2014 Silly Season Thread

[Collieafc]

As long as at least one person goes for a high number (30+) and they dont all go boring and pick what they would have had anyway, I'll be happy.

Or they go for a bingo caller theme.

[watka]

Vettel should have the choice of 12 or 21, depending how he feels on the day.

21, as in Multi-21?

Surely Vettel will take the number 1 as it matches his finger celebration as well as being the WC's entitlement.

[Shizuka]

Massa has just announced via Twitter that his number will be 19 - seems an odd choice but good on him for making something his own!

So long as Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean all decide they don't want no. 19 (excluded Rosberg as he's already chosen his numbers, and Webber as I will be very surprised to see him on the grid). I wonder why he wants no. 19?

Might be a little weird, but his first championship in Europe was won in 2000 when he was 19. Maybe this is why?

[Zetec]

And my Sauber spy just told me, that Sutil has signed for 2014!

[Londoner]

And my Sauber spy just told me, that Sutil has signed for 2014!

Autosport have just confirmed the move in the last 10 or so minutes..

[Zetec]

So Autosport was faster than I was. I'm sorry.

[Zetec]

And apparently van der Garde is set to visit the factory next week for further talks.

[Backmarker]

And apparently van der Garde is set to visit the factory next week for further talks.

I think that a Sutil-van der Garde line-up is probably the best pay-driver line-up available, especially as van der Garde is supposed to give quality feedback to engineers (unlike Sutil). Is the Russian money not expected to come through?

[Bleu]

None of them are obviously aiming for the Car Numbers Alternative Championship.

Bottas made serious move, his number one choice is 77.

[DanielPT]

And apparently van der Garde is set to visit the factory next week for further talks.

I think that a Sutil-van der Garde line-up is probably the best pay-driver line-up available, especially as van der Garde is supposed to give quality feedback to engineers (unlike Sutil). Is the Russian money not expected to come through?

It is. But the deal apparently does not require Sirotkin to drive in 2014 but only in 2015.

[dr-baker]

None of them are obviously aiming for the Car Numbers Alternative Championship.

Bottas made serious move, his number one choice is 77.

The only choices of car numbers that I have come across so far have been via this thread so far. So I am happy that a Williams driver is going for the title. This makes me .

[Backmarker]

BO77AS

[andrew2209]

If the other drivers follow Bottas (or BO77AS), could be have GRO5JEAN or MA55A (there are probably others but I can't think of many)

[Nessafox]

If the other drivers follow Bottas (or BO77AS), could be have GRO5JEAN or MA55A (there are probably others but I can't think of many)

Let's see:
Vett31
Ricci4rd0
Ro56erg
H4m1lton
A10nso
R4ikkon3n
Gro5je4n
M4ldon4do
Hulken63rg
P3r3z
5ut1l
Van d3r G4rde
V3r9ne
Kvy4t
B14nchi
Ch1l7on
P1c
Ma55a
Bo77as

No other doubles like Massa and Bottas, but at least Pic gets to choose Nr1 !

[James1978]

So Sutil and Hulk have just really swapped seats, and if Force India was originally where McLaren wanted to place Magnussen and keep Perez for another year, then they have effectively swapped too.

[Nessafox]

So Sutil and Hulk have just really swapped seats, and if Force India was originally where McLaren wanted to place Magnussen and keep Perez for another year, then they have effectively swapped too.

And it looks like Van Der Garde and Gutierrez might swap positions too.

[Aerospeed]

Having already heard the news that Perez has joined Force India, I couldn't be more happier. Now he's at a team that has potential But in all seriousness, Magnussen looks promising, and McLaren should improve from last year. I can't see them going from winners (and potential WCC champs) to also-rans and not coming back.

I had a friend of mine that had compared Perez to the Lord Almighty himself. It was quite hilarious. I can't seem to find it though. I'll have to ask if he has an extra copy.

[mario]

So Sutil and Hulk have just really swapped seats, and if Force India was originally where McLaren wanted to place Magnussen and keep Perez for another year, then they have effectively swapped too.

And it looks like Van Der Garde and Gutierrez might swap positions too.

It is fair to say that the silly season has been rather remarkable this time around - it initially looked like it would be fairly predictable, but now only Mercedes (and possibly Marussia) are keeping the same driver line up for 2014. By recent standards, it is a rather sizeable - and perhaps overdue - shake up of the grid that leaves us with a few interesting combinations for 2014.

Having already heard the news that Perez has joined Force India, I couldn't be more happier. Now he's at a team that has potential But in all seriousness, Magnussen looks promising, and McLaren should improve from last year. I can't see them going from winners (and potential WCC champs) to also-rans and not coming back.

