F1 2022

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Gary Anderson tells it like it is: https://the-race.com/formula-1/our-verdict-on-alpines-extraordinary-piastri-mess/

A MAJOR, MAJOR COCK UP

In my experience, July 31 is a big day. Usually, it is a trigger point for contract extensions and that means that you become a free agent on August 1.

Alonso set the ball rolling with his Monday August 1 announcement that he was off to Aston Martin. It probably confused Alpine enough not to know what day of the week it was, never mind the date.

Alpine was slow to secure Alonso’s deal on a contract guaranteeing him an F1 race seat in 2023 and ’24, which was what he wanted, believing there were no other teams out there that could offer him what he wanted and therefore he’d agree to a one-year deal. How wrong it was.

Now, for the same to happen in securing Piastri’s signature, Alpine appears downright negligent. That’s a major, major management cock-up.

We saw it in the past when the team was called Renault. That same lack of decision-making has carried over with the name change to Alpine.

It will be interesting to see where Piastri goes. My guess would be McLaren. Zak Brown is a shrewd operator who knows that the only way forward is to hire the best, and I’m pretty sure Piastri is one of them. With Daniel Ricciardo struggling and Mark Webber being involved with both, they have probably arrived at an agreement and a potential solution to the Ricciardo situation. ...
 
seen on Reddit, so take with a mug of salt:
So the rumour of a 31 July deadline seems to be true. That can only mean Alonso knew and assisted Piastri by delaying his Aston Martin bomb.
 
Well there you has it, it won't be a problem.

However when asked about Ricciardo by Motorsport.com, Szafnauer compared the situation with Alonso’s ability to return to teams, and insisted the priority was to find the right drivers to help the team with its 100-race plan of getting to the front of the field.

“I mean, if you look at Fernando, for example, he comes and goes, and I think that happens to other drivers too,” he said.

“And I don't think that's an issue at all. I think what we need to focus on is, like I say, the plans that we have for the next 89-88 races.

“We've got to make sure that we complement that plan with the best driver that we can, and there are some options out there for us. And we put the best driver in next to Esteban [Ocon], so that we can move forward towards what we've been planning.”

 
So the rumour of a 31 July deadline seems to be true. That can only mean Alonso knew and assisted Piastri by delaying his Aston Martin bomb.

Yep, it seems 31 July is the norm for contract deadlines in F1, since it kinda coincides with the summer break.

TBF, I don't think Alonso was thinking of anyone but himself, especially after Rossi (CEO) made an allusion to Alonso only being a 'seat warmer' for Piastri. So when Seb announced his retirement, he saw the opportunity to stick it to Alpine and went for it.


Now, this is another rumour doing the rounds:
Daniel Ricciardo en pole pour remplacer Fernando Alonso: https://www.autohebdo.fr/actualites/f1/f1-alpine-mclaren-2023-ricciardo-alonso.html

"... The French media site AutoHebdo is reporting Ricciardo is the shock contender to replace Alonso at Alpine.

Daniel Ricciardo may well feel his time is up at McLaren and he’d be better served returning to Renault/Alpine where clearly he was loved and appreciated.

Given the summer break has just begun, Ricciardo has time and space to explore his options away from McLaren next season more easily. The longer Alpine leave it to announce Piastri, the more unlikely he will be Fernando’s replacement because they want an experienced driver – or don’t want a rookie.

Ricciardo to Renault on a two year contract solves Zak Brown’s problems with the Australian and Alpine’s need to get Piastri on the grid in a smaller outfit to serve his rookie apprentice. ..."
 
FIA set to finalise stricter F1 roll hoops tests after Zhou's British GP crash: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/f...-tests-after-zhous-british-gp-crash/10348020/

"... The governing body has promised to impose stricter tests as a direct result of Zhou Guanyu’s accident at the British Grand Prix, which saw the Chinese driver's Alfa Romeo roll hoop fail after contact with the track with a force that exceeded anything that had previously been foreseen.

Alfa Romeo has been working closely with the FIA since the crash, while other teams have also been consulted and asked for feedback on potential changes to the wording of the regulations.

The subject will be discussed at a specially convened meeting of the FIA technical advisory committee led by head of single-seater matters Nikolas Tombazis.

One possible outcome could be a move away from the "spike" hoop design that hitherto the rules allowed. Alfa Romeo is the only team using it in 2022.

Any rule changes have to be confirmed as soon as possible in order to allow teams sufficient time to ensure that their 2023 chassis designs comply with the stricter tests.

One complication could be that some teams have been considering carrying over their 2022 chassis as a cost-saving measure, and they will now have to adapt.

Speaking at the recent French GP Alfa Romeo technical director Jan Monchaux confirmed the Swiss outfit has been co-operating closely with the FIA.

“The analysis is still ongoing, we're working since the first day with the FIA to try to reconstruct the accident and assess as best as we can,” he said when asked by Autosport about progress.

“Because it's not an easy task, the force involved. As yet the internal investigations are not completely finished, so I won't disclose anything. And if someone will disclose something, it's going to be the FIA.

“In between, the FIA has asked all the teams to provide feedback, imposing several load cases on their respective roll hoops to understand potentially where there's room for improvement in effect. ..."
 
this just dropped from Alpine

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Sounds like a straight swap is on the cards then ...

I truly hope this happens. As a McLaren fan, I hope they get rid of Ricciardo sooner than later.
Yep, Piastri at McLaren would be epic...
 
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