Mercedes don't need "cheap" drivers; they want winners. They have a strong team, so why disturb that? Vettel is maybe becoming like Alonso: a driver that no one wants, at any price !
Ahhhhhh don’t say that, Alonso is a great driver but not necessarily a great team guy. I place Vettel well ahead as a character and driver to be honest. I sincerely hope he finds himself with a team he can flourish in, we can all pick apart his stint at Ferrari but let’s see how he does this year. I can’t wait!
Vettel expected a multi-year deal and stated so before this all fell down for him. Ferrari knew last year he was replaceable and moved forward to do just that it appears. With cost now an issue I sense pressure on salary as well and one team asked for that to be included in the budget. It may not be about money for Vettel - there is nothing that says equal talent cannot be found for less. I simply do not see Vettel mid pack, touring around like Kimi. Unless he goes to Renault I see him out of the sport.
So bottas's management have contacted Red Bull... https://www.gpblog.com/en/news/60031/-manager-bottas-is-ook-in-contact-met-red-bull-racing-.html
Neither was anyone else that wasn't driving a Mercedes, so perhaps everyone should be ditched? In fact, Vettel was the winning-est driver since the turbo hybrid era of those who didn't drive a Mercedes!
I don't think so. Vettel has lost 2 championships. Making beginner's mistakes, he has become an embarasment for Ferrari.
Do you think Vettel is still the standard bearer for Ferrari? Leclerc is the daddy now, and Vettel can't accept to stay in the background. The Scuderia might as well try new blood.
What position is Bottas seeking at Red Bull, barista at the hospitality center? I don't see a place for him at RBR.
It;s impossible to blame Vettel for 2 lost championships. Yes, he made mistakes, but so did the whole scuderia.
F1 is the best of both worlds, technology and driving. The perfect solution for just the display of driving of top formula cars already exists, one doesn't have to change F1. Spec/kit car racing, where driving.....also setup and strategy, a necessity in any form of racing.....is paramount. It's called IndyCar.
No, but there are probably a lot of reasons for that. It's difficult to see what's really going on inside the Scuderia. They famously struggle to run 2 cars equally at the same time. To me, for now it looks like they made an error how they handled Vettel's leaving the team. I doubt Leclerc has leadership in him at this point in his career, with the way Ferrari is run. I do like Leclerc (that was very obvious when I started the thread in his F2 days), I've been criticical on certain things so far. It just seems to me Ferrari hasn't got a succession plan in place. If they have a monster of a car, they'll win it. But Ferrari won't have a Monster of a car.
I hope that Leclerc won't be wasting his time at Ferrari. He deserves an organisation similar to Red Bull, Mercedes or McLaren around him, a stable structure without politics.
If that happens, hopefully some other teams will emerge to replace them, but I have no trust in the Ferrari environment to look after Leclerc's career.