F1 2018

[Limejuice]

Saying that will Red bull end up the Honda Works Team if the Dietrich pulls out due to not winning

When RB pulls out, I think that team is finished as the punky party team that's won world championships on sheer impertinence alone.

A big bit of RB's success has been Adrian Newey's designs. In his book (well worth a read, btw) AN describes arriving at RB and inheriting the legacy of big works teams, and the culture shock he had to create.

So my question would be whether AN would want to battle on with another manifestly slow and bureaucratic manufacturer.

My hunch is no, and at that point I could see Christian "Mr Ginger Spice" Horner departing too. They are a package deal, and AN must be thinking of his bucket list.

 

[1%er]

hmm you got to wonder how Horner is going to handle the Honda relationship next year



He has not been to kinda to Renault over the years even when they were winning WC,

Hows he going to handle it if the engine is still unreliable next year..

Saying that will Red bull end up the Honda Works Team if the Dietrich pulls out due to not winning

When RB pulls out, I think that team is finished as the punky party team that's won world championships on sheer impertinence alone.

A big bit of RB's success has been Adrian Newey's designs. In his book (well worth a read, btw) AN describes arriving at RB and inheriting the legacy of big works teams, and the culture shock he had to create.

So my question would be whether AN would want to battle on with another manifestly slow and bureaucratic manufacturer.

My hunch is no, and at that point I could see Christian "Mr Ginger Spice" Horner departing too. They are a package deal, and AN must be thinking of his bucket list.

I think Honda is just a holding partner for Red Bull (unless they deliver), I think some other manufactures will join F1 after the new Concorde agreement and Red Bull will go with one of them. VW has shown an interest but it is unclear which of their brands will make the move. My money is on Porsche (if they do join) but VW have some very impressive names that could also enter, including Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini and even Audi.

Honda have seen some success in F1 with both Williams and McLaren between 86 and 91, so I wouldn't wright them off completely, but for sure it will take time and will the company be willing to take that time. On the other hand Red Bulls engine department has done wonders with the Renault power-unit over the years and is still way ahead of the factory team when it comes to power, so maybe if they put that resource behind Honda they could pull off a big surprise.

It should be remembered that Toro Rosso have been up for sale for a few years now and I'm not sure that Dietrich Mateschitz is still 100% behind his F1 investment, the law of diminishing returns must effect the drinks company at some point and maybe it already has.

I'm sure that Daniel Ricciardo's reasoning when deciding to leave the team will have had something to do with Honda, but it was also clear that the team were going to back the up and coming star Max Verstappen. Reading the press today money will have played a big part in Danny's decision, if news reports are to be believed he will be making around $35million a year which is around 3 times his current salary, that had to go to the board of Renault for a decision. If true this would put Ricciardo 3rd in the F1 pay race behind Hamilton and Vettel and just ahead of Alonso.

His replacement at Red Bull. Not Sainz if press reports are to be believed, according to Spanish newspaper Marca, Verstappen does have a say in any other driver joining the team and he has said NO! to Sainz, which isn't really a surprise when you look back at when they were together at Toro Rosso. So I think the smart money will be on Pierre Gasly, unless he blots his copybook during the second-half of the season. My money is on Sainz going to McLaren who currently don't have any drivers fully signed up for 2019, while both Alonso and Vandoorne are under contract they will both have some sort of "get-out" clause, be it a performance clause, retirement clause or an offer from a constructor who is higher in the championship order.

Things are not looking good for Force India over the next few races, it is reported that while the team have a number of up-grades for the car they can not afford to produce them unless some new money comes into the team from a new owner. In Hungary the team produced it worse performance of the season finishing 13th and 14th. Esteban Ocon must be really pissed off at the moment as not only has he lost his expected seat at Renault but his team mate Sergio Perez was one of the parties that took the team into administration by going to court over money owed to him by the team. I wonder if Perez has cut of his nose to spite his face, if Stroll is an investor in any buy-out, he will surely put his son in one of the seats, meaning Ocon or Perez will loose theirs.

 

[Limejuice]

On that sort of money, Danny Ric can afford a proper glass for his celebratory fizz instead of a shoe-ey.

Let's hope he finishes well enough to demonstrate that new-found French sophistication.

 

[1%er]

Is Jamie Chadwick heading for F1? The 20-year-old became the first woman to win a Formula 3 race with a historic victory on Sunday. Currently she is eighth in the 2018 Championship after 18 rounds. She finished ninth last season, her debut campaign during which time she finished on the podium at Rockingham, fifth at Brands Hatch, sixth at Spa and seventh at Donnington Park.

