Silly season F1 Driver summer sale

[woof]

So we're into the driver market summer special
I don't see any of the GP2 drivers making the move straight into a race seat
Pantano - surely he's just too old to make another go of F1 ?
Maybe Bruno Senna to take up a test role with someone

Mclaren - confirmed
Hamilton
Kovalainen

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Ferrari
No 2009 drivers confirmed yet
Could stay the same though for 2009
or Alonso to Ferrari ?

Kimi - all the indications is that he's had enough of F1 - he's not enjoying it - he wants to race skidoos and drink beer and shag (fair enough)

Kubica to Ferrari - not if Alonso is going there - Kubica management can see the history of Alonso team mates - most don't do so good - and Kubica doesn't want to be pushed into a support role.

Oh and Massa - his inspired drive might of been a wake up call from the boss at the weekend.
Alonso would destroy him at Ferrari

Massa / Kubica sounds like a great line up - very much like the Mclaren stable lineup ?

---

BMW Sauber
No confirmed driver line up
Nick Heidfeld - One last year ?
Robert Kubica - Has to be staying for 2009

---

Red Bull - confirmed for 2009
Webber
Vettel

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Honda
Jenson Button - a deal has been done - but that means nothing
Rubens Barrichello - the old dog still has it in him - but surely retirement at the end of the year

Alonso - possible
Mike conway ?

---

Renault
No confirmed driver line up
Fernando Alonso - open to offers
Nelson Piquet Jr - i think he's going to stay another year ?
I can't see Lucas Di Grassi moving up yet ?

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Toyota - look to be confirming both guys for 2009
Jarno Trulli
Timo Glock - Glock confirmed as of today

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Williams
Nico Rosberg - any option but to stay ?
Kazuki Nakajima - Toyota driver - and important to keep him in F1 and important for Williams to get a cheap engine

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Toro Rosso - is there even going to be a Toro Rosso next year
Bourdais is out - hasn't impressed at all
Vettel is off to Red Bull

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Force India
Nothing confirmed and very much controlled by what goes on above
Adrian Sutil
Giancarlo Fisichella

Edited by woof on Monday 4th August 13:51

[woof]

Today's driver rumour is that Heidfield day's are numbered as Bruno Senna may have Petrobras backing to fund a seat at Williams

Petrobras are an existing Williams sponsor

Edited by woof on Tuesday 5th August 17:15

[sirtyro]

Well toyota just confirmed Glock and Truli. I dont think Honda will be up for a 1 year deal with Alonso. Doesnt do them any favours. I think he should just stay at Renualt till 2010.

Would be great if MS came back for a season with Ferrari, or even if he took over as Team Principle (but dont see him getting on with kimi or Alonso).

I really like kovi, I think he is a good driver and a good team player, but wish Jenson would of gone to Mclaren.....anyway....everyone (again) is waiting to see what Alonso does before things can really get moving.

2009 will be a good season. I think 2008 has been one of the best seasons for a long time.

[woof]

Schumacher come back - is there even a whisper of that ?

[Racefan_uk]

woof said:

Today's driver rumour is that Heidfield day's are numbered as Bruno Senna may have Petrobras backing to fund a seat at Williams

Petrobras are an existing Williams sponsor

??? You mean a BMW-Sauber seat, don't you? Williams aren't anything to do with BMW anymore.

[kevin ritson]

woof said:

Pantano - surely he's just too old to make another go of F1 ?

You could have said the same for Glock last year, all of a sudden he's hot property at Toyota...

[woof]

Racefan_uk said:

woof said:

Today's driver rumour is that Heidfield day's are numbered as Bruno Senna may have Petrobras backing to fund a seat at Williams

Petrobras are an existing Williams sponsor

??? You mean a BMW-Sauber seat, don't you? Williams aren't anything to do with BMW anymore.

This is what happens if i don't have a drink during the day

Screwed it all up

Petrobras are a Williams sponsor - Brazilian Petroleum company - so it's Nakijima's seat that maybe up for grabs. But of course Williams gets cheap engines from Toyota.

