Autosport reporting that Williams are taking up their option on Bottas for 2015 and confirmation that Massa has a Williams drive for next year aswell.
Not surprising. After so long in the wilderness Williams probably don't have the salary clout to make moves for any of the big players (Vettel, Alonso) and some continuity will help them. I can't help but feel Massa's days are numbered though.
If Mclaren are now not getting Bottas. Button Retires and Vettel and Alonso cant be tempted out of their existing contracts... Then Grosjean it is!
If Alonso or Vettel turn Mclaren down, assuming that them coming is a possibility in the first place, then I highly doubt Button will retire. As has been pointed out on the BBC he's still out-pointing Magnussen on a regular basis and at his age there's hardly any big pay-days in other sports unless he fancies a crack at cracking the States. In the unlikely event that specific set of circumstances does occur, Grosjean is an impossibility because he's associated with Total and Mobil are one of Mclaren's biggest and longest-running sponsor deals. It would probably be between Hulkenberg and Sutil, with the slightest possibility of Raikkonen coming back into the fold.
Batman would serve them better, then they can rid of The Joker who's in charge of engine development.
So Erm.... Verstappen crashes his Toro rosso on day 1.....awkward Almost Crashed doing a doughnut then when the marshalls free'd him.... He crashed again. Very awkward Edit. Found a video. [video=youtube_share;HYlBeawGn6s]http://youtu.be/HYlBeawGn6s[/video]
.......awkward Could be worse, could have done a Maldonado and totalled the car whilst on a demonstrating run
I wonder how many times between now and the end of the season we'll hear commentators discussing Max without mentioning either superlicences or Yuji Ide. Oh deary me, that is not a good reference for your future employers. For added fun, that's apparently an RB8 decked out in Toro Rosso livery, for double embarassment/financial pain!
Poor kid. That looked like a classic case of nerves, especially the second part. – Not the best way to impress one's sponsors…
If you think today was all about football transfers then think again. Today could well be a pivotal day for Alonso's contract.. http://www.f1today.net/en/news/ferrari-exit-clause-could-open-for-alonso-on-monday? Interesting note at the bottom though: uh oh McLaren
McLaren have struggled with the best engine but I have vague hope that they'll somehow do a better job with a engine specifically built for their car.
This is what made me sceptical of the Mclaren/Honda deal all along. The extra year to get to grips with the regulations is all very well but Mclaren did well last time that happened because they developed a good car over the course of the season. All that gets thrown out the window when they have to try and fit in the new engine, they can't afford to develop too much this season as a result, and given that their problems are aerodynamic and not engine-related, adding in engine-related woes seems like a fast-track to the back of the grid.
