Official : Sainz will be with Ferrari next year
SF needs better chassis & aero people.....Ricci smart move to McL as they are going to be a force with MB power next year.
Bad choice imo, above all when a driver like Ricci was avaiable......i love Charles, but he's to youg to star giving him a clear number 2, Ricci would have pushed him harder and make him grow faster and better, and Ricci himself is more than capable of taking on Elton...sainz, not so much. once again Ferrari will be a one car team, at least for me.
Sainz will do fine, but Riccardo would have been better. Ferrari playing the long game on this one. Oh, and Sainz's sister is pretty hot.
I preferred Ricciardo because he´s more proven, but I think Sainz will do well. Also Ricciardo would more expensive. Anyway, I´m happy to see that Binotto is not sticking his head into the sand and is dealing with problems. Unfortunanetely, Vettel was causing too many problems lately.
I am very pleased. Arrivederci Vettel, good riddance. You lost your hunger, time to retire. It would probably happen to me if I got paid 120 Million too. Be rich and fat, enjoy your wife and family.
Riccardo is my favorite 'person' as a driver. Very fun-loving and just a magnetic personality. However, I do think Sainz is the better pick since we have Leclerc as the new #1. Hard for me to see Riccardo yield that spot.
6th place last year is pretty good IMHO, That's top of the midpack and beating out Gasly/Albon in their better cars. Also, keep in mind we don't want too much tension between the so-called #1 and #2 driver...
I would have taken Ricciardo but i dont disagree with you... For some of reasons i do see him a bit as a daddy's boy. Till he wins somehting i will struggle to change this perception
Absolutely the right choice by ferrari. Bravo. This is the sort of decision making we need. Sainz is very fast and has excellent race craft as demonstrated last year - including his podium. They have done well for once and now have the best driver paring on the grid. Not only that, but this pair could stay together for a good few years which will provide some much needed team stability. Poor McLaren have taken the hit here. Losing Sainz is clearly a blow, and having to settle for Ricci must be very disappointing for them as it means they have a mid pack driver who has washed out of the top tier. Oh well.
LOLO, Mclaren have now got a top driver, instead of a midfield one...they are the big winners on this race!
Spot on, signing Sainz is a strategic error of biblical proportions and one SF make all to often. Sainz imo has no experience in winning or developing a car for himself and especially the demands & politics of the top team in F!, despite there lack of success for too many years. What are they thinking of? Leclerc has undoubted talent but will he handle the vast weight on his shoulders, he hasnt shown the grit to stamp out the antics of a petulant Verstappen (once or twice is not enough) and doesnt / hasnt shown strong leadership in the team despite having the opportunity with a No 1 who lost his mojo. Stepping up to to be the best man is vastly different than being the bridesmaid. As for SV, retire gracefully or consign yourself to a also ran team. Ricciardo would have been better but that would have given the golden child something to ponder!
This, to me, is the biggest question in the signing. How will Ferrari's car development look with Leclerc and Sainz. I don't know that I've heard either praised as good development drivers. Given the car's need for development / refinement over the past two seasons, I think there may be a potential weak point in this lineup. Having said that, I also have to say that I don't know whether the deficiencies I've called out above are real, or just the product of limited information.
Truth is I don't know myself - other than watching documentaries and hearsay - everybody's opinion I respect. I readily admit he could be a huge disappointment. That said, he's one of 3 (other then Leclrec/Vettel Hamilton/Bottas Crashtappen) that did get a podium last year... Kvyat and Gasly being the other 2. (wouldn't take either of those folks...)
I heard much the same said about Leclrec as well. Please take no umbrage @TonyL I admit you could be 100% correct. Myself, I have faith in the Spaniard.
I agree, what were the other choices? Riccardo being in the same spot as playing second fiddle to Verstappen? Now to Leclerc? Ferrari has committed to their new #1 - Leclerc. Vettel wasn't having that. Sure, Vettel got paid $120 million to be shamed by a 2nd-year rookie, but whatever - he still thought he deserved top dog (with top compensation) - can you say 'cart before the prancing horse?' Win a championship Vettel, then we can talk about being #1 and another 60 million.... "It's not about the money" - then what was it? To be #1 when you make mistake after mistake? To be paid $$$$ after said mistakes? Get the hell out of here Vettel. If he had any self respect, he would have taken $1.00 just to stay at Ferrari "and prove critics like me wrong" Instead, he leaves cuz what? He won't be the #1 driver and they won't pay him XX millions for being worse than a 2nd-year rookie. Consider savings too. Not having to pay 60 million for a guy that makes mistakes means another 60 million for car development...
none taken, its all about opinions. I hope you are right and i am proven wrong, the problem lays more with the SF being able to service both drivers of which no team has ever successfully fulfilled. For me Sainz is in F1 with minimal talent but has a lot of experience but with the wrong teams. Can he raise his game, does he know how to raise the bar higher having never done it? Will he tow the team line and play second fiddle. The best person i see ever do that was Barrichello with Schumacher or Hill with Prost. Leclerc was a rising star in the drivers academy and was destined to be in the team at some point, he got lucky with a team mate who lost his way and confidence in the team, it wasnt all about driver error, the team screwed up more times than Vettel. Had the team given Vettel a good car with better race decisions then would Leclerc have shone. IMO i doubt it. If Sainz fully accepts he is no 2, willing to work with the team as that and then can pick up championship points for the team, then i would consider it a success, however if he sets out on a crusade to depose Leclerc as No 1 then he is destined to fail and so will the team..........again. what is needed is a consumate No 1 driver ( lets say Ricciardo, there are others) and a tail gunner (Leclerc) that sweeps up points for the team to win the WCC title. Bottas does that for the Merc team very well but is not in the same league as Hamilton. Best tony
Perhaps it's not as sinister as some are making it out to be, and that Charles isn't necessarily the designated #1, but that Seb was the one that needed to be deemed the #1 and Ferrari were not prepared to do so. I don't believe Sainz would move knowing he's the #2, but more of having 2 drivers on more of an equal starting point. Seb said it wasn't about money, which means to me it is about being the designated #1 driver. Once the season starts we will have a clearer answer I think, but until then no one knows. Ferrari signed LeClerc for 5 years to try and keep him long term, signing Sainz for 2 years is a far better deal than a one year deal and that they see a future in him, whether that ends up being #2 remains to be seen. I see a LeClerc/Sainz pairing being quite competitive.
I think it is a good driver pair. Now let’s figure out who has been ****ing up strategy for the last few years and fix that (need a change.) And then Ferrari can put Vettel's salary into the cars. Robb
Sainz a good #2. I don't know why, but I think there's something missing from Leclerc to be a dominant #1 driver. Maybe I'm just comparing him to Hami and Max. Time will tell. Dave
It's legit to compare Chuck to Max and Lew. Everyone will be doing exactly that once things get underway.