Mind you surely Toyota would love to have Bruno Senna driving with their engine - and get one over on Honda !

[sirtyro]

Before GP2 what was the feeder series into F1?

About your 'is michael coming back' comment - I think when he was doing some testing someone did mention that he could come back. Although he prob did damage the sport by always winning he was always an interesting character and I would love to see how Lewis fairs against him.

[aeropilot]

woof said:

Racefan_uk said:

woof said:

Today's driver rumour is that Heidfield day's are numbered as Bruno Senna may have Petrobras backing to fund a seat at Williams

Petrobras are an existing Williams sponsor

??? You mean a BMW-Sauber seat, don't you? Williams aren't anything to do with BMW anymore.

Petrobras are a Williams sponsor - Brazilian Petroleum company - so it's Nakijima's seat that maybe up for grabs. But of course Williams gets cheap engines from Toyota.

More likely, if Williams are financially struggling they will keep Nakijima for the Toyota engines, and take Senna for the Petrobras money, and perhaps you'll then see Rosberg (who's a Gernam national) replace Heidfield at BMW...??

Kimi is the key figure at the moment as to whether is decides to quit or not, as that determines what the Spantard will do.

Edited by aeropilot on Wednesday 6th August 09:55

[telecat]

Prior to GP2 it was F3000 prior to that Formula 2. GP2 is a marketing name as F3000 didn't sound like the Jumior formula and going back to "F2" would be seen as too "retro".

[sirtyro]

Well now Formula 2 is coming back maybe we will see some more talent coming from other areas.

[jonnylayze]

aeropilot said:

woof said:

Racefan_uk said:

woof said:

Today's driver rumour is that Heidfield day's are numbered as Bruno Senna may have Petrobras backing to fund a seat at Williams

Petrobras are an existing Williams sponsor

??? You mean a BMW-Sauber seat, don't you? Williams aren't anything to do with BMW anymore.

Petrobras are a Williams sponsor - Brazilian Petroleum company - so it's Nakijima's seat that maybe up for grabs. But of course Williams gets cheap engines from Toyota.

More likely, if Williams are financially struggling they will keep Nakijima for the Toyota engines, and take Senna for the Petrobras money, and perhaps you'll then see Rosberg (who's a Gernam national) replace Heidfield at BMW...??

Kimi is the key figure at the moment as to whether is decides to quit or not, as that determines what the Spantard will do.

Edited by aeropilot on Wednesday 6th August 09:55

After Hockenheim, i wouldn't have been surprised if Ferrari had fired Massa and Raikonnen and replaced them with Alonso and A N Other (although it is difficult to see who (other than a rookie) would want to pair up with Alonso - even at Ferrari.

I think Massa's drive on Sunday will go a long way to securing his drive at Ferrari for next year although I don't believe he is consistent enough to lead a team like Ferrari or to win a world championship.

I think Raikonnen should go now and maybe Rosberg would fit at Ferrari with Alonso - I don't think Rosberg would be phased by this. It seems to me its really a matter of who Alonso will 'allow' alongside him. He will probably agree to Massa but not to Rosberg. I can see Button being a stumbling block for Alonso at Honda as well - would Alonso be happy to race alongside Button who has been established in the team for a very long time (as with Hamilton at McLaren).

TBH I think that time has run out for Barrichello, Fisichella, Trulli. Coulthard has already announced his retirement, Raikonnen seems likely to retire and I think that Bourdais has found it difficult to adjust to F1.

I think next years line ups will be:

McLaren - Hamilton and Kovaleinen
Ferrari - Alonso and Massa
Renault - Piquet and Pantano
BMW - Kubica and Heidfeld
Williams Rosberg and Nakajima
Honda - Button and Davidson
Toyota - Glock and Senna
Red Bull - Webber and Vettel
Toro Rosso - ?? ??
Force India - Sutil and??

[castrolcraig]

button and davidson at honda, no chance........

my bet is neither will be driving for honda next year.

[aeropilot]

jonnylayze said:

After Hockenheim, i wouldn't have been surprised if Ferrari had fired Massa and Raikonnen and replaced them with Alonso and A N Other (although it is difficult to see who (other than a rookie) would want to pair up with Alonso - even at Ferrari.

