The F1 Thread 2014 Season

Didn't expect to wake up to that! Going to be fascinating to see how he gets on against Kimi, and to see how Ricciardo steps up as team leader. Great opportunity for Kvyat as well.
 
Rosberg looking good for pole... Could be crucial with the typhoon coming, half points would give him a 0.5 point lead in the championship if my maths is correct.
 
Is HONDA allowed off season testing of its new engine? Get a feeling that like Hamilton knew about the Mercedes engine before the new regulations came into play,maybe Alonso has high hopes from the Honda one. That is, if it is Alonso who has decided to shift and not Ferrari deciding to move him on. If it's the latter then the mind boggles..

On a side note, sad that Vettel is leaving Red Bull,was looking forward to next season's battle between him and Ricciardo.
 
Sebastian Vettel swaps Red Bull for Ferrari, Fernando Alonso leaves

Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will leave Red Bull to join Ferrari, replacing Fernando Alonso, who is set for McLaren.

Red Bull announced on Saturday that 27-year-old Vettel had "advised them" he would be leaving.

Team principal Christian Horner said Ferrari had made Vettel "a very attractive offer."

Alonso, 33, still had two more years to run on his contract but he and Ferrari have agreed to separate.

Horner also revealed that Vettel only told him of his decision to leave on Friday night - in the middle of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend - hours before the official announcement was made.

"All I can do is wish him the very best for the future," he said.

Vettel will be replaced at Red Bull by Russian Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat.

Neither Vettel's move to Ferrari nor Alonso's switch to McLaren have yet been officially announced, but both are expected to be in the coming days.

Vettel, who has been out-shone by new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo this year, has been backed by Red Bull since he was 12 years old, but said he wanted to "do something else, something new".

"It is not the first time I have been approached but it felt like the right time," added the German.

"I'm not leaving because I don't like the team or individuals, I'm not running away from anything. The voice inside me, the hunger to do something new was bigger. It was not the easiest decision but you have to listen to your heart."

He refused to admit he was joining Ferrari, saying: "I don't have anything I can confirm now. For now, I can't say much."

Ferrari have had a long-standing agreement with Vettel that he would join them when he leaves Red Bull.

Vettel will hope to benefit from the major restructuring that is taking place at Maranello under new team principal Marco Mattiacci.

Alonso, six years older than Vettel, feels the passage of time in his career more keenly and, after five frustrating seasons, he has lost faith that Ferrari can return to competitiveness in time for him to win a third world title. He believes McLaren and new engine partner Honda are a better bet.

"Today was a surprise, with the announcement of Vettel leaving Red Bull," said Alonso.

"Everyone was waiting for some kind of announcement on my side and the first one to move was Sebastian.

"The priority is to help Ferrari. We are in the middle of a (race) weekend. I have had my mind set for two or three months; everything was moving in that direction. I can go more or less where I want."

McLaren have been chasing the 2005 and 2006 world champion for more than a year, through a change in team boss from Martin Whitmarsh to Eric Boullier, despite the turbulent relationship they had during Alonso's sole season with the team in 2007.

After a disharmonious year during which Alonso badly fell out with chairman Ron Dennis, the two parties agreed to split one year into a three-year contract.

Sources say Dennis and Alonso made their peace in a meeting this summer, although their relationship will inevitably always be cool.

And Honda are keen to have Alonso on board to lead their attempt to revive the famous McLaren-Honda partnership of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when their drivers included F1 legends Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

McLaren said they had made no decisions on their driver line-up, but, assuming Alonso joins McLaren, Jenson Button or Kevin Magnussen would be out of a drive.

The team are believed to be more likely to keep Magnussen, who has begun to out-pace Button in qualifying. He turns 22 on Sunday, while 34-year-old Button is nearing the end of his career.

Dennis said of Button and Magnussen at the Japanese Grand Prix: "I understand they'd like to feel more comfortable than they do at the moment but it's just not necessary for us to take any decisions yet. We're waiting to see how things pan out down the pit lane.

"We obviously talk to any driver who could be on the market but we are very comfortable with what we've got.

"I can't see any reason to change anything at the moment."
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BBC
 
Would be sad to see Button leave, but truth be told he has lost quite a bit of pace in the past couple of years now, and Magnussen looks like he has some talent at the age of 22. However, I would have liked McLaren to go for a younger driver again rather than a like for like replacement in terms of age. Alonso would be a cracking addition for a couple of years though.
 
Sad that Vettel jumps ship as soon as a teammate gets the better of him...
 
17Larsson said:
Vettel running away from the challenge of Ricciardo?
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Stringer said:
Sad that Vettel jumps ship as soon as a teammate gets the better of him...
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Do you guys consider Ricciardo already a better driver than Kimi? It's not like Vettel goes to a team where his teammate is some noname who's only there to help him.

