So the silly season appears well and truly on with Toto Wolff already playing his games declaring yesterday:
“If Rosberg does not want to renew, then we will consider other options, like Fernando.”
Could it be that Fernando’s reputation has indeed remained fully untarnished despite a cripplingly bad season last year with McLaren Honda?
“Fernando is one of the best drivers in history and I like his character,” reported El Mundo during the interview with Toto.
Such a move could only work if Rosberg’s value has also gone up by the strength of his performances late last year plus this season. This seems confirmed by Italy’s Corriere della Sera who reported that talks between Ferrari and Rosberg have begun.
Correspondent Giorgio Terruzzi says that Ferrari believe “36-year-old Kimi, though well-liked by most in the team, is considered too inconsistent. On the contrary, it seems Rosberg in his full maturity is always fast, strengthened by his difficult experience at Hamilton’s side.”
Then with a move by McLaren to sign Vandoorne, Fernando could be in a Mercedes whilst Rosberg replaces Kimi.
Of course this is all a lot of conjecture but it certainly hints that this year’s silly season will be a ton more interesting than last year’s.
With Ferrari hoping to improve performance, and thus closing the gap to Mercedes, this news, if it proves to be true, would be fantastic for all the fans. 3 world champions in race winning cars. Bring it on! 😀
Of course, it could be 4 world champions by the end of this year. 🙂
Please racing gods – make this come true!!!!
“Fernando is one of the best drivers in history and I like his character” says Toto who apparently doesn’t remember the previous ALO/HAM pairing in 2007. Some might say that Fernando’s “character” was in full display that year in qualifying for Hungary and “Pedro, can we try this Ferrari stuff?”
That was a very long time ago. Both Hamilton and Alonso are far more mature individuals than they were back in 2007.
Do you remember Dennis said after China 2007: “We are competing against Alonso”?
It’s Toto’s punishment for both for what happened at spain.
“So Nico, one more of those blocks and you are out. We have replacements who we think are more than capable and would love a Mercedes seat. Like Fernando.”
“So Lewis, if you punt your teammate of the track one more time, we will hire Fernando as your teammate. No more mr. nice guy beside you.”
Or maybe the reverse. To each. stop complaining about the other, because his replacement will be Alonso,
Why would mercedes want to replace someone who brings them a championship. Unless they think that next year’s car won’t be good. Than you need Fred…
If anything, hiring Fred would be increasing the chances of accidents as he is more likely to be in the same part of the track as Lewis. Whoever they have, if they are both of similar quality, are going to come together now and again.
Sounds to me more like Lewis is agitating for Nico to be removed as he makes him uncomfortable – but I wonder if whoever gets in his place will give him any easier a time.
Would Lewis ‘respect’ Fernando more than Nico? Thus less likely to have on-track incidents with him?
By which I mean: Lewis thinks he’s a much, much better and capable driver than Nico – so if Nico is ahead it must be due other factors, thus getting suspicious about the team/car/settings, etc. Which leads to emotional and impestuous behaviour.
Whereas Fernando is ‘up there’ with him (or just behind him!) – in his opinion – so he would focus more on his game than Outside Factors?… Etc.
Discuss!
Fred has show his maturity on more than one occasion. (Webber pass in eau rouge comes to mind) by now he surely knows there always be an other chance, unless you crash. Unless it’s vettel that tries to pass him. Than he becomes evil Fred.
If he’d do it at mercedes than he’d do it political. Not on track. Imo…
Back when Alonso won his world championships in ’05 and ’06, I could never have imagined him going out of his way to congratulate the new rising star (Max Verstappen) winning his first race. After 2010 and 2012 I have would have thought he would get nightmares from Verstappen as he got beat by Vettel in some excruciating ways and Verstappen is taking F1 by an even bigger storm at the moment than Vettel ever did.
To conclude: I was impressed by Alonso’s driving when he was with Ferrari, but I’m almost as impressed by his character nowadays.
Hamilton relates to Alonso more as a real racer i think. Heck, Alonso showed his respect for Hamilton when he won his 2nd word title. They were throwing compliments at each other when Vettel was dominating F1. Lewis still sees Rosberg as the spoilt little rich kid with a rich kid attitude in my opinion (and partially his own words) and someone he just doesn’t like losing to.
