Fernando Alonso will continue to race in Formula 1 with Aston Martin next season after the team announced that the two-time world champion has signed a fresh deal to keep him onboard into 2026 and the sport’s next regulatory cycle.
@Pixelemme@saltesc Zhou. But I don’t think SAI will go to Sauber to be in a shit car. He saw what happened to ALO going to McLaren when Honda came back and won’t want to waste his prime years toddling around in the lower midfield.
Here’s a pretty reasonable driver lineup for 2025 with quite a few rookies:
RBR: VER, PER
MER: RUS, SAI
FER: LEC, HAM
AMR: ALO, STR
MCL: NOR, PIA
SAU: HUL, Pourchaire
HAAS: BOT, Bearman
WIL: ALB, Antonelli
RB: TSU, Lawson
ALP: OCO, GAS
Why would Sainz go to Merc and not RBR? Perez is not locked into RBR, I’m sure they would’ve dropped him last year if there was a promising replacement available. This year Sainz is available and he came up in the RB academy and he’s a better driver than Perez. RBR is guaranteed to make him an offer to replace Perez, it simply comes down to whether he wants it or not. If I were to bet I’d bet on Sainz going to RBR.
@GoodEye8 can’t see it happening, not with Perez’s form right now. He’s exactly what they want. RBR don’t want a 1b driver in that second car. They just need someone who can consistently come second and support Verstappen. He’s got his flaws, and 2023 wasn’t a banner year for him, but Verstappen was in a class of his own and didn’t really need the support with how dominant the car was, and he still came second in the championship. He’s the best #2 driver RBR has had since Webber.
ALO must really have faith in Aston’s progress in the upcoming years.
Where does that leave SAI? Maybe an all Spanish line-up at Aston? (Assuming that PER keeps his seat at Red Bull if he continues his current form)
Sauber. Shit 2025, then Audi’s no. 1 in 2026.
Makes sense. But who’s seat would it be? Bottas or Zhou?
@Pixelemme @saltesc Zhou. But I don’t think SAI will go to Sauber to be in a shit car. He saw what happened to ALO going to McLaren when Honda came back and won’t want to waste his prime years toddling around in the lower midfield.
Here’s a pretty reasonable driver lineup for 2025 with quite a few rookies:
RBR: VER, PER
MER: RUS, SAI
FER: LEC, HAM
AMR: ALO, STR
MCL: NOR, PIA
SAU: HUL, Pourchaire
HAAS: BOT, Bearman
WIL: ALB, Antonelli
RB: TSU, Lawson
ALP: OCO, GAS
Why would Sainz go to Merc and not RBR? Perez is not locked into RBR, I’m sure they would’ve dropped him last year if there was a promising replacement available. This year Sainz is available and he came up in the RB academy and he’s a better driver than Perez. RBR is guaranteed to make him an offer to replace Perez, it simply comes down to whether he wants it or not. If I were to bet I’d bet on Sainz going to RBR.
@GoodEye8 can’t see it happening, not with Perez’s form right now. He’s exactly what they want. RBR don’t want a 1b driver in that second car. They just need someone who can consistently come second and support Verstappen. He’s got his flaws, and 2023 wasn’t a banner year for him, but Verstappen was in a class of his own and didn’t really need the support with how dominant the car was, and he still came second in the championship. He’s the best #2 driver RBR has had since Webber.