F1 2025

Status
Not open for further replies.
thestaggy said:
A bit of a kick in the teeth for George.

As for where he ends up, Red Bull would likely be the only realistic option for him at the moment. There is an outside chance that he may end up at Aston Martin and that would also be a very good fit image/marketing-wise, plus the potential to drive one of Adrian Newey's cars.

I'd personally hope to get in at Aston Martin, as of the two teams they would are the looking to start an upward trajectory with Newey there and known Honda engines while Red Bull are very clearly on a downward trend and will be using all new Ford PUs, so a lot more unknowns there.
Click to expand...
Aston would definitely be the better choice, but Alonso is definitely going to stay and see how the 2026 car does and there's a 0% chance the window licker leaves so it seems unlikely.

There's always Cadillac.
 
UrBaN963 said:
Aston would definitely be the better choice, but Alonso is definitely going to stay and see how the 2026 car does and there's a 0% chance the window licker leaves so it seems unlikely.

There's always Cadillac.
Click to expand...

There have been mutterings that all is not well with Stroll at Aston Martin. I agree that there is a very slim chance that he leaves, but I do not believe either he or Alonso (age) are secure there for much longer. Aston Martin becoming the ''factory'' Honda team also means they can no longer just carry Stroll around. Honda are extremely fickle and may not stay silent if they deem either driver to not be up to scratch.

Cadillac is too much of a gamble and Russell has already paid his dues to F1 by trundling around at the back of the grid in a Williams for longer than he should have. I would be surprised if he took the risk of ending up in another team rooted toward the back of the grid at this stage of his career. This is a driver that beat Norris to the F2 championship. He is far too good to find himself in a situation where he is stuffing around toward the back of the grid with no guarantee of improvement.
 
thestaggy said:
There have been mutterings that all is not well with Stroll at Aston Martin. I agree that there is a very slim chance that he leaves, but I do not believe either he or Alonso (age) are secure there for much longer. Aston Martin becoming the ''factory'' Honda team also means they can no longer just carry Stroll around. Honda are extremely fickle and may not stay silent if they deem either driver to not be up to scratch.

Cadillac is too much of a gamble and Russell has already paid his dues to F1 by trundling around at the back of the grid in a Williams for longer than he should have. I would be surprised if he took the risk of ending up in another team rooted toward the back of the grid at this stage of his career. This is a driver that beat Norris to the F2 championship. He is far too good to find himself in a situation where he is stuffing around toward the back of the grid with no guarantee of improvement.
Click to expand...
Completely agree it would be unfair to him to end up in a poor-performing Cadillac. However, there don't seem to be many options and I'm sure he'd rather risk a 1 or 2 year stint there than sit out.
 
thestaggy said:
A bit of a kick in the teeth for George.

As for where he ends up, Red Bull would likely be the only realistic option for him at the moment. There is an outside chance that he may end up at Aston Martin and that would also be a very good fit image/marketing-wise, plus the potential to drive one of Adrian Newey's cars.

I'd personally hope to get in at Aston Martin, as of the two teams they would are the looking to start an upward trajectory with Newey there and known Honda engines while Red Bull are very clearly on a downward trend and will be using all new Ford PUs, so a lot more unknowns there.
Click to expand...

I reckon George is the one driver on the grid, other than Max, that might be able to do something with the red bull. He is very adaptable.
 
thestaggy said:
There have been mutterings that all is not well with Stroll at Aston Martin. I agree that there is a very slim chance that he leaves, but I do not believe either he or Alonso (age) are secure there for much longer. Aston Martin becoming the ''factory'' Honda team also means they can no longer just carry Stroll around. Honda are extremely fickle and may not stay silent if they deem either driver to not be up to scratch.

Cadillac is too much of a gamble and Russell has already paid his dues to F1 by trundling around at the back of the grid in a Williams for longer than he should have. I would be surprised if he took the risk of ending up in another team rooted toward the back of the grid at this stage of his career. This is a driver that beat Norris to the F2 championship. He is far too good to find himself in a situation where he is stuffing around toward the back of the grid with no guarantee of improvement.
Click to expand...