Could be. Lewis seems to believe he can just drive around Nico without any problem – IMO this was a contributing factor in the crash in Spain. Maybe with someone like Fred he’d think twice about taking a risky move? Who knows.
Personally, I think the current Mercedes line-up brings some fascinating politics to the sport but then a different line-up might bring more exciting racing. It seems rare that Nico and Lewis are actually competing – usually one or the other has a smoother weekend or is just plain faster.
They start to scout for other drivers when the current one stalls on his new contract because he is looking at an opportunity elsewhere. Could very well be that it is Nico who wants to get out. Mercedes has to cover their ass too.
They are currently negotiating Rosberg’s contract extension. No doubt his agent is asking for a massive increase given his recent performances. This is a negotiating tactic – nothing more.
The timing and language of all this tells me this is a message to Nico. Lauda might have blamed Lewis but Toto is 100% Hamfosi. I genuinely believe that Merc management are fully behind Lewis. He is their golden boy and this season isn’t going to plan. They want a 4/5 time world champion. Nico is spoiling the party. Expect a lock up or two from #6 (wink)
Its really funny you say that. In 2014 people were saying: Lauda 100% Hamfosi, Toto 100% Rosfosi. I do think your right that Toto secretly blames Rosberg on this one.
Oh spanners,that’s wicked,could that be a hint at a strange fluid appearing in the steering or dare I say it…washing powder in a fuel system 😉 I can see the article now,’so general Merc engineer, why did a white powerder end up in the fuel tank and how was this found in your pocket?’to reply,’we were trying a new fuel line cleaning system and somehow we forgot to remove the product.. In my pocket?..I was framed’. I thought that Nico had the extension of his contract already? I vaguely remember reading something over the weekend but it was in German and Google translation was not at its best.
NIco is obviously trying to get more money out of the deal, Mercedes rightly know that they only need a couple of average drivers when the car is so good, so why pay more?! They can play hard ball, not only with Nico but also with Lewis.
One would have to question why they’d want Nico out so quickly though given he leads the WDC, recent form shows him to be at least a match for Lewis. If you’re going to ditch a driver for Fred then perhaps the sensible solution is to remove Lewis, Lewis has oodles more baggage than Nico, costs far more to keep and his performances since Italy last year haven’t warranted any additional remuneration over Nico. I bet Fred would drive that car for a fraction of the cost, which could go back into development. Putting Lewis and Fernando together would be real fireworks and incidents like Sunday would be far more common – actually I hope that happens!
I forgot to add, Pascal Wehrlein testing today for Merc, not Hamilton. Rosberg tested yesterday. So lets not assume that Nico is the one they’re looking to replace just yet.
Lewis didn’t do the test last year either. BTW, he’s scheduled to do the second test at Silverstone…..
Jennie Gow reported that Merc have said that two young drivers will be used at Silverstone, not their slightly balding 31 year old champion.
Sadly your comment had nothing to do with Silverstone. Yes it looks like he wont be doing the Silverstone test, because Pascal was called in at the last minute. But i’ll bet you’ll find some suspicious reasons as to why they called Pascal instead of Lewis
“slightly balding 31 year old champion”…. wow, you sound rather childish
Why’d my comments get ‘disappeared’?
Is one of the moderators a bit thin on top?
Let me assure you, I’m not exactly blessed with much in the way of cranial insulation either.
Or was is the use of the word ‘a**e’?
And what of my later, cleaner, comment?
Am I just being too flippant? Or is it just witty quips you gotz a problem wit?
@dobzizille…. What comment are you referring to? i can not see any in the mods box……
Hi fortis.
Something along the lines of…
“He’s not being childish, its just the truth from a slightly different angle.
And I saw him last week in the barber’s with Rooney.
(I say ‘barber’s’, it was more like one of those posh clinics where they yank a load of hair from your a*se and staple it to your bonce).”
It deffo posted, ’cause I saw a typo when it appeared. Was there for and hour or two yesterday morning. I’m not upset- just curious.
