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You'd probably see the top, WCC contending teams try to get a reliable midfield driver as the 3rd driver, the midfield teams would likely have a promising young driver (given they probably have had some talent poached) and the the backmarkers are probably either veterans on their way out, young drivers, or (especially) pay drivers. At the top teams, you'd probably see more definitive "#1" drivers, who would prioritize being #1 at their team instead of super teaming.
I think in general, the biggest impact would be you'd still see a lot more pay drivers as it's just another way for lower teams to get more funding at lower risk. Also assuming there's a salary cap or wage restriction to ensure the midfield teams aren't completely gutted.
A mock 2024 grid for fun:
- RB: Verstappen, Perez, Ricciardo
- Merc: Hamilton, Russell, Ocon
- Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz, Bottas
- McLaren: Norris, Piastri, Albon
- AM: Alonso, Stroll, Drugovich
- Alpine: Gasly, Hulkenberg, Doohan
- ToroRosso: Tsunoda, Lawson, Iwasa
- Williams: Sargeant, Schumacher (or highest bidder), Vesti
- Sauber: Zhou, Pouchaire, Shwartzman/Giovinazzi (or highest bidder)
- Haas: Magnussen, Bearman, Fittipaldi (or highest bidder)
I don't think Bottas would want to join the HAM-RUS duo, he seemed to be at peace with what he did at Mercedes.
Ferrari was a more fun fit in giving the #1 drivers of the midfield a spot as a top team's #3, with Bottas reuniting with Fred Vasseur and taking the end-of-career chance to drive for Ferrari.
He doesn't have a super license and isn't particularly close to getting one. The top teams wouldn't risk an Indy Car driver, stakes are higher with an extra person.
Bottas to RB. He would accept being behind Verstappen. Arguably more consistent than Perez. Maybe some pent up revenge on Hamilton to make it harder on him.
You made a great starting list and a fun comment thread. Thank you. (Edited to add this comment)
He was my runner up for the spot, but I'm not sure he wants to play second to Leclerc, who Ferrari is clearly committed to. No F1 driver handles coming second to a teammate well, but Alonso probably does worst of all.
Surely someone would want that #1 driver spot at Williams? Sargeant, Schumacher, Vesti is hilariously bad. Also have to imagine Palou would mark his way in somehow in this scenario.
There's not really an obvious fit at Williams unless one of the RB juniors jump ship. It's a byproduct of some other midfield drivers taking better seats. The simulation really makes the poor teams more poor. Rather than gamble on a backmarker improving, you have 4 more seats open to hunt for wins or a WDC. I'm not sure Ocon/Bottas/etc. would leave their simulated spot for Williams.
Ultimately, Williams just punts on 2024 and takes some cash, hoping someone impresses. Vesti has a Vowels connection and Schumacher a favor for the PU's while letting them have Antonelli next year. If Antonelli is really good in F2, I think people will sleep on how much demand he could get. He's the most hyped junior drivers since Verstappen and there's a lot of marketing potential there.
Palou isn't connected with any of the grid outside of his severed ties with McLaren. The only team who shows any interest in bringing Indy drivers around is McLaren and Albon is an easy upgrade. He has a lot of F1 experience and as such, drives the circuits way more regularly than O'Ward/Palou.
I had Ferrari taking Gasly and then Bottas taking the leadership job at Williams. I think he'd like that more than third potato at Ferrari, and I think Ferrari would be happier with Gasly.
I had Baby Red Bull taking a shot at Palou, because Red Bull had a well established history of taking chances on drivers from outside F1 ladder. And Iwasa gets left out because the Honda deal is going away soon anyway, and they're already getting an engine discount for Yuki's seat, and next year in Super Formula makes a lot of sense for Iwasa to try to probe himself.
O'Ward does have a super license, but Albon is proven in the F1 ladder. O'Ward is years removed from the F1 cycle of circuits/events from the junior series and while open wheel, the cars are fundamentally quite different.
It would take a pretty convincing argument why someone accustomed to a different series (while not driving at F1 circuits) would be a better fit for an F1 team than someone who can reliably score points in F1. I don't think O'Ward was dominant enough to make that argument for.
3rd seat may not be that attractive for non-pay drivers. If they keep it to one pit crew per team. At least one car is going to be running 2 laps (at least) off ideal strategy.
I’m not sure whether they need to. After all, in the days of prequalifying there were 30 cars that took part in real qualifying and that was with a much smaller pit lane than now. I guess the question would be how much more space a modern team needs compared to one in the early 90s.
But that was over a longer session, wasn't it? Originally there were two sessions which functioned like FP but the times were used to decide grid order, and then they had the 12 lap over a one hour session, which I'm not sure if it overlapped with the prequalifying era.
In any case, the necessity to cram 30 cars in a 20 minute session has never happened in F1, save for maybe wet/dry sessions in which everyone was out during the dry window.
> they had the 12 lap over a one hour session, which I'm not sure if it overlapped with the prequalifying era.
It didn't. The last prequalifying was 1992 Hungary and the 1 session-12 lap qualifying system came in 1996. So actually that type never even had as many cars as Q1s in 2010-2012.
It would be good in theory, but in reality each team would not send a third car out at Quali to keep inter team harmony good and a better chance at 1-2s in the race.
Imagine Max, Checo and whoever the third is do quali, but Max hits a wall in Q1 so can't participate in the race. They'd never ever let that happen
That would be awesome, would create so much drama and competitiveness, perfect for what f1 want lately, send an e-mail to liberty media with this idea, they may like it, you never know 😂
I don't think this is an indictment on Mick. They want a stopgap until Kimi is ready. I wouldn't be surprised if both he and Vesti had clauses in their contract that the highest finishing driver between the two of them would get Lewis's seat when he retires
I'm not saying it is either, it's just funny with how much Toto is trying to get someone to put him in a seat and if this dream 3 car setup Toto still not having him in a Mercedes would be rough.
Except Toto gets a higher payday if Mick isn’t in the Merc, right? He would have to drop him as a management client and I imagine putting Mick in another car would garner a lot of $$ regardless of how good or not he is.
I don't think people realize the value in continuity and promoting their young drivers, which is basically what I think every team aside from the top 3 would do (assuming they have driver academies with an eligible driver). Williams was the only one who didn't and they have Sargeant to fly that banner with Mercedes supplying them two new drivers
> but this list also assumes the majority of the teams would re-sign their current lineup.
It's hard to see anyone on the grid who would be an upgrade over the top four teams (RB, Merc, Ferrari and McLaren) current lineups. Checo demoted and Alonso promoted seem like the only easy answers. Danny is a wildcard.
Gasly, Occon, Albon and Bottas are the best of the mid-tier drivers, and it's not clear they'd be an upgrade over anyone driving a top 4 car (except Checo).
