silly season 2018 - F1 driver line up

lunarwolf · 15 Sep 2017 at 19:02

Last update 22/01/2018

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team
Lewis Hamilton
Valtteri Bottas

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Red Bull Racing
Daniel Ricciardio
Max Verstappen

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Scuderia Ferrari
Sebastian Vettel
Kimi Raikkonen

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Sahara Force India F1 Team
Sergio Perez
Esteban Ocon

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McLaren Renault
Fernando Alonso
Stoffell Vandoorne

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Williams Martini Racing
Lance Stroll
Sergey Sirotkin

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Haas F1 Team
Romain Grosjean
Kevin Magnussen

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Scuderia Toro Rosso * Honda powered
Pierre Gasly
Brendon Hartley

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Renault Sport Formula One Team
Nico Hulkenberg
Carlos Sainz

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Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team
Charles Leclerc
Marcus Ericsson

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Current F1 drivers whose F1 future is uncertain
- J. Palmer, P. Wehrlein

Green - Has contract
Yellow - TBC likely
Red - Unknown

lunarwolf · 16 Sep 2017 at 03:05

Spunkey said:
Is kvyat really confirmed at toro rosso? Unbelievable

Agree it's unbelievable, but it was basically confirmed back in july https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/130651/kvyat-set-to-stay-at-toro-rosso-in-2018

With recent engine move, maybe they will reconsider and put Matsushita and ditch Kvyat. But it's not like Matsushita has set the GP2 world on fire, and Gasly did better in GP2 as well as being a Red Bull stableboy.

Believe it or not, but they kind of need the F1 experience Kvyat brings. 2 rookies is unlikely imo. Personally I dont rate Kvyat. But F1 isnt always fair. Just ask Werhlein or Jean Eric Vergne !!!

markoboyo11 said:
Surley pascal will continue at sauber?

Maybe. No drivers are confirmed at sauber, but Ericsson has close ties to the owners. The engine supplier, Ferrari, seem keen to get Leclerc a F1 seat in a junior team. Giovinazzi will probably be a reserve driver for Sauber or Haas, since he is clearly not as good as Leclerc.

Werhlein has done well esp vs Ericsson, but he is a Mercedes boy and out of luck at a Sauber Ferrari team. It seems that Ocon is the driver Mercerdes rate more for the future, esp with great results so far.

Unfortunately for Wehrlein, there are not many Mercedes powered seats left for him unless Wiliams ditch Stroll or Force India drop Perez, which i find hard to believe. He will probably be a reserve driver at a Merc team or go to DTM. If Ocon and Perez continue to tangle, maybe FI may decide to go Werhlein and Ocon, and Perez would move to Williams and replace Massa, but I doubt Perez would do this unless no other choice.

We will have to wait and see.

lunarwolf · 17 Sep 2017 at 12:06

Update

Perez signs with Force India for 2018 https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/perez-extends-force-india-contract-954319/?s=1

Still TBC at Williams but they will test Kubica in near future https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/kubica-set-test-williams-car-954351/?s=1

It seems Ferrari team boss Marchionne wants both Leclerc and Giovinazzi at Sauber. What will the owners at Sauber do about Ericsson? https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/ferrari-giovinazzi-leclerc-sauber-marchionne-953733/?s=1

lunarwolf · 18 Sep 2017 at 15:06

Malt_Vinegar said:
I have to say, I think Kubica at Williams is a great fit. He will be cheap, has huge media interest, and an undoubted talent.

I like Kubica and think he was a really promising driver back when he was in F1. I rate him a lot more than Di Resta who did well in DTM, but ultimately failed to impress in F1.

My 2 cents

lunarwolf · 28 Sep 2017 at 20:03

andicole0 said:
@lunarwolf Is Kvyatt confirmed at TR for 2018 yet?
Andi.

no news since TR statement last summer (I posted link in a previous post), in which they said they were planning on continuing with Sainz and Kvyatt. However many things have changed since then ie Honda will supply them and Sainz is on loan to Renault for 2018.

