing a closer tie-up with Mercedes and Toto Wolff much like the Haas team has with Ferrari. I hope that Sainz catches on with Red Bull. He is a seriously good young talent and he needs to showcase it now to see if he's got the goods. I think he does and i've felt he suffered when going to Renault but that was his fault as he began to complain that he wanted out and Helmet Marco dumped him to Renault.
His worst case scenario would be to paired with Alonso. He's not good enough yet to topple Capt Morgan.
It's really sad to see the decline of Williams, once the epitome of British excellence in F1. I hope some sort of alliance can prevent the team from taking the same route to oblivion as another once-proud British team, Tyrrell.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
pk500 wrote:It's really sad to see the decline of Williams, once the epitome of British excellence in F1. I hope some sort of alliance can prevent the team from taking the same route to oblivion as another once-proud British team, Tyrrell.
Claire Williams recently said in an interview that she would gladly step-down if someone told her she was the problem. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on that wall.
Claire Williams: Alright, I called this meeting to see if you think i'm the problem and holding this team back? Anyone, (everyone is looking down at the floor). Right then, i'm not the problem, let's give those other teams hell.
pk500 wrote:It's really sad to see the decline of Williams, once the epitome of British excellence in F1. I hope some sort of alliance can prevent the team from taking the same route to oblivion as another once-proud British team, Tyrrell.
Claire Williams recently said in an interview that she would gladly step-down if someone told her she was the problem. Wouldn't you love to be a fly on that wall.
Claire Williams: Alright, I called this meeting to see if you think i'm the problem and holding this team back? Anyone, (everyone is looking down at the floor). Right then, i'm not the problem, let's give those other teams hell.
Exactly. Claire will run the team as long as Frank is alive. I believe Frank sees Claire as the spitting image of his beloved late wife, Ginny.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Seeing Colin Braun's name pop up on the IndyCar silly season rumors is cool, he's doing an unbelievable job in IMSA and it would be awesome to see him in a competitive IndyCar ride. Felix Rosenqvist is another huge talent I'd love to see make the jump.
Dave wrote:Seeing Colin Braun's name pop up on the IndyCar silly season rumors is cool, he's doing an unbelievable job in IMSA and it would be awesome to see him in a competitive IndyCar ride. Felix Rosenqvist is another huge talent I'd love to see make the jump.
I'm very skeptical of guys like Braun and Jordan and Ricky Taylor until I see their test times. I know they both have family ties to their respective teams, but there's a reason why those guys haven't landed an IndyCar ride. I've worked in both series, and the level of competition and driving talent in IMSA is a step below IndyCar.
Rosenqvist would be a stone-cold killer in IndyCar, though.
Still, the most intriguing story in the IndyCar silly season -- far more compelling than the Alonso rumors -- is the seismic shift in the series if Dixon decides to leave Ganassi after more than 15 years.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Jacques Villeneuve said he thinks Lawrence Stroll buying Force India is the final nail in Williams coffin. He said they lost the Stroll money as well as Martini's money going forward next year. I think they'll pull thru but that team needs someone with aero and chassis expertise because based on the drivers and media's comments, that's where the problem lies. Hopefully Paddy Lowe can give them some direction as who to hire or move into that position. Jacques also wants Lance to move to Force India this year so as to get a jump start for next year. That would cost some money because it would either be Perez or Ocon who would have to be bought out.
I feel bad for Checo Perez, a quality driver who signed on with a top team before he was ready now it appears that door has been closed shut. IMO, two drivers need to give up their seats, Kimi and Romain at Haas.
Side note: It was confirmed that Robert Kubica had a contract to drive for Ferrari before he ruined his career in his Rally accident. Shame cause Kubica was one of the rising stars in F1.
pk500 wrote:Still, the most intriguing story in the IndyCar silly season -- far more compelling than the Alonso rumors -- is the seismic shift in the series if Dixon decides to leave Ganassi after more than 15 years.
From my completely-outsider viewpoint, I think Ganassi is still the odds-on favorite for Dixon. McLaren needs to sh*t or get off the pot with their program.
Definitely would be the end of an era if Dixon leaves, have to wonder what happens to Chip's team if it happens. Mike Hull is one of the best in the business, but the #10 car hasn't exactly lit the world on fire over the last few years. Could it be a situation like we're seeing at Hendrick right now where the driver line-up pales in comparison to some of the team's banner years and the results on the track just aren't the same.
