2016 Formula 1

[Methanolic]

[devo22]

Rosberg retires from racing. Holy cow, this is coming out of nowhere!

[DoubleK]

Put Jenson in the Merc!!!

[Fuzz]

Well that is shocking. I wonder if he realized this season was his only chance to beat Lewis, and he'd be second fiddle to him for the rest of his career. I think deep down he knows Lewis is the better driver.

Jenson sounds like he has mentally checked out of the sport. I think he is still under contract with Mclaren for next year as well. I have no idea who they are going to put in. I don't think Werlein is good enough to get that seat.

[Fuzz]

I wonder, had Lewis known Rosberg would quit if he won, he would have let Rosberg have it a little easier at Abu Dhabi so he didn't have to race with him in 2017.

[DoubleK]

Di Resta is probably the best driver not in a seat for next season. I can't see Gutierrez getting that drive.

[Fuzz]

Forgot about Di Resta. Could be interesting, give him a 1 year contract and see how he does. Wonder if Mercedes would prefer to have a German driver though.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Wow tough choice but good for him.

Difficult for MB as most of the field has locked up a drive for next year. They may have to find someone for just next year. Then go after a bigger name.

[wontondestruction]

Walking away at the pinnacle of his success whilst still being very young, that takes balls.

[DoubleK]

I don't think 31 qualifies as young in F1

[wontondestruction]

Originally Posted by DoubleK

I don't think 31 qualifies as young in F1

Maybe so, but with the championship under his belt, he could easily drive for another 5 years, or so.

I wonder who takes the empty seat. Does MB promote a driver from a lower formula, or do they lure a driver away from another team, starting a domino effect. As usual, the off-season is turning out to me more interesting than most of the actual racing.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I have to think the stress of driving against Lewis also is getting to him. If he was the clear #1 at his team and wasn't on the wrong side of 30, maybe he stays a bit longer. I dont' want that to sound like I think Nico is shying away, I just think he knows at his age, with that teammate, he probably knows the chances of him beating Lewis again is only going to get harder.

What does he have left to prove? What a perfect time to step down.

[Swift]

Man, why does any of it need to be about Hamilton? The guy set out to achieve something, did it and, as he put it, has no mountain left to climb. Good on him.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Because it is interesting?

Lewis vs Nico will go down as one of the great teammate rivalries in history.

It seems willfully ignorant to just pretend like their rivalry and competition didn't exist.

[Swift]

Right, but people are acting like the reason he's retiring is because he's scared of Hamilton.

Why can't it just be that he's achieved his dream, and now gets to ride off into the sunset with his young family, tons of money and his health?

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Well maybe you didn't mean me, but I specifically said in my post I don't think he's scared of Hamilton.

[wontondestruction]

I thought Nico's post-race interviews about how hard and stressful the race was, was him being humble. Now it looks like the stress really got to him, I'm sure it had been building all season (probably the last 3 seasons), and it's not something he wants to re-live.

https://twitter.com/fia/status/804720556146728961

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by wontondestruction

Now it looks like the stress really got to him, I'm sure it had been building all season (probably the last 3 seasons), and it's not something he wants to re-live

This 100%. Austin really hurt him badly last year. You could see it on his face after Suzuka that he was really feeling pressure and wasn't enjoying the fight anymore.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

While we're all talking about news. I'm not gonna link everything because I'm lazy but lots of news, even though the season is over.

F1 will almost certainly be returning to France in 2018. Paul Ricard Circuit. July.

Germany is not having a race in 2017. Hockenheim won't do it again and Nurburgring doesn't want to step in.

Brazil may drop the race in the future but looks to have been confirmed for 2017.

Malaysia and Singapore may both not renew their contracts when up. I think it was after next year. Maybe 2018. Sounds like it is getting far too expensive to host races. Fees are too high and the promoters aren't making money off of it. I feel bad for Montrealers a bit because their mayor and promoter probably should have played hardball. I'm guessing those poor Montreal taxpayers are gonna foot the bill to renovate Circuit Villeneuves, all the while the multi billion dollar industry they support keeps raking in the cash and us fans pony up huge ticket prices. Sound familiar?

Red Bull is dropping Total as their fuel and lubricants supplier and going to ExxonMobil who are leaving McLaren. This is all fascinating behind the scenes stuff, especially since the engine manufacturer, in RBs case Renault, often works closely with the fuel/lube supplier, in Renault's case still Total, to ensure they get max performance. McLaren Honda are likely to go to Castro (BP) since Honda has a good relationship with them.

A crackpot proposal was made to have standing starts after EVERY safety car. It passed one vote but is unlikely to pass the teams vote IIRC.

They may finally make a change to the stewards/review system for penalties and such. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like it will include permanent stewards, just a review system to try and achieve some measure of consistency.

[Fuzz]

Love the French circuit. Looking forward to seeing that one again. I wonder if they will look at adding another US race in the near future?

That grid restart after safety car is a ridiculous idea. Maybe even worse than the one this year that ####ed qualifying. Remember that one? Ya, still trying to forget. Which means these boneheads are totally going to do it for the first 4 races, try every permutation, then drop it. Because F1.