Previously, in 2015 she won the British GT4 championship and also became the youngest-ever winner of a 24 hour race, winning the Dunlop Britcar 24-Hour race at Silverstone. She isn't backed by family money and really needs to win the Formula 3 championship to be looked at by an F1 team (so not this year them), but its good to see her doing so well, but one race win does not a champion make.

 

[Limejuice]

There's definitely a shortage of Union Jack drivers in F1, considering how much of the engineering happens in the UK.

Good luck, Chadders!

 

[1%er]

What next for Force India?
If rumors are to be believed, FRP Advisory LLP the administrators for Force India, set today, Monday 6th August as the target deadline for interested parties to submit a bid. Things are expected to move quickly as running cost and debts are growing and these will have to be covered by any potential buyer. Any new buyer will need to convince the administrators (and Mercedes) that it is a credible option, and how they intend to pay the debt and finance both the deal and the teams future cost.

Mercedes are surely going to want any buyer to pay off their engine supply debt, if the new owners want a continued supply of power-units. Any offers to take on parts of Force India's debts, which are not insignificant, as there are multiple creditors who must be treated fairly according to law. So a large cash offer is likely to be looked at first.

It should also be remembered that Force India is owed a considerable amount from F1 for its results over the past two seasons. Looking at the charts of payments to teams from F1, this could be well in excess of $70million. But and it is a big but, F1 rules state that if a team goes into administration any new buyer is considered a "new entity". So it can only obtain the commercial rights accrued by the original team if all other entrants agree. The teams slice of the commercial rights money pie is ring-fenced, which means any money meant for Force India would be split among the teams and not just revert to Liberty media, so the teams have a real financial interest, it isn't just a rubber stamping exercise.

It is rumored that McLaren, Renault and Williams have presented Liberty Media with a stumbling block to this in a bid to make a point to F1 bosses about what they perceive to be the increasing political power of Mercedes and Ferrari. So any new buyer isn't going to be sure if they will receive Force India's money from Liberty, although I'm sure they will want some form of undertaking before just signing on the bottom line. if the administrator proceeds with a bid, securing consent for Force India to keep its eligibility for prize money, as well as approval from Mercedes to transfer the engine contract to the new company, and drawing up a sale contract will be the next courses of action.

 

[Limejuice]

It should also be remembered that Force India is owed a considerable amount from F1 for its results over the past two seasons. Looking at the charts of payments to teams from F1, this could be well in excess of $70million. But and it is a big but, F1 rules state that if a team goes into administration any new buyer is considered a "new entity". So it can only obtain the commercial rights accrued by the original team if all other entrants agree.

Hmm.



If prize money has been won or earned by Force India, but not yet paid (or hasn't yet become payable), it is still an asset of that business. Basically it's a debt owed to Force India. The team's accounts will show the prize money as an asset. It's a basic principal of law and accounting that transcends F1's rules. F1 can issue all the rules it likes, it can even force competitors to sign their agreement, it matters not one tuppenny fuck in court.

The administrator has a legal obligation to collect debts and distribute assets to creditors. If F1 decides to renege on its debt (and that in legal terms would be the situation here, even if it's other teams withholding consent), the administrator will have no choice but to begin proceedings to recover the debt from Liberty.

If Liberty pleads: "our hands are tied, the teams control the pot...", a court will cut them short: "You owe this company in administration £70m, pay £70 to the administrator. Your prize-pot rules and arrangements with other teams aren't relevant here."

Accordingly any buyer would need to get assurances from Liberty that it will be treated as a continuing team, not a new entity, and that the prize money will be paid when due. If Mercedes wants to get paid, it will need to come up with a continuing engine supply deal. No engines = no continuing team = pissing about with prize money = Mercedes whistles for its unpaid invoices.

If Renault, McLaren and Williams meddle in what is, so far, a relatively simple legal situation, they'll get nowhere in terms of grabbing Force India's prize money. Liberty will have to pay the administrator, and I can't see it leaving a spare £70 in the pot. The meddlers will, however, piss off a number of commercial interests, notably suppliers. F1's cash-flow depends on a lot of plates spinning at the same time. As I understand it, Williams in particular is in a shaky financial situation and needs all the understanding from suppliers it can get.

Still, what do I know?

 

[Badgers]

Am hearing that Force India are out of the mire

 

[Ax^]

Daddy millions to the rescue

 

[Badgers]

 

[Ax^]

hmm so Ocon to Williams who want more purity with Merc

 

[1%er]

Hmm.