Made me think, if you post something on the internet and nobody sees it, did you really make a comment? (I think that’s a Zen koan!)
PS, the extra ‘i’ you put in my name makes me sound all French…
dobzizille de là Bastille, peut-être?
Merci!
I know it is early, but Pascal isn’t doing a lot to impress in the Manor at the moment. He’s not dominating his team-mate to the degree you’d expect someone who is touted as being a much better driver should.
Who knows though, maybe he is a slow-burner, but I’d think either he needs two seasons before moving up, or they need to look elsewhere. I do know that McLaren will have a problem if they don’t find a way to sign up Vandoorne for 2017 as he will be high on the shopping lists but how do you decide between Button and Alonso when they seem pretty evenly matched at the moment – when they actually manage to complete an uninterrupted race that is.
McLaren can always sign-up Haryanto, according to Adrian Campos Rio is the only one that beat Vandoorne in a fight head to head.
Haryanto has done little and less to impress, less so than Palmer, for instance. From 4 years in GP2, he finished 14th, 19th, 15th, 4th. Vandoorne, by contrast, has finished 2nd and 1st during his 2 years in GP2…
I wonder if McLaren wouldn’t be better served dropping both Button and Alonso and choosing Vandoorne and someone like Sainz or Kvyat. The latter two would give enough experience to understand the car and with two young drivers they might push forward.
Much as I like Button and the way he can wring a good result out of nothing I feel McLaren are stagnating and need to so something radical if they want to get back to winning ways.
And if McLaren don’t sign any of the above then Williams should do so as the same applies there. Why they are so far back with that engine is just terrible management.
So when Toto says they will look to Alonso if Rosberg leaves he really means replace Lewis with Wehlein? How many eyes you got?
There is a story that either of them can get kicked out during the season because there is to much tension, thats also the reason why Wehrlein was testing today and not Ocon. But I don’t know what to make of it.
Unless there was a risk of losing either championship that isn’t going to happen. And even with the issues that have dogged mainly Lewis this season the team is well ahead in the WCC and Nico well ahead in the WDC.
They weren’t common in 2007, so why would it be now? You talk as if what happened on Sunday is a regular occurrence with Lewis and his teammates, bring up Canada 2011 again, because that’s all you’ve got. Practically every driver on the grid have had some coming together with their teammates.
In case you have forgotten, Lewis is in the first year of a £100m contract, so i’m not sure what hardball they’ll be playing. But yea, replace him and keep Rosberg. Nico is leading the championship, he hasn’t won anything just yet, however the guy in the garage next door has won the last 2 and has 3 chips to his name
The oodles of baggage you say he has, were the same when they signed him to race in 2013. What did Toto refer to him and those baggage as again? oh yea, “he’s a rockstar”. One that brings in sponsors and spotlight to the team.
But hey, what do i know, i’m just a simple minded, one eyed hamfosi…..
‘But hey, what do i know, i’m just a simple minded, one eyed hamfosi’…..You said it, not us dude and you couldn’t have put it better.
Now give yourself a pat on the back…….
Lewis more Baggage? Nah, Rosberg has a baby. Have you ever had a baby? They are awful. Have you not noticed that Nico is a lot grumpier this year in interviews?
“Have you ever had a baby?” Well personally no, as I’m a man, but my wife has, a fortnight or so before Nico’s daughter appeared in August. So if you’re suggesting kids are baggage and make you grumpy I’d argue the reverse is actually true. I reckon having a kid makes you more relaxed about external factors, you realise there is far more to life than work and money.
So your wife giving birth a fortnight before Nico’s wife, should we be impressed?
The timing was relevant to the comment by Spanners, that’s the only reason I mentioned it. First hand experience, mind you I bet you get a lot of ‘hand experience’ if your this friendly to folks you meet in person.
Haaaaaa buuuurrrrrrnnn
I believe that this quote is taken a bit out of context. I remember reading more of the quote yesterday, though I don’t remember where, bit it came about when they were talking about how Alonso considered going to Mercedes earlier when he was leaving Ferrari. He has not indicated that he wishes to go to Mercedes now and I don’t believe there is really anything to read into. I think it was a remark that if back then, when they were discussing with Hamilton, if they were allowed to talk to Alonso at the same time, they would have.
