2012 Silly Season

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 19 May 2011, 11:11

---------------------------------- Driver Grid for 2012 -------------------------------------

Red Bull:
Sebastian Vettel
Mark Webber

Ferrari:
Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa

McLaren:
Lewis Hamilton
Jenson Button

Mercedes:
Michael Schumacher
Nico Rosberg

Renault:
Kimi Raikkönen
Romain Grosjean

Williams:
Bruno Senna
Pastor Maldonado

Force India:
Paul Di Resta
Nico Hulkenberg

Sauber:
Kamui Kobayashi
Sergio Perez

Toro Rosso:
Daniel Ricciardo
Jean Eric-Vergne

Caterham:
Heikki Kovalainen
Jarno Trulli

HRT:
Pedro de la Rosa
TBA

Virgin:
Timo Glock
Charles Pic

------------------------------------------ Rumour Mill at post time -----------------------------

I think that given today news and not wanting to open a sole thread for it, it is time for this thread to be created. If sorry, Captain Hammer, if this was your task and I shamelessly stole it.

So, Señor Eyebrows signs for Ferrari until 2016.

This is what the bigger picture looks like:

Red Bull:
Vettel
Webber ? (Is on a year only contract)/Hamilton/Buemi

Ferrari:
Alonso
Massa ? (or this...)

McLaren:
Hamilton ? (His contract finishes this year)
Button

Mercedes:
Schumacher ? (it was a three year contract but...) / Di Resta (rumours)
Rosberg ? (or this...)

Renault:
Kubica ? / Heidfeld
Petrov

Williams:
Barrichello ?
Maldonado ? (he only signed for 2011 as did PDVSA...)

Force India:
Sutil ? / Hülkenberg (but then came the fight...)
Di Resta ? (it was only one year after all.)

Sauber:
Kobayashi ? (only has a contract for this year.)
Perez ? (Same as Maldonado...)

Toro Rosso:
Buemi ?
Alguersuari ? / Ricciardo
(Contracts don't matter for Toro Rosso. Seriously, they don't.)

Lotus:
Kovalainen ?
Trulli ?
(Both of them have contract only until the end of 2011.)

HRT:
Karthikeyan (one year only...)
Liuzzi ? (One year too...)

Virgin:
D'Ambrosio ? (Confirmed to stay until the end of the year...)
Glock ? (He said he won't quit Virgin, but if offered a seat elsewhere...)

And then there are plenty of whispers around. Let the rumour mill begin!

Enforcer · Post by **Enforcer** » 19 May 2011, 13:39

Red Bull
1. Vettel
2. Kobayashi (they'll think he'll be a nice easy #2 for Vettel to dominate. They will be wrong)

Ferrari
1. Alonso
2. Massa (Alonso won't want to strong a team-mate, and Massa will want to stay where he gets lots of cuddles)

McLaren
1. Hamilton (Outside possibility of going to Red Bull, but I think they'll prefer to concentrate on Vettel as #1. He won't go anywhere else)
2. Button

Mercedes
1. Rosberg
2. Webber / Heidfeld (Barring a major upturn, Schumacher will pack it in at the end of the season)

Renault
1. Kubica (Assuming fitness, if not Webber or Heidfeld)
2. Petrov

Williams
1. A. Paydriver / Sutil.
2. A. N. Otherpaydriver (May well be Maldonado unless he's grossy incompetent over the rest of the season)
Rubens will retire.

The Force
1. Sutil / Hulkenberg
2. Di Riesta

Sauber
1. Perez
2. Glock (total guess based on nothing other than Glock probably not being the happiest bunny at Virgin these days)

Torro Rosso
1. Buemi
2. Riccardo

Lotus:
1. Kovalainen
2. Chandhok

Virgin:
1. D'Ambrosio
2. Senna

HRT:
This team will cease to exist.

Okay, Kobayashi to RB is slightly in jest. If they fail to reach an agreement with Webber, they'll look for someone decent in the midfield, who'll be good, but not good enough to upset Sebastien (which rules out Hamilton). Rosberg, maybe.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 19 May 2011, 18:09

I quite like to point out some quotes from the articles you've posted:

(...) The continuing trials and tribulations of seven-time F1 World Champion Schumacher have stirred the rumours once more about just how much longer the German legend can stand to bear the humiliation that he is currently being dished out on a fortnightly basis – and how much longer his employer is willing to accept his distinctly mediocre performances.

