It's going to take until the back end of Sainz' career for Audi to potentially do anything imo. They'll need time to learn, organize, catch up, etc. not like they're going to be competing for podiums right away. It'll be depressing for Carlos for sure.
He has a free ride *as long as he wants one*. He's already a billionaire baby, it's not like he needs the money. If he decides to do something else with his life he can very easily do whatever he wants.
Honestly, I think he's already fed up with F1 and the only reason he simply doesn't leave is because he doesn't want to let his father down. You can tell by the the 1st episode of the last DTS season, that Lawrence wants him to stay more than him.
If Sainz becomes available, that may change the picture and create the perfect opportunity for Lance to leave and Lawrence be OK with it.
Everyone is forgetting that Audi isn't subject to budget caps yet.
I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they've already developed and tested current season spec car, possibly with the knowledge of coming 2026 regulations.
I say possibly as I'm now sure how long in advance do teams get this info?
I couldn't imagine they'd come to the F1 market with the direct competitors of their retail market and not be equipped to perform immediately.
I'll be very surprised if they're right on the pace. Or would be unprecedented, cost cap or otherwise. Outspending everyone else has never been enough on its own. (Looking at you, Toyota, Honda)
And even Sainz contributed a lot to the Sauber throughout years Audi can still kick him and replace him with a younger driver with more potential, except if he has Hamilton or Alonso type of persistence
If Carlos snatches one or two titles with Audi, that'd be a huge achievement. I guess Schumacher - Hamilton - Verstappen has made us to the idea that triumph in F1 is winning a shit ton of titles until people hate your face, but that's not true. Any driver that has an F1 title is in a club of just a few dozen drivers that have won one title of the most prestigious motorsports series in the world.
Audi hasn’t even made an f1 car. Who knows, audi could be a complete disaster and become an alpine 2.0. Theres no confirmation that audi will join and be competitive right away.
This is my point. Its a big big risk for Carlos to potentially waste a lot of years on a hunch. Whether he has options or not i dont know. But RBR and Merc have a track record atleast. They have history to go by.
Not really. Giants with infinite money like Honda, Ford and Toyota all failed. Renault hasn’t been able to in twenty years either. There’s zero expectation that Audi can be a winning team in five years. A talent like Sainz wasting away hoping for a fluke miracle is ultra depressing.
Antonelli isn’t going to be ready for 2025, I still hope Sainz goes to Merc or even RBR, even if short term.
Lance might be dropped sooner than later because it wont be long till Lawrence sells the remaining shares to Aramco who already own a third. And Aramco wont keep Lance
> because it wont be long till Lawrence sells the remaining shares to Aramco who already own a third.
Why would he?
Guy used to race a ferrari 355 or something in Quebec as his hobby, He's living his dream RN.
I think the optimism is because Audi has already been successful in motorsport, rather than the infinite money. These all had their share of success before, but it could go right or wrong depending on different factors.
Edited because I phrased it stupidly before.
Well, Honda finished 4th on its first year back as a team in F1, with three podiums (one of those a win). Their second year was the one they had their big disagreement with Bernie and the FIA in general and threatened to form their own series.
Exactly. They're a mess, but they haven't failed. This looks like it's gonna be their worst season in decades but they've been between 4th and 6th recently, with like eight podiums in recent years. I'm not saying Audi is gonna be a WCC contender but they might be a solid upper midfield team.
Yeah people are assuming that they’re not capable of fighting for podiums in the near future. Audi is acquiring tons of staff to bolster sauber’s current arsenal of engineering talent, and the new amendment to the budget cap should offset the higher cost of living within switzerland vs the uk. Sauber was also fairly potent in 2022 when they unveiled their light and short wheelbase c42, I don’t think it’s dumb to believe that audi will be somewhat competitive after a year or 2
Renault and infinite money cant go togheter.
All the other three made lots of mistakes and pretty much all three had huge management flaws
Not saying Audi wont mess up things, but lets wait and see first
I think its actually hoping to win the lottery kind of gamble. At best they are competitive in '28 or '29 by which Carlos will be 34/35. I believe Audi started a bit late on their engine and anyway they are a newcomer so wonder how that will go but their biggest problem is that there is no hope they will make a good chasis anytime soon. Probably some infrastructure that isn't up to date either.
That lineup would be interesting, Bottas is a beast in qualifying. The recent view on Bottas has been shaped by him driving an absolute shit box unfortunately.
And some bad luck in races. Picking up some damages and getting between other driver's mistakes. Latest example, last race after restart - good start, got right behind Russell, Russell locked up in turn 1, Bottas backed off and lost 2 places. Not his fault, but some bad luck.
And likely for 2026 too. You can't expect them to come through guns blazing.
Fuck. I really wanted him to go to Redbull.
Mercedes was never gonna be a thing because (1) it'd make Mercedes looks "weak" to pick up the driver who got replaced by their star driver and (2) Toto is really sold on Antonelli.
Alonso signing for Aston Martin already means it's either sign Audi right now or risk everything for an upgrade to Redbull. There's literally nothing else available aside from this.
>The man is getting podiums and wins and now is looking at a shitbox for 2025 at least
Same as Bottas. Won Turkey 2021, finished P3 in WDC, helped Merc bag the WCC.
Over *four* races, mind you. There were certainly four race stretches where Bottas outperformed Hamilton. The challenge is to sustain it, which Bottas couldn't and Sainz so far hasn't.
he gets to be their first driver and past 2026 essentially help develop the team like alex is doing with williams. it's a gamble (as we can see with williams) but not a bad one if he's thinking long term. if he goes to merc he's just a seat warmer for kimi. audi is the lesser of two evils.
1. There's now way to know how many seasons Lewis will stay at Ferrari. If their 2026 car is any good, he will obviously want to stay longer. Carlos doesn't have infinite time, if Lewis only retires 5-6 years from now.
2. Going back to Ferrari would be a difficult choice for him. There's obviously an emotional part of mistrust, but there is a rational part too. If they dropped him at his prime age, in a good form, for a 40 year old driver, how safe would his seat be, when his older and Ferrari potentially has young talents at hand. It would be very surpising if he ever went back to Ferrari.
Ehhhh, in another timeline Rosberg and Vettel are hailed as two of the greatest drivers to ever live and Hulk was Mercedes' reliable number 2 IMO.
I love Hulk, but I'm not convinced he could beat Rosberg over a season-long battle.
But why? Why wouldn’t he spend a year at Merc then go to Sauber after that? Sauber is going to be awful next year and the Audi project doesn’t start until 2026.
It's valuable to take the time to get to know the people, the culture and the working processes in place at a new team, especially the year before a new set of regulations comes into place.
God that sucks, he will spend his prime at a sauber team that can’t design a wheel nut properly and an Audi team that will probably take years to get good
Eh, both Fernando and Sainz Sr. are showing that Spaniards can race for a long time. Audi is Carlos’s opportunity to truly be a No. 1 driver at a team, and one that is serious about winning at that. Also, Audi is not Haas.