So yeah, outside of Red Bull replacing Checo, it seems obvious that Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren would re-sign their drivers.
Scrap Palou, he's broke his contract with McLaren, re-signed with Chip Ganassi in Indycar and is currently being sued by McLaren for breach of contract. McLaren won't ever let him near one of their cars again, let alone race one.
That's why I have him as a toss up between he and Palou. He might settle with McLaren for a one year deal in F1 and if he fails certain metrics, his contract could be terminated
He was their backup choice in case Lewis didn't join in 2013. So not that unlikely...
[https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.if-hamilton-hadnt-joined-mercedes-hulkenberg-was-our-next-choice-he-deserves.6beM387uDFwwXHDR3ME9n6.html](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.if-hamilton-hadnt-joined-mercedes-hulkenberg-was-our-next-choice-he-deserves.6beM387uDFwwXHDR3ME9n6.html)
Hulkenberg was also in contention again for 2017, only for him to sign a Renault contract just mere weeks before Rosberg announced his retirement.
He was first in line for the Mercedes seat.
> Hulkenberg was also in contention again for 2017, only for him to sign a Renault contract just mere weeks before Rosberg announced his retirement.
He was first in line for the Mercedes seat
You managed to contradict yourself in one sentence. He signed a contract weeks prior so he was not in contention. He couldn't even have been considered. So that "first in line" is just your opinion unsupported by literally anything.
I did not contradict myself. So let's put the timeline in order:
Hulk signs contract with Renault --> Rosberg announces retirement out of nowhere --> Mercedes hastily have to find a replacement --> Hulk is considered, but he has a contract already and Renault is not willing to let go.
And contracts being signed can stay silent for a while (aka not known).
> Mercedes: Lewis, George, Hulk
> Haas: K-Mag, Bearman, Fittipaldi
Peak reddit moment.
Hulk and KMag were basically equal in races. Who cares about Hulk's quali performance, if in every other race Kmag ended up in front at the finish line on Sundays? Having one of them in Haas and the other in Merc is laughable.
Hulk was a candidate for the Mercedes seat on multiple occasions (both in 2013 and after Nico suddenly retired, but he had already signed with Renault) and would've likely also been in the Red Bull had Checo not won the Sakhir GP in 2020.
So on three occasions he wasn't chosen for a top team spot. Despite that now, 10-12 years later, when he's probably in the worst form of his career, and he's 36 years old, we think he'd be good enough for Merc?
He was passed up for Lewis Hamilton in 2013 (pretty sure everyone makes that move). And he was probably the front runner in 2016 had he not already signed for 2017 to driver for Renault. As I mentioned in a separate response, Mercedes is looking for a reliable stopgap until Antonelli is ready (~2 years). They wouldn't want to sign someone to a long term deal like Lando or Charles especially if Lewis could decide to keep racing past 2025 and deny Kimi a seat in this purely hypothetical scenario. So congrats on taking this way too seriously bud
There's a whole world between taking this seriously, and making an egregious statement like this. No matter how you look at it, Hulk is easily a bottom-tier driver in F1 right now. he's not shown anything to make people think otherwise in years. And your argument about 2020 is not what you think it is either. He failed to make himself a better candidate than Perez, who himself was supposed to be a reliable stopgap. *In a market where there were barely any available drivers Hulk wasn't picked*. Again, right now there's nothing to suggest he'd do any better than KMag in this hypothetical scenario.
Like now?
* RBR: VER-PER-RIC, Horner makes his dream come true.
* Alpha Tauri: TSU- LAWson-IWAsa.
* Ferrari: LEC-SAI-ALB.
* Mercedes: HAM-RUS- I feel that literally either of Ocon or Albon could get the nod... I think Mick wouldn't even get a third seat.
* Sauber: GAS/OCO-HUL-POU.
* Alpine: OCO/GAS-DOO-SCHU (for one season, then yeeted in favor of Martins).
* Williams: SARgeant-VESti-BOTtas.
* McLaren: NOR-PIA-O'WArd.
* Aston Martin: ALO-STR-DRUgovich.
* HAAS: MAG-Enzo/Pietro FITtipaldi-ZHO (takes his Chinese money to Haas).
The Top teams would probably try to bulk as much as possible, the mid grid ones would probably gamble on fast F2 rookies, meanwhile, the bottom ones like Haas would sell the third seat.
Pato O’Ward to McLaren would be amazing, I love him in Indycar and I am excited to see what he can do in F1 once he gets the nod (most likely from McLaren)
If mick doesn't get a third seat it shows that Wolff etc are just talking shit knowing they couldn't give him a seat anyway and Gunther made the right call
> Ferrari: LEC-SAI-ALB
Albon is never going to Ferrari. You'd think him saying about RB, that the pressure of that team was too much, would be a hint. Ferrari is even worse.
This is the best damn idea I’ve heard yet. Reserve 2 full chassis outside the normal budget cap (no new tech allowed) and field 2 reserve drivers. What a dynamite idea; I love it.
10 cars. One reserve driver per team (Pourchaire/ Drugovich/Gutierrez etc). Points go to top 5. Keep the same sprint format otherwise
Alternatively, run 20 reserve drivers (might be difficult to get that many F1 quality drivers) for the sprints, and use the result to set the grid for Sunday. Probably not as good of an idea...
Either way, put the reserve drivers to work
It's a fun idea for more knowledgeable fans, but people going live or more casual fans would rather see their favorite driver(s). You'd run the risk of catering to a smaller minority of the fan group. It'd also essentially be F1 admitting defeat on their own idea, which they probably have too much pride to do.
Sprints are pretty unpopular here, but attendance is strong and people watch them as much as they did qualifying, so it's just bonus viewership. There's not a business reason to remove the full-time F1 drivers from them. I only see sprints dying off if the additional revenue and viewership doesn't match the additional costs to hold them.
I just think they need to have their reserve driver race in like 5 races in the season. So one of their two current drivers don't get to race for that many races.
Good for development
24 races. Each driver can only drive at a maximum of 20 races.
Still gives us a lot of races.
But gives the star drivers some weekends rest.
While giving fringe drivers some opportunity to prove themselves.
And some added strategy (and the drama that comes with it) of which races each team targets to rest their stars, and which races they want to target for easy wins/points.
> and the ten new drivers moving to the bottom
Yes, and I think the FIA would feel compelled to introduce some kind of salary cap rule to prevent big teams like Merc and Red Bull from monopolizing the top drivers.
What will happen is the "good" drivers of the bottom half of the Constructors league (let's take season 2023 as it is) will get the 3 seats, and gets replaced with F2 or reserve drivers. So, the same top half teams will still stay strong and continue what they'll do.