Joe Saward wrote:(...) Normal sane people do not attack one another with broken champagne glasses (...) Racing drivers rarely drink (...)

(...) Nico Hulkenberg can be considered as a replacement for Adrian Sutil but Nick Heidfeld is nowhere near Adrian. Nick Heidfeld has been one of the most inconsistent and unpromising drivers in the sport and it seems that he is better off with Sauber rather than any other team.

Jokes aside, here's my provisional 2012 grid line-up:
Red Bull-Renault:
-Sebastian Vettel
-Mark Webber

McLaren-Mercedes:
-Lewis Hamilton
-Jenson Button

Ferrari:
-Fernando Alonso
-Felipe Massa

Mercedes-Benz:
-Nico Rosberg
-Michael Schumacher

Renault:
-Robert Kubica
-Vitaly Petrov

Williams-Renault:
-Romain Grosjean
-Pastor Maldonado

Force India-Mercedes:
-Adrian Sutil
-Paul di Resta

Sauber-Ferrari:
-Kamui Kobayashi
-Sergio Pérez

Toro Rosso-Ferrari:
-Sébastien Buemi
-Jaime Alguersuari
(I'm predicting that the one who performs less will be dropped mid-season in favour of Daniel Ricciardo).

Lotus-Renault:
-Heikki Kovalainen
-Jarno Trulli

HRT-Cosworth:
-Vitantonio Liuzzi
-???

Virgin-Cosworth:
-Jerome d'Ambrosio
-Robert Wickens

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 19 May 2011, 19:18

Red Bull Racing
Sebastian Vettel
Kamui Kobayashi
T: Jean-Eric Vergne

McLaren Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton
Jenson Button
T: Pedro de la Rosa
T: Gary Paffet

Scuderia Ferrari
Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa
T: Giancarlo Fisichella
T: Mirko Bortolotti

Lotus-Renault
Robert Kubica
Vitaly Petrov
T: Bruno Senna
T: Pål Varhaug

Mercedes GP
Nico Rosberg
Paul di Resta
T: Christian Vietoris

Sauber F1 Team
Sergio Perez
Jules Bianchi
T: Esteban Gutièrrez

Scuderia Toro Rosso
Jaime Alguersueri
Daniel Ricciardo
T: Jean-Eric Vergne

Williams Cosworth
Rubens Barrichello (He won't retire until he's about 300 years old)
Romain Grosjean
T: Valtteri Bottas

Force India Mercedes
Nick Heidfeld
Nico Hülkenberg
T: António Félix da Costa

AirAsia Caterham
Heikki Kovalainen
Karun Chandhok
T: Luiz Razia

Marussia Virgin Racing
Timo Glock
Giedo van der Garde
T: Rio Haryanto

No HRT. They'll be dead by then.

DonTirri · Post by **DonTirri** » 19 May 2011, 20:23

Only "silly season" thingie I'd like to get said is...

If/when Webber leaves, Red Bull should just hire Kovalainen to replace him.
Why?

Simple: He is the ideal no.2 for Vettel. Doesn't mind being no.2 (as shown by his Macca-years of forced Manslavery to Ron's main squeeze Whinelton), is extremely consistent AND capable of wins.
aka Perfect.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 20 May 2011, 15:50

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/20052011/58/ferrari-hamilton-potential-driver.html

So, Ferrari are lining themselves in a possible Hamilton signing move. There is nothing like messing it up a bit with Red Bull... This is probably only because Hamilton blinked his eye to Ferrari:

James Allen wrote:Lewis Hamilton’s reaction was fascinating; asked if he was sad that this meant he wouldn’t driver for Ferrari he said, “Why not?” He added that he would have no problem racing alongside Alonso again, although he doubted that the feeling was mutual. “I’ll beat him in a different car,” said Alonso’s 2007 McLaren team mate.

This year Hamilton looks to be the key to the driver market as he finishes his contract with McLaren. And judging from his earlier words regarding the desire to be in the faster car, if he stays where he is, it is unlikely that he commits himself in a long term.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 20 May 2011, 20:50

Hmmm...how would Alonso see the possibility of having revenge for 2007 in a team that'll be controled by him, so to say? Ferrari have always had a very clear politic of number one/number two drivers, and not even pairings like Scheckter/Villeneuve and Prost/Mansell could break this.

noisebox · Post by **noisebox** » 20 May 2011, 23:19

Phoenix wrote:Ferrari have always had a very clear politic of number one/number two drivers, and not even pairings like Scheckter/Villeneuve and Prost/Mansell could break this.

