Kovalainen out?
Discussion
It's very surprising and disappointing to hear that Heikki Kovalainen may not be in F1 next season.
Apparently Caterham won't be able to afford to pay his salary if they don't finish 10th in the constructors championship. They currently lie 11th due to Glock's 12th place finish in Singapore, the best finish by any of the 3 'new' teams in 2012. If Caterham don't match or beat this result in Brazil, they will be forced to replace Heikki with a pay driver.
Kovalainen has performed outstandingly over the last 3 seasons. He has destroyed his team mates, and deserves to be promoted up the grid, not forced out of F1. If this happens it will be a sad and worrying indication that money has become more important than talent for F1 teams outside the big 4.
Apparently Caterham won't be able to afford to pay his salary if they don't finish 10th in the constructors championship. They currently lie 11th due to Glock's 12th place finish in Singapore, the best finish by any of the 3 'new' teams in 2012. If Caterham don't match or beat this result in Brazil, they will be forced to replace Heikki with a pay driver.
Kovalainen has performed outstandingly over the last 3 seasons. He has destroyed his team mates, and deserves to be promoted up the grid, not forced out of F1. If this happens it will be a sad and worrying indication that money has become more important than talent for F1 teams outside the big 4.
EDLT said:
He could always take a smaller salary, he is competing for a seat against people who are willing to pay to drive.
I think that his attitude is going against him now. Wouldnt it be ironic if Kobayashi gets the drive because he has got up off his arse and realised that money talks.Ahonen said:
EDLT said:
He could always take a smaller salary, he is competing for a seat against people who are willing to pay to drive.
When a team actively needs £10m, offering to take a pay cut of a few thousand isn't the same.Personally, I think he's been a bit of a revelation at Lotus Racing / Caterham. Many occasions I think he's driven the backside off the car and I'd say he is an asset to an F1 team. He wouldn't have driven for McLaren if he wasn't seriously fast.
F1's structure needs a good look if the grid is becoming more and more populated by drivers who can find the greatest funding for the team, rather than being one of the very best.
F1's structure needs a good look if the grid is becoming more and more populated by drivers who can find the greatest funding for the team, rather than being one of the very best.
From what I have read, Williams' drivers for 2013 are expected to be Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas, who is being hyped as the Next Big Thing. We'll see.
It would be great if Heikki could land one of the 2 remaining seats, but it looks like a long shot, sadly
.
There have always been pay drivers in F1, (remember Pedro 'Parmalat' Diniz?) but they now seem to be pushing out some of the top guys.
The sport needs to address this situation, because the way things are going, fans could be looking at F1 in 5-7 years time and asking "Are these guys actually the best drivers in the world or not?"
It would be great if Heikki could land one of the 2 remaining seats, but it looks like a long shot, sadly
. There have always been pay drivers in F1, (remember Pedro 'Parmalat' Diniz?) but they now seem to be pushing out some of the top guys.
The sport needs to address this situation, because the way things are going, fans could be looking at F1 in 5-7 years time and asking "Are these guys actually the best drivers in the world or not?"
Bradgate said:
From what I have read, Williams' drivers for 2013 are expected to be Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas, who is being hyped as the Next Big Thing. We'll see.
It would be great if Heikki could land one of the 2 remaining seats, but it looks like a long shot, sadly.
There have always been pay drivers in F1, (remember Pedro 'Parmalat' Diniz?) but they now seem to be pushing out some of the top guys.
The sport needs to address this situation, because the way things are going, fans could be looking at F1 in 5-7 years time and asking "Are these guys actually the best drivers in the world or not?"
The problem is Heikki refuses to raise money. I'm sure he could raise some money if he had started when he lost his McLaren drive. The problem is that Finland probably doesn't have the kind of businesses who have the money to fund F1 drivers.It would be great if Heikki could land one of the 2 remaining seats, but it looks like a long shot, sadly
. There have always been pay drivers in F1, (remember Pedro 'Parmalat' Diniz?) but they now seem to be pushing out some of the top guys.
The sport needs to address this situation, because the way things are going, fans could be looking at F1 in 5-7 years time and asking "Are these guys actually the best drivers in the world or not?"
South America, China Russia on the other hand.
stevesingo said:
The problem is Heikki refuses to raise money. I'm sure he could raise some money if he had started when he lost his McLaren drive. The problem is that Finland probably doesn't have the kind of businesses who have the money to fund F1 drivers.
South America, China Russia on the other hand.
He's had an Angry Birds design helmet all year, and a Heikki game version of AB, so there's a good relationship there with a big money making Finland based company. I don't know how much Rovio makes or whether what they would see as a reasonable donation would be enough to keep him going in F1. South America, China Russia on the other hand.
Fire99 said:
Personally, I think he's been a bit of a revelation at Lotus Racing / Caterham. Many occasions I think he's driven the backside off the car and I'd say he is an asset to an F1 team. He wouldn't have driven for McLaren if he wasn't seriously fast.
F1's structure needs a good look if the grid is becoming more and more populated by drivers who can find the greatest funding for the team, rather than being one of the very best.
Completely agree. I honestly think Heikki got a raw deal at Mclaren, whether they said it in public or not, he was always number 2 to Lewis, he deserved a better chance.F1's structure needs a good look if the grid is becoming more and more populated by drivers who can find the greatest funding for the team, rather than being one of the very best.
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