Some people just don’t pay attention, they can’t see the forest for trees. The engineers at Mercs have been controlling the events since Mexico. They’re repaying Nico for his services, by boosting his market price, with hindsight on his up and coming contract negotiations. However, I must say that Nico put the team in a awkward position on Sunday, having to explain away why he was using the wrong engine map..we all know the reason why, with exception to NL & JS
Given your moniker and your comment, I can’t help but wonder… are you Lewis Hamilton? 😉
–
Winston: Does Big Brother exist?
O’Brien: Of course he exists.
Winston: Does he exist like you or me?
O’Brien: You do not exist.
George Orwell, 1984
…and then the clock struck thirteen.
Haha.
RR- I thumbs upped your comment
though Huxley, not Orwell, was the better predictor.
http://memolition.com/2014/06/23/aldous-huxley-vs-george-orwell/
“suddenly I lacked power, the switch for engine mode was not in the correct position, so we need to investigate why that was so” “I attempted to correct the situation mid-corner but nothing happened” Nico Rosberg.
Wolff and Ant were correct in what they said about the wrong engine mode (setting) but they sure mislead a lot of people.
Then he got the power…when Louie hit him.
Unfortunately not the one he was looking for.
“having to explain why he was using the wrong engine map” as I said right after the race Sunday, Wolff and Ant mislead a lot of people, the implications of what they said was that Nico simply made a technical mistake in selecting the wrong engine settings, but Nico denies that, Nico says he was not to blame for technical issue before the crash. “the switch for the engine mode was not in the correct position, so we need to investigate why that was so” “I even attempted to correct the situation mid-corner, but nothing happened”.
**Paul** your comment to Fortis 96 was disrespectful . When I read your comment bragging about your wife having a baby around the time of Rosberg’s wife I thought to myself why all this detail, you think you are some great stud or something ? I have 4 kids BTW . Big deal . I don’t brag about it to impress people on a site about F1 cars because it’s normal.
In fact , I bet you haven’t even got a wife or a child and you are just making it up, the same as your drivel regarding Rosberg . Fortis 96 is 1000% correct in his analysis. You are the one who has been doing the hand job ! 🙂
I think the only driver shake-up for 2017 will be StoVan into Alonso’s seat and Alonso takes Guttierez”s seat.
“than he got the power when Lulu hit him” actually Lulu crashed into him from on the grass, racing drivers are not supposed to try overtake from on the grass but from on the race track.
I would love to see Fernando giving the space to Hamilton XD!
participating on TJ13 discussion forum is becoming difficult, lately for a period of about 8 hours during the day posts are not registering (making it through), posts in answer to others with questions in them (asking questions) sometimes appear instantly (no moderating) but they disappear as instantly as they appeared, the chronic repeat of posts not falling were they are intended too in answer to other posts is becoming very irritating.
this should not be taken as criticism by TJ13, all this is intended to help eliminate these shortcomings on the site.
Salvuborg. Please accept that your comments get caught in the moderation queue. This is because, intentionally or not, you’ve repeatedly irritated other commenters on TJ13 not to mention deliberate attacks on others in the past. Yes, I’m aware there are others that have done the same but I’ve discretely emailed you about your behaviour of which I have had no reply still. You don’t seem to realise that if you were to alter your attitude on the site, in time your comments would pass through without issue. Clearly you have zero patience or understanding of the situation of which I have more than once spelt out in plain English to you. One more comment about you being moderated or any mention of ‘short comings’ and we’re done with you Sal. Got it?
Your Honour, Thanks for your message of which was fully taken, understood and excepted, also excepted is the fact that how things goes and what goes or not is your prerogative, that was something never in doubt from on my part, the problem with me was that I was believing that a new page was turned as regards of how things are done on here, this message of yours has finally cleared the air with me as regards the way things were/are being done, so there is no need for me any more to comment about being moderated and about short comings. I fully except the fact that I have irritated other commenters on here and of attacking others, I have to admit that I have fallen fool of a trend started by others on a tame of their chose and with their own rules of engagements as regards of who is the one to get out of the heat in the kitchen.