Can't see Max going to AM at all. Would be a massive shot in the dark and even with Newey there I don't think they'll suddenly turn into the fastest car as historically he's needed a few seasons to drag whatever team he's joined to the front.

 

If he did move however that would be curtains for Alonso. He wouldn't go to Merc as they'll have Russell/Antonelli tied up under long contracts by then and Red Bull would be a sunken ship without both Max & Newey.

 

With RB I think Perez 100% retires at the end of 2025 and it's clear they're not interesting in Ricciardo returning so Lawson might get the direct call up eventually.

Edited August 7, 2024Aug 7 by Dobbo

There's a lot of reasons for Max to go to AM though -

Adrian Newey (seems all but confirmed at this point)

Honda

Dan Fallows

Good infrastructure in place

 

 

Red Bull on the other hand -

Certainly look to be about to hit a decline

The relationship with Christian Horner is problematic recently

New engine is a big question mark

 

 

The only other obvious option is Mercedes and that doesn't look like it interests him all that much. Toto has been making passes at him all year with no apparent reciprocation and the team or Toto seemed unwilling to risk breaking Antonelli in at the sharp end. Alonso would give them a year or two respite with that IF they can get passed the history. But I could see Alonso at Red Bull. Decline or not they should remain competitive and top 4.

 

 

As for Perez and Ricciardo, there's still a lot of talk about Checo being out by the end of the year but they're waiting until after the Mexico GP for obvious reasons. Danny is being talked up as the replacement rather than Liam, if nothing else but because the car is so finely balanced and Ricciardo's driving style is a match to Max's so he should be able to show his talents in it. Horner's a big fan too, it's Marko and Mexican money that is preventing it.

Would either Merc or RB be willing to give Alonso a multi-year though? As that was why he left Alpine for AM because they didn't want to commit to a longer contract with Piastri lurking at the time. Alonso is showing no signs of winding down so he won't take a "stop-gap" contract with Merc or RB imo.

 

Can't wait for Cheo to retire on lap 1 again at the Mexican GP :lol:

It may well be that a 1 year contract is all he'll get offered by anyone though. I think if he takes a year off again he's unlikely to return given his age so he may have little choice but to accept it. I don't see him being willing to drop further down the grid again either.

Alpine have confirmed Jack Doohan will partner Pierre Gasly as their other driver for 2025.

 

So there'll be at least 2 Aussies on the grid next year and at least 2 rookies in Doohan and Bearman. Interestingly though neither of the last 2 champions from F2 - Pourchaire and Drugovich have made the grid whilst several of those they beat have - Sargeant, Doohan, Bearman, Lawson

Eagerly awaiting Doohan's tweet saying "This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2025"

crazy accident x Sargeant this morning with care on fire and everything

another mistake from him, his 324876327th :/

If Williams had any sense they'd have dropped him during the summer break but obv they want the $$$ for the American races later in the season.

but does he contribute so much to cover the cost of all these destroyed cars? cannot even imagine what this accident today amounts to.

Given that Checo's accident in Monaco cost Red Bull £2.5m and the damage looks to be a fairly similar amount I'd guess somewhere around that.

@1827407716723388479

That's the only way Sargeant was ever gonna out qualify him :lol:

Well done to Lando!

Good Norris has the best car cos his start was crap (again)

The Ferrari drivers were the best yesterday imo

If this pace carries on there’s a very real possibility that Perez’s poor performance will have cost Red Bull the constructors title

 

Great to see Norris with another win. Will be interesting to see if Verstappen’s raw pace will be enough

 

Also, Hulkenberg getting a sixth 11th place of the season. ffs!

Wasn't able to watch this live but caught the highlights. Is that now every single time Lando has been on pole he hasn't even lead after turn 1, let alone the first lap? Very worrying that he just can't seem to get on top of the starts. Couldn't believe the speed of the McLaren though, that's the biggest winning margin of the season even shading Max's winning in Bahrain by a few tenths. Wonder if it was track specific as can't imagine they'd have such a pace advantage from every race here on.

 

I worked out the maths and if Lando was to win every single race, sprint and get fastest lap for the rest of the season he would win the title! I think it would take a Max DNF for things to get properly interesting though.

Wasn't able to watch this live but caught the highlights. Is that now every single time Lando has been on pole he hasn't even lead after turn 1, let alone the first lap? Very worrying that he just can't seem to get on top of the starts. Couldn't believe the speed of the McLaren though, that's the biggest winning margin of the season even shading Max's winning in Bahrain by a few tenths. Wonder if it was track specific as can't imagine they'd have such a pace advantage from every race here on.

 

I worked out the maths and if Lando was to win every single race, sprint and get fastest lap for the rest of the season he would win the title! I think it would take a Max DNF for things to get properly interesting though.

It was very track specific - the McLaren excels in high downforce trim but that will be of no use at Monza or Baku for example. Those two circuits look like they will see Mercedes and potentially Ferrari throw a potential spanner in the works for Lando.

 

Additionally, Red Bull tried something new with their set up and openly admitted they got it wrong went backwards with it.

 

Also, I wouldn't place too much on that winning margin as a great leap forward - Piastri finished 21 seconds ahead of Verstappen at Hungary so the margin between the two cars at a similarly configured circuit is consistent.

Sargeant has finally and deservedly been given the boot for... someone I've never heard of in Franco Colapinto.

 

Cool to have an Argentinian driver on the grid again, think the last one was Mazzacane!

Colapinto drove the Williams in practice at Silverstone. He also ran in the Abu Dhabi testing session last year.

 

Slightly odd choice though. Toto was desperate to get Schumacher in there, he's probably a better driver now than before and can at least give you a reliable pair of hands at the wheel. Colapinto has nowhere to go next year and it's hard to be sure he'll be less accident prone than Sargeant is.

 

 

Williams have replaced Logan Sargeant with academy driver Franco Colapinto for the remainder of the 2024 season.

 

Sargeant, 23, has been under pressure this year and in July it was announced Ferrari's Carlos Sainz will join the team for the 2025 campaign to partner Alex Albon.

 

At the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, the American crashed his car heavily in third practice, causing extensive damage which meant he was unable to take part in qualifying.

 

In a statement, Williams said Sargeant "will remain in the Williams family".

 

Argentine Colapinto, meanwhile, said the opportunity is "what dreams are made of".

 

The 21-year-old Formula 2 driver added: "The team has such amazing history and a mission to get back to the front, which I can’t wait to be part of."

 

After the crash at Zandvoort, team principal James Vowles went to speak to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and Red Bull's Christian Horner about the availability of some of the drivers on their roster.