TBK-Light.com

I am also not worried about Red Bull. They could promote Gasly. They could ping Sainz back as he is on a leash until the end of September. Or they could go for someone else - Esteban Ocon deserves a top seat and the door to Renault just closed...

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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.

Sainz and Verstappen didnt really work out all that well last time around and this time Verstappen will be the clear #1.

I do think Verstappen will be at the factory a lot the coming months as the 2019 car will now be 100% build around him.

That is true, Carlos could say no...and go where? McLaren?

He'd be better off in rallying.

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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.

Thats what the rumor mill is saying.

Daniel > Renault
Sainz > McLaren
Gasly > RBR
Norris > STR
Key > McLaren

But the question is, Sainz in place of Vandoorne or more likely Alonso?

Alonso to Red Bull

"Fernando Alonso, for your petulance, your intransigence, and your recalcitrance, I sentence you to a lifetime of driving cars powered by Honda."

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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.

I was just about to say this. Probably not likely, but I would like to see Alonso have one more competitive ride before he retires. I know he's brought a lot of bad luck upon himself, but it's still a shame to see such talent wasted in a poor car.

officially to Renault?

edit: its official: https://www.renaultsport.com/daniel-ric ... 31&lang=en

It makes sense now with the 2 years' length. It keeps him looking shiny persevering with a shitbox in anticipation for 2021 instead of being shaded by Max (either on merit or by design) and left in the cold.

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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.

I know inventing stories of Max favouritism/being threatened by Max is juicy gossip and gets more article clicks, but in the 3 years they've been partnered I haven't seen much evidence (aside from paycheck) of RB prioritising Max, or much indication it's held Dan back - he's beaten Max in the standings every year thus far, and certainly hasn't been shaded by him.

It seems more likely Dan's seen enough of what a Red Bull future running Honda will be like, and good indications Renault may be at the start of ascendancy (they've been hiring the right people lately), to justify his decision. I remember pretty clearly back in 2012 the popular opinion here was Lewis was out of his mind leaving McLaren for Mercedes. That's how picking a team on potential rather than current form can pay off. Judging a team on current form alone without looking to the future is pretty much the story of Alonso's career.

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I think they have been treated equally as well, but maybe Dan believed that Max's new contract (and in particular Horner's comments re: building the team around Max) were a precursor to him being treated more like Webber was. Not a contracted number two and not even subjected to team orders except on a neutral basis that would sometimes benefit him (as Multi 21 should have benefitted Webber), but at the same time not being feted in the same way that Max is.

Unless Renault have been hiding something for a very long time I can't see them getting any closer to Ferrari and Mercedes. They have not had the best engine in F1 for 21 years and they are not making the investment that the other manufacturers are into their engine development (it took them two years to roll out an MGU-K upgrade that then failed on Dan's car), and they're losing a significant revenue stream next year (Red Bull don't just pay for the engines, they also pay for the right to call them Tag Heuer - whilst this payment may be covered directly by the sponsor, it's still money that is currently going to Renault but won't be next year). Where's the improvement coming from?

_________________
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.

I think it is a sensible move by Ricciardo, but it is still frustrating as hell. Ric began the year with Ferrari and Mercedes on sight and ended up with Renault. That's a proper reality check.

With this, I'm afraid we won't see one good prospect but two without a seat. Vandoorne is under threat and now this applies to Ocon too.

There were talks getting Esteban in the Renault, I guess this annoucement makes it less likely ?

We badly need an 11th team. Well, make it 13

Unless he's going to kidnap Hulkenberg and pull a Face\Off on him, there is no chance Ocon will drive the Renault next year.

_________________
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.

Alonso cannot go to Red Bull, I really like to see Honda getting stronger so if he goes there, things will jinx it up

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

All what I've been hearing says "Ricciardo will be Hulkenberg's teammate for 2019" and Hulkenberg himself has already posted a picture of both together. So, no Ocon at Renault.

I think it's clear Red Bull see Daniel as at his peak, whereas Max has more potential for the future

Maybe he's tired of just being a teacher to a future world champion and realises even if Red Bull Honda comes off, it won't be him doing the winning

Also, Horner has been making huge noises about 2019 being an adjustment year (probably trying to quell Honda expectations already) so that probably was enough for Daniel to think "ugh, fuck this, another year behind the pack"

Say what you will about Renault, but they're a manufacturer team and aren't going to go through any massive design changes for 2019 so they have a chance of being there or there abouts with Red bull

OR maybe Daniel realises he is at his peak and it's about damn time he started earning what he's due and took the higher offer.
Wouldn't begrudge him that at all if he did, we all know he's talented and he'll probably want to bank some serious money while he is still able to.

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RIP Birmingham Wheels: here's some of the crash videos I recorded when it was there:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIaKIE ... 5t9d5PvoHA

Twitter:

http://www.twitter.com/paulhadsley

With Horner, Verstappen and Markko making continuous negative noises about the state of Renault's performance (while in the back of the Red Bull) it says a lot considering Ricciardo chose to trust Renault for 2019 and onward, versus staying put. Can't say I blame him.

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

I have the impression Ricciardo needs to move elsewhere to improve. I mean, Max is younger and besides all his potential, I believe he will be hungrier to fight for a P5 than Ricciardo, who has a bigger urgency to fight for a championship.

When it gets clear a driver is limited by his car, his motivation and pace usually drop. Hulkenberg began to be consistently beaten by Perez after winning Le Mans, Vettel had a forgettable year when he did not have a competitive car after four consecutive titles. Piquet was awful at Lotus.

It's like Ricciardo in a Red Bull Honda won't have the room to do more than what he's been doing and a new environment could be helpful in this sense.