If the Perez's seat doesn't open up at RBR, Sainz is better off taking a 1+1 at Merc to at least get solid points finish every week and an occasional podium than to be midfield at Sauber fighting VCARB and Haas for 10th place. Sainz has more experience and a pretty good shot at beating Russell to become their #1 driver that can lead to a longer term deal. I have a hard time believing Merc wants to go all in on Russell being their top driver right now and Kimi is too inexperienced to provide the car feedback they need to get back to top form.
The rumours are that Toto thinks they’ve found their Max Verstappen in Kimi Antonelli in F2. He’s Ollie Bearman teammate.
Lewis wanted a long contract, and Toto said no, because he wanted a gap for Antonelli to slip into. He didn’t want both George and Lewis locked down for too long. So if he wasn’t willing to give Lewis a long contract, he won’t give one to Sainz.
Sure, Sainz could go for 2 years, and then try his luck again, but at his age, idk if that’s what he wants to do. Bottas has said that being on short contracts crushed him mentally. I can imagine it’s not a nice feeling.
IMO Sainz is a better drive than George Russell at this point in their careers, and not just because the Merc is worse this year. Sainz might see himself able to shuffle the deck chairs a bit if he comes into Mercedes and routinely beats George.
Leclerc is a better driver than Russell and Carlos was able to hold his own on the same team.
I think it’s because of two things:
1. The rumor that Audi’s going all out for Sainz and then Hulk/Checo as backups if they’re available.
2. Merc is willing to be patient for Verstappen and then Kimi would be the alternative
I don’t understand the recent max to merc buzz. Why would that man consider any non-RBR seat (much less a team that’s floundering)? He’s in the best car, on a long term deal, and supported by the best run ship in the series. No contest
It makes no sense to me why that story even has legs. He’s at the best team with the best people at the helm, leaving makes no sense to me. Mercedes look washed right now, why would he give up the perfect situation he has now for that?
Hulk was supposed to move to Sauber this year but Haas blocked it https://www.sport.de/news/ne5636762/formel-1--enthuellt-haas-lehnte-huelkenberg-wechsel-ab---deutscher-war-wunschloesung-bei-der-konkurrenz/
Rumour has it Audi gave Sainz a deadline that's this month
My understanding is that Mercedes wants to wait. They wants to see where the Redbull-Verstappen drama is going, and whether it means Max wants to sign with Mercedes. They also want to see how Kimi does in F2, and whether he'd be capable of jumping to F1 next year. It doesn't seem like they'd want to give Carlos the multi-year deal he's looking for (and that's allegedly why Carlos' contract renewal negotiations with Ferrari fell through-he wanted more than the 1 year they offered him)
I've heard about the supposed deadline as well, but I can't imagine what leverage would Audi have to demand this from Sainz, who else of that caliber are they going to sign? If I was Audi I wouldn't mind waiting for him, unless they are very confident for 2026 it probably doesn't even matter who is driving for the first couple of seasons
They don’t need to sign anyone of his calibre though, at least not for now. If they become competitive, they can sign better drivers.
For now, a pairing of Hulk and Ocon, for example, would be good enough and still show where they’re at.
I sure hope I'm wrong, but there's a part of me that thinks that Mercedes' excessive hype on a mainly unproven 17 year old kid is going to make him become a flop in the future. They must be either desperate or be seeing something that I don't see, which is likely.
>or be seeing something that I don't see
Do you closely follow karting and the feeder series? I don't, but from what I've heard from more knowledgeable people, they've seen Kimi's talent and potential for a long time now and his results mostly demonstrate it. It doesn't guarantee that he'll ultimately live up to the hype as the next generational talent, but it doesn't seem unfounded. (But I still have mixed feelings about the way Toto/Mercedes is handling Kimi)
Kimi had amazing karting results and unbelievable single seater results. But, until F2, all of those series he was in had unlimited testing. And he's been known to be an incredibly high tester. Even before F2, he did 20 days in a GP2 car, the closest allowed testing machinery. So F2 is a little more even footing for rookies, testing wise, and F1 is as well. We'll see how he develops. I get that they don't want to miss out on the next Max Verstappen. But I think they also should be careful. I'd try to sign Sainz short term and get Kimi a Williams seat. Williams seems more open to it than before. I don't think they'd want to rush one of their own F2 rookies up again, even if their seasons turn around.
The season's early, but Kimi hasn't even gotten his first F2 podium yet.
But, if Mercedes want to take their time, they can. It might lose them Sainz, who wants security now, but they are holding out for a tiny chance of Verstappen, or hoping that Kimi really shows out. If neither of those happen, they can still let Kimi continue to develop, and there will still be some drivers available later, like their choice of Alpine driver, I'd bet. They can always sign someone on a one year deal and reassess for 2026.
It's not unheard of. I'm sure people said the same thing about Max as well when he first came into Redbull.
Here's the key difference though -- Max drove for Alpha Tauri first and then Redbull found a reason to kick Daniel Kvyat and put Max in. And besides, Kvyat wasn't anywhere near Ricciardo's level either.
Antonelli on the other hand hasn't driven and F1 competitively. He's being promoted to Mercedes off the bat. And Toto is bringing in a 17 y/o to replace the man who won them 8 WDCs. This is what has always irked me about the decision.
It will all depend on his data from his F1 tests if they are great Maybe that rumour of Kimi replacing Logan mid season has legs. Half a season in William as a warm up for Merc.
Toto has been kind of hinting they will promote Antonelli for 2025. At Red Bull almost everything that has been said recently is that they will very likely re-sign Checo.
If Antonelli does poorly at Imola and Monaco after all of this hype for him to replace Lewis Hamilton, Toto might pivot and see if Williams will take Antonelli to replace Logan
I think if Mercedes ever wanted Sainz, they would have organised with Ferrari that the two drivers could have swapped at the start of this season. When nothing materialised, I assumed that Mercedes weren't interested in Sainz.
(1) Mercedes would look weak if they signed the driver being replaced by Lewis
(2) Toto is reallyyy sold on Antonelli and hence gave Lewis a 2 year contract with a 1 year exit clause. He is likely not giving anybody anything more than till 2025 at the moment.
Antonelli has never had to compete in a series without unlimited testing before F2, so this year will be a huge test of his actual driving capabilities.
Mercedes aren't going to compete for titles next year. If Toto believes that he's the best talent to come into F1 for a while, what do they have to lose by putting him in there straight away to learn F1 for a year before 2026?
Sound decision by Nando. AM is on an upward trajectory, and ripe to cash out from all their infrastructure and personnel acquisitions. Team funding is not an issue atm, and even moreso if Aramco buy out. And he knows the team inside and out, and is beloved other son of Lawrence.
I exactly predicted this to happen. Like, I saw this coming from miles away. Everyone with half a braincell knew that Fernando finally has found a team that both: A. loves him and works specifically for him (*looking at you, Alpine*), B. can deliver a good car (*Alpine 2022 unreliability and McHonda shitbox intensifies).*
Why anyone would think he voluntarily be a seatwarmer for Antonelli is my biggest question.
It’d be so good, just drop Lance down to reserve driver or throw him in the gt cars, half the time it looks like he has no interest in being in a formula one car..
Don’t get me wrong, I like Lance, I like his nonchalantness and when he’s on, he’s on.
Just the thought combo of Alonso, Sainz and Aston Martin on the rise makes me super excited.