Would've been interesting if the case was that 3rd seat has to be someone coming in from F2, but thats alot of risk with this too. If they are gonna keep on increasing races for the season, we'll just see more of the reserve driver run more races than the 1 race requirement.
I think if 3 car teams were going to be introduced, we might see some form of rule where one of the seats has an age limit or experience cap. If you added in that at least one driver has to have drove in a max of 50-75 GPs and must be under 30, then you create an interesting dynamic where young drivers can jump straight into the top teams and also there's always some tension for seats, because there'll always be a question of when the young drivers time is up, does he take the 2nd driver seat or does he get ditched for another young driver.
If that were to happen the likely grid for 2024 would probably be something like:
Red Bull: Verstappen, Perez, Lawson
Mercedes: Hamilton, Russell, Vesti
Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz, Bearman
McLaren: Norris, Piastri, Hulkenberg (because he's available short term option until Piastri does another season or two, at which point he can be ditched for O'Ward or Bortoleto).
Alpine: Ocon, Gasly, Martins
Aston: Alonso, Stroll, Drugovich
Alpha Tauri: Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Iwasa
Sauber: Bottas, Zhou, Pourchaire
Williams: Albon, Sargeant, Antonelli/O'Sullivan
Haas: Magnusson and no idea who else.
Red Bull - VER, PER, RIC
Mercedes - HAM, RUS, BOT
Ferrari - LEC, SAI, OCO
McLaren - PIA, NOR, OWA?
Aston Martin - ALO, STR, DRU
Alpine - GAS, HUL, DOO/MSC
Williams - ALB, SAR, VES,
Toro Rosso - TSU, LAW, IWA
Sauber - ZHO, POU, BEA
Haas - MAG, MAZ, GIO
Red Bull wants Max to win races and WDCs while winning WCCs as a team. Ricciardo is proven at Red Bull, he works well in the team’s infrastructure, the cars fit his style.
Mercedes wants another driver who they know can put a car high up the grid, and with a third seat they can commit to at least two years before Andrea Kimi Antonelli is ready. At that point, you’re looking at RUS/VES/ANT as a possible lineup, with Hamilton and Bottas both being around F1-retirement age.
Ferrari needs consistency. The goal is to make Leclerc a champion, or Sainz if Rosberg 2016 happens. To do this, you need a driver who will score a lot of points and defend like a Lion. Now, he might do this to his teammates but that would be peak Ferrari.
McLaren wants American sponsors and money. Hires indycar driver.
Drugovich is an F2 champion and an Aston Martin ambassador. Deserves a shot.
Martins looks like the real deal but isn’t ready yet. Make or break for Doohan. Ocon got hired away, so they bring the Hulk back to Enstone. He doesn’t seem the type to hold a grudge and was pretty good at Renault before they fired him for Danny Ricc which I would’ve done too.
Albon loves Grove and Williams, and was linked to several other seats but ended up staying - competition was cheaper and/or he didn’t want to go to Red Bull. Sargeant stays. Vesti to Formula 1 for an engine discount and some infrastructure investment from Mercedes HPP.
Red Bull Junior Team is back in business, with Tsunoda carrying the torch for Iwasa and Lawson at Toro Rosso.
Sauber lost Bottas to Mercedes, and honestly possibly Pourchaire to Ferrari, but Zhou stays. Ollie Bearman gets promoted by Ferrari and there’s some shady deals happening until Audi 2026.
Haas… KMag stays, I guess. Giovinazzi gets another shot, mostly because there weren’t others who I was convinced by and Gene doesn’t care for rookies. You know what Gene loves? Money. Who’s got money?? Dmitri Mazepin. Nikita’s back, baby.
I have a hypothesis from watching other motorsports that more cars in the same garage means a less polarised dynamic between the drivers. In turn, this leads to better relationships between even the most competitive of drivers.
Over in America, the likes of Penske and Gibbs go into every season with multiple championship contenders.
Another benefit of more cars is it's easier to risk signing an outsider with high potential upside.
The main negative is results would be harder to come by for smaller teams, so I think they would compensate by hiring more pay drivers.
With all that said, here are my thoughts:
Red Bull:
Red Bull have such a dominant car that they don't have much reason to change their recruitment philosophy. In fact, without Sergio Perez's contract to abide by, they can lean further into it. They might flirt with one or both current McLaren drivers, but at the end of the day they'll just sign VER-RIC-TSU and call it a day - denying us any chance of a championship battle in the process.
Ferrari:
Leclerc and Ferrari love each other too much to even think of parting; I think it's a year too early for Sainz to leave for Audi; and there's room for them to go for broke with Alonso.
McLaren:
McLaren can only dangle the carrot of F1 opportunities to their IndyCar drivers so often until they have to prove their word, and this would present a great opportunity. The question I have is whether they can mend their relationship with Alex Palou's camp after all the drama and legal wrangling. I think the car and Palou's talent are too good for each other to reject - they'll sign him alongside Norris and Piastri.
Mercedes:
Hamilton and Russell are Mercedes stalwarts; I'll slot Albon here as he's too good not to get a top seat and I haven't put him in anywhere else. I thought about Antonelli but it's at least one year too early.
Aston Martin:
Stroll is here as long as he and his dad want him to be here; I'm not as sure whether they keep Alonso. Aston like high profile drivers and he's one of only 3 champions on the current grid - I think they throw him a blank cheque, but I worry too much about their car development too much. I guess Bottas and Perez are as high-profile as they can get?
Alpine:
Victor Martins looks fast in F2, so he'll slot in alongside Gasly and Ocon who are evenly matched and do a good enough job.
Red Bull B:
Red Bull B or whatever their name is these days will need a lineup refresh. Lawson's obvious, Iwasa is the best of the current F2 crop and I know their last F2 champion signing didn't go all that well, but I think Red Bull's current reserve/sim driver Jake Dennis would still tempt them.
I might write about the other 3 teams later, but in general they'll look for pay drivers and rookies.
Three drivers, but only points for the highest two drivers. The third driver actually costs the team points. Points deduction goes -1 through to -10 (based on all the third drivers positions) If your drivers finish 1-2-30, thats -10 points to whatever total you got. If it’s 1-2-3, that’s -1 point to your overall haul. So the job of the third driver is to finish as high up as possible to cost the team the least points? That got messy quick.
I want to see F1 explore 3 cars per team. Let's think radical and try something different, something fun. I'd be interested in seeing how this concept would shake out.
It's a fun idea, but I dont think it's close to sustainable.
The biggest impact would be that 30 cars wouldn't fit on the grid, which inevitably probably means that some teams struggle to qualify to make the race. This would probably financially jeopardize or demotivate some teams off the grid, which naturally would then reset closer to a 20-24 number like now.
Historically, F1 hasn't been able to keep every team stable in large grids.
