123 replies to this topic

[HistoryFan]

Sam Smith about the driver market:

https://the-race.com...-driver-market/

 

It seems 4 drivers have an contract:

Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Techeetah)

Antonio Felix da Costa (DS Techeetah)

Mitch Evans (Jaguar)

Robin Frijns (Virgin-Audi)

 

DS Techeetah: Antonio Felix da Costa - Jean Eric Vergne

BMW-Andretti: Maximilian Günther (?) - Alexander Sims (?)

Jaguar: Mitch Evans - Oliver Turvey (?)

Nissan e.dams: Sébastien Buemi (?) - Oliver Rowland (?)

Mercedes: Stoffel Vandoorne (?) - Nyck de Vries (?)

Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler: Lucas di Grassi (?) - Nico Müller (?)

Virgin-Audi: Sam Bird (?) - Robin Frijns

Venturi-Mercedes: Edoardo Mortarta (?) - Felipe Massa (?)

Porsche: André Lotterer (?) - Brendon Hartley (?)

Mahindra: Jérôme D'Ambrosio (?) - Pascal Wehrlein (?)

Dragon: Sergio Sette Câmara (?) - Joel Eriksson (?)

Nio333-Dragon: Guanyu Zhou (?) - Antonio Fuoco (?)

 

I can imagine Oliver Turvey to Jaguar as a huge surprise.

 

I can't imagine Abt and Jani staying at their current team for another season. The same for Calado at Jaguar.

[HistoryFan]

I wonder what impact of Audi leaving DTM will have on Formula E's driver market. For me it seems very unrealistic that Daniel Abt will keep his Audi seat. More likely Nico Müller or René Rast will get the seat.

[Anja]

The DTM news just seals it for me, anyone other than Rast joining Audi will be a big disappointment. He 100% deserves this chance. 

[Vielleicht]

Abt's position is a little less secure now I would say. McNish is a fan of driver continuity - but there will be even more pressure to perform now that Audi have placed their primary focus on FE as their standard bearer in motorsport.

 

Has Rast expressed interest in an FE seat before?

[maximilian]

If I was [almost any team] I would try to get Cassidy...

[thegamer23]

I would take Muller over Rast honestly.

He's young and showed great flashes of speed.
This season he's struggling with Dragon, but we know it isn't the best package out there.
Still, he was fighting at the front in Mexico before the crash.

Porsche needs to get a better driver alongside Lotterer.
The obvious best choice would be Hulkenberg.
If not, i think Hartley could do well with a competitive package.
Better than Jani, for sure.

Also i would like to see Sette Camara on track, one of the best young drivers out there.

Ghuan Zou? Finally a really competitive chinese driver on the grid. Bring It on

Edited by thegamer23, 29 April 2020 - 07:38.

[Alex79]

Virgin is now an Audi customer team. Why not give either Rast or Muller a seat next to Frijns if such problems arise. As for Abt, I don't know how much clout Daniel's father Hansjurgen Abt still has in the organisation.

[Ben1445]

It's unclear how much influence Audi have over Envision Virgin's driver selection - I think both sides have said that Frijns isn't there because of the Audi deal, but that could just be contractually speaking and in reality it's a common sense signing that helps sweeten relations between Envision and Audi. 

 

Sam Bird is also still hot property - the only driver to win a race in every season so far he's got clear speed and experience. His only weakness seems to be consistency, which has kept him from title fights over the years. Would be a shame to see him leave Envision in my opinion. 

 

Abt saved himself from being axed by winning 3 races in season 4 (including the one taken away from him), but since then hasn't been able to replicate this success in Gen2 compared to Lucas di Grassi. The ABT team are entering Extreme E and Daniel is on the list of interested drivers... if he does loose the Audi FE seat he might have that back up I guess. 

[maximilian]

I would take Muller over Rast honestly.

He's young and showed great flashes of speed.
This season he's struggling with Dragon, but we know it isn't the best package out there.
Still, he was fighting at the front in Mexico before the crash.