Apart from when they're crap - Alesi/Berger - no number one there! It would be quite amusing to see Hamilton and Alonso trundling around the midfield in Ferraris!

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 20 May 2011, 23:29

noisebox wrote:
Phoenix wrote:Ferrari have always had a very clear politic of number one/number two drivers, and not even pairings like Scheckter/Villeneuve and Prost/Mansell could break this.

Apart from when they're crap - Alesi/Berger - no number one there! It would be quite amusing to see Hamilton and Alonso trundling around the midfield in Ferraris!

Be careful because it may well come true :lol:

patrick · Post by **patrick** » 21 May 2011, 00:15

DanielPT wrote:http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/20052011/58/ferrari-hamilton-potential-driver.html

So, Ferrari are lining themselves in a possible Hamilton signing move. There is nothing like messing it up a bit with Red Bull... This is probably only because Hamilton blinked his eye to Ferrari:

James Allen wrote:Lewis Hamilton’s reaction was fascinating; asked if he was sad that this meant he wouldn’t driver for Ferrari he said, “Why not?” He added that he would have no problem racing alongside Alonso again, although he doubted that the feeling was mutual. “I’ll beat him in a different car,” said Alonso’s 2007 McLaren team mate.

This year Hamilton looks to be the key to the driver market as he finishes his contract with McLaren. And judging from his earlier words regarding the desire to be in the faster car, if he stays where he is, it is unlikely that he commits himself in a long term.

I think a lot of Hamilton's murmuring about Red Bull or Ferrari is more making a statement at McLaren than actually wanting to move. It's clear he loves it there, they owe each other a lot and there's still plenty left in the partnership - he's just trying to make it clear to them that he wants to win out of the box. Lewis likes to whine, sometimes to Rubens-esque proportions - so maybe if McLaren doesn't make a good fight out of this year and starts slowly in '12 (for the fourth year running), then we can start taking him seriously.
I think Jenson will retire after 2012 - he seems happy with what he's achieved and is content to scrap it out and pick up the odd win while Lewis fights for championships. Would love to see him in sportscars.

Red Bull #2 - I could still see them keeping Webber, but otherwise it could quite easily be Ricciardo, or long-shot Kimi. As many have said I can't see them taking drivers from anywhere other than Marko's lot.

Nick Heidfeld could still be off to DTM in 2012, with BMW. Therefore Renault would (hopefully) be Kubica/Petrov, or (sadly) Petrov/Grosjean. I can see Petrov's money running out, but that doesn't mean he can't pick up a drive elsewhere.

Williams will keep Maldonado unless they hit the jackpot elsewhere (which looks unlikely). Rubens knows it's probably the best team he can get a drive with.

If Trulli is still in F1 in 2012 I'll eat the contents of my sock drawer, mostly out of sheer anger

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 21 May 2011, 01:53

Massa confirmed at Ferrari for 2012: or at least that's what the contract says. But I think Massa will stay at Ferrari for 2012.

With this in mind, this is my predictions thus far
Green being confirmed, and the normal font colour being unconfirmed.

FERRARI
Fernando Alonso
Felipe Massa

FORCE INDIA
Adrian Sutil
Paul di Resta

I don't see either driver going anywhere.

HRT

Will cease and desist!

LOTUS (The Green One)
Karun Chandhok
Davide Valsecchi

With both as current Lotus test drivers, why not?

MCLAREN
Jenson Button
Lewis Hamilton

MERCEDES
Nico Rosberg
Nick Heidfeld

RED BULL
Sebastian Vettel
Mark Webber (yes, after nearly retiring)

RENAULT
Robert Kubica‡
Vitaly Petrov

SAUBER
Sérgio Perez
Heikki Kovalainen

Kovvie at Sauber is what I'd like to see. Not crap but not really podium contenders like McLaren. So therefore, Kovvie has no expectations to do well, setting the stage for him...

TORO ROSSO
Daniel Ricciardo
Jules Bianchi (Finally)

VIRGIN
Timo Glock
Robert Wickens (Look out!)

