Off week shakeup, Part Deux

Well it's still not a race week so I guess we can still keep speculating. 

To continue from where we left off; Horner's been sacked, and he is going to need somewhere to go and there's a couple options that might fit. Max's future team is looking uncertain and that can cause some ripples across the field. The most affected might be Mercedes. George still has some contract woes, and he might be in a pickle. There's the TLDR of the last entry.

This time let's keep the premise alive but look everywhere that isn't Red Bull, VCARB, or Mercedes. So, Max has taken the spot at Mercedes, Russell is out on the streets with a clean shirt and fresh printed resume.  

Let's get the easy ones out of the way first.

What does McLaren do? The only thing that can be heard from the factory in Woking is Zac Brown's weird laugh. 

How about Williams? While James Vowles finds the idea fascinating, Williams has invested far too much in the concept they have already. I also doubt they could afford the change. 

Maybe Hass? As much of a wild card Gene Hass is (and I'm sure would be willing to absolutely kick anyone to the "kerb" to acquire either Horner or Russell) there is no way either one would want to go. Also, Hass couldn't afford it.

Ferrari? The team principal issues aside, there just isn't anything to gain from dropping Charles. 

Now the options get a little more interesting

What about The Audi Project? This is a valid prospect for change. The new management will be coming in having been building off of a, let's be honest, struggling Sauber program. Maybe with a newly hired Christian Horner as some sporting director advisor or executive VP of tire warmers, who knows. They won't be married to anything legacy and if they can afford George, it will be hard to pass up that chance. Bortoleto is a strong rookie and F2 champion, but still a young rookie. Another year as a reserve/ Sim/ development driver won't be a massive setback for him. OK I'm going to ruffle some feathers here... Acquiring a proven race winner in George Russell at the cost of removing Hülkenberg would be a net positive for the team. There, I said it, I feel bad about it but it's true, and if you think that’s wrong then you're not being honest with yourself. I'm sorry. Moving on...

The quintessential British brand, owned by a Canadian billionaire? Aston Martin has both a lot of prospects while also really lacking. They acquired Adrian Newey, and his handy work is starting to look like it’s working. The team is showing signs of improvement this year and, with a Newey designed car going into the new regulations, there might actually be some hope buried in there somewhere. Lawrence Stroll has proven he's more than willing to throw money at an opportunity to create wins. Hiring Christian Horner is well within a reason. I wouldn't be shocked if there was already an invite to the factory in Horner's inbox. As far as the driver selection goes, here is where the real issues lie. The unwillingness to give up Lance's seat is, as they say, "problematic." There was hope he would go lead the new Aston Martin endurance racing program in WEC, but lucky for those guys he is staying in F1. Now Alonso has got to be running out of days on his deal with the devil to keep racing. Trading him for George is a real toss up for me. Lots of pluses and minuses to weigh out there. However, George would be the perfect Aston Martin spokesperson. 

Finally, on our tour we have arrived at the glorious train wreck that is Alpine. A program in turmoil, ditching their namesake Renault for the Mercedes power unit. What do these changes elsewhere do to the team in Enstone? In the management structure I am not entirely sure they themselves know what’s going on. I suspect Flavio would make a play to get Horner on the payroll in some capacity. Take a look at the last “Off Week Shakeups” entry for a little deeper look into the Alpine restructuring and how Christian could fit in there. The driver situation could be interesting. This year they have gone through multiple “second” drivers and the current occupant of that seat is living on a race-by-race evaluation. There is a rule in F1 that a team is only allowed to use 4 drivers per season and if Colapinto gets benched for Valtteri Bottas, as rumors are suggesting, Alpine will be maxed out and have no additional options. All of this to say the driver lineup is anything but stable. If a driver hits the market like George, a race winner and MAYBE a championship contender, Flavio and the gang will certainly give it a try. With the team changing to the Mercedes Power units George could be a quick fit. My question is how loyal are they to Pierre Gasly? There is a case to be made that loyalty extends to no one given the team’s reputation for turning over team bosses. So, do you liquidate Pierre to get George and keep the rookie/ junior driver carousel going?

That’s the current grid but let’s not forget the new addition next year! Cadillac. There is a whole lot of unknown here. As far as I’m aware nothing has been finalized. We saw earlier the cryptic video with Valtteri looking at the “nice seat” in a brand-new Cadillac, hinting that he may be first choice for the new team.  There are reports coming out now that Sergio Perez has signed on and the team is waiting until later in the season to make the formal announcement. The latest driver to claim to be “in talks” with the American based team is Mick Schumacher. There are also rumors around trying to convert Indy car drivers like Indy 500 winner Álex Palou, Mclaren reserve Pato O'Ward, or the current Andretti driver and youngest race winner Colton Herta. There are plenty of options to fill these two available seats. So, if in this little exercise, George Russell becomes available he would logically move to the top of the prospect list.

Thanks for making this far and suffering through this thought experiment. In all likelihood few to none of these scenarios will play out, but it sure would be fun if it did.