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Formula One

That's a strange one, especially after LH has just brought the BOSS sponsorship over from McLaren... :/ The article doesn't actually say he has signed, just that he visited the McLaren factory, 3 weeks ago, for 2 hoursk, and left with a smile on his face. That would coincide with the BOSS sponsorship moving to Merc, not necessarily LH signing for them.

I'm not sure Vettel is going to Ferrari either, I know RB have said so but there is so much BS about, I don't know what to believe anymore...

Interesting & entertaining nevertheless :)
 
Not the best race, but we've had some brilliant ones this season so can't complain too much. It will be a travesty if Lewis does not win the championship, 9 wins to 4 shows his superiority over Rosberg this season.

:)
 
Indeed, I'm just glad it's double points at Abu Dhabi and not a last race with double points in Brazil; Lewis has fared much better in Abu Dhabi than Sau Palou. Going to be a nervy end to the season!

:)
 
If the Rumours of Lewis leaving Mercedes are true, it is unlikely they would want him to win (although it has happened in the past) and it would sort of feel wrong next season if the Mercedes did not have the number 1 on it after it has dominated this season.

Will be an interesting final few races.

Ian
 
Pretty sure Lewis will still be at Mercedes next year, but depending on how the Honda engine goes he could return to McLaren for 2016. Lauda will not want to lose Lewis so soon, he appears to be a big fan.

:)
 
I think it's worth looking into who's currently contracted for which team for next year at the moment.

Ferrari
Fernando Alonso
Kimi Räikkönen

Force India
Nico Hülkenburg
Sergio Pérez

Lotus
Pastor Maldonado

Mercedes
Nico Rosberg
Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniil Kvyat

Toro Rosso
Max Verstappen

Williams
Felipe Massa
Valtteri Bottas

Slots to be filled

Caterham - 2
Lotus - 1
Marussia - 2
McLaren - 2
Sauber - 2
Toro Rosso - 1

So that's ten slots left. Vettel hasn't yet announced where he's going to be moving to for next year, and suspicions are that he'll go to Ferrari. Kimi is apparently going to be leaving F1 when his contract expires at the end of next year, so Vettel would probably replace Alonso. Rumours are that Alonso will take one of the seats at McLaren, which means that either Jenson Button or Kevin Magnussen would have to go, and word is that it'd be Button. It's a tricky one, as Button has previous experience with Honda, and that could be quite attractive to McLaren. However, given that things haven't gone as well for Jenson at McLaren as he would've wanted, he may think it's time to move on. It's possible that Button may well end up at another team, and given that Toro Rosso have a teenager in the shape of Max Verstappen starting next season, I have an inkling that Button might end up there for a year or two to help Verstappen a bit. Then again, there's always the space at Lotus as well. Grosjean, I think, will probably be kept on by Lotus. That now leaves six spaces. Marussia will probably keep Chilton on for another season, and given Bianchi's injuries, I think they'll give Alexander Rossi the second seat at the team. My suspicions are that given Caterham's troubles at the moment, they may not survive beyond the end of this season. This just leaves Sauber. I'm disappointed by Sauber this season, and have a feeling that they may get a completely fresh driver line-up to try and turn things around next year. Their current test drivers are Giedo van der Garde, Simona de Silvestro, and Sergey Sirotkin. It's already been said that de Silvestro won't be racing next year due to a lack of funding, which is a shame, as it'd be good to have a greater female presence on the grid (the last woman to take part in a grand prix weekend before Susie Wolff did for Williams earlier this year was Giovanna Amati back in 1992), so Sauber may have van der Garde and Sirotkin as their line-up for next year, leaving Sutil and Gutiérrez without drives. The latter may be a problem, given the return of the Mexican Grand Prix to the calendar next year. However, with Pérez for Force India, I imagine that it'll be fine.

So, in short, here's my predicted line-up for next year (excluding Caterham for now):

Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel
Kimi Raikkonen

Force India
Nico Hülkenberg
Sergio Pérez

Lotus
Pastor Maldonado
Romain Grosjean

Marussia
Max Chilton
Alexander Rossi

McLaren
Fernando Alonso
Kevin Magnussen

Mercedes
Nico Rosberg
Lewis Hamilton

Red Bull
Daniel Ricciardo
Daniil Kvyat

Sauber
Giedo van der Garde
Sergey Sirotkin

Toro Rosso
Jenson Button
Max Verstappen

Williams
Felipe Massa
Valtteri Bottas

There's also the rumoured entry of Forza Rossa Racing next year - a team with links to Romania, with one of the key people involved being Colin Kolles, who's been involved with Jordan/Midland/Spyker/Force India in the past, and is currently an advisor to Caterham. I've got no idea who they may want for their drivers, but it'll probably be a pair of drivers with plenty of financial backing.
 
I do hope Lewis returns to McLaren soonish. I know the car just isn't up there at the moment but it still feels a bit strange for me not seeing him in a McLaren. Plus I think he'd have his own strategist. I think at Mercedes they have one who basically plans what is best for the team whereas at McLaren they have two, one for each driver to ensure their success.

It's just annoying when people get asked to let people pass, no, let them race.
 
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I thought both Lewis & Nico have their own strategists/engineers? They have also been allowed to race for the most part of the season? The ONLY time this season (that I can remember) is the Russion GP, last week, where Nico maintained a place by exceeding track limits. If the team hadn't have told Nico to let Lewis past, he would have had a drive-through penalty. (That being said, last season it was clear that Lewis was the #1 driver.)

