The F1 driver transfer discussion/speculation archiveFormula 1 

  • Thread starter NotThePrez
  • 3,041 comments
  • 184,186 views
Status
Not open for further replies.
"Mercedes protege Pascal Wehrlein is to drive for Manor in the 2016 Formula 1 season, Autosport understands, earning a race seat after two years as the champion team's reserve"

I know they are normally right about these things, but you pointed out how much Autosport are lately trying to publish news early and now I'm seeing it everywhere!
 
Pezzarinho17
I know they are normally right about these things, but you pointed out how much Autosport are lately trying to publish news early and now I'm seeing it everywhere!
Click to expand...
They are pretty click bait-y of late. But they're not the only ones reporting it; Adam Cooper seems to have picked up the story independently of both Autosport and Bild.
 
I think it's more of a response to the rise in popularity of blogs than anything else. After all, in 2014, F1 Fanatic had pictures of the Ferrari an hour before anyone else. I think Autosport are really feeling the pressure to get exclusives.

Anyway, Wehrlein's signing is pretty exciting. With Maldonado off to parts unknown, I'd say that the grid is one of the strongest in terms of raw talent in years. Now, if only there was a way to get rid of Palmer and Gutierrez and replace them with Vandoorne and Ocon ...
 
Meanwhile, the Indonesian media is reporting that senior Manor figures are en route to Jakarta to make a final decision regarding Rio Haryanto today.
 
Sauber better watch out, with Grosjean at Haas and Wehrlein at Manor they're seriously outgunned on the driver front compared to their back of the grid rivals. They could be looking at a last place finish.
 
How competitive will Manor be though? Will this Mercedes deal bring them on par with the teams ahead of them or will it just be new engines? (Don't get me wrong, those are good too)

I don't think that Manor will have the budget to ever get anywhere in F1.
 
Akmuq
How competitive will Manor be though? Will this Mercedes deal bring them on par with the teams ahead of them or will it just be new engines? (Don't get me wrong, those are good too)

I don't think that Manor will have the budget to ever get anywhere in F1.
Click to expand...
We know from 2014 they can produce a car that can come close to Q2 on a (very) good day, and I see them roughly at 2014 level again this year. Of course, I could be totally wrong.
 
I think given the importance of the engines in the current formula, in the hands of Wehrlein it might be on the Heels of the Mid Field, they are certainly in a better position now then they where last year so the Chassis should be a decent improvement.
 
aarror
Sauber better watch out, with Grosjean at Haas and Wehrlein at Manor they're seriously outgunned on the driver front compared to their back of the grid rivals. They could be looking at a last place finish.
Click to expand...

I'll bet you 10 CP they'll be last place. I'm already calling it. Look who Manor have assembled to push that team forward, and HAAS is already ready to hit the ground running. Sauber might as well be Minardi circa 2003

mustafur
I think given the importance of the engines in the current formula, in the hands of Wehrlein it might be on the Heels of the Mid Field, they are certainly in a better position now then they where last year so the Chassis should be a decent improvement.
Click to expand...

Well it will keep being an improvement due to various factors outside of the driver alone. They get Mercedes technical partnership, they have former Ferrari designers (big names) at their team now working as we speak to improve the car going forward. HAAS has Ferrari technical alliance and has good people behind them and a good top driver. The only thing that Sauber should hope they challenge this year is Renault, but with Bob Bell in the main seat...I doubt that will happen, and with Illmor improving the Combustion Engine I even more so doubt it. The tiers should most likely fall in the order of Mercedes and Ferrari with outside looks from Williams; second group top mid tier would be Renault, FI, RBR, STR, and then the bottom mid tier is HAAS, McLaren, Manor. With Sauber being the back marker and probably complaining more and more about cost caps.
 
Last edited:
Akmuq
How competitive will Manor be though?
Click to expand...
A lot of what they did last year was pretty much marking time until 2016, so if they're going to improve, now is the time when it will happen. But I doubt that they will really upset the order - they'll probably be scrapping with the Saubers for last place.
 
mustafur
Im still Surprised James Key hasn't been snatched from a top team or even Redbull.
Click to expand...