WILLIAMS
Pastor Maldonado
Valtteri Bottas

Where does the leftover guys go?
Michael Schumacher: Back to the batcave, one last time)
Rubens Barrichello: Rallying
Kamui Kobayashi: McLaren test seat
Sébastien Buemi: Virgin Test seat
Jaime Alguersuari: GP2
Jarno Trulli: Considering his longevity, motorcycling
Narain Karthikeyan: GP2 Asia Series
Vitantonio Liuzzi: Taking care of a farm in Italy
Jérome d'Ambrosio: IndyCar

‡Subject of course, to him not getting injured in the off-season by some freak accident

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 21 May 2011, 16:20

About your predictions:
-Lotus: absolutely unlikely.
-Nick Heidfeld at Mercedes: certainly not. They're going for either Hülkenberg or di Resta.
-Heikki Kovalainen at Sauber: if Lotus dispenses him lead driver treatment he'll stay there, he seems quite happy helping the team grow.
-Jules Bianchi at Toro Rosso: I see him more at Sauber, for 2013 maybe, doing 3rd driver role there for 2012.
-Rubens Barrichello rallying: Barrichello said in an interview that when he retired he'd retire to Brazil but not to keep racing.
-Kamui Kobayashi being McLaren's third driver: if any team offers him a drive he'd never be the third driver for any team.
-Sébastien Buemi being Virgin's third driver:I don't see it. He doesn't have enough money and I doubt he'd accept that role anyway. He'll stay with Toro Rosso until 2012, and if he proves good enough then he may get that coveted Red Bull second seat.
-Jarno Trulli motorcycling: Trulli said he was affraid of bikes, so I doubt it.

Peter · Post by **Peter** » 22 May 2011, 03:05

Why would HRT cease to exist? They're only getting better, and getting more sponsors as the days go by. Williams will go first.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 22 May 2011, 07:01

Peter wrote:Why would HRT cease to exist? They're only getting better, and getting more sponsors as the days go by. Virgin will go first.

Fixed.

Dan B · Post by **Dan B** » 22 May 2011, 14:46

Ferrari:
- Fernando Alonso
- Felipe Massa/Lewis Hamilton?

McLaren:
- Jenson Button
- Lewis Hamilton/a rookie/Nick Heidfeld?/Robert Kubica

Red Bull:
- Sebastian Vettel
- Mark Webber

Mercedes:
- Nico Rosberg
- Michael Schumacher/Nick Heidfeld?

Those I am almost certain about (with the exception of Schumacher at Mercedes), unless there is something drastic. The following might be more unpredictable:

Renault:
- Vitaly Petrov
- Kamui Kobayashi/Robert Kubica*/Nick Heidfeld

Sauber:
- Sergio Perez
- Esteban Gutierrez/Kamui Kobayashi/Robert Kubica*/Nick Heidfeld

Force India:
- Paul di Resta
- Adrian Sutil/Nico Hulkenberg/Nick Heidfeld?

Toro Rosso:
- Jaime Alguersuari
- Daniel Ricciardo/Sebastien Buemi

Williams:
- Timo Glock
- Pastor Maldonado

Virgin:
- Rubens Barrichello
- Jerome D'Ambrosio

Lotus:
- Heikki Kovalainen
- Karun Chandhok

HRT:
- 'Tonio Liuzzi?
- Narain Karthekeyan?

*If Kubica returns and if he gets a seat at Renault or elsewhere.

About Renault:
This is probably the biggest wild card seat at the moment, considering that we do not know if Robert Kubica will return to Renault or if he will return to the sport at all. Four possibilities are for this seat: Kobayashi moves from Sauber to Renault to race alongside Petrov, Heidfeld becomes permanently part of Renault (which means if Kubica will return he will have to look elsewhere), Kubica DOES return to Renault, or the fourth, a developmental driver such as Jan Charouz takes the seat. IF Kubica does return to F1 and Renault is booked solid, the only teams I can see him going to are Sauber or McLaren, since Hamilton's contract runs out after the end of this year.

About Kobayashi:
As much as I like the driver, there is really nowhere for him to go aside from Renault. Red Bull, McLaren, and Ferrari have their own developmental drivers in their wings so unless Kobayashi does something that catches the eyes of the Big Three, there is really nowhere for him to go, again, aside from Renault. Mercedes MIGHT be an option for him if that team want to branch out from German drivers.

About Virgin:
The Glock-Barrichello swap might seem odd but Williams is a lower-midfield team right now. Timo Glock is not happy with what is going on with Virgin, and maybe a move to Williams might be better. Maldonado's seat is probably secure since he does bring a huge amount of cash to Williams. It is a move backward for Barrichello though, yet I can't see him going elsewhere than Virgin or even HRT.