I'm not really surprised. Vettel's dream was always to drive for Ferrari, there's no way he'd say no to this opportunity after winning so much with Red Bull. I'd really enjoy it if Ricciardo won a championship with Red Bull before Vettel wins one with Ferrari though.
 
Stringer said:
Sad that Vettel jumps ship as soon as a teammate gets the better of him...
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rubbish, no way Danial is better than Vettel, he has just been unlucky with his car, him leaving at the end of this season for me has always been on the cards and going to Ferrari has been a nailed on cert.
The Red Bull is not the best car out there any more, I think the engine change has hit them harder than other's, all the teams with have better engines next season, I expect to see more that Lewis and Nico fighting for the lead.
 
Balu said:
Do you guys consider Ricciardo already a better driver than Kimi? It's not like Vettel goes to a team where his teammate is some noname who's only there to help him.

I'm not really surprised. Vettel's dream was always to drive for Ferrari, there's no way he'd say no to this opportunity after winning so much with Red Bull. I'd really enjoy it if Ricciardo won a championship with Red Bull before Vettel wins one with Ferrari though.
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pauldyson1uk said:
rubbish, no way Danial is better than Vettel, he has just been unlucky with his car, him leaving at the end of this season for me has always been on the cards and going to Ferrari has been a nailed on cert.
The Red Bull is not the best car out there any more, I think the engine change has hit them harder than other's, all the teams with have better engines next season, I expect to see more that Lewis and Nico fighting for the lead.
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I never said Ricciardo was better than him. I meant he has got the better of him this season, which is a bit different, and I would have liked to see Vettel take up the challenge for one more season at least. Vettel has been unlucky in certain races but I think it's fair to say Riccardio has comfortably outperformed him this season so stop providing excuses.

I do rate Kimi highly but he has been awful this season and I think Vettel would have had a harder time if he remained at Red Bull next year. To be fair I don't blame him, now is as good a time as any to leave especially if Ferrari was his dream drive.
 
Wow didn't expect that at all.

Didn't both Vettel and Alonso have contracts for 2015? Usually you don't see drivers jumping ship before their contracts end.

It was fairly obvious that at some point Vettel would be going to Ferrari. The challenge for him will be to try and emulate his hero Schumacher and win titles for Ferrari after a relatively barren run for them.
 
Ole's_toe_poke said:
And who saw Alonso ever returning to McLaren? That too with Dennis still in charge. :lol:
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Rumours abound that that's not going to be the case for much longer. Hopefully they're wrong anyway.

If Alonso is going back to McLaren (all my fingers are crossed), I wonder how much say he'd have over his team-mate, given what went on last time. I'd prefer Magnussen to stay on, personally.
 
I think Button will be out and thus retiring, he's been very evasive on the subject of next year all season.
 
There's always the possibility Alonso takes a sabbatical, in which case Button would be safe.
 
Ole's_toe_poke said:
Didn't both Vettel and Alonso have contracts for 2015? Usually you don't see drivers jumping ship before their contracts end.
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Sounds like they both had various clauses in their contracts. Vettel was free to leave when he was lower than 3rd in the championship after Spa apparently, and seems like Ferrari didn't take up their option on Alonso when he refused to commit beyond 2015.
 
Giggsy92 said:
Sounds like they both had various clauses in their contracts. Vettel was free to leave when he was lower than 3rd in the championship after Spa apparently, and seems like Ferrari didn't take up their option on Alonso when he refused to commit beyond 2015.
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Alonso was asked by Luca di Montezemolo was there anything he could give him as a leaving gift when he stepped down as head of ferarri, Alonso allegedly asked for his contract to be terminated at the end of the year
 
Yeah I do hope Button stays on, he's still good enough, but I just get the feeling he's ready to move on. Can picture him taking up a sort of Davidson role in doing TV work alongside Le Mans series racing, his driving style should be pretty suited to it too.

Raining at Suzuka already, whats the betting this is a safety car start race that never gets going and half points get handed out?
 
I was wondering if I should wake up early to watch the race, I mean it might not even go ahead if it rains.
 
PlayerOne said:
I was wondering if I should wake up early to watch the race, I mean it might not even go ahead if it rains.
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Im feeling the same, might just record it and then watch later. That way if there are any delays i can fast forward through. And it saves disappointment from waking up early!
 
That is an insane amount of water on the track
 
pauldyson1uk said:
I got up early for this ?, mind I was expecting a wet race, why did they not start the race earlier , if they had of done there would of been more chance of the finishing the race.
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Apparently the FIA twice offered to start the race a few hours earlier, but the promoters refused.
 
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