Kubica - the smart money's on?

[rubystone]

...well Rosberg WAS heading for McLaren....but he MAY have also been talking to Williams about a lucrative contract extension...Kubica will upset that applecart...chatting to someone who should know what's happening, his words were " if I were Rosberg, I'd get my signature on that Williams contract very quickly".

Me? I reckon McLaren should snap Kubica up - who knows, he may also be the reason why Toyota stays in F1....

I guess time will tell....

[hairyben]

rubystone said:

his words were " if I were Rosberg, I'd get my signature on that Williams contract very quickly".

Nah. Williams have been off the boil for years, and it's no secret that mercedes are chewing at the bit to have ein deutschlander in the car and rosberg, being on good terms with hammy, would be a perfect fit. If his contract's up the macca seat is his for the taking and he'd be daft to look it over, short of a better offer, which I don't see. RB look fairly settled with their driver lineup, Things are uncertain at renault, Brawn there's much uncertainty about their long term potential to fight at the front, macca and ferrari are the long term comeback kids. The only downside to macca would be possible fear of being spanked by hammy, but if he's an F1 driver through and through that won't compute.

[dom180]

Would be good to see Kube v Hamilton in the same team - only downsides would be whether Mclaren would want to upset the Lewis applecart (nice compliant no 2 like Nico would be fine and he's used to being team mates with and beaten by Lewis) and also that Kube's driving style is a lot different to Lewis' - one of the reasons I suspect Heikki struggles is that Mclaren probably develop the car to suit Lewis' style more than his.

[kevin ritson]

Hamilton sees Kubica as a threat doesn't he? If I were Martin Whitmarsh I'd want a quietish 2010 *If* Ferrari have signed Alonso then he certainly won't want him in the team. Unless there's a major upset with Red Bull's driver contracts, that would leave Brawn and Renault as Robert's best hopes. Assuming Renault stick with the sport, how do you choose between those two?

[team underdog]

As much as I'd like to see Kubica in a McLaren, I can't see it happening - he's known be pretty outspoken particularly when the car and team aren't performing, plus they will likely end up with another Ham/Alonso situation.

I reckon he'll end up in a Brawn or a Renault.

[flemke]

hairyben said:

rubystone said:

his words were " if I were Rosberg, I'd get my signature on that Williams contract very quickly".

Nah. Williams have been off the boil for years, and it's no secret that mercedes are chewing at the bit to have ein deutschlander in the car and rosberg, being on good terms with hammy, would be a perfect fit. If his contract's up the macca seat is his for the taking and he'd be daft to look it over, short of a better offer, which I don't see. RB look fairly settled with their driver lineup, Things are uncertain at renault, Brawn there's much uncertainty about their long term potential to fight at the front, macca and ferrari are the long term comeback kids. The only downside to macca would be possible fear of being spanked by hammy, but if he's an F1 driver through and through that won't compute.

If you were McLaren, would you go for Rosberg, or would you wait a year and go for Vettel, or even Glock?

[forsure]

flemke said:

hairyben said:

rubystone said:

his words were " if I were Rosberg, I'd get my signature on that Williams contract very quickly".

Nah. Williams have been off the boil for years, and it's no secret that mercedes are chewing at the bit to have ein deutschlander in the car and rosberg, being on good terms with hammy, would be a perfect fit. If his contract's up the macca seat is his for the taking and he'd be daft to look it over, short of a better offer, which I don't see. RB look fairly settled with their driver lineup, Things are uncertain at renault, Brawn there's much uncertainty about their long term potential to fight at the front, macca and ferrari are the long term comeback kids. The only downside to macca would be possible fear of being spanked by hammy, but if he's an F1 driver through and through that won't compute.

If you were McLaren, would you go for Rosberg, or would you wait a year and go for Vettel, or even Glock?

If they want to go for both titles they have to consider replacing HK, and LH might benefit from having a more competitive team-mate. Much as I admire Williams I don't think they'll provide a winning car; time is right for NR to move to a top team.

[Muzzer]

flemke said:

hairyben said:

rubystone said:

his words were " if I were Rosberg, I'd get my signature on that Williams contract very quickly".