Everything else:
HRT will most likely survive, though who drives for them will be a mystery. Jarno Trulli will probably retire, as quite honestly, I have not seen anything from him since that terrible start in Brazil in 2009 where he took out Sutil. Chandhok seems like the most ideal replacement since he does have race experience. Nick Heidfeld is another wildcard, as he really hasn't had a permanent seat ever since BMW left, hence why I listed him in so many places, including McLaren, though that might be a bit farfetched. Adrian Sutil's seat might be in jeopardy because of those legal troubles. Nico Hulkenberg is the most obvious choice, but then again I wouldn't be surprised to see Heidfeld racing the Force India should Hulkenberg do something that makes him not the driver.

Enforcer · Post by **Enforcer** » 22 May 2011, 20:22

Ferrari:
- Fernando Alonso
- Felipe Massa/Lewis Hamilton?

I don't think Lewis and Fernando will ever drive for the same team again.

Hamilton's options are limited, imo. I can't see him anywhere but McLaren next year. There's a small chance Red Bull could get big-headed enough to try both him and Vettel in the team, but I don't think it's likely.

Dan B · Post by **Dan B** » 23 May 2011, 03:41

Enforcer wrote:
Ferrari:
- Fernando Alonso
- Felipe Massa/Lewis Hamilton?

I don't think Lewis and Fernando will ever drive for the same team again.

Hamilton's options are limited, imo. I can't see him anywhere but McLaren next year. There's a small chance Red Bull could get big-headed enough to try both him and Vettel in the team, but I don't think it's likely.

I can't remember if it's something I read on Autosport or if I heard it on Speed, but I could have sworn reading/hearing something about "Fernando wouldn't mind having former teammate Hamilton at Ferrari." Hence the question mark.

If Hamilton were to move to another team, which is highly uncertain, I think it'd be Ferrari, because of how Massa is performing. I can't see him going to Red Bull because Webber is doing well enough for them, unless McLaren, Ferrari, and Red Bull do a 3 way switch with their second drivers (and in the case of McLaren, Lewis). But again, highly unlikely.

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 23 May 2011, 18:17

Frankly I think unless either driver desperately wanted out, McLaren would be silly to change their line-up, becuase for the first time in yonks they have two drivers who get on well with each other AND are both competitive (I'm thinking Hakkinen/Coulthard was the last example of this) - the partnerships between Hamilton/Alonso and Hamilton/Kovalainen fulilled one criteria each but not the other. ;-)

For the second Red Bull seat, you've gotta ask who could do a better job then Webber AND who would want to be teammate to Vettel? I can't see how any of the junior drivers could do better than Webber, and putting someone like Hamilton alongside Vettel could be very risky.

I reckon the best thing for Ferrari would be to put someone young and upcoming in place of Massa, who could learn from Alonso and see him as a yardstick, similar to how Massa was with Schumacher in 2006. Someone like Perez maybe (more likely for 2013 though)?

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 25 May 2011, 01:24

Well, I think I shall try myself on them predictions again. As usual, numbers are based on current results:

Red Bull Racing Renault
#1: Sebastian Vettel
#2: Jaime Alguersuari
- Rather surprisingly, Alguersuari get taken on by the main team after being chased away from Toro Rosso before the Hungarian GP. Cynical experts assume this to be an attempt to please dominating title winner Vettel by giving him a "classic #2". Mark Webber wisely chooses retirement.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
#3: Lewis Hamilton
#4: Jenson Button
- With Hamilton being the McLaren puppet that he is, the situation remains unchanged at the not-quite Silver Arrows. Lots of sandbagging hide a good 2012 challenger which gets used to its full potential by Hamilton, whilst Button continues to devalue the F1 Driver's World Championship by being average at best.

Scuderia Ferrari IIIIIIII
#5: Fernando Alonso
#6: Jules Bianchi
- Despite announcing that Massa's contract is "safe", Ferrari do not bear with their Brazilian anymore. Alonso stays and plans on doing so for a long time. In a rather artsy conincidence Jules Bianchi gets his F1 debut in a Ferrari 40 years after the last driver to do so and the French go nuts about it. Newspapers state the "likely return" of the French Grand Prix merely 30 minutes after Bianchi's announcement.

