It's obviously a boost for him funding wise, but it's hard to see how this is going to materialise into a race seat. Mercedes are full, they don't have a junior team, or anywhere they can place young drivers, and they still have Wehrlein in reserve. The only thing in his favour is that he still has time, he's probably targeting a seat in three years time if he's being realistic, racing GP3 this season and maybe two in GP2 before moving up. It will be interesting to see how he matches up to Kirchoffer this season.
I see Wolffe is whining again, I love the way the BBC totally ignores that 20% of the team principles, including her boss, are women. It even seems to try and make Claire Williams look sexist for not putting her in the seat for Australia.
As the article says, she hasn't raced single seaters in a decade, and hasn't raced at all in several years. Her racecraft is bound to be very rusty, and she'd be a liability if chucked into a race. There's also no precedent as far as I'm aware for changing a driver after qualifying, never mind one without a license to race. The fact they're presumably having to pay Sutil something, it's surprising that they haven't felt the need to amalgamate the testing and reserve roles into a single person. With Susie badmouthing the team like this, her feedback when testing must be incredible for her position to make sense.
Valtteri Bottas has rubbished claims he has signed a pre-contract agreement with Ferrari for 2016 – but confirmed his current deal with Williams expires at the end of this year.
He has had very inconsistent periods in the past. Maybe it' something about Finn's which means they lose interest every so often!?
That might not be may off the mark. Kimi himself is sounding very out of touch on the team radio, Alonso was like that when he knew his time at Ferrari was nearly up...
I do rate Bottas but there would be a certain irony if Ferrari signed a driver being equalled by one they let go.
Hamilton has been attending the Vettel/Kimi school of answering reporters. Surely his has plenty of more months to drag on? Lewis Hamilton appears poised to finally confirm his long-term Formula 1 future with Mercedes, with an announcement now expected over the course of the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. After stating in Malaysia the new deal was "99.6 per cent done", the reigning champion's failure to put pen to paper in recent weeks sparked feverish speculation. There have been rumours of a fall-out with Mercedes over money, and even a suggestion the 30-year-old could join Ferrari next year with his current Mercedes contract expiring at the end of this season. Dismissing the claim of a deadlock with Mercedes, Hamilton told the British press: "That is not the case. It is utter bullshit, basically. "All stories that have come out about money are generally bullshit." Asked when matters would be finalised, Hamilton replied: "You'll see it in Monaco - I will have some news for you in Monaco." If that is the case it will provide a good story for Hamilton ahead of a race he is again desperate to win after failing to beat team-mate Nico Rosberg for the past two years. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118925
"You'll see it in Monaco. I'll have some news for you in Monaco." Reminds me of McLaren with their title sponsor.
Good news for all the lovers of female drivers on here, Danica Patrick is being considered for a Haas drive next year. http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/118954 How does her record fit in with the new super licence criteria? She does have Indycar and Indy Lights wins to her name, but no championship as far as I am aware.
The second bit of your statement is probably what Haas are after! What is this, the General Chat forum!? But having done some considerable research, in my own time I would add, yes she is.
It would be great to get a women to drive on merit, and I think Danica does have good experience. Having women in F1 must have some great marketing opportunities. Just need to encourage them in the lower formulas and start at young age. Statistically their must be women out there that are as capable as the men. Just think about the potential weight saving alone. Over the last few years drivers weight has become very important. Hope we do get some women on the grid.