Nah. Williams have been off the boil for years, and it's no secret that mercedes are chewing at the bit to have ein deutschlander in the car and rosberg, being on good terms with hammy, would be a perfect fit. If his contract's up the macca seat is his for the taking and he'd be daft to look it over, short of a better offer, which I don't see. RB look fairly settled with their driver lineup, Things are uncertain at renault, Brawn there's much uncertainty about their long term potential to fight at the front, macca and ferrari are the long term comeback kids. The only downside to macca would be possible fear of being spanked by hammy, but if he's an F1 driver through and through that won't compute.

If you were McLaren, would you go for Rosberg, or would you wait a year and go for Vettel, or even Glock?

I wouldn't go for Glock and I can't see Vettel and Hamilton functioning well in the same team.

Surely McLaren have learnt that having 2 top line, equal drivers doesn't work?

Vettel is a curious situation - someone that good surely can't stay at Red Bull but McLaren have Hamilton and Ferrari will more than likely have Alonso, both tied into long term contracts. I can't see either of them sharing the spotlight with someone like Vettel.

As for Kubica, I think he's off to Renault, if they stay, or Brawn.

[Adamantium]

thing is no one is 100% sure alonso will leave renault, so who would want to join a team after all of piquets moanings about unfair balance in the team???

most of the 2010 season imo still revolves around Alonso and Kimi.

If massa comes back (and i hope he does) and kimi leaves the kubica to Ferrari, HK to Renault, Ros to Mclaren or Brawn, Bruno Senna??? I don't see why Vettel should leave RB, they've got a hell of a team there with Newey heading the designers and Webber is still a key player with enopugh experience to develop the car.

[Ralf Rockefeller]

Adamantium said:

HK to Renault

No chance, did you not remember his first stint there?

[Adamantium]

Ralf Rockefeller said:

Adamantium said:

HK to Renault

No chance, did you not remember his first stint there?

tbh I wasnt paying much attention to it during that time, i take it he either underperformed or wasnt liked?

[Ralf Rockefeller]

Adamantium said:

Ralf Rockefeller said:

Adamantium said:

HK to Renault

No chance, did you not remember his first stint there?

tbh I wasnt paying much attention to it during that time, i take it he either underperformed or wasnt liked?

I think a comb of both and the Flavio effect.

HK may well stay at Mac for consistancy, or Glock would be a good shout for the German/Merc link.

Rosberg wants to be number 1, and may well stick it out with Williams. No point going to Toyota.

Kubica & Roman to Renault.

[entropy]

rubystone said:

Me? I reckon McLaren should snap Kubica

Can't see it happening.

Rosberg and Kubica were rivals with Hamilton in karting. After the shenanigans with Alonso I can't see them wanting to do the dirt on each other and Hamilton has gone on record that he rates Kubica as a genuine WDC rival.

It would be great to see and I'd be very surprised if it actually happens.

[spend]

Maybe Kubica's physical size is very detrimental to his employment? If I was a team boss employing a pair of drivers having similar weight/shape to build a car around would be at least as important as their style.

You could argue that designing the car around the drivers physical characteristics has merits from all angles, and that differing driving styles might pay dividends at diverse venues?

[flemke]

entropy said:

rubystone said:

Me? I reckon McLaren should snap Kubica

Can't see it happening.

Rosberg and Kubica were rivals with Hamilton in karting. After the shenanigans with Alonso I can't see them wanting to do the dirt on each other and Hamilton has gone on record that he rates Kubica as a genuine WDC rival.

It would be great to see and I'd be very surprised if it actually happens.

From my normal position of complete ignorance, I'd agree.
Kubica's obviously got the speed and the competitiveness, but he seems to be a sharp-elbowed prick (not sure if I'm mixing metaphors there, but you know what I mean). McLaren tend towards drivers who can integrate smoothly with their whole organisation. RK isn't that kind of guy. (Ironically, McL. saw how well integrated into Renault Alonso was, and presumed that he would be the same with them, but his relationship with McL. came apart for almost unique reasons.)
Put another way, an organisation that was attracted to the HK "package" would seem unlikely to become attracted to the RK package. Also, and it's not the man's fault, McL. would not be able to use RK's nationality or persona to attract much sponsorship.
Every driver is going to want to be #1 on the team and enjoy the benefits that come with that status. In this case, I guess the questions are, "Would Hamilton reluctantly accept a co-equal?" (doubtful) and "Who would fit best with McL. if he had to accept that Hamilton would be #1?