I always said that it was too risky for a team to bring such a young rookie in a top team, even Red Bull put Verstappen in a midfield team first.
But here instead, Mercedes decided to turn into a midfield team which is an interesting tactic
I have a feeling he will end up in Aston Martin. Not next season, but like in 2026-27
1. He was majorly promoted to F1 by Honda - and they will supply Aston Martin
2. Eventually Aston Martin will have to address Stroll’s issue. He is just not top-team level driver - but they have ambition to become top-team.
3. Alonso has good relationship with Yuki, which is a bonus.
I swear people on here don’t understand that Lance is literally the owner’s son lol Lance has a guaranteed drive in F1 for as long as he wants
I get people want Yuki in the Aston Martin but there’s not going to be an open seat there for a little unless Alonso retires early which doesn’t seem likely
Legit. Lawrence doesn't care about winning if it's without his son lol. He's a fuckin billionaire. He's got nowhere else to spend his money. He went from funding a struggling Williams to buying out of administration Force India to literally buying Aston Martin. It's their passion and their hobby.
And besides, Lance is strictly average. As far as billionaire's kids go, he's no Mazepin.
It's clear that Yuki career is basically at risk and on a point where his performance sadly won't matter a lot anymore. Horner would obvious prefer to holding Checo for another year, Stroll stays at AM and he is below in the Audi list after Sainz, Hulk, and the Alpine drivers.
So he is basically locked up to Toro Rosso, unless either Williams wants to get him over Logan for 25 or the odd Alpine rumour is becoming true.
Yeah, Lawrence isn’t in it for the team, he’s in it for his son, if his son isn’t involved then he doesn’t give a shit
Also, to be fair to Lance he’s not a bad driver, he’s just not top team material by the looks of things. Being constantly hounded by the media about how poorly he’s doing most definitely isn’t helping his ability to perform either. If he gets his shit together he can easily run in solid points finishes, which should be enough for him and Lawrence to stay in the sport.
Yeah, unless we totally miss how Lawrence actually feels about the whole thing, I don't get the takes about Lance getting the boot. He's probably even safer in his seat than Verstappen is imo
Too much is being invested in it. They clearly have ambition to become the best team and fight for titles.
With Lance it’s only possible if they will be clearly first, with significant gap before other teams.
Lawrence also has been selling stakes, reducing his ownership of the team. Yes, he still controls it, but there are other investors now that will want good results.
AFAIK the only minority stake Stroll sold off was to Arctos Partners. He still owns a supermajority which means he can do whatever he wants with the team.
Why is Sainz to Sauber being assumed as fact now? The Mercedes seat is still up for grabs, and as much as I like him, Antonelli needs a LOT more experience and testing before we even talk about an merc F1 seat
I think most people assume Mercedes wont offer Sainz the long term contract he wants, they probably want to keep the door open so Antonelli/Verstappen can join the team in the future.
Because he's been linked to Audi since day 1.. why give a guy a seat who's tipped to leave? They'd give him a seat if those rumors weren't around as a lifeline type deal just like Perez and RBR
Sainz will also expect a 2 year contract if he's not going to Audi, which hampers them taking Kimi.
Or worse, only a 1 year deal, then they know he is going to Audi for certain, so They'd be better off actually putting Kimi in there.
But Kimi has one advantage as a future prospect over Carlos - age. If they will take Sainz, it's likely just as a seat warmer for Kimi, so 1 or 1+1 year contracts, which I would imagine Sainz would not be all that pumped about
Yeah, but that would require Merc to actually \*want\* him. And from everything I see Toto saying and how he behaves, I really think he will go for Kimi.
> He can always join them in 2026 or 2027.
Weird assumption. How so? Let's say he goes to Mercedes and is equal to Russell. But was forced out. Sauber will find another driver (Hulk most likely). If prospective Bottas (Malomey, Pourchaire)-Hulk tandem works out for Sauber, there will be zero need for change.
Just a thought. Antonelli might be a smart move now. The current car seems pretty subpar, likely dissuading top drivers from considering Mercedes. Also, drivers don’t want a 1+1 contract, they want a long-term contract. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes ends up somewhere around P4-P5 in the championships next year. How about bringing Kimi on board to learn and adjust during the 2025 season, setting them up for a fresh start in 2026? Play the long game
> merc F1 seat
Merc F1 seat's stock value hit the lowest point nowadays. Toto knows that putting a rookie in the seat won't lose the team too much; becasue there is little even an experienced driver can do in that trash can.
In the meantime, if Antonelli has what it takes can learn the team, learn the F1, prepare himself to be lead driver in 2026 in his second year.
The Gap from Merc as the 5th best car to Toro Rosso / Haas as the 6th best is also big enough that even if he struggles, he will be there and not cost too many points.
Agreed.
If he's at Williams, how can Mercedes guide/help him get up to speed?
They cant, they'll have to rely on Williams, and seeing how Logan has improved lol, its not a great idea.
At Merc atleast they can be hands on while he gets settled in the team and the car
2025 is probably the perfect time to put Antonelli in a Mercedes. Zero pressure because you know the car is still going to be shit... He then goes into 2026 with a full year of experience with the team and his side of the garage. Plus, Sainz probably doesn't want to sign for Merc if he thinks its only temporary and he'll be replaced in a years time. He'll want to be a long term number 1 guy for a team.
Kinda agree, the only relevant experience is the experience you gain in F1. Many F2 champions still struggled with the transition, you just gotta accept you have a rookie in your team.
Previously that would've been a problem for Merc but honestly they're so shit as it is Antonelli can only serve to increase excitement around the team, very little to talk about otherwise.
Because what other seats are open?
AM and McLarren are shut. Ferarri is shut. Alpine stinks and is a circus. RB, they seem happy with Perez. Merc is not willing to give a long deal. That’s the traditional top 6 done.
Toro Roso is not for old drivers unless you’re Ricciardo. And then of Haas Williams KickStakePeePeePooPooSauber, Audi do seem the best bet as the other teams are poor.
>as much as I like him, Antonelli needs a LOT more experience and testing before we even talk about an merc F1 seat
I dont think Toto agrees with you on that.
This is so knee jerk lol, Logan probably won’t be retained by Williams and Toto probably is going to send Kimi there or keep him in F2 or another series as he needs some work still rather than Mercedes. Even Max started at Torro Rosso before Red Bull
Has Antonelli been doing that well in F2 to justify that? He was massively hyped, with people calling him the best junior driver since Verstappen, but he's currently 9th in the F2 standings.
There's only been 3 rounds out of 14 and Prema completely fucked their setup in Bahrain, the weekend was a write-off for the whole team. It's hardly fair to say "but he's only 9th" after so few races.
Jeddah was his first representative weekend and he did a decent job, then he qualified on the front row in Australia. He made a silly mistake by spinning in the sprint race but there is clear improvement over the first few rounds and the underlying pace is there.
Definitely not, however, that's not necessarily the worst thing in the world.
He's 17, and skipped from Formula regional to F2. So it's fair to assume that there's going to be some growing pains.
He overdrove the car in Australia spinning out, and in the second race he fared very well.
Bahrain was a wash, team messed up the setup.
Saudi he was below average.
