2022-2023 Silly Season Thread

[Ferrari333SP]

Someone on another forum said Alpine only offered his a 1 year, whereas Aston offered him 2 years. Not sure I buy that though, as surely Alpine knows how good Alonso has been with the car this year, and surely if Alpine believes the team will improve, they'd be incentivized to keep Alonso on the team for multiple more years.

[AndreasDavour]

If Alpine offered Alonso a 1 year deal they are stupider than they look.

[Alan52]

Alpine had 2 drivers signed for F1 2023 nearly a year ago.Ocon and Piastri.Alonso would have made 3.
They don’t have a “satellite” team so to place Piastri somewhere else would have cost them close to half the budget of a F1 team.
It was time to look to the future.
C’mon Oscar!

[AndreasDavour]

I kind of expected Alpine to keep Alonso to be able to put him into their sportscar program. Odd one.

[steve_r]

Alpine have a young hot shot waiting in the wings that they might lose unless they give him a race seat. Ocon is on a strangely long contract. Ocon and Alonso are usually well matched, and as good as Alonso is, I think i understand their call.

Alpine have been battling to be "best of the rest" for years in the congested midfield and are in the same position yet again, so I personally don't see Aston as a massive step down for Alonso (Other might disagree!). In fact Aston might well pull a rabbit out the hat again like they did with the Pink Mercedes a couple of years ago.

[GreenMachine]

Interesting times ahead at AM. Lance will have a real benchmark to judge himself by, and will certainly fall short. How that plays within the team will be interesting, and possibly spectacular.

I wonder what his contract says about equipment and his place in the team - equal, team leader? I reckon Ferdy would settle for equality, believing that he can achieve No1 status on performance if the cars are equal.

Good to see him stay, he still has the fire and the skill to go with it.

[Born Racer]

Originally Posted by steve_r

Alpine have a young hot shot waiting in the wings that they might lose unless they give him a race seat.

He's not that young anymore, but it's good to see the Australian finally get the chance he's always been looking for - Webber to Renault at last.

[S griffin]

I wonder if Alpine had a word with Alonso about making way for Oscar, knowing they couldn’t let this star of the future slip through their fingertips?

Anyway, good signing by Aston. Fred has still got it and he will surely give them plenty of results. I’m sure publicity has played a part in his signing, but he won’t be a pushover.

Although knowing his luck, Alpine will start winning next year!

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by Alan52

Alpine had 2 drivers signed for F1 2023 nearly a year ago.Ocon and Piastri.Alonso would have made 3.
They don’t have a “satellite” team so to place Piastri somewhere else would have cost them close to half the budget of a F1 team.
It was time to look to the future.
C’mon Oscar!

Yes, that’s the problem for Piastri. There was no junior team for him, so he had to spend this year on the sidelines.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by steve_r

Alpine have a young hot shot waiting in the wings that they might lose unless they give him a race seat. Ocon is on a strangely long contract. Ocon and Alonso are usually well matched, and as good as Alonso is, I think i understand their call.

That was my thinking, Alonso was looking ahead and figured more money and an extra year (if Aston at 2 and Alpine at 1) without having to look over his shoulder at getting pushed out for the new kid. It's not like Alonso is hauling in plenty of points over Ocon

[Alan52]

Originally Posted by S griffin

Yes, that’s the problem for Piastri. There was no junior team for him, so he had to spend this year on the sidelines.

He didn’t mind doing that because he had a contract in his pocket guaranteeing him a drive for 2023.How Alpine have decided to play that out became apparent today.

[GusGasfuss]

I don't see Alonso going for money. Maybe for longer contract or has lost trust in Alpine, because it will be limited money in future etc.


And of course no other offers...
All big teams are closed for years, or don't want to have a rather old man, who might get away the merits.



Maybe Aston & Stroll can at least give a good shot on future.

