4876 replies to this topic

[Ali623]

Likely AlphaTauri or Williams.

 

AT can definitely put better driver in Tsunoda seat right now, Williams needs some solid character after departure of Russell.

It cannot be Aston Martin - Vettel is there for a reason and although Vettel has not been doing any wonders, he isnt doing that bad to be booted in favor of BOT. Neither is Stroll doing that bad.

 

Bottas received a rival offer after signing for Alfa

 

https://www.planetf1...-team-approach/

 

Any thoughts on which team this might have been? 

 

"Bottas would not say which team had contacted him but that it was one who had done slightly better than Alfa Romeo in recent years"

 

To me this rules out Williams. Although they've done better in 2021 they came last in 2018-2020, and I suspect given those involved if Bottas was to return to Williams it would have been sewn up well before any announcements were made. 

 

Possibly Aston Martin or Alpine? There was some talk about Vettel retiring or being dropped for 2022, it was never clear to me who had the option on that one, with Alonso talking with Aston Martin. 

 

 

It will have been Williams (pretty sure the quote was actually 'slightly better recently' in the original translation). They were the only team that hadn't confirmed their lineup just after Bottas signed with Alfa.

[DeKnyff]

Bottas received a rival offer after signing for Alfa

 

https://www.planetf1...-team-approach/

 

Any thoughts on which team this might have been? 

 

"Bottas would not say which team had contacted him but that it was one who had done slightly better than Alfa Romeo in recent years"

 

To me this rules out Williams. Although they've done better in 2021 they came last in 2018-2020, and I suspect given those involved if Bottas was to return to Williams it would have been sewn up well before any announcements were made. 

 

Possibly Aston Martin or Alpine? There was some talk about Vettel retiring or being dropped for 2022, it was never clear to me who had the option on that one, with Alonso talking with Aston Martin. 

 

Most likely Williams, but it seems very poorly managed on their side. If they wanted Bottas to drive for them, why didn't they contact him earlier? It's not that him being replaced by Russell was a surprise. They even had a period by mid-season in which their car was meddling with midfield, that would have made more attractive.

[Vesuvius]

Most likely Williams, but it seems very poorly managed on their side. If they wanted Bottas to drive for them, why didn't they contact him earlier? It's not that him being replaced by Russell was a surprise. They even had a period by mid-season in which their car was meddling with midfield, that would have made more attractive.

Somehow doubt it was Williams as Bottas openly has said (at least to finnish media)that after he had talked with Toto about not wanting one year deal with Mercedes, he looked elsewhere and his options were Alfa and Williams. He chose Alfa as it was more interesting project.

So I think some other team has been interested about him after that.

[ForzaFormula]

Very much doubt it was Williams, it would of been Aston most likely.

[FLB]

Weren't there rumors about Vettel' status with Aston at some point? If the team were unsure of what he'd do, an approach could have been made to Bottas, IMHO.

[george1981]

Weren't there rumors about Vettel' status with Aston at some point? If the team were unsure of what he'd do, an approach could have been made to Bottas, IMHO.

 

 

I'd heard the same. Aston were talking with Alonso about him replacing Vettel during the summer break. To me this didn't make much sense as although Vettel had a really bad start to the season, he has managed to a second place before the summer break and was beginning to look like his old self. It wasn't clear if Vettel had the option for 2022 or if Aston Martin had the option instead. 

 

 

Edited to correct the number of second places. 

Edited by george1981, 09 December 2021 - 16:23.

[Anderis]

 

“Like, two days after I signed with Alfa, I got a call saying ‘we want you and we can pay half what Alfa pays’,” revealed Bottas.

What I find weird in this is that Aston would only want to pay Bottas half as much as Alfa. According to sources, they pay Vettel $15m/year and Stroll $10m/year, while Bottas reportedly earns $10m/year at Mercedes- I doubt Alfa will pay him more than that, so it doesn't add up, unless it was a very lame effort at trying to lowball Bottas from them. 

Edited by Anderis, 10 December 2021 - 00:38.