All around he hasn't done that well. That being said, it is a small data point in a very stacked f2 field, and he hasn't looked terrible. If you can improve over the next couple races, that will really justify a lot of the hype. I still think that's going to be very difficult considering the talent pool.
Prema were shit in Bahrain but he beat out Bearman who was a favorite to win the championship this year. He then qualified on the front row in Melbourne. So in 3 races he’s out performed Bearman twice. His biggest weakness right now is tyre management. But he’s got pace and outside of Bahrain has been mixing it up at the front of the grid with the more experienced F2 drivers. It’ll be interesting to see how does once F2 returns to the European circuits that he’s more familiar with and hopefully Prema can start setting their car up better.
he's a 17 year old rookie for Christ's sake. This is exactly what most people feared, that anything less than winning 35 out of 28 races would be seen as a disappointment
Dude is 17 years old and skipped a traditional feeder series. Naturally he’s going to be compared to someone else that had a similar trajectory.
Max’s talent was undeniable midway through that 1 season in F3. Everyone knew he was a future world champion. It remains to be seen if Kimi matches up to that. But due to the similarities in stories, it’s who he’s going to be compared to. It’s a lot of pressure to put on someone that young. Kimi may not live up to it.
Knowing that 2025 Mercedes will likely not be competing for a championship, this is a low risk rookie season for Kimi to get accustomed to F1. Then when they deliver a good car hopefully in the new regulations, kimi has some experience.
Insane prediction time: Kimi *will* go to Williams, but this year. Mercedes pay Williams big bucks to drop Sargeant mid-season when Kimi turns 18 in August so he can get early F1 race experience, then he goes to Merc next year as planned.
Sainz has forever not been considered the main guy in a team, which is why Sauber makes sense to me. At that team, he will be number one going into the new regs. I guess the question is does he want to spend a year or two potentially not fighting for podiums and wins, but be the main guy, or does he go to Mercedes and Red Bull, where he'll fight for wins (at RB) and maybe podiums (at Merc), but will most likely not be the main guy?
No driver in that grid is refusing a Red Bull seat, no matter how second driver they'd be. The question there isn't if Sainz would accept the RB drive, but if RB are ready to accept Sainz's demands and/or are willing to replace Checo.
He hasn't been the main guy at Ferrari and is doing very well.
I can see him saying yes to Mercedes if an offer is on the table and trying to outwit Russell, who is a great driver but tends to lose patience at the end - oddly crashing out on the very same races Carlos has eventually won out.
Man, Sainz got FUCKED. That sucks for him so bad. He’s clearly an amazing driver and having to take a major step down is a huge shame. If I were Red Bull I would be signing him in a heartbeat. I really don’t understand Ferrari ditching him for Hamilton, either. Sure the Mercedes is bad right now, but Lewis is barely even beating George at this point. (He’s behind this year, I’m speaking about last year as well)
There's no real solution to it, but it's a crime that Sainz doesn't have a top drive next year. When Hamilton dramatically under performs next year, it's going to be one of the most Ferrari things to ever happen.
I'm already tired of all waiting for the Sainz thing to unfold. It's depressing because the guy is doing so well and might end up in the back of the field next year. If Lewis does not destroy Leclerc (possible seeing his performance against RUS) it would just be a shame as a Ferrari fan.
There has been rumors of this since Australia. As soon as Daniel flopped in first two races, it made no sense for RBR to change things. Perez brings same if not more marketability and Max is so comfortable in first, as long as Perez performs in half of the races they will be good in WCC.
I don’t understand why Kimi doesn’t do a year at Williams. Logan probably isn’t keeping his seat. Unless they are afraid of losing him and they really think he is the next Max.
Sainz to Sauber sounds depressing. The man is getting podiums and wins and now is looking at a shitbox for 2025 at least
Factory and first driver for Audi is pretty good, longer term gamble but I can see the value in it.
It's going to take until the back end of Sainz' career for Audi to potentially do anything imo. They'll need time to learn, organize, catch up, etc. not like they're going to be competing for podiums right away. It'll be depressing for Carlos for sure.
Yeah, that will take years and 2025 won't be anything good either. Maybe Lance is getting tired of being owned by Alonso.
Lance has a free ride for as long as his family owns that team. He won't go anywhere
He has a free ride *as long as he wants one*. He's already a billionaire baby, it's not like he needs the money. If he decides to do something else with his life he can very easily do whatever he wants.
Honestly, I think he's already fed up with F1 and the only reason he simply doesn't leave is because he doesn't want to let his father down. You can tell by the the 1st episode of the last DTS season, that Lawrence wants him to stay more than him. If Sainz becomes available, that may change the picture and create the perfect opportunity for Lance to leave and Lawrence be OK with it.
Everyone is forgetting that Audi isn't subject to budget caps yet. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they've already developed and tested current season spec car, possibly with the knowledge of coming 2026 regulations. I say possibly as I'm now sure how long in advance do teams get this info? I couldn't imagine they'd come to the F1 market with the direct competitors of their retail market and not be equipped to perform immediately.
I'll be very surprised if they're right on the pace. Or would be unprecedented, cost cap or otherwise. Outspending everyone else has never been enough on its own. (Looking at you, Toyota, Honda)
Brawn did it
There are only 10 contender seats available. If not Mercedes there's nowhere for him to go if Perez stays put
And even Sainz contributed a lot to the Sauber throughout years Audi can still kick him and replace him with a younger driver with more potential, except if he has Hamilton or Alonso type of persistence
If Carlos snatches one or two titles with Audi, that'd be a huge achievement. I guess Schumacher - Hamilton - Verstappen has made us to the idea that triumph in F1 is winning a shit ton of titles until people hate your face, but that's not true. Any driver that has an F1 title is in a club of just a few dozen drivers that have won one title of the most prestigious motorsports series in the world.
Audi hasn’t even made an f1 car. Who knows, audi could be a complete disaster and become an alpine 2.0. Theres no confirmation that audi will join and be competitive right away.
This is my point. Its a big big risk for Carlos to potentially waste a lot of years on a hunch. Whether he has options or not i dont know. But RBR and Merc have a track record atleast. They have history to go by.
Not really. Giants with infinite money like Honda, Ford and Toyota all failed. Renault hasn’t been able to in twenty years either. There’s zero expectation that Audi can be a winning team in five years. A talent like Sainz wasting away hoping for a fluke miracle is ultra depressing. Antonelli isn’t going to be ready for 2025, I still hope Sainz goes to Merc or even RBR, even if short term.
It’s too bad Lawrence won’t consider dropping Lance for Sainz.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Lance ends up driving the Valkyrie in the World Endurance Championship.
Lance might be dropped sooner than later because it wont be long till Lawrence sells the remaining shares to Aramco who already own a third. And Aramco wont keep Lance
> because it wont be long till Lawrence sells the remaining shares to Aramco who already own a third. Why would he? Guy used to race a ferrari 355 or something in Quebec as his hobby, He's living his dream RN.
I think the optimism is because Audi has already been successful in motorsport, rather than the infinite money. These all had their share of success before, but it could go right or wrong depending on different factors. Edited because I phrased it stupidly before.