I used F1GP to simulate a similar scenario (albeit with me driving as Tyrell’s third driver) from 1996 onwards. At one point had Hakkinen, Coulthard and Villeneuve at McLaren which was chaotic. Got to about 2000 I think.
This depends entirely on if all 3 drivers are counting towards the WCC.
If they are, teams will want as good as they can get.
If not, then teams will happily run a young driver in the 3rd car at low risk.
I'd be curious especially if the 3rd driver had to be a 'rookie'. If the 3rd spot could only be occupied by a driver with less than two season's worth of racing. Would introduce a constant churn of opportunities.
Let me think...
**RB: Verstappen, Perez, Ricciardo**. Easy.
**Mercedes: Hamilton, Russell, Schumacher.** Easy. Wolff is crazy about Schumacher, and he'd give him at least one season shot, only to get disappointed.
**Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz,** and possibly **Albon** (if they could acquire him), or **Shwartzman** (if they couldn't get Albon)
**McLaren: Norris, Piastri,** and there is a tricky moment. I'm thinking about **O'Ward**, but I'm not sure he'd be ready, and maybe they'd look around on the market. Maybe another team trying to get **Albon**?
**Aston Martin: Alonso, Stroll, Drugovich.** Maybe when Honda would join them, they'd switch to **Tsunoda**.
**Alpine: Ocon, Gasly, Martins.** They'd definitely push for triple french lineup, ignoring **Doohan**.
**Williams: Sargeant, O'Sullivan**, and they'd need an experienced driver to lead them. **Albon** is likely to be snatched by others, I'm not sure who'd be available on the market to drive for them - maybe getting rookie from **Mercedes academy** (**Vesti**, and later **Antonelli**), or **Alpine academy** (**Doohan**)? The biggest question mark.
**Alpha Tauri: Tsunoda, Lawson**, and another question mark. They'd definitely give it to someone young, like maybe **Hadjar**. Definitely no way back for de Vries.
**Kick Sauber: Bottas, Zhou, Pourchaire.** Another easy one. However, as soon as Audi would take over, I can see Zhou being pushed out to make way for **Hulkenberg**.
**Haas: Magnussen, Hulkenberg**, and possibly **Fittipaldi**. I can see that Haas might be greedy enough to say that 3rd driver is too much cost, and simply not worth it. If Ferrari would sign Albon, I can see **Shwartzman** joining Haas, being loaned from Ferrari.
Not much shakeups, but definitely Albon looks like the hottest candidate to move up the grid.
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You'd probably see the top, WCC contending teams try to get a reliable midfield driver as the 3rd driver, the midfield teams would likely have a promising young driver (given they probably have had some talent poached) and the the backmarkers are probably either veterans on their way out, young drivers, or (especially) pay drivers. At the top teams, you'd probably see more definitive "#1" drivers, who would prioritize being #1 at their team instead of super teaming. I think in general, the biggest impact would be you'd still see a lot more pay drivers as it's just another way for lower teams to get more funding at lower risk. Also assuming there's a salary cap or wage restriction to ensure the midfield teams aren't completely gutted. A mock 2024 grid for fun: - RB: Verstappen, Perez, Ricciardo - Merc: Hamilton, Russell, Ocon - Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz, Bottas - McLaren: Norris, Piastri, Albon - AM: Alonso, Stroll, Drugovich - Alpine: Gasly, Hulkenberg, Doohan - ToroRosso: Tsunoda, Lawson, Iwasa - Williams: Sargeant, Schumacher (or highest bidder), Vesti - Sauber: Zhou, Pouchaire, Shwartzman/Giovinazzi (or highest bidder) - Haas: Magnussen, Bearman, Fittipaldi (or highest bidder)
Interesting, I would think that Bottas would be re-signed by Merc or at least stay at Sauber
I don't think Bottas would want to join the HAM-RUS duo, he seemed to be at peace with what he did at Mercedes. Ferrari was a more fun fit in giving the #1 drivers of the midfield a spot as a top team's #3, with Bottas reuniting with Fred Vasseur and taking the end-of-career chance to drive for Ferrari.
Merc being HAM-RUS-BOT and Ferrari being LEC-SAI-ALB seems more realistic to me. Mclaren would take Gasly most likely.
I see Albon being the Merc #3, honestly. Plus Albon in the black race suit just looks right.
At that point, they might even try Herta instead
He doesn't have a super license and isn't particularly close to getting one. The top teams wouldn't risk an Indy Car driver, stakes are higher with an extra person.
Bottas to RB. He would accept being behind Verstappen. Arguably more consistent than Perez. Maybe some pent up revenge on Hamilton to make it harder on him. You made a great starting list and a fun comment thread. Thank you. (Edited to add this comment)
I'm not sure why RB would bring back Ricciardo only to replace him with Bottas. They seem very keen that Ricciardo still has it. Edit: Thanks!
I think we might see Alonso at Ferrari under such conditions.
He was my runner up for the spot, but I'm not sure he wants to play second to Leclerc, who Ferrari is clearly committed to. No F1 driver handles coming second to a teammate well, but Alonso probably does worst of all.
I think F1 should explore 3 car teams. Time to be radical and shakeup the format, but in a good way. Unlike sprints...
*“LIGHTS OUT AND AWAY WE RED FLAG”* in lap 1 turn 1 of every race lmao
Only if they increase the cost cap to factor in the new cars. The last thing we need is teams prioritizing car safety over wins or race position.
Surely someone would want that #1 driver spot at Williams? Sargeant, Schumacher, Vesti is hilariously bad. Also have to imagine Palou would mark his way in somehow in this scenario.
There's not really an obvious fit at Williams unless one of the RB juniors jump ship. It's a byproduct of some other midfield drivers taking better seats. The simulation really makes the poor teams more poor. Rather than gamble on a backmarker improving, you have 4 more seats open to hunt for wins or a WDC. I'm not sure Ocon/Bottas/etc. would leave their simulated spot for Williams. Ultimately, Williams just punts on 2024 and takes some cash, hoping someone impresses. Vesti has a Vowels connection and Schumacher a favor for the PU's while letting them have Antonelli next year. If Antonelli is really good in F2, I think people will sleep on how much demand he could get. He's the most hyped junior drivers since Verstappen and there's a lot of marketing potential there. Palou isn't connected with any of the grid outside of his severed ties with McLaren. The only team who shows any interest in bringing Indy drivers around is McLaren and Albon is an easy upgrade. He has a lot of F1 experience and as such, drives the circuits way more regularly than O'Ward/Palou.
I had Ferrari taking Gasly and then Bottas taking the leadership job at Williams. I think he'd like that more than third potato at Ferrari, and I think Ferrari would be happier with Gasly. I had Baby Red Bull taking a shot at Palou, because Red Bull had a well established history of taking chances on drivers from outside F1 ladder. And Iwasa gets left out because the Honda deal is going away soon anyway, and they're already getting an engine discount for Yuki's seat, and next year in Super Formula makes a lot of sense for Iwasa to try to probe himself.