It still drives me nuts that anyone in motorsports gives two sh*ts about what Jacques Villeneuve says or thinks. He's a complete d*****bag who had about four good seasons behind the wheel -- two in CART and two in F1. An overrated World Champion.
Nobody would hold JV in as high regard if his last name wasn't Villeneuve.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
pk500 wrote:It still drives me nuts that anyone in motorsports gives two sh*ts about what Jacques Villeneuve says or thinks. He's a complete d*****bag who had about four good seasons behind the wheel -- two in CART and two in F1. An overrated World Champion.
Nobody would hold JV in as high regard if his last name wasn't Villeneuve.
Come on PK, quit holding back tell us how you really feel.
Alonso quitting F1 after this season. Can you blame him?
Yes, Captain Morgan has made some ill-advised decisions to switch teams at just the wrong time, but he'll still go down as one of the 20 greatest drivers in F1.
Hopefully IndyCar is next for Alonso.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Yup, ditto for Alonso to reboot in the Indycar series. He would be good for the series as millions of his fans would follow him and watch the races on TV or on the internet.
It could be one hell of a grid if Alonso comes over.
Top tier; guys who are a threat to win everywhere
Alonso
Dixon
Newgarden
Power
Rossi
Next tier, capable of winning on the right day
Wickens (has the potential to move to the top tier if he develops like Rossi)
Hinchcliffe
Hunter Reay
Pagenaud
Rahal
Bourdais
Maybe Sato?
Harding Racing with McLaren/Andretti support. Could a team have any larger year-to-year swing than Harding if this were to happen?
Not altogether surprising to hear Honda isn't too excited about the possibility of being reunited with Alonso, Harding would be one way to get him aligned with Chevy.
Harding Racing with McLaren/Andretti support. Could a team have any larger year-to-year swing than Harding if this were to happen?
Not altogether surprising to hear Honda isn't too excited about the possibility of being reunited with Alonso, Harding would be one way to get him aligned with Chevy.
No surprise and I read something along those lines although no teams were named, wink..wink. The sticking point is Honda does not want to support Alonso because of the backlash he gave them in Formula 1. So Andretti's hands were tied unless he got another team to take over and a senior rep for GM/Chevrolet was in support but his hands were tied unless Andretti found another team. I believe I read that Andretti has one more year on his contract with Honda.
All around great news especially for Indycar because the interest within the US and overseas in Indycar next year will dwarf anything Nascar can produce.
There's no way Harding would stay with Chevy if it received support from Andretti, Honda's flagship IndyCar team.
Mike Harding would jump to Honda in a second if he could get Alonso, and I'm sure Honda would pay all or almost all of Alonso's salary. Harding, like most businessmen who made their fortune outside of racing, had no clue about how much money it costs to go racing and already is slashing costs.
Think you guys are missing the boat about Honda and Alonso, on two fronts. One, are we sure Honda wouldn't want a two-time World Champion in its camp in IndyCar? I think memories could be short. Two, Honda in Japan plays almost no role in the Honda IndyCar program, which is run by HPD in Santa Clarita, California. It's a fairly autonomous program.
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Rodster wrote:All around great news especially for Indycar because the interest within the US and overseas in Indycar next year will dwarf anything Nascar can produce.
Overseas, yes. Domestically, no, outside of May. Chase Elliott is more known to most American race fans than Fernando Alonso. Combine IndyCar and F1's TV ratings in the U.S., and that total still is somewhere between a third and a half of the NASCAR Cup Series TV audience.
Still, I would be stoked to see Alonso here next season!
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Carlos Sainz to McLaren on a multi-year deal. Good choice, good young talent. Now the only 2 questionable seats appears to be at Force India. Stroll gets the #1 seat thanks to his dad and that leaves to quality drivers that are way better than Stroll, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. I could see Sergio moving to Willams and possibly Ocon to Torro Rosso. It would be a shame to lose either driver but money makes the world go round in Formula One.
Just a SkySports rumor but supposedly Kimi may get a 2 year extension on his stay with Ferrari which would see both Vettel and Kimi end their contracts at the same time. So much for Charles LeClerc going to Ferrari next year if these rumors hold true.