[r4mses]

What I find weird in this is that Aston would only want to pay Bottas half as much as Alfa. According to sources, they pay Vettel $15m/year and Stroll $10m/year, while Bottas reportedly earns $10m/year at Mercedes- I doubt Alfa will pay him more than that, so it doesn't add up, unless it was a very lame effort at trying to lowball Bottas from them. 

 

Or part of an negotiation attempt to lower the cheque they currently send their driver(s). "...we're talking to Bottas and he's willing to drive for just X EUR..."

[ARTGP]

What I find weird in this is that Aston would only want to pay Bottas half as much as Alfa. According to sources, they pay Vettel $15m/year and Stroll $10m/year, while Bottas reportedly earns $10m/year at Mercedes- I doubt Alfa will pay him more than that, so it doesn't add up, unless it was a very lame effort at trying to lowball Bottas from them. 

 

But you also have to consider that AM may have sold their sponsors on Vettel (4x WDC) in order to attain 15m/year. Would those same sponsors want to fork out 15m/year for Bottas who lacks the credentials that Vettel does? Most likely not.  

 

The idea that Stroll is being paid 10m/year is interesting. Not in the sense of how much but in the sense of how does it work when the father owns the team. Is that some kind of financial sleight of hand?  Why give Stroll a taxable income when he can just inherit it or use his fathers credit cards. 

Edited by ARTGP, 10 December 2021 - 01:02.

[pdac]

or maybe all of this "driver X is earning ..." is just people pulling numbers out of the air.

[Anderis]

But you also have to consider that AM may have sold their sponsors on Vettel (4x WDC) in order to attain 15m/year. Would those same sponsors want to fork out 15m/year for Bottas who lacks the credentials that Vettel does? Most likely not. 

I've never suggested they would pay Bottas as much as Vettel.

 

The point is that Bottas earns $10m at Mercedes, so I doubt Alfa will be paying him more than that (and quite probably a bit less). It would mean that Aston at best offered Bottas a third of what they pay to Vettel and half of what they pay Stroll. That doesn't seem like a reasonable offer if they really were serious about getting Bottas. And as demonstrated by the figures they pay their current drivers, it's doesn't seem like they mind paying their drivers well.

Even if the figures I've found on the Internet are not correct, I still find it unlikely that Aston were only willing to pay half as much as Alfa. It's not like Alfa has too much money to spare compared to the opposition. And getting Vettel surely was not cheap so it proves Aston had money they were willing to spend on drivers.

 

That's why it would all make the most sense to me if that second offer Bottas was talking about was from Williams. I might be wrong but it makes the most sense to me with the state of knowledge I have.

Edited by Anderis, 10 December 2021 - 01:24.

[ARTGP]

I agree, I was confused because I thought you were implying that if AM are paying Vettel 15m and Stroll 10m, then why would they offer Bottas 5m?  I didn't think you can say that AM don't mind paying their drivers well. Each driver's salary has context. Vettel is a 4x WDC so perhaps that demands such a salary.  Stroll's salary is a token salary. He'll inherit the team and the father's fortune in the end so no point trying to make sense of it. 

Edited by ARTGP, 10 December 2021 - 01:28.

[BRG]

I imagine that Bottas was bothering Aston Martin all the time trying to get a drive.  So they made him a stupid offer just to get rid of him.

[Anderis]

You have a vivid imagination.

[FLB]

Zhou will wear the 24 next year as an hommage to Kobe Bryant:

 

https://www.autohebd...alfa-romeo.html (en francais)

Edited by FLB, 10 December 2021 - 12:52.

[BRG]

You have a vivid imagination.

Yes!

 

But not as vivid as Valtteri Bottas who thinks there were teams vying for his services!

[Frood]

Zhou will wear the 24 next year as an hommage to Kobe Bryant:

https://www.autohebd...alfa-romeo.html (en francais)

Petition for Alfa to take DuPont as a sponsor and run the Rainbow Warrior livery as a Jeff Gordon tribute please. (I know they've been sponsoring Alpine but it's wasted!)

Edited by Frood, 10 December 2021 - 15:24.

[Anderis]

Yes!

 

But not as vivid as Valtteri Bottas who thinks there were teams vying for his services!