[Rude-boy]

Muzzer said:

Vettel is a curious situation - someone that good surely can't stay at Red Bull...

Don't be so sure.

Since 1992 just how many WDC's and WCC's have been won in cars designed by Newey or Brawn?

Who does Newey work for.

How much money does Red Bull have?

Personally I think that the new world order is a bit of a one off this year but that Red Bull will still be out front next year and for the foreseeable.

Granted Mclaren and Ferrari are the top two but then 10 years ago who would have been predicting that we would be considering Williams to be a mid-fielder?

[flemke]

Rude-boy said:

Muzzer said:

Vettel is a curious situation - someone that good surely can't stay at Red Bull...

Don't be so sure.

Since 1992 just how many WDC's and WCC's have been won in cars designed by Newey or Brawn?

Who does Newey work for.

How much money does Red Bull have?

Personally I think that the new world order is a bit of a one off this year but that Red Bull will still be out front next year and for the foreseeable.

Granted Mclaren and Ferrari are the top two but then 10 years ago who would have been predicting that we would be considering Williams to be a mid-fielder?

Wrt the change in Williams's fortunes, I would have said that that was not because they had the wrong racing team for a Formula One constructor, but because they had the wrong business model for a Formula One constructor.

Wrt Newey, the guy is obviously bloody good, but he's been saying for years that he wanted to design an America's Cup yacht, and that wish supposedly had a lot to do with his dalliance with Jaguar and then RBR. There has to be a meaningful risk that he won't be at RBR for that many more years.

[Muzzer]

flemke said:

Rude-boy said:

Muzzer said:

Vettel is a curious situation - someone that good surely can't stay at Red Bull...

Don't be so sure.

Since 1992 just how many WDC's and WCC's have been won in cars designed by Newey or Brawn?

Who does Newey work for.

How much money does Red Bull have?

Personally I think that the new world order is a bit of a one off this year but that Red Bull will still be out front next year and for the foreseeable.

Granted Mclaren and Ferrari are the top two but then 10 years ago who would have been predicting that we would be considering Williams to be a mid-fielder?

Wrt the change in Williams's fortunes, I would have said that that was not because they had the wrong racing team for a Formula One constructor, but because they had the wrong business model for a Formula One constructor.

Wrt Newey, the guy is obviously bloody good, but he's been saying for years that he wanted to design an America's Cup yacht, and that wish supposedly had a lot to do with his dalliance with Jaguar and then RBR. There has to be a meaningful risk that he won't be at RBR for that many more years.

Exactly. F1 has been dominated since 1980 by Williams, McLaren and Ferrari. I see no reason why that will change in the future therefore it's only logical to assume that someone as good as Vettel will go to one of those teams.
Williams are now a bit of a spent force so one assumes it'll be McLaren or Ferrari

[flemke]

Muzzer said:

Exactly. F1 has been dominated since 1980 by Williams, McLaren and Ferrari. I see no reason why that will change in the future therefore it's only logical to assume that someone as good as Vettel will go to one of those teams.
Williams are now a bit of a spent force so one assumes it'll be McLaren or Ferrari

And the team that seemed the most likely to join F. and McL. as a perennial contender in the next decade, owing to its systematic understanding of how to develop and run a racing team, was BMW...

[Jungles]

Adamantium said:

Ralf Rockefeller said:

Adamantium said:

HK to Renault

No chance, did you not remember his first stint there?

tbh I wasnt paying much attention to it during that time, i take it he either underperformed or wasnt liked?

HK was relatively poor in the first half of the season, then kicked Fisi's proverbial bottom in the second half. Contrast with Nelsinho Piquet, who never really shined.

HK was traded for FA with the view to ensuring that FA didn't have a difficult #2 when he returned to Renault. If FA stays at Renault, they will hesitate to get HK back.

Edited by Jungles on Monday 10th August 14:01