F1 2022 season - Michael Masi sacked

Rumours suggesting Fernando Alonso's deal with Aston Martin could be up to 4 years long. 2 years guaranteed. Third year is driver side option and fourth year is team side option.
Alonso might never retire at this rate LOL

Seems like Alonso, Webber and Piastri may have concocted this situation at Alpine.

Otmar Szafnauer's comments about Alonso 'potentially falling off the cliff' didn't go too well with the Spaniard.

Szafnauer bizarrely suggested to Alonso that Schumacher declined 'quickly' at the end of his Mercedes spell. Failing to remember Schumacher retired at 37 and his comeback was more marketing for Mercedes...

Alonso has shown no signs of decline all at, so it was stupidity from Szafnauer. Heck Alonso took two years off and was winning in all other categories as well...

Anyway seems like Alpine's contract with Piastri was to be agreed by August 1, they missed the deadline after Alonso's exit was announced.

Alonso and Webber are BFFs, and the Spaniard isn't one to let up if he feels he' been screwed over...

The key here really comes down to whether Alpine have lost all control contractually. I find it slightly hard to believe it's quite as clear cut as no F1 drive by August means he can walk. Alpine may well argue they found him a drive and Oscar declined it.

Be surprised if Alpine were inclined to deal with McLaren and take Danny Ric back. Would guess the only way Piastri gets his way into McLaren is via the courts.

An AT swap deal with Gasly would make some sense. Gasly likely to leave next year when his deal is up and RB don't have anyone on Piastris level lined up to partner Yuki. Question whether Piastri would want to join AT given the history of young drivers crashing and burning if he believes he can force McLaren

Gasly and Ocon are also not best friends iirc

If I'm Daniel Ricciardo, I would be holding out for every last penny before even considering a return to Renault/Alpine. Zak Brown was the moron that inserted this $25m rumoured break fee payment.
I'd want that whole figure, before signing on at Enstone against, even if Ricciardo has to take a paycut, he'd be laughing.

Alternatively, Alpine could get Zhou Guanyu back. His deal at Alfa Romeo concludes at the end of the season. He was Alpine's junior before he went to Alfa Romeo. He also brings $30m worth of Chinese investment. Alfa Romeo had been talking about a new long term deal, but since they started to finalise the Audi thing, those talks with Zhou stopped.

Oscar Piastri could be the biggest F1 hype since Charles LeClerc, and yet he might never even make the grid...crazy

Lol - this is getting as crazy as the football transfer window.

Can't wait to see where everyone ends up when the dust settles.

Williams announce Alexander Albon will remain with them for 2023 on a multiple year contract.Red Bull seems to no longer have any options on Albon either

They had no plans to ever use him in F1 again beyond a reserve

Albon was an option at AlphaTauri if someone’s decided to buy out Gasly’s deal.
There’s no way Tsunoda can be the #1 driver when he crashes all the time.

Can certainly understand where the AT/RB theory has come from, because that does seem a remarkably strong denial 'just' to get from Alpine to McLaren.

So Alpine released a statement saying Alonso’s age meant anything longer than 1 year contract wasn’t justified...Alonso has had Ocon’s number.
Instead of Andretti setting up own team, I think he should just buy Renault instead.
Team Enstone seem to be losing the plot...

Being reported that the FIA contract dispute panel has ratified Oscar Piastri’s contract with McLaren.
Also being reported Daniel Ricciardo has been sacked at the end of 2022.

Haas has also suspended contract talks with Mick Schumacher. Haas are butthurt that Schumacher was in talks with Aston Martin.

More on Ricciardo. McLaren tried to fob him off with worthless seats at at Formula E or Indycar. Ricciardo had no interest.
McLaren are insisting that Ricciardo not race in 2023 if he takes the $25m payoff.
Theoretically Ricciardo can take the money and a day later sign for Alpine or Haas - which is what I would do.
Zak Brown is a cretin and Ricciardo should make that fat American beg.

From the sounds of it Alpines contract with Piastri was never formally signed or ratified

Doesn’t seem like McLaren has too much faith in Lando Norris if they chased Oscar Piastri so desperately...
Piastri is frequently hyped up as the ‘next Charles LeClerc’.
So the real question is are McLaren looking to cash in on Norris should Mercedes come calling?