Alpine is another team to who he has been linked. They are a team in desperate need of a top driver (no disrespect to Gasly) but the organisational setup there right now is chaotic at best. The only upside for them at the moment is the prospect of running Mercedes power from next year. If George were a gambling man, he may see that as a landing spot if he is booted from the factory Merc team.
 
Agent_Smith said:
Alpine is another team to who he has been linked. They are a team in desperate need of a top driver (no disrespect to Gasly) but the organisational setup there right now is chaotic at best. The only upside for them at the moment is the prospect of running Mercedes power from next year. If George were a gambling man, he may see that as a landing spot if he is booted from the factory Merc team.
Click to expand...
They need more than a good driver, they're last. And he left Williams because they were always last. If he couldn't make a difference to Williams then, he's not going to make a difference to Alpine now...
 
Agent_Smith said:
Alpine is another team to who he has been linked. They are a team in desperate need of a top driver (no disrespect to Gasly) but the organisational setup there right now is chaotic at best. The only upside for them at the moment is the prospect of running Mercedes power from next year. If George were a gambling man, he may see that as a landing spot if he is booted from the factory Merc team.
Click to expand...

Quite the gamble. as you also have to think about their long-term commitment to F1 as well, so it's not just the organisational and leadership chaos you have to factor in. They have canned their engine program, so it is little more than a branding project now.
 
Something to factor in regarding the Max to Mercedes move is just how integrated Max is with Red Bull. They support his endeavours outside F1, notably sponsoring his own racing team, both real world and eracing and both are passion projects of his.

I can't see Red Bull continuing to support him and no doubt this will come up in any negotiations with Mercedes.
 
Last edited:
Mike Hoxbig said:
They need more than a good driver, they're last. And he left Williams because they were always last. If he couldn't make a difference to Williams then, he's not going to make a difference to Alpine now...
Click to expand...

Yeah no doubt. I am also just thinking of potential options (or lack thereof). If Max goes to Mercedes, there's no guarantee that Red Bull would take George in a straight swap. With other teams' rosters filled, his options would suddenly be very limited. In a worst case scenario, he could very likely find himself back at a midfield (or worse) team.
 
Wrath of Khan MD said:
Mercedes say they are in "concrete" negotiations with Max for next season.... this would be awesome to see, Max & Kimi

But what of George, I mean he is very good but maybe Mercedes want him out, I don't know hmmm, unless they just don't like Georges contract negotiations as they are still on going? Where would George go?
Click to expand...
Only a few options. Driver swap, Aston Martin, Alpine?
 
Jean Claude Vaaldamme said:
Nobody likes George, so nobody care where he goes.

It will be the ultimate troll if Max takes George's place, since George tried his best to stab Max in the back around every corner.

As for Max to Merc rumours, we will just have to wait and see. The way Max handled Kimi taking him out, tells me he might already know they going to be teammates.
Click to expand...
Soap opera vibes with every post.
 
thestaggy said:
There have been mutterings that all is not well with Stroll at Aston Martin. I agree that there is a very slim chance that he leaves, but I do not believe either he or Alonso (age) are secure there for much longer. Aston Martin becoming the ''factory'' Honda team also means they can no longer just carry Stroll around. Honda are extremely fickle and may not stay silent if they deem either driver to not be up to scratch.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree, I don't think the window licker's seat is as secure as it was a few years ago. Aside from Honda, pressure from various stakeholders such as sponsors and shareholders etc will have a say as well. Lance had fun in F1 for the last 7 years but I think that play time is coming to an end. Seriously though, he even looks so uninterested in the sport in general during interviews etc.

George would be a great fit for Aston. He and Alonso get on very well as well.

Red Bull is going to be playing in the mid field for a couple of seasons I reckon until they get the right people into roles left open by Marshall, Wheatley and Newey. It is also a no brainer that the engine will take some time to get sorted. It is unrealistic to think they will just produce a Honda or Merc level engine on their first try.

I think Merc, Mclaren, Aston, Williams and Alpine might be the better off teams next year just based on the engines alone.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X