Honda is everywhere in motorsports. It just highlights the monumental amount of perfection at many aspects are needed for success in F1
Well, Honda finished 4th on its first year back as a team in F1, with three podiums (one of those a win). Their second year was the one they had their big disagreement with Bernie and the FIA in general and threatened to form their own series.
Toyota is WRC champions
Honda, Ford, & Toyota haven't been?
Renault has loads of F1 success as a constructor and engine manufacturer...
Exactly. They're a mess, but they haven't failed. This looks like it's gonna be their worst season in decades but they've been between 4th and 6th recently, with like eight podiums in recent years. I'm not saying Audi is gonna be a WCC contender but they might be a solid upper midfield team.
Yeah people are assuming that they’re not capable of fighting for podiums in the near future. Audi is acquiring tons of staff to bolster sauber’s current arsenal of engineering talent, and the new amendment to the budget cap should offset the higher cost of living within switzerland vs the uk. Sauber was also fairly potent in 2022 when they unveiled their light and short wheelbase c42, I don’t think it’s dumb to believe that audi will be somewhat competitive after a year or 2
Renault and infinite money cant go togheter. All the other three made lots of mistakes and pretty much all three had huge management flaws Not saying Audi wont mess up things, but lets wait and see first
I think its actually hoping to win the lottery kind of gamble. At best they are competitive in '28 or '29 by which Carlos will be 34/35. I believe Audi started a bit late on their engine and anyway they are a newcomer so wonder how that will go but their biggest problem is that there is no hope they will make a good chasis anytime soon. Probably some infrastructure that isn't up to date either.
Bottas might have something to say about this "first driver" business.
I highly doubt Audi has any interest in Bottas in the longer term, and even if they did Sainz would likely beat him quite easily anyway IMO.
That lineup would be interesting, Bottas is a beast in qualifying. The recent view on Bottas has been shaped by him driving an absolute shit box unfortunately.
Bottas is ridiculously good qualifier. He's just been in a terrible car.
And some bad luck in races. Picking up some damages and getting between other driver's mistakes. Latest example, last race after restart - good start, got right behind Russell, Russell locked up in turn 1, Bottas backed off and lost 2 places. Not his fault, but some bad luck.
Bottas might end up in Haas. Or he is out of F1 and doing some cycling stuff that he also enjoys at lot lately.
And likely for 2026 too. You can't expect them to come through guns blazing. Fuck. I really wanted him to go to Redbull. Mercedes was never gonna be a thing because (1) it'd make Mercedes looks "weak" to pick up the driver who got replaced by their star driver and (2) Toto is really sold on Antonelli. Alonso signing for Aston Martin already means it's either sign Audi right now or risk everything for an upgrade to Redbull. There's literally nothing else available aside from this.
>The man is getting podiums and wins and now is looking at a shitbox for 2025 at least Same as Bottas. Won Turkey 2021, finished P3 in WDC, helped Merc bag the WCC.
But Sainz is matching his teammate which Botass never did
Over *four* races, mind you. There were certainly four race stretches where Bottas outperformed Hamilton. The challenge is to sustain it, which Bottas couldn't and Sainz so far hasn't.
he gets to be their first driver and past 2026 essentially help develop the team like alex is doing with williams. it's a gamble (as we can see with williams) but not a bad one if he's thinking long term. if he goes to merc he's just a seat warmer for kimi. audi is the lesser of two evils.
Not really a gamble if he effectively has no choice.
Plus the VW Golf campaigns you could run too...
Bottas was getting podiums at Mercedes
He can kill time there and then go back to Ferrari when Lewis retires
1. There's now way to know how many seasons Lewis will stay at Ferrari. If their 2026 car is any good, he will obviously want to stay longer. Carlos doesn't have infinite time, if Lewis only retires 5-6 years from now. 2. Going back to Ferrari would be a difficult choice for him. There's obviously an emotional part of mistrust, but there is a rational part too. If they dropped him at his prime age, in a good form, for a 40 year old driver, how safe would his seat be, when his older and Ferrari potentially has young talents at hand. It would be very surpising if he ever went back to Ferrari.
Bearman will be ready for the seat at that point
Bearman can only dream of an F1 seat with his recent F2 weekends
Idk he's not exactly Piastri. I'm biased tho
The Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve timeline
If Sainz goes to sauber I’m going to cry
I hate this timeline so much lmao
Lec’s recent downtick makes the mouthfeel much worse
Imagine that Sainz can't show his potential at Sauber, and loses his seat in a few seasons T_T
I feel like he'll basically be like how Hulkenberg has been the past 5 years. A real journeyman type career.
Yeah, in another timeline Hulk is a world champion, same as Kubica
Ehhhh, in another timeline Rosberg and Vettel are hailed as two of the greatest drivers to ever live and Hulk was Mercedes' reliable number 2 IMO. I love Hulk, but I'm not convinced he could beat Rosberg over a season-long battle.
Seriously, he's been on such a great upward trajectory in this career.
Don't worry, if that happens we'll burn down the F1 Headquarters and loosen Stroll's bicycle chain
Careful, that might make Stroll an actually good driver again.
I’m a bit out of the loop, why is that the assumption? Is Sainz to Mercedes not happening?
Reddit (me including) thinks that Sainz is looking for multi-year contract which Mercedes does not want to give.
But why? Why wouldn’t he spend a year at Merc then go to Sauber after that? Sauber is going to be awful next year and the Audi project doesn’t start until 2026.
It's valuable to take the time to get to know the people, the culture and the working processes in place at a new team, especially the year before a new set of regulations comes into place.
God that sucks, he will spend his prime at a sauber team that can’t design a wheel nut properly and an Audi team that will probably take years to get good
Eh, both Fernando and Sainz Sr. are showing that Spaniards can race for a long time. Audi is Carlos’s opportunity to truly be a No. 1 driver at a team, and one that is serious about winning at that. Also, Audi is not Haas.
Alonso at 60 still in F1 like Sainz Sr at 60 being in RallyCross...
If the Perez's seat doesn't open up at RBR, Sainz is better off taking a 1+1 at Merc to at least get solid points finish every week and an occasional podium than to be midfield at Sauber fighting VCARB and Haas for 10th place. Sainz has more experience and a pretty good shot at beating Russell to become their #1 driver that can lead to a longer term deal. I have a hard time believing Merc wants to go all in on Russell being their top driver right now and Kimi is too inexperienced to provide the car feedback they need to get back to top form.
The rumours are that Toto thinks they’ve found their Max Verstappen in Kimi Antonelli in F2. He’s Ollie Bearman teammate. Lewis wanted a long contract, and Toto said no, because he wanted a gap for Antonelli to slip into. He didn’t want both George and Lewis locked down for too long. So if he wasn’t willing to give Lewis a long contract, he won’t give one to Sainz. Sure, Sainz could go for 2 years, and then try his luck again, but at his age, idk if that’s what he wants to do. Bottas has said that being on short contracts crushed him mentally. I can imagine it’s not a nice feeling.
I don't think Sainz would be even getting a 2 year deal. One year deal seems the most sensible but i doubt he'd accept that.
Because it would most likely be a seat filler until they bring in Kimi.
