List of drivers who should leave or should not be in Formula One for the 2021 season.

[MKSixer]

Yes...here we go. The silly season continues. This is strictly an opinion piece so there is no right or wrong. Here is my list...put yours up, as well.

Flamesuit on.

Alonso - Why is he coming back?
Kimi - Give up the seat for a younger driver.
KMAG - Crash magnet and bad decision maker.
RoGro - See above. I love him as a personality & he is fast but enough is enough.
Kyvat - He hasn't progressed though he puts in good performances on occasion.
Giovannazi - Really?!?!!! Why is he on the grid FFS?!!!
Latiffi - C'mon. This is getting embarrassing.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Alonso - Why is he coming back?
Kimi - Give up the seat for a younger driver.
KMAG - Crash magnet and bad decision maker.
RoGro - See above. I love him as a personality & he is fast but enough is enough.
Kyvat - He hasn't progressed though he puts in good performances on occasion.
Giovannazi - Really?!?!!! Why is he on the grid FFS?!!!
Latiffi - C'mon. This is getting embarrassing.

Pretty much in agreement with all of the above.
I'd add Vettel...a driver I like and who was a pretty good pedlar at his best but he seems to have lost his mojo.....Now would seem like a good time to hang up his crash helmet and spend more time with his family. Some media work would surely be available for such an affable man

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Pretty much in agreement with all of the above.
I'd add Vettel...a driver I like and who was a pretty good pedlar at his best but he seems to have lost his mojo.....Now would seem like a good time to hang up his crash helmet and spend more time with his family. Some media work would surely be available for such an affable man

Yeah, what they said.

You two lads have called it, for sure.

This begs for those who should be in F1....clearly Hulk should be back on the F1 grid.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Pretty much in agreement with all of the above.
I'd add Vettel...a driver I like and who was a pretty good pedlar at his best but he seems to have lost his mojo.....Now would seem like a good time to hang up his crash helmet and spend more time with his family. Some media work would surely be available for such an affable man

Thanks!
I didn't add VET because I still see worth in him. He's been broken by LEC but I think he can put it back together. Additionally, if he will be driving an iteration of the W10 by tRacing Point, it may give an indication of how the W1X compares to the Ferrari car of 2019. If he doesn't produce then...it will be time for him to go.

Originally Posted by racerbruce

Yeah, what they said.

You two lads have called it, for sure.

This begs for those who should be in F1....clearly Hulk should be back on the F1 grid.

I'd say the Hulk and Perez. I'd also add Mick Schumacher.

[rcracin]

I don’t see why Ocon has a drive. Wasnt impressive at Force India and isn’t at all at Renault. Stroll isn’t making much of his free drive. If you can’t consistently challenge your teammate, you shouldn’t be in F1. The exception is Gasly with how well he’s doing at Alpha. Something’s wrong with the non-Verstappen side of the garage.

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by rcracin

I don’t see why Ocon has a drive. Wasnt impressive at Force India and isn’t at all at Renault. Stroll isn’t making much of his free drive. If you can’t consistently challenge your teammate, you shouldn’t be in F1. The exception is Gasly with how well he’s doing at Alpha. Something’s wrong with the non-Verstappen side of the garage.

Great response...I'll give a little push back on 2 points. Ocon has done pretty well in the lesser formulae and is getting stronger. Stroll is a multiple podium winner and is pretty damn good in the rain.

On RBR...they have an organizational problem and it's reflected in their points scored for the Constructors Championship. HAM has more points than their entire team. I believe that it is because that they have gone in such a radical direction on car development. Of course one must develop the car in a direction to best fit the fastest driver but they now have 2 drivers, with GAS being redeemed by this season, that say the car is, "challenging". Maybe they should tone back the dev towards the center and reap more points rather than giving VER carte blanche on the direction the car is developed. They need a better balance between one lap pace and race pace.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

On RBR...they have an organizational problem and it's reflected in their points scored for the Constructors Championship. HAM has more points than their entire team. I believe that it is because that they have gone in such a radical direction on car development. Of course one must develop the car in a direction to best fit the fastest driver but they now have 2 drivers, with GAS being redeemed by this season, that say the car is, "challenging". Maybe they should tone back the dev towards the center and reap more points rather than giving VER carte blanche on the direction the car is developed. They need a better balance between one lap pace and race pace.