Why would he, he has a secure pay check from RB, and has done a great job with the STRs since joining. RBR don't need another mastermind, they need a top performing engine that is the issue. The chassis are probably in the top 3 since the new engines being introduced. And when you look at every other team...they already have their big name to steer the boat...all but Sauber who couldn't afford Key if they wanted.
 
Update: Pascal Wehrlein will carry #94 - a reference to the year of his birth (I'm surprised more drivers haven't used birth dates; I know Romain Grosjean applied for #29, his son's birthday) - this year, which is the same number he used in the DTM last year.

prisonermonkeys
I think it's more of a response to the rise in popularity of blogs than anything else. After all, in 2014, F1 Fanatic had pictures of the Ferrari an hour before anyone else. I think Autosport are really feeling the pressure to get exclusives.
Click to expand...
Thinking some more on this, it bemuses me that Autosport feels the need to do this. Sure, F1 Fanatic might get the exclusives, but the increased fan interaction comes with massive problems - just try and express a contrary opinion in the comments section; if you're not a fan of Hamilton, your comments won't get approved by the moderators. Likewise, try disagreeing with Joe Saward on his blog and see what happens. All Autosport really has to do is keep functioning like a newspaper and separate the forums from the articles, and they'll endure while the others will implode.
 
mustafur
Im thinking Long term, Newey has clearly stated he is pulling away from F1.
Click to expand...

He has people in line to replace him, STR need a long term. And if they don't get parity in engines like they want who knows if there will even be a long term.
 
So, Pastor Maldonado hasn't been out the door for five minutes and already a new contestant for most unlikeable driver has emerged - 2015 GP3 runner-up Luca Ghiotto. While consistently quick last year, Ghiotto was something of a sore loser when Esteban Ocon beat him to the GP3 title in the final race. He has since been promoted to GP2, but has hit out at Red Bull for not signing him to their development programme:

http://www.motorsport.com/gp2/news/ghiotto-puzzled-by-red-bull-junior-team-snub-672248/

mustafur
I don't mind Autosport Reporting Rumours, because they always end up true.
Click to expand...
It's not so much the reporting of rumours that bothers people, but the reporting of rumours as fact. The first story about Wehrlein ran with the headline "Wehrlein secures Manor F1 seat", the wording of which implies that this is a formal announcement by the team. However, the content of the article made it pretty clear that there was no announcement, but rather that Autosport were simply reporting on what they had been told by an unnamed source within the team.

A key part of newsworthiness is verifiability - in theory, you and I should be able to go and investigate these claims independently of the publication and come to the same conclusion. Now, that's not practical in the best of times, but if we could fly out to England and investigate for ourselves, how could we possibly confirm it when the story hinges on an unnamed source? We can't, which means that the story is not verifiable. As a general rule, we can accept a story to be accurate if it contains a direct quote from someone who is named and is in a position to comment on behalf of the team or the driver - in this case, someone like Stephen Fitzpatrick or Pascal Wehrlein himself.

What Autosport is doing is unethical by journalistic standards because the title of the article, while accurate, implies something that is not supported by the content of the article. It makes Autosport look like they have an exclusive - or at least the drop on their competition - when they do not. Their primary revenue stream most likely comes from their advertisers ever since they introduced the paywall, so exclusive stories generate more page views, which mean more people see the ads, and in turn brings in more revenue.
 
Last edited:
I'm confused PM. What does Luca Ghiotto say in that link that is anything other than saying what happened?
 
His suggestion that they didn't sign him because of the business side of things. They've never taken or dropped anyone on the grounds of their compatability with marketing. Taken in isolation, it might not mean much, but his initial reaction to losing the GP2 title to Ocon speaks volumes.
 
prisonermonkeys
Taken in isolation, it might not mean much, but his initial reaction to losing the GP2 title to Ocon speaks volumes.
Click to expand...

This one? Eh, he said he thought he was faster, probably deserved the title, admitted that Ocon was more consistent and he didn't fare well with reverse grids. Maybe not the smartest thing to say, but it's hardly explicit arrogance (and as usual with these articles we don't know what sort of question he was responding to either). You have to have pretty harsh judgement (of a 20 year old no less) to extrapolate a sore loser attitude/unlikeable driver nomination from just two articles.
 