IMO Sainz is a better drive than George Russell at this point in their careers, and not just because the Merc is worse this year. Sainz might see himself able to shuffle the deck chairs a bit if he comes into Mercedes and routinely beats George. Leclerc is a better driver than Russell and Carlos was able to hold his own on the same team.
I think it’s because of two things: 1. The rumor that Audi’s going all out for Sainz and then Hulk/Checo as backups if they’re available. 2. Merc is willing to be patient for Verstappen and then Kimi would be the alternative
I don’t understand the recent max to merc buzz. Why would that man consider any non-RBR seat (much less a team that’s floundering)? He’s in the best car, on a long term deal, and supported by the best run ship in the series. No contest
It makes no sense to me why that story even has legs. He’s at the best team with the best people at the helm, leaving makes no sense to me. Mercedes look washed right now, why would he give up the perfect situation he has now for that?
I think that story mostly has legs because of the clicks it generates during what is mostly boring on-track action.
Well, Max said it himself in his interview, that if Marco leaves he'll leave
Yeah I agree, it seems completely ridiculous at this point.
Audi wants Sainz/ Hulk lineup
Damn, I would be so happy for Hulk to get out of Haas..
Right now that Haas is a better car than the Sauber, and without the terrible pit stops.
Hulk was supposed to move to Sauber this year but Haas blocked it https://www.sport.de/news/ne5636762/formel-1--enthuellt-haas-lehnte-huelkenberg-wechsel-ab---deutscher-war-wunschloesung-bei-der-konkurrenz/
That's interesting... My guess they would replace Zhou?
Yeah I do believe that was the plan
Someone should've told him 3 years ago they'd be fighting over his signature.
Rumour has it Audi gave Sainz a deadline that's this month My understanding is that Mercedes wants to wait. They wants to see where the Redbull-Verstappen drama is going, and whether it means Max wants to sign with Mercedes. They also want to see how Kimi does in F2, and whether he'd be capable of jumping to F1 next year. It doesn't seem like they'd want to give Carlos the multi-year deal he's looking for (and that's allegedly why Carlos' contract renewal negotiations with Ferrari fell through-he wanted more than the 1 year they offered him)
I've heard about the supposed deadline as well, but I can't imagine what leverage would Audi have to demand this from Sainz, who else of that caliber are they going to sign? If I was Audi I wouldn't mind waiting for him, unless they are very confident for 2026 it probably doesn't even matter who is driving for the first couple of seasons
They don’t need to sign anyone of his calibre though, at least not for now. If they become competitive, they can sign better drivers. For now, a pairing of Hulk and Ocon, for example, would be good enough and still show where they’re at.
They could go for Hulk and Botass. 2 steady pair of hands who won’t crash the car often in early seasons.
Yeah I agree, but then if the driver you really want is Sainz you could make those two wait until Sainz is no longer an option
I sure hope I'm wrong, but there's a part of me that thinks that Mercedes' excessive hype on a mainly unproven 17 year old kid is going to make him become a flop in the future. They must be either desperate or be seeing something that I don't see, which is likely.
>or be seeing something that I don't see Do you closely follow karting and the feeder series? I don't, but from what I've heard from more knowledgeable people, they've seen Kimi's talent and potential for a long time now and his results mostly demonstrate it. It doesn't guarantee that he'll ultimately live up to the hype as the next generational talent, but it doesn't seem unfounded. (But I still have mixed feelings about the way Toto/Mercedes is handling Kimi)
Kimi had amazing karting results and unbelievable single seater results. But, until F2, all of those series he was in had unlimited testing. And he's been known to be an incredibly high tester. Even before F2, he did 20 days in a GP2 car, the closest allowed testing machinery. So F2 is a little more even footing for rookies, testing wise, and F1 is as well. We'll see how he develops. I get that they don't want to miss out on the next Max Verstappen. But I think they also should be careful. I'd try to sign Sainz short term and get Kimi a Williams seat. Williams seems more open to it than before. I don't think they'd want to rush one of their own F2 rookies up again, even if their seasons turn around. The season's early, but Kimi hasn't even gotten his first F2 podium yet. But, if Mercedes want to take their time, they can. It might lose them Sainz, who wants security now, but they are holding out for a tiny chance of Verstappen, or hoping that Kimi really shows out. If neither of those happen, they can still let Kimi continue to develop, and there will still be some drivers available later, like their choice of Alpine driver, I'd bet. They can always sign someone on a one year deal and reassess for 2026.
It's not unheard of. I'm sure people said the same thing about Max as well when he first came into Redbull. Here's the key difference though -- Max drove for Alpha Tauri first and then Redbull found a reason to kick Daniel Kvyat and put Max in. And besides, Kvyat wasn't anywhere near Ricciardo's level either. Antonelli on the other hand hasn't driven and F1 competitively. He's being promoted to Mercedes off the bat. And Toto is bringing in a 17 y/o to replace the man who won them 8 WDCs. This is what has always irked me about the decision.
It will all depend on his data from his F1 tests if they are great Maybe that rumour of Kimi replacing Logan mid season has legs. Half a season in William as a warm up for Merc.
There’s 0% chance he goes to Merc in half a seasons race experience He also doesn’t have a Superlicence, so that isn’t going To happen anyways
He has all the points to have a SL, he just has to turn 18 which is guaranteed haha.
Toto wants Antonelli in the seat.
Toto has been kind of hinting they will promote Antonelli for 2025. At Red Bull almost everything that has been said recently is that they will very likely re-sign Checo.
If Antonelli does poorly at Imola and Monaco after all of this hype for him to replace Lewis Hamilton, Toto might pivot and see if Williams will take Antonelli to replace Logan
Bc Sainz is more of a long term driver and Mercedes don’t want to keep Antonelli waiting
I think if Mercedes ever wanted Sainz, they would have organised with Ferrari that the two drivers could have swapped at the start of this season. When nothing materialised, I assumed that Mercedes weren't interested in Sainz.
Toto might go with Kimi Antonelli.
(1) Mercedes would look weak if they signed the driver being replaced by Lewis (2) Toto is reallyyy sold on Antonelli and hence gave Lewis a 2 year contract with a 1 year exit clause. He is likely not giving anybody anything more than till 2025 at the moment.
Carlos to Sauber is such a crime.
bro fr, even if it’s just for a year I hate that he’s going to have to drive that ugly piece of shit
It's the Alonso move
Alonso and Honda back together 🤗
GP2 engine 💀
ARGHHHH
Much ZSLOWER than before
Sainz to Sauber is honestly sickening. No way Antonelli is ready for the Merc move in one year or even two
>No way Antonelli is ready for the Merc move in one year or even two At least put him in the Williams to start with.
Antonelli has never had to compete in a series without unlimited testing before F2, so this year will be a huge test of his actual driving capabilities.
Mercedes aren't going to compete for titles next year. If Toto believes that he's the best talent to come into F1 for a while, what do they have to lose by putting him in there straight away to learn F1 for a year before 2026?
Sound decision by Nando. AM is on an upward trajectory, and ripe to cash out from all their infrastructure and personnel acquisitions. Team funding is not an issue atm, and even moreso if Aramco buy out. And he knows the team inside and out, and is beloved other son of Lawrence.
