Fernando Alonso will continue to race in Formula 1 with Aston Martin next season after the team announced that the two-time world champion has signed a fresh deal to keep him onboard into 2026 and the sport’s next regulatory cycle.
@Pixelemme@saltesc Zhou. But I don’t think SAI will go to Sauber to be in a shit car. He saw what happened to ALO going to McLaren when Honda came back and won’t want to waste his prime years toddling around in the lower midfield.
Here’s a pretty reasonable driver lineup for 2025 with quite a few rookies:
RBR: VER, PER
MER: RUS, SAI
FER: LEC, HAM
AMR: ALO, STR
MCL: NOR, PIA
SAU: HUL, Pourchaire
HAAS: BOT, Bearman
WIL: ALB, Antonelli
RB: TSU, Lawson
ALP: OCO, GAS
Why would Sainz go to Merc and not RBR? Perez is not locked into RBR, I’m sure they would’ve dropped him last year if there was a promising replacement available. This year Sainz is available and he came up in the RB academy and he’s a better driver than Perez. RBR is guaranteed to make him an offer to replace Perez, it simply comes down to whether he wants it or not. If I were to bet I’d bet on Sainz going to RBR.
@GoodEye8 can’t see it happening, not with Perez’s form right now. He’s exactly what they want. RBR don’t want a 1b driver in that second car. They just need someone who can consistently come second and support Verstappen. He’s got his flaws, and 2023 wasn’t a banner year for him, but Verstappen was in a class of his own and didn’t really need the support with how dominant the car was, and he still came second in the championship. He’s the best #2 driver RBR has had since Webber.
If we look at last year Perez’s form was abysmal. He had the best car on the grid by a huge margin and he got on the podium only 9 times out of the 22 races. That’s Lance Stroll levels of bad. This year the car isn’t as strong as it was in 2023 and next year maybe they’re only marginally better. Then you need a stronger second driver to exclude the possibility of repeating 2021, where Max wins the WDC but RBR lose the WCC. His only saving grace for 2024 is that so far he is showing the form he should have (assuming there really was something wrong with the car in Australia), but he needs to keep that form throughout the season and I just don’t see that happening, because he’s never been able to keep that form. He might be good enough for now but when the fight gets competitive he will become the weak link. RBR knows that and there’s no doubt in my mind they’re on the lookout to replace him before he becomes a liability.
Sainz is a clear upgrade and if Sainz is willing to be a #2 driver for RBR then RBR will go with Sainz.
@GoodEye8 I think you just made my other point with your last statement. Why would Sainz want to go to RBR to be a clear #2? Makes no sense for him at this stage of his career. If he’s not #1 at RBR, best go somewhere else to try to compete for wins and a long shot at a championship. At RBR, he won’t get that chance as long as Verstappen is there.
@Pixelemme @saltesc Zhou. But I don’t think SAI will go to Sauber to be in a shit car. He saw what happened to ALO going to McLaren when Honda came back and won’t want to waste his prime years toddling around in the lower midfield.
Here’s a pretty reasonable driver lineup for 2025 with quite a few rookies:
RBR: VER, PER
MER: RUS, SAI
FER: LEC, HAM
AMR: ALO, STR
MCL: NOR, PIA
SAU: HUL, Pourchaire
HAAS: BOT, Bearman
WIL: ALB, Antonelli
RB: TSU, Lawson
ALP: OCO, GAS
Why would Sainz go to Merc and not RBR? Perez is not locked into RBR, I’m sure they would’ve dropped him last year if there was a promising replacement available. This year Sainz is available and he came up in the RB academy and he’s a better driver than Perez. RBR is guaranteed to make him an offer to replace Perez, it simply comes down to whether he wants it or not. If I were to bet I’d bet on Sainz going to RBR.
@GoodEye8 can’t see it happening, not with Perez’s form right now. He’s exactly what they want. RBR don’t want a 1b driver in that second car. They just need someone who can consistently come second and support Verstappen. He’s got his flaws, and 2023 wasn’t a banner year for him, but Verstappen was in a class of his own and didn’t really need the support with how dominant the car was, and he still came second in the championship. He’s the best #2 driver RBR has had since Webber.
If we look at last year Perez’s form was abysmal. He had the best car on the grid by a huge margin and he got on the podium only 9 times out of the 22 races. That’s Lance Stroll levels of bad. This year the car isn’t as strong as it was in 2023 and next year maybe they’re only marginally better. Then you need a stronger second driver to exclude the possibility of repeating 2021, where Max wins the WDC but RBR lose the WCC. His only saving grace for 2024 is that so far he is showing the form he should have (assuming there really was something wrong with the car in Australia), but he needs to keep that form throughout the season and I just don’t see that happening, because he’s never been able to keep that form. He might be good enough for now but when the fight gets competitive he will become the weak link. RBR knows that and there’s no doubt in my mind they’re on the lookout to replace him before he becomes a liability.
Sainz is a clear upgrade and if Sainz is willing to be a #2 driver for RBR then RBR will go with Sainz.
@GoodEye8 I think you just made my other point with your last statement. Why would Sainz want to go to RBR to be a clear #2? Makes no sense for him at this stage of his career. If he’s not #1 at RBR, best go somewhere else to try to compete for wins and a long shot at a championship. At RBR, he won’t get that chance as long as Verstappen is there.