Lotus Renault Grand Prix
#7: Vitaly Petrov
#8: Kamui Kobayashi
- Friday testing in Brazil and India showed that Kubica just is not able to race F1 properly. In response Lotus Renault sign Kamui Kobayashi, willing to deal with the bad PR of "betraying" Kubica in favour of actually achieving success. Nick Heidfeld joins the BMW program for the DTM and is still slightly bored.

Mercedes GP Petronas F1 Team
#9: Michael Schumacher
#10: Nico Rosberg
- The generous retirement home for Michael Schumacher continues to being so for 2012. Unlike in the DTM, however, using one seat for marketing purposes only is not a wise thing to do. Rosberg grows frustrated with Mercedes' MO but with no options in front of Mercedes GP he is forced to stay where he is.

Telmex Sauber F1 Team Ferrari
#11: Sérgio Perez
#12: Timo Glock
- After Kobayashi's switch to Renault, Carlos Slim is pushing hard to see two Mexican drivers in the Sauber cockpits with 13th placed GP2 driver Esteban Gutiérrez being the second driver. Thankfully (?) Sauber argues against doing so and chooses Glock to be Kamui's replacement. The German is delighted at the option to leave Virgin.

Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
#14: Sébastien Buemi
#15: Daniel Ricciardo
- Another bland year of bland pointlessness ... bland. After Riccardo takes the cockpit for the Hungarian Grand Prix and onwards with quite satisfying results, it was only a logical consequence to give him another shot in 2012. Buemi may have to wonder though, with him being ignored in favour of Jaime: where is his F1 career heading to?

Force India F1 Team Renault
#16: Paul Di Resta
#17: Romain Grosjean
- Despite the face that his reputation and his FIA superlicense (for two races) were crushed like a glass bottle in a bar brawl, Vijay Mallya foolishly held on to Adrian Sutil. This costs the Indian team dearly as Mercedes is not willing to ruin their PR by giving them engines. With FI needing engines, they turn their head to Renault who demand a seat for GP2 champion Grosjean.

AT&T WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth
#18: Rubens Barrichello
#19: Pastor Maldonado
- 2011 was perhaps the most awful year for Williams; with barely 9 points they were, with quite some distance the worst "established team". After Maldonado finishing behind D'Ambrosio at the British GP the team announced complete surrender on the 2011 car and focus their attention on 2012, for which they have signed the same drivers.

Team Lotus Mercedes
#20: Heikki Kovalainen
#21: Luiz Razia
- With Renault trying to have a breakthrough in the "Lotus question" and Mercedes having a free space for engine deliveries, Tony Fernandes killed two birds with one stone, giving his star Heikki Kovalainen well-known Mercedes power. Trulli finally is out of air and is forced to retire; in a very close testing shoot-out Luiz Razia earns the second car.

Marussia Racing Cosworth
#22: Natalia Freidina
#23: Jérôme d'Ambrosio
- Marussia completely take over Virgin Racing with an intent of making their own engines from 2013 onwards. With Timo Glock being offered a better car, it will be now down to d'Ambrosio to lead Marussia. In an enourmous marketing move, Natalia Freidina gets her F1 debut with 33. According to rumors, she only got a superlicense due to both Putin and feminists pulling strings in the background.

HRT F1 Team Cosworth
#24: Robert Kubica
#25: Narain Karthikeyan
- With Tata being the loyal money donors that they are, Narain Karthikeyan's reborn career does not give away one bit. This leaves Vitantonio Liuzzi facing that what he was already facing at the end of 2010: the end of his Formula 1 career. Despite Kubica's obvious troubles, Kolles hopes to both improve his team with and squeeze cash out of Kubica.

2011 Drivers that have no seats:
Mark Webber ---> Retirement
Felipe Massa ---> NASCAR/Campeonato Brasileiro de Stock Car
Nick Heidfeld ---> DTM
Adrian Sutil ---> World Touring Car Championship
Jarno Trulli ---> Intercontinental Le Mans Cup LMP2
Vitantonio Liuzzi ---> Superleauge Formula

Benetton · Post by **Benetton** » 25 May 2011, 14:06

I don't think Lewis will move from McLaren as I see McLaren being the best option for him. He knows the team inside out and while they have had some downs (early 2009) they have been competitive almost all the time since 2007, especially with Lewis at the wheel. Plus, he can have the McLaren pretty much tailor-made for him.