I had a friend of mine that had compared Perez to the Lord Almighty himself. It was quite hilarious. I can't seem to find it though. I'll have to ask if he has an extra copy.

McLaren are in a somewhat awkward situation for 2014 though - they have to take the financial hit from slipping further back in the WCC, not to mention losing Vodafone (and with no new title sponsor as yet confirmed) and having minimal technical support from Mercedes in 2014 due to Honda's arrival in 2015.

Add to that the loss of Lowe and the rumours that Ron Dennis is trying to take over control of the racing team again - a move that seems to be causing some instability amongst the senior management at McLaren - and the fact that you have a rookie (even if he is a promising driver) in one seat and a senior driver in the other who is already expressing concerns about the driveability of the cars in 2014, and you have a situation where I can see McLaren, whilst probably performing better than in 2013, finding themselves further back than they are normally accustomed to being.

[Aerospeed]

Having already heard the news that Perez has joined Force India, I couldn't be more happier. Now he's at a team that has potential But in all seriousness, Magnussen looks promising, and McLaren should improve from last year. I can't see them going from winners (and potential WCC champs) to also-rans and not coming back.

I had a friend of mine that had compared Perez to the Lord Almighty himself. It was quite hilarious. I can't seem to find it though. I'll have to ask if he has an extra copy.

McLaren are in a somewhat awkward situation for 2014 though - they have to take the financial hit from slipping further back in the WCC, not to mention losing Vodafone (and with no new title sponsor as yet confirmed) and having minimal technical support from Mercedes in 2014 due to Honda's arrival in 2015.

Add to that the loss of Lowe and the rumours that Ron Dennis is trying to take over control of the racing team again - a move that seems to be causing some instability amongst the senior management at McLaren - and the fact that you have a rookie (even if he is a promising driver) in one seat and a senior driver in the other who is already expressing concerns about the driveability of the cars in 2014, and you have a situation where I can see McLaren, whilst probably performing better than in 2013, finding themselves further back than they are normally accustomed to being.

I thought McLaren was supposed to announce their new title sponsor on the 2nd December? At least that's what F1 Fanatic said. Obviously, the date has since came and past with no announcement, so it does wonder if McLaren had any plans. The article itself comes from March, so it was quite odd that McLaren would announce for something that far in advance. I am very curious as to what the new sponsor will be - this likely means a change in livery for the team.

Here is the article in question, taken as a source from Wikipedia.

[Backmarker]

Add to that the loss of Lowe and the rumours that Ron Dennis is trying to take over control of the racing team again - a move that seems to be causing some instability amongst the senior management at McLaren - and the fact that you have a rookie (even if he is a promising driver) in one seat and a senior driver in the other who is already expressing concerns about the driveability of the cars in 2014, and you have a situation where I can see McLaren, whilst probably performing better than in 2013, finding themselves further back than they are normally accustomed to being.

Don't forget, there's also the fact that Ron Dennis has admitted talking to Ross Brawn upsetting the metaphorical apple cart even more. And both Jenson and Kevin have Stoffel Vandoorne breathing down their necks trying to get an F1 drive in 2015. And maybe Fernando Alonso too.

[mario]

Having already heard the news that Perez has joined Force India, I couldn't be more happier. Now he's at a team that has potential But in all seriousness, Magnussen looks promising, and McLaren should improve from last year. I can't see them going from winners (and potential WCC champs) to also-rans and not coming back.

I had a friend of mine that had compared Perez to the Lord Almighty himself. It was quite hilarious. I can't seem to find it though. I'll have to ask if he has an extra copy.

McLaren are in a somewhat awkward situation for 2014 though - they have to take the financial hit from slipping further back in the WCC, not to mention losing Vodafone (and with no new title sponsor as yet confirmed) and having minimal technical support from Mercedes in 2014 due to Honda's arrival in 2015.

Add to that the loss of Lowe and the rumours that Ron Dennis is trying to take over control of the racing team again - a move that seems to be causing some instability amongst the senior management at McLaren - and the fact that you have a rookie (even if he is a promising driver) in one seat and a senior driver in the other who is already expressing concerns about the driveability of the cars in 2014, and you have a situation where I can see McLaren, whilst probably performing better than in 2013, finding themselves further back than they are normally accustomed to being.

I thought McLaren was supposed to announce their new title sponsor on the 2nd December? At least that's what F1 Fanatic said. Obviously, the date has since came and past with no announcement, so it does wonder if McLaren had any plans. The article itself comes from March, so it was quite odd that McLaren would announce for something that far in advance. I am very curious as to what the new sponsor will be - this likely means a change in livery for the team.

