The F1 driver transfer discussion/speculation archiveFormula 1 

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Not to mention that when Button was paired with Hamilton at McLaren they were just about equal in performence. Now he's against Alonso and again they're very close. Alonso is seen by many to be one of, if not the very best ever and Hamilton is also held to a very high esteem while nobody seems to think much about Button.

My logic: either Button is one of the greats or those two aren't that great after all. The truth probably lies somewhere in between.
 
I think @Kuusi 's point was, to say Button's Brawn was inferior that year isn't wholly accurate, not that his title is discredited (they even literally say "I don't believe that discredits Button's title at all").
 
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twitcher
What's over inflating achievements more? Jenson's title with a car that was dominant for 1/2 a season, or Hamilton's last 2 titles in a car that has been leagues ahead of the rest of the field?

If we're going to start being less impressed with Jensen's WDC in a superior car, what does that say about Schumacher, Vettel, Hamilton, Senna, Prost, Mansel, etc?

Vast majority of WDC were won with superior cars. To discredit one (who had a superior car for only 1/2 a season) is to discredit any title won with a superior car.
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Kuusi
Except the BGP 001 was the dominant car for the first half of the season? :confused:

Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that discredits Button's title at all; he's a great driver. But let's not kid ourselves here. Even once Red Bull dethroned Brawn that year, in terms of having the fastest car, Brawn were still a relatively close second. To suggest otherwise is to over-inflate Jenson's achievements into something much larger, than they really were.
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👍

TRGTspecialist
I think @Kuusi 's point was, to say Button's Brawn was inferior that year isn't wholly accurate, not that his title is discredited (they even literally say "I don't believe that discredits Button's title at all").
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This guy gets it! :)
 
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I think I've always been less impressed with the WDC winners when they're in a higher performing car (ie. almost all of them). What impresses me is their actual ability to drive the cars. While I would have said Jensen was a top level driver about 3-4 years ago...he's fading as a talent. Is he a valid investment for driver coaching, technical feedback etc? Sure. I feel that Formula 1 though is a little too full of guys who could leave the sport and let younger drivers begin their run.
 
Brawn GP ran out of money mid-season. When their Silverstone updates didn't work, they had to spend what little they had left fixing it. When the European season ended, they were doing race-by-race sponsor deals just to make it to the next Grand Prix. And when Barrichello crashed in qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, he got the team's one and only chassis. They couldn't afford to build another, so from that point on, a single mistake had the potential to end Button's title hopes. Where most teams regularly swap chassis throughout the year, Brawn didn't have the money for it, so at the end of the season, Button's chassis had taken part in every single session including free practice, qualifying, races and testing. It's a miracle that his only DNF was in Belgium.
 
Some other rumours that I have heard:
- Renault want any combination of Pérez, Ocon and Bottas.
- Magnussen could move to IndyCar.
- Williams want Button and Pérez.
 
RazorSharkz
With the way Renault has been this year why are people trying to go there? I am legitimately curious.
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Because they always knew that this year was going to be rough. This isn't a team scrambling to get their act together when they have no direction; they have always had the attitude of taking the pain now and catching up later.

After all, the original plan was to take Maldonado and Palmer ...
 
RazorSharkz
With the way Renault has been this year why are people trying to go there? I am legitimately curious.
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This years car was buikt around a different power unit (Mercedes), by a team with limited funding, hence the poor form. I don't expect them to be winning races next year but they should be far more competitive.
 
RazorSharkz
With the way Renault has been this year why are people trying to go there? I am legitimately curious.
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Because their engine is proven to be the only one that's regularly giving Mercedes a headache in 2016. As @Cap'n Jack points out this year's build is the "wrong" engine on the "wrong" chassis, it's always going to have all kinds of issues. Next years could (should) be very very different for them.
 
And I believe Perez would consider moving mainly because of the legal problems with Sahara Force India (and the likely pressure from his sponsors to move to a team without any legal troubles etc.). While Force India is a strong car/team...I think Perez could definitely end up elsewhere. He's shown some serious talent this season and seems to be maturing.
 
