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General Discussion Area / Re: Vettel’s successor?
« on: 01 August 2022, 12:48:14 »There are quite a few up and coming "promising" youngsters in Formula 2. Last years winner Oscar Piastri is the one that is most talked about. Look at the previous winners - Mick Schumacher, Nyck de Vries, George Russell and Charles Leclerc. There is also a lot of young talent in Formula E. Trouble is, none of these are very likely to be dropped straight into a competitive F1 car.
There is also a lot of politics in driver placement, with many of the drivers being tied to managers or manufacturers. Mercedes supply the engine for the Aston, so they have a lot of clout in who gets to drive for them.
Piastri is 'owned' by Alpine. With Alpine now running in 4th place on the grid, they may allow him to race for another team to gain experience. Can't see him dropping straight into the Alpine alongside Ocon at the expense of Alonso. And I don't see Alonso going to Aston either - why would he go from a team challenging the big 3 to a team that currently struggles to get out of Q1.
Aston have just signed Alonso so Merc haven't had much say in that one I wouldn't think