Here is the article in question, taken as a source from Wikipedia.

That was originally the case, but McLaren announced in mid November that they were going to postpone the announcement of their new title sponsor for the foreseeable future. Whitmarsh indicated that they are now looking at announcing their title sponsor in January when they launch their car, but even that is only a tentative date. http://www.espn.co.uk/mclaren/motorspor ... 34683.html

[shinji]

Can't believe Sutil is going to be driving for another team. There since the Spyker days.

Who has the most races for the team they started their career with before moving? Hamilton has 110 for McLaren, Sutil 109 for Spyker/FI. Someone I'm not thinking of?

[Salamander]

Can't believe Sutil is going to be driving for another team. There since the Spyker days.

Who has the most races for the team they started their career with before moving? Hamilton has 110 for McLaren, Sutil 109 for Spyker/FI. Someone I'm not thinking of?

I'm pretty certain it's Hamilton. He passed Clark's mark a while back.

[good_Ralf]

Can't believe Sutil is going to be driving for another team. There since the Spyker days.

Who has the most races for the team they started their career with before moving? Hamilton has 110 for McLaren, Sutil 109 for Spyker/FI. Someone I'm not thinking of?

I think it's Hamilton. Looking at StatsF1.com, Pierluigi Martini spent all but one of his years in F1 with Minardi, but he moved to Dallara after 70 starts. Jacques Laffite's first stint with Ligier consisted of 108 starts, except that his first 15 starts were with Williams.

[Nessafox]

Can't believe Sutil is going to be driving for another team. There since the Spyker days.

Who has the most races for the team they started their career with before moving? Hamilton has 110 for McLaren, Sutil 109 for Spyker/FI. Someone I'm not thinking of?

I think it's Hamilton. Looking at StatsF1.com, Pierluigi Martini spent all but one of his years in F1 with Minardi, but he moved to Dallara after 70 starts. Jacques Laffite's first stint with Ligier consisted of 108 starts, except that his first 15 starts were with Williams.

Martini also did DNQ a race in a Toleman, which means Minardi isn't his first team. Another driver that i thought of would be Piercarlo Ghinzani, but again, there was a Toleman in between his Osella days.

[go_Rubens]

Well, I'm kinda glad that Sutil got the Sauber drive. He brings money Sauber definately need, as well as speed. The question is, who will they sign next? Sirotkin will be in the car in 2015 as long as Sauber remain loyal to the Russians, so that means who will get the drive next year, and who will be tossed? I'm particularly interested in another teammate battle in the midfield if it means that someone will be forced out due to a preexisting contract.

[FullMetalJack]

Can't believe Sutil is going to be driving for another team. There since the Spyker days.

Who has the most races for the team they started their career with before moving? Hamilton has 110 for McLaren, Sutil 109 for Spyker/FI. Someone I'm not thinking of?

He was even testing for them during the Midland days, him driving for another team won't seem right.

[dinizintheoven]

I'm going to call this one now: Lewis Hamilton will have 12 on his car. "Because I is Senna, innit!" and that's the number he had throughout his Lotus days, even when he was the clear #1 driver, and then again in that first season with McLaren.

[pi314159]

Can't believe Sutil is going to be driving for another team. There since the Spyker days.

Who has the most races for the team they started their career with before moving? Hamilton has 110 for McLaren, Sutil 109 for Spyker/FI. Someone I'm not thinking of?

In fact, he joined the team as a test and reserve driver when they were still called Midland.

[Benetton]

Sauber should go with van der Garde in the second seat. He was the most positive surprise for me in 2013 as I expected absolutely nothing from him but once he got up to speed I think he could outperform his teammate from time to time. And even though he is not maybe the driver that will set the world alight I could see Giedo match Sutil on occasions, plus Giedo brings McGregor-money and from interviews he seems like a genuinely nice bloke (unlike di Resta, Maldonado). With two driver's bringing funding to Sauber they could maybe survive without huge Russian influence? IMO, Sirotkin will not be ready for F1 before 2016 at the earliest! Sirotkin is THREE years younger than Magnussen and has certainly not shown the same talent as Kevin in junior categories. Putting Sirotkin in an F1 race seat now would be absolutely mad!

And my first prediction for 2014 is that Force India will be finish in the top 5 in the constructors next season as Lotus will fall into the midfield. The Force India team has now the strongest line-up since the Frentzen-Trulli combination back in 2001 when the team was Jordan.