I mainly agree with your prediction @Jonathan - apart from Jenson. I can't see why they wold need an 'old hat' at a RB feeder team. They are all about giving promising youngsters experience to eventually take a seat at RB. Did they not let Vergne go because he was 'too old?'
 
smudge said:
I thought both Lewis & Nico have their own strategists/engineers? They have also been allowed to race for the most part of the season? The ONLY time this season (that I can remember) is the Russion GP, last week, where Nico maintained a place by exceeding track limits. If the team hadn't have told Nico to let Lewis past, he would have had a drive-through penalty. (That being said, last season it was clear that Lewis was the #1 driver.)
'
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I recall in an interview earlier in the season Lewis talking about how the team works differently with strategists compared to McLaren and how they only have one ect but that was a little while ago I watched that so I could be mistaken.
:)


I think also in the Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis (in 3rd) was told to let Nico overtake but he refused, telling them he wasn't slowing down for him and that Nico would have to get closer if he wanted to pass. That just sticks in my mind.:)
 
The last time I heard (a few races back), Mercedes do only have one strategist for both drivers. This is to ensure the best result for the team. McLaren did have a strategist for both drivers when Lewis was there, working out the best strategy for each driver rather than the team as a whole. I suppose there are pros and cons to both.

As for driver line-ups next year, there is surely no chance of Button going to Toro Rosso. As the feeder team to Red Bull it goes completely againt the Red Bull young driver programme. It's a shame that so many drivers are no recruited based on money they have to bring, if it wasn't for that the likes of Maldonado would be out, he is in my opinion utterly useless and a liability. Serves him right for ditching Williams as he thought they weren't good enough to go to a 'better' Lotus team, only to find that Willaims are now miles ahead of Lotus.

:)
 
jenniferelka said:
I recall in an interview earlier in the season Lewis talking about how the team works differently with strategists compared to McLaren and how they only have one ect but that was a little while ago I watched that so I could be mistaken.
:)


I think also in the Hungarian Grand Prix Lewis (in 3rd) was told to let Nico overtake but he refused, telling them he wasn't slowing down for him and that Nico would have to get closer if he wanted to pass. That just sticks in my mind.:)
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Ah yes, I forgot about that. :) I did have to side with Lewis on that occasion though, Nico could not catch LH after he had took the life out of his option tires. Yes they were on different strategies, but considering Quali, Nico should have been way past LH by that point anyway. LH deserved a podium after his drive from the back.

You've only got to look at Spa & Bahrain as prime examples to show that they are allowed to race.

I'm sure that the teams work differently, but both teams still have different sides of the garage, who want their respective side to win.
 
Button going to Toro Rosso was only a possibility that I came up with - in all honesty, I think he'll probably end up leaving the sport, which is a great shame. If this happens, then endurance racing is where he may end up. If we have a look at the Red Bull Junior Team, there are four drivers: Max Verstappen (with Toro Rosso for 2015); Pierre Gasly (currently third in this year's GP2 series); Carlos Sainz Jr (currently linked to a possible seat at Caterham [if they survive] for 2015, and also leading this year's Formula Renault 3.5 Series); and Alex Lynn (current leader of the GP3 series). Out of those - excluding Verstappen, obviously - I think Toro Rosso may well go for Carlos Sainz Jr to fill the empty seat.
 
Helmut Marko has already suggested that they are likely to fill the vacant space with one of their development drivers.

I can not see Toro Rosso employing an older driver.

I wonder if Button could replace Massa at Williams, as much as I like Massa, I don't think he has had a good season. Less than half the points of Bottas, and I can remember him making several mistakes this season.

F1 is a team sport, and IMO, the team must always come first. If your battling for 6 and 7, and your team mate is faster, letting him past so he can attack 5th place is a no brainer, as those extra points might be the difference between 3rd and 4th in the constructors championship, or in money terms, the difference between an extra $3.5 Million. It just needs the team to get both drivers on the same page, at the start of the season, and get it in the drivers contracts that they follow team orders.

Once your position is secure in the championship, then I have no problem letting the drivers battle it out. The situation at Mercedes now been a perfect example, where even if both drivers take each other out in the next three races, they will still be 1st in the World Championship.

Ian
 
IanB said:
I wonder if Button could replace Massa at Williams, as much as I like Massa, I don't think he has had a good season. Less than half the points of Bottas, and I can remember him making several mistakes this season.
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Williams have already said that they're keeping both Massa and Bottas for next year.
 
So it is a possibility, the highly controversial double-points at the final race could yet decide whether the title goes to Hamilton or Rosberg.

I've been against it from the moment it was announced, what makes one race worth more than another? It doesn't sound right that Rosberg could potentially win the title despite Hamilton winning twice as many races (ROS 5 HAM 10 as it stands). I know it's about consistency over the season but over the last several seasons the winner of the championship has won more races than anyone (except in 2010 when VET & ALO were tied on 5), although ironically Hamilton won his in 2008 despite Massa winning 1 race more.

I hope it doesn't come down to double-points, reliability or a collision that takes one or both out of the race. I'm sure everyone just wants it to be decided fairly on the race track with no gimmicks. If it is the former, I do worry that people's perception of the sport will change and may boycott it if the rule stays for 2015, I might be one of those.
 
Bring back the old 10,6,4,3,2,1 points system!

Okay, that means the last race would not be for the championship, but it would of meant plenty of twists and turns throughout the season. To many gimmicks in F1 these days. Hopefully next season Mercedes do not run away with it again.

Lewis: 00 10 20 30 40 56 46 52 62 66 70 70 80 90 100 110 120 126
Nico:: 10 16 22 28 34 44 50 60 60 70 73 79 85 85 091 097 103 113

Ian
 
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