2014 Silly Season Thread

[Basetornado]

Yeah I chose F14T as well, mainly cause it has a historical link. I dont mind the Marranello one but Id prefer to see something like Fiorano then Scuderia

[Ferrim]

F14T for me, even if it looks too much like FIAT.

A pity that F41L isn't an option, though.

[Benetton]

I don't envy Pirelli at all! First everyone complains about tires and now when there would be a chance to test them at Jerez only X amount of teams will show up (less data for them)!

Also, the irony about Mercedes tyre test here is enormous! Last year everyone complained about it and now 6 teams seemingly don't even want to go testing, it is ridiculous.

[go_Rubens]

Pirelli stays as a supplier of tyres. Now official on Autosport.

Also official is Red Bull's car launch date, also on Autosport.

Well, I really don't understand why Pirelli really wants to stay much longer after the debacle that was the summer of 2013. It's like they're getting bullied around for stuff mostly not their fault.

[Enforcer]

Well, I really don't understand why Pirelli really wants to stay much longer after the debacle that was the summer of 2013. It's like they're getting bullied around for stuff mostly not their fault.

One would assume that either the contract is lucrative enough, or the contract plus their opinion of the value of extra advertising is lucrative enough.

[Jocke1]

With Ron Dennis back as McLaren Group CEO, and rumors about him taking over the Team Principal role once more,
I am willing to bet an avatar that he will put a Finn in one of the cars yet again.

That seemed like a good Formula, Dennis calling the shots while a Finn crossed the finish line first.
After all, 55,5% of all McLaren wins between 26 october 1997 - 3 august 2008, were won by Finns.

Bottas in a McLaren by 2015?
Hugo Hakkinen will be 18 in four seasons time, so I'll be the first to say here that Hugo Hakkinen will race for McLaren in 2018, so long as Dennis will still be calling the shots by then.

[Backmarker]

With Ron Dennis back as McLaren Group CEO, and rumors about him taking over the Team Principal role once more,
I am willing to bet an avatar that he will put a Finn in one of the cars yet again.

That seemed like a good Formula, Dennis calling the shots while a Finn crossed the finish line first.
After all, 55,5% of all McLaren wins between 26 october 1997 - 3 august 2008, were won by Finns.

Bottas in a McLaren by 2015?
Hugo Hakkinen will be 18 in four seasons time, so I'll be the first to say here that Hugo Hakkinen will race for McLaren in 2018, so long as Dennis will still be calling the shots by then.

I've always felt that McLaren/Ron Dennis' preference was for good qualifiers, without caring too much about how they do in a race - Senna, Hakkinen, Hamilton, Montoya, Berger, all of whom have more poles than race wins, for example. Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and Nico Hülkenberg have the best pole-win records without driving for McLaren, but Ron Dennis has never had a German driver (though he did try and snare Michael Schumacher), and he even turned down Quick Nick Heidfeld. So, Felipe Massa to replace Jenson Button

Seriously though, of the current grid, I can see potential for Bottas, Grosjean, or Hülkenberg to end up in a McLaren, assuming that none of Alonso, Raikkonen or Hamilton return to McLaren.

[WeirdKerr]

http://www.formula1.com/news/headline/2014/1/15381.html

Ferrari announce car launch, plus the name of the new car.

So, the options are: F14 T, F14 Maranello, F14 Scuderia, F166 Turbo, and the F616.

I like F14 T It feels as if it contains historical value.

EDIT: Didn't see Basetornado's post above. But the launch date is here, so that's important.

id vote for f616 as six one six is the real number of the beast not six six six

[mario]

Pirelli stays as a supplier of tyres. Now official on Autosport.

Also official is Red Bull's car launch date, also on Autosport.

Well, I really don't understand why Pirelli really wants to stay much longer after the debacle that was the summer of 2013. It's like they're getting bullied around for stuff mostly not their fault.