[Nessafox]

Well, GVDG's money is much more safe than Sirotkins money. Even if it is less, McGregor has been with GVDG for ages, and GVDG is a steady driver. Not spectacular. It looks like he matured a lot as a driver too. I think on the long term, the Russians don't look like a good idea...

[TomWazzleshaw]

Sauber should go with van der Garde in the second seat. He was the most positive surprise for me in 2013 as I expected absolutely nothing from him but once he got up to speed I think he could outperform his teammate from time to time. And even though he is not maybe the driver that will set the world alight I could see Giedo match Sutil on occasions, plus Giedo brings McGregor-money and from interviews he seems like a genuinely nice bloke (unlike di Resta, Maldonado). With two driver's bringing funding to Sauber they could maybe survive without huge Russian influence?

And if qualifying at Monaco and Belgium were anything to go by, Geido is easily one of the best wet-weather specialists on the grid. Which means if we get a wet race next year, we might see the return of #GeidoVanDerGod

[go_Rubens]

Sauber should go with van der Garde in the second seat. He was the most positive surprise for me in 2013 as I expected absolutely nothing from him but once he got up to speed I think he could outperform his teammate from time to time. And even though he is not maybe the driver that will set the world alight I could see Giedo match Sutil on occasions, plus Giedo brings McGregor-money and from interviews he seems like a genuinely nice bloke (unlike di Resta, Maldonado). With two driver's bringing funding to Sauber they could maybe survive without huge Russian influence?

And if qualifying at Monaco and Belgium were anything to go by, Geido is easily one of the best wet-weather specialists on the grid. Which means if we get a wet race next year, we might see the return of #GeidoVanDerGod

Well, if his noble quest doesn't come to light, we always have this: http://www.f1rejects.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=6398

[Waris]

As a little conspiracy theory, I've thought that perhaps the numbers thing is meant to cover up the decreasing number of cars on the grid (amongst rumors of Marussia fusing with Sauber and all that).

[mario]

As a little conspiracy theory, I've thought that perhaps the numbers thing is meant to cover up the decreasing number of cars on the grid (amongst rumors of Marussia fusing with Sauber and all that).

An interesting suggestion, although most of the explanations that I have seen have focussed on the merchandising aspect - in other words, the number of the driver can be turned into part of his branding and identity, something that is not dissimilar with series such as MotoGP. We've seen instances of that in the past in F1, such as Mansell's association with No. 5 at Williams or Alesi and No. 27 at Ferrari - that said, having a series of random numbers may temporarily mask a shrinking grid too (until fans get a little too familiar with the same numbers cropping up again and again).

As an aside, it seems a few other drivers are now revealing their numbers - Massa has indicated that he is using No. 19, the number he used when karting, whilst there are a few suggestions that Kimi has No. 7 and Alonso No. 14. In the case of Kimi, I wonder if it is either an oblique reference to James Hunt - Hunt having used No. 7 in 1978 - or he simply cannot be bothered to change the number that he was using at Lotus this year...

[Basetornado]

Hey guys dont know if this already has a thread, so just tell me if it does.
But does anyone have any thoughts on the new numbers system?
Personally I think its a gimmick, but it could also be pretty cool to see 27 racing again as well as trying to work out which driver chooses 69. Im picking Sirotkin mainly causes hes still in Year 8.
But yeah any thoughts?

[Nessafox]

Now if Susie Wolff ever gets to make her debut, i think she should pick #13 to honour the great Davina Galica!

[Waris]

Another idea: what will happen for example if a driver retires, a new driver picks the old driver's number, but the next year the retired driver makes an unexpected comeback? One of them would have to switch numbers, so in that case the numbers wouldn't be as "permanently attached" to the drivers as it's made out to be.

[Rusujuur]

Another idea: what will happen for example if a driver retires, a new driver picks the old driver's number, but the next year the retired driver makes an unexpected comeback? One of them would have to switch numbers, so in that case the numbers wouldn't be as "permanently attached" to the drivers as it's made out to be.

There will probably be a cooldown period of a couple of years for any given number. That also makes sense from a different perspective - it gives the fans time to forget the previous assosiacion. Ulimately we probably have to look at Nascar and MotoGP to see how these things pan out in the long run. (I don't follow either of these, so I have no idea how they handle these matters).

By the way, I understand that currenly they will give the numbers according to WDC standings for the old drivers, but for the new, who gets first pick? Is it the one who is announced first or whose team is higher in the WCC by the end of the season or some other method?

[andrew2209]

Now if Susie Wolff ever gets to make her debut, i think she should pick #13 to honour the great Davina Galica!

I think she'd need #69