Apart from the fight for the 2022 title between Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, what will animate the F1 paddock until the end of the season are transfers with some interesting seats to be filled and as many possible candidates.
The Silly Season is once again aptly named in F1, both in terms of rumors it’s a buzz fair! All pilots, including those who already have a contract for 2023, become candidates for musical chairs! We take stock of what has been heard, but we will have to sort out the whims of some, the fantasies of some or even some others who hope to destabilize the stables with these hallway noises.
The indiscretions of the paddock in Belgium
Ricciardo, a candidate for Haas?
Now without a contract for 2023, Daniel Ricciardo is released from any commitment, will the Australian be ready to accept everything to drive in F1 next year? « At the moment it’s my job to think about who is better, and it’s not easy. Ricciardo could be better if he gets back to his old form. Steiner admits to having exchanged a few “texts” with the 33-year-old Australian at the end of the August break.
« Are we taking a risk with a new driver like Daniel Ricciardo who has had a tough time at McLaren, or are we sticking to what we know? » Said Gunther Steiner to Auto Bild.« Hulkenberg would be a risk, Ricciardo would be a risk »Steiner said. « Everyone is a risk except Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen. »
Schumacher is not yet dismissed from Haas
At the same time Steiner responds to the rumor of a possible departure of Schumacher for Alpine. “If he wants to leave, so be it” Steiner said. « Then it will be our fault and we will find another solution. What I agree with you is that Mick is the smallest risk for us. But that does not mean that we want to take the smallest risk. If Mick drives the next three races like he did at Spielberg, the decision will be automatic. » Stein concludes.
Guenther Steiner / Mick Schumacher (Photo by Andy Hone / LAT Images)
Bottas would see himself in the Audi-Sauber project from 2026
Bottas joined Sauber (Alfa Romeo, whose Italian title sponsor will expire at the end of 2023) this year on a multi-year deal, but that will almost certainly have expired in 2026. “I feel good” the 33-year-old said . « I can very well imagine that I will still be on the grid in 2026. I still have a lot to give »added Bottas.
« If I’m not allowed to wear a bucket hat, then no!he jokes. I haven’t really thought about it. I would say why not, it would bring the team closer to the top of the plateau. We want see. »
Audi and Porsche, two very different projects
A Sauber-Audi partnership from 2026 is therefore extremely likely, but it will be very different from Porsche’s separate plans with Red Bull Racing. « We will have two separate projects, like we did at Le Mans. We will continue like this in Formula 1. »Duesmann said, unofficially revealing that Porsche’s announcement is now imminent.
« It was a big discussion internally, but both brands have their own fans. We will have completely different chassis and powertrain projects. » Paddock sources expect Porsche and Red Bull to make an announcement within the next 7 days. “Our engine will be built in Germany, that of Porsche in England,” said Duesmann. « This approach makes sense because our customer groups are different. »
Verstappen mocks new porpoising guidelines…
Max Verstappen could only sneer when asked if the new porpoising technical directive had hurt Red Bull. « Yes, this technical directive has been very, very bad for us », the Dutchman told De Telegraaf newspaper with a laugh. And the result, at least at Spa-Francorchamps, is a massive performance advantage for Red Bull.
“I didn’t expect it to make a big difference to our car,” said Verstappen. « If that’s the case for Ferrari, I don’t know. And Mercedes are a bit short of top speed this year anyway, so it’s no surprise they’re not competitive here. That also has to do with the layout of the track »he added. « This year we are fast on the straight and in a way now we can combine that with the speed in the corners. So you can do a big split here. »
Max Verstappen (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
… and Christian Horner to go there with his little valve
From this weekend in Belgium, certain parameters regarding the new ground effect floors are applied for safety reasons, in order to limit aerodynamic bouncing and porpoising.
« Well, my wife often tells me that size doesn’t matter »smiled Christian Horner, the boss of Red Bull. « So I’m not going to fuss too much for 10 millimeters. It’s awkward to introduce it at this time of year, but it’s the same for everyone. We ended up negotiating on a measure and we arrived at a figure that was agreed upon. »
Christian Horner (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Gasly, new candidate for Alpine?
A new rumour, after all… why not one more? Pierre Gasly would be a new candidate for the Alpine seat according to Autosport, alongside Esteban Ocon from 2023, while at AlphaTauri, Helmut Marko would like the American driver Colton Herta (the latter does not have sufficient points for the Super Licence).
We are going to take very big tweezers for this rumor, especially since Gasly already has a contract with AlphaTauri for 2023. Admittedly, a contract can be redeemed, but why would Alpine take the risk of the difficulty of redeeming a contract, when Daniel Riccardo is free and of which McLaren has already paid him a good sum for the 2023 season that he will not perform at home? It smells of the little rumor of an actor in the paddock to destabilize Alpine, it remains to be identified who benefits from it…
Ricciardo ruled out a possibility of driving in IndyCar!
Before McLaren and Ricciardo reached the conclusion of a separation on good terms, another solution was considered, that of rolling the Australian across the Atlantic, in the NTT IndyCar Series. Zak Brown has now confirmed he offered Ricciardo the opportunity but it was turned down.
«Yes, we talked about that »Brown said. « He’s an exceptional racing driver and any team he’s entered for, it’s a privilege to have Daniel racing for you and we have a variety of championships to offer him. »
“Having said that, he is very focused on Formula 1. Of course the door will always be open here at McLaren, but I believe he has a real desire to continue in Formula 1. We will leave it at that and let him. comment when he talks about his future activities. »
Ricardo Daniel (AUS), McLaren F1 Team (GRB), portrait
Franky Zapata flies over the Spa circuit
Among the animations of this Belgian Grand Prix, the flying man, Franky Zapata aboard his flyairboard, was able to fly over the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps.
Flyboard Air vs F1 
@circuitspa #flyboardair #F1 #spagrandprix #frankyzapata #spafrancorchamps #breed #speed pic.twitter.com/CXd0VNzXJM
—Franky Zapata (@frankyzapata) August 27, 2022