As I see it, they have the following options in order of likelihood
- Kvyatt + Gasly
- Gasly + Matsushita
- Kvyatt + Matsushita

Although far from brilliant, Kvyatt is familiar with team and car, but then again the team doesn't rate him much since they gave his seat up to Gasly in next couple of races.

Furthermore, Honda are keen to get Matsushita a seat. He won't get a superlicense since he is 6th in F2 championship and not enough races left for him to finish in top 3; however, Malt Vinegar said there is a loophole according to Appendix L ie if FIA vote unanimously.

I have a feeling that there are current negotiations between Honda and the FIA to get a seat for Matsushita. I have no proof of this, so it is just speculation on my part having just learned there was an Appendix L

Finally, there is no urgency for TR to confirm drivers yet since they hold the cards. I doubt we will get any news for at least a month or two, depending on how Gasly performs in next couple of races and the outcome of any potential negotiations Honda are undertaking on behalf of Matsushita.

PS I updated OP and put Kvyatt as TBC due to recent changes at TR

lunarwolf · 19 Oct 2017 at 20:33

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alonso-mclaren-new-contract-2018-967398/?s=1

Alonso signs 2018 deal with McLaren

Depending on Austin performance, will Toro Rosso consider Hartley as a viable replacement for Kvyatt in 2018?

lunarwolf · 19 Oct 2017 at 21:06

MissChief said:
Interesting that it's for a single year. The silly circus towards the end of 2018 is going to be ridiculous. As far as I can make out, only Vettel and Hulkenberg have cast iron contracts. Everyone else either has performance clauses (Max apparently) or is out of contract at the end of next year.

Agreed 2019 will be super silly season with a mad rush for Ferrari and Mercedes 2nd seats. We may see new records in terms of salary negotiations, esp if Max as an opt out clause and an incident free 2018 season

lunarwolf · 19 Oct 2017 at 21:59

The_Abyss said:
Bottas is one driver who desperately needs a decent start to 2018.

He had a decent start this year , but the second half has been lackluster

lunarwolf · 20 Oct 2017 at 19:21

Max extends Red Bull contract through 2020

Good move for Red Bull, but not sure it's a smart move for Max. Very premature decision considering 2019 engine deal isn't even decided.

lunarwolf · 25 Oct 2017 at 11:25

Kvyatt finally gets the boot http://www.planetf1.com/news/kyvat-will-not-return-to-toro-rosso/#fb-comments

tbh he squandered many opportunities to shine, better drivers were given less chances at Red Bull

still no confirmation for next year's line up, but Gasly looks looks like a lock, and Hartley TBD

lunarwolf · 17 Nov 2017 at 15:14

The_Abyss said:
http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/12...y-and-brendon-hartley-to-drive-for-toro-rosso

Gasly and Hartley for Toro Rosso in 2018. Now there's a car that won't need mirrors for the first few laps. Pity, as I think they're a decent line up and the car is the best looking on the grid.

Kvyat destined for Williams now?

Thx updated op

lunarwolf · 29 Nov 2017 at 18:15

now official: The Alfa Romeo name will return to Formula 1 in 2018 in partnership with Sauber and Ferrari.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/sauber-alfa-romeo-returns-partnership-983901/?s=1

this makes it more likely that Leclerc and Giovinazzi will be the drivers

PS seems Kubica did well in the tyre test, making him likely driver @ Williams

lunarwolf · 2 Dec 2017 at 14:50

andicole0 said:
Ericsson and Leclerc for Alfa Romeo Sauber! What did Marcus do to keep that seat?
Andi.

Clearly not deserved, but money had the final say. To be fair it's not like Giovinazzi deserved the drive either, but being Italian was an advantage with Ferrari the puppet master. However it is unfortunate for Wehrlein who gets left out in the cold.

lunarwolf · 2 Dec 2017 at 16:06

The_Abyss said:
And it seems that Wehrlein is no longer favoured at Mercedes, and so is unlikely to he parachuted into Williams.

I think a lot of teams fell out of love with Wehrlein after he continued to race the Manor car when the team told him to shut the engine off. he never really got rid of that stigma. a bit hypocritical, considering Vettel and Hamilton never really suffered from not listening to team orders.