The 2020 Formula 1 Championship Discussion

[Ayirasi]

Got done watching the Bahrain Virtual GP. Mental first lap heroics, confused commentators that I wanted to mute, and a camera that kept focusing on the wrong battles... it was almost like a real F1 race!

June can't come soon enough.

[Kallisto]

Vettel is on his way out of Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel is to leave Ferrari at the end of the year after contract talks between the two broke down with no agreement.

The move, which is expected to be officially announced imminently, throws the future of the 32-year-old four-time world champion into doubt.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz, currently a McLaren driver, is among those who have been linked to Vettel's seat.

If Sainz leaves McLaren, one option for the team is Renault's Daniel Ricciardo.

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The Australian had serious talks with McLaren in 2018 when he was weighing up whether to leave Red Bull, before finally deciding to move to Renault.

Ricciardo is known to be unsettled at the French team and has talked about moving on.

Vettel could also be an option for McLaren, if he felt he was prepared to move to a team that was going through a restructuring process.

If not, the options for the 32-year-old to continue in F1 are bleak.

Lewis Hamilton, who is also out of contract at the end of the season, has repeatedly signalled his intention to stay at Mercedes, who are not believed to be considering a move for Vettel.

And Red Bull, where Vettel won his four world titles, have said that they would not partner their star driver Max Verstappen with another top-line driver - nor is Vettel likely to be interested in partnering the Dutchman.

Ferrari's other options are Ricciardo or Italian Antonio Giovinazzi, who races for the affiliated Alfa Romeo team.

Hamilton is not considered to be a serious possibility.

A remarkable fall from grace
Vettel's departure from Ferrari signals an ignominious end to his career at the Italian team, who he joined in 2015 with the aim of following in the footsteps of his childhood hero Michael Schumacher by winning the title with them

Vettel said as recently as last month that his intention was to stay with Ferrari beyond the end of his contract this season.

But talks have broken down after Vettel felt unable to accept the offer Ferrari made to him to stay alongside Charles Leclerc, who last winter signed until the end of 2024.

The exact nature of the disagreement that led to the failure of the talks is not clear, but Ferrari are reported to have offered Vettel a vastly reduced salary and a shorter contract than he desired.

Vettel had been Ferrari's number one driver since 2015, when he replaced Fernando Alonso after the Spaniard negotiated an exit from the team at the end of 2014 having lost faith they could ever provide the circumstances in which he would win the world title.

Vettel came closest to winning the championship with the team in 2017 and 2018, when Ferrari had a faster car than Mercedes for much of both seasons but their challenge faltered after a series of mistakes from driver and team.

That led to the beginning of a loss of faith between the two parties and he lost his position in the team for good with the arrival of Charles Leclerc last season.

The Monegasque was immediately a threat to Vettel, who started 2019 as the designated number one, and Leclerc ended the season having out-scored his senior team-mate on every metric - wins, poles, points and average qualifying pace.

The tension between the two also led to a series of flash points culminating in a crash at the penultimate race of the season in Brazil.

Vettel now heads into his final season with the team - assuming the 2020 championship is able to start amid the coronavirus crisis - knowing he has lost his status and facing an uncomfortable season in a team whose focus will inevitably be on their rising young star.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/52612216

[MCMLXXXII]

So who will take his seat? Ricciardo? Sainz? Hamilton? Haha or Alonso?

[Enjeh]

Hulkenberg? easiest for them would be to put Giovinazzi there as a second driver, and just move him out when they find a better driver.

Something that won't happen but I'd like to see, Is Magnussen getting that seat, I want to see that aggressive driving in a top team lol

- - - Updated - - -

Hmm. All rumours currently points towards Sainz getting the seat, and we will get a official announcement within the next 48 hours.

[Ayirasi]

Reports hinted at Sainz to Ferrari, but no Vettel to McLaren. No Red Bull. Probably not Mercedes. Retire? I'll admit, I've been disappointed with his consistency the past few years, but damn... hate to see him go out like that.

So who gets the McLaren seat? Ricciardo? Hulkenberg?

[Enjeh]

Reports hinted at Sainz to Ferrari, but no Vettel to McLaren. No Red Bull. Probably not Mercedes. Retire? I'll admit, I've been disappointed with his consistency the past few years, but damn... hate to see him go out like that.

So who gets the McLaren seat? Ricciardo? Hulkenberg?

Ricciardo are about to/have signed for McLaren. now, how credible those claims are, idk. but most big motorsport sites are reporting that.

and Alonso have supposedly been talking with Renault for the past couple of weeks, although he is demanding stuff that they can't guarantee, so nothing might come out of that.