By all accounts RBR have developed a very pointy car to suit Verstappen which as a by-product is fairly unstable at the limit. Albon would apparently prefer a more more evenly balanced car.
Plus some of the strategy calls by RBR for Albon have been pretty much off the wall often leaving him near the back of the race with little chance of making progress.
That RBR managed to make Gasly (a highly skilled racer) look very average points to some pretty funky second driver race management.
In the past getting into the RBR young driver program was quite desirable for a youngster...it is fast becoming undesirable. Explaining why RBR are looking outside their program for a replacement for Albon.
Perez should really be top of their list given he can quite often have a decent race and would bring a bucket load of Mexican Pesos...but I suspect he wouldn't get the Verstappnes vote.

[racerbruce]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

By all accounts RBR have developed a very pointy car to suit Verstappen which as a by-product is fairly unstable at the limit. Albon would apparently prefer a more more evenly balanced car.
Plus some of the strategy calls by RBR for Albon have been pretty much off the wall often leaving him near the back of the race with little chance of making progress.
That RBR managed to make Gasly (a highly skilled racer) look very average points to some pretty funky second driver race management.
In the past getting into the RBR young driver program was quite desirable for a youngster...it is fast becoming undesirable. Explaining why RBR are looking outside their program for a replacement for Albon.
Perez should really be top of their list given he can quite often have a decent race and would bring a bucket load of Mexican Pesos...but I suspect he wouldn't get the Verstappnes vote.

Regardless of designing the RB F1 car around VER, the bigger question is....what happened to the incomparable aero deisgner Adrian Newey and his dominance in F1....

[rcracin]

I’m really happy to see Grosjean go. He hasn’t contributed anything to F1 in years, if ever.

For Kimi and Alonso, if they really want to be in F1, why not take on a development role? Or try to become part owner of a team? Sort of how basketball players go on to become coaches. Maybe I’ll eat my words and Alonso will get a win next year, given how Ricciardo has been doing well with the car and the Renault should be even better next year.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by racerbruce

Regardless of designing the RB F1 car around VER, the bigger question is....what happened to the incomparable aero deisgner Adrian Newey and his dominance in F1....

Interesting point...I did wonder during the last GP why RBR didn't give up some downforce for a higher top speed.
No doubt they do their due diligence and take the best compromise...but for instance at the last track the straight was always going to be the best overtaking opportunity.

[FormulaMMM]

No flame throwing, but some feedback!

Originally Posted by MKSixer

Alonso - Why is he coming back? Good for Renault, good for F1, and bet he whips Ocon. Is there a faster alternative waiting in the wings? Remains to be seen. Look forward to seeing him back.
Kimi - Give up the seat for a younger driver. Soon as a younger Alfa teammate clearly outpaces him, then I agree to forfeit the entertainment value that is Kimi, but not before then.
KMAG - Crash magnet and bad decision maker.
RoGro - See above. I love him as a personality & he is fast but enough is enough. Agreed, they both deserve to go.
Kyvat - He hasn't progressed though he puts in good performances on occasion. Probably helped seal the deal on Albon yesterday. On his tail for most of the race, but agreed, the RB junior team should be a gateway for future F1 talent. Clear he's not going to be it.
Giovannazi - Really?!?!!! Why is he on the grid FFS?!!!Alfa puts a premium on first lap position improvement, I guess...
Latiffi - C'mon. This is getting embarrassing. When asked over the weekend who he thought was the best up and coming talent in F1, ALO said RUS. I've enjoyed seeing Williams have some moments of relevance this year, none have been thanks to Latifi.

Other 2c --

Seb deserves another shot, and am pulling for him to do well at Aston. Racing Leclerc next season would be fun to see. I think we're looking at apathy on both sides of the relationship at this point, with neither giving their best. Started with the team & car, though, imo. Soon as Seb determined they weren't catering the car to his preferences, he checked out. Unprofessional? Maybe. But I don't think Ferrari always operate in good faith, and if that's Seb's sense, then a middle finger right back every weekend seems fair enough.

Hulk has to be given the RB seat alongside Verstappen...

Perez is deserving of a better seat, but hope he at least lands at Haas. They do business in Mexico, seems to add up.

[Ngilbe36]

Ill provide my opinion before I read through the others.

Alonso - Does he still have it? I guess we will see. Seems like Renault/Alpine wants someone with experience to guide the team and car in the right direction. There has been a lot of talk about how instrumental Daniel was in this regard.

Albon - Eh. I feel bad for the guy, but he just keeps failing when the opportunity arises. Im not expecting him to keep up with Max, but he should at least be in 4th place every other race. Its too bad because he seems like a good kid, but idk if he will/should be in F1 next year

Ocon - Ive seen nothing special all year and I didnt see anything special when he was at RP, except for the Max incident. lol

Stroll - He almost had me convinced he deserved a spot for a few races there. Now I am a non-believer again

Latifi - Stroll 2.0 IMO.

