Sebastian, seriously?

[greenMachine]

Seb pulls the pin on the red team!?

Is this going to put the cat amongst the pigeons, or what!? Not clear whether he will retire, or look for another seat, but we may be seeing the last of 'the finger' in F1 in what is left of this season ...

Truth be told, the last couple of years have been a bit of an embarrassment, and since the blown diffusers departed he has never consistently looked as convincing as he did with them.

Big possibilities for Dan, either in red, or as another slot opens.

Of course, one possibility is that the reason the contract talks broke down is that his replacement has already signed the letter of intent ...

[PaulF]

Sounds like he's retiring, which makes sense to me. The only thing he still wanted to do was win a WDC with Ferrari. If that's not going to happen, you may as well go hang out on one of your yachts instead of sticking with the circus.

Current rumour seems to be Sainz to Ferrari (then maybe Ricciardo to McLaren?), but I think we'll find out for sure in the next couple of days.

[greenMachine]

It would make sense to put Dan alongside Leclerc, Sainz is still 'unproven' to some extent. Dan has wins under his belt, along with Seb's scalp - they could have more confidence in him both as a benchmark and a source of pressure on Charles.

Sainz is a talent, and would do a good job there, but with the Maccas on the way up, and Merc engines next year, he may not be desperate to find another seat. Dan, he must be disappointed at Renault's failure to deliver, and probably much keener than Sainz for a change of colour. And, as you say, if Sainz gets the nod, he'd be mad not to step away from the wreckage that is Renault under Abitebule into a McLaren.

[GR124]

It would make sense to put Dan alongside Leclerc, Sainz is still 'unproven' to some extent. Dan has wins under his belt, along with Seb's scalp - they could have more confidence in him both as a benchmark and a source of pressure on Charles.

Sainz is a talent, and would do a good job there, but with the Maccas on the way up, and Merc engines next year, he may not be desperate to find another seat. Dan, he must be disappointed at Renault's failure to deliver, and probably much keener than Sainz for a change of colour. And, as you say, if Sainz gets the nod, he'd be mad not to step away from the wreckage that is Renault under Abitebule into a McLaren.

Good write up Greenmachine, like most of us I'm hoping Dan gets the Red seat. Not sure if that's enough to get him a World Championship though. I thought Sainz may have may have it over Dan in some ways like his youth and recent performance. Greenmachine I do like your point that Sainz may not be as keen to change colours.
Anyways, I personally hope that Seb moves to another team even if it was just for one more year. And no I am not a Seb fan.
Bring on some F1 racing please

[track_addict]

I believe Sainz will get the seat, not just because of the chatter going on today, but because he would likely play a number 2 roll with less of a fuss. Dan is a clear number 1 and Ferrari already have their own number 1 in Leclerc. I also get the feeling that Charles is a big sooky boy. He would probably prefer Sainz over our man.

Of course I’d like to see Dan go to Ferrari, heck even mclaren would be a good move is a seat opened up. The reality is, Renault won’t ever deliver.


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[greenMachine]

I believe Sainz will get the seat, not just because of the chatter going on today, but because he would likely play a number 2 roll with less of a fuss. Dan is a clear number 1 and Ferrari already have their own number 1 in Leclerc. I also get the feeling that Charles is a big sooky boy. He would probably prefer Sainz over our man.

Yes, really depends on how much they want the points from the second driver. Dan, if they want the points badly, and are prepared to risk a bit of driver tension. Carlos if the points are not that important, and they want to keep Charles settled and happy.

The reality is, Renault won’t ever deliver.

Quoted for truth.

[Rocky]

I have mixed feelings about Dan and Ferrari. They have always been a 'one-man-team' - like all the top teams, I guess, and LeClerc is much younger and very much the man on the make. Dan would need to feel that he could assert himself early and establish himself as better than the Frenchman, as good won't do the job and he would only end up as another Ferrari support act.
I think Dan is a better driver than Sainz although the latter did have a terriffic season in 2019.
In 2018 at RB, it was Verstappen's 4 second places to Dan's nil that set them apart (Dan had 7 fourth places)
There was never going to be a future for Dan at Renault and almost anywhere else would be better. At 31 yrs old, 2021 will be his last chance.

[greenMachine]

The shuffle is on, it appears.

Press saying Carlos will be confirmed this week to replace Seb at Ferrari, with Dan taking his place in the McLaren.

I reckon that Carlos was negotiating even before the Seb announcement, and Dan already had McLaren paperwork from their negotiations two years ago.

Dan's move is a pretty loud statement of the state of affairs at Renault, and his level of confidence in Cyril being able to get Renault up there into the leading pack. I wonder if he too hadn't already opened negotiations there, things seem to happening pretty fast all around.

Now for the next phase of the musical chairs, who is going to take the poisoned chalice of lead driver at Renault? Or is Renault HQ about to do a Honda, a Toyota, and pull the plug on F1? Might this be the catalyst for such a decision - we know that the Renault Board are reviewing F1 (amongst other things), could this trigger a decision?

[Rocky]

McLaren would seem to have the most potential of the 'underperformers' if only they can get the new engine working with the rest of the package. It's a big ask straight up but by the end of 2021 Dan will know whether there is any chance that he will ever be WC.
My view is not. These days if you haven't made it into a top three team well before 30 you are going to be swamped by the upcoming young talent who will work for smaller salaries to get the opportunity.

[Ven3li]

I have mixed feelings about Dan and Ferrari. They have always been a 'one-man-team' - like all the top teams, I guess, and LeClerc is much younger and very much the man on the make. Dan would need to feel that he could assert himself early and establish himself as better than the Frenchman, as good won't do the job and he would only end up as another Ferrari support act.
I think Dan is a better driver than Sainz although the latter did have a terriffic season in 2019.
In 2018 at RB, it was Verstappen's 4 second places to Dan's nil that set them apart (Dan had 7 fourth places)
There was never going to be a future for Dan at Renault and almost anywhere else would be better. At 31 yrs old, 2021 will be his last chance.

Leclerc definitely seems like the new golden boy at Ferrari, would be a dangerous place to end up.

I wonder if Mark Webber ha any words to Dan about how positive it was working with Andreas Seidl at Porsche? McLaren seems like a far more promissing place since his arrival.

[track_addict]

And it’s confirmed that our man is going to Mclaren!


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[Red_Bullet]

Yep, oh well would have preferred Ferrari, but with Maclaren getting the Mercedes power then there is hope for Dan yet. Be nice to see Maclaren winning again.

[Rocky]

The Mercedes power plant is no guarantee of success - as shown by the Client Teams that used it in the last couple of years - Williams, Racing Point.
It's a long time since McLaren has been a force in F1 and it's hard to see them turning that around with a different engine in 2021.
I'll be barracking for Dan as always but in truth I don't think he has much of a chance.

[greenMachine]

Dead right Rocky!

First thing Dan has to do is beat Lando. Then he has to be consistently at the head of the "B" teams, sometimes ahead of one or two of the "A" team cars, maybe cracking a podium or two when safety cars or rain upset the usual running order.

Highly unlikely he will be regularly challenging for wins in 2021, but perhaps in 2022 when the new rules kick in ... maybe the odd podium, perhaps a win. WDC? Not a chance, sadly, at least not foreseeable from here.

[Red_Bullet]

Dan will do just fine if the car's any good, . McClaren have been making great progress in that regard compared to where they were, don't rule them out.