F1 2015 - Teams and Drivers - Who goes where?!

This is the crux of the matter regarding three car teams :

As the small teams have warned, CVC always seem to have preferred a Formula One with five big teams, to make it easier to float the sport on the stock market in Singapore.

It's all about the dollar, I almost think Fernley might be onto something with his conspiracy theory beliefs.... it does seem like CVC and Bernie are trying to squeeze the smaller outfits out of the Sport.

Judging the interviews over this weekend just gone it's plain to see he feels no apathy whatsoever towards them.
 
Same for Fernley as well...

Quoted in The Guardian, Fernley added: “Again this comes back to short-termism for profit. Simply how much money can we generate for the shareholders of CVC. End of story.

“Sell it off and the consequences they don’t care about. They walk away from it, they’ve got the money in. It’s someone else’s problem. And the fans ? Irrelevant.”

:o
 
Jonathan Noble:

" For while Magnussen has impressed with his pace this season, it is Button's higher scoring rate and experience, which would help development of the new Honda engine, that has left some senior figures believing it should go with him.

It is suggested that Alonso would prefer for Button to remain on board next year because it would help accelerate the team's push towards the front of the grid.

However, financial factors could also play a role in the decision, with Magnussen being a much cheaper option for the team."
 
MooMoo444 said:
Magnussen hasn't really shown anything special. Unlike other rookies in lower teams. I don't think he's a long term prospect, or at least one to invest in anyway.
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Magnussen took the McLaren rollerskate to a podium in his first race, albeit because Ricciardo got DQed. If the McLaren-Honda package is decent he'll be on the level of Heikki Kovaleinen: a good second driver who will win occasional races.

That said, McLaren would be so much better off if they gave Jenson a one-year extension and put Magnussen as reserve. He's still quick, Alonso likes him, and he's got a lot of history with Honda.
 
JeditOjanen said:
Magnussen took the McLaren rollerskate to a podium in his first race, albeit because Ricciardo got DQed. If the McLaren-Honda package is decent he'll be on the level of Heikki Kovaleinen: a good second driver who will win occasional races.

That said, McLaren would be so much better off if they gave Jenson a one-year extension and put Magnussen as reserve. He's still quick, Alonso likes him, and he's got a lot of history with Honda.
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You are misremembering, magnusssen was on the podium anyway ( finished 3rd before ricciardo's dq), button got the 3rd place finish once the dq had been announced

Think KM might come good in time, his one lap pace is excellent but he lets himself down with race pace more times than not. Not sure he is what the team need if they really want to get back to the front of the grid asap ( even accounting for Alonso)

With the combined knowledge of Alonso and JB from a drivers perspective, that could be a really good partnership for the team

Given how Mclaren have ummed and arrghhhed over the last few months would you ( if you were JB) accept a one year deal, to only be back in same situation middle of next season? Surely at the very least 1 plus option for 2nd if not two year deal outright
 
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FrankJH said:
Given how Mclaren have ummed and arrghhhed over the last few months would you ( if you were JB) accept a one year deal, to only be back in same situation middle of next season? Surely at the very least 1 plus option for 2nd if not two year deal outright
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But then they'd have trouble keeping Magnussen.

Anyway, Jenson's problem this year has been that he didn't expect Alonso to return to McLaren after having quit so acrimoniously. If he'd known his seat was uncertain for 2015 he'd have had more chance to shop himself around earlier in the year. A fixed one-year contract would resolve that.

It just struck me that a Button/Alonso pairing would be the most experienced team in F1 history. Between them they would have 504 race starts at the beginning of 2015.
 
FrankJH said:
Think KM might come good in time, his one lap pace is excellent but he lets himself down with race pace more times than not. Not sure he is what the team need if they really want to get back to the front of the grid asap ( even accounting for Alonso)
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Yea I think Magnussen with some guidance and fine tuning could end up being a really solid driver but it all depends on whether McLaren are currently in a position to put the time into him or if they want a quick turn around to push the development of the car.
 
The problem with Perez was and is that he is a generally poor qualifier but has often good race pace and has made some nice passes. What is often the feeling in motorsport is you can't teach genuine pace but you can teach/learn race craft, one is more natural one is more experienced based. So between a rookie who is great in qualifying but maybe less good in race pace and one who sucks in qualifying but is better in race, the former has the most long term potential.

Either way points is NOT A GOOD INDICATOR of anything, Rosberg could win the title despite being out driven at every single track I've seen this year. Hamilton had pace that was easily faster than Rosberg. Rosberg is a great qualifier with less good race craft... look where that gets you, a track position, pit stop and tactical advantage as well as being in free air(if the car is good enough to qualify at the front).

