[Purple-banana]

Ferrari - Vettel & Ricciardo

That didn't work out so well for Vettel last time

I'm happy to be reminded otherwise, but I don't recall there being any serious VET/WEB HAM/ROS-scale fireworks between Vettel and Ricciardo at RBR 2014 was there? (I didn't care much for VET or Red Bull during that era and as such haven't really dedicated much of my memory to the nitty gritty). To my memory it was more a case that Seb just didn't get to grips with the new PUs as quickly as others and had the lion's share of unreliability in that team.

That said, my prediction/fantasy is more based on that I would like to see Ricciardo in a Ferrari seat rather than a Mercedes one, and expect both vacancies to come up at the end of this season.

You guys are spot on about Leclerc though. I hope he fares better than Giovinazzi did. When he was announced as standing-in for Werhlein after his RoC faux-pas, I almost ran down to the bookies to put a bet on him taking Raikonnen's seat this coming season. Glad I was too lazy!

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Ferrari - Vettel & Ricciardo

That didn't work out so well for Vettel last time

That said, my prediction/fantasy is more based on . . . .

I don't think there were any major issues between Seb and Danny, in fact Seb said he got along with him, but just to throw a spanner in the works, for everyone wanting to see him either red or silver.  

A lot of people seem to think either way, he would have issues at either SF, which would appear to favour Seb, or he'd have to contend with Lewis, who lets face it is now de facto no1 at Merc, since Nico's departure, and not quite sure these things work, contract wise, but since Sainz as I understand it is on loan, perhaps if he were to leave, a straight swap to Renault could be the smarter move, I don't want to lose Sainz, but if we have to, not too shabby a replacement, full works team on the rise, no big egos, not that I think he would shy away from either challenge, at SF or Merc - perhaps just a smarter move

[morini]

This way, Mercedes secure the two championships without much problems (if car is still that much better than the rest and it probably will).

Sorry, but I have to pick up on this statement as I believe it isn't factual. Mercedes won both championships with the second best car in 2017. It absolutely was not "much better than the rest".

[morini]

That didn't work out so well for Vettel last time

I'm happy to be reminded otherwise, but I don't recall there being any serious VET/WEB HAM/ROS-scale fireworks between Vettel and Ricciardo at RBR 2014 was there?

My post was referring to the way Vettel was exposed, humbled and outclassed by his team mate that year rather than any inter team aggro. You could argue it was an "off year", but for me it exposed him as average. No top tier driver would have let a new team mate make him look that bad.

Vettel is quite fast when the car is glued to the ground, but he's badly flawed in my opinion.

[Purple-banana]

Vettel is quite fast when the car is glued to the ground, but he's badly flawed in my opinion.

A fair assessment. To be honest I don't think we have, or have ever had a totally flawless driver. Certainly not as far back as my interest/knowledge/memory goes

[Antilochos]

This way, Mercedes secure the two championships without much problems (if car is still that much better than the rest and it probably will).

Sorry, but I have to pick up on this statement as I believe it isn't factual. Mercedes won both championships with the second best car in 2017. It absolutely was not "much better than the rest".

Not just talking about speed, handling etc, but also reliability. Maybe I should say the car and team is better than the rest.
Still, this is my view and since it aint exact science, I expect not everybody agree on this.

[morini]

Not just talking about speed, handling etc, but also reliability. Maybe I should say the car and team is better than the rest.
Still, this is my view and since it aint exact science, I expect not everybody agree on this.

I agree, Mercedes was the slickest team and their reliability was very impressive. It was also beyond doubt a very fast car, but the Ferrari was a faster / better race car at a significant number of circuits.

We will probably have to agree to disagree on that one.

[Jody Barton]

Morini you know I agree with you, had Ferrari fitted their engines correctly and checked their spark plugs better they wouldn't have had those issues. The other interesting stat was that in qualifying the gap between Hamilton and Bottas was the second biggest on the grid, soooo... how much of it was down to driver in quali trim? The Merc was a fast car in a straight line, not so much the twisty stuff. Still maintain the Ferrari was the better car, but Mercedes was the better team.

[PapaofGags]

"Daniel Ricciardo says he will not leave Red Bull waiting too long before making a decision on whether to sign a new contract beyond 2018. (ESPN)"

Thing is he is between a rock & a hard place, I mean (pointing out the obvious) "if" he leaves it say five race into the season (Spain) & has been out qualified & raced by Max his value goes down, on the other hand "if" he has out qualified & raced Max his value goes up, or is all this rubbish as he has already has an agreement? personally I would like to see him & Lewis at Mercedes, not sure Sebastian would want him at Ferrari, silly season has come early.

[morini]

personally I would like to see him & Lewis at Mercedes

That makes two of us. And I think he'd improve no end (and do very well) up against LH too. I make no secret that I'm a fan of VB, but there are "tiers" of drivers and after last year I'm not convinced VB is top tier (though he is very fast on his day).