Icy Gull
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- Jul 5, 2003
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[Other Sport] F1 2022
- Thread starter Shirty
- Start date
Garry Nelson's Left Foot
Well-known member
That's nuts.
Alpine announce Piastri as their driver. He denies it. Reportedly because he is going to McLaren. However McLaren have announced indycar champion Palou as their driver. As have indycar team Gnassi.
Someone is going to be very disappointed. Unless both Ricciardo AND Norris are leaving.
Iggle Piggle
Well-known member
- Sep 3, 2010
- 5,950
That's nuts.
Alpine announce Piastri as their driver. He denies it. Reportedly because he is going to McLaren. However McLaren have announced indycar champion Palou as their driver. As have indycar team Gnassi.
Someone is going to be very disappointed. Unless both Ricciardo AND Norris are leaving.
Mclaren have their own Indycar team as well so he will replace either Pato o Ward or Rosenqvist there. Unless he doesn't. Confusing!
Garry Nelson's Left Foot
Well-known member
Ah, I didn't know that. That makes more sense. It also clarifies something that has confused me about Ricciardo. I remember not long ago the sky f1 team thinking a statement by Ricciardo was deliberately vague which said something like: I will be with McLaren next year. It seemed fairly simple to me so couldn't understand why they thought it was vague. Now I know they have an indy team as well their viewpoint makes more sense. Maybe Ricciardo was saying he'll either be an f1 driver with McLaren or in another formula with them.
If they drop Latifi he'll hit the roof. Although at least it would make a change from the wall.
Realistically they're probably going to be needing to replace Albon given he's "on loan" from Red Bull.
danielson81
Active member
[tweet]1554829451095027714[/tweet]
Latest on F1 2023 race seats:
Apparently McLaren have lodged, and had accepted, a contract with Piastri at the F1 Contracts Recognition Board. The CRB would only accept it in the absence of a valid Alpine contract. Talk is that Alpine failed to properly exercise the option they had for Piastri, leaving him a free agent. This apparently happened before Alonso signed with Aston Martin.
McLaren are now negotiating Ricciardo's exit. Ricciardo was informed on Sunday after the Hungarian race.
Apparently McLaren have lodged, and had accepted, a contract with Piastri at the F1 Contracts Recognition Board. The CRB would only accept it in the absence of a valid Alpine contract. Talk is that Alpine failed to properly exercise the option they had for Piastri, leaving him a free agent. This apparently happened before Alonso signed with Aston Martin.
McLaren are now negotiating Ricciardo's exit. Ricciardo was informed on Sunday after the Hungarian race.
The whole Piastri story has only got messier since I posted the above. Some details still sketchy, but it appears that Alpine have really shot themselves in the foot and their only redress may be to seek compensation for the funds they've spent on preparing Piastri for F1 this year.
Alpine have openly stated that Piastri signed a "Heads of Terms Agreement" with them in November last year, which covered the steps that Alpine would take to prepare Piastri for F1 during this year, that Alpine would find him a 2023 race seat (either at Alpine or another team, which appears to have been Williams), and in some manner (not sure if part of the HoT agreement or a separate contract) his role as Alpine reserve this year.
It has also been rumoured that the HoT and any other contracts between Piastri and Alpine were with the Alpine junior academy organisation and not with the F1 team specifically and therefore not lodged with the CRB, as the CRB didn't have jurisdiction, and thus allowing the McLaren contract to be lodged with the CRB and accepted - and now it's accepted by the CRB, it will take precedence over anything Alpine lodges.
The interesting part of this is that a HoT agreement is *not* legally binding by default. It can be interpreted by a court as legally binding under some conditions, but Alpine would need to establish that. A lot would also depend on the specific wording - if the HoT only stated that Alpine would "find Piastri a 2023 race seat" without also stipulating that he *must* sign it, then Piastri is well within his rights to ignore Alpine and go with McLaren. One of the early rumours did suggest that Piastri's camp felt they were within their rights to sign with McLaren because no formal signature on a binding contract had been signed with Alpine.
