I will be majorly surprised if Sainz plays the docile #2 role. We all expect him to be a #2 for 2021-2022 but will he follow the guardrails? I doubt he will when the opportunities present themselves.
Now Hamilton is too expensive for this post covid situation. I can't imagine Mercedes paying the bill. On top of that Vettel is on the market now. Hamilton without a drive for 2021 ?
Would love Mercedes to quit and Toto taking Vettel with him to Aston, with Lewis’ only option: a place at Renault. Then we’ll see how good he really is.
With more experience, Charles will be a monster. Bar Verstappen I can't see one driver able to challenge him on equal terms.
like I said, “when the opportunities arrive” and they will no matter how good Leclerc is, and when they do will Sainz concede?
Good luck to Carlos ,just hope they will give him a chance to race if he happens to be faster than Charles on occasions...not to mention the sketchy strategy which has become a hallmark for the red team.It's a dream come true of course, or should be anyhow. Ricci will be a bit miffed but who knows he might get the last laugh after all with the Merc donkey in the back. The biggest surprise is it is all happening before the season starts ,so we will see where loyalties lie, lots of room to favour your future team this year.
Vettel getting the boot right now would be huge because it signals a desire within the team to move forward.
Renault don't seem to be in any rush to sign Vettel, they have Lundgaard starting his first F2 season this year and a few others you never heard of. They might throw him a low ball offer i guess. Outside possibility is Bottas to Renault and Seb to Merc but why would Toto go for that? I really dont think he would just fire Bottas to hire Vettel .If Bottas just quit on his own will then George is more than ready for the step up.
Becasue Mercedes is a German manufacturer and they would like to finish in great style before leaving F1 as a team?
IMO, MB should keep the status quo. It's worked out pretty well for them so far. OTOH, SV going to MB would be in Ferrari's favor. Imagine the fireworks that are sure to happen between LH and SV.
Perhaps I'm alone in this but I have some sympathy for Vettel. He made too many mistakes but then as well as driving the car he's had to try to work out strategy by himself from the cockpit because Ferrari are so utterly inept. The only reason I can see Mercedes might take him is nationality. I'm not among those thinking Sainz will be a clear number two. He was pretty even with Verstappen and has been with his other teammates too. Although I'm not massively enthusiastic about him Sainz at Ferrari, I can't say I could think of any other driver who would be a clearly better choice. But really Ferrari's problems were and are not about the drivers. Most importantly they need to get their strategy sorted which has been too poor for too long. I know it is a whole lot easier for Mercedes to get it right when they have the best car but even so I have spent so much time shouting at Ferrari as a race is happening when they've clearly got the strategy wrong and it is maddening. Yes, they need a good car too but no point in having a good car and then throwing the race away anyway.
SV will retire from F1, Toto is just using him as a negotiating tool with Lewis. The good drivers who will be out of contract took a good look at the current landscape and realized that there may be 4 or 6 fewer seats in 2021. Better to lock in a ride with one of the likely survivors now--if F1 survives.
Possibly but what about money ,Bottas a bit cheaper than Vettel right? Plus you would have to be half blind to ignore the regular mess ups from Seb .
Bad call, sainz was average at best before f.1, he's a bit better, but has always been slower tah his team mates, even lando as a rookie was faster, he just needed more luck and experience to beat him in races. Perez would hace been a much better fit, and as we saw with massa and Kimi it's perfectly possible to have 2 top drivers without problems, Ricci was so much better than sainz, very, very disapointed, once again i will only be able to cheer for one car....at least it has got the right driver in it!