If prize money has been won or earned by Force India, but not yet paid (or hasn't yet become payable), it is still an asset of that business. Basically it's a debt owed to Force India. The team's accounts will show the prize money as an asset. It's a basic principal of law and accounting that transcends F1's rules. F1 can issue all the rules it likes, it can even force competitors to sign their agreement, it matters not one tuppenny fuck in court.

The administrator has a legal obligation to collect debts and distribute assets to creditors. If F1 decides to renege on its debt (and that in legal terms would be the situation here, even if it's other teams withholding consent), the administrator will have no choice but to begin proceedings to recover the debt from Liberty.

If Liberty pleads: "our hands are tied, the teams control the pot...", a court will cut them short: "You owe this company in administration £70m, pay £70 to the administrator. Your prize-pot rules and arrangements with other teams aren't relevant here."

Accordingly any buyer would need to get assurances from Liberty that it will be treated as a continuing team, not a new entity, and that the prize money will be paid when due. If Mercedes wants to get paid, it will need to come up with a continuing engine supply deal. No engines = no continuing team = pissing about with prize money = Mercedes whistles for its unpaid invoices.

If Renault, McLaren and Williams meddle in what is, so far, a relatively simple legal situation, they'll get nowhere in terms of grabbing Force India's prize money. Liberty will have to pay the administrator, and I can't see it leaving a spare £70 in the pot. The meddlers will, however, piss off a number of commercial interests, notably suppliers. F1's cash-flow depends on a lot of plates spinning at the same time. As I understand it, Williams in particular is in a shaky financial situation and needs all the understanding from suppliers it can get.

Still, what do I know?

I think we maybe talking about different money, rereading my original post I think I could have explained it better, I'll try to explain it better below.

I think the rules about a team going into administration is linked the fact that payments to teams are also based on there last 2 or 3 seasons position in the constructors championship. So if Force India doesn't finish this season, the count-back will only be from their finishing position last season and not this season, to qualify for any payments a team must finish the season. Any new team would not qualify for column 2 and column 3 payments until they had finished their 2nd or 3rd seasons.

So some money maybe owed to Forced India because of where they finished in 2016 and 17 (column 2 and column 3 payments) but that money will now not be triggered as they haven't finished this season, Liberty Media gave them a big loan to keep them going earlier this season, as mentioned in a previous post.

Force India 1.0 (Vijay Mallya's team) no longer exists as a team and will not finish the season so will not trigger those payments. Force India 2.0 (the new Stroll consortium) is considered a brand new team as of today so also will not qualify for those payments. So the money "owed" to force India for where they finished in 2016/17 will not get triggered, so isn't really owed (if that makes sense).

Any "new entity" can not buy the old teams "commercial rights accrued" by the original team unless all the other teams agree (which seems to make commercial sense to me). So while the new consortium has brought Force India they haven't brought the points they have scored so far this season or any money accrued from those points, as yet. For the new owners to be granted the "commercial rights accrued" they will need to get the agreement of all the other teams on the grid.

So if the teams don't agree, no money will be paid to Force India 1.0 for this season as they didn't complete it. If the teams do agree, despite the new owners being a new entity (Force India 2.0) they will be paid for this season and also for the count-back. Also the new owners would have to wait 2 or 3 years for any payments from column 2 and column 3 in the F1 payment method, which is why it is important for them to ensure they get the agreement of all the other teams

I understand it is a complicated situation, but F1's payment system and rules are complicated. The teams sign up to the rules and live and die by them.

 

[1%er]

Am hearing that Force India are out of the mire

Yes the team has been brought by group of investors including Lawrence Stroll his business partner Silas Chou, Canadian businessman Andre Desmarais, Jonathan Dudman of management advisory firm Monaco Sports and Management, chairman of Michael Kors fashion brand John Idol, telecommunications investor John McCaw Jnr and Engel & Völkers vice chairman Michael de Picciotto.

This is great news for the over 400 people employed by the team, as the last couple of teams that went into administration just disappeared with no jobs saved.

It is inconceivable that Lance Stroll will not now move to Force India or whatever they decide to call it, so we will have an opening at Williams.

 

[1%er]

Limejuice I'm glad you liked my response to your above in post 1151, I wrote it last night after caming back from the bar. Reading it back I learnt something, don't write posts about what is probably the most complex payment system for any sport when you have had a drink. But you seem to have understood it so I'm glad about that

Badgers Do you ever sleep? I ask as you appear to have liked my above post in the middle of the night UK time

 

[1%er]

Who has brought Force India
Well I'm sure F1 fans know who Lawrence Stroll is, but what about the others investors in Force India.