Doubt it. More theyre looking to move on from Danny Ric as it hasn't worked out for either side and the opportunity to pick up one of the most talented prospects outside of F1 without having to pay compensation emerged

It's all very strange: Alpine seem to have been working off the assumption that there wouldn't be any open seats their drivers could go to, and McLaren seem to be signing everyone without knowing if or where they'll have a seat.
Also, wasn't the reason Ricciardo was pencilled in to stay that McLaren would struggle to afford to buy him out and pay someone else?

Jeff Navarro wrote:Doesn’t seem like McLaren has too much faith in Lando Norris if they chased Oscar Piastri so desperately...
Piastri is frequently hyped up as the ‘next Charles LeClerc’.
So the real question is are McLaren looking to cash in on Norris should Mercedes come calling?

This is nonsense - they've clearly been looking to replace the woefully underperforming Danny Ric, and Piastri seemingly has become available for little to no money to pair with Lando, and have arguably one of the most promising tandem of drivers seen in the sport for a while.

When you’re paying off an 8x race winner for someone that’s not even done an FP1 session to the tune off $25m. Doesn’t show true business acumen but it’s par for the course for the woefully inept Zak Brown.
And McLaren are never going to be competing for championships again.

I think everyone would freely admit the Danny Ric signing has been a disaster outside of Monza. The money invested is a sunk cost however, they can do the same thing and hope it improves or take advantage of a rare opportunity to sign a talent like Piastri for no compensation.

At the end of the day, his performances haven't been good enough to justify that price tag relative to Lando in the same car

Ricciardo couldn’t adapt his driving style to the 2021 and 2022 McLaren, not too dissimilar to Vettel’s woes in the 2014 Red Bull.
Maybe he’ll be better off back at Renault, where he had Ocon on toast anyway.

And Piastri better hope he shows something special otherwise he’s basically ended his career before it started.

Why would Alpine/Renault take Danny Ric back when he ditched them after a year or two last time out of the blue himself? Although Cyril has left, will still be plenty of folk there still scorned by what happened there

Why would Alpine/Renault take Danny Ric back when he ditched them after a year or two last time out of the blue himself? Although Cyril has left, will still be plenty of folk there still scorned by what happened there

Because they’ve got no one else. Zhou said he’s happy at Alfa Romeo.
Aside from Mick Schumacher, Daniel Ricciardo is all that’s left.
And they can get on a relatively cheap deal - Alonso was on $30m. Ricciardo would be attainable for $10m

Jeff Navarro wrote:Williams announce Alexander Albon will remain with them for 2023 on a multiple year contract.Red Bull seems to no longer have any options on Albon either

Albon confirms he’s still part of Red Bull and he hopes to return to Red Bull Racing in 2025.

Whether ricciardo could adapt or not doesn't really change that his performances havent been good enough

Toto Wolff says the 11th grid slot should only be reserved for a manufacturer and Andretti isn’t worthy of a spot.
Wolff showing what a clown he is:
Audi is partnering up with Sauber so no they won’t be fielding two teams.
Andretti is a massive name in motorsport.
The 11th grid slot is currently being offered to Honda - they don’t want.

Daniel Ricciardo news:
Ricciardo’s assortment of sponsors are ditching McLaren. Zak Brown genius working magnificently again…

Listening to others it seems that Alpine / Renault invested several millions of pounds in supporting and developing Piastri over the years - only for this to happen.  

Apparently they had to guarantee him a seat in 2023 - which they had done with Williams, given Alonso would be driving for them in 2023.  Alpine had arranged for Piastri to have a seat at Williams for 2023, agreeing to pay Williams for it, with Piastri likely driving for Alpine in 2024.

When Alonso dropped Alpine for Aston Martin, because the latter had guaranteed him two years rather than the one Alpine were offering, Alpine naturally announced Piastri would be driving for them in 2023.  

However, behind their back Piastri had signed a pre-contractual agreement with McLaren because Piastri preferred driving for McLaren over Williams for 2023.  When Alonso opted out of  Alpine and Alpine announced Piastri as their 2023 driver the McLaren contract had just kicked in meaning Piastri was now contracted to McLaren.

So much for loyalty. Now I wonder to myself if this type of thing would have happened if Netflix's "Drive To Survive" hadn't entered Formula One, and I wonder whether certain people might be getting bonuses over this.

I don't see that anyone did anything wrong tbh

GSC wrote:I don't see that anyone did anything wrong tbh

Other than Alpine's lawyer, who drafted a flawed contract.

Mick Schumacher seemingly looking likely to lose Ferrari backing...

dummy_half wrote:

GSC wrote:I don't see that anyone did anything wrong tbh

Other than Alpine's lawyer, who drafted a flawed contract.