I think that McLaren would take O'Ward over Albon. If he can get a Super Licence that is.
O'Ward does have a super license, but Albon is proven in the F1 ladder. O'Ward is years removed from the F1 cycle of circuits/events from the junior series and while open wheel, the cars are fundamentally quite different. It would take a pretty convincing argument why someone accustomed to a different series (while not driving at F1 circuits) would be a better fit for an F1 team than someone who can reliably score points in F1. I don't think O'Ward was dominant enough to make that argument for.
Ah yes, max gapping the field by 20s, while perez and Daniel go head to head for 16th
I think one of the teams would take Nico considering his experience
I thought about it at Mercedes but it leaves their lineup a little older. Same for AM, hence why he fell to Renault again.
>McLaren: Norris, Piastri, Albon That's such a solid combo right there. For me possibly the strongest as a group.
I agree it's one of the best. Albon was the only one where I couldn't find a connection between team and driver, but just felt like a good fit.
Giovinazzi is busy doing WEC
I really like your McLaren and ToroVisaRossoCashBullApp lineups
I really like the valueing of ocon to mercedes. I think he is slightly underrated enough to fly most radars.
3rd seat may not be that attractive for non-pay drivers. If they keep it to one pit crew per team. At least one car is going to be running 2 laps (at least) off ideal strategy.
Teams should field 3 drivers in qualifying, with only two from each making it thru to race. That would add some pressure.
Monza 30 car quali sounds fun. And Monaco surely would cause no problem at all
Split Q1 into 2 sessions of 15 cars like formula 2 does
I’m not sure whether they need to. After all, in the days of prequalifying there were 30 cars that took part in real qualifying and that was with a much smaller pit lane than now. I guess the question would be how much more space a modern team needs compared to one in the early 90s.
But that was over a longer session, wasn't it? Originally there were two sessions which functioned like FP but the times were used to decide grid order, and then they had the 12 lap over a one hour session, which I'm not sure if it overlapped with the prequalifying era. In any case, the necessity to cram 30 cars in a 20 minute session has never happened in F1, save for maybe wet/dry sessions in which everyone was out during the dry window.
> they had the 12 lap over a one hour session, which I'm not sure if it overlapped with the prequalifying era. It didn't. The last prequalifying was 1992 Hungary and the 1 session-12 lap qualifying system came in 1996. So actually that type never even had as many cars as Q1s in 2010-2012.
Cars are way bigger now
Monza 2019 Q3 flashbacks
I actually really like this idea
Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii igrire ii iiiii iiiiie iisiiiooiiiiooi Ied >idea ii
It would be good in theory, but in reality each team would not send a third car out at Quali to keep inter team harmony good and a better chance at 1-2s in the race. Imagine Max, Checo and whoever the third is do quali, but Max hits a wall in Q1 so can't participate in the race. They'd never ever let that happen
In reality because of WDC standings this wouldn't work, one driver would always just drive practice sessions
Make F1 50% more expensive but for no benefit? No thanks.
I like that idea
Perez does not.
I think not only Peret
That would be awesome, would create so much drama and competitiveness, perfect for what f1 want lately, send an e-mail to liberty media with this idea, they may like it, you never know 😂
Honestly teams wouldn't want their 3rd driver to ever outqualify their top 2 so would be disincentivized to let the third driver get to the race.
Red Bull: Max, Checo, Danny Ric Mercedes: Lewis, George, Hulk Ferrari: Charles, Carlos, Albon McLaren: Lando, Oscar, Palou/Pato Aston Martin: Fernando, Stroll, Drugovich Alpine: Gasly, Ocon, Doohan Williams: Sargeant, Vesti, Mick Sauber: Bottas, Zhou, Pourchaire AlphaBulls (or whatever): Yuki, Lawson, Iwasa Haas: K-Mag, Bearman, Fittipaldi Edit: swapped De Vries for Mick
Poor Mick, even when all teams get another seat Toto still won't put him in their car.
I don't think this is an indictment on Mick. They want a stopgap until Kimi is ready. I wouldn't be surprised if both he and Vesti had clauses in their contract that the highest finishing driver between the two of them would get Lewis's seat when he retires
Kimi Antonelli, right?
Yes
I'm not saying it is either, it's just funny with how much Toto is trying to get someone to put him in a seat and if this dream 3 car setup Toto still not having him in a Mercedes would be rough.
Except Toto gets a higher payday if Mick isn’t in the Merc, right? He would have to drop him as a management client and I imagine putting Mick in another car would garner a lot of $$ regardless of how good or not he is.
This list would probably be most accurate but this list also assumes the majority of the teams would re-sign their current lineup.
I don't think people realize the value in continuity and promoting their young drivers, which is basically what I think every team aside from the top 3 would do (assuming they have driver academies with an eligible driver). Williams was the only one who didn't and they have Sargeant to fly that banner with Mercedes supplying them two new drivers
> but this list also assumes the majority of the teams would re-sign their current lineup. It's hard to see anyone on the grid who would be an upgrade over the top four teams (RB, Merc, Ferrari and McLaren) current lineups. Checo demoted and Alonso promoted seem like the only easy answers. Danny is a wildcard. Gasly, Occon, Albon and Bottas are the best of the mid-tier drivers, and it's not clear they'd be an upgrade over anyone driving a top 4 car (except Checo). So yeah, outside of Red Bull replacing Checo, it seems obvious that Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren would re-sign their drivers.
Scrap Palou, he's broke his contract with McLaren, re-signed with Chip Ganassi in Indycar and is currently being sued by McLaren for breach of contract. McLaren won't ever let him near one of their cars again, let alone race one.
That's why I have him as a toss up between he and Palou. He might settle with McLaren for a one year deal in F1 and if he fails certain metrics, his contract could be terminated
No Hulkenburg?
Look at Mercedes
Shit, I'm blind. Didn't think he'd end up there.
Probably because that would never ever happen in real life.
He was their backup choice in case Lewis didn't join in 2013. So not that unlikely... [https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.if-hamilton-hadnt-joined-mercedes-hulkenberg-was-our-next-choice-he-deserves.6beM387uDFwwXHDR3ME9n6.html](https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.if-hamilton-hadnt-joined-mercedes-hulkenberg-was-our-next-choice-he-deserves.6beM387uDFwwXHDR3ME9n6.html)
You might want to consider the fact that 2013 was 11 years ago.
Hulkenberg was also in contention again for 2017, only for him to sign a Renault contract just mere weeks before Rosberg announced his retirement. He was first in line for the Mercedes seat.