Andre Desmarais (Canada): The Desmarais family is the seventh-wealthiest in the country, according to the Canadian Business website listing, which also logs Stroll at number 55. The family company, Power Corporation, was built up by the late Paul Desmarais. Andre, who is his younger son, is the deputy chairman, president and co-CEO. The company is mainly involved in financial services, but has interests in communications and energy, and has small holdings in companies as diverse as Adidas, Total and Pernod Ricard. It is known for its strong political links. Indeed, Andre’s wife France is the daughter of Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003, having previously served on Power’s board.

Jonathan Dudman (Great Britain): Dudman is the head of Monaco Sports and Management, a company that describes itself as “a management advisory firm that typically serves high-net-worth clients and their families.” MSM began life in Monaco as part of IMG, and acquired its current identity in 2010. Dudman works with many celebrities and sportsmen, essentially looking after their financial and legal interests, and Stroll is a long-time client. Among his motor racing connections, he was previously a director of Jody Scheckter’s Laverstoke Farm business.

John Idol (USA): Idol joined Polo Ralph Lauren in 1984, becoming group president and divisional COO. He was chosen as CEO of Donna Karan in 1997, taking over from the founder. He left after a merger with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton in 2001. He then became a co-owner and CEO of fashion brand Michael Kors since 2003, subsequently working closely with Stroll as they built up the company. Among his high profile moves was the acquisition of shoe brand Jimmy Choo. In 2016-’17 Michael Kors was a sponsor of McLaren.

John McCaw Jr (USA): McCaw is the third-oldest of four brothers who made their fortunes in telecommunications, having sold the McCaw Cellular concern built by their father John to AT&T for $12.6bn in 1994. Oldest brother Bruce has strong motorsport connections, he owned the PacWest Champ Car team, which operated from 1993 to 2002 and employed the likes of Mauricio Gugelmin, Mark Blundell and Scott Dixon. John Jr has focused on other sports, and was previously a part owner of the Vancouver Canucks (NHL), the Vancouver Grizzlies (NBA) and the Seattle Mariners (MLB). However, like brothers Bruce and Craig, he too has a fascination with classic cars, and has an incredible collection that includes a Ferrari 250GTO.

Michael de Picciotto (Switzerland): Picciotto was previously senior managing director of Geneva-based Union Bancaire Privée, founded by his uncle Edgar. He left that role in 2016 to become vice chairman of the supervisory board of Hamburg-based Engel & Völkers, which is basically an upscale real estate agent dealing in top-of-the-range properties worldwide, as well as yachts and planes. The company says that de Picciotto has "a well established reputation as a creative and experienced banker, familiar with the contingencies and challenges of the contemporary financial world".

Silas Chou (Hong Kong): From a wealthy Hong Kong family with extensive interests in textiles, the 72-year-old Chou has been a close associate of Stroll for three decades, focusing on the Far East-based manufacturing side of various fashion businesses. Together they built Tommy Hilfiger into a global brand, with Chou serving as chairman, and subsequently did the same with Michael Kors, with help from John Idol. Chou has also been involved with the likes of Karl Lagerfeld, Pepe Jeans and Esprit.

So there appears to be lots of money available from the investors and this is clearly a good thing for Force India, it means they can develop the car this season and move up in the constructors championship. they are currently are in 6th place (59 points) behind both Renault (82 points) and Haas (66 points) and only 7 points ahead of McLaren.

Verstappen has not vetoed Sainz apparently
I guess time will tell if this is the case, but according to Helmut Marko reports in the press of such a veto are not true, he is quoted as saying "Now we will have to think about who will be Max’s teammate. The rumors that point to the veto of Verstappen of Sainz, are bullshit. Red Bull is the only one that decides on its driver pairing"

However, reports are still doing the rounds that Red Bull would want to avoid pairing the two who endured a fractious relationship when they shared a garage with Toro Rosso. Toro Rosso team chief Franz Tost, who managed the pair during their time at Toro Rosso rates Sainz highly, “Carlos has a speed similar or equal to Max” he claims.