Of course, a lot now depends on what happens with Ricciardo. DR has an existing contract that covers 2023 - but it's believed that the part that covers 2023 is an "option" that needs to be exercised by Ricciardo - and until he does, the CRB considers it to not be effective. If he does exercise the option, it activates with the CRB and his contract takes precedence over Piastri's as the original DR/McLaren contract was lodged prior. Question will be - can McLaren convince DR to take a payout in lieu of taking the option? And can DR find an alternative seat?
On the DR side, there's been a lot of focus on him simply going back to the vacant Alpine seat. But there's been another low-key rumour that Haas might be an option, and today's latest is that Mick Schumacher has started to follow the Alpine CEO on socials. So could we see Mick at Alpine and DR at Haas next season?
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No F1 2026 thread yet, so I'll post this here.
The FIA have now signed off and approved the 2026 power unit regulations. Highlights:
* Removal of the MGU-H (this was a complex and expensive component seen as a blocker for new manufacturer entrants).
* Significant (up to 50%) increase in the power deployment from the electrical side.
* Shift to a new "fully sustainable" fuel on the ICE side.
* On the financial side, a new PU cost cap.
All of this paves the way for the much-mooted and long-expected entry of VW brands Porsche and Audi to Formula 1.
After a major leak, it is expected that today's announcement removes the last major barrier before Red Bull signs a deal with Porsche that includes the latter taking a major ownership stake in the team. The current Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) organisation will carry on working towards the 2026 regs.
On the Audi side, it is believed that they favour having full control over a team. Their preferred option is to buy an existing team (Sauber aka Alfa Romeo has been the one spoken of) and develop their own power unit independently (ironically, it may be based on a power unit Porsche had built for an abandoned F1 entry back in 2017 - VW chose to send Porsche to Formula E instead at the time, in part because F1 chose to retain the MGU-H it has now sacked off). If Audi can't agree a deal to buy Sauber then we could see them enter as a completely new team (which would, in turn, make it far more difficult for Andretti to force his way onto the grid - IMO Andretti should move quickly to do customer deal with Audi).
There's also been ratified rules changes for next year, aimed at reducing the porpoising effect.
The FIA have now signed off and approved the 2026 power unit regulations. Highlights:
* Removal of the MGU-H (this was a complex and expensive component seen as a blocker for new manufacturer entrants).
* Significant (up to 50%) increase in the power deployment from the electrical side.
* Shift to a new "fully sustainable" fuel on the ICE side.
* On the financial side, a new PU cost cap.
All of this paves the way for the much-mooted and long-expected entry of VW brands Porsche and Audi to Formula 1.
After a major leak, it is expected that today's announcement removes the last major barrier before Red Bull signs a deal with Porsche that includes the latter taking a major ownership stake in the team. The current Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT) organisation will carry on working towards the 2026 regs.
On the Audi side, it is believed that they favour having full control over a team. Their preferred option is to buy an existing team (Sauber aka Alfa Romeo has been the one spoken of) and develop their own power unit independently (ironically, it may be based on a power unit Porsche had built for an abandoned F1 entry back in 2017 - VW chose to send Porsche to Formula E instead at the time, in part because F1 chose to retain the MGU-H it has now sacked off). If Audi can't agree a deal to buy Sauber then we could see them enter as a completely new team (which would, in turn, make it far more difficult for Andretti to force his way onto the grid - IMO Andretti should move quickly to do customer deal with Audi).
There's also been ratified rules changes for next year, aimed at reducing the porpoising effect.
Ricciardo confirms his exit from McLaren at the end of this year. No news on what he might be doing for 2023.
Announced via a video on his Twitter feed. He looks and sounds absolutely gutted about it.
[tweet]1562444128629116928[/tweet]
This will pave the way for an official Piastri -> McLaren announcement later this week / over the Spa race weekend I would think. Assuming McLaren believe their legal position re: Alpine is secure.