Porsche needs to get a better driver alongside Lotterer.
The obvious best choice would be Hulkenberg.
If not, i think Hartley could do well with a competitive package.
Better than Jani, for sure.

Also i would like to see Sette Camara on track, one of the best young drivers out there.

Ghuan Zou? Finally a really competitive chinese driver on the grid. Bring It on

 

If Zhou wins F2 this year, he might still make it to F1... otherwise, you would think he's a no-brainer to at least go to NIO 333.

 

I'd still love to see Rene Rast - he is supremely talented, and seems like whatever he drives, he does well.   He's only 33, so not too late to make the transition to open-wheelers.

 

Hartley hasn't been as impressive as I'd hoped, but yeah... Jani needs to go.  Almost anything would be an improvement over him.

 

Was hoping to see Sette Camara in IndyCar, but it does look more likely that FE will be his destination. He deserves a top-level seat.

 

If Hülkenberg WANTED to be in FE, I think he already would be...   

[Ben1445]

As expected, Wehrlein is IN at Porsche for 2021, Jani being moved across to another Porsche program (GT, LMDh?). 

 

https://newsroom.por...erer-21775.html

 

Edited by Ben1445, 14 August 2020 - 07:28.

[JBJ]

As expected, Wehrlein is IN at Porsche for 2021, Jani being moved across to another Porsche program (GT, LMDh?). 

 

https://newsroom.por...erer-21775.html

 

Pascal hit the gym lately

[thegamer23]

Looks like a championship winning combo for Porsche.

Wehrlein-Lotterer is a scary good pair of drivers

[Ben1445]

Confirmed Drivers so far 

 

Panasonic Jaguar Racing - Mitch Evans - Sam Bird 

Envision Virgin Racing - Robin Frijns - Nick Cassidy 

TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team - André Lotterer - Pascal Wehrlein 

DS Techeetah - Jean-Eric Vergne - Antonio Felix da Costa 

Venturi Racing 

Dragon 

​Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 

Nissan e.Dams 

​BMW i Andretti Motorsport 

Mahindra Racing 

Mercedes EQ FE Formula E Team 

Nio 333 FE Team 

Edited by Ben1445, 14 August 2020 - 08:03.

[Pentecost]

If Zhou wins F2 this year, he might still make it to F1... otherwise, you would think he's a no-brainer to at least go to NIO 333.

 

 

 

Zhou is really not going to win F2 with his current form.

 

Btw, why was Wehrlein dropped from Mahindra mid-season? Lynn did a good job there, but I was just wondering.

[Ben1445]

Btw, why was Wehrlein dropped from Mahindra mid-season? Lynn did a good job there, but I was just wondering.

He signed with Porsche sometime during lockdown and there was possibly some contractual breach with Mahindra by doing so which put him out of the last few races. 

 

From Mahindra's point of view it makes sense to try and get someone in who could carry on into S7 rather than losing arguably your star driver to Porsche, taking across any recent developments/knowledge  made in Berlin, and having to find someone new and bring them up to speed. Lynn has done well enough these last few races in my opinion to warrant a race seat at Mahindra next year - his past experiences in the series have definitely left him hungry to prove himself and that seems to be an important quality in Formula E. 

[maximilian]

Confirmed Drivers so far 

 

Panasonic Jaguar Racing - Mitch Evans - Sam Bird 

Envision Virgin Racing - Robin Frijns - Nick Cassidy 

TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team - André Lotterer - Pascal Wehrlein 

DS Techeetah - Jean-Eric Vergne - Antonio Felix da Costa 

Venturi Racing 

Dragon 

​Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler 

Nissan e.Dams 

​BMW i Andretti Motorsport 

Mahindra Racing 

Mercedes EQ FE Formula E Team 

Nio 333 FE Team 

 

And holy crap, are those all cracking line-ups so far!   

[thegamer23]

There's an empty seat at Venturi now too. 

Will Arthur Leclerc make the move to FE?