Is Mansour Ojjeh pulling his investment in McLaren
Long time shareholder Mansour Ojjeh has stepped down as a director of a number of McLaren companies. The Independent newspaper reported this story last week claiming that Ojjeh had stepped down in July, but they have since withdrawn the story. But filings at the UK's companies house confirmed that Ojjeh ceased being a McLaren director of three companies including McLaren Racing on July 26, but appears to still be a director of the McLaren Group. I wonder what's going on there

 

[Badgers]

Good to have you back 1%er

 

[Badgers]

Badgers Do you ever sleep? I ask as you appear to have liked my above post in the middle of the night UK time

I do keep unusual hours back in the rat race again so less so

 

[1%er]

F1 statement about Miami race
From Sean Bratches, Managing Director of Commercial Operations at Formula 1

“In the last few months we have worked diligently alongside our promoter Stephen Ross of RSE Ventures, the City of Miami and Miami Dade County, to realise our ambition to bring a Formula 1 Grand Prix to Miami, and we have made significant progress: however, these are complicated negotiations. Whilst our preference would have been to race in Miami in 2019, there was always a point by which delivering the best possible wheel-to-wheel racing experience for our fans, drivers and teams wouldn’t be possible in the time available. We have now reached that point as far as racing in Miami in 2019 is concerned. However, we are taking a long-term view and as a result, we have decided, in consultation with the Miami authorities, to postpone sign-off until later in the summer, with the aim of running the first Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix in the 2020 season. We have always said that we wouldn’t compromise on delivering the best possible race, for the people of Miami, our fans and the 1.8 billion people who watch F1 globally every year, and if that meant waiting until 2020, then that was far more preferable than signing off on a sub-optimal race track, just to do a deal. At every stage of this process we’ve enjoyed positive collaboration and co-operation with the City of Miami, Miami-Dade County, Port of Miami, Bayfront Parks Management, residents and businesses. As a result of these discussions, we have listened and adapted our plans, including elements of the track layout. We are committed to expansion in the US and to Miami in particular and we will be bringing our fantastic sport to this iconic city in October with the Formula 1 fan festival, where we look forward to engaging and exciting fans”.

Are Sauber about to flex their mussels
The Swiss outfit changed owners in 2016 after years of struggling. By the end of 2017, it signed new agreements with Ferrari for the latest engine and through that connection, got Alfa Romeo as its title sponsor. After securing the financial backing, the outfit wants to grow in size and improve its position on the track.

In an interview the teams new technical director Simone Resta, who joined from Ferrari in July claims the Sauber will grow its staff by around 30%. Although Sauber is still at the ninth place in the constructors standings, it has scored more points this season than the last two seasons combined. It looks like they have some ambitious plans.

“Currently, in terms of size of the team and number of employees, we are over 400 and we the plan is to increase it by a third. We need to keep growing to increase and also with more manpower" Resta has told reporters. he went on to say “Without a doubt, we are not where we want to be, so we need to improve and we need to change things. It is a bit early to pinpoint the exact areas we need to work on, but as it has been [four] weeks [since he joined the team], it will be not fair to understand all the areas we need to modify. But without a doubt, we need to change things and improve. Every place is different, and every place needs something different and I hope with my experience I can contribute to the team and I am still learning the environment, the colleagues and the processes. I’ve been there a very short time. Nevertheless, I am applying to do my best, to look forward and go forward with the team. The objectives are challenging as you would always like to be a points finisher and to do another step compared to so far this year. Now we are stable in the midfield”.

A rather good podcast
I don't usually bother posting podcasts, but I was listening to this one on the way to the airport last night and it was rather good I thought. Christian Horner was frank and to the point and answered questions well. It covers the Honey Badger and why Alonso is unlikely to every join Red Bull, also his life in racing, how he came to be boss at Red Bull and other interesting information. Well worth a listen in my view, podcast at Formula1.com

 

[1%er]

Unforeseen consequences
I was talking to a friend yesterday about Lawrence Stroll taking over Force India and how it may effect Williams. It is clear that Williams are struggling not only on the track but also with their finances. While the team did make a profit in 2017 it was down on 2016 and has invested less in its cars this season. It isn't really clear how much of their profit came from the F1 team or Williams Advanced Engineering.

Martini are pulling out as their title sponsor at the end of this season and it looks highly likely Lance Stroll will also leave at the end of the season. Lance leaving will be a double big hit for Williams, as not only does he bring a lot of sponsorship to the team himself, his father buys millions of Dollars worth of sponsorship space on the car which he then resells to recover some of his investment (which is why his son is racing in the team).

While these figures are a bit of a guess, they are based on cost I've seen for sponsorship attached to F1 cars over the last couple of years. I believe that Martini will be paying Williams around $40million a year as title sponsor (Williams were much higher up in the constructors championship when this deal was done), Lance will bring in around $15million and I believe his dad brought (and resold) about $80million of sponsorship space over a 3 year period to ensure his son a seat. Sergey Sirotkin is believed to be bringing $22million from his sponsors and backers.

Can the team really survive such a big hit, Their value to sponsors has also reduced massively, they are currently the bottom of the constructors championship and payments from sponsors is based on TV coverage and teams running at the back don't get seen much during the race, except when they are being lapped.