Ya, Piastri signed a contract as a FA
McLaren signed a FA
Alpine seemingly did not draft a contract that protected them from a very obvious outcome and/or filed it correctly

I don't really see the issue being posed about Piastri or McLaren

Renault are taking court action against Piastri.

Las Vegas set to be the penultimate race of the season in 2023. Will go back to back with Abu Dhabi.

So Daniel Ricciardo has stated $21m and he’ll walk away from McLaren. McLaren wants to offset this by ensuring Renault pays him as much a possible in 2023.
If I was Ricciardo and Renault - I would agree to race for free and work on the basis of a bonus at the end of the year.
Just to financially cripple McLaren - yes I’d be that petty lol

It’s now being reported that Piastri has two signed contracts for 2023 and he may have signed up with Renault first...
Again me being petty, if Renault gets the verdict in court. I’m taking up the 2 year option and benching Piastri. Effectively ending his career.
Act like a clown, get treated like one...

So the Piastri case will be almost certainly decided by whether Renault can prove, with paperwork, that they had found their junior a seat at Williams.
According to some sources, Piastri’s rookie contract determined that Renault decided where he went if there was no seat at their team.
There’s some strong suggestions Piastri refused to join Williams.
If that’s the case, Piastri is probably done.

Alpine has made their move for Pierre Gasly. Helmut Marko insisting no chance.

Think Alpine need to be somewhat careful here. Their lead driver has walked away twice in two seasons, the second time to join a team with seemingly worse short term prospects. Their best prospect would rather go elsewhere than drive for the team. Renault in general have a rather trigger happy approach to deciding whether running a team suits them. We'll see what contract gets ratified by the FIA, but I'm not sure taking Piastri to court out of spite if it doesn't go their way is the best way to advertise your opening for next year. Certainly if I was Gasly and trying to assess what is the best move, I would be watching it carefully.

Continue to be confused why McLaren dropping Danny Ric is suddenly controversial when his performances have largely been castigated for his McLaren tenure. Underperforming driver gets contract paid up to leave is not a particular notable outcome

GSC wrote:

Continue to be confused why McLaren dropping Danny Ric is suddenly controversial when his performances have largely been castigated for his McLaren tenure. Underperforming driver gets contract paid up to leave is not a particular notable outcome

It’s controversial because Zak Brown tried to con Ricciardo into taking a seat at their lame Formula E team or the worthless Indycar series.
Ricciardo brings more sponsors to McLaren than Norris and Piastri combined.
McLaren wants to kick him out of F1 but wants to retain Ricciardo’s sponsors.

Is that controversial.

Wait until Williams kick Latifi out I guess

I don’t think Ricciardo and Latifi are similar situations at all.
McLaren pays Ricciardo to race.
Michael Lafiti pays Williams to let his hapless son Nicholas make a fool of himself.

And because Ricciardo is underperforming relative to his teammate McLaren are willing to pay him off so they can replace him.

What's the issue again? I'm sure they'd rather not be paying him to leave at all but hindsight is 20:20

GSC wrote:And because Ricciardo is underperforming relative to his teammate McLaren are willing to pay him off so they can replace him.

What's the issue again? I'm sure they'd rather not be paying him to leave at all but hindsight is 20:20

If McLaren wanted to pay Ricciardo off, then pay him the full $25m I mentioned somewhere earlier in topic.

If the relationship has turned out bad, that’s on Zak Brown’s incompetence not to have a break clause for both sides.

And if they have to, they're obliged to pay it to change the seat.

Seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill with this to be honest

Helmut Marko, somewhat surprisingly, says Red Bull will back Yuki Tsunoda long term. Can only think Honda’s ‘hush hush wink wink’ engine deal means they want Yuki in a race seat.

Marko also confirmed Red Bull has zero intention of promoting Pierre Gasly and there will be no new contract offer.

Jeff Navarro wrote:Helmut Marko, somewhat surprisingly, says Red Bull will back Yuki Tsunoda long term. Can only think Honda’s ‘hush hush wink wink’ engine deal means they want Yuki in a race seat.

Marko also confirmed Red Bull has zero intention of promoting Pierre Gasly and there will be no new contract offer.

Pierre Gasly was quoted as saying he sees himself as ‘loyal to the Red Bull group’ and could envisage staying at AlphaTauri beyond 2023…

Fun and games at Red Bull