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And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

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    And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

    So Mercedes begin the search to replace the World Champion. The plan is apparently to have it sorted before the new year. Toto Wolff has told Gazzetta dello Sport, "The first [option] is to think about having a number one and a number two, a bit like Ferrari at the time of Schumacher and Massa. We can take a driver who can guarantee us points in the Constructors' Championship. The second is to promote one of our junior drivers, Ocon or Wehrlein. After all, other teams have taken a chance on guys like Verstappen or Vandoorne. The third is to get back on the market in order to find another top driver [but this] is the one I like least."

    Hamilton naturally says he's not too bothered who climbs into the other Merc, he'll race them anyway.

    News for 2018 is that F1 returns to Circuit Paul Ricard as a French Grand Prix will once again be on the calendar.

    And the 2017 schedule is reduced from 21 to 20 races. There will be no German Grand Prix - Hockenheim is absent. The European Grand Prix will now be known as the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and moves to avoid Le Mans.

    There is the possibility of a 21st race as Imola have agreed to stage one with Ecclestone but the deal needs ratification. Monza looks to be there for certain though, so I think it would be a double dose of Italian GPs (presumably any such Imola one would be badged the Euro GP?).

    #2
    And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

    Alternatively, they could return to the tradition of Imola hosting the "San Marino Grand Prix".

    As with everything else in F1, the outcome depends on how much lucre Bernie can extract from the parties involved.

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      #3
      And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

      Ah, that would be neat, wouldn't it?

      I'm just enjoying some Circuit Paul Ricard action. The 1985 French Grand Prix looks like one for the ages.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_French_Grand_Prix
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e-ehFmtKDw

      Rosberg (Keke), Prost, Lauda, Piquet and Senna all present and correct. The massive Mistral Straight apparently put huge stress on the engines as they were gunning it for a long time, and this is what caused Senna's accident in the race. The modern circuit has some corners halfway along the straight now.

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        #4
        And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

        I'm sure there's a clever reason why this is under Football, but I'm afraid it's gone right past me.

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          #5
          And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

          Oh. Balls. Sorry.

          Admins, please could this be moved to Sport?

          Edit - that was quick, thanks!

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            #6
            And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

            I'm sure there's a clever reason why this is under Football, but I'm afraid it's gone right past me.

            I had been reading that piece today about motor racing with cars painted up with football teams' colours, names and badges, so I'll claim a subconscious effect.

            http://www.wsc.co.uk/features/13606-from-the-archive-when-football-tried-to-set-up-a-motorsport-league

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              #7
              And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

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                #8
                And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                All the signs pointing to Valtteri Bottas moving to Mercedes, with Massa returning to Williams as his replacement. Bottas is a sensible signing, good enough to keep Hamilton honest and he'll probably beat him periodically. Not so sure about Massa unretiring though, he looked past his best this season and another year might end up being a little bit embarrassing for all concerned. Not expecting any sort of announcement before the new year mind.

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                  #9
                  And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                  Massa is very well liked in the paddock and has a history of working well with engineers and other drivers. Signing him at this point would be recognition that the team is more than a year away from contending

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                    #10
                    And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                    Manor have gone into administration

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                      #11
                      And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                      Time for some dodgy cash from a dubious regime, by the sounds of it. The company (called Manor) which holds the F1 licence is not in administration, but the team itself is - so it's a backer/investor I think they are after, rather than a complete buy-out.

                      Sky have this page and video on the changes to the regulations in 2017, which should give faster, more aggressive looking cars.

                      Amazon have Ross Brawn's new book down to £6. Anyone read it?

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                        #12
                        And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                        I bet Bernie hasn't, given that it's well known he's not a fan of either Brawn or co-author Adam Parr.

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                          #13
                          And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                          The motor racing calendars that *really* matter:

                          Classic Sports Car Club

                          Masters Historic Racing

                          Far more interesting Formula 1! :-)

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                            #14
                            And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                            The Bottas pursuit is firming up even more now, as Wehrlein and Ocon have both been signed up by other teams - Sauber and Force India respectively. Good move for Ocon especially, as Force India seem to be a rising, er, force.

                            Michael Schumacher's son Mick will step up to race in European Formula 3 this year.