Unless F1 brings in a pay-cap with the new Concored agreement I can't see Williams surviving past 2021, if they can manage to last the next 2 years. It should also be remembered that Williams F1 are a Stock market listed company, they are listed on the German Stock exchange. About 25% of the company shares are listed and if they finish last in the constructors championship the value of the company will drop significantly which will also effect continued existence.

I hope I am wrong as I have a soft spot Williams, one of the only real independent teams left on the grid, teams like Sauber and Haas are really customer teams as many of the parts of their cars are supplied by their engine supplier, not just the power unit.

 

[1%er]

Has Kimi really signed a 2 year deal with Ferrari
News around the F1 world is that Kimi Raikkonen has signed a two year extension to his current contract with Ferrari, apparently a senior member of staff at Maranello was overheard claiming that the deal has been done and it will be announced over the Italian grand prix weekend. It is claimed that the source heard most of the conversation, in which the Ferrari staff member said it was a 2 year year deal with a one year break clause and had been decided on because of the sudden death of Sergio Marchionne. Ferrari want to keep some stability for next season so the new Ferrari boss can concentrate on other areas of the company first. It was Marchionne who was pushing for Charles Leclerc while other members of the Ferrari hierarchy thought he was to young and inexperienced and wanted Kimi to remain in place.

This all seems very logical and would take Ferrari to the end of the current Concorde agreement, it will also keep their number one driver settled. Vettel has made no secret of wanting to keep Kimi around saying he is the best team mate he has ever had, while also claiming Leclerc is too young and inexperienced to be promoted to Ferrari.

OK I except the rumor as appearing to have some logic behind it, Kimi is doing OK for someone who is clearly the teams number two and after the death of Sergio Marchionne, I can see why the team wants Stability, but could it also be a publicity stunt?

Kimi has a book coming out later this week called Tuntematon Kimi Raikkonen (translaters as Unknowen Kimi Raikkonen), written by the respected Finnish author and ex-journalist Kari Hotakainen. The book available in Finnish and Swedish for now, due for release on August 16 but will surely be translated and available in other languages soon as Kimi is arguably the most popular driver of his era.

I think it is likely that Ferrari will keep Kimi for at least another year, I can't see anyone who is available with the speed Kimi is showing at the moment, so why change him, that is if he himself wants to stay and I believe he does.

Drop in viewer figures down to Pay-per-view claims Liberty Media
Apparently the viewer figures are down 4% since Liberty Media took over the sport, I guess they can blame Bernie for that, as he was behind the move to pay-per-view. But Chase Carey believes the figures are not that bad, he said "The drop is largely due to our move from free-to-pay television in Italy. Excluding Italy our television viewership is up three per cent year-on-year, and our Saturday viewership for qualifying is up even more".

A change of broadcasters in the United States seems to have had a positive effect on the sports popularity there. Viewing figures in China are also up. And live race attendance has also been boosted in the last 12 months, Carey said.

Looking at the attendance figures for this year at the two tracks we did not have in 2017, which are France and Germany, appear to be well in excess of expectations, in Germany, the promoter even had to build new grandstands to meet demand. The sport's revenues are down $28m this year (but it is believed that is mainly down to the well attended Russian Grand Prix being held later in the season.

Carey then listed some stats from an F1 opinion poll, which say "44 per cent of our average fans are more interested in the 2018 season than they were in 2017 versus only seven per cent a year ago, 66 per cent of fans believe F1 has improved versus two years ago, just 15 per cent say it’s worse and 67 per cent of fans say F1 is in good hands with Liberty, while 10 per cent disagree".

 

[1%er]

Fernando Alonso will retire at the end of the season
Alonso, 37, was known to be considering his future in F1 amid growing disillusionment with the sport, with the Spaniard being linked with a possible move into the IndyCar Series for next year. He has two F1 titles to his name and has finished runner-up on three occasions. He leaves F1 with 32 grand prix victories to his name as well as 97 podium finishes.

In a Statement released earlier today Alonso said "After 17 wonderful years in this amazing sport, it's time for me to make a change and move on. I have enjoyed every single minute of those incredible seasons and I cannot thank enough the people who have contributed to make them all so special. There are still several grands prix to go this season, and I will take part in them with more commitment and passion than ever. Let's see what the future brings; new exciting challenges are around the corner. I'm having one of the happiest times ever in my life but I need to go on exploring new adventures.I want to thank everyone at McLaren. My heart is with the team forever. I know they will come back stronger and better in the future and it could be the right moment for me to be back in the series; that would make me really happy. I have built so many great relationships with many fantastic people at McLaren, and they have given me the opportunity to broaden my horizons and race in other categories. I feel I am a more complete driver now than ever. I made this decision some months ago and it was a firm one. Nevertheless, I would like to sincerely thank Chase Carey and Liberty Media for the efforts made to change my mind and everyone who has contacted me during this time. Finally, I would also like to thank my former teams, team-mates, competitors, colleagues, partners, journalists and everyone I have worked with in my F1 career. And, especially, my fans all over the world. I am quite sure our paths will cross again in the future."