[Ayirasi]

Ricciardo are about to/have signed for McLaren. now, how credible those claims are, idk. but most big motorsport sites are reporting that.

My favorite driver possibly joining the team I've been rooting for since Senna? Nice.

Nice.

[Enjeh]

here's the official announcements.

Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow is pleased to announce that Carlos Sainz will drive for the team in the 2021 and 2022 seasons of the Formula 1 World Championship.

https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/formul...ason-2021-2022

McLaren announces that Daniel Ricciardo will race for the team alongside Lando Norris in the Formula One World Championship from 2021.

https://twitter.com/McLarenF1/status...57365819252741

now this leaves the seat In Renault up for pickings, yet see anything about who takes that seat.

[Ayirasi]

Doubt Vettel goes to Renau -- WTF Alonso rumor?! Was that his 'exciting' announcement he was hinting at? I thought it was Indy cars or more WEC.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernan...so-to-renault/

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

Doubt Vettel goes to Renau -- WTF Alonso rumor?! Was that his 'exciting' announcement he was hinting at? I thought it was Indy cars or more WEC.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/fernan...so-to-renault/

Vettel won't go to a team that might manage to be in the bottom of the middle of the pack, and Alonso has been linked with seats ever since he left F1.

Whoever does go there, it might not be a particularly long contract: http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/vi...uld_disappear/

If Renault goes into administration and isn't bailed out by the rest of the Renault-Citroen-Peugeot consortium, I can imagine that the F1 team would be seen as a major cost factor to be got rid of. Right now though, who would buy Enstone out? With the world in recession or heading that way, who would want to take on a 150 million dollar per year F1 team? I suppose it could be an easier buy-in for Porsche or Audi, they've been angling for a shed in the pitlane for a while and they would get a fully-operational team and factory with pre-existing knowledge, hardware and technology, possibly at a significant discount.

[Kallisto]

The only place I can see Vettel moving to anytime in the next few years will be Mercs if/when Lewis leaves. Not joining a lower team and sitting out is likely better for your market value than taking a seat in Tier 2 or lower teams. Also I don't doubt that many non F1 motorsport teams say in Indy and also European based motorsports (not F2 or Formula E. But more touring car/rally) will be clamouring for his signature.

If I were Vettel I'd take Indy

Alonso to Renault would work if Renault is still a thing in 2021.

[MCMLXXXII]

So Claire is trying to sell Williams. Rokit already terminated its contract. Not a good sign, they are still an iconic privateer team.

[Bigbazz]

The funny story of the week has to be Audi Formula-E driver Daniel Abt getting dropped by Audi because he hired a pro gamer to race in the online racing series for him, and getting caught. Audi were apparently taking the online racing stuff pretty seriously during the lockdown, seriously enough to drop their real driver for cheating in a game.

[MCMLXXXII]

The funny story of the week has to be Audi Formula-E driver Daniel Abt getting dropped by Audi because he hired a pro gamer to race in the online racing series for him, and getting caught. Audi were apparently taking the online racing stuff pretty seriously during the lockdown, seriously enough to drop their real driver for cheating in a game.

The irony of Audi firing someone for cheating.

[Ayirasi]

Damn, I feel bad for Williams. I had hoped that they were due for some good luck this season.

[willtron]

New Merc livery looks dope.

[Ayirasi]

Totally dope! I'm getting strong TRON vibes.

[Xanjori]

So the Mercs are scarily fast, I feel the others are going to need a miracle to stop them tomorrow. Max is playing the strategy game but I think Lando could be an unwelcome fly in Red Bulls soup, with the soft tyres there is a chance he can get past Max early and that would truly sink Red Bulls hopes.

At any rate its great to have F1 back, and great to see some true competitiveness from more cars...if we pretend Merc dont exist its an almost very balanced grid.

[Ayirasi]

Yeah, over half a second to 3rd and 4th, with Ferrari almost a full second behind is pretty ominous.

Glad to see Albon, Ricciardo, and both McLarens making it to Q3.

I'm worried about McLaren, after breaking off bits when being aggressive over the kerbs on Friday.

Stoked to have F1 back. Their virtual series was garbage. Most of the others were decent (iRacing IndyCar and NASCAR, rFactor 2, etc.). Thankfully, NASCAR and IndyCar have prepped me for the eerie weirdness of not having people in the stands, but it's going to be odd not seeing plumes of orange smoke in a sea of orange shirts following Max around.

[MCMLXXXII]

Hamilton not lifting with a yellow flag, no penalty. The exact same situation happened in Mexico last year....

Vettel not wearing a mask, he gets a warning.
Bottas and Hamilton hugging each other, no warning.