[bathurst77]

I think 12 months being alpine reserve test driver would have helped oscar
He got to watch and learn from fred and ocon. He has done plenty of miles on simulator and in last years car private testing and he has got on first name and friends with the team (one hopes)

When he gets in the next year he will have been prepped and not thrown in cold

[Casper]

Good, that move ensures he will never win another race again. You might gather I am not a fan and you would be right.

[AndreasDavour]

Originally Posted by GusGasfuss

I don't see Alonso going for money. Maybe for longer contract or has lost trust in Alpine, because it will be limited money in future etc.

Yeah, others might have different information, but I wouldn't imagine money being a big part of it. I haven't gotten the information that is a huge motivator for Alonso. That being said, Stroll Sr has said he is willing to spend...

[S griffin]

I don’t doubt Stroll Sr is serious about winning and will try whatever means to get results. He has already got the 5 year plan to be champions.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by S griffin

I don’t doubt Stroll Sr is serious about winning and will try whatever means to get results. He has already got the 5 year plan to be champions.

I recall a variety of long-gone teams (or different guises of current teams) setting out plans for world domination. Practically none of them came to fruition.

Remember BAR? Craig Pollock's famous quip that they would "win a race in the first year (1999)". They never managed that in any season before being bought out by Honda, and we know how *that* ended up!

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by GusGasfuss

I don't see Alonso going for money. Maybe for longer contract or has lost trust in Alpine, because it will be limited money in future etc.

Perhaps he's getting cheesed off by his teammate not always able to see the bigger picture too.....

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Casper

Good, that move ensures he will never win another race again. You might gather I am not a fan and you would be right.

That clears that up then.....

[Tourer]

I have nothing against Alonso but now that he's moving on, wonder if Alpine might put him on gardening leave before the end of the season and have Piastri in the car for some of this year's races?
If the future is Alpine's focus, there could be quite a bit of benefit in that approach - could help Piastri really hit the ground running at the start of next year.

[greentrumpet]

Good move, after the last race and the contretemps with Ocon, now could be a good time too reset.

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by Casper

Good, that move ensures he will never win another race again. You might gather I am not a fan and you would be right.

I assume you mean Renault/Alpine, not Piastri? If so, I think you are right and wrong. I agree, I too have no expectations for the team so he is highly unlikely to win in blue. Having said that, Ocon did, so never say never.

What it will do is give him the opportunity to make his mark. Blow Ocon away first, and then consistently outperform the car, and they will be lining up outside his door.

All he has do do is avoid the Norris trap of signing a long term contract with a mid-field team (especially Alpine), and the world is his oyster.

[Theunser]

Another interesting question to me is the Sauber seat alongside Bottas. Zhou is great so far, but they also have Pourchaire lined up for a seat.
What would you do if you were Sauber? Keep Zhou and risk losing Pourchaire to another team, or let the impressive chinese, who has a big sponsorship also, go to a rival team and take a risk with the talented, yet F1 wise unproven frenchman?

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

I assume you mean Renault/Alpine, not Piastri? If so, I think you are right and wrong. I agree, I too have no expectations for the team so he is highly unlikely to win in blue. Having said that, Ocon did, so never say never.

What it will do is give him the opportunity to make his mark. Blow Ocon away first, and then consistently outperform the car, and they will be lining up outside his door.

All he has do do is avoid the Norris trap of signing a long term contract with a mid-field team (especially Alpine), and the world is his oyster.

I suspect the OP (original poster, not Oscar Piastri!) is referring to Alonso.

Also, any Piastri contract was signed long ago.

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by peebee2

I suspect the OP (original poster, not Oscar Piastri!) is referring to Alonso.

.

Ahhhh!

Well I think the sentiment about Piastri/Renault/Alpine holds for Ferdy too. Never say never, but AM seem even less likely to win in the foreseeable future. It will give him the opportunity to throw his weight around in the team though, and maybe in two or three years AM will rise upwards, maybe even head the midfield chasing pack, so there could be some on-track fun to be had, perhaps even the odd opportunistic podium, but that is as far as I can see all that is likely.