Rosberg to go to mclaren in 2010?

[Marcia]

Nico has said that if williams don't give him a winning car,then he's willing to leave the team,IIRC mclaren were after him a couple of years ago,but nico was'nt interested then,maybe next year will be the year?

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/...

[AlpineWhite]

I see the silly season has started early this year!

Other nominations for the potential McLaren seat must include Vettel and Senna, I would imagine!

[german tony]

If Rosberg's not careful he'll miss the boat. In fact, he might have already done so.

[dpbird90]

If Kovalainen doesn't do very well this year I can see it happening.

[revrange]

Maybe not remember DC managed 10 years with the team and he was S****

[DaveShark]

revrange said:

Maybe not remember DC managed 10 years with the team and he was S****

[DaveShark]

Mclaren have been burned twice trying to run two superstars. I believe Rosberg would be too tough for Hamilton. Maybe BMW will be looking for a new peddler in 2010 though?

[gwood]

my bet is on senna, isnt he driving merc touring cars next year? mercs might of signed him up already

[anonymous-user]

DaveShark said:

I believe Rosberg would be too tough for Hamilton

I'm sure he'd be quaking in his boots
Seriously, Rosberg isn't anything special

[flemke]

gwood said:

my bet is on senna, isnt he driving merc touring cars next year? mercs might of signed him up already

Do we actually know how good he's going to be? There isn't much of a history of a great driver begetting a son who's also a great driver. One thinks of the Hills, but beyond that...

I'm not keeping track of whose contract expires when, but currently in F1 we've got:
Raikkonen
Massa
Kubica
Vettel
Hamilton
Alonso

All of whom are definitely or probably championship material. For how many teams would any of them wish to drive, if they were to have a free choice? Alternatively, how many teams want a clear #1/#2, versus two #s 1??
My point is that I'm not sure that there is much scope for a ride at McLaren for Nico. Would you choose him over Kubica or Vettel? Could he even perform as equal #1 for a top team?

[AlpineWhite]

flemke said:

Would you choose him over Kubica or Vettel?

Personally, no, I wouldn't. But then Ron has said many times before that "McLaren hire the best drivers available to them", the key word there being 'available'. And then, the question is would you choose Rosberg over Kovy?

[flemke]

AlpineWhite said:

flemke said:

Would you choose him over Kubica or Vettel?

Personally, no, I wouldn't. But then Ron has said many times before that "McLaren hire the best drivers available to them", the key word there being 'available'. And then, the question is would you choose Rosberg over Kovy?

A year ago, McLaren went for Rosberg but were rebuffed. With a year's more information, would they still prefer him to Kov? They've had a lot of good things to say about Kov. Yes, those might have been niceties to keep his spirits up, but they did say them. Also, perhaps they do want a #1/#2 structure, especially with next year's "Most wins" criterion for the WDC.
Let's assume that all contracts bar Hamilton's will expire next winter. I know that KR's, FA's and RK's will do.
Who would be where? People say that Vettel is teed up for Ferrari. But they also say that Alonso is teed up for Ferrari. They both cannot be and, if KR were to win the title again this year, perhaps neither could be. So where would Alonso - who may still be the best driver in the sport - go then? And Kubica, who was obviously dissatisfied at BMW last year? What might Vettel do if he were offered a shot at McLaren?
Obviously we do not know how various teams will do this year. It's a pretty safe bet, however, that in eight months' time one would look ahead and expect McL. to be one of the top 3 teams for the next few years, and thus an attractive choice for almost any top driver. Vettel's being German adds to his appeal for McLaren; perhaps Kubica would be the next best thing
It's hard for me to see how Rosberg would fit into a McLaren game plan, unless he were to be de facto #2.

[AlpineWhite]

You sum it up pretty well there!

I suppose a lot of the driver market hinges on whether Kimi retires and whether FA goes to Ferrari.

[flemke]

AlpineWhite said:

You sum it up pretty well there!

I suppose a lot of the driver market hinges on whether Kimi retires and whether FA goes to Ferrari.

My uneducated guess is that McLaren wouldn't go for Rosberg unless:
- there were a salary cap thing and he came cheap, and
- he were willing to be a supportive #2, and
- he were thought to be a good test/development driver.

It would help, I suppose, that he's got a German passport, but my German friends don't think of him as being a German the way that Vettel is.

[AlpineWhite]

flemke said:

It would help, I suppose, that he's got a German passport, but my German friends don't think of him as being a German the way that Vettel is.

I was going to mention that Rosberg is German, but of course Rosberg = Finnish to me!

[tmk2]

DaveShark said:

I believe Rosberg would be too tough for Hamilton. Maybe BMW will be looking for a new peddler in 2010 though?

Personally I think this is more likely and better for him.

[oh feck]

flemke said:

There isn't much of a history of a great driver begetting a son who's also a great driver. One thinks of the Hills, but beyond that...

Villeneuve? ok not great throughout his f1 career but his first 2 seasons where as close as you could get to start of Hamiltons career.
Then it steadily went downhill

Edited by oh feck on Tuesday 24th March 21:23

[ajprice]

flemke said:

gwood said:

my bet is on senna, isnt he driving merc touring cars next year? mercs might of signed him up already

Do we actually know how good he's going to be? There isn't much of a history of a great driver begetting a son who's also a great driver. One thinks of the Hills, but beyond that...

Bruno is Ayrton's nephew, not his son.

[rev-erend]

I know who will not be in the McLaren 2nd Seat.

Alonso.

Unless hell freezes over of course.

[Jasandjules]

dpbird90 said:

If Kovalainen doesn't do very well this year I can see it happening.

He certainly doesn't seem to be doing well enough for his seat. I bet the pressure is on him this season.

I think Kov is a more likely candidate - Hamilton and he know and I think respect each other, and by christ he wrings a lot out of a car... Be good to see him in one of the top machines to see just how fast he can go.