It's being reported that McLaren have paid out Ricciardo's 2023 contract in full, with no conditions attached - leaving Ricciardo free to join any team without the pay out being affected. Obvious destination is back to Alpine, however the other possibility is Haas. It's an open secret that Haas are stalling on signing Schumacher up for another year, and have been talking to other drivers (Giovinazzi has been mentioned). Ricciardo has been previously linked with Ferrari (prior to them choosing Sainz), so a move to Haas wouldn't surprise me.
Announced via a video on his Twitter feed. He looks and sounds absolutely gutted about it.
[tweet]1562444128629116928[/tweet]
This will pave the way for an official Piastri -> McLaren announcement later this week / over the Spa race weekend I would think. Assuming McLaren believe their legal position re: Alpine is secure.
It's being reported that McLaren have paid out Ricciardo's 2023 contract in full, with no conditions attached - leaving Ricciardo free to join any team without the pay out being affected. Obvious destination is back to Alpine, however the other possibility is Haas. It's an open secret that Haas are stalling on signing Schumacher up for another year, and have been talking to other drivers (Giovinazzi has been mentioned). Ricciardo has been previously linked with Ferrari (prior to them choosing Sainz), so a move to Haas wouldn't surprise me.
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indy3050
Well-known member
- Jun 22, 2011
- 1,394
I think he may of burnt his bridges with Renault/Alpine, didn’t they get the needle when he left for McLaren? He does look and sound very down about it for sure.
GREASED WEASEL
New member
- Dec 10, 2017
- 2,893
The Renault management has been completely changed at the top, don't think any sour grapes over him leaving for McLaren will get in the way.
Audi have officially announced they will join F1 as an engine supplier in 2026. Power unit has been in development already since March. No word yet on who they'll be supplying, but the current hot rumour is that they will buy 75% of Sauber.
On the drivers side, Ricciardo has said its F1 or a year off for 2023. O'connor has (predictably) said his pick for the second Alpine seat is Mick Schumacher. Latest rumours on Piastri are that the F1 Contract Recognition Board has actually recognised both McLaren and Alpine contracts as valid, and won't rule on which takes priority until next week.
On the drivers side, Ricciardo has said its F1 or a year off for 2023. O'connor has (predictably) said his pick for the second Alpine seat is Mick Schumacher. Latest rumours on Piastri are that the F1 Contract Recognition Board has actually recognised both McLaren and Alpine contracts as valid, and won't rule on which takes priority until next week.
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
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From the BBC site, Come on Lewis you can do this!!
All the action on Sunday will be directed towards the back of the grid, as championship rivals Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are to be penalised for using too many engine parts.
The Red Bull driver and Ferrari man will be joined by McLaren's Lando Norris, Alpine's Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo and Haas' Mick Schumacher.
All the action on Sunday will be directed towards the back of the grid, as championship rivals Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc are to be penalised for using too many engine parts.
The Red Bull driver and Ferrari man will be joined by McLaren's Lando Norris, Alpine's Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas of Alfa Romeo and Haas' Mick Schumacher.
Worried Man Blues
Well-known member
It'll be like stock car racing, Arlington was a looong time ago.
flemishbond
New member
- Feb 25, 2022
- 1
Verstappen will still win
Icy Gull
Back on the rollercoaster
- Jul 5, 2003
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Great first post you Dutchman
Yes I’m sure Verstappen will get any breaks that are going. Safety car just before he needs to pit and everybody else has probably
Great driver whose temperament has not been tested as Hamilton’s car is not up to it this year. Shame as it’s been much too easy for him with having the most reliable car and Ferrari shooting themselves in the foot either by driver error, mechanical problems or schoolboy tactics.
He is intensely dislikable and arrogant though unless you are Dutch or Belgian, or [MENTION=2719]Mouldy Boots[/MENTION] obviously