 

 

Audi should confirm Rast alongside Di Grassi.

Edited by thegamer23, 14 August 2020 - 12:04.

[maximilian]

Has Arthur shown anything worth noting in junior Formulae?  Seems like there would be a LOT of better candidates out there.

 

Wondering where Sims is going, I would presume elsewhere in FE?  Also, who gets the high-profile BMW seat?  I'm hoping Lucas Auer has an outside shot at it, but he's probably not the most likely candidate.

 

Rast has surpassed even my high expectations, and yes, that would make a great Audi line-up again.

 

Also expect Nissan to confirm their two current drivers.  Rowland has done a great job filling in for Albon at the last moment, and would Buemi really look elsewhere?

[Anja]

Will Arthur Leclerc make the move to FE?

 

Much too early I think, he just started the regional F3 this year.

 

I fully expect Audi, Nissan, and Mercedes to retain their current (as of Berlin) lineups. BMW and Mahindra very likely as well. As for the rest, who knows - these less desirable rides are much less predictable. 

[HistoryFan]

DS Techeetah: Antonio Felix da Costa (?) – Jean-Eric Vergne

Nissan e.dams: Sébastien Buemi (?) – Oliver Rowland (?)

Mercedes: Stoffel Vandoorne (?) – Nyck de Vries (?)

Virgin-Audi: Robin Frijns – Nick Cassidy

BMW-Andretti: Maximilian Günther (?) – Marco Wittmann (?)

Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler: Lucas di Grassi (?) – René Rast (?)

Jaguar: Mitch Evans – Sam Bird 

Porsche: André Lotterer – Pascal Wehrlein

Mahindra: Jérôme D’Ambrosio (?) – Alex Lynn (?)

Venturi-Mercedes: Edoardo Mortara (?) – Norman Nato (?)

Dragon: Nico Müller (?) – Sergio Sette Câmara (?)

Nio333-Dragon: Oliver Turvey (?) – Daniel Abt (?)

[Ben1445]

I fully expect Audi, Nissan, and Mercedes to retain their current (as of Berlin) lineups. BMW and Mahindra very likely as well. As for the rest, who knows - these less desirable rides are much less predictable. 

I think these teams might be where younger drivers might take a punt to prove themselves. Max Günther has shown that pathway to exist quite convincingly and if some of the older guys decide to call it a day (like Massa has this year or Lotterer may do in the coming years) or if there's a Lotterer/Da Costa style reshuffle there may be seats available for them to move into. I would expect these could be seats where we see more Günthers, Sette Câmaras - F2/F3 talents hoping for a world stage chance. 

[Vielleicht]

And holy crap, are those all cracking line-ups so far!   

Every single year the field just seem to take a step up in quality almost without fail.

 

And I thought the first season had one of the best fields in racing at the time!

 

Definitely appears to be shaping up to be worthy of the newly minted World Championship status.

[Ben1445]

Do we know when pre-season testing will be for the upcoming season yet? It's a late January 2021 start so they could put it later in the year than usual to match. 

 

Also means the silly season could/should extend into after the typical junior formula seasons end, which might help with selecting any young talent who see FE as a good opportunity. Hopefully means no complications like we've had in the past with overlapping commitments. 

[NorwegianRudo]

Given that Rast and Lynn look likely to continue with their Berlin teams the field looks remarkably stable. Really, barring any shock switches, only one semi-competitive spot at Venturi and possibly one spot at BMW up for grabs, in addition to the also rans at NIO and Dragon.

[Vielleicht]

In Nio333’s defence after a pretty terrible season, Lisheng took over the team quite late on and, after realising the team’s evolution of the season 5 powertrain was a bit useless, made a deal with Dragon to use some of their previous year’s components. I don’t think we’ve seen what Lisheng led Nio333 can really do yet. I’d be interested to know what they’ve been up to regarding their season 7 effort.

If I were them I’d keep Abt over Ma, just because his knowledge from being at Audi and (to be fair to him) his proven winning potential might be able to help them. Abt and Turvey is a really strong pairing for a team like Nio333 and I’d want to hold onto that.

