2018 Driver Speculation

[Penfold]

He's just nudging it.  I seem to remember Marcus coming on a step in the middle of 2016 and he's just maintained that level for this year - perhaps with an extra boost to his one-lap efforts.  Now he just needs to cut out those silly crashes....

[Chrill]

Ericsson doesn't have silly crashes. Oh you mean like Monaco, Suzuka, or Singapore? Oh yeah....

[Penfold]

We don't yet know who will be driving for Williams in 2018 (well, I assume Stroll will be), but we now know that it won't be Massa: https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2017/11/04/massa-leave-williams-end-season/

[Chrill]

Rumours circling that Brazil will be Massa's final race, with Kubica replacing him for Abu Dhabi with a view on a 2018 contract. Now, I don't think this will happen but it's being mentioned so I better mention it.

[Chrill]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mclaren-confirms-norris-as-reserve-f1-driver-975116/

Norris confirmed as reserve for McLaren 2018

[Penfold]

Good.  He seems like a talented young chap; one who will likely be in F2 next year.

[Chrill]

Peter Windsor of Sky Sports has his favorite for the coveted Williams drive - Sweden's Felix Rosenqvist. Yeehaa!

http://www.skysports.com/f1/live-blog/30104/10034948/f1-gossip-column?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral

[Penfold]

Hartley & Gasly confirmed for next season: https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2017/11/16/toro-ross-confirm-hartley-gasly-2018/

Rosenqvist to Williams would be good to see; mind you, the team looks set to give Kubica a third test outing: https://www.crash.net/f1/news/887519/1/lowe-hints-kubica-williams-test-abu-dhabi

[Chrill]

Hartley & Gasly confirmed for next season: https://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2017/11/16/toro-ross-confirm-hartley-gasly-2018/

Don't try to take this from me, Penny folder.

[Penfold]

Too slow, old chap.

[Chrill]

Polish media are today confirming Kubica will make a full time return to racing in 2018 for Williams but are currently not stating any credible sources whatsoever. It's therefore definitely not reliable, and I'll wait until it's on either the Williams website or confirmed by a major news outlet.

[Chrill]

Williams have just issued a statement saying they have not finalised a deal with Kubica, and that no announcement will be made prior to this weekend's Grand Prix.

[Penfold]

Not finalised a deal... so at the moment it's a work-in-progress.  I'm okay with that.

In other news: A few (thousand) more crap posts filling the 'Off topic' section.  Matt not been around these parts for a while; I can only assume the pressure of single-handedly running a global motorsports forum finally became too much to bear.  Hope he returns fit & well after a period of quiet recuperation.

[Chrill]

I'd say just remove the entire section and repost the few topics we actually own in that broken down section of our forum. And perhaps limit user registration.

[Chrill]

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/133187/sirotkin-to-join-kubica-in-williams-test-lineup

I think I can add Sirotkin to the potential drivers for Williams in 2018. That would mean a mighty inexperienced lineup, unless Williams is looking at dumping Stroll and run Kubica and Sirotkin alongside one another. The Russian can surely not match Stroll in cash, but would definitely bring a healthy dose himself.