272 replies to this topic

[SophieB]

I absolutely believe that Mark Hughes has detected some kind of disturbances in the Force here but that actual grounds for this hugely exciting rumour seem a bit thin at the moment. Is this the equivalent of firing a gun in the hope of flushing out hidden game birds?
 
 

Something seems to be going on between Aston Martin and Red Bull and there are sources suggesting that Verstappen is part of that something. Given that Lance Stroll is not about to move from his father’s team at just the time Newey and the heavy guns have arrived – and that Alonso’s contract is therefore a potential barrier to Max joining – so a financial settlement from Aston to both Alonso and Red Bull would be needed if this were all to slot into place. But Alonso would surely want more than just financial compensation for such an arrangement. Why would he surrender the chance of driving the Newey Aston? Well, a Red Bull drive might be a start, might it not?
The above is just wild speculation. But most of the blockbuster stories in F1 begin by leaking out in this [way]

https://www.motorspo...going-on-in-f1/

[SophieB]

Oddly, this was also rumoured to be a thing where somehow, Alonso was going to get Hamilton’s Mercedes job in about 2014 and again, somehow, Hamilton was going to get Alonso’s Ferrari seat despite Hamilton not being consulted in the deal. It never made sense to me if only for that seemingly required detail. Why would Lewis ever have willingly gone?

[midgrid]

Is there some kind of Betteridge's Law equivalent for when a journalist describes their own story as wild speculation?

[Anja]

So Alonso finally gets a Red Bull seat only for their new engine to be awful. Doesn't sound too unrealistic 

Edited by Anja, 28 January 2025 - 13:47.

[Stoffel]

Alonso changing teams at exactly the wrong time? He would never...

[SophieB]

Is there some kind of Betteridge's Law equivalent for when a journalist describes their own story as wild speculation?

 

Hahaha! 

It fascinated me. My best guess is that he has heard *something* but can’t go on the record with it so is hoping this lures out more info. 

[Alfisti]

I don't see why Alonso would want any part of this, RBR is on the downturn. 

[H0R]

I don't see why Red Bull would want any part of this, Alonso is is a has been.

[Risil]

I don't see why Alonso would want any part of this, RBR is on the downturn.

 

I don't see why Red Bull would want any part of this, Alonso is is a has been.

A match made in heaven!

[SophieB]

I don't see why Red Bull would want any part of this, Alonso is is a has been.

​I prefer to see him as a tried, tested and trusted solution. A vintage driver, if you will. 

[Beri]

I've said it before and I will continue to state my opinion;
Stroll Sr. wants the absolute best team and to win it all. And if that means to reel in Verstappen and axe his own son to partner Verstappen with Alonso, he will do so.

[Red5ive]

Cant see why Red Bull would want Alonso now - nevermind in 2 years time when he is ready to collect his pension and bus pass.

 

I can however understand why Verstappen might want to jump ship in 26 as its very unlikely their new engine is going to be a world beater straight out of the box. No doubt Stroll has the cash to buy him but so far AM have not shown anything that suggest they are capable of moving up the grid significantly. Newey may change that but I doubt it.

 

Dont underestimate the fact its the slow news off season and a  bit like the "Newey demands Lance Stroll loses his seat" story of last week - it all seems a bit made up for clicks to me.

[Disgrace]

I don't see why Alonso would want any part of this, RBR is on the downturn. 

 

He might not get any choice. If Aston get the option to hire Max, they'd be silly to keep 43-year-old Alonso. It is quite plausible that Alonso will have his contract cut short by a year.

[pacificquay]

It's Mark Hughes, so this should be taken seriously

[PayasYouRace]

I don't see why Red Bull would want any part of this, Alonso is is a has been.

Yet he’s still probably better than half their junior programme. Red Bull are struggling to fill their seats as it is.

[Beri]

He might not get any choice. If Aston get the option to hire Max, they'd be silly to keep 43-year-old Alonso. It is quite plausible that Alonso will have his contract cut short by a year.

 

Unless they partner them up 

[Disgrace]

Unless they partner them up 

 

Yeah, it would obviously be better if Stroll was moved across to the Aston WEC effort...

[Dan333SP]

If Lawrence manufactures an outcome where Alonso gets bumped instead of Lance and they end up with Max/Lance in a dominant 2026 car while Alonso gets a 2nd tier RBR before retiring, I can confidently say that will be the easiest team for me to root against in the history of the sport. Complete villain move. 

 

However, Max/Fred in the same Newey car in 2026, even in his mid 40s... that'd be tasty. 

[Dan333SP]

Yeah, it would obviously be better if Stroll was moved across to the Aston WEC effort...

 

I don't know how much ability Lawrence would have to do this, given that the project has largely been funded by Heart of Racing rather than Aston Martin themselves (Lawrence helped pull the plug on the initial version of the project, after all). 