Mag - Good riddance.

Grosjean - Same sentiment as KMAG

[SenorFunkyPants]

Alonso might still have some of his old magic...but he seemed to be quite toxic to the teams he raced with after Renault
Maybe returning to Renault will work out...but someone needs to wire his mouth shut and/or tell him not to try and run the team from within the cars cockpit.

[bitterspeak]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Alonso might still have some of his old magic...but he seemed to be quite toxic to the teams he raced with after Renault
Maybe returning to Renault will work out...but someone needs to wire his mouth shut and/or tell him not to try and run the team from within the cars cockpit.

Listen to Zak Brown's interview on Beyond the Grid. It brings surprising insight to Alonso's 2nd stint at McLaren.

[yco]

Kimi is still doing sometimes decent sometimes pretty good job but yeah for younger drivers its true.. he occupies a seat but i guess he is pretty useful for the car development as well..

Alonso looks like a different Alonso than the one left McLaren.. that version was horrible i hope this time he ll be a "better man"..

for Grosjean.. even if you re saying its enough what can i say MK..

i guess Gio is like a representative of Italy thats why he is in F1..
KMag used to race harder, its interesting to watch his defenses never been fan of pushing other drivers out though.. Latifi's money probably wont be enough to keep him in F1 sooner or later.. Kvyat.. never been fan of him im sure younger generations can do better things than him..

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by yco

Kimi is still doing sometimes decent sometimes pretty good job but yeah for younger drivers its true.. he occupies a seat but i guess he is pretty useful for the car development as well..

Alonso looks like a different Alonso than the one left McLaren.. that version was horrible i hope this time he ll be a "better man"..

for Grosjean.. even if you re saying its enough what can i say MK..

i guess Gio is like a representative of Italy thats why he is in F1..
KMag used to race harder, its interesting to watch his defenses never been fan of pushing other drivers out though.. Latifi's money probably wont be enough to keep him in F1 sooner or later.. Kvyat.. never been fan of him im sure younger generations can do better things than him..

All accurate. I'm not hopeful on Alonso. Old dogs and new tricks..

I like GRO as a person and feel sorry for him as a racer because I still see him from back in his Lotus days. But now, he's gotta go!!

[yco]

Originally Posted by MKSixer

All accurate. I'm not hopeful on Alonso. Old dogs and new tricks..

I like GRO as a person and feel sorry for him as a racer because I still see him from back in his Lotus days. But now, he's gotta go!!

i guess Alonso dreams old Renault days but he has to be constructive in the team.. this is a horrible conversation really..

[yco]

Originally Posted by bitterspeak

Listen to Zak Brown's interview on Beyond the Grid. It brings surprising insight to Alonso's 2nd stint at McLaren.

can we have some info about it in a nutshell?

[MKSixer]

Originally Posted by yco

i guess Alonso dreams old Renault days but he has to be constructive in the team.. this is a horrible conversation really..

Really one of the worst. There are 1000 people back at the factory that need every bit of encouragement, as well. Not surprising.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Don't see MAX in the list ! Guys c'mon are you serious ?

[wdb]

Originally Posted by FormulaMMM

Soon as Seb determined they weren't catering the car to his preferences, he checked out. Unprofessional? Maybe. But I don't think Ferrari always operate in good faith, and if that's Seb's sense, then a middle finger right back every weekend seems fair enough.

If he hadn't done exactly the same thing in his last year at RBR I might see your point. But Seb is simply unprofessional, period.

I expect sparks to fly at Aston Martin next year with VET and STR in the same garage. VET will come out worse of course, his daddy is not part owner.

[FormulaMMM]

Originally Posted by wdb

If he hadn't done exactly the same thing in his last year at RBR I might see your point. But Seb is simply unprofessional, period.

I expect sparks to fly at Aston Martin next year with VET and STR in the same garage. VET will come out worse of course, his daddy is not part owner.

wasn't there a performance-based exit clause in that final contract year at rbr, i.e., didn't he gain the right to jump ship because the "car" wasn't performing? Yeah, I'm not sure we saw Seb at his best in that season either.

I probably see F1 more Machiavellian than most. I don't care if there's any love or loyalty between teams and managers, drivers and teams, drivers and drivers, teammates. The more ruthless on and off track stuff (within reason -- not rooting for grievous injuries or death), the better.

And on that note, let the sparks fly at Aston next year. Seb must surely have performance assurances and related stipulations structured into the contract. He's not that naive. Mopping the floor with a 4x wdc would look too good on the Stroll resume.

I just sincerely hope he's racing the Ferraris as well.