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[I will not be driving for Alpine next year.]

Piastri says no. This is very Palou-esque:
https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alpine-oscar-piastri-denies-signed-to-race-f1-2023/10347905/

"This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year."

Strong words.

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Otmar, who lost both Alonso and Piastri in a matter of what feels like minutes, is already flirting with Ricciardo:

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/szafnauer-no-issue-in-bringing-ricciardo-back-to-alpine-f1-team/10348009/

So I guess Piastri to McLaren, Ricciardo to Alpine?

It seems Piastri had a deal in place to race for McLaren in 2023, but Alpine now claims Piastri as theirs for 2023 (and 2024 if option is triggered). Are we getting our own Palou mess in F1?

McLaren poaches promising young driver from rival, without having an open seat. The driver's name begins with P. It's all too familiar

Alpine seems to say "Piastri will be racing for us in 2023" but also acknowledging "Piastri seems to want to go to McLaren". What a mess.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/alpine-piastri-cant-leave-us-for-mclaren-f1-seat-in-wake-of-shock-alonso-exit-10347648/10347648/

https://www.facebook.com/AstonMartinF1Team/videos/424000859691760/

And they posted this video in social media of Alonso and Lance Stroll embracing, with the caption "Your 2023 Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team lineup. 💚". I consider this confirmation of Stroll also.

[confirmed]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/fernando-alonso-switches-to-aston-martin-f1-team-from-2023/10347079/

Huh. Alonso confirmed at Aston Martin on a multi-year deal (likely 2 seasons, no?). This will definitely put Piastri in the car for Alpine in 2023.

Sebastian Vettel is retiring at the end of this season!
https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-four-time-champion-sebastian-vettel-to-retire-from-formula-1-at-the.65j625XK4FPq6qf2Qn5gb5.html

We've been sort of expecting it for a bit, but it has now been confirmed. Who will take his seat at Aston Martin?

Alonso and Schumacher have been flouted as potential options. I could also see De Vries, Piastri, Albon, Gasly, or even Ricciardo.

It was too much work every race.

I'd take an alternating Spa. It'd make those weekends more special, if anything.

Right. F1 is aiming for 24 races next year, but we have to fit that around several (potentially) new venues. We know Las Vegas is joining. We think South Africa/Kyalami is coming back. Qatar is also rejoining for 2023, as is China.

That means at least one race, maybe two, is leaving us. Unfortunately, that race is not the Circuit de Catalunya. Rumour has it Nice is vying to steal the French GP from Paul Ricard as well. Could Nice replace both the French and Monaco GPs? Or is Spa heading out the door again?

It kind of seems we're losing either Spa or Monaco. Neither is acceptable.

All these F1 management talk got me remembering a game for a couple years ago, Motorsport Manager. There's a mod to it which essentially changes drivers and teams and rules etc. to mimic real Formula 1.

I went to manage Haas. My first order of business was firing Nikita Mazepin. I got Oscar Piastri onboard instead of signing K-Mag however. We finished the 2022 season in 9th, tied with Alfa Romeo on points but they went ahead due to a better best finishing position.

In the 2023 season, we're currently 4th in the constructors standings including a podium finish at Imola. Mick Schumacher is leading the team, but Oscar Piastri didn't develop as planned. I just stole Sergio Perez from Red Bull mid-season, and he will hopefully prove a solid backup to Mick Schumacher as we continue the hunt for our first victory!

For 2023, Leclerc also moved to Alpine to replace Ocon. Alonso-Leclerc is a fantastic pairing, but sadly Alpine is only 7th in the championship. Shockingly, Ferrari replaced Leclerc with Nick Tandy. Even more surprisingly, Tandy is matching and even beating Sainz.

Upon me signing Perez from Red Bull, they actually picked up Marcus Ericsson from IndyCar to race alongside Verstappen. Ganassi in turn signed Scott McLaughin to replace Ericsson.

After 7 of 12 rounds (I shortened the championship because I'm lazy), George Russell leads Nick Tandy by 129 points to 89, with Hamilton in 3rd at 80 points. Mick Schumacher, my number 1 driver, is 6th with 51 points.

Other fun transfers include Antionio Giovinazzi joining Formula 2's Van Amersfoort Racing, and Romain Grosjean joining AlphaTauri as their Reserve Driver!

If I was Zak Brown, I'd go for Vettel. Norris+Vettel, perfect mix of youth and experience. He could do 2 years, then retire. By which time someone like Gasly, Sainz, or Schumacher could be on the market.

Not only is Herta being connected to a drive with McLaren, BBC journalist Andrew Benson points to both Alex Albon and Sebastian Vettel as potential replacements for the Aussie.

https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/62119600

So, Frontier Developments (famous for park management games Planet Coaster, Planet Zoo, and Jurassic World Evolution) are releasing an F1 manager game in the vein of Football Manager and similar.

It's looking great so far:





https://www.f1manager.com/

The game will feature a proper financial model including a budget cap, parts development, a transfer market with a junior talent scouting system including all F1 reserves as well as F2 and F3 drivers, regulation changes between seasons, and more.

I'm especially excited to try the following:
- Leclerc and Leclerc together
- Make Williams Great Again (maybe by signing Piastri alongside a solid "veteran" like Ricciardo?)
- Manage Red Bull and put all the car development to Perez just to watch Verstappen lose

Anyone thinking of getting the game? It'll be out for PC and consoles, but I guess these kinds of games work better with a mouse than a controller.

[equal]

How's this for a prediction?

Out of all drivers currently on the grid, only 3 will be World Champions when it ends.

Max Verstappen will equal Lewis with 7 World Championships, his last in 2029. He will retire in 2031, aged just 34.

Charles Leclerc will win the World Championship next season, 2023, but he will never win again.

George Russell will be the next British world champion, taking the crown in 2026.

By 2030, Piastri will be fighting Norris, Russell and Leclerc and will win at least 2 back-to-back championships. In 2032 and beyond, it is no longer possible to tell because I can only see 10 years into the future.

Well, how do we sum that race up?

- I'm happy Zhou and Albon are fine. The Alfa Romeo crash was nasty, and it took really long to let us know he was fine. Videos emerging later showed marshals and nearby fans shouting "he's fine" within seconds, that should be communicated to us as soon as it can be verified (and verifying that shouldn't take 20 minutes)
- The roll hoop collapsing was scary, thank you halo for the second life spared in one day. Roy Nissany needed his halo too, or would have been decapitated in F2
- Those morons entering the track to protest... I'm extremely pro-"humans are causing it" point of view, I definitely believe we're causing global warming and climate change. But sitting down on a live F1 track is not only dangerous to yourself (I don't care for those idiots) but it endangers drivers, marshals and fans. Unacceptable.
- How could a broken Leclerc be faster than Sainz many times over, yet be shifted to the worse strategy and not allowed to win? Ferrari are actively trying to lose this championship
- Yay, Schumacher scored good points and perhaps should have finished ahead of Verstappen too!
- Really exciting to see 3 teams battling it out for the win at the end. The final SC definitely spiced up the race in a great way.

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/aston-martin-keen-for-vettel-to-stay-long-term-as-f1-talks-loom/10328135/

I pretty much assumed Vettel was definitely retiring after this season, but Aston Martin just opened up about hoping for a long-term extension.