I guess that it is possible that the terms under which they've renewed their contract are more favourable - they've already won a concession that each team has to dedicate one of its eight days of mid season testing to testing the tyres, which seems to be the most favourable situation for all parties (one day of tyre testing per team gives each team a fair amount of testing whilst Pirelli in turn get the tyre development data they've been denied for the past few years). It's also been confirmed that at least one day of the pre-season tests will be allocated to testing just the wet weather tyres, although the details for that are yet to be confirmed. http://www.f1technical.net/news/19056

Asides from Red Bull, we've had formal confirmation from Sauber and Toro Rosso of their launch plans - Sauber will launch their car online on the 26th Jan (and they've confirmed that they will attend the first test), whilst Toro Rosso will hold a press event on the evening of the 27th in the pit lane at Jerez.

However, there is an interesting story on Autosport that suggests we might see another major team missing the first test at Jerez - Autosport claim that McLaren have not yet submitted their chassis design to the FIA for homologation amid rumours that they have failed at least one of the crash tests. Now, whilst McLaren in theory still have enough time to complete another crash test, Autosport claim that, should McLaren fail to pass the tests again, they will be barred from testing at Jerez (teams now cannot test until they have passed the crash tests). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112181

[Basetornado]

The F1 official site gives all the dates as well and where they will be launching.
For example Caterham, Mercedes and Red Bull will all unviel at Jerez.
Also with the talk of McLaren failing a crash test etc, it seems strange that they would be the first to unveil there car. But I suppose they want to show there new title sponsor etc as soon as possible.

[go_Rubens]

Speaking of Ferrari, the names ahead in the online vote are F14 T and F166 Turbo, those two sharing around 60% of all te votes so far. Those were also my top 2 choices, in that order. But there's plenty of time for that to change though.

[SgtPepper]

With Ron Dennis back as McLaren Group CEO, and rumors about him taking over the Team Principal role once more,
I am willing to bet an avatar that he will put a Finn in one of the cars yet again.

That seemed like a good Formula, Dennis calling the shots while a Finn crossed the finish line first.
After all, 55,5% of all McLaren wins between 26 october 1997 - 3 august 2008, were won by Finns.

Bottas in a McLaren by 2015?
Hugo Hakkinen will be 18 in four seasons time, so I'll be the first to say here that Hugo Hakkinen will race for McLaren in 2018, so long as Dennis will still be calling the shots by then.

I've always felt that McLaren/Ron Dennis' preference was for good qualifiers, without caring too much about how they do in a race - Senna, Hakkinen, Hamilton, Montoya, Berger, all of whom have more poles than race wins, for example. Felipe Massa, Nico Rosberg and Nico Hülkenberg have the best pole-win records without driving for McLaren, but Ron Dennis has never had a German driver (though he did try and snare Michael Schumacher), and he even turned down Quick Nick Heidfeld. So, Felipe Massa to replace Jenson Button

Seriously though, of the current grid, I can see potential for Bottas, Grosjean, or Hülkenberg to end up in a McLaren, assuming that none of Alonso, Raikkonen or Hamilton return to McLaren.

I still maintain that it's a travesty Hulk didn't get the second Mclaren seat.

I also have a sneaking suspicion Hamilton will be seeing out the last 3-4 years of his career back in the team, although a large variety of other factors would be involved in that decision.

[mario]

The F1 official site gives all the dates as well and where they will be launching.
For example Caterham, Mercedes and Red Bull will all unviel at Jerez.
Also with the talk of McLaren failing a crash test etc, it seems strange that they would be the first to unveil there car. But I suppose they want to show there new title sponsor etc as soon as possible.

It seems that the commercial pressure from their sponsor is the reason for the physical car launch - Whitmarsh stated in the past that they wanted to announce their new title sponsor before the new car was launched, but claimed that the new title sponsor wanted the two events to be combined into one session.

The claim from Autosport is that McLaren are preparing a mock car for the launch event itself, but the actual car is not yet complete due to the alleged issues over failing the crash tests. It isn't totally implausible that could be the case - Ferrari's F2012, IIRC, only just passed the crash tests a few days before the first test session (having failed one of the side impact tests), so their show car might not have actually passed the crash tests at the time it was shown.

I still maintain that it's a travesty Hulk didn't get the second Mclaren seat.

I also have a sneaking suspicion Hamilton will be seeing out the last 3-4 years of his career back in the team, although a large variety of other factors would be involved in that decision.

The problem is, at the time Hamilton formally confirmed to McLaren that he intended to take up Mercedes's offer of a seat, Hulkenberg's form up until that point in the season had not been particularly strong.