TheElbows
And I believe Perez would consider moving mainly because of the legal problems with Sahara Force India
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Whatever problems Vijay Mallya is having, they don't appear to be affecting the team.

(and the likely pressure from his sponsors to move to a team without any legal troubles etc.)
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I would say that there is more interest in seeing him in a works team than dodging legal bullets that might not even be fired yet.
 
I wouldn't mind Ocon and Bottas in the Renault with Perez and Button at Williams(round 2 :P )

Does that then give Wehrlein the Force India seat? Who else could take it?
 
prisonermonkeys
- Williams want Button
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It would be the third time they will have tried to have signed him. It's like Frank is desperate to make amends for letting him go after one season all those years ago.

Granted, the Montoya gamble paid off but I remember at the time that Button was seen as a bit of a nobody destined for nothing after his first season.
 
Why would Button want to leave one off the pace team for another off the pace team? He'd be better off in WEC in my view.
 
Sergey Sirotkin is apparently a contender for a Renault seat; I imagine that his stock would soar considerably if he were to win the GP2 title (or at least beat Gasly) and/or if Kvyat is dropped by Toro Rosso.

Although to be fair to Kvyat, Hungary was really the only race where he was massively out of sync with Sainz; Sainz was eighth and Kvyat was sixteenth. If Sainz has been out-qualifying him, then Sainz has been falling back in the races. And the 2015 Ferrari engine isn't getting developed at all, so a relative lack of pace is to be expected.
 
So this is the grid so far and I've filled the non-confirmed ones with how I think it'll go. No ideas on some of them.

Mercedes
Hamilton
Rosberg

Ferrari
Raikkonen
Vettel

Red-Bull
Ricciardo
Verstappen

Williams
Button(?)
Bottas

Force India
Hulkenberg
?

Torro Rosso
Sainz
Gasly(?)

Sauber
Ericsson
Nasr

Haas
Grosjean
Gutterez

Manor
Wherlein
?

Mclaren
Alonso
Vandoorne

Renault
Magnussen
Perez(?)
 
If Perez goes to Renault then Wherlein will likely take his spot, the big confusion will be whether Magnussen stays or Ocon takes his spot, if he does Ocon will likely be at Manor.

If Button chooses to retire rather then stay in F1 that could also be an avenue for Wherlein/Ocon, unless Williams are happy to promote Lynn.
 
Alex Rossi says he has options for IndyCar and Formula One in 2017:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/125618/rossi-has-f1-and-indycar-offers-for-2017

Dennisch
I was wondering why the STR has gone from comfortably in the points to blah.
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It was to be expected, but I don't think anyone in the paddock likes talking about it too much.

mustafur
unless Williams are happy to promote Lynn.
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Why would they promote Lynn? Red Bull let him go for a reason. He's worse than Gasly in that he can't race wheel-to-wheel.

Williams are probably more likely to promote Lance Stroll than Lynn.
 
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IforceV8
I wonder if Rossi has heard from Haas? Manor and Sauber are both dead end drives and there are more popular options for Renault like Grosjean.
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But at least Manor has some personality. In all honesty I see the line-up of Formula One teams like chocolate cakes on a supermarket shelf; and Sauber as the generic, own-brand option. Cheap, tasteless, and completely devoid of character...

Actually, that's not entirely fair; as supermarket own-brand products are actually fairly decent nowadays. But I digress. The only reason any driver would sign for Sauber, is that they have no other option. So usually they end up with rookies, who'd drive for Andrea Moda if they rose from the dead, just for a shot in F1; and pay drivers. Or washed up journeymen. Who are usually pay drivers.

The only one of those three types that has ever really impressed in a Sauber, is the rookie. But of course, they leave as soon as something better comes along. Because the harsh reality is that no driver of quality wants to race for a team that, left to it's own devices, has no hope of being anything, other than also-ran's.

In short, I could see Rossi returning to Manor. But I doubt he'd be seen dead in a Sauber.
 
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