Yes, of course there weren't any, that's why Bottas does not have a seat for 2022... oh wait.

 

I'll leave it at that.
 

[BRG]

Yes, of course there weren't any, that's why Bottas does not have a seat for 2022... oh wait.

 

I'll leave it at that.
 

I said TEAMS.  In the plural.  Obviously there was ONE that was interested.  But were there really MORE than one?  Except in his imagination? 

 

I have read so many stories of drivers listing all the offers they had and the interest there was in their services but it all has to be taken with a sack-load of salt.  The standard claim is 'I was close to signing with team X back in 20xx' when all that happened was that the driver or his manager just bumped into someone from that team in the Gents or at the bar.

[kirja]

What I find weird in this is that Aston would only want to pay Bottas half as much as Alfa. According to sources, they pay Vettel $15m/year and Stroll $10m/year, while Bottas reportedly earns $10m/year at Mercedes- I doubt Alfa will pay him more than that, so it doesn't add up, unless it was a very lame effort at trying to lowball Bottas from them. 

This is a mistranslation. The original Finnish article claims Bottas said the offer was 50% more than what Alfa Romeo pays him. I haven't listened to the podcast, I'm only repeating what the Finnish reports of it claim.

[ARTGP]

This is a mistranslation. The original Finnish article claims Bottas said the offer was 50% more than what Alfa Romeo pays him. I haven't listened to the podcast, I'm only repeating what the Finnish reports of it claim.

 

That's a fascinating twist. Assuming that both alternate options would involve Mercedes power (Williams, AM), then I get Valterri really wants to wipe the slate clean.  

Edited by ARTGP, 10 December 2021 - 19:07.

[mstar]

Well helmut marko hinting that IF George Russell isn't given Merc seat they be happy to make a big offer for george in works RB provided he cuts all ties with mercedes.  But he mentioned that his "sources" have told him he is going to mercedes {and this was well before Silverstone}.  This maybe shows they don't see checo as long term for them.  Could they of made a offer for VB???

Edited by mstar, 10 December 2021 - 19:33.

[NewMrMe]

I do remember earlier in the year reports of Red Bull being potentially interested in both Russell if Mercedes didn't promote him and Bottas if he were to be replaced. At the time I didn't think they had serious plans to sign either. I thought they were just mind games to 1) try to destabilise Mercedes and 2) make Bottas question where his loyalties should lie.

[noikeee]

Bottas would've been a perfectly good signing for most other midfield/backmarker teams. Williams, Haas, Aston if Vettel goes. He's a good driver.

 

Plenty other #2s who weren't quite good enough at the front made for good signings for this kind of team, at this stage of their careers (or even later). Coulthard for Red Bull. Fisichella for Force India. Barrichello for Honda/Brawn and Williams. Massa for Williams.

 

It's really not a stretch to think he might've had other offers. Specially from Williams.

Edited by noikeee, 10 December 2021 - 20:30.

[rodlamas]

Bottas said on his recent F1 podcast that he chose Alfa Romeo for a number of reasons and one of them was cutting the ties with Mercedes at all. So whatever he had on offer, had a Mercedes engine on their back. I would never say Mclaren, so that leaves Aston Martin and Williams. So then it is anyone's guess.

[Vesuvius]

Bottas said on his recent F1 podcast that he chose Alfa Romeo for a number of reasons and one of them was cutting the ties with Mercedes at all. So whatever he had on offer, had a Mercedes engine on their back. I would never say Mclaren, so that leaves Aston Martin and Williams. So then it is anyone's guess.

It wasn't Williams, he said that clearly on that podcast. It was a surprise offer from a team that has done better than Alfa and Williams last few years. Offer was also bigger than what Bottas had done with Alfa (more money).

[William Hunt]

There were at the time (around September) rumours that Vettel might not stay so it could be Aston Martin it doesn't really matter anymore now. I do have the feeling that Vettel's 2023 seat isn't that certain. Both parties probably expected more from each other so if the '22 car of Aston Martin doesn't turn out that competitive we could see a split. Ricciardo would seem like a logical target for Aston Martin then imho.

Edited by William Hunt, 10 December 2021 - 21:48.