[thegamer23]

Bold prediction: Turvey to Venturi

[Vielleicht]

Bold but would make a lot of sense!

[maximilian]

made a deal with Dragon to use some of their previous year’s components

 

Good grief, they could have partnered with ANY other manufacturer, right?  And they had to pick the second-worst one? 

[William Hunt]

Some teams may want to wait a couple of months to finalise their line-ups because there could be several F1 drivers on the market: Grosjean, Magnussen, Kvyat & Giovinazzi (don't think Kimi would be that interested in Formula E although you never know) may all be possibilities. I could see Grosjean moving to a team like Venturi.

Audi & Nissan look very likely to renew their line-up, at Mercedes Vandoorne may want to wait before extending since he might have a shot at the Alfa F1 seat. 
Nico Müller is at risk of losing his seat I think.

[Pentecost]

Vandoorne may want to wait before extending since he might have a shot at the Alfa F1 seat.

What makes you think that? Wouldn't Ferrari want to put one of their F2 drivers there? I fully expect Shwartzman in the Alfa next year.
Ferrari have a lot of mildly talented drivers coming up. No one of Leclerc's caliber though.

[maximilian]

Vandoorne may want to wait before extending since he might have a shot at the Alfa F1 seat. 

 

Naaaaah, the days where drivers eagerly sign up for a crap F1 seat and give up a plum ride where they actually have a chance of winning in another great series, are long over.  Especially since Stoffel is a Mercedes FACTORY driver.  There is ZERO chance he'll go to Bachmarka Romeo.

[Vielleicht]

Good grief, they could have partnered with ANY other manufacturer, right?  And they had to pick the second-worst one? 

I think the reason was maybe because the Dragon deal allowed them to still enter the parts as their own package whereas the other manufactures were probably only willing to keep to the wholesale customer supply model which the likes of Envision and Venturi use. 

 

If they'd entered as Lisheng Racing they might have gone for the customer model, but they've retained the NIO link and they are a manufacturer in their own right... so they probably needed to avoid becoming an full customer of another manufacturer. The take over and parts deal sounded really last minute, to the point where this season is almost a transition year for Lisheng to work out how to try and turn the team around.

 

On the driver side, Turvey is a huge asset to the team and he has been phenomenally loyal to them so far. I wonder if that will continue...

[maximilian]

 

I think the reason was maybe because the Dragon deal allowed them to still enter the parts as their own package whereas the other manufactures were probably only willing to keep to the wholesale customer supply model which the likes of Envision and Venturi use. 

 

If they'd entered as Lisheng Racing they might have gone for the customer model, but they've retained the NIO link and they are a manufacturer in their own right... so they probably needed to avoid becoming an full customer of another manufacturer. The take over and parts deal sounded really last minute, to the point where this season is almost a transition year for Lisheng to work out how to try and turn the team around.

 

On the driver side, Turvey is a huge asset to the team and he has been phenomenally loyal to them so far. I wonder if that will continue...

 

 

Good point.  Arguably, they are damaging their brand more by trundling hopelessly at the back, though... than they would if they just did what Venturi did - who are also "a manufacturer", right?  I'd rather be competitive and have my logos all over TV.  But what do I know about the automotive business?  

[Vielleicht]

Good point.  Arguably, they are damaging their brand more by trundling hopelessly at the back, though... than they would if they just did what Venturi did - who are also "a manufacturer", right?  I'd rather be competitive and have my logos all over TV.  But what do I know about the automotive business?  

Errr, yeah. The type of arrangement they could have certainly doesn't seem to be an issue in the case of Aston Martin sponsoring a Honda powered Red Bull in F1... but maybe that works for a complex balance of reasons.

 

There's a good write up here from Inside Electric covering the turbulent hand over of the team from NIO to Lisheng Racing. Good context to remember is that NIO wasn't performing very well financially mid last year (they are doing better these days) which led to the dramatic sale of the team and the reduction to being title sponsor only.  