[Dunc]

Yeah, it would obviously be better if Stroll was moved across to the Aston WEC effort...

I've thought for a long time that this might be Lance's fate. He's not good enough to be an F1 WDC, even Lawrence Stroll must recognise that now. He is though a good enough racing driver to stand a chance in WEC, the team dynamic may be good for him and he'd face a lot less scrutiny of his presence there. 

[jonklug]

Verstappen's next move will always generate interest so I fully expect to read every rumor and theory under the sun over the next 10 months or so. Only for him to remain at RedBull. 

[smr]

Absolutely no way is LS getting rid of his son, for no one. You'd understand this if you are a father yourself.

[Benchulo]

If Verstappen moves to Aston Martin in 2026, it will be at the expense of Alonso. I hope it doesn't happen for 2026. That will be quite cruel.

[Sash1]

Maybe Max knows stuff about Ford and gets some info from Honda about the 2026 expectations and is ready to jump. Alonso does not have that luxury. Newey himself said that engine dominance is a key factor for a while. Lance should run away before getting destroyed by Max. 

[Beri]

Absolutely no way is LS getting rid of his son, for no one. You'd understand this if you are a father yourself.

 

Speaking as a father; if I had a team, I'd ditch my kid when the absolute best of the best could land both my seats. Because if you are a family man, you know when to seperate work from family relationships or entanglements.

[juicy sushi]

Getting Lance to switch to WEC would be the best possible solution to Aston Martin's problems.  Yes, it's mostly Heart of Racing funding it, but I'm sure a big bag of cash from Stroll would get the job done, and Lance isn't a complete hack.  He would probably do quite well in WEC.  And who knows, he might even find he enjoyed it more with fewer races and a more laid back paddock.

[Dan333SP]

Absolutely no way is LS getting rid of his son, for no one. You'd understand this if you are a father yourself.

 

Many of us here are fathers ourselves, but I'd bet none of us are billionaire business owners. Ambitions for the team's success, and appeasement of board members/shareholders eventually has to mean more than giving your boy a shot. Plus we're talking about a grown adult who's had plenty of chances, it's not like he'd be benching a 9 year old on the soccer team who will have to unpack the trauma of his dad losing confidence in him with a therapist in 20 years. 

[eibyyz]

So VER would leave a team which employed a $h!t #2 driver in order to drive for another team with a $h!t #2 driver.  I know he's not that stupid.

[Dan333SP]

So VER would leave a team which employed a $h!t #2 driver in order to drive for another team with a $h!t #2 driver.  I know he's not that stupid.

 

Why would that move make him stupid? If Newey nails the '26 regs, it'd be a brilliant move for Max. He doesn't care who the 2nd driver is as he is confident he'd beat anyone, and the constructor's means nothing to him. He's already proven he can win a WDC in what is effectively a one car team. 

[Risil]

So VER would leave a team which employed a $h!t #2 driver in order to drive for another team with a $h!t #2 driver. I know he's not that stupid.

Sounds pretty smart to me...

[Goron3]

Maybe Max knows stuff about Ford and gets some info from Honda about the 2026 expectations and is ready to jump. Alonso does not have that luxury. Newey himself said that engine dominance is a key factor for a while. Lance should run away before getting destroyed by Max.

It's a RBPT PU, being built in Milton Keynes. Max and RBR will know the expected level of performance, and given it's the first ever RBPT PU it's reasonable to expect it will be slower than the competition at first.

[aray]

Why swap? Aston can just buy out Alonso's contract and put Max in the car. They have enough money.Red Bull also have no 'obligation' to take Alonso.

[Goron3]

Why swap? Aston can just buy out Alonso's contract and put Max in the car. They have enough money.Red Bull also have no 'obligation' to take Alonso.

Lawson and Hadjar would be a dreadful lineup.

[Anja]

Why swap? Aston can just buy out Alonso's contract and put Max in the car. They have enough money.Red Bull also have no 'obligation' to take Alonso.

 

In this scenario Alonso would probably be the best option available for that year if Red Bull can't buy out someone's contract. 

Edited by Anja, 28 January 2025 - 16:14.

[William Hunt]

I don't see why Red Bull would want any part of this, Alonso is is a has been.

I'm an Alonso fan but you're right. In 2026 he will be 44 and even become 45 at the end of July. I don't see why Red Bull would be interested in him (because of his age, a slightly younger Alonso would have been perfect) and they have a policy of hiring young drivers (Ricciardo was an exception because he had a long history with them).

Edited by William Hunt, 28 January 2025 - 16:31.

[kumo7]

BS BS nothing but

[Whatisvalis]

Max would never agree to partner someone of Alonso’s caliber, so while fanciful speculation, not totally ridiculous.

[Risil]

I'm an Alonso fan but you're right. In 2026 he will be 44 and even become 45 at the end of July. I don't see why Red Bull would be interested in him (because of his age, a slightly younger Alonso would have been perfect) and they have a policy of hiring young drivers (Ricciardo was an exception because he had a long history with them).

