Driver Market: This Should Have Happened A Long Time Ago!

The following post contains opinions and views that are my own.

It's Japanese GP weekend. The first one since 2019, thanks to the Covid Outbreak. And, a few hours before the beginning of FP3, which is in the middle of the night here in Europe, some news broke. In fact, it was news we had all been expecting but trying to figure out what the heck was going on at two in the morning when you're half asleep is something. Regardless, Pierre Gasly will be driving for Alpine in 2023 and Formula E champ; Nyck de Vries, will be replacing him at Alpha Tauri. I can't help but think that these moves, not necessarily to the teams they have signed with, should have been done years ago.

Let's begin with Pierre Gasly. The 26 year old from Rouen in France has been apart of the Red Bull family since 2014 with the majority of those years spent in Formula One with Alpha Tauri (Toro Rosso), besides a brief stint at Red Bull Racing. I wrote a post about the Frenchman's team options for the future a few months ago and said this:

"Alpha Tauri is a junior team and Pierre is no longer a junior. For years, a driver at this team would be there on average for two years and then would either move to Red Bull or be shown the door."

For a while now I've believed that Pierre isn't benefiting his career staying at Alpha Tauri. Of course, it's a seat in Formula One, you'll take what you can and show everyone what you can do with what you've got. Also, in reality, he was never going to drive for the main Red Bull team again. Really, his only option would be to get out while he can. That's what ex-Toro Rosso teammate Carlos Sainz did. Look at him now.

Alpha Tauri has been a safe haven for Gasly and other seats are difficult to come by so it's understandable that it's taken this long for him to move elsewhere. I'm intrigued to see how Pierre fares in a different team. Sometimes, especially in his position, it's a risk you just need to take.

Take a look at my full blog post in regards to Pierre's future options here: https://bronnypreece.wixsite.com/throughthechicane/post/my-opinion-pierre-gasly-and-alpha-tauri-is-it-time-to-move-on

And then we have Nyck de Vries. After his fantastic debut with Williams at the 2022 Italian GP, it was expected that the 27 year old Dutchman would sign with a team to race in F1 in 2023. I won't lie, I was gobsmacked when I first heard the rumours that he had signed with Alpha Tauri. They (Alpha Tauri and Red Bull) have a decent crop of junior drivers in lower categories, why choose Nyck? Simple. He proved himself that he is worthy of an F1 seat and they were not going to let him go to a rival team where he could flourish against them.

It's not a secret, Nyck is no stranger to success. He has won numerous karting championships, Formula Renault 2.0 championships, the 2019 Formula 2 championship as well as becoming the first Formula E World Champion in the 2020-2021 season. He's also been associated with McLaren and Mercedes in the past. It's amazing it's taken him this long to secure an F1 race seat but you could say that about many a driver.

I was dubious, however, of de Vries moving to Formula One. He's made himself a fantastic motorsporting career thus far and I was unsure if this would undo all of that but as we always say, "F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport." The majority of racing drivers want to be an F1 driver and after de Vries' debut in Italy, my worries are all but gone.

I'm thrilled for both Gasly and de Vries. These are two moves that I think will pay off, if not right away at some point in the future. Obviously, we still have some way to go in the 2022 Formula One season and a couple of seats are still available for the next. Right now we'll just have to wait with anticipation for 2023!

Nicholas Latifi: Goodbye to a GOAT

Ok, he may not actually be a GOAT (greatest of all time), but Nicholas Latifi's F1 career will be one fans remember for a long time and not necessarily all for the right reasons.

After what seems like months of speculation, it was recently confirmed that Williams race driver; Nicholas Latifi, would be leaving the team at the end of the 2022 season. Have Williams made the correct choice? Will Latifi get a chance with another team? Who will replace him? There's currently so many questions in regards to a driver who has achieved so little in Formula One and motorsport as a whole.

Latifi was first introduced into the world of Formula One in 2016 after signing as a test driver with the then Renault F1 Team, now known as Alpine. By 2018 he had transferred to Force India (now Aston Martin) to take on their role as test and reserve driver before joining the Williams family in a similar role in 2019, the same year he finished runner up to Nyck de Vries in Formula Two. Latifi would then go on to make his Formula One race debut in 2020. A relatively turbulent F1 career, Latifi has, as of September 2022, only scored 7 career points with all 7 being scored in 2021. Of course, the number of points a driver has isn't a true representation of what they are capable of, but unfortunatley for Latifi, being apart of a "back marker" team with team mates who constantly out-qualify and out-race him, it's not a very good look.

(The following may include my own views and opinions.)

