F1 2023

[DC.]

Leclerc getting his wish.

Maybe Jost Capito will replace Fred. Falling back into the bosom of VAG with Audi Sport.

 

[DC.]

Scrap that. Andreas Seidl is leaving McLaren to take over at Sauber. Good for them bad for McLaren.

 

[big_pete]

Can hardly keep up with these announcements

Who the hell do McLaren get now?

 

[DC.]

Andrea Stella.

 

[carmad.]

 

[svensktoppen]

Looks like a lot of choreography behind all those announcements. Musical chairs, lol

 

[svensktoppen]

So after all this, who is taking over at Williams? They still need both technical director and team principal?

 

[stevyg]

Retired. I'd say that'll be like the rumours of Todt coming back - wishful thinking!

Capito has ties with VW from WRC, so him going to Sauber to take the mantle for Audi makes sense.

Anyone see this toe curling awkwardness from the FIA Prize giving? Feel sorry for Domenicali there

You know it's bad when the President of the FIA has to fumble his way though a cost cap explanation which should have been a congratulatory speech as to why RB 'deserve' it. Interesting that he brought up he was sponsored by RedBull driving in his last rally Championship. Awkward....

 

[svensktoppen]

That has to be the most awkward ceremony ever

Don't know which was most embarrassing, RB or Ben...

 

[cauld1]

That has to be the most awkward ceremony ever

Don't know which was most embarrassing, RB or Ben...

Ben, by far.

Horner attempting to be funny at the Autosport awards announcing rookie of the year was up there though!

 

[DC.]

No surprise.

 

[RallyCiaran]

Hope Mick gets to do some racing next year, supercars or something, whatever the top class at LeMan is now a days.

 

[DC.]

LMDh I believe.

But even just being around a team like Mercedes will help him. Hopefully he gets to sit in on engineering meetings and debriefs to hear from Lewis & George.

 

[svensktoppen]

Hope it works out for him. More likely to spend time in DTM? Don't think Mercedes do anything in endurance?

 

[stevyg]

Not sure he deserved a Mercedes reserve role after Ferrari kicked him to the kerb but it beats standing in line at the dole office. I like the kid though and hope it all works out for him.

 

[DC.]

I’m not sure who else Mercedes could go for to be fair. Latifi?

 

[svensktoppen]

He'll do a great job as reserve driver. Solid worker, professional, and keen to learn and be a team player. At least that's how he comes across.

Personally I don't think he has set the world on fire on track. He was outperformed by his team mate at Haas. I don't think he's in line for a seat at Mercedes, but maybe with a customer team at some point.

Hope it all works out for him, he seems like a nice guy.

 

[gpaevo]

“Mick is someone that has always been close to our heart because of Michael, or the whole Schumacher family. Ralf was in a DTM for a long time for us, his son races Mercedes [cars] in GTs. He’s an intelligent, well-mannered young man, [and] he’s been very successful in junior formulas,” said Wolff.

“We believe that we can look after him if the situation were to happen and with someone that fits the team, but we haven’t really put pen to paper, we haven’t really come anywhere close to any terms.
“I’m saying that openly because I think he just fits and now we need to make it happen, if he wants to, Sabine [Kehm, Schumacher’s manager] wants to, and then we see where that goes to.”

 

[gpaevo]

 

[cauld1]

I mean, they still won the constructors last year, but I suppose constructors only counts when it's Red Bull winning it

 

[DC.]

Andretti teams up with GM for Cadillac F1 entry bid - The Race

Andretti will work together with General Motors to bid for a new Formula 1 entry run under the Cadillac banner.

the-race.com

 

[svensktoppen]

It's good news but still a long way to go to make it happen.

Apparently a completely new entry has to pay a $200m fee, to be split between existing teams to compensate for "lost" prize money. That's a massive stumbling block. They don't appear to have any plans to produce their own engine either, so that leaves the customer team route.

No wonder Audi and Porsche are fighting over buying into existing teams...

 

[DC.]

The $200m ‘anti-dilution fund’ is there to prevent some customer team joining and taking a share of the current teams cake without adding anything to the sport but that fee could be waived if the new team could add significant value to the sport therefore creating a bigger slice of cake for everyone. I think Andretti/Cadillac will add significant value to F1 so that shouldn’t be an issue.

Cadillac said today they had already signed an agreement with a current engine supplier (likely Honda) so again, no issue there.

I see it as a win-win for F1. The series is growing rapidly in America, owned by an American company in Liberty Media and looking to add American drivers.

 

[svensktoppen]

It's great they're coming along, and definitely great with another American team. But it is "just" another customer team by the looks of it, with a "Cadillac" sticker at the front? What is the "significant value" they would bring beyond Haas, AM, etc.?

Happy to be proven wrong, just not seeing it yet. Seems like most "existing" teams aren't in favour of waving the fee either, other than the ones who might benefit from supplying engines and other bits.

The one new entry that stands out to me so far as a potential significant new team might be Audi. But they have bought into an "existing" team so the fee is not an issue for them.

Even "Porsche" looks like another customer team effort with a sticker...

 

[DC.]

The fact they‘ve got GM on board is a huge plus. The largest automotive company in the US and exactly the sort of company that F1 wants to attract. I can’t see a downside to this announcement.

It may even help attract other manufacturers and when you see the state of other racing series, it’s a welcome change.