Whos getting BOTTAS' seat next year ?

Alfa might be in a good position to jump up a few steps next season too. It's getting on a bit now, but they (Sauber) still have one of the better wind tunnels. They're not going to jump to the front, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them move forward.
 
Countcussy said:
The 9 wins in 5 years is an amazing stat, and not in a good way.
I am well aware of certain circumstances where he was denied a win, but even so....
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Less than 2 wins per year and about 5 P2's/year - he's been good enough when the other teams have been no threat - but not now that RB are as fast or quicker.
 
MagicBoy said:
F1 doesn't seem to have any issues filling the drivers seats in uncompetitive teams.
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How many of those are pay-to-play drivers though? Serious question.

F2 champions may be chomping at the bit to get in to F1 but realistically everyone is hoping for a mid-tier team. Unless there are drivers out there that aspire to drive for Haas? :confused:
 
Off the top my head there's realistically three. Mazepin, Latifi and Stroll. The latters Dad bought him a team, the formers Dad is trying to do the same. Latifi will be gone after his contract runs out at the end of 2022.

On a sort of related note Perez has proper talent, but the suitcase full of Carlos Slim's sponsorship dollars helped in some years.

It's certainly changed in the last 15 years. A lot of young talent started getting locked into junior driver schemes around the time of Hamilton. Which makes the 4D chess of the driver market more of pain to work out!
 
EVH said:
How many of those are pay-to-play drivers though? Serious question.
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Depending on who you consider uncompetitive teams: most of them. Alfa, Williams and Haas run two pay drivers between them. Traditionally, the lower teams mostly run a mixture of fresh talent and veterans.

MagicBoy said:
Off the top my head there's realistically three. Mazepin, Latifi and Stroll. The latters Dad bought him a team, the formers Dad is trying to do the same. Latifi will be gone after his contract runs out at the end of 2022.
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Stroll had as good a junior career as many. I doubt he'd have hoped directly from winning F3 to F1 (although it's not unheard of: Bottas and Sainz did it) but he certainly proved he was capable of series wins. Mazepin is a proper brought seat, as is Latifi. Latifi though, I think actually is a reasonable mid-field driver and may well keep his seat if he can do a decent job next year.

On a sort of related note Perez has proper talent, but the suitcase full of Carlos Slim's sponsorship dollars helped in some years.
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Indeed. The line betwixt pay driver and not isn't exactly clear blue water.
 
Mr Jack said:
Stroll had as good a junior career as many. I doubt he'd have hoped directly from winning F3 to F1 (although it's not unheard of: Bottas and Sainz did it) but he certainly proved he was capable of series wins. Mazepin is a proper brought seat, as is Latifi. Latifi though, I think actually is a reasonable mid-field driver and may well keep his seat if he can do a decent job next year.
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I'll agree with most of that.

Latifi's deal was signed when the Williams was a family team. Dorilton have since brought Jost Capito in to run the show, so they're not messing about. I can't see them keeping Latifi once his contact is out. They'll want some young talent alongside Albon. Piastri would fit that bill nicely. Make him reserve for next year, then promote to a race seat.

Haas could do worse than putting Latifi in the car to replace the spinning top Russian.
 
Countcussy said:
The 9 wins in 5 years is an amazing stat, and not in a good way.
I am well aware of certain circumstances where he was denied a win, but even so....
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MagicBoy said:
It's a decent record considering he's up against one of the greatest of all time in the same equipment. Merc got exactly what they needed in a good solid number 2 driver that'd run Hamilton close, but not close enough to trigger civil war in the team like the last couple of Rosberg seasons, whilst mopping up all the silverware.
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It's poor. He showed flashes of speed but generally was pure no2 driver and not in the top tier.

Nico was at Mercedes for 6 years. The first season the Merc was nowhere so that can be discounted effectively giving him 5 years. It started to get better from there out. With Rosberg taking his first win 2011. He ended up with 23 wins. That's more than Kimi.

Some might argue that the Merc was so fast in 2014 onwards that winning was easier, except he was against Lewis, and Rosberg seemed to have inherited the mechanical issues that Schumacher suffered.
 
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