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                              #15
                              And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                              Wehrlein to Sauber hasn't been officially confirmed yet, though it was widely reported last week that a deal had been agreed. Presumably they're holding fire on an announcement just in case Bottas to Mercedes doesn't happen for some reason.

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                                #16
                                And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                Ah, missed that - on reflection the Wehrlein articles are all 'reportedly' and 'understood to have'.

                                Just looking at the F3 lineup so far and Schumacher Jr is in the same team - Prema Powerteam - as Callum Ilott. Ilott is 18 and from Cambridge and has been a rising star, though didn't quite live up to expectations in 2016. Wonder how that will pan out over the year?

                                Canadian Lance Stroll has left that same team having won the European F3 title in 2016, as he is taking up one of the Williams F1 drives (where Bottas is still provisionally in the other).

                                Another young Brit, Lando Norris from Bristol, took part in the last European F3 race of 2016 and goes full time for 2017. He was born on 13 November 1999. Blimey. And he won three Championships lat year: Toyota Racing Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula Renault 2.0 NEC.

                                European F3 Championship races 2017

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                                  #17
                                  And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                  Lando Norris looks to have some serious potential - would be very surprised if he didn't reach F1.

                                  Meanwhile, down in the grubbier corners of motorsport, Sam Sunderland has become the first Brit to win any of the major categories on the Dakar, coming home first in the bikes section.

                                  Also, for those who like a bit of rallying, the WRC season kicks off on Thursday in Monte Carlo, with some live and highlights stuff on BT Sport (and presumably, terrestrial TV soon afterwards). It's a properly exciting season in prospect, with all-new, faster and more aggressive looking cars, no all-conquering VW team, Ogier in a Cumbrian-run Ford and the return of Toyota with the new Yaris. Oh, and there's Kris Meeke - if Citroen have built a winning car, we should have the first British contender for the World title since the glory days of the late 90s with Burns and McRae....

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                                    #18
                                    And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                    Bottas to Mercedes and Massa to Williams now official.

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                                      #19
                                      And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                      And with Wehrlein to Sauber also confirmed, that just leaves the Manor issue.

                                      Buyer found?
                                      http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/manor-f1-team-has-buyout-offer-865886/

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                                        #20
                                        And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                        Mercedes have signed the British driver George Russell to their Young Driver Programme. He won a couple of races in the European F3 series last year, he'll now be driving in GP3 as a result. I see Giuliano Alesi is back for another season there too, he's Jean's son and has backing from Ferrari.

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                                          #21
                                          And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                          Monte Carlo WRC action on Channel 5 tonight, for UK viewers.

                                          Interesting start to the season with unreliability and the usual weather-related accidents serving to mix up the leaderboard. From having no realistic home-based chances of winning two years ago, British fans are now spoilt for choice - do we cheer on a Brit in a French team, or a Frenchman in a British team? Both have a great chance to win rallies, and possibly the championship.

                                          On a less happy note, it was very sad to see a spectator death, though in slightly odd circumstances as they were fatally injured falling down an embankment onto the road after a car crashed into the bank beneath them, presumably causing them to lose their footing.

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                                            #22
                                            And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                            I miss the days when they'd start from all sorts of different parts of Europe before arriving in the south of France.

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                                              #23
                                              And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                              Monte Carlo Historique is for you then, GO - there are 20 competitors leaving the U.K. start venue of Paisley on Wednesday to begin the concentration run down to the riviera, with other start points around Europe.

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                                                #24
                                                And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                                Third rate les bleus wrote: Monte Carlo Historique is for you then, GO - there are 20 competitors leaving the U.K. start venue of Paisley on Wednesday to begin the concentration run down to the riviera, with other start points around Europe.
                                                Wow! Thank you for alerting me to that, Third.

                                                Here's the website, for anyone interested.

                                                edit: There's a Facebook page for the overall event, too:

                                                https://www.facebook.com/Le-Rallye-de-Monte-Carlo-Historique-351030550229/

                                                Look at that poor little Renault in the snow! ...And the fantastic Renault Alpine too!

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                                                  #25
                                                  And on that bombshell... F1 and motorsport 2017

                                                  Yeah, Bernie's Supremo Successor would pretty much look like this.

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