Forum topic: Driver Salaries

The alternative is for any inactive team to automatically release all staff and drivers to the market with immediate affect.

I lost a driver to Pastok. He signed for several seasons, hasn't raced once. IN DIVISION 1!

He should have been released when that manager left, so someone else could sign and use them.

It was a problem in PW1.0, and it's still a problem now.

I agree, inactive teams should have a time limit on how long they can be inactive for before they release all staff and drivers to the market. Just like PW1.0 had the bankruptcy thing, where if a team fell to -10m or more for 3 and was inactive, that it was automatically reset and all drivers and staff were released.

We need that back, that's for certain.

Also yes, there does need to be something else I think added to the contract negotiations. Do staff and drivers look at future contracts with a team? Or just current ones?

I wouldn't want to implement something that stopped a Div 3 signing a superstar as that isn't the right solution.

But there needs to be some common sense that a super driver (ie Bailetti of Forza) doesn't really want to go to a Div 3 new team when he is consistently gathering podiums in Div 2.

Maybe we could have a system where there is some sort of calculation sway on contracts based on those in the pool negociating as opposed to the market as a whole?

ie, if a driver in talks with 3 teams; rather than who pays the highest wage wins as close to the market value; each team is given a negociation rating on certain aspects.

I think it might already work this way though.

But a better team offering less money is surely greater than a new lowly ranked team offering twice as much? There also has to be a point where a new team offer, as high as it might be, is dismissed by the driver, perhaps, because it silently calculates the current design team value; the teams bank balance; progress on next seasons car etc.

Do drivers currently have a 'greed' value? (is this partly ambition rating?)

I like the idea that drivers and staff look at the overall team, and the comparative ratings of the car to those it is racing against (so like PW1.0 had divisional rating on the R&D page).

And perhaps a greater % of the decision is dependant on Division. Also would there be a way for a projection where the driver/staff could see if a team is likely to be promoted or demoted for the following season? Because surely a team in Div 2 who are projected to be in Div 1 the following season would be more attractive than a team in Div 1 that's going to get demoted?

my driver that has signed to go to a div 3 team, has won every div 2 race this season and we will be in div 1 next season , but div 3 is where he wants to go ummmmmm

yeah, that team is empty, yet has 4 top drivers signed up already for future contracts. Looks to me like a newbie team making newbie mistakes, but those 4 drivers are now probably lost for many seasons

The simplest thing is to add a 'release' feature.

The complex solution is to make a script that stops teams easily signing top class drivers and causing mistakes.

Thats a long term fix.

Short term, release those big money drivers and staff. Problem solved.

Or, perhaps, give drivers and staff a ranking tier like, say, top trump cards or fantasy football players.

A, B, C, D.

Ranks would have certain levels of demands and relevant release clauses.

Rank D would have none (unestablished or pay drivers).

Rank C might be simple clauses like 50% top 10 finishes,

Rank B might be things like a podium, top 6 team finish etc

Rank A people would have more demanding get-out-clauses. ie, minimum point expectations, top 3 division finish, 3 wins per season etc. You could perhaps pick 2 out of his 5 demands to meet in that contract.

I am just sketching ideas (right and wrong) to try to get drivers and staff released if they are being caged in shite teams for too long.

Those are ok ideas, but take for example myself, a few seasons ago i was fighting for podiums and wins at the end of a season, and then the next chassis i had (based on a really great chassis of excellent/excellent) was utter garbage, lost 2 ranks on each, and I struggled to stay in Div 1.

Now my staff would all have fallen under Rank A or B, which would mean I'd lose EVERYONE, all because of 1 bad chassis that i had no control over because it was luck and I had none. I'm still in recovery mode from that chassis and season.

A system like you just stated sounds nice on paper, but when you look into it, you're condemning teams that promote from one division to the next to likely lose their staff unless their car is super because they'll go from winning everything to struggling for points.

Div 1 for example, look at our qualifying now, and you'll see most of the grid from 3 to 18 or so will be covered by 2s. If you brought in a ranking system with goals like that, most of those teams would be ruined the next season, as breaking the dominance of the top 4 teams is like punching your way through a concrete block

How about after a certain period, inactive teams are moved to a pool, the managers dismissed and the teams available for job applications? Whilst in the pool, their staff and drivers could be contracted out on a limited basis (like a football player loan) on a mini-contract that cannot exceed the remainder of the season.

The wages could be negotiated as x% of weekly wage for z weeks.

At the end of the agreed loan period, full contract negotiations can take place, or the driver released back to his old team.

Should a new new manager be appointed before full negotiations are concluded, then they can have the option to block the permanent release or allow the driver to go.

It will help stop drivers going stale in an inactive team and give the new manager a chance to take over a team that hasn't been picked clean.

Just an outline thought...