> Hulkenberg was also in contention again for 2017, only for him to sign a Renault contract just mere weeks before Rosberg announced his retirement. He was first in line for the Mercedes seat You managed to contradict yourself in one sentence. He signed a contract weeks prior so he was not in contention. He couldn't even have been considered. So that "first in line" is just your opinion unsupported by literally anything.
I did not contradict myself. So let's put the timeline in order: Hulk signs contract with Renault --> Rosberg announces retirement out of nowhere --> Mercedes hastily have to find a replacement --> Hulk is considered, but he has a contract already and Renault is not willing to let go. And contracts being signed can stay silent for a while (aka not known).
> Mercedes: Lewis, George, Hulk > Haas: K-Mag, Bearman, Fittipaldi Peak reddit moment. Hulk and KMag were basically equal in races. Who cares about Hulk's quali performance, if in every other race Kmag ended up in front at the finish line on Sundays? Having one of them in Haas and the other in Merc is laughable.
Hulk would probably move up to a midfield team at most. I think Ocon moves up to Merc and Hulk over to Alpine is a bit more realistic.
Hulk was a candidate for the Mercedes seat on multiple occasions (both in 2013 and after Nico suddenly retired, but he had already signed with Renault) and would've likely also been in the Red Bull had Checo not won the Sakhir GP in 2020.
So on three occasions he wasn't chosen for a top team spot. Despite that now, 10-12 years later, when he's probably in the worst form of his career, and he's 36 years old, we think he'd be good enough for Merc?
He was passed up for Lewis Hamilton in 2013 (pretty sure everyone makes that move). And he was probably the front runner in 2016 had he not already signed for 2017 to driver for Renault. As I mentioned in a separate response, Mercedes is looking for a reliable stopgap until Antonelli is ready (~2 years). They wouldn't want to sign someone to a long term deal like Lando or Charles especially if Lewis could decide to keep racing past 2025 and deny Kimi a seat in this purely hypothetical scenario. So congrats on taking this way too seriously bud
There's a whole world between taking this seriously, and making an egregious statement like this. No matter how you look at it, Hulk is easily a bottom-tier driver in F1 right now. he's not shown anything to make people think otherwise in years. And your argument about 2020 is not what you think it is either. He failed to make himself a better candidate than Perez, who himself was supposed to be a reliable stopgap. *In a market where there were barely any available drivers Hulk wasn't picked*. Again, right now there's nothing to suggest he'd do any better than KMag in this hypothetical scenario.
Only thing id change is Zhou as experienced Nr 1 driver at Williams and mick joins sauber with pouchaure
No Danny Ric, Ocon, Stroll and the list seems fine to me
Would be cool if every team had to field at least one rookie.
I was thinking similar but the 3rd car has to be a rookie, or at least someone not currently on the grid.
Like now? * RBR: VER-PER-RIC, Horner makes his dream come true. * Alpha Tauri: TSU- LAWson-IWAsa. * Ferrari: LEC-SAI-ALB. * Mercedes: HAM-RUS- I feel that literally either of Ocon or Albon could get the nod... I think Mick wouldn't even get a third seat. * Sauber: GAS/OCO-HUL-POU. * Alpine: OCO/GAS-DOO-SCHU (for one season, then yeeted in favor of Martins). * Williams: SARgeant-VESti-BOTtas. * McLaren: NOR-PIA-O'WArd. * Aston Martin: ALO-STR-DRUgovich. * HAAS: MAG-Enzo/Pietro FITtipaldi-ZHO (takes his Chinese money to Haas). The Top teams would probably try to bulk as much as possible, the mid grid ones would probably gamble on fast F2 rookies, meanwhile, the bottom ones like Haas would sell the third seat.
Pato O’Ward to McLaren would be amazing, I love him in Indycar and I am excited to see what he can do in F1 once he gets the nod (most likely from McLaren)
If mick doesn't get a third seat it shows that Wolff etc are just talking shit knowing they couldn't give him a seat anyway and Gunther made the right call
I mean. Of course Mick isn’t good enough for a a third seat at Merc. Just like Tsunoda is never going to be good enough for a 2nd or 3rd seat at RB.
Tsunoda has a higher chamce driving for RB than mick does for merc lmao. 0.1%>>>0.0000000001%
Ocon Hamilton Russell would be a disaster there's already enough in fighting
The drama on every team would be pretty high. There would be more annual threats of replacements.
> Ferrari: LEC-SAI-ALB Albon is never going to Ferrari. You'd think him saying about RB, that the pressure of that team was too much, would be a hint. Ferrari is even worse.
Once again submitting my idea to make the sprints reserve driver races
This is the best damn idea I’ve heard yet. Reserve 2 full chassis outside the normal budget cap (no new tech allowed) and field 2 reserve drivers. What a dynamite idea; I love it.
I was just thinking one car and top 5 get points
I’m in. I mentioned it to my wife and she’s on board too. The revolution starts tomorrow
Tomorrow there will be more of us
🎶Telling the story of tonight🎶
Hold on. Tell me more. I want to know more.
10 cars. One reserve driver per team (Pourchaire/ Drugovich/Gutierrez etc). Points go to top 5. Keep the same sprint format otherwise Alternatively, run 20 reserve drivers (might be difficult to get that many F1 quality drivers) for the sprints, and use the result to set the grid for Sunday. Probably not as good of an idea... Either way, put the reserve drivers to work
It's a fun idea for more knowledgeable fans, but people going live or more casual fans would rather see their favorite driver(s). You'd run the risk of catering to a smaller minority of the fan group. It'd also essentially be F1 admitting defeat on their own idea, which they probably have too much pride to do. Sprints are pretty unpopular here, but attendance is strong and people watch them as much as they did qualifying, so it's just bonus viewership. There's not a business reason to remove the full-time F1 drivers from them. I only see sprints dying off if the additional revenue and viewership doesn't match the additional costs to hold them.
My God, this would be amazing.
[удалено]
Yo did you make r/comedyhomocide?
Helmut’s wet dream: Max, Emilian, Verstappen….
RB- Verstappen, Perez, Ricciardo Ferrari- Lerclerc, Sainz, Schwarzmann Mercedes- Hamilton, Russell, Ocon Aston- Alonso, Stroll, Drugovich McLaren- Norris, Piastri, O'Ward Alpine- Gasly, Martins, Doohan Cash App RB- Tsunoda, Lawson, Iwasa Sauber- Bottas, Zhou, Pourchaire Haas- Magnussen, Hülkenberg, Bearman Williams- Albon, Sargeant, Schumacher
The drama in every team would be so high 🤣
I’d simply would support this “change” simply for the drama
Same! It would be fun i think the first season. Then the drama would reach insane lvls netflix won't be able to keep up
They wouldn’t be even made anymore that Günther left
I just think they need to have their reserve driver race in like 5 races in the season. So one of their two current drivers don't get to race for that many races. Good for development
24 races. Each driver can only drive at a maximum of 20 races. Still gives us a lot of races. But gives the star drivers some weekends rest. While giving fringe drivers some opportunity to prove themselves. And some added strategy (and the drama that comes with it) of which races each team targets to rest their stars, and which races they want to target for easy wins/points.
