Am I missing something because I was under the impression Leclerc was confirmed in the Ferrari next year?

On a more important subject - wishing Niki all the best

Am I missing something because I was under the impression Leclerc was confirmed in the Ferrari next year?

Nothing yet confirmed from Ferrari for Leclerc.

A Ricciardo/Sainz direct swap to happen then?

 

Administrators have accepted an offer led by Lawrence Stroll (Lance’s daddy) for Force India, so I’d say it is now extremely likely that he’ll be driving there next year...

Unfortunately it does look like that will be the case.

I hope Renault veto them keeping their prize money tbh

 

This was the bid most likely to result in a merc b team and this a/b team trend is threatening to kill off the sport for good

If the Channel 4 F1 highlights deal was off it'll certainly be interesting to know why, and what happens next...

Can't believe it is 20 years since that incident-packed Belgian Grand Prix. One of the most incredible races I've ever seen.

Channel 4 has been in trouble with OFCOM over the famous Rolex clock at the Singapore GP two years ago. Sky have been cleared over it.

 

https://f1broadcasting.co/2018/08/14/f1-bro...x-clock-to-fom/

Can't believe it is 20 years since that incident-packed Belgian Grand Prix. One of the most incredible races I've ever seen.

 

That 13-car pile-up was my first memory of F1!

Fernando Alonso has announced his retirement from Formula 1.

 

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo I am so sad at that :(

Shame to hear about this and the way his career has ended with that McLaren car. I strongly suspect he'll join IndyCar next year.

 

Should have been a four-time World Champion. One of very few who could beat Schumacher (first era) in a straight fight.

 

I'll miss his team radios more than anything!

 

Right decision, he was never getting back into a top team & as much as it would have been good to see him in competitive McLaren it wasn't meant to be - I bet they'll be super competitive next season now tho!

Revised 2019 Grid Predictions:

 

Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel & Kimi Raikkonen

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton & Valtteri Bottas (Confirmed)

Red Bull: Max Verstappen & Carlos Sainz

Renault: Nico Hulkenberg & Daniel Ricciardo (Confirmed)

Haas: Kevin Magnussen & Charles Leclerc

Force India: Sergio Perez & Esteban Ocon

McLaren: Fernando Alonso & Lando Norris

Toro Rosso: Pierre Gasly & Brendan Hartley

Sauber: Antonio Giovinazzi & Marcus Ericsson

Williams: Pascal Wehrlein & George Russell

Revised 2019 Grid Predictions:

 

Ferrari: Sebastian Vettel (Confirmed) & Kimi Raikkonen

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton (Confirmed) & Valtteri Bottas (Confirmed)

Red Bull: Max Verstappen (Confirmed) & Pierre Gasly

Renault: Nico Hulkenberg & Daniel Ricciardo (Confirmed)

Haas: Kevin Magnussen & Charles Leclerc

Force India: Sergio Perez & Esteban Ocon

McLaren: Carlos Sainz & Lando Norris

Toro Rosso: Artem Markelov & Brendan Hartley

Sauber: Antonio Giovinazzi & Marcus Ericsson

Williams: Pascal Wehrlein & George Russell

I think Seb is contracted to Ferrari through the end of the 2020 season Mack

 

I'll miss his team radios more than anything!

 

Right decision, he was never getting back into a top team & as much as it would have been good to see him in competitive McLaren it wasn't meant to be - I bet they'll be super competitive next season now tho!

His team radio messages should be released like en masse in a special DVD to make his retirement along with just every race from 05/06 and the ability to watch the 130R overtake on repeat

Can't believe it is 20 years since that incident-packed Belgian Grand Prix. One of the most incredible races I've ever seen.

I was fortunate to be at that race. So many wonderful little memories from that weekend. Although the crash was incredible, when 7 cars plodded past us at Pouhon there was an palpable feeling of 'well this is gonna suck now' from the entire hillside. Fortunately most were able to make the restart and it turned into an utterly brilliant couple of hours.

Watching the Germans all make to leave when Schumacher crashed with Coulthard only to turn around and come back when they thought Ralf had a chance was hilarious. And the British contingent immediately starting up the playground chant of 'fight! Fight! Fight!' when Schumacher stormed into his garage to confront him was hilarious.

Great race

I would say I'm gonna miss Alonso but as it seems likely he'll be in Indycar next year I really won't but it's a sad day for F1 when its best driver leaves because he can't get a decent seat. I know part of that is Alonso fault as well but the tragedy is we end up with him being regarded as one of the greatest drivers in the sports history and equally probably its greatest ever underachiever as well (sorry Stirling).

 

And what we're left with is a grid with a bunch or mostly average journeymen drivers being dominated by 2 very good drivers that somehow managed to gain 8 championships between them simple because of all conquering cars and a lack of genuine competition. Whenever either have a genuine challenger things start to go pair shaped for them

Thankfully we still have Ricciardo and Verstappen to keeps things interesting and Leclerc to offer hope for the future.

 

But if Alonso is going to Indycar I strongly recommend you watch because it's yet another reason to watch a truly competitve and exciting series

That's fantastic. Not sure there hasn't been a Grand Prix like that since then. It's one of the best races I've seen.