If di Resta wasn't on the list for the top teams, why would you have taken Hulkenberg when, at the time that Perez signed his contract with McLaren, he only had about three quarters of the points total of di Resta and finished in the points fewer times than di Resta too (six points finishes against eight for di Resta)? Bear in mind that, at the time the deal was signed, Hulkenberg's record against Rubens at Williams wasn't stunning, having been outscored 47 points to 22, and at the time he was also being beaten by di Resta, a driver of a comparable level of experience (although he had had the benefit of not having to sit a year out).

Hulkenberg's upswing in performance came too late in the season for it to have a measurable impact on his chances that season for a top tier seat, and that is why he lost the seat at McLaren - he wasn't, for various reasons, performing at his best at the time that opportunity came up, whereas Perez was coming off the back of a more successful period and many were calling for him to replace Massa at Ferrari.

That said, it could be that, in the longer term, it might not prove to be such a misfortune for Hulkenberg - given the issues with the car, would Hulkenberg's reputation and opportunities really have been enhanced if he had been given the MP4-28 to drive? Rightly or wrongly, we have seen how Perez's reputation has been battered by his performance in that car, even if his form towards the closing stages of the 2013 season suggested that he was getting to grips with the car.
If the rumours of internal strife at McLaren and the MP4-29 failing its crash tests are indeed true, McLaren might not have been the best place in 2014 for him either, whilst the mounting uncertainty over Lotus - it's worth noting that, when they asked Hulkenberg to temporarily replace Kimi in 2013, they admitted that they couldn't afford to pay Hulkenberg - may have meant that team wasn't quite the haven that some thought it was.

[SgtPepper]

I still maintain that it's a travesty Hulk didn't get the second Mclaren seat.

I also have a sneaking suspicion Hamilton will be seeing out the last 3-4 years of his career back in the team, although a large variety of other factors would be involved in that decision.

The problem is, at the time Hamilton formally confirmed to McLaren that he intended to take up Mercedes's offer of a seat, Hulkenberg's form up until that point in the season had not been particularly strong.

If di Resta wasn't on the list for the top teams, why would you have taken Hulkenberg when, at the time that Perez signed his contract with McLaren, he only had about three quarters of the points total of di Resta and finished in the points fewer times than di Resta too (six points finishes against eight for di Resta)? Bear in mind that, at the time the deal was signed, Hulkenberg's record against Rubens at Williams wasn't stunning, having been outscored 47 points to 22, and at the time he was also being beaten by di Resta, a driver of a comparable level of experience (although he had had the benefit of not having to sit a year out).

Hulkenberg's upswing in performance came too late in the season for it to have a measurable impact on his chances that season for a top tier seat, and that is why he lost the seat at McLaren - he wasn't, for various reasons, performing at his best at the time that opportunity came up, whereas Perez was coming off the back of a more successful period and many were calling for him to replace Massa at Ferrari.

That said, it could be that, in the longer term, it might not prove to be such a misfortune for Hulkenberg - given the issues with the car, would Hulkenberg's reputation and opportunities really have been enhanced if he had been given the MP4-28 to drive? Rightly or wrongly, we have seen how Perez's reputation has been battered by his performance in that car, even if his form towards the closing stages of the 2013 season suggested that he was getting to grips with the car.
If the rumours of internal strife at McLaren and the MP4-29 failing its crash tests are indeed true, McLaren might not have been the best place in 2014 for him either, whilst the mounting uncertainty over Lotus - it's worth noting that, when they asked Hulkenberg to temporarily replace Kimi in 2013, they admitted that they couldn't afford to pay Hulkenberg - may have meant that team wasn't quite the haven that some thought it was.

You're absolutely right Mario. I am officially confirmed as a blinded Hulk fanboy.

[go_Rubens]

You're absolutely right Mario. I am officially confirmed as a blinded Hulk fanboy.

Don't worry, I also have a slight infection of that

[good_Ralf]

If McLaren continue to fail and Lotus implode, could we see Force India come about 4th in the WCC if they build another solid car?

[go_Rubens]

If McLaren continue to fail and Lotus implode, could we see Force India come about 4th in the WCC if they build another solid car?