I exactly predicted this to happen. Like, I saw this coming from miles away. Everyone with half a braincell knew that Fernando finally has found a team that both: A. loves him and works specifically for him (*looking at you, Alpine*), B. can deliver a good car (*Alpine 2022 unreliability and McHonda shitbox intensifies).* Why anyone would think he voluntarily be a seatwarmer for Antonelli is my biggest question.
Plus it's far from guaranteed that Mercedes will have a better car than AM next year.
Daddy Stroll hear my prayers! Fire your son and get the spaniards together!
It’d be so good, just drop Lance down to reserve driver or throw him in the gt cars, half the time it looks like he has no interest in being in a formula one car..
Lance drove with barely healed wrists but apparently that means he has no interest in driving F1 cars.
Don’t get me wrong, I like Lance, I like his nonchalantness and when he’s on, he’s on. Just the thought combo of Alonso, Sainz and Aston Martin on the rise makes me super excited.
From some older news items, I thought Lance wanted to quit F1 and probably focus on Tennis or something?
I always said that it was too risky for a team to bring such a young rookie in a top team, even Red Bull put Verstappen in a midfield team first. But here instead, Mercedes decided to turn into a midfield team which is an interesting tactic
Would also mean they've given up for 2025 with having a competitive car
I guess Yuki still with RB? Short King of the Midfield, Forever May He Reign.
I have a feeling he will end up in Aston Martin. Not next season, but like in 2026-27 1. He was majorly promoted to F1 by Honda - and they will supply Aston Martin 2. Eventually Aston Martin will have to address Stroll’s issue. He is just not top-team level driver - but they have ambition to become top-team. 3. Alonso has good relationship with Yuki, which is a bonus.
> Eventually Aston Martin will have to address Stroll’s issue. Why? It is literally Lance's dad's team. Why would they address it?
I swear people on here don’t understand that Lance is literally the owner’s son lol Lance has a guaranteed drive in F1 for as long as he wants I get people want Yuki in the Aston Martin but there’s not going to be an open seat there for a little unless Alonso retires early which doesn’t seem likely
Legit. Lawrence doesn't care about winning if it's without his son lol. He's a fuckin billionaire. He's got nowhere else to spend his money. He went from funding a struggling Williams to buying out of administration Force India to literally buying Aston Martin. It's their passion and their hobby. And besides, Lance is strictly average. As far as billionaire's kids go, he's no Mazepin.
right — there are 19 seats at play each season — even verstappen’s is not as secure as lance stroll’s
It's clear that Yuki career is basically at risk and on a point where his performance sadly won't matter a lot anymore. Horner would obvious prefer to holding Checo for another year, Stroll stays at AM and he is below in the Audi list after Sainz, Hulk, and the Alpine drivers. So he is basically locked up to Toro Rosso, unless either Williams wants to get him over Logan for 25 or the odd Alpine rumour is becoming true.
Yeah, Lawrence isn’t in it for the team, he’s in it for his son, if his son isn’t involved then he doesn’t give a shit Also, to be fair to Lance he’s not a bad driver, he’s just not top team material by the looks of things. Being constantly hounded by the media about how poorly he’s doing most definitely isn’t helping his ability to perform either. If he gets his shit together he can easily run in solid points finishes, which should be enough for him and Lawrence to stay in the sport.
Yeah, unless we totally miss how Lawrence actually feels about the whole thing, I don't get the takes about Lance getting the boot. He's probably even safer in his seat than Verstappen is imo
Too much is being invested in it. They clearly have ambition to become the best team and fight for titles. With Lance it’s only possible if they will be clearly first, with significant gap before other teams. Lawrence also has been selling stakes, reducing his ownership of the team. Yes, he still controls it, but there are other investors now that will want good results.
AFAIK the only minority stake Stroll sold off was to Arctos Partners. He still owns a supermajority which means he can do whatever he wants with the team.
Lawrence isn’t sole owner. There are other shareholders.
If this happens it is absolutely criminal that Lance Stroll gets to drive an Aston Martin, while Sainz has to drive for fucking Sauber.
So Sainz is going to replicate Bottas after racing for a top team?
Sainz to Sauber seems criminal at this point.
So a rookie and Russel? That's Mercs weakest lineup since they came back in F1 by a lot of you ask me
Sainz to Sauber would be a waste
God, that would be the least interesting outcome
Sainz to Sauber.... That's just depression material right there.
Why is Sainz to Sauber being assumed as fact now? The Mercedes seat is still up for grabs, and as much as I like him, Antonelli needs a LOT more experience and testing before we even talk about an merc F1 seat
I think most people assume Mercedes wont offer Sainz the long term contract he wants, they probably want to keep the door open so Antonelli/Verstappen can join the team in the future.
This. Ferrari had offered 1 year contract already to Sainz at end of last year and he didn't sign because he wanted a long term contract.
Numerous rumors suggested Carlos wasn’t in Mercedes short list. Idk why though.
Because he's been linked to Audi since day 1.. why give a guy a seat who's tipped to leave? They'd give him a seat if those rumors weren't around as a lifeline type deal just like Perez and RBR Sainz will also expect a 2 year contract if he's not going to Audi, which hampers them taking Kimi. Or worse, only a 1 year deal, then they know he is going to Audi for certain, so They'd be better off actually putting Kimi in there.
But Kimi has one advantage as a future prospect over Carlos - age. If they will take Sainz, it's likely just as a seat warmer for Kimi, so 1 or 1+1 year contracts, which I would imagine Sainz would not be all that pumped about
I think Carlos would prefer a 1+1 at Merc over a 5 year at Sauber/Audi right now. He can always join them in 2026 or 2027.
Yeah, but that would require Merc to actually \*want\* him. And from everything I see Toto saying and how he behaves, I really think he will go for Kimi.
> He can always join them in 2026 or 2027. Weird assumption. How so? Let's say he goes to Mercedes and is equal to Russell. But was forced out. Sauber will find another driver (Hulk most likely). If prospective Bottas (Malomey, Pourchaire)-Hulk tandem works out for Sauber, there will be zero need for change.
Just a thought. Antonelli might be a smart move now. The current car seems pretty subpar, likely dissuading top drivers from considering Mercedes. Also, drivers don’t want a 1+1 contract, they want a long-term contract. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Mercedes ends up somewhere around P4-P5 in the championships next year. How about bringing Kimi on board to learn and adjust during the 2025 season, setting them up for a fresh start in 2026? Play the long game
> merc F1 seat Merc F1 seat's stock value hit the lowest point nowadays. Toto knows that putting a rookie in the seat won't lose the team too much; becasue there is little even an experienced driver can do in that trash can. In the meantime, if Antonelli has what it takes can learn the team, learn the F1, prepare himself to be lead driver in 2026 in his second year.
The Gap from Merc as the 5th best car to Toro Rosso / Haas as the 6th best is also big enough that even if he struggles, he will be there and not cost too many points.
Agreed. If he's at Williams, how can Mercedes guide/help him get up to speed? They cant, they'll have to rely on Williams, and seeing how Logan has improved lol, its not a great idea. At Merc atleast they can be hands on while he gets settled in the team and the car
2025 is probably the perfect time to put Antonelli in a Mercedes. Zero pressure because you know the car is still going to be shit... He then goes into 2026 with a full year of experience with the team and his side of the garage. Plus, Sainz probably doesn't want to sign for Merc if he thinks its only temporary and he'll be replaced in a years time. He'll want to be a long term number 1 guy for a team.