Other than a rookie.....
Even that's not a given after the Spantard's experience last year with a rookie team mate.....

[anonymous-user]

sirtyro said:

Well now Formula 2 is coming back maybe we will see some more talent coming from other areas.

F2 isn't coming back as muted by Max, the numbers are impossible.

[El Guapo]

If I were in charge at Ferrari I would tell Alonso "Thanks, but we're not interested". He is simply too much of a destabilising force if not undisputed #1. Instead, I would be making a move on Kubica.
Honda have nothing to gain from employing Alonso for 1 season either, so he should simply stay put at Renault.
I agree with those who can't see where the new blood is coming from. Senna perhaps, but nobody else is ready to step up.
I don't think Kimi will quit this year, so expect no change in line-up at Ferrari in 2009.

[Jungles]

My picks for 2009:

McLaren - Hamilton & Kovi
No brainer here. Both confirmed.

Ferrari - Kimi & Massa
Another no brainer. Massa has a long-term contract and is driving well. Kimi has ditched any rumours of retirement. He's got one WDC... he'll want another.

BMW: Heidfeld & Kubica
Logical choice. Both have driven well, and the team needs to focus on their car's development even more for 2009. Heidfeld and Kubica provide both continuity and good performance.

RBR: Webber & Vettel
Another no brainer. Both have been doing well this season. Vettel is already confirmed, and I can't imagine Webber getting ditched.

Renault: Alonso & Piquet
A bit more tricky, but I think Alonso will stay. He has nowhere else to go really. Piquet is on the rise, and Flavio knows talent when he sees one.

Toyota: Trulli & Glock
Another logical choice. Both drivers have been outstanding performers, and will provide continuity for car development under the new regulations.

Williams: Rosberg & Nakajima
Rosberg is on a long-term contract, and I don't think there are any suitable teams for him to move to. Nakajima has equalled his team-mate so far, and the cheap Toyota engines will convince the team that he's a keeper.

Honda: ? & ?
Rubens has the spirit, but his body is not getting younger. Button? His performance has been reasonable, not brilliant. I'd say 50% chance that both will stay. If one or both get ditched, my money is on Anthony Davidson to make a comeback, with a chance for Takuma Sato or even Luca Filippi. Mike Conway has not proved himself in senior single-seaters yet, while Filippi has.

STR: Bourdais & Buemi
I think Bourdais has disappointed somewhat this season, but they might give him another chance. With Vettel gone, Buemi would be the logical replacement: Red Bull Junior, RBR test driver, currently 5th in GP2.

Force India: Fisi & Sutil
Reasonably sure that both will keep their seats. There is no reason to ditch either of them, unless there are sponsorship problems.

Edited by Jungles on Thursday 7th August 05:53

[Gold]

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_3936526...


However I can't personally think of any reason for STR not to give Bruno a race seat. He has the GP2 performances and the marketing power - what more does he need?

[Jungles]

Berger is keeping his options open.

Senna is good, but not a "cert" yet. As Berger said, if he wins GP2 this year, it doesn't matter what his name is.

My gut feeling is that he'll get a test role next year. But if he wins GP2, he'll get the race seat.

He'll need to watch out for Di Grassi, though. That guy's in 4th place in GP2 this year, even though he missed out on 4 rounds. I daresay Senna is only the third best driver on the GP2 grid at the moment.

Edited by Jungles on Thursday 7th August 11:43

[Logie]

I was looking forward to watching Bourdais, he has shown flashes he can be quick, but hes not doing consistant!

I hope he gets another chance.

Great to see Timo G staying, im a big Toyota fan and i have been supporting them since they start, i was disapointed with him at first, but few races ago he started to show pace and form, his 2nd place was a bit luckly, but he still had to put the car in the position to take advantage and hold of Kimi!

Glad hes staying

Love to see Alonso in Ferrari, im not sure whats going on with Kimi. Regardless if he wants to retire or not, Ferrari might push him out if he continues his current form, whilst Alonso does well in a sub par car.