F1 2022 SEASON: NEWS - RUMOURS

It begins…

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/raikkonen/6658467/

 

Raikkonen to retire at the end of the year. Can they have the rest of the announcements now?

 

The rest should all fall in to place soon now that one is out of the way.

 

As good as he is Kimi should have retired 2 years ago. He has only been good for the radio banter but has been really really quiet this year.

 

We'll probably be due another comeback album in a year or two. )

 

Outqualified 8-4 so far by Giovinazzi, a driver who also finds his seat threatened and has essentially had no moment in F1 which makes you think he's even average. (6-6 in races)

If Kimi has been valuable for car development, that's been overshadowed by other issues within the team.

Bottas to Alfa (as rumoured) would be a shame for a driver of his calibre, dragging Alfa back above Williams in the championship could be a challenge, never mind pushing on further.

 

Well past his prime, but boy we'll miss the Kimi-isams. He's certainly one of a kind.

 

I wish I knew if Bottas was offered the Williams drive .

 

Assuming the dominoes all fall where we anticipate now, I'd argue that Merc are going to have the strongest driver pairing on the grid next season. Hamilton v Russell could be pretty tasty inter-team battle.

If we can get some close competition, could be cracking in 2022... And we still have this season to play out. Rubbing my hands for it all already.

 

I think him going back to Williams could have been a great opportunity. i.e. Williams are, hopefully, on the rise. They seem to be moving in the right direction and hopefully that will get better. With an experienced driver like Bottas they might come back quicker. Then again I would guess Bottas's people will have spoken to Williams and other teams to see how the land lies. I would put money on him having been offered a seat at Williams.

 

Merc will want George to be Lewis's wingman and learn for the first year. They can't have him taking points of Lewis (with the money they are paying him) but they need a very good wingman for 2022. Once George is up to speed, judging by previous outing in the Merc he might be there very quickly, then Merc might well have a battle on their hands to keep George from challenging Lewis?

Should be good. I bet Red Bull are loving it.

 

Callum Ilott joining Indycar for at least the remainder of the season would suggest that he's not in the running for an Alfa Romeo seat.

 

I read today he wants a multi-year contract wherever he goes. Maybe that was a sticking point.

 

That would make sense . Thanks .

 

I read this too. He has never had a multi year contract. Can't believe he has gone this far in his career on just 1 year deals. Which gives the impression teams are not fully convinced by him.

 

He's a bit of an enigma. The odd weekend throughout a year he seems untouchable, others he's dire, although most he's perhaps above average. I can see where the uncertainty comes from.

 

Alex Albon looking increasingly Williams bound- he’s a good fit there to be honest. If they could somehow pair Bottas with him, that would really put Williams in a nice position for their road back towards the front. Solid experience and a really good measuring stick in Bottas, and a young man with flashes of real pace with something to prove.

I’d like that at Williams.

 

Pretty funny that Horner is apparently insinuating that Merc are attempting to block Albon to Williams. I mean, come on, if you rate him so highly, give him a seat in one of your 4 cars. How many drivers do you want to squeeze on to the grid?

 

More Horner ****stirring.

 

Yup.

Christ, they could start their own series with their driver scrapheap if they're so keen to get them drives.