As a driver with money and a 2nd place finish in Formula 2, it's understandable why Latifi, or Goatifi as he's become to be known in the world of social media, would have been an attractive option for Williams. But after many crashes, incidents and "slow" driving, like many before him, his F1 career just hasn't worked out. After being out-qualified and out-raced by Nyck de Vries, a driver making his F1 debut with Williams in Monza 2022, Williams had, in my opinion, no choice but to end ties with Latifi for 2023. F1 is a cut-throat world and Latifi's chances ran out. I hate to say it so bluntly but he's just not good enough for the pinnacle of motorsport. However, Latifi's F1 career won't be forgotten in a hurry thanks to his late race crash at the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi GP.

Moving on, Latifi's chances at racing in Formula One again are probably, I would think, very slim. As mentioned before, he is a driver with money, so I expect we haven't seen the last of the Canadian in the sport. Maybe he'll go back to being a reserve/test driver or maybe he'll search for success elsewhere. Who knows?

Then there is the speculation of who could replace Latifi at Williams. Current team mate; Alex Albon; has already been confirmed for 2023, so who will join him?

There's plenty of drivers on the market for 2023. The likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher are looking at their options and then, despite his connection with many other teams, there's Nyck de Vries. Williams also have their driver academy with the likes of Logan Sargeant and Jamie Chadwick driving under the team's name. It's fair to say that Williams have a pretty difficult decision on their hands. I'm not envious.

But back to Latifi, it's such a shame seeing a driver's hopes and dreams come crashing down like this but sometimes it just doesn't work out. It's happened to many a driver before and it will happen to many a driver after. This is Formula One, after all.

The F1 2023 Race Calendar Is Here! And, This Is What I Think Of It!

The calendar for the 2023 F1 season has arrived, which means it's time to start planning those all important F1 trips for the next year. The calendar, which you can check out above, looks a little more packed than usual. This is because the FIA has planned a record breaking twenty-four races for 2023. Twenty-four! I'm pretty sure just a few seasons ago they were struggling to get past twenty, but here we are.

From what I have seen and read on social media, the calendar has been met with some very mixed reviews. Some like it, they think it's ok, but most people have an issue one way or another. Unfortunately for me, I can't say I'm overly stoked. Keep on reading to find out why.

All views below are my own and are not intended to upset anyone.

I usually get quite excited at the release of the following season's calendar. I sit for hours planning what races I want to go to and whether I can afford them. (Looking at you Silverstone.) But it's tiring just looking at the twenty-four races that have been crammed in to such a small time phrase. And that's my main concern. For me, as a fan, twenty-four races should be an exciting prospect. It is, but, you can't help but feel for the people who work and travel with the F1 circus. Whether you're a driver, mechanic/engineer, team personnel, F1 personnel, etc, it must be a big kick in the guts to see that calendar. Everyone has a personal life and as far as I'm concerned, it's all about how much money F1 can make.

I suppose this fits in with how the calendar is laid out. There seems to be absolutely zero logic put in to this. For example, Azerbaijan is on the 30th April. Just a week later it's across the pond to the States for the Miami GP. Why? Why not pair Azerbaijan with something closer to home? Or, here's an idea. Start the season one side of the world and make your way across ending the season on the other. It's all logistics at the end of the day. If F1 and the FIA are serious about becoming Net Zero Carbon by 2030 then this is something major that needs looking at.

Moving on, I'm not overly thrilled with the amount of street circuits. If you know me or follow my F1 social medias then you may know I despise the things. Personally, I'm more of an "old-school race track" kinda gal so you can imagine my fury with the rumours that F1 was to bin off the likes of Spa. What also grinds my gears, (pun intended), is that there are plenty of decent tracks out there not being used. You've got the likes of Istanbul, Sepang, Hockenheim and Nurburgring just sitting there but instead we get Saudi Arabia, Miami and Las Vegas. I mean, F1 has never raced at Las Vegas and I'm already dreading it. However, I'm happy to see that Monaco survived the cull. Yes it's a street circuit but Monaco is F1. I'll also add that I can cope with Singapore and Azerbaijan, in case you're wondering.

It's not all negative, however! There are still plenty of decent tracks on the calendar that should provide some excellent racing and also Spa, my favourite track, survives another year! Plus, if you think of it with a positive mind set, we get twenty-four races!

I'm probably going to contradict myself now by saying maybe I shouldn't be too judgmental just yet. Maybe we need to let the season play out before all the negativity. Twenty-four races between March and November, plus a couple weeks off in August, may work. Travelling back and forth across the world numerous times may work. I can't say I'm confident but as a fan sat on my sofa I have nothing to complain about.