2023-24 Formula 1 Off-Track Thread

[Rossell2]

Either that or he takes to Sauber ready for Audi to join through his father's connection to the Dakar team.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Wow. I'll eat my words happily.

 

[space_wadet]

 

[Blitz24]

Hamilton will dominate Leclerc. And Sainz back to Red Bull. You heard it here first.

And neither one will score points as Ferrari will be on Strategy: Clown.

 

[MagpieRacer]

This totally shifts the 2024 dynamic. Is Hamilton so disillusioned from the past few seasons thay he needs to leave, does he feel the car is going nowhere and he needs to go to try and win his 8th title? Has the focus moved too much into George Russel for his liking? Will Russel be treated as priority for development and results this season?

 

[Jimlaad43]

Despicable behaviour from all these news sources claiming it's news even though nothing has been announced or confirmed. It may end UK being true even today, but journalism is dying on its feet if we keep lapping up rumours as fact. Ferrari should shove it all in their face and announce a Sainz contract extension to put one up on the idiots who think posting "Set to" headlines as news is the right thing to do.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Hamilton will dominate Leclerc. And Sainz back to Red Bull. You heard it here first.

I don't see Sainz going to Red Bull as long as Verstappens around, they weren't exactly harmonious at STR and he's fed up of being no. 2 to Leclerc so why would he go and be no. 2 to someone he's already played second fiddle to?

Sainz is going to go and replace Alonso at Aston Martin, or he'll be the marquee signing for Audi.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Despicable behaviour from all these news sources claiming it's news even though nothing has been announced or confirmed. It may end UK being true even today, but journalism is dying on its feet if we keep lapping up rumours as fact. Ferrari should shove it all in their face and announce a Sainz contract extension to put one up on the idiots who think posting "Set to" headlines as news is the right thing to do.

The amount of places reporting it, most of whom reputable, the insiders reporting it being true and so on, this isn't just a hunch or bad reporting. It's been confirmed by many news sources.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

I wonder if Toto's leaving aswell (as in taking a back seat & letting someone else run the show), might be the reason Hamilton's decided to give Ferrari a go.

 

[space_wadet]

I wonder if Toto's leaving aswell (as in taking a back seat & letting someone else run the show), might be the reason Hamilton's decided to give Ferrari a go.

Toto just renewed as Mercedes TP for 3 years a few days ago.

 

[Fezzik]

even Max will end up there eventually

 

[Reparable]

Max will retire in the next 5 years

 

[Veinz]

Autosport is reporting it but I still can’t believe it.

They are ditching the split turbo for the 2026 regulations, Ferrari is currently the only manufacturer that doesn’t have that design. Maybe this will be another power move like 2013.

 

[FoxMulder]

Just seems like a bucket list move by Hamilton. Mercedes fell off but he still finished a distant third in the championship.

I have way more faith in Mercedes rebounding and stepping up to Redbull than Ferrari. Hamilton may not get #8 but Verstappen will likely retire in the next few years to go do something else.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Toto just renewed as Mercedes TP for 3 years a few days ago.

Ah, maybe he can already guess his Merc's a **** box then.

 

[phillgt2002]

What on Earth have I just read? Interesting news to wake up to.

I guess none of it is confirmed? I really don’t see the point of the move, but like someone said, it could be a 2013 McLaren to Mercedes situation.

 

[Liquid]

If that happens, we'll know that Lewis isn't lying when he says that his tyres are gone.

No but it'll be eight times as grating because he'll be saying it eight times as often.

 

[Famine]

Well, that's the absolute ****housery of F1's treatment of Andretti forgotten about literally overnight then...

 

[Fezzik]

Well, that's the absolute ****housery of F1's treatment of Andretti forgotten about literally overnight then...

Pure coincidence. Not like someone at FOM leaked the news to an obliging journo.

 

[Mr Grumpy]

Well, that's the absolute ****housery of F1's treatment of Andretti forgotten about literally overnight then...

Who?

 

[Touring Mars]

Wait, does that mean that Sainz has lost his car?

 

[McLaren]

Oh boy. I’m assuming this year’s Merc must not have made any improvement if Lewis is accepting an offer to Ferrari. I really thought he’d finish off his career with them & become a brand ambassador in some way.

 

[NotThePrez]

Well, that's the absolute ****housery of F1's treatment of Andretti forgotten about literally overnight then...

FOM must be thanking whatever Italian deities they can communicate with right now. To have the massively unpopular decision of denying one of the major players in American Open-Wheel racing entry into F1, only for it to end up being usurped in the news by a (still strongly rumored) shock driver change within 24 hours is nothing short of miraculous.

Who?

TL;DR, the FOM denied Andrettis entry into F1 in 2026, despite Andretti being approved by the FIA, largely because the FOM has their head deeply shoved into their own ass.

Wait, does that mean that Sainz has lost his car?

Unknown. A big talking point over the last few weeks is the fact that there's been total radio silence on the topic of Sainz and his contract with Ferrari. It seems the prevailing prediction is that Sainz will still driver for Maranello this year, but his seat will be taken in 2025 by Lewis, with LecLerc as his teammate.

I imagine that if the Lewis-to-Ferrari move doesn't come together (which seems unlikely given the media storm surrounding the news), the Ferrari will give Sainz a new multi-year contract.

 

[Jimlaad43]

Or...or...
FOM knew this was approaching and deliberately released the Andretti news a day before the Hamilton to Ferrari stuff was about to explode so it would be lost in the new media storm the day after.

 

[AshenGraey]

If this is true, I can't say that I've ever been this shocked about a news in F1 since I started watching back in 2012.

It's really interesting how the whole Andretti story basically vanished after this "news" release!

 

[Fezzik]

Sky Sports are reporting it as confirmed now. Mercedes staff told in a meeting.

 

[Liquid]

"Lewis, we know the car is bad. Please drive it."

Swap the Austrian accent for an Italian one.

 

[MagpieRacer]

Gazetta has alleged that a 2024 deal isn't off the table.

That would be wild.

 

[GroupB]

Being reported in the US by ESPN as well:

https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/39434562/lewis-hamilton-talks-shock-switch-ferrari-sources

 

[Touring Mars]

Gazetta has alleged that a 2024 deal isn't off the table.

That would be wild.

My first thought was 'how is Lewis going to drive for Mercedes all season?' - I don't know how it might happen, but an immediate switch would probably be best for both parties.

Once again, however, it's surprising - and not a little disappointing - to see how this news has come out. I wouldn't be surprised if there are people in the Mercedes team who didn't know anything about this until they read it on social media this morning. The fact that Toto has had to hold an emergency team meeting to break the news a few hours after it was all over Sky Sports is pretty crappy. Presumably the news was not intended to be released, but now that it has broken, I'd imagine that there is probably going to be some fall-out between LH and the team, which will make the 2024 season arse-awkward all round.

It's also not a great look for Ferrari for a signature move like this to be botched - though this might well be sign of things to come... apart from anything else, one would hope that their current drivers would have been notified in advance... one would certainly hope so, but you never know.