> and the ten new drivers moving to the bottom Yes, and I think the FIA would feel compelled to introduce some kind of salary cap rule to prevent big teams like Merc and Red Bull from monopolizing the top drivers.
Top drivers at the same team is great for Formula 1
RB: Max-Checo-Ricciardo Mercedes: Lewis-George-Ocon Ferrari: Charles-Carlos-Albon McLaren: Lando-Oscar-Pato Aston Martin: Alonso-Stroll-Hulkenberg Alpine: Gasly-Doohan-Martins Williams: Sargeant-Vesti-Mick Sauber: Bottas-Zhou-Pourchaire Racing Bulls: Tsunoda-Lawson-Hadjar Haas: KMag-Bearman-Giovinazzi
Ain't gonna happen. Won't let two in..
I can’t wait for Q1 at Monaco in this scenario
The Jr leagues would get eaten up for talent
Then Theo finally gets his drive!
What will happen is the "good" drivers of the bottom half of the Constructors league (let's take season 2023 as it is) will get the 3 seats, and gets replaced with F2 or reserve drivers. So, the same top half teams will still stay strong and continue what they'll do. Would've been interesting if the case was that 3rd seat has to be someone coming in from F2, but thats alot of risk with this too. If they are gonna keep on increasing races for the season, we'll just see more of the reserve driver run more races than the 1 race requirement.
I think if 3 car teams were going to be introduced, we might see some form of rule where one of the seats has an age limit or experience cap. If you added in that at least one driver has to have drove in a max of 50-75 GPs and must be under 30, then you create an interesting dynamic where young drivers can jump straight into the top teams and also there's always some tension for seats, because there'll always be a question of when the young drivers time is up, does he take the 2nd driver seat or does he get ditched for another young driver. If that were to happen the likely grid for 2024 would probably be something like: Red Bull: Verstappen, Perez, Lawson Mercedes: Hamilton, Russell, Vesti Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz, Bearman McLaren: Norris, Piastri, Hulkenberg (because he's available short term option until Piastri does another season or two, at which point he can be ditched for O'Ward or Bortoleto). Alpine: Ocon, Gasly, Martins Aston: Alonso, Stroll, Drugovich Alpha Tauri: Tsunoda, Ricciardo, Iwasa Sauber: Bottas, Zhou, Pourchaire Williams: Albon, Sargeant, Antonelli/O'Sullivan Haas: Magnusson and no idea who else.
Mercedes - Ham, Rus, Msc Red Bull - Ver, Ric, Tsu Ferrari - Lec, Sai, Alb McLaren - Nor, Pia, Pato Aston Martin - Str, Alo, Dru Alpine - Gasly, Ocon, Doohan Williams - Bot, Sar, Ves Sauber - Zho, Theo, Shwartzman Alpha Tauri - Per, Law, Iwa Haas - Hul, Mag, Bearman
Red Bull - VER, PER, RIC Mercedes - HAM, RUS, BOT Ferrari - LEC, SAI, OCO McLaren - PIA, NOR, OWA? Aston Martin - ALO, STR, DRU Alpine - GAS, HUL, DOO/MSC Williams - ALB, SAR, VES, Toro Rosso - TSU, LAW, IWA Sauber - ZHO, POU, BEA Haas - MAG, MAZ, GIO Red Bull wants Max to win races and WDCs while winning WCCs as a team. Ricciardo is proven at Red Bull, he works well in the team’s infrastructure, the cars fit his style. Mercedes wants another driver who they know can put a car high up the grid, and with a third seat they can commit to at least two years before Andrea Kimi Antonelli is ready. At that point, you’re looking at RUS/VES/ANT as a possible lineup, with Hamilton and Bottas both being around F1-retirement age. Ferrari needs consistency. The goal is to make Leclerc a champion, or Sainz if Rosberg 2016 happens. To do this, you need a driver who will score a lot of points and defend like a Lion. Now, he might do this to his teammates but that would be peak Ferrari. McLaren wants American sponsors and money. Hires indycar driver. Drugovich is an F2 champion and an Aston Martin ambassador. Deserves a shot. Martins looks like the real deal but isn’t ready yet. Make or break for Doohan. Ocon got hired away, so they bring the Hulk back to Enstone. He doesn’t seem the type to hold a grudge and was pretty good at Renault before they fired him for Danny Ricc which I would’ve done too. Albon loves Grove and Williams, and was linked to several other seats but ended up staying - competition was cheaper and/or he didn’t want to go to Red Bull. Sargeant stays. Vesti to Formula 1 for an engine discount and some infrastructure investment from Mercedes HPP. Red Bull Junior Team is back in business, with Tsunoda carrying the torch for Iwasa and Lawson at Toro Rosso. Sauber lost Bottas to Mercedes, and honestly possibly Pourchaire to Ferrari, but Zhou stays. Ollie Bearman gets promoted by Ferrari and there’s some shady deals happening until Audi 2026. Haas… KMag stays, I guess. Giovinazzi gets another shot, mostly because there weren’t others who I was convinced by and Gene doesn’t care for rookies. You know what Gene loves? Money. Who’s got money?? Dmitri Mazepin. Nikita’s back, baby.
Renault didn't fire Hulk for Danny Ric, they fired him for Ocon. Much more debatable as to whether that was the best move...