The Red Bull and Ferrari 2nd seats should be open for the market. I don't see any reason why they should keep Massa, other than him being the clear 2nd driver to Alonso, which is a role he doesn't seem to swallow as easily as Kovalainen would do. I'd say they should look at Heikki real hard this off-season. As far as the Perez rumours goes it will just stay as a rumour, he is too green to take over the seat starting next year (see the rumours about Ferrari and Raikkonen at the end of 2001). Also a reason why I don't think Rosberg or Hamilton will sign with Maranello is that Ferrari is on a decline. Ever since Todt left at the end of 2007 and Domenicali became team manager the team has, in a way, struggled. They have clearly been the third best team for quite a while. And yes Alonso's run at the end of 2010 was amazing, but that was very much down to the man himself, a reason why the team needs to build around Fernando, to succeed. Lets just say that the current Red Bull and McLaren design and engineering teams are just plain and simply better than Ferraris. So why would Hamilton want to sign onto a team that has had Alonso there for two years and that is inferior to McLaren?

The Red Bull 2nd should go to either Buemi or Alguersuari, otherwise their program of having a junior team would be pointless. It doesn't matter if Webber decides to retire or not, if he doesn't, he can sign with a midfield team. At this point I'd promote Buemi, who is a very capable 2nd driver to Vettel. Also why Hamilton should not sign with Red Bull? Well, they are not McLaren or Ferrari and I predict that the day Newey can't come up with more ideas or doesn't want to renew his contract Red Bull will be declining ala Benetton in the late 1990's, maybe not that drastic but you get my point. They have no proof of longevity yet.

That leaves Rosberg with Mercedes. I think the best option for him by far is to resign with Brawn, Schumacher and a big manufacturer. I have a feeling this team can't play 4th fiddle their entire life span and sooner or later will break into the top. Maybe when the new regulations will be penned for 2012?? Schumacher will honor his contract.

Williams signs a partnership with their longtime rivals Ferrari in order to stay somewhat competitive, much to Frank's dismay. This turns Williams into Ferrari's junior team. This attracts some needed sponsorship so they don't have the need to keep Maldonado. Ferrari gets Bianchi a drive at Williams, and Williams promote their tester, Bottas, to the big league.

Renault needs insurance in case Kubica won't be the same, which IMO he will, so they keep Heidfeld as a tester and sign di Resta after Petrov doesn't show enough improved potential in 2011. Petrov goes with his backing to Force India, a much needed boost for Force India as they drop Sutil, who moves to the FIA GT1 championship and tries Le Mans.

All change at Fernandez' Team Lotus as Heikki moves to Ferrari. Jarno Trulli, to everyones disappointment, decides to continue his career. Caterham also try to sign Sutil but Trulli objects this heavily and cries it out to the media. Instead they go after Romain Grosjean who this time around gets a more fair chance to show his worth. Virgin believes in stability and continues with Glock-d'Ambrosio and HRT believes in India's economy as they enter the year with Karthikeyan and Chandhok.

Age in 2012 in brackets.

RBR-Renault
1. Sebastian Vettel (25)
2. Sebastien Buemi (24)

McLaren-Mercedes
3. Lewis Hamilton (27)
4. Jenson Button (32)

Ferrari
5. Fernando Alonso (31)
6. Heikki Kovalainen (31)

Mercedes
7. Nico Rosberg (27)
8. Michael Schumacher (43)

Renault / Lotus-Renault
9. Robert Kubica (28)
10. Paul di Resta (26)

Sauber-Ferrari
11. Kamui Kobayashi (26)
12. Sergio Perez (22)

STR-Ferrari
14. Jaime Alguersuari (22)
15. Daniel Ricciardo (23)

Force India-Mercedes
16. Vitaly Petrov (28)
17. Nico Hülkenberg (25)

Williams-Ferrari
18. Jules Bianchi (23)
19. Valtteri Bottas (23)

Caterham-Renault
20. Jarno Trulli (38)
21. Romain Grosjean (26)

Virgin-Cosworth
22. Timo Glock (30)
23. Jerome d'Ambrosio (27)

HRT-Cosworth
24. Narain Karthikeyan (35)
25. Karun Chandhok (28)

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 25 May 2011, 15:07

I'd rather see Williams disappear with glory than become Ferrari's second team. That honour belongs to Sauber.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 03 Jun 2011, 17:11

Sorry for the terrible pun, but the 2012 season will be silly with a calendar THIS long:

