Vettel as he explained was ready for a new challenge. I don't think Ferrari told Vettel on contract negotiation day: "Sorry mate but your in a crap car the next three years, but we're paying you 30M a year for the favor, you get to choose your teammate, your the No.1 driver so you run the show." Influence probably, would make sense even, but a veto is something else. Management should be in control, not the driver. This is professional sports, what would that have said about MS or in this case Vettel, sorry I don't want competition, I know I'm in a top team, but no threats please. Besides isn't Kimi a threat ? Or has he been given the objective to play 2nd fiddle. Could be, in case of MS, that having a clear 2nd driver was a Ferrari management decision. But a driver veto, no way.
We really don't know what everything is in Seb's contract. It very well may be that it states Seb to always have the number one status while contracted. Anyway, i think Rosberg is more than a decent replacement for Kimi. Also, he is in top form at the moment. However, i wish for Kimi to stay. He is doing a fine job for the time being. If Rosberg leaves and Mercedes contract Alonso as they say they will try to, then i think Hamilton will make a move back to Mclaren.
Senna even had veto over engineers. His contract with Lotus was linked to the continuity of Gérard Ducarouge.
Could Alonso replace Rosberg at Mercedes? The silly season has started early this year. F1 News, Drivers, Results - Formula 1 Live Online | Sky Sports Despite the improbability of a driver voluntarily giving up a winning package, reports in Italy claim that Nico Rosberg – out of contract with Mercedes at the end of the year – has opened talks with Ferrari. What’s more, fuel has apparently been poured onto this unlikeliest of fires by Toto Wolff suggesting that Mercedes would consider hiring Fernando Alonso if Rosberg departed. Let’s start with the Rosberg angle. According to Corriere della Sera, Ferrari, drawn to Rosberg by his speed and the possibility of weakening their main rivals, want Nico to replace Kimi Raikkonen at the end of the year. Raikkonen, of course, is in the final year of his contract with Ferrari so a vacancy at the Scuderia is expected to emerge over the next twelve months. Meanwhile, far from silencing the suggestion that Rosberg, previously regarded as a near-certainty to re-sign with Mercedes, Toto Wolff has been quoted as telling El Mundo: “If Rosberg does not want to renew, then we will consider other options, like Fernando. Fernando is one of the best drivers in history and I like his character.”
I cannot see Rosberg joining Ferrari at the end of this year to replace Kimi. That would mean 2 Germans at the Scuderia; it's not a credible scenario.
Agree, Being also a german as played against HUlkenberg chances....i see people talking about sainz...i could see so many better options!!!
Kimi's career is on the clock and ending relatively soon even if not this year. Wanting him to be resigned indefinitely may be nice for some here as his fans, but lacks vision. Verstappen is at RB through 2019, they're not going to keep him around that long. Ricciardo is on contract through 2017. Sainz who knows, but he doesn't make passes with the effectiveness of Ricciardo, Verstappen, etc. Bottas..lackluster. Gorjean..complains too much but Ferrari can get him whenever they want. Perez has been driving well. If they extend Kimi again and Rosberg stays, it should be obvious that Ricciardo is the guy. I'm sure he's the preferred one, fast and 100% Italian by blood. "I'm happy at Mercedes, but let's see what the future brings," he told Italian media. That's not exactly dismissing speculation.
+1 He seems to be a decent enough chap. But a 'world beater'? I just don't see it. As already noted, it seems many here anoint pretty much any 'youngster' as the next Michael & Ferrari are fools for not grabbing them. Cheers, Ian
Thats the worst argument i've heard. Everyone "wins" the championship because they have the best developed car. But they also had competition from McLaren and Massa internally. So yeah he won.
How does Stoffel play into this? Thinking about it, do they let Nico go and bring him in? Really why do a McLaren and dramatically overpay a driver with little or no options when promising alternatives exist? Let Ferrari pick up Nico for half price and bring Stoffel for a quarter price. Unless of course Ferrari could steal him.
Yes and: you dont get the best car unless the team hires you. Top teams dont hire the least promising drivers. They try to get the best ones to maximize their chances at winning
A big part of why Red Bull swapped Mad Max with Kvyat was to help prevent him going to Ferrari (or Mercedes), and I doubt there are any performance clauses in Max's Red Bull contract as Vettel had in his contract. Whilst it can easily be argued that contracts aren't worth the paper that they're written on in F1, if a party is determined to enforce a legal contract in F1, even if it means cutting off their nose to spite their face, then they will do it. Max runs the risk that his promotion to Red Bull and his contract deal with them could cost him dearly if they fail to deliver a Championship winning car in the future! If Red Bull's rivals were to have a Championship winning cars over the next three/four years, and the Red Bull car was uncompetitive during that same time period, Max could well find himself stuck in a team where he has to watch others get the race wins and WDC's, because Red Bull would hold him to his contract regardless (unless of course they decided to throw teddy out of the cot yet again and actually leave F1 as they like to threaten! - Then at least he could go elsewhere). Of course, if Red Bull have the advantage over all of it's rivals then he's played a blinder, got the best seat in the house and should be on for multiple WDC's. That's the gamble a driver takes whichever team he decides to drive for. Sometimes staying at a team is the wrong choice, and sometimes leaving a team is the wrong choice. What the really smart drivers do, is ensure that their contracts leave them a get-out option if needed, and something tells Me Max hasn't got one!
If Max has a contract with no 'out' clause due to the team's lack of a good car then I blame his father for pushing him and the team so early. No one knows for sure but I would hope any commitment is measured and offset by a clause to release if the situation is not perfect.
Don't know. RBR looks like a nice team to be in again. Has Ferrari's pace right now, and a **** load of tokens left, Newey still with the team. Big engine upgrade coming and still tokens left after that. They may just be the team to beat 2017, making the move look pretty smart
Today it is, but 1 victory is not a season, and we have a long way to go for next year. I would think Jos is a careful manager!
2017-New Rules = new game. I think Merc dominance ends this year. Just in time for Alonso to switch to merc and make another terrible career choice
Can we stop with the hyperbole? Ferrari needs to start thinking about their future as to who will drive the other car. The future ain't Kimi, hate to break it to you. At minimum they need to get a provisional deal in place with someone young and talented IMO.
What hyperbole? The fact is, Ferrari are well known to not hire 'youngsters' until they've proven themselves. Whether that's good business or not is maybe another debate, but it's a fact - They'll happily pay big $ for proven talent. Pretty much always been that way. I also disagree re Kimi - IMO, he remains one of the fastest guys out there. And he doesn't crash & break cars. I stand behind my opinion; Many here see the latest 'hotshot' rookie & call Ferrari fools for not hiring him. Carlos Sainz. Really? You think he'd be better than Kimi? Ian