I could see that happening. I didn't think McLaren would want to build a car to win the championship, as they want to focus on their new partnership with Honda starting in a year's time. Lotus probably aren't going to be too good this year, so I expect them lower than where I expect McLaren i. e., midfield to lower midfield. Let's not also forget that Ferrari are rumored to have both a weak and unreliable engine. If that's the case, and this reflects Ferrari's performance, FI could well come close to 3rd in the standings, but that's a huge if. But I believe in Force India, so I expect 5th or higher always

[mario]

You're absolutely right Mario. I am officially confirmed as a blinded Hulk fanboy.

Don't worry, I also have a slight infection of that

So does half the F1 fanbase...

To be fair, I do think that Hulkenberg is indeed a talented driver - his junior series record is strong, and when he gets a car to his liking he can be especially quick, even if Sam Michael was somewhat dismissive of his potential when asked why McLaren didn't sign him. How good he is, for now, remains a little unclear given that he has only been given midfield cars to work with, but maybe we will see what he can do if he finally gets a car that is good enough to compete for race wins.
However, he hasn't always been able, for various reasons, to show off his talent in the best light and at the right time - the poor form of Sauber, allied with the issues of a difficult working relationship, left him relatively stranded in the midfield and seems to be why, by the Hungarian GP, he had slipped out of contention for Ferrari once negotiations with Kimi picked up. That said, losing out on a seat at Lotus might not be so bad if, as some suspect, Lotus fall back this season due to the disruption off track...

If McLaren continue to fail and Lotus implode, could we see Force India come about 4th in the WCC if they build another solid car?

I could see that happening. I didn't think McLaren would want to build a car to win the championship, as they want to focus on their new partnership with Honda starting in a year's time. Lotus probably aren't going to be too good this year, so I expect them lower than where I expect McLaren i. e., midfield to lower midfield. Let's not also forget that Ferrari are rumored to have both a weak and unreliable engine. If that's the case, and this reflects Ferrari's performance, FI could well come close to 3rd in the standings, but that's a huge if. But I believe in Force India, so I expect 5th or higher always

It is possible that, if the rumours about Ferrari having a weaker engine are true, that they could be a little vulnerable given that both of their drivers could begin to lose a little enthusiasm. However, that same driver line up is arguably one of the strongest in the field - it's definitely one of the most experienced - and I'd expect that Allison will help rectify some of the teams recent deficiencies.

McLaren is a little harder to judge - whilst they are vulnerable given that their line up (Button is a solid driver but can sometimes tie himself in knots with his set ups whilst Magnussen Jr. will be facing a fairly steep learning curve) and the loss of technical support from Mercedes, the reforms that have been made to the design team this season might start bearing some fruit soon. This year will be something of a consolidation year for the team as they bed in new staff and look to their partnership with Honda, a bit like the 1996 season was - solid but not spectacular.

Red Bull should remain competitive - perhaps slightly more vulnerable, but the changes to the aero package, their forte in recent years, are relatively modest - and Mercedes will probably be in the mix themselves too. All in all, I expect that Force India probably will struggle to beat the manufacturer run or manufacturer backed teams - however, 5th place is a realistic target given Lotus probably will be a bit vulnerable.
It could give Force India some interesting political leverage were that to happen too - it'd give Force India a position on the Strategy Group panel, and Force India are somewhat at odds with some of the larger teams (especially on the issue of customer cars), whilst Lotus are somewhat more neutral in that regard.

[Aerospeed]

So, here's the teams that have confirmed their car launch dates thus far:
McLaren - Jan 24 - Online
Ferrari - Jan 25 - Online
Sauber - Jan 26 - Online
Toro Rosso - Jan 27 - Jerez
Mercedes - Jan 28 - Jerez
Caterham - Jan 28 - Jerez
Williams - Jan 28 - Jerez
Red Bull - Jan 28 - Jerez

I'll try to update this post as more teams confirm their dates. Remind me if I missed anything.

Edit - Thanks Rubens for the info. Right now we need to pot all the info in one place. F1.com has the data but they are all over the place...
This now leaves Lotus, Marussia and Force India who are left to confirm when they are launching their 2014 cars. I wouldn't be surprised if they were close to the Jerez test.