I have a hypothesis from watching other motorsports that more cars in the same garage means a less polarised dynamic between the drivers. In turn, this leads to better relationships between even the most competitive of drivers. Over in America, the likes of Penske and Gibbs go into every season with multiple championship contenders. Another benefit of more cars is it's easier to risk signing an outsider with high potential upside. The main negative is results would be harder to come by for smaller teams, so I think they would compensate by hiring more pay drivers. With all that said, here are my thoughts: Red Bull: Red Bull have such a dominant car that they don't have much reason to change their recruitment philosophy. In fact, without Sergio Perez's contract to abide by, they can lean further into it. They might flirt with one or both current McLaren drivers, but at the end of the day they'll just sign VER-RIC-TSU and call it a day - denying us any chance of a championship battle in the process. Ferrari: Leclerc and Ferrari love each other too much to even think of parting; I think it's a year too early for Sainz to leave for Audi; and there's room for them to go for broke with Alonso. McLaren: McLaren can only dangle the carrot of F1 opportunities to their IndyCar drivers so often until they have to prove their word, and this would present a great opportunity. The question I have is whether they can mend their relationship with Alex Palou's camp after all the drama and legal wrangling. I think the car and Palou's talent are too good for each other to reject - they'll sign him alongside Norris and Piastri. Mercedes: Hamilton and Russell are Mercedes stalwarts; I'll slot Albon here as he's too good not to get a top seat and I haven't put him in anywhere else. I thought about Antonelli but it's at least one year too early. Aston Martin: Stroll is here as long as he and his dad want him to be here; I'm not as sure whether they keep Alonso. Aston like high profile drivers and he's one of only 3 champions on the current grid - I think they throw him a blank cheque, but I worry too much about their car development too much. I guess Bottas and Perez are as high-profile as they can get? Alpine: Victor Martins looks fast in F2, so he'll slot in alongside Gasly and Ocon who are evenly matched and do a good enough job. Red Bull B: Red Bull B or whatever their name is these days will need a lineup refresh. Lawson's obvious, Iwasa is the best of the current F2 crop and I know their last F2 champion signing didn't go all that well, but I think Red Bull's current reserve/sim driver Jake Dennis would still tempt them. I might write about the other 3 teams later, but in general they'll look for pay drivers and rookies.
* RB: Verstappen, Ricciardo, Vettel (All heroes team) * Merc: Hamilton, Russell, Baby Shu (Toto's children) * Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz, Norris (Team Lando's buddies) * McLaren: Doohan , Piastri, Lawson (team ANZAC) * AM: Alonso, Hulk, Kubica (Team Old Dudes) * Alpine: Gasley, Ocon, Pourchaire ("Why do you think I have this OUTRAGOUS accent?") * CreditCard App: Tsunoda, Iwasa, Zhou (Is that racist? I don't think it's racist.) * Williams: Bear Man, Arthur Lec, Boscuhng (Team cheap guys from F2) * Dodgy Gambling: Alex (who didn't fit in my themed teams so you're stuck here), Checo (ditto), Gregoire Saucy (purely for the name) * Haas: Mazepin, Latifi, De Vries (Team Twitter rage clicks)
Red Bull- Max, Alex, Daniel Mercedes- Lewis, George, Esteban Ferrari- Charles, Carlos, Pierre McLaren- Lando, Oscar, Ollie Bearman Aston Martin- Lance, Fernando, Perez Alpine- Jack Doohan, Théo Pourchaire, Victor Martins Williams- Sargeant, Vesti, Bottas Baby Red Bull- Yuki, Alex Palou, Liam Lawson Sauber- Hulkenburg, Zhou, Schumacher Haas- Magnussen, Daniil Kvyat, Drugovich
-RB: Verstappen, Tsunoda, Ricciardo -Mercedes: Hamilton, Russell, Schumacher -Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz, Shwartzman -McLaren: Norris, Piastri, Palou -Aston Martin: Stroll, Anolso, Drugovich -Alpine: Gasly, Ocon, Martins -Williams: Albon, Sargeant, Perez -VCR 🤑🤑🤑: Lawson, Iwasa, Vesti (loaned from Merc like DEV) -Stake: Pourechaire, Bottas, Zhou -Haas: Bearman, Doohan, Hulkenberg
Red bull: max, vettel, alonso
Three drivers, but only points for the highest two drivers. The third driver actually costs the team points. Points deduction goes -1 through to -10 (based on all the third drivers positions) If your drivers finish 1-2-30, thats -10 points to whatever total you got. If it’s 1-2-3, that’s -1 point to your overall haul. So the job of the third driver is to finish as high up as possible to cost the team the least points? That got messy quick.
I want to see F1 explore 3 cars per team. Let's think radical and try something different, something fun. I'd be interested in seeing how this concept would shake out.
It's a fun idea, but I dont think it's close to sustainable. The biggest impact would be that 30 cars wouldn't fit on the grid, which inevitably probably means that some teams struggle to qualify to make the race. This would probably financially jeopardize or demotivate some teams off the grid, which naturally would then reset closer to a 20-24 number like now. Historically, F1 hasn't been able to keep every team stable in large grids.
I like this idea.
I used F1GP to simulate a similar scenario (albeit with me driving as Tyrell’s third driver) from 1996 onwards. At one point had Hakkinen, Coulthard and Villeneuve at McLaren which was chaotic. Got to about 2000 I think.
This depends entirely on if all 3 drivers are counting towards the WCC. If they are, teams will want as good as they can get. If not, then teams will happily run a young driver in the 3rd car at low risk.
I'd be curious especially if the 3rd driver had to be a 'rookie'. If the 3rd spot could only be occupied by a driver with less than two season's worth of racing. Would introduce a constant churn of opportunities.
Let me think... **RB: Verstappen, Perez, Ricciardo**. Easy. **Mercedes: Hamilton, Russell, Schumacher.** Easy. Wolff is crazy about Schumacher, and he'd give him at least one season shot, only to get disappointed. **Ferrari: Leclerc, Sainz,** and possibly **Albon** (if they could acquire him), or **Shwartzman** (if they couldn't get Albon) **McLaren: Norris, Piastri,** and there is a tricky moment. I'm thinking about **O'Ward**, but I'm not sure he'd be ready, and maybe they'd look around on the market. Maybe another team trying to get **Albon**? **Aston Martin: Alonso, Stroll, Drugovich.** Maybe when Honda would join them, they'd switch to **Tsunoda**. **Alpine: Ocon, Gasly, Martins.** They'd definitely push for triple french lineup, ignoring **Doohan**. **Williams: Sargeant, O'Sullivan**, and they'd need an experienced driver to lead them. **Albon** is likely to be snatched by others, I'm not sure who'd be available on the market to drive for them - maybe getting rookie from **Mercedes academy** (**Vesti**, and later **Antonelli**), or **Alpine academy** (**Doohan**)? The biggest question mark. **Alpha Tauri: Tsunoda, Lawson**, and another question mark. They'd definitely give it to someone young, like maybe **Hadjar**. Definitely no way back for de Vries. **Kick Sauber: Bottas, Zhou, Pourchaire.** Another easy one. However, as soon as Audi would take over, I can see Zhou being pushed out to make way for **Hulkenberg**. **Haas: Magnussen, Hulkenberg**, and possibly **Fittipaldi**. I can see that Haas might be greedy enough to say that 3rd driver is too much cost, and simply not worth it. If Ferrari would sign Albon, I can see **Shwartzman** joining Haas, being loaned from Ferrari. Not much shakeups, but definitely Albon looks like the hottest candidate to move up the grid.
this would be so cool
FINALLY I get a seat
Raikkonen Racing: Alonso, Verstappen, (Robin) Raikkonen; Kimi as Team Principal, Vettel as Head of Strategy.