The '14 driver transfer discussion/speculation thread

  • Thread starter NotThePrez
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Possible driver line-ups if three-car teams are indeed on the way:

Mercedes - Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas
Ferrari - Alonso, Bianchi, Raikkonen
Red Bull - Ricciardo, Kvyat, Vettel
McLaren - Button, Magnussen, Vandoorne
Williams - Massa, Nasr, Ocon
Toro Rosso - Verstappen, Sainz, Gasly
Force India - Hulkenberg, Perez, Juncadella
Lotus - Grosjean, Maldonado, Merhi
Lotus would probably drop out, if three-car teams happen. They don't have enough money even for two-car team.
 
Teams with not enough money will benefit from having three cars. It's a 50% increase in pay driver income.

Lotus is an issue though. They need a Maldonado type income without a Maldonado type repair bill to go with it.
 
Possible driver line-ups if three-car teams are indeed on the way:

Mercedes - Hamilton, Rosberg, Bottas
Ferrari - Alonso, Bianchi, Raikkonen
Red Bull - Ricciardo, Kvyat, Vettel
McLaren - Button, Magnussen, Vandoorne
Williams - Massa, Nasr, Ocon
Toro Rosso - Verstappen, Sainz, Gasly
Force India - Hulkenberg, Perez, Juncadella
Lotus - Grosjean, Maldonado, Merhi

I don't think Ocon will drive for Williams as he's a Lotus Junior driver
 
And Merhi being a Mercedes Junior driver wouldn't drive for Lotus.
Bottas to Mercedes?

Maybe possible but he has been under Williams since basically day 1 of him racing Cars, and while they perform as a top team I don't see him leaving yet.

With 3 cars Alonso is a more obvious inclusion, its obvious he would get out of Ferrari ASAP if given a competitive seat.
 
I pointed that out on the previous page. Bottas with Williams, Merhi with Mercedes and Ocon with Lotus and the lineup is believable.
 
You're forgetting that Lotus will use Mercedes engines next year.

I wouldn't say it's 100% sure yet, here's an interesting interview with Gerard Lopez

http://www.formula1.com/news/interviews/2014/9/16331.html

Q: There have been numerous reports suggesting Lotus will race with Mercedes power units next season. Is the deal signed - and what will it mean for your workload over the winter?
GL:
I can’t say anything about that.
 
Lopez barely goes to the races anymore. If he can't say anything about it, it's probably because he doesn't know anything about it.
 
Autosport seem to think that there is a chance that a shock driver move will come about, and they're under the impression that if it happens, it will centre on Alonso and/or Ferrari.
 
It seems imminent that Brawn will be announced as Team Principal for Ferrari.

Alonso has all the power in his contract as its filled with loop holes galore if they don't make a good enough car, I still think its a bad idea for him to move unless he can get into a Mercedes or Redbull seat, keep in mind they hired Allison recently and next years car will be the first one that will be completely his own design.
 
If Brawn goes to Ferrari, surely Alonso will stick around? If he bags them a WDC or even the WCC he will be immortal in Italy. And he already seems to be a very popular guy.
 
Autosport are just making something out of nothing as usual.

As for Brawn, ever heard the term "Never go back"?

He would not be able to replicate the success of the Schumacher era so no matter what he did, it would be seen as a disappointment. He's not a silly man, so I really don't see him doing anything like that.
 
Autosport are just making something out of nothing as usual.

As for Brawn, ever heard the term "Never go back"?

He would not be able to replicate the success of the Schumacher era so no matter what he did, it would be seen as a disappointment. He's not a silly man, so I really don't see him doing anything like that.

Why wouldn't he?
 
Because it wasn't just Brawn that led to their success.

I know that, but he has the knowledge of what it would take to take Ferrari back to the top, I'm sure if Ferrari wanted him badly enough they would let him call the shots in regards to personnel.
 
Autosport are just making something out of nothing as usual.

As for Brawn, ever heard the term "Never go back"?

He would not be able to replicate the success of the Schumacher era so no matter what he did, it would be seen as a disappointment. He's not a silly man, so I really don't see him doing anything like that.
Autosport are probably the most reliable source on the net, don't think anyone is stupid enough to think that it will mean instant success.
 
Because it wasn't just Brawn that led to their success.
yes, but every team he has been involved in has shown a massive improvement when he joined, look at Honda, he joined in 2008 and the following year despite them leaving had the most dominant car on the grid, the lack of development ment that the mercedes take over was compramised till the next big regulation change but the '14 Mercedes has brawn all over it.
 
Here, Brawn has reconfirmed that he is retired:

http://uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/idUKKBN0H70XM20140912?irpc=932

Ferrari need to be looking forward, not back. An over-reliance on tradition is what got them into their current state. Just about every promising driver, from Sebastian Vettel to Stoffel Vandoorne and Max Verstappen has been discovered by another team. Twenty years ago, sure; they might have come into the sport and gradually worked their way up to Ferrari - but in this day and age, drivers are being discovered by other teams, supported by other teams, and are winning for other teams. Even when it's obvious Ferrari missed the boat, they still played it conservative this year and chose Raikkonen, and ten years from now, we'll probably be remembering his second spell with Ferrari as one of their most embarrassing periods.

So looking back on what worked and trying yo recapture it will likely do Ferrari far more harm than good.
 
yes, but every team he has been involved in has shown a massive improvement when he joined, look at Honda, he joined in 2008 and the following year despite them leaving had the most dominant car on the grid, the lack of development ment that the mercedes take over was compramised till the next big regulation change but the '14 Mercedes has brawn all over it.

I'm not denying that he helped those teams become successful (as well as Benneton before Ferrari), but I hardly doubt any of them could pull off 5 championships in a row like he did with Ferrari.
 
And let's not forget what he did with Mercedes. It wasn't the miracle everyone was expecting it to be. Part of that was the lack of development of the W01 while competing as Brawn GP, but it was only this year that everything came to a head.
 
And let's not forget what he did with Mercedes. It wasn't the miracle everyone was expecting it to be. Part of that was the lack of development of the W01 while competing as Brawn GP, but it was only this year that everything came to a head.

There was no major regulation change since 2009, the last time brawns car dominated the field.
 
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