Alonso made his F1 debut in 2001 with Minardi before moving into a Renault race seat for the 2003 season, becoming the youngest race winner in F1 history that year. He went on to claim back-to-back world titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006 before a one-year stint at McLaren, with a return to Renault following until the end of 2009. Alonso raced with Ferrari between 2010 and 2014 before moving to McLaren for a second stint, only for the team's struggles to leave him unable to fight at the front of the grid.

Alonso's interest in emulating Graham Hill and becoming only the second driver in history to win the 'triple crown of motorsport' led him to make his Indianapolis 500 debut last year, where he qualified fifth and leading early on before retiring due to an engine issue. He won on debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year with Toyota, leaving the Indy 500 as the only leg of the triple crown he is yet to win.

 

[Ax^]

have to say it a shame he did not get one last go with a decent car

but as Massa stated today that might be down to his character in the car

still odd share same birthday with the fella and he is 2 years old than me

make me feel old..

 

[1%er]

Did Charles Leclerc have an agreement to race for Ferrari next season
There is a rumor doing the rounds that Nicolas Todt is apoplectic about news reports claiming that Kimi has re-signed for Ferrari (see post 1159 above). Nicolas Todt, yes the son of the FIA president, runs ARM management the company that also manages Charles Leclerc. It would seem that ARM had reached agreement with Ferrari that Leclerc would race for the team in 2019, but an agreement isn't a contract and it would appear that while contracts had been drawn-up, none had yet been signed.

So what now for Leclerc who appears to be the hottest property on the driver market (if all the hype is to be believed). There is a seat available currently at the 3rd best team, Red Bull. Leclerc is a Ferrari junior driver program prodigy so I don't think Ferrari would allow him to move there (if they have a say). But as both Sauber and Haas are closely linked to Ferrari, maybe a move to Haas wouldn't be out of the question, as there is talk that Romain Grosjean could be on his way out.

In my view, unless a "big" drive come along for Leclerc he will stay at Sauber for the 2019 season as the team has big plans and lots of Ferrari money going their way. If it is true that Kimi has signed again for Ferrari on a 2 year extension, there will for sure be a clause that they can drop him after just one, so a gap could open up before 2021.

 

[1%er]

have to say it a shame he did not get one last go with a decent car

but as Massa stated today that might be down to his character in the car

still odd share same birthday with the fella and he is 2 years old than me

make me feel old..

Ax^ Well start planning your retirement, you may only have 2 years in which to do it

 

[yardbird]

Alonso was fed up with all the F1 shenanigans.
Things that were nothing to do with the driver placing them at the rear of the grid for a gearbox change etc.
Sod all this, I'm going to play Indy racing.
I don't blame him.

 

[Ax^]

His Career has been about working himself into this position.

still a shame a great racer is lost to more and more pay drivers

Stroll next year and no Alonso

Says a lot about the state of F1

 

[1%er]

What now for the drivers market
My predictions
With Daniel Ricciardo moving to Renault I think his seat will be taken by Pierre Gasly. I don't think Red Bull will want to pair Max Verstappen with Carlos Sainz.

While we only heard about Fernando Alonso yesterday, the team will have known for some time, which is why they were courting Daniel Ricciardo. If as I said above Gasly will move to Red Bull, then it seems clear that Carlos Sainz will replace Alonso at McLaren. I think Stoffel Vandoorne will remain at McLaren, if not then his seat is likely to be taken by Lando Norris (if that is the case then the next paragraph is bullshit )

[Not 100% sure of this one as it depends on a few things happening, including Stoffel Vandoorne staying at McLaren] If Gasly does move to Red Bull that will leave a place free at Toro Rosso. Looking at Red Bulls junior driver program there doesn't seem to be anyone who can step-up at the moment. None of their junior drivers holds an f1 super license. But there is a drive who needs a place on the grid and a senior member of Staff leaving Toro Rosso and moving to McLaren, but can't take up his position for a while and is on gardening leave. The young McLaren driver Lando Norris could be placed on loan to Toro Rosso and in exchange Toro Rosso could allow their chief designer James Key to move to McLaren without having to take gardening leave. It seems to make sense as McLaren would love to get Norris some in-car time, so he is ready to replace Stoffel Vandoorne in the near future and McLaren need some new input into their 2019 car design. Also Toro Rosso wanted to replace Hartley with Norris just a couple of months ago but McLaren blocked that move, but now Toro rosso have some bargaining power with James Key, so it may well happen.

