Having basically been fired so they can put Van Doom in the car,i would be very surprised if Jenson does not have a get out clause in his new'contract'..they can put that where the sun doesn't shine ,one good turn deserves another.
Other possibility is a stop-gap drive with someone like Wehrlein. Vettel, Alonso, etc come off contract at the end of next season. I don't think either McLaren or Ferrari would make it easy for either to leave tbh, it would kill morale in either team, particularly Ferrari. I used to think Vettel would retire would Ferrari regardless of competitiveness, and maybe he still will. But it must be quite terrible in Maranello these days and he knows with the right car Michael's record is very much in reach.
Uh oh, and niki also said Nico was the best driver of 2016. Elton will be claiming conspiracies and calling race relations at this rate. Hehehehe
Yea what contact issues. Clearly many F1 pilots are willing to 'walk' or is it run to Mercedes LOL!! FA - Oy Eric, I dont think Im going to see you much next year LOL! Vettel - Oy Arriva, I think Ive earned spot at Mercedes CIAO!!
Toto says he can't list all those that have called, it would be easier to list those that haven't. Thinking about it, as a gentleman he has to ask Renault for the Hulk. But offering enough $$, perhaps they could get the Hulk into leaving without Renault's consent. The Hulk would be great. He is German and he is fast. In a first year at Mercedes he wouldn't have pressure to stand against Hamilton (only in 2018 then). And he is aging, too. If he wants to pull a Rosberg and score a late championship in his career, this would be a move to consider.
Facts are that Vettel has lost to both Ricciardo and Raikkonen, two drivers on opposite ends of the spectrum, two of the last three seasons.
That's probably down to motivation, on both occasions, the car was not up to the required standard, so maybe he let his foot off the gas a little. Give him a Mercedes, and a dullard to beat, Elton would be toast
But he's not been fired - He has signed a contract to remain at McLaren in 2017! Feel free to show how Jenson was forced to sign that contract. I'm pretty sure that if Jenson had felt aggrieved at McLaren no longer wanting him driving their car, then he would have simply walked away without signing anything - Especially with @ $105 Million in the bank!
I am not sure how true this is but the German Spiegel reports that out of the current grid only two drivers have not called Toto after the Rosberg retirement. Formel 1: Niki Lauda kritisiert Nico Rosberg für Rücktritt - SPIEGEL ONLINE Apparently only Kvyat and Kimi didn't call. If that's true that is quite telling what people think about the 2017 Mercedes. It would be hard to believe that Ricci and Mad Max would have called, though. Maybe they start bluffing to improve their position for negotiations.
I think Toto should arrange for a Dutch auction for the second Mercedes seat. But what does that tell you about people's loyalty, and how futile contracts are!!! Anyway, it's head-scratching time at Mercedes; how soon before they have to nominate their 2 drivers for 2017 to the FIA? Interesting times ahead !!!
Incredible what a sorry, disingenuous snake pit F1 is these days, Elton must feel right at home.... Or is it just Mercedes, who want to control everything. And by the looks of it, when Mercedes isn't in control anymore, they start throwing mud around.... As they say: Pigs like to wallow in mud puddles.
While he did lose to Ricciardo, Vettel has beaten Raikkonen in the drivers standings both years he's been at Ferrari.
LOL yeah, that's what Mercedes wants....a high priced, over-the-hill, damaged goods driver who can't get along with Hamilton. Button ? Nice guy but tier 2/journeyman driver at best who is now retired. Who's next ? Massa? Heidfeld ? Damon Hill ? Obvious choices are Max (NFW RB lets him go), Perez, Hulk, one of the younger guys (Werlein ??)
Looks to me like they just softened the blow a bit ...also Jenson gets a kind of consolation prize of $$ xx Million. So its either 'take the revised contract or bye bye. ' Hobson's choice. So Toto now has a real big task on his hands having been dropped in the pooh big time by the 'team player' Nicole .He only told his bosses a few hours before the public announcement.The whole team was massively disappointed. Alonso is faster than Jenson but him and Lewis are a ticking time bomb.Too risky . Jenson would be just as good as Nicole ,maybe even better.Put him in there for 1 year then sort out for 2018 when a lot more driver's will be available ,incl Seb.
I doubt. Alonso, particularly have matured a lot. And he knows, if he does goes to Merc, that's his last ever chance to be WDC again.
I doubt it. Ferrari and Seb could have done so much better this year if he kept his cool at the starts. Anyhow, there's still smiles, so i think everything is under control.
Toto Wolff not keen on replacing Nico Rosberg with top F1 driver Does not sound like they are getting Alonso or Vettel....