 

But I think the main take away is that Lisheng have long term plans to build what they see as a genuine Chinese team into a success rather than looking for a quick financial return - also that this is the aim with or without NIO. What that really means for them in the driver market next year is that they will have to decide if having Ma in the car is helping them do that or holding them back. If Turvey stays you'd have to say it's a decision between Abt and Ma (and personally I'd go for Abt in that case for his Audi inside knowledge but that's me). If Turvey leaves for somewhere like Venturi the problem might solve itself and leave Abt and Ma as their default drivers... assuming there's no one else who fancies giving it a shot driving for them, that is.

[maximilian]

Oh boy, I sure hope Ma doesn't re-appear.  If Zhou doesn't get into F1 (and with Renault's backlog it doesn't look like he will), they should sign him up in a hurry.  Abt hasn't really shown anything to finish, has he?  He was a better replacement for Ma, but surely there are much better options out there.  Presuming Turvey stays, they could be upgrading by letters in the driver name 2 > 3 > 4 .... Ma > Abt > Zhou.  Makes loads of sense, no? 

[Vielleicht]

I don't think Abt has particularly gelled with the Gen2, but he did record 3 wins on the road (2 in the record books) during season 4, so he's not totally useless as far as I'm concerned. Where his career is going now is a little unclear though, as the announcement that Ma would miss Berlin made it sound like there was intent for him to return. Not that this was ever guarenteed, of course, but it would be interesting to know what Lisheng are planning.

 

Daniel's career is at a bit of a cross roads it has to be said. I had thought we might see him in Extreme E with (no surprises) Abt Sportsline, but now that Ganassi has gone and hired proven off-road names for their entry that's set the bar high for everyone else to hire for experience and not the marketing value of a well known name. Maybe he'll end up doing stuff for the upcoming FTA coverage of Formula E in Germany starting next year.

 

If Zhou is out of options after this season and Lisheng are intent on developing  and showcasing Chinese talent through the team... why not I suppose? Ma has just looked at sea his entire time in FE across multiple teams.

[thegamer23]

That was the Marrakesh Rookie Test Lineup

Maybe we'll see some names from here.

 

 

[Ben1445]

I think the most interesting prospect now might be the Venturi seat. As a Mercedes customer they should be able to get strong results with the right drivers.

[BRG]

Daniel's career is at a bit of a cross roads it has to be said. 

He is going nowhere in FE, now he is out of Audi.  He would do better to be looking elsewhere, back in the fossil fuel racing world.  GTs beckon?

[Vielleicht]

He is going nowhere in FE, now he is out of Audi.  He would do better to be looking elsewhere, back in the fossil fuel racing world.  GTs beckon?

I'm wondering whether this comment from near the end of last season still applies really:

 

At last year’s Bern E-Prix, Abt indicated that leaving Formula E would likely mean the end of his racing career altogether, saying: “I’ve had five amazing years so far and I’ve loved it and enjoyed being here but I see how other motorsport is evolving, I go to a lot of other series and I watch races but I just don’t see the same atmosphere and spirit so it just does not really attract me.”

 

https://inside-elect...n-with-nio-333/

That's what leads me to speculate that he could get in the German TV presenting team. Ran Racing say they want relatable German talent to present the new FTA coverage and Daniel has his YouTube channel following and recent Formula E insight. It could also allow him to stay in the paddock if it's an atmopshere/spirit he particularly enjoys. But I guess we shall see...

[maximilian]

Even if not driving, there is surely a job to be had in the multimillion-Euro ABT racing organization somewhere. I wouldn't worry about him.  Test and development driver in FE may be another gig.

 

But yeah, maybe I am too quick to write him off, but much of his success would have also come from driving for one of the consistently best teams for so many years - always clearly behind his team mate, too.

Edited by maximilian, 18 August 2020 - 13:01.