Coulthard, Webber, Perez... Actually when you think about it Red Bull have been more successful when it's been one young guy and one veteran. Fwiw this would always be my preference if someone gave me an F1 team to run.

[William Hunt]

Coulthard, Webber, Perez... Actually when you think about it Red Bull have been more successful when it's been one young guy and one veteran. Fwiw this would always be my preference if someone gave me an F1 team to run.

Yeah it would also be my personal preference if I could run an F1 team (a bit like L. Stroll): a young talent next to an experienced driver. But a question: what does the abbreviation "Fwiw" stand for?

[Risil]

Yeah it would also be my personal preference if I could run an F1 team (a bit like L. Stroll): a young talent next to an experienced driver. But a question: what does the abbreviation "Fwiw" stand for?

"For what it's worth". Weirdly I never use this expression in real life (irl).

[Dunc]

Getting Lance to switch to WEC would be the best possible solution to Aston Martin's problems.  Yes, it's mostly Heart of Racing funding it, but I'm sure a big bag of cash from Stroll would get the job done, and Lance isn't a complete hack.  He would probably do quite well in WEC.  And who knows, he might even find he enjoyed it more with fewer races and a more laid back paddock.

I actually wonder if Lance himself might be the (no pun intended) driver for this. He doesn't seem to be that motivated when you see him in interviews, if he's smart enough to see he isn't really strong enough to keep going in F1 he might fancy WEC for the reasons you mention above.

[Laster]

I really don't understand the whole Max to AM thing. Red Bull have won championships, even when they've stopped winning championships they've been race winners who have rallied and gotten back to championship winning ways.

AM meanwhile are nothing of the sort. They've had huge investment they've got Newey and yes we have the new engine regs coming up. But AM as a team are yet to prove they can reliably challenge at the front. They had half a season of it, didn't win a race and fell backwards quite dramatically. With the exception of Newey I struggle to see what would tempt Max to go there instead of with the multiple championship winning outfit that have been racing at the front for nearly two decades straight.

Edited by Laster, 28 January 2025 - 17:04.

[Risil]

I actually wonder if Lance himself might be the (no pun intended) driver for this. He doesn't seem to be that motivated when you see him in interviews, if he's smart enough to see he isn't really strong enough to keep going in F1 he might fancy WEC for the reasons you mention above.

I'm not sure I follow that logic. If I am unmotivated I'm unlikely to succeed trying a different form of motor racing.

[garoidb]

Unlike most others it seems, my instant reaction was to wonder why Alonso would do this rather than retire. I can see why Max would go to AM early. I can see why they would want him. I can see that Red Bull would need a replacement driver from beyond their current stable. But if I were Fernando I would take any contractual settlement that might be required and retire. Red Bull would be a long term project for someone but of no appeal to a driver at the end of a career.

[aportinga]

In this scenario Alonso would probably be the best option available for that year if Red Bull can't buy out someone's contract. 

 

I see Carlos Sainz moving to RB frankly. Alonso maybe to Williams?

 

2023 - Alonso #3 and Stroll #6

2024 - Alonso #10 and Stroll #11

 

If Stroll is as bad as what some folks here make him out to be, then Alonso isn't that much better.

Edited by aportinga, 28 January 2025 - 17:35.

[Boxerevo]

If i was Stroll snr i would keep Alonso until 50's.

 

His son has more chances like this, because prime Verstappen would spank his son to no end.

[FirstnameLastname]

Lance retired Vettel, is about to do the same to Alonso… and Verstappen will be his triple crown.

[LolaB0860]

If i was Stroll snr i would keep Alonso until 50's.

 

His son has more chances like this, because prime Verstappen would spank his son to no end.

 

Doesn't matter as Stroll will race in the team until the 2060's, regardless of who* is his teammate

 

* or what, in case there'll be robots and Stroll is the only human left on the grid

[P123]

So as soon as Alonso gets a Newey car he's tossed out to Red Bull?  Are AM really that keen on having Lance in the second car.  All that expense, increased facilities, to be a 1.5 car team.  They do have the Aramco cash, but it's going to take a lot of money to do as Hughes is suggesting.  Far cheaper to farm Lance out to another team. 

[Dan333SP]

So as soon as Alonso gets a Newey car he's tossed out to Red Bull?  Are AM really that keen on having Lance in the second car.  All that expense, increased facilities, to be a 1.5 car team.  They do have the Aramco cash, but it's going to take a lot of money to do as Hughes is suggesting.  Far cheaper to farm Lance out to another team. 

 

I think there are enough talented young drivers with significant backing that no other team would ever touch Lance, even with the promise of big financial support. A team will always take a chance on a young talent having both money AND speed rather than being absolutely sure they're only getting $ and not speed.