Code: Select all

Date   Event          Venue

11/03  Bahrain        Sakhir
18/03  Australia      Melbourne
01/04  Malaysia       Sepang
08/04  China          Shanghai
22/04  Korea          Yeongam
06/05  Turkey         Istanbul*
20/05  Spain          Barcelona
27/05  Monaco         Monaco 
10/06  Canada         Montreal
17/06  United States  Texas
01/07  Europe         Valencia
15/07  Britain        Silverstone
29/07  Germany        Hockenheim
05/08  Hungary        Budapest
02/09  Belgium        Spa-Francorchamps
09/09  Italy          Monza
30/09  Singapore      Singapore
14/10  Japan          Suzuka
28/10  India          New Delhi
11/11  Abu Dhabi      Yas Marina
25/11  Brazil         Interlagos

21 races? Really? And the teams are already complaining about 20 races this year... Why isn't Suzuka paired with Interlagos at the end of the season where it belongs? At least putting USA and Canada together makes sense...

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 03 Jun 2011, 17:41

dr-baker wrote:Sorry for the terrible pun, but the 2012 season will be silly with a calendar THIS long:

21 races? Really? And the teams are already complaining about 20 races this year... Why isn't Suzuka paired with Interlagos at the end of the season where it belongs? At least putting USA and Canada together makes sense...

There are a few silly things with that calendar. To start in Bahrain then head to Australia only to come back to Korea is stupid. Then having Singapore "isolated", meaning far from Malaysia and Korea is also stupid. Abu Dhabi should clearly be paired with Bahrain and India.

I think a good calendar would be like Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi as the first away leg. Then Turkey, Monaco, Spain as the first races in Europe. Canada and United States next. Then the second series of races in Europe, starting with the European GP (that should move to somewhere else or disappear to be back at 20 races), Britain, Germany and Hungary. Summer break and then the final leg in Europe with Belgium and Italy. Then finally Korea, China, Japan and Brazil.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 03 Jun 2011, 17:44

DanielPT wrote:
dr-baker wrote:Sorry for the terrible pun, but the 2012 season will be silly with a calendar THIS long:

21 races? Really? And the teams are already complaining about 20 races this year... Why isn't Suzuka paired with Interlagos at the end of the season where it belongs? At least putting USA and Canada together makes sense...

There are a few silly things with that calendar. To start in Bahrain then head to Australia only to come back to Korea is stupid. Then having Singapore "isolated", meaning far from Malaysia and Korea is also stupid. Abu Dhabi should clearly be paired with Bahrain and India.

I think a good calendar would be like Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi as the first away leg. Then Turkey, Monaco, Spain as the first races in Europe. Canada and United States next. Then the second series of races in Europe, starting with the European GP (that should move to somewhere else or disappear to be back at 20 races), Britain, Germany and Hungary. Summer break and then the final leg in Europe with Belgium and Italy. Then finally Korea, China, Japan and Brazil.

DanielPT to replace Bernie, pretty please?

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 03 Jun 2011, 21:14

dr-baker wrote:Sorry for the terrible pun, but the 2012 season will be silly with a calendar THIS long:
Code: Select all
Date   Event          Venue

11/03  Bahrain        Sakhir
18/03  Australia      Melbourne
01/04  Malaysia       Sepang
08/04  China          Shanghai
22/04  Korea          Yeongam
06/05  Turkey         Istanbul*
20/05  Spain          Barcelona
27/05  Monaco         Monaco 
10/06  Canada         Montreal
17/06  United States  Texas
01/07  Europe         Valencia
15/07  Britain        Silverstone
29/07  Germany        Hockenheim
05/08  Hungary        Budapest
02/09  Belgium        Spa-Francorchamps
09/09  Italy          Monza
30/09  Singapore      Singapore
14/10  Japan          Suzuka
28/10  India          New Delhi
11/11  Abu Dhabi      Yas Marina
25/11  Brazil         Interlagos
21 races? Really? And the teams are already complaining about 20 races this year... Why isn't Suzuka paired with Interlagos at the end of the season where it belongs? At least putting USA and Canada together makes sense...

We could do without the European GP. And without Bahrain, come to that.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 04 Jun 2011, 00:15

21 races would have worked with CART ('would have' because the canceled the FF 600), but then again, nearly all their races were either in the country or just a border cross away. The only real long-distance travel they had to make, from memory, was Rockingham, Lausitz and Surfers. I don't