Formula 1’s silly season exploded into life during the summer break with a handful of major moves that will have ramifications elsewhere. Should matters unravel as expected then Toro Rosso may be in need of a driver. Motorsport Week takes a slight fantastical look at the situation and suggests whether it should be a case of two wheels good, four wheels better.
The Formula 1 'silly season' has kicked into top gear, with Daniel Ricciardo departing Red Bull for Renault, Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly set to fill his spot, Fernando Alonso stepping away from the championship and Carlos Sainz Jr taking his hero’s place at McLaren.
Once the music stops, however, there will be a glaring void to be filled on the grid.
Gasly's likely promotion to Red Bull may give the struggling Brendon Hartley a reprieve, and he looks more certain to stay in F1 next year with Toro Rosso. The identity of his potential team-mate though, is less than clear, as the available options are sparse, and its desired candidates lack the required Super License points.
After 18 years, Honda MotoGP rider Dani Pedrosa will hang up his leathers at the end of this season – at least from full-time racing. The Spaniard is currently being courted by HRC and KTM to join their test teams.
But what if the 31-year-old were to opt for a different career path? A Honda loyalist throughout his career and deeply woven into the Red Bull web, Pedrosa could be the solution to Toro Rosso's problem.
The subject of MotoGP riders stepping over to F1 to replicate the achievements of the late, great John Surtees is one often debated. Nine-times World Champion Mike Hailwood tried and failed to win the F1 title, though did secure the European Formula 2 championship – driving for Surtees – in 1972, tallied up two F1 podiums and was awarded the George Medal for pulling Clay Regazzoni from his burning BRM in South Africa in 1973.
Nine-times World Champion Valentino Rossi gave F1 serious consideration back in the mid-2000s, impressing in several tests with Ferrari. Deciding on MotoGP instead, the Italian was the last rider to realistically come close to making the switch.
A test at the Red Bull Ring in June in a Hard tyre-shod 2012 Red Bull RB8 (in Toro Rosso colours) for HRC duo Marc Marquez and Pedrosa reignited hopes that one day someone might ‘try a Surtees'. Reports suggest that both were more than handy behind the wheel, with Pedrosa a little over five seconds off the current 1:06.9s lap record set this year by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Of course, if Pedrosa was to step over to F1 and succeed, Surtees' record would remain intact, as Pedrosa will leave MotoGP without a premier class title.
But Pedrosa moving to F1 would be nonetheless a massive coup for the series, even if it was just for a season or two until Red Bull replenishes its young driver programme and Toro Rosso can return to its prime directive.
From Red Bull's point of view, Pedrosa moving from MotoGP to F1 – one extreme to the other – fits perfectly with its sporting brand image of pushing boundaries and making headlines, while MotoGP promoter Dorna Sports would most definitely benefit from the exposure such a move would create.
Alonso's departure from F1 at the end of the year plunges the series' future in Spain into massive uncertainty. The local government is not exactly pro-Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya, and Sainz is not a large enough draw to keep the Alonso-mad crowd coming back for more.
However, Pedrosa certainly is, perhaps more so than Alonso in a country whose motorsport heritage really began on two wheels with the late '12+1' World Champion Angel Nieto. Liberty Media needs to prove it can do reasonable deals with existing venues, and losing the Spanish Grand Prix would be a huge blow for its credibility in this respect. The massive following for the popular Pedrosa in his native land, plus the sheer magnitude of a MotoGP legend racing in F1, would be enough to keep the Spanish coming back for more.
There are some obvious hurdles. Pedrosa does not currently qualify for a Super License under the FIA's stipulations. However, he is a 31-time MotoGP winner, three-times a championship runner-up, double 250cc title winner and ex-125cc champion. While his achievements have been on half the wheel count, he has demonstrated enough racing quality to surely be granted special dispensation. Plus, the FIA and FIM are rumoured to have an agreement in place to sort the finer details should such a move occur.
Pedrosa has battered himself over the years, suffering injuries that would have ended the careers of most competitors. The strains of racing in MotoGP and F1 are substantially different, but the Honda has proven to be a beastly bike to manhandle, and Pedrosa has met that challenge. Adapting to F1 should therefore not be a problem, assuming Pedrosa can attain the required level of pace.
From a performance standpoint, Pedrosa is hardly going to get anywhere near replicating the wins Surtees enjoyed, or the odd podium visit Hailwood made in their F1 careers. Toro Rosso is a solid midfield team, and so it is likely to remain, even with the incoming regulation shake-up for 2021.
But the positives almost certainly outweigh any negatives which may arise if Pedrosa was to make a shock switch to F1. Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Liberty and Dorna get to reap the unending benefits of such a high-publicity move, and Pedrosa's place among the pantheons of MotoGP greats – not that it should ever be doubted – can be cemented by doing something many thought would never happen again.
Of course, Toro Rosso will probably take on one of McLaren's employees, whether that be Stoffel Vandoorne or impressive junior Lando Norris on loan, while Pedrosa will rack up lonely laps aboard an RC213V or an RC16 next year and we are left to ponder…what if?
It is a far-fetched idea, but Pedrosa fits numerous bills Toro Rosso needs to establish its line-up for next year. As mad as it sounds, Pedrosa to F1 is not as mad an idea as you might think.