Magnussen shows more potential than Perez because of that but his points tally isn't bad and he's been unfairly penalised at least once(potentially twice) in which I believe both times it both resulted in him dropping behind Button so instead of closing the gap it was extended. But again points aren't an indicator of driving ability, it's an indicator of many many things.

Sometimes a crap driver does great because everything works out for you, sometimes a great driver has every single bad thing that can happen to him and he has a terrible race.

I'm not saying I think Magnussen will be great, he could be, he might be crap. There is certainly potential from his qualifying speed and he's had some very good races, shown good pace at times and some nice passing moves, he's shown a level of aggression generally required for a top driver as well. I think he's done enough for another year, at Mclaren or elsewhere. Button has done enough for another year, but teams have to factor in that 10mil a year into button is going to a go who will leave the sport in a few years.

Points and race finishing has exactly no impact on developing an engine, suggesting that Button's solid points scoring will help the Honda engine develop is just absurd. Engine development will happen from the engine guys from data from running, not from where the engine finishes in a race and most of the time, who the driver is. Button isn't known for getting his balance right is he, but that is where the driver is involved, tuning the car settings to get the right feel for the individual driver. The driver does not tune the engine or choose his own engine settings, nor change the software to try and get more efficiency or power out of it.
 
JeditOjanen said:
But then they'd have trouble keeping Magnussen.

Anyway, Jenson's problem this year has been that he didn't expect Alonso to return to McLaren after having quit so acrimoniously. If he'd known his seat was uncertain for 2015 he'd have had more chance to shop himself around earlier in the year. A fixed one-year contract would resolve that.

It just struck me that a Button/Alonso pairing would be the most experienced team in F1 history. Between them they would have 504 race starts at the beginning of 2015.
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As mentioned above, there is no gaurentee that magnussrn will become a good racer / consistent point scorer, so why keep him?

To be fair there wasnt a free seat available at a top team anyway ( although I think Button / Bottas at Williams would be fantastic, massa has really not shown he deserves that seat next season he is already confirmed)
 
I like Perez and thought it was rather poor the way McLaren used him as a stop gap. I think his main issue is that he is very inconsistent, but he is often very good at using a contra-strategy (sometimes due to a not great qualifying meaning it's worth a shot) to great effect, the problem with this is it's difficult to see just how good he is as he is often on different tyres/tyre life to those around him.

The fact he must come with a decent wedge of sponsorship though means he is surely a very good option for a lot of teams!
 
drunkenmaster said:
Points and race finishing has exactly no impact on developing an engine, suggesting that Button's solid points scoring will help the Honda engine develop is just absurd. Engine development will happen from the engine guys from data from running, not from where the engine finishes in a race and most of the time, who the driver is. Button isn't known for getting his balance right is he, but that is where the driver is involved, tuning the car settings to get the right feel for the individual driver. The driver does not tune the engine or choose his own engine settings, nor change the software to try and get more efficiency or power out of it.
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The experience gained from driving in F1 for 15 years DOES help in developing a new engine + chassis combo

Also drivers Do give direct feedback to the engine developers in regards to response in certain situations, this isnt exactly unknown. Of course this is irrelevant for the most part during the engine freeze, because nothing can be done - but I would put down a sizable wager that the more experienced drivers were giving feedback with next winter in mind

Fethering the throttle is just one method of efficiency which the driver is directly in control of ( just because it was in yesterdays commentary)
 
Mercedes' are clearly dominant and I really dont want to see a repeat of the last few years, where 1 car wins 90% of the races.

I want to see at least 2 teams battle it out in 2015.

I firmly believe that the only teams who will be able to compete against Merc in 2015, will be RBR and McLaren (if they get Alonso).

I am expecting great things from McLaren in the next 2 years.
They are being super aggressive and are no longer playing happy families.
Several people are being fired (which took me by surprise) and Alonso is being brought in, so the focus on winning is paramount. Merc did this 2 years ago - even R.Brawn was not spared.

Unless Alonso wins the title, straight away (which I doubt), I'm expecting further sackings towards the end of 2015 (which is never a nice thing, but the fat needs to be trimmed).

I have to say that when Alonso moved to Ferrari, I'd have thought at least 2 titles would've been possible. To come out with 0 titles is shocking. Hopefully, his time with McLaren will be more fruitful. It will be a travesty if he wins only 2 titles in his whole career while Vettel wins 4+ titles. He only has himself to blame, if that happens.

And lets not forget Ricciardo - this guy surprised me heaps. In the right car, he will be right up there with Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel.
 
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