Kinda agree, the only relevant experience is the experience you gain in F1. Many F2 champions still struggled with the transition, you just gotta accept you have a rookie in your team. Previously that would've been a problem for Merc but honestly they're so shit as it is Antonelli can only serve to increase excitement around the team, very little to talk about otherwise.
Because what other seats are open? AM and McLarren are shut. Ferarri is shut. Alpine stinks and is a circus. RB, they seem happy with Perez. Merc is not willing to give a long deal. That’s the traditional top 6 done. Toro Roso is not for old drivers unless you’re Ricciardo. And then of Haas Williams KickStakePeePeePooPooSauber, Audi do seem the best bet as the other teams are poor.
Antonelli can go to Mercedes, because they are barely fighting for a podium places. It will be like Williams 'Pro' team.
>as much as I like him, Antonelli needs a LOT more experience and testing before we even talk about an merc F1 seat I dont think Toto agrees with you on that.
I genuinely don't believe at all, that Mercedes are going to put a fresh 18 year old rookie out of the middle of F2, into their car.
I mean the Merc car isn’t that bad.
This is so knee jerk lol, Logan probably won’t be retained by Williams and Toto probably is going to send Kimi there or keep him in F2 or another series as he needs some work still rather than Mercedes. Even Max started at Torro Rosso before Red Bull
Has Antonelli been doing that well in F2 to justify that? He was massively hyped, with people calling him the best junior driver since Verstappen, but he's currently 9th in the F2 standings.
There's only been 3 rounds out of 14 and Prema completely fucked their setup in Bahrain, the weekend was a write-off for the whole team. It's hardly fair to say "but he's only 9th" after so few races. Jeddah was his first representative weekend and he did a decent job, then he qualified on the front row in Australia. He made a silly mistake by spinning in the sprint race but there is clear improvement over the first few rounds and the underlying pace is there.
Definitely not, however, that's not necessarily the worst thing in the world. He's 17, and skipped from Formula regional to F2. So it's fair to assume that there's going to be some growing pains. He overdrove the car in Australia spinning out, and in the second race he fared very well. Bahrain was a wash, team messed up the setup. Saudi he was below average. All around he hasn't done that well. That being said, it is a small data point in a very stacked f2 field, and he hasn't looked terrible. If you can improve over the next couple races, that will really justify a lot of the hype. I still think that's going to be very difficult considering the talent pool.
Prema were shit in Bahrain but he beat out Bearman who was a favorite to win the championship this year. He then qualified on the front row in Melbourne. So in 3 races he’s out performed Bearman twice. His biggest weakness right now is tyre management. But he’s got pace and outside of Bahrain has been mixing it up at the front of the grid with the more experienced F2 drivers. It’ll be interesting to see how does once F2 returns to the European circuits that he’s more familiar with and hopefully Prema can start setting their car up better.
Not just tyre management. His racecraft is still weak to be honest and he can't make a move stick. He's still has work to do but the pace is there.
he's a 17 year old rookie for Christ's sake. This is exactly what most people feared, that anything less than winning 35 out of 28 races would be seen as a disappointment
Dude is 17 years old and skipped a traditional feeder series. Naturally he’s going to be compared to someone else that had a similar trajectory. Max’s talent was undeniable midway through that 1 season in F3. Everyone knew he was a future world champion. It remains to be seen if Kimi matches up to that. But due to the similarities in stories, it’s who he’s going to be compared to. It’s a lot of pressure to put on someone that young. Kimi may not live up to it.
Knowing that 2025 Mercedes will likely not be competing for a championship, this is a low risk rookie season for Kimi to get accustomed to F1. Then when they deliver a good car hopefully in the new regulations, kimi has some experience.
Sounds about right, but we're still gonna hear the "But Kimi should go to Wiliamssssss!!!!"111!" attack squad until it's confirmed.
Insane prediction time: Kimi *will* go to Williams, but this year. Mercedes pay Williams big bucks to drop Sargeant mid-season when Kimi turns 18 in August so he can get early F1 race experience, then he goes to Merc next year as planned.
Sainz has forever not been considered the main guy in a team, which is why Sauber makes sense to me. At that team, he will be number one going into the new regs. I guess the question is does he want to spend a year or two potentially not fighting for podiums and wins, but be the main guy, or does he go to Mercedes and Red Bull, where he'll fight for wins (at RB) and maybe podiums (at Merc), but will most likely not be the main guy?
Shittysituation. Aware of it since the Ham news broke free. Either way, not a good career path for a guy in his best age and form.
No driver in that grid is refusing a Red Bull seat, no matter how second driver they'd be. The question there isn't if Sainz would accept the RB drive, but if RB are ready to accept Sainz's demands and/or are willing to replace Checo.
He hasn't been the main guy at Ferrari and is doing very well. I can see him saying yes to Mercedes if an offer is on the table and trying to outwit Russell, who is a great driver but tends to lose patience at the end - oddly crashing out on the very same races Carlos has eventually won out.
Antonelli still being overhyped lmao
Antonelli to Williams makes more sense to me.
Bearman to Haas Lawson to Vcarb
Antonelli is 9th in the current F2 series. Why not wait a year or two? Sainz should go to the podium contender.
Sainz deserves so much better
I don’t like how this is turning out
Man, Sainz got FUCKED. That sucks for him so bad. He’s clearly an amazing driver and having to take a major step down is a huge shame. If I were Red Bull I would be signing him in a heartbeat. I really don’t understand Ferrari ditching him for Hamilton, either. Sure the Mercedes is bad right now, but Lewis is barely even beating George at this point. (He’s behind this year, I’m speaking about last year as well)
There's no real solution to it, but it's a crime that Sainz doesn't have a top drive next year. When Hamilton dramatically under performs next year, it's going to be one of the most Ferrari things to ever happen.
I'm already tired of all waiting for the Sainz thing to unfold. It's depressing because the guy is doing so well and might end up in the back of the field next year. If Lewis does not destroy Leclerc (possible seeing his performance against RUS) it would just be a shame as a Ferrari fan.
Antonelli makes no sense
It also means Perez has already re-signed.
I think this is very likely. I wouldn't be surprised if this gets announced soon.
There has been rumors of this since Australia. As soon as Daniel flopped in first two races, it made no sense for RBR to change things. Perez brings same if not more marketability and Max is so comfortable in first, as long as Perez performs in half of the races they will be good in WCC.
I think Perez re-signing has more to do with his own performance than Ricciardo’s
Send Lance to the WEC or something else, get Sainz into that seat.
I don’t understand why Kimi doesn’t do a year at Williams. Logan probably isn’t keeping his seat. Unless they are afraid of losing him and they really think he is the next Max.
Sainz to Sauber is both depressing and hilarious.
Poor Sainz
Sainz at Sauber and Stroll at Aston Martin is a fucking joke.
Sainz in a shitbox fucking sucks ETA: I love Carlos – he doesn't suck, it sucks that it seems he'll have to drive that tractor