[William Hunt]

What makes you think that? Wouldn't Ferrari want to put one of their F2 drivers there? I fully expect Shwartzman in the Alfa next year.
Ferrari have a lot of mildly talented drivers coming up. No one of Leclerc's caliber though.

 

Ferrari only gets to choose ONE driver and I believe that will be Callum Ilott.

 

Vasseur, who is the Sauber-Alfa Romeo team boss, is a big fan of Vandoorne, he worked with him in GP2 and he wanted him before in his team. Hülkenberg is well loved by this team as well but Haas team boss Günter Steiner has openly said he would love him in his team so maybe a slightly bigger chance Nico ends up there with Stoffel then in the Alfa.

 

The other Alfa seat, can't see Kimi continue driving at the back, should be between Hülkenberg and Vandoorne unless Perez loses his seat then he will probably take that. 
So we could have:

 

Vandoorne-Ilott at Alfa Romeo

Hülkenberg-Schwartzman at Haas

 

If Vettel ends up at Racing Point Perez will take one of the seats at either Alfa Romeo or Haas and that would probably mean Stoffel staying in Formula E with Mercedes.

Edited by William Hunt, 18 August 2020 - 13:41.

[William Hunt]

Especially since Stoffel is a Mercedes FACTORY driver.  There is ZERO chance he'll go to Bachmarka Romeo.

 

He had a clause in his Mercedes contract that allows him to break it if an F1 team, any team, makes him an offer.

Plus I don't think Stoffel has extended his Mercedes contract for next year yet or if it was for multiple seasons (which seems likely), in any case the Mercedes Formula E team hasn't officially confirmed him or de Vries yet for next season so the door to Alfa is still wide open for Stoffel.

[M66R]

I would be surprised to see #StoffelRofl leave FE to go to an Alfa or Haas.

Unless he thinks being at one of those teams means he is in a more prominent shop window for one of the bigger F1 teams. Or who knows, he might just prefer racing in F1 compared to FE

[Ben1445]

I think finishing the FE season with a win is more likely to convince him to stay where he is. If it had been a difficult campaign and the path to improvement wasn't clear the temptation to try and leave  for a mid-field F1 team might be greater. 

[BRG]

I would be surprised to see #StoffelRofl leave FE to go to an Alfa or Haas.

Especially when he realises that he won't get a special power boost every race for being Belgian.

[Pentecost]

Especially when he realises that he won't get a special power boost every race for being Belgian.

Yeah, being Belgian must be the reason why he gets fanboost every race, just like D'Ambrosio. Belgians are super popular

Edited by Pentecost, 18 August 2020 - 17:10.

[maximilian]

I would be surprised to see #StoffelRofl leave FE to go to an Alfa or Haas.

Unless he thinks being at one of those teams means he is in a more prominent shop window for one of the bigger F1 teams. Or who knows, he might just prefer racing in F1 compared to FE

 

That's what I am thinking.  More and more drivers are getting tired of being chance-less in F1, and would rather take a top ride in another series that gives them a chance to actually compete and WIN some stuff, as opposed to hoping to maybe score "a point or 2" with Alfa...

 

Then again, here comes Fernando waltzing back.  But I think he'll come to regret this decision just like he has come to regret most of the others he's made regarding his career. 

[BRG]

Yeah, being Belgian must be the reason why he gets fanboost every race, just like D'Ambrosio. Belgians are super popular

Have you got a better explanation why he got maximum fan boost votes at EVERY race last season, and at most of them this season? 

[Pentecost]

Have you got a better explanation why he got maximum fan boost votes at EVERY race last season, and at most of them this season?

To be honest, I've been wondering about that myself. He's pretty active on social media and I guess that maybe he's built somewhat of a fanbase during his splendid junior career. But I don't really know either.
But hardly anyone in Belgium knows who he is, Belgians are only bothered with footballers, cyclists and tennis players. He hardly gets any media attention at all. Add to that that Belgium doesn't really have any international appeal at all, so yeah it's a bit of a mystery.

Edited by Pentecost, 18 August 2020 - 21:26.