Reports coming on suggest that Rio Haryanto has been given until Tuesday to come up with the money for the second seat; it seems he is a little short of what he needs because an alternative arrangement would see him do seven races before the team alternate drivers - like they did with Merhi and Rossi - or keep him on if he can find more funding.
 
prisonermonkeys
So, Pastor Maldonado hasn't been out the door for five minutes and already a new contestant for most unlikeable driver has emerged - 2015 GP3 runner-up Luca Ghiotto. While consistently quick last year, Ghiotto was something of a sore loser when Esteban Ocon beat him to the GP3 title in the final race. He has since been promoted to GP2, but has hit out at Red Bull for not signing him to their development programme:

http://www.motorsport.com/gp2/news/ghiotto-puzzled-by-red-bull-junior-team-snub-672248/


It's not so much the reporting of rumours that bothers people, but the reporting of rumours as fact. The first story about Wehrlein ran with the headline "Wehrlein secures Manor F1 seat", the wording of which implies that this is a formal announcement by the team. However, the content of the article made it pretty clear that there was no announcement, but rather that Autosport were simply reporting on what they had been told by an unnamed source within the team.

A key part of newsworthiness is verifiability - in theory, you and I should be able to go and investigate these claims independently of the publication and come to the same conclusion. Now, that's not practical in the best of times, but if we could fly out to England and investigate for ourselves, how could we possibly confirm it when the story hinges on an unnamed source? We can't, which means that the story is not verifiable. As a general rule, we can accept a story to be accurate if it contains a direct quote from someone who is named and is in a position to comment on behalf of the team or the driver - in this case, someone like Stephen Fitzpatrick or Pascal Wehrlein himself.

What Autosport is doing is unethical by journalistic standards because the title of the article, while accurate, implies something that is not supported by the content of the article. It makes Autosport look like they have an exclusive - or at least the drop on their competition - when they do not. Their primary revenue stream most likely comes from their advertisers ever since they introduced the paywall, so exclusive stories generate more page views, which mean more people see the ads, and in turn brings in more revenue.
Click to expand...
Not saying I disagree with you, but c'mon man, it's 2016. Expecting ethics in journalism in today's day and age is like expecting Jesus to return. Especially in the context of F1 off season, where you have who knows how many media outlets all competing for the same tid-bit of info. It's sad, but I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it.


So with Wehrlein and Ocon now set, any word on that rumor about Kubica going to DTM?
 
http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2016/02/12/vandoornes-super-formula-switch-confirmed/

Stoffel is off to super formula by Honda placement. So with it being probably the fastest single seater after F1 and probably parallel if not faster than Indy. I guess this is to keep him fit for a possible 2017 entrance. I cant see any other reason to send him, and not having him do FP1 all season long as well as development work if they didn't think this was the better option.
 
LMSCorvetteGT2
Stoffel is off to super formula by Honda placement.
Click to expand...
ART Grand Prix have confirmed that Nobuhara Matsu****a will return to GP2 alongside Sirotkin, while Japanese Formula 3 regular Nirei Fukuzumi will go to GP3. So between Vandoorne, Sirotkin, Matsu****a and now Fukuzumi, Honda and McLaren have access to a pretty excellent junior line-up. I have to wonder if they're planning a Super Aguri-style b-team at some point. Ferrari have Haas, Red Bull have Toro Rosso, and it's becoming increasingly apparent that Mercedes have Manor. Honda will probably need a second squad at some point.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

TenEightyOne
2021 F1 Driver Thread
46 47 48
Replies
1K
Views
98K
McLaren
McLaren
Jimlaad43
Formula 1 2018-19 off season thread
4 5 6
Replies
156
Views
16K
TheElbows
TheElbows
NotThePrez
The '14 driver transfer discussion/speculation thread
19 20 21
Replies
607
Views
33K
otakukid96
O
EngieDiesel
The 2018 F1 driver transfer discussion/speculation thread
23 24 25
Replies
735
Views
45K
Veinz
Veinz
Jimlaad43
Formula 1 Off Season, Launches and Testing thread 2019-20
8 9 10
Replies
286
Views
20K
Robin
Robin

Latest Posts

Back