2020 F1

[Paris in Flames]

Yeah that deal was...not good for Renault. Definitely wasn't great for Danny on track and would have seen much better results staying at RB but as noted, he did get 700 million out of it.

So guess Vettel goes to Renault? Maybe Renault doesn't want to invest in another huge contract and Hulk gets his old seat back.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

Carlos Sainz to Ferrari!!!. Confirmed.

 

[Paris in Flames]

F1 TV directors are already trying to come up with ways to not show Sainz on TV now that he's in a Ferrari.

I want things to get really wild and Renault announces their new driver now.

They have solid options...

Vettel
Hulkenberg
Alonso

I also imagine there's a few drivers currently in F1 who aren't signed for 2021 too.

Always the f2 route as well with somebody like Zhou. Starting to think Vettel and retirement are likely.

 

[SoupyFIN]

Mercedes or bust for Vettel now, Renault isn't good enough and I think he'd rather just retire if that was the only option.

 

[Kane One]

When Button left F1, did he say he's retiring from F1 or taking a break like Alonso?

 

[Khelandros]

When Button left F1, did he say he's retiring from F1 or taking a break like Alonso?

Taking a break. Always maintained he could come back.

 

[Preds Partisan]

There's been so little real news for weeks I literally flipped through these breaking stories on my phone and thought they were rumor articles. Until I saw them posted on here. HF to the rescue.

 

[Paris in Flames]

Waaaait a minute.

Isn't Mika Hakkinen still on sabbatical?

Give him a seat.

 

[Kane One]

There's been so little real news for weeks I literally flipped through these breaking stories on my phone and thought they were rumor articles. Until I saw them posted on here. HF to the rescue.

You should subscribe to /r/formula1.

 

[JoVel]

Waaaait a minute.

Isn't Mika Hakkinen still on sabbatical?

Give him a seat.

He was pretty close to getting a seat with Williams in 2005. I'd take him over Latifi.

Can't remember if it was Mika or Williams who pulled out in the end.

 

[Khelandros]

So what is the guessing game for 2021? Who goes where?

Spoiler

Mercedes:
Hamilton (no contract)
Bottas (no contract)

Ferrari:
Sainz (signed)
Leclerc (signed)

Red Bull:
Verstappen (signed)
Albon (no contract)

McLaren:
Ricciardo (signed)
Norris (signed)

Renault:
Ocon (signed)
vacant

Alpha Tauri:
Kvyat (no contract)
Gasly (no contract)

Aston Martin:
Perez (signed)
Stroll (no contract, but not moving)

Alfa Romeo:
Kimi (no contract)
Giovinazzi (no contract)

Haas:
Grosjean (no contract)
Magnussen (no contract)

Williams:
Russell (no contract)
Latifi (no contract)

Looks like Hamilton will be back with Mercedes, now that Ferrari has their guys locked up. Also looks like many teams were waiting on the 2021 regs to go into place before deciding on their drivers. With it being pushed back now, do teams go with the same approach and sign guys to 1 year deals.?

 

[Albatros]

Verstappen-Vettel and Hamilton-Vettel would both be a lot of fun.

 

[Paris in Flames]

I'd love to see Vettel with either of the other top two teams but I can't imagine he wants to play second fiddle.

Or on the flip side, I can't imagine Red Bull and Mercedes want the potential for so much clashing.

Having said that I'm just a random fan and silly season has made a fool out of me countless times....so why not make some predictions.

2021 Driver Line Up Predictions

Mercedes

• Lewis Hamilton
• Valterri Bottas

Red Bull

• Max Verstappen
• Alex Albon

Ferrari

• Charles Leclerc
• Carlos Sainz

McLaren

• Daniel Ricciardo
• Lando Norris

Renault

• Esteban Ocon
• Sebastian Vettel

Aston Martin

• Sergio Perez
• Lance Stroll

Haas

• Kevin Magnussen
• Nico Hulkenberg

Alfa Romeo

• Mick Schumacher
• Kimi Raikkonen

Williams

• Nicholas Latifi
• George Russell

Alpha Tauri

• Danil Kyvat
• Pierre Gasly

This is actually really hard for a few reasons.

• There's no logical place for Vettel but I can't imagine the grid without him so I just stuck him in an open seat. It doesn't seem very likely though.
• I wanted to put Russell in the Mercedes and Bottas in the Renault because I don't know if I see Toto leaving Russell to rot in the Williams another season...but again....it all circles back to Vettel and in this scenario that would leave Vettel with no drive.
• I also don't think Hulk gets a seat back but I want him to so I stuck him in there.

 

[PanniniClaus]

I'm just dialing in now.. Danny boy didn't wait long to correct his Renault error...


Do they want a former champ who will call the car a piece of shit at every opportunity in Alonso?

Maybe they can convince Vettel there is something there but Danny certainly didn't see it.

 

[Paris in Flames]

I'm just dialing in now.. Danny boy didn't wait long to correct his Renault error...


Do they want a former champ who will call the car a piece of shit at every opportunity in Alonso?

Maybe they can convince Vettel there is something there but Danny certainly didn't see it.

I don't even know if they'll have to sell themselves to Vettel. They can honestly probably approach it as "well...if you want to drive in F1 where the f*** else is it going to be..."

 

[PanniniClaus]

I don't even know if they'll have to sell themselves to Vettel. They can honestly probably approach it as "well...if you want to drive in F1 where the f*** else is it going to be..."

Yeah it will depend on his desire to keep racing.

 

[Paris in Flames]

Yeah that's why I keep leaning to retirement.

I don't see him playing second fiddle and I don't see him joining a mid field team.

 

[Khelandros]

Ferrari are 'looking at IndyCar' confirms Binotto

Sebastian Vettel Should Continue His Racing Career In IndyCar

 

[SoupyFIN]

I'd love to see Vettel with either of the other top two teams but I can't imagine he wants to play second fiddle.

I think he'd welcome the challenge against Hamilton, like what has Vettel got to lose at this point? He's already lost the title of post-Schumi era king to Hamilton, this is basically his only claim to fame against Hamilton left. If Vettel manages to beat Hamilton to the title and even if Hamilton finishes his career with more titles (very likely), Vettel could always say "well I went 1 vs. 1 with Hamilton on equal cars and beat him". If Vettel loses, well his reputation isn't going to get worse than what it is already (which is still good, people are quick to forget that he's a four time WDC).

But it's all in vain if Hamilton doesn't want Vettel as his teammate, he has a lot of say in the decisions Mercedes makes. Though a German manufacturer and a German driver..

 

[SoupyFIN]

Also interesting comments from Mclaren, they apparently had decided on Sainz (if he'd stayed) or Ricciardo as their candidates before the news about Vettel leaving Ferrari arrived, which sounds incredibly stupid to me.

Vettel and Hamilton both are potentially without a seat next year. No offense to Ricciardo, but those two are your main options until they sign with someone else.

 

[Paris in Flames]

Charles Leclerc. Terrible boyfriend.

 

[JoVel]

Charles Leclerc. Terrible boyfriend.

Sounds like Charles and his gf have similar relationship to what Ferrari and Kimi had.

 

[SoupyFIN]

Ferrari never offered Vettel a new contract - The Race

Wow if this is true.

 

[Paris in Flames]

I get Vettel hasn't looked fantastic lately but he's still Sebastian Vettel. It's being treated like he's Pastor Maldanado.

 

[Khelandros]

Ferrari never offered Vettel a new contract - The Race

Wow if this is true.

This is known. They have been negotiating for some time but nothing came from the talks, hence no contract being offered.