F1 silly season begins - so who is going where?

[toppstuff]

Kimi > RB
Hulkenberg > Lotus
Grosjean> Out.
Bottas> Lotus
Bianchi>Sauber

[weyland yutani]

Massa > Out
Badoer > In

He had a slight resurgence in form end of last year but the general trend is still a downward slope.

[Otispunkmeyer]

Can't wait to see Wibba in the LMP1 Porsche!

[RobGT81]

Otispunkmeyer said:

Can't wait to see Wibba in the LMP1 Porsche!

Its a big step up for him, going from Formula One person to racing driver

[Crafty_]

I think Bianchi may be able to do better than a Sauber which has been a bit of a dog this season, their designer just left too, so I should imagine the 2014 car will be quite seriously affected.

If Massa leaves Ferrari I think it will be to retire from F1. Maybe he'll go GT/Endurance racing ?

I forgot Hulk was on a single year deal, no doubt he'd be keen to move to a better car, back to Force India ? Lotus ?
Surely Pic will be looking for a decent seat too ?
We know Di Resta will take a good seat anywhere he can and as I understand it wages at Force India are somewhat low, good fit for Lotus ?

[Muzzer79]

I have a feeling that RB will pass up on Kimi so as to try and keep Vettel sweet - Horner et al are all his bhes after all.

I suspect they'll go for someone quick but not too quick, in the Webber mould.
Di Resta or Hulkenburg spring to mind. Can't see them risking Vergne or Ricciardo as they're too inconsistent.

[Crafty_]

My thoghts on Kimi is that if he is to go there the dynamic of the RB management would have to changed. He would not be as compliant as Mark is (at times anyway) and would do whatever he wanted. If they do sign him they need to change how they run the team. Not sure Kimi quite fits their image either, there is also the PR work question.

Its so difficult to compare STR boys to other drivers, are they very good in a so-so car or ok in a decent car ? can't decide.

[gingerpaul]

Crafty_ said:

My thoghts on Kimi is that if he is to go there the dynamic of the RB management would have to changed. He would not be as compliant as Mark is (at times anyway) and would do whatever he wanted. If they do sign him they need to change how they run the team. Not sure Kimi quite fits their image either, there is also the PR work question.

Its so difficult to compare STR boys to other drivers, are they very good in a so-so car or ok in a decent car ? can't decide.

He gets on well with Dietrich Mateschitz and Red Bull PR is a little different to the likes of McLaren. He spends a lot of his off time doing things that other Red Bull sponsored guys do so I don't think that'd be an issue. There'd be no worries about what he would do in a given situation because he would tell you straight out.

His weakness is that he isn't a the kind of guy to motivate the team to do better. He needs a team that looks after itself and delivers a good car that he can jump into.

Ultimately I think it will come down to whether Mateschitz is prepared to tell Vettel that Kimi is to be his new team mate and risk upsetting the apple cart. If he isn't then any driver prepared to run as a number 2 to Vettel would do really.

[funkyrobot]

Bring back Taki Inoue.

[P-Jay]

I'd love to see Kimi at RBR, but... it just seems too good to be true.

Vettel won't want it, but of course he's already signed for the next few years, if he hasn't got a teammate clause in his contract it might be a moot point.

They'll have to agree to Kimi's demands viz PR work and 'freetime' - although, I don't think Kimi is as much of a PR nightmare as some people might think, yeah he doesn't enjoy some of the traditional things like acting in Bank Ads or modelling watches, but his profile is HUGE because of who he is.

I really hope it happens, maybe if Vet beats him I'll get over my unfounded hatred of the finger pointer.

Massa - Lotus? I think he's done more than enough to keep his seat at Ferrari, but he might fancy one last roll of the dice for a WDC as #1 driver at a riskier team rather than zero chance of winning one with Ferrari. If he does leave F1 I'd be intrigued to find out who Rob Smedley goes to work for ha ha. "Kimi Baby?" That'd be a laugh to see.

[GingerWizard]

Kimi in a red bull would be almost unbeatable. If he does go then vettel is going to be in for a shock. Right now the top two drivers are Alonsi and kimi. The best overall car is red bull.

I reckon di resta might go to Ferrari ...

[gingerpaul]

I wonder if Vettel might actually like the challenge of having Kimi as a team mate to prove to the world that it's not just the car.

[noell35]

gingerpaul said:

I wonder if Vettel might actually like the challenge of having Kimi as a team mate to prove to the world that it's not just the car.

It would be nice to think so but I bet he'd rather do it after his 8th WDC.

[davepoth]

noell35 said:

It would be nice to think so but I bet he'd rather do it after his 8th WDC.

True. That's why I don't think Kimi will be going to Red Bull. It'll be someone competent but not championship material, who is happy with the chance of picking up podiums and the chance of a win or two if Vettel breaks down. Someone like Kovalainen maybe.

Actually, the guy I'd really like to see make his way back is Kobayashi. That would be brilliant.

[mollytherocker]

I rate vettel highly but Kimi would murder him.

I can't see it happening.

[Hub]

Muzzer79 said:

I have a feeling that RB will pass up on Kimi so as to try and keep Vettel sweet - Horner et al are all his bhes after all.

I suspect they'll go for someone quick but not too quick, in the Webber mould.
Di Resta or Hulkenburg spring to mind. Can't see them risking Vergne or Ricciardo as they're too inconsistent.

I'm wondering about Ricciardo -Toro Rosso are always stated to be the RB academy team afterall! Most of the rookie drivers seem a bit inconsistent.

[sanf]

Hub said:

Muzzer79 said:

I have a feeling that RB will pass up on Kimi so as to try and keep Vettel sweet - Horner et al are all his bhes after all.

I suspect they'll go for someone quick but not too quick, in the Webber mould.
Di Resta or Hulkenburg spring to mind. Can't see them risking Vergne or Ricciardo as they're too inconsistent.

I'm wondering about Ricciardo -Toro Rosso are always stated to be the RB academy team afterall! Most of the rookie drivers seem a bit inconsistent.

If they don't go for an STR driver, what's the point in having an academy team. Vettel came through the ranks, and this season the two STR drivers are showing great flashes of speed, which you would think should be enough.

Considering Kimi's personality, and motivation, would going to RBR be a good idea. Vettel is a 3 times world champion, and while he may be a figure to dislike, he has shown incredible skill over the past 3 years, against very very good opposition. If Kimi went to RBR and was consistenly beaten across the the first half of the season, does he have the motivation to want to stay in the sport?

[Streps]

As much as i have enjoyed watching Massa racing,I feel he is not quite the same now.

Get Kobayashi in the seat please!

Ricciardo or Raikkonen for the Red Bull seat.

[CocoUK]

My take on the big seats for next season:

Massa - staying with Ferrari
Raikkonen - staying with Lotus
Grosjean - staying with Lotus
Ricciardo - moving up to Red Bull

Top teams will be looking for stability next season relying on experience to help develop the new cars.

Any other changes down the grid will be purely due to better sponsorship opportunities, which may see Alguersuari, Kobayashi or even Petrov back in the sport!

[groomi]

No idea about Red Bull, but I think DiResta will be moving on from FI at the end of the season - most likely to Lotus who could do with his consistency in place of Grosjean's exuberance or as a replacement for Kimi.