Then we come to Lance Stroll, surely he is going to move to the new Force India team, which means one of their drivers will loose their seat. Will it be Sergio Perez or Esteban Ocon, whoever it is it will be seen as a backwards move. There is always an outside chance that drive could go to Robert Kubica, but in the end I think it will go to Esteban Ocon. Ocon is part of the Mercedes driver development program and Williams are tied to Mercedes via their engine contract. It may not be what Ocon wants but if his seat at Force India isn't available then the Williams is really his only option for 2019.

Behind the scenes of Force India administration
Some interesting information is leaking out about what happened at Force India just before they went into administration. It appears that one of its backers filed a legal procedure in the London court to wind up the whole team. I can only surmise that is the Mol family (as they are still part owners but no longer directors, there are a numbers of other directors but I'm not sure they hold shares in the company), as it wasn't Vijay Mallya and I don't think Subrata Roy could did it from his jail cell as he appears to be unable to stop the board of the Sahara Group selling every asset they can, against his will.

Sergio Perez is now saying he was asked by senior team member to launch a legal action against his own team because they believed it was the only way to save the company from being wound-up. The team founder Vijay Mallya was seemingly furious by that move but the team management claim they had no other option.

It seems that the Lawrence Stroll consortium has agreed to pay Sergio Perez, Mercedes and all other creditors in full, all 405 jobs at the team have been saved and ongoing funding has been guaranteed to carry on with the car development program it had to abandon prior to the takeover. Chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer confirmed that the development was continued, but because of the summer shutdown, the upgrades might only arrive for the Italian Grand Prix.

So Sergio Perez may now been seen as the saviour of the team rather than the villain, which can surely only help him keep his seat over Ocon.

 

[Badgers]

McLaren: Carlos Sainz to replace Fernando Alonso from 2019 - McLaren: Carlos Sainz to replace Fernando Alonso from 2019

 

[1%er]

McLaren: Carlos Sainz to replace Fernando Alonso from 2019 - McLaren: Carlos Sainz to replace Fernando Alonso from 2019

That's part one of my prediction above right, it also seems that Perez is about to sign a new contract with Force India, talking of Force India I mentioned above that I think Ocon will move to Williams, but it seems that he has been seen talking to McLaren Is Stoffel Vandoorne on the move

Ocon is an interesting piece of the jig-saw, he is heavily backed by Mercedes and was on course for the seat at Renault until Danny Ric signed the contract. If news reports are to be believed, as soon as Force India went into administration Toto was on the phone to McLaren asking them if they would take Ocon for the rest of the season if Force India didn't find a buyer. Before Danny Ric's move it seems there was an agreement in place that Ocon would be a Renault driver in 2019, replacing Sainz.

Things could get really complicated if Force India pay Williams compensation and transfer Lance Stroll to the team before Spa, what then for Ocon? Could Stroll swap with Ocon or would Williams put Robert Kubica in the car. Speaking to the French press Ocon seem very relaxed about his future saying "My future will be sorted out soon, I’m not worried at all. Mercedes is doing a great job with my management since I joined them. They always put me in the best sporting position for me. I don’t have to be worried, it’s all going to be okay. If I stay here or go somewhere else, I don’t know. But I will have a great position for sure next year. The [Mercedes] bosses have plans for me that are ‘not yet’, it’s not the plan for now. I think they want me to have more experience before I jump in that car. I knew that already. I have targets I have to respect. At the moment they are happy with the job I’m doing. It’s just a matter of time, I think”.

 

[1%er]

Rumors abound during sully season
According to a friend in the USA, Haas will be signing Charles Leclerc for 2019 and he will stay there until 2021 or unless Kimi leaves Ferrari before then. ESPN's F1 commentator claims he will be replacing Romain Grosjean. He went on to say that the team blames Grosjean for them being behind Renault, because of his mistakes during the first half of the season. Leclerc currently at Ferrari back Sauber only has one other Ferrari backed team he can move to if Ferrari re-sign Kimi and that is Haas.

I'm sure the driver market will be covered over the Spa weekend, but I believe we will see a number of driver changes before the season is over.

Interview with Damon Hill at Formula1.com talking about his first win 25 years ago in Hungary .