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F1 2017

Could Honda buy Toro Rosso
Honda have invested a great deal of money in F1 over the last 3 years and is it really willing to just walk away if McLaren move to Renault? While all eyes have been on Alonso, he is not the only thing McLaren could lose if they stay with Honda, technical staff, sponsors and future investment could also start looking elsewhere, so McLaren have more than just a driver to look at.

Clearly, Honda don't want to run a team or they would have looked at teams that went under and could have been brought very cheaply, but buying Toro Rosso may be their only option of staying in F1. There have been rumors for a while now that Toro Rosso is for sale, as posted above Indonesian businessman Ricardo Gelael was linked with the team earlier this year, he is the owner of the KFC franchises in Indonesia and his son Sean is racing in Formula 2 with it seems little chance of moving to F1 without his Dad pumping some money into the sport.

Fiat Chrysler are also a contender as they are looking for a way to get Alfa Romeo into the sport, they could link up with the Italian team Prema Powerteam currently doing very well in GP2. Sergio Marchionne boss of both Ferrari and Fiat Chrysler is in the perfect position to ensure that any Alfa Romeo team would get lots of support from Ferrari in the aero and chassis department, so the team could hit the ground running.

Could Lawrence Stroll bankroll Alonso at Williams
I had written off Alonso moving to Williams as I don't believe the team has that sort of money to invest in a driver that can demand such a high price, but Lance Stroll Dad isn't short of a few bob and has already paid a great deal of money to get his son racing at Williams. Clearly such a deal would be a win win for all concerned, Williams would have a driver who could really help develop the car and Lance would have a mentor to help take him to the next level and Alonso would be rid of Honda.

While Paddy Lowe was very coy when asked about a possible move to Williams by Alonso next season, he has been very vocal about the fact that there will be "substantial changes" at the team next season. Williams need to make a big step forward next season if they want to move to the top of the mid-field. They are currently 5th in the constructors championship with 45 points but there are only 11 points between them, Toro Rosso, Haas and Renault, so they need to really develop next season or they are likely to move further down the money table.
 
Italian Grand Prix grid (so far)
For sure McLarean are likely to get penalties but other penalties could make for an interesting race. Both Red Bull drivers will be taking a few, Danny Ric is hit with a 20-place grid penalty for fitting an new MGU-H, ICE and turbocharger, Max Verstappen gets a 15 place drop as he takes on a new MGU-H and ICE. Carlos Sainz hits the limit with a fifth MGU-H this season, and will subsequently drop 10 places on Sunday's grid.

I'd be surprised if other drivers don't get penalties, Ferrari have used more parts than Mercedes, but both teams will likely get penalties at some point in the future, lets hope that isn't what decides the drivers championship.

Pat Symonds joins Ross Brawn's technical working group
Pat Symonds who has been a great asset to the Sky F1 coverage and is an old friend of Ross, they worked together at Benetton back in the day, will be joining the team looking at getting rid of grid penalties, technical problems and finding a way to remove the need for DRS.

One idea already on the table for removing grid penalties is to deduct points from the team in the constructors championship, which to me seem a great idea, as currently both team and driver suffer from a drop in grid position when in fact the driver has little input into the power-train and is working towards a different championship to the team.

The working group is expected to be made up of 12 people, but currently only has 4 members, there main job will be to sort-out all the rules regarding cars, both power-unit and chassis, technical rules and regulations to be in force for the 2020 new concorde agreement.
 
Looks like McLaren are in talks to take Renault engines next year, judging from what they showed on The F1 Show this evening.
 
Rain lashing down in Monza.

Wet practice for P3?

If the rain sticks around, they'll have to qualify in the wet.

Could be fun!

:thumbs:

Edit: P3 delayed indefinitely.
 
Last edited:
Bungle73 said:
Looks like McLaren are in talks to take Renault engines next year, judging from what they showed on The F1 Show this evening.
Click to expand...
Its their only option if they want to get rid of Honda, Ferrari and Mercedes have both said no and Renault have said we are not sure we can manage to supply McLarean (without it effecting our development), but they will if needed. The FIA will also have to agree as no manufacture can supply more than 3 teams without the FIA agreeing to such a deal.
 
The cost/benefit analysis for Renault isn't good if they do supply McLarean.

On the benefit side Renault would get more exposure having a McLarean/Renault team, they would also get more data having an extra team. I'm not sure the money paid by McLarean for the power-units would help Renault, as these costs have now been set by the FIA and FOM would make much difference to Renault's bottom line.

On the cost side, Renault have said they would need to employ more people to manage an extra team and they claim it would cause a problem for their development. McLarean look to have a very good chassis, so would Renault want a 2nd customer beating them on track (Red Bull are well ahead of the factory team). There currant power-unit isn't anywhere near as good as Ferrari or Mercedes, so McLarean would at best be a mid-table team, do they want the negative comments they could get from Alonso or the team if they do not preform.

Watching a race before the summer break with friends, we did two lists about the above literally on the back of a beer mat, the list of negatives was much bigger than the positives and for sure I haven't listed everything we talked about ('cos I can't remember them all).

McLarean need to make a decision very soon or Renault could have a problem supplying them and also it must already be hurting McLarean's development on their 2018 car.
 
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If you were a shareholder at McLarean, would you give up $100million from Honda(that is the amount reported to be given by Honda to McLarean's budget) to start paying for a Renault engine and maybe moving up the grid 4 or 5 places :hmm:

While money is plentiful among McLarean shareholders, I can't see the benefit of loosing so much money to get the 3rd best engine on the grid. I think I'd stay with Honda until the new concorde agreement and wait to look at other engine suppliers who may enter the sport or better still for McLarean (who produce road cars) I think I'd be looking at producing my own engine.

Also if I was on the FIA I'm not sure I want to see an other manufacture leave the sport, so if Honda can't find a different route to remain in the sport, I'm not sure I give Renault permission to supply McLarean without Honda moving to some other team.
 
Just saying that there is a chance that qualifying might get delayed, or even postponed until tomorrow morning.
 
I smell bullshit from Otmar Szafnauer of Force India in that interview :) "I was watching a race the other day when you Martin were hit from behind by Senna....." bollocks mate, your PR/press people told you that would be a great answer and example if Martin brought up the crashes :)
 
Fuck me.

When Sky resorts to interviewing televisual transmission thesps instead of showing motor vehicles, you know the qualifying session has entered what might be loosely termed "faecal mode".

:mad:
 
I hope they sort it out soon or it may start to infringe on our drinking time, we are being picked up at 11'45 for an afternoon session as the race is at 9am here so a late night isn't on the cards as I need to take the dog out and be settled down by 7'30am with breakfast :)
 
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