[go_Rubens]

Red Bull, Sauber, and Toro Rosso have confirmed theirs as well on the F1 website. Red Bull and Toro Rosso on the first test day, and Sauber online on the 26th.

[mario]

So, here's the teams that have confirmed their car launch dates thus far:
McLaren - Jan 24 - Online
Ferrari - Jan 25 - Online
Sauber - Jan 26 - Online
Toro Rosso - Jan 27 - Jerez
Mercedes - Jan 28 - Jerez
Caterham - Jan 28 - Jerez
Williams - Jan 28 - Jerez
Red Bull - Jan 28 - Jerez

I'll try to update this post as more teams confirm their dates. Remind me if I missed anything.

Edit - Thanks Rubens for the info. Right now we need to pot all the info in one place. F1.com has the data but they are all over the place...
This now leaves Lotus, Marussia and Force India who are left to confirm when they are launching their 2014 cars. I wouldn't be surprised if they were close to the Jerez test.

I expect Marussia and Force India will probably launch their cars at Jerez itself - the former has already confirmed that they will participate in the first test, whilst the latter would normally have a press session ahead of the formal "shakedown" session (which I assume has now been folded into the general off season testing allowance rather than being an independent event).
As for Lotus, I would hazard a guess that they'll launch their car some time between the 10-15th Feb, probably around the 12th Feb - they've stated they'll attend the first test in Bahrain on the 19th Feb (which means having everything set up at the circuit by the 18th), so they'll probably want around 3-4 days, and probably closer to a week, between the launch and the test sessions.

[tristan1117]

Raikkonen throws water on 2014 Changes

But I might be wrong.

[Jocke1]

Here are my hopes and expectations for the upcoming 2014 F1 season:

* Michael Schumacher waking up soon and still having 100% normal brain functionality.

* Sky Sports finally comes to their senses and gets rid of Simon Lazenby (long, long overdue).
* BBC gets rid of Suzi Perry (please, please make this happen).
* DC improves on his gridwalks (so far it's very much Brundle > Coulthard).
* Claire Williams gets a different haircut.
* Max Chilton scores his first point, before round 7.
* Maldonado and Grosjean rediscovers their crashing talents.

* At least 3 rain races.
* At least 2 " Gate's "


Teammate Head-2-Head (2014 Points Total)
in no particular order
Vettel > Ricciardo_________Hamilton > Rosberg

Raikkonen > Alonso_______Maldonado > Grosjean

Magnussen > Button______Hulkenberg > Perez

Sutil > Gutierrez_________Kvyat > Vergne

Bottas > Massa_________Bianchi > Chilton

[Backmarker]

What''s wrong with Claire Williams' current haircut?!

[DanielPT]

Meanwhile Lotus announces a new partner in the form of Saxo Bank to help their finances. Joe Saward, for what is worth, is saying that part of the deal involves Lotus appointing Marco Sorensen as their new test driver. This, in my opinion, only worsens the way they treated Davide Valsecchi last season...

[SgtPepper]

Raikkonen > Alonso

You think Raikkonen will best Alonso? Interesting. I've been pondering this since the announcement was made he was going to Ferrari, and despite being a Kimi fan, for the last few years Alonso has simply been a class apart from the rest of the grid. I would predict Alonso might have a slight edge, but that it'll be very close. Can't wait to find out though, either way! It guarantees excitement, even if Red Bull come out with another absolutely crushing car (something I feel is more likely than people like to think), a proper battle of two greats in the same team should be wonderful to behold.

[Jocke1]

You think Raikkonen will best Alonso?

No doubt in my mind.

Can't wait to find out though, either way! It guarantees excitement, a proper battle of two greats in the same team should be wonderful to behold.

Agreed.

[mario]

You think Raikkonen will best Alonso?

No doubt in my mind.

Can't wait to find out though, either way! It guarantees excitement, a proper battle of two greats in the same team should be wonderful to behold.

Agreed.

