TBK-Light.com

It might make Williams more amenable towards letting Bottas go (if indeed they actually have any say in the matter - Bottas' contract is believed to have a clause in it that allows him to go to Mercedes or Ferrari for no compensation).

But Toto doesn't want to leave them in a situation where they've got one rookie and one driver who is completely new to the team 2 months before testing.

The Lowe situation is entirely on Mercedes. They can't even enforce gardening leave as his contract ends on the 31st anyway.

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Dan Wheldon ¦ 1978-2011
Marco Simoncelli ¦ 1987-2011
Jules Bianchi ¦ 1989-2015
Justin Wilson ¦ 1978-2015

Yeah, I know he's mad and I don't care. I do not care. I did not care then. I do not care now. I'm here to race him.

Williams will suck next year anyway, and I see them fighting for the 10th or 11th place at maximum. Such a miserable season would be more damaging for Bottas's career than rookie's or newcomer's. Being Valtteri's manager I find it odd that Toto doesn't realize this danger, but instead puts the team's future ahead of the driver's future....well, come to think of it, after the case of Hamilton at Abu Dhabi, that makes sense.

It has to be Bottas now that Williams is getting Lowe. A discount for engines and Wehrlein for the other seat should be enough for Williams to let Valtteri go and leave everyone happy.

If Bottas can't move it will be just like what JJ already said, destructive season for Bottas' career and Williams is still being shit. That would leave Bottas to extend his Williams contract for 2018 and then he would be like Massa for Stroll. The big money will start to play a role in Stroll's second season for sure. In this scenario for 2018 Williams can only be attractive for drivers who are ending their careers and can't go higher team. And after a damaging season with Williams, Bottas might have it as an only opportunity. Williams is not a bad team, but big factories will get ahead of them by then. Williams has already dropped from 2nd best team to 5th in less than 1,5 seasons. That tells a lot. Renault and McLaren should pass them, Toro Rosso too, with better engines next season. Haas can't be that far away either. That only leaves Sauber and Manor behind. In 2014 every team except Mercedes was behind, so the trend is alarming.

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"Indy doesn't give you a second chance. You have to earn it."

I think Wehrlein is better than Bottas, just need a bit more experience

Bottas will be the ideal 2nd drivers Mercedes need

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Motorsports trend for 2024: everything is a bad taste joke now

So Benson has written an article this evening.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/38282791

If it is true, the following points can be drawn from it;

-Bottas is Mercedes' first choice.

-There is no clause that allows him to leave for free - Mercedes will have to work out some sort of deal.

-Mercedes' first offer of €10 million + first dibs on Wehrlein was rejected - Williams want an experienced driver alongside Stroll and Wehrlein is not that driver. Nasr is also in the mix if Bottas were to leave.

-This is all completely separate from the Paddy Lowe business.

_________________
Dan Wheldon ¦ 1978-2011
Marco Simoncelli ¦ 1987-2011
Jules Bianchi ¦ 1989-2015
Justin Wilson ¦ 1978-2015

Yeah, I know he's mad and I don't care. I do not care. I did not care then. I do not care now. I'm here to race him.

But there isn't an experienced driver available for cheap unless button or massa decides to postpone their retirement. Maybe Maldonado but he's a risk.

This will be Mercedes' problem everywhere so therefor it's either a very expensive Bottas or wehrlein.

Understatement of the year.

Bottas in the second Mercedes really sounds like an underwhelming experience. I'd rather have a surprise-driver, or some sparkling youngling.

I mean, just put Wehrlein in the seat. At the end of the day, Mercedes needs someone in that cockpit. This whole talk of "deserving" seats really doesn't have its place here, years of slow good work is only one way of deserving a seat, having future potential is another one - up to him to demonstrate that he can live up to it.

Mercedes could bring Massa out of retirement back to Williams paying his wages

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Motorsports trend for 2024: everything is a bad taste joke now

Bottas is a security. Wehrlein isn't. He's potentially great but unexperienced. Of all the top teams only Red Bull has real guts. They put a 17 year old kid in F1 in their 2nd team and promoted him to the main team. If Ferrari or Mercedes signed him and had a team like STR I doubt we'd have Verstappen in F1 by now, let alone in the main team.

Bottas will get them points and probably the occasional win.

http://www.formula1.com/en/video/2016/1 ... eview.html

Haha.
That's much more interesting than the actual season review, I reckon.

Haha, I can't believe they went where they went with some of the jokes

Refreshing. The channel is really getting there, not quite close to Indycar for example but we're getting there!

That's the best thing F1 has produced all year.

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Check out the Touring Car Driver Database! (if you'd be so kind)
Motorsport playlists on YouTube

so when they gonna launch this game to play?

would boost their popularity

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Motorsports trend for 2024: everything is a bad taste joke now

So a return to turbo charged engines and now an 8 bit video. I wish F1 would stop living in the 80's. What's next, Hamilton to get a wet perm and Bernie wearing shoulder pads?

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BTCC Pick Em's Champion 2010
Formula Fun Cup Champion 2013
http://www.the-fastlane.co.uk

Well, now the seat is between Bottas and Wehrlein.

found this on reddit

why do both of those seem like legit possibilities?

That should make next Halloween easy for Max.




It's a bit uncanny.

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"Indy doesn't give you a second chance. You have to earn it."