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Sky F1 Vodcast panel on the latest news from the driver market
By James Galloway
Last Updated: 05/14/20 8:40 am
41:14
Check out an unmissable edition of the Sky F1 Vodcast as the team react to Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari exit and the expectation that Carlos Sainz will replace him for 2021, with Daniel Ricciardo potentially heading to McLaren.
The Formula 1 transfer market for 2021 appears set to take two more hugely-significant turns in the wake of Sebastian Vettel’s plans to split from Ferrari.
Carlos Sainz is understood to be in advanced negotiations with Ferrari to replace Vettel, while McLaren have made Daniel Ricciardo their prime target to take the Spaniard’s place if that first switch goes ahead.
So would Sainz as team-mate to Charles Leclerc at Ferrari from next year, and Ricciardo as McLaren’s new experienced figurehead, make sense? The Sky F1 team had their say on the likely driver market moves in the latest Vodcast …
Sainz to Ferrari: Is he a good fit to replace Vettel?
David Croft: “He’s a very mature, very accomplished, very proficient driver. If you want to go for someone who is going to be there to win races if Leclerc has a bad day, then Sainz is that man. He will win multiple races because he is talented enough to do so.
“He suits that Ferrari mold more than Daniel Ricciardo, who is a bit more of a free spirit.”
Martin Brundle: “Sainz is feisty and I’ve championed him for a long time. I felt like a lone voice in the paddock, just like I did with Nico Rosberg a long time ago. He’s got his old man’s winning mentality. He’s a sportsman and I like the way he goes about his business.
“He will not be a pushover for Leclerc and nor would Ferrari want him to be. I just think that sounds like a better combo into the future than trying to pair up Hamilton and Leclerc. I see Sainz as a good fit there for the medium term. “
29:11 Sky F1’s Ted Kravitz is back with the first Notebook of 2020, as he looks at each of the drivers during this unprecedented lockdown period and digests the huge news that Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari will part ways at the end of this year.
Ted Kravitz: “It’s about goals. For Sainz it’s about winning his first race and finishing on the podium consistently. But for Leclerc it’s about challenging for a championship now. Leclerc has proved he can win races – not yet as many as someone like Ricciardo – but he would say he’s ready to win a world championship.
“The expectation that Sebastian had, and this was the problem, was that he was going to go for the championship as well. So I don’t think Carlos can go straight in there and say ‘well I’m going to go for the championship straight off ‘- that’s if the Ferrari is going to be quick enough – to challenge. So it’s really about status and expectations within the team. “
Ricciardo to McLaren: Does it make sense?
Brundle: “Daniel has parked himself at Renault [since 2019] and I don’t feel he’s ever really looked happy there. It hasn’t fitted. I don’t think it’s what he wanted, he took a bit of flak for it, and he would be a perfect fit for Ferrari as well I believe. I’m sure they’ve considered all options.
“But, equally, a McLaren with a Mercedes engine for 2021, they’ll make him feel loved there, they’ll make him feel important, and he’s still got it. He’s got the speed, he’s got the race craft, he’s very experienced.
“Ricciardo will be an asset to any team in Formula 1 – any team.”
Croft: “To me, there is nothing wrong with Daniel Ricciardo going to McLaren. He could, and in hindsight, should have gone to McLaren when Zak Brown sat him down at a golf club a couple of years back and said ‘here’s a contract, come and join us’. He went to Renault instead.
“This time around I can’t see Daniel saying no if that offer is made. The Renault adventure just hasn’t worked. Financially it has but for no other reason will he be smiling at the moment. He wants to get back to having the opportunity to win roots.
“Mercedes have probably still got the best engine in Formula 1, even though it’s a lot closer than it used to be. McLaren have got great resources and are a fantastic team. With Lando Norris he will have a team-mate that will push him As well. But, yet, he should be better because he’s got more experience and won more roots.
4:18 Red Bull team principal Christian Horner explains why it wouldn’t work for Sebastian Vettel to re-join the team following his departure from Ferrari.
“I don’t see any minus points, at all.”
Kravitz: “With a Mercedes engine next year, he could have some good success there.”
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