I am curious as to why you are so certain that Kimi will beat Alonso in 2014 - I am not discounting the possibility, just interested in the reasoning behind it. I expect the situation to be reasonably close between the two drivers, but Alonso does have the slight advantage of incumbency - it would have been his feedback that would have informed the early design of Ferrari's 2014 car, and equally he already has a strong working relationship with the team whilst Kimi will have to rebuild that relationship once again. The other aspect is perhaps a little more subjective, but I feel that Alonso is the slightly more adaptable driver of the two as well - which is perhaps who Webber singled out Alonso as one of the driver who would probably do best in the post 2014 rules era, but left Kimi out of the picture.

[Klon]

I am curious as to why you are so certain that Kimi will beat Alonso in 2014 - I am not discounting the possibility, just interested in the reasoning behind it. I expect the situation to be reasonably close between the two drivers, but Alonso does have the slight advantage of incumbency - it would have been his feedback that would have informed the early design of Ferrari's 2014 car, and equally he already has a strong working relationship with the team whilst Kimi will have to rebuild that relationship once again. The other aspect is perhaps a little more subjective, but I feel that Alonso is the slightly more adaptable driver of the two as well - which is perhaps who Webber singled out Alonso as one of the driver who would probably do best in the post 2014 rules era, but left Kimi out of the picture.

Not only that, but Alonso has - unlike Räikkönen, in my humble opinion - shown the killer instinct. If there is anything Alonso can do to improve his chances (respectively hurt that of his opponents and team mates), he is very likely to do it. Which is, together with the reasons you stated, why I would be highly surprised if Räikkönen is anything but a slightly improved Massa at Ferrari.

[Ferrim]

You think Raikkonen will best Alonso?

No doubt in my mind.

Can't wait to find out though, either way! It guarantees excitement, a proper battle of two greats in the same team should be wonderful to behold.

Agreed.

It's time for an avatar challenge, then!

[TomWazzleshaw]

Sauber have just announced on their Facebook page that #GeidoVanDerGod has been signed by the team as their third driver.

Translation: Guti's days are numbered

[eytl]

Sauber have just announced on their Facebook page that #GeidoVanDerGod has been signed by the team as their third driver.

Translation: Guti's days are numbered

Looks like Sauber are going down the "sign as many sponsored drivers as we can get" route.

What does this mean for Sirotkin? I thought he would surely have been the test and third driver ...

Autosport also reporting that Caterham will announce their drivers today and that Pic is definitely leaving the team.

P.S. 1,049th post. Just sayin' ...

[takagi_for_the_win]

Speaking of Caterham, many on F1Fanatic seem to think that their line-up will consist of Messrs Kobayashi and Ericsson, with a certain Robin Frijns getting the TD role. If this is true, I'm switching allegiance in the battle of the backmarker! All hail Tony Fernandes

[Backmarker]

Presumably Giedo van der Garde is there as insurance against Sergey Sirotkin's Russian money not coming through. Also, van der Garde might be better at development than Adrian Sutil or Esteban Gutiérrez: I believe that Adrian Sutil does not give the best feedback to engineers, whereas Giedo van der Garde has been testing in Formula One since 2006 and could be able to help develop the car. I'm surprised van der Garde hasn't been able to get a seat in Formula One for 2014 though, as I had believed he was significantly backed.

[Ducktanian]

Well Caterham's line-up has finally been announced!
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/112208

KOBAYASHI and Ericsson!!!!
Well, I know who I am supporting this year

[GwilymJJames]

Kobayashi / Ericsson / T: Rossi, Frijns at Caterham confirmed.

[Ferrim]

KOBAYASHI KAMUI TO SCORE CATERHAM'S FIRST EVER POINT IN AUSTRALIA!

...

Okay, I'm slightly overjoyed at the moment

[eytl]

Consider the line-ups at Caterham and Marussia: Mr Talent, the Emperor of Banzaiosity, and the natural successor to Torsten Palm and Slim Borgudd.

Jules Bianchi sticks out like a sore thumb.

And who's to say Caterham and Marussia will be at the back this year ...

[kowalski]

And who's to say Caterham and Marussia will be at the back this year ...

Me...

[kowalski]

KOBAYASHI KAMUI TO SCORE CATERHAM'S FIRST EVER POINT IN AUSTRALIA!

...

Okay, I'm slightly overjoyed at the moment

Maybe not in Australia but i can see him scoring the first ever "New team Point" at some stage.


Go Bad reliability!!