[a*ed]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

There is really something about a young driver coming up through the ranks and getting the big drive. No big names can give you that thrill from the get go.

Really hope he gets the Sauber drive next year but that would leave Wehrlein without a seat next year. Once Kimi leaves Ferrari at the end of 2018, LecLerc can move to Ferrari.

Would be wonderful to see Ocon, Max and Leclerc racing against Lewis, Seb, Alonso, Daniel in 2018.

[Fullrevs]

This rumor has cropped up again.

Bernie Ecclestone could be buying Force India. Any indication on when they may come back to F1 is not known as yet.

People come and people go in Formula One, just like they do anywhere else. That includes famous names like Brabham and Ecclestone, but the two could be making their way back into the sport.

According to AutoWeek, former F1 driver David Brabham (son of the three-time world champion Jack Brabham) could be mounting an effort to put his family name back on the grid – with a little help from Bernie Ecclestone.

First, a little history. Australian driver Jack Brabham competed in Formula One in the 1950s and 60s, winning three world championships and starting his own team under his own name in 1960. Bernie Ecclestone bought the team in 1971, leveraging his status as a team owner to form the Formula One Constructors Association (along with Frank Williams, Colin Chapman, and Max Mosley, among others). Together Ecclestone and Mosley secured the commercial rights to the series from the FIA (over which Mosley would later become president), putting Bernie in the position he held as F1 supremo until Liberty Media acquired the rights and showed him the door.

Ecclestone sold Brabham in 1988 as he climbed his way up, but the team ultimately collapsed in 1992. Several attempts have been made to revive the name, but with Ecclestone now unencumbered and Jack's son David on board, this one could actually take off. The effort ostensibly hinges on the billionaire Ecclestone buying the Force India team that's now in the process of rebranding as its owner Vijya Mallya fights legal battles of his own. He would then relaunch the team together with David under the Brabham banner.

Back in May, former F1 driver turned Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle reportedly asked Ecclestone about the emerging rumors, to which (according to MSN Sports) Bernie said: "We've given it a lot of thought, be ready because we're going to need a driver. Why not?"

Three months later, David Brabham (himself a former Le Mans winner) was a bit more cagey when speaking with AutoWeek: "Brabham is a brand with over 69 years of racing heritage and it is our intention to see the name back on track,” said David, who recently mounted a crowdfunding effort to revive the team, raising $300,000 from fans but failing to attract sufficient corporate support. “Since Project Brabham was launched, we have received a lot of enquiries from different parties who have expressed an interest in licensing the name and we are evaluating a number of options. We have no further comment."

Source:Carscoops

[ashwin.terminat]

Kimi will stay on with Ferrari upto the end of the 2018 season.

https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/h...-for-2018.html

No surprise there. Put putting in strong performances lately and is amiable towards his team mate's championship campaign.

[Hatari]

Kimi's last few years at Ferrari remind me of how I fared with my 2nd language, while in school.
Managing to pass every year by the skin of my teeth and my teacher telling me if I didnt work hard I would surely fail next year. I never did ofcourse.

But this time around, I think he has Vettel to thank.

[Rachit.K.Dogra]

Originally Posted by Hatari

Kimi's last few years at Ferrari remind me of how I fared with my 2nd language, while in school.
Managing to pass every year by the skin of my teeth and my teacher telling me if I didnt work hard I would surely fail next year. I never did ofcourse.

But this time around, I think he has Vettel to thank.

You have summed it up perfectly. I love Kimi period and I loved Ferrari (Before they hired Vettel). But for some reason after the first championship winning season with Ferrari, which he won by lot of good luck, his performance with the Scuderia team has been below his potential in my opinion and I have no explanation for that. I mean look at his 2 year with the Renault, he was challenging top guys and suddenly he joins Ferrari again and all he does is post the fastest lap times of the race which actually makes you wonder what is wrong.

Rachit

[reignofchaos]

Vettel was the primary reason why Kimi was retained for next year. However one also has to consider the fact that Kimi still wins the popularity stakes with fans and dropping him would mean Ferrari losing more than half of their fan support.

[ferrarirules]

Originally Posted by Hatari

Kimi's last few years at Ferrari remind me of how I fared with my 2nd language, while in school.
Managing to pass every year by the skin of my teeth and my teacher telling me if I didnt work hard I would surely fail next year. I never did ofcourse.

But this time around, I think he has Vettel to thank.

Completely agree with your thought. What he did in Austria got him the drive for 2018. And from Vettel's perspective, Kimi is the best team mate he can get. He pushes him to perform well but he is not a threat. And off lately he has resigned to the job of second fiddle which plays best with Vettel's aspirations.

I would have loved to see Alonso in that seat. Alonso with almost similar amount of experience as Kimi is much better a driver.

[anachronix]

Kimi staying back with Ferrari for next year was pretty much expected. He is the safe bet for them even if Vettel stays or not.

Sergio's plans was to get their young stars a drive in F1 next year before they graduate to a prime seat in the Scuderia. Possibly a Ferrari B Team with Giovinazzi and Leclerc in the Sauber. 2019 should be good!

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Kimi staying back with Ferrari for next year was pretty much expected. He is the safe bet for them even if Vettel stays or not.

Yeah. Kimi is somehow content with his position in the team. Maybe not at all bad for a 37 year old I guess.

Let's see for how long Finger boy extends his contract now.

Hopefully, we will see Charles Leclerc at Maranello in 2019. Will be great if Vettel' new contract has no say in that.

Looking forward to Leclerc on that Alfa Romeo Sauber next year!

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Let's see for how long Finger boy extends his contract now.

Vettel signed a new three year contract with Ferrari.

[MCR]

A good article on Fernando Alonso's future by Andrew Benson of BBC.

Link: http://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/41081431

Now that the top 3 teams have their Drivers finalized (Bottas is supposedly getting one more year at Mercedes), Alonso has very few options left in F1. He would continue with McLaren provided they choose the slightly better PU from Renault!

Never imagined that a Company like Honda could screw up so badly and consistently!
Shows the world that Japs are a long way off in hi-technology development. Sigh.

[Hatari]

Big talks at Monza this weekend between McLaren and Renault, with Ross Brawn present as well. Looks like we will know the answer to McLaren-Honda or McLaren-Renault by the time we get to Singapore in a fortnight.

Interesting negotiations ahead. Chicken or the egg situation. Renault can supply either Toro Rosso or McLaren, not both. Seems McLaren can walk away from Honda provided Toro Rosso are in bed with Honda. If Honda agree to a deal with Toro Rosso, McLaren will surely pull the plug.

Alonso is easier to figure out. My gut feel is he is staying at McLaren for sure in 2018. He will not leave F1 before he gets a serious crack at winning a Championship. Which means podiums next year must be on the cards.

[jfxavier]

McLaren Honda OR McLaren Renault

That's the question that's being aired mostly.
I would prefer the former.
It's not without reasoning. I do believe that Honda will find their way eventually.
Time is the problem especially for a racing team like McLaren.
Honda is a sluggish giant still trying to find it's mojo and McLaren are more desperate than ever.
Nice article that gives an insight into what went wrong with Honda as a whole.

http://www.reuters.com/investigates/...da-innovation/

[Reinhard]

Without doubt, the McLaren-Honda is one of the funniest stories of recent F1 era. Icing on the cake being the 2017 challenger that looks as if they simply got old Spykar F1 chassis in a steal deal somewhere.

All the problems accepted, what Alonso is doing this year in races, on radio and in interviews is outright unprofessional in my opinion. Certainly not worthy of a 2 time world champion of his caliber. He is by far one of the most accomplished drivers on track of our generation. But the way he behaves on the radio, complaining like a sour loser or a spoilt kid all the time, is not the right thing. He keeps on saying the same boring things on the radio. Its fine, we all know it - don't overdo it.

At the end of the day, Honda brings a lot of money to McLaren. Indirectly, its Honda that is paying his salaries. Nobody is stopping him if he wants to go. If you are not happy - just leave.

He himself might have created problems for his 2018 chances by this highly childish behaviour. An iconic driver constantly crying bad things is a PR disaster for all partners of the team. Potential employers for 2018 would have taken a note of this risk also.

The guy who is one of the best in business, has made by far the worst decisions in picking his employers. So contrasting to his nemesis Lewis.

I hope he stays on at McLaren for the next year as the remaining options are not that cool anyway. At the least, he gets plenty time to relax track-side during testing or race weekends and gets paid plenty for it .

[Hatari]

Originally Posted by jfxavier

McLaren Honda OR McLaren Renault

That's the question that's being aired mostly.
I would prefer the former.
It's not without reasoning. I do believe that Honda will find their way eventually.
Time is the problem especially for a racing team like McLaren.
Honda is a sluggish giant still trying to find it's mojo and McLaren are more desperate than ever.
Nice article that gives an insight into what went wrong with Honda as a whole.

http://www.reuters.com/investigates/...da-innovation/

3 years is a lifetime in F1, and they are nowhere. Without positive incremental changes, you can never hope to recover a second in a season. There is no magic.

McLaren have had their worst season ever and its only fair they think of podiums before the fairy tale of 'eventually'

Great article.

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Without doubt, the McLaren-Honda is one of the funniest stories of recent F1 era. Icing on the cake being the 2017 challenger that looks as if they simply got old Spykar F1 chassis in a steal deal somewhere.

All the problems accepted, what Alonso is doing this year in races, on radio and in interviews is outright unprofessional in my opinion. Certainly not worthy of a 2 time world champion of his caliber. He is by far one of the most accomplished drivers on track of our generation. But the way he behaves on the radio, complaining like a sour loser or a spoilt kid all the time, is not the right thing. He keeps on saying the same boring things on the radio. Its fine, we all know it - don't overdo it.

At the end of the day, Honda brings a lot of money to McLaren. Indirectly, its Honda that is paying his salaries. Nobody is stopping him if he wants to go. If you are not happy - just leave.

He himself might have created problems for his 2018 chances by this highly childish behaviour. An iconic driver constantly crying bad things is a PR disaster for all partners of the team. Potential employers for 2018 would have taken a note of this risk also.

The guy who is one of the best in business, has made by far the worst decisions in picking his employers. So contrasting to his nemesis Lewis.

I hope he stays on at McLaren for the next year as the remaining options are not that cool anyway. At the least, he gets plenty time to relax track-side during testing or race weekends and gets paid plenty for it .

Agree to a large extent. He has made a few horrible decisions. I think he has finally realised he needs a team to be competitive. His talent is not enough.

But the rants are more calculated than people think. The team cant openly criticize Honda and I feel they have given Alonso the license to go ahead.

Now, the deal is done for McLaren Renault next year. With Renault back in the game, the PU will be closer to the Mercedes next year.
Smart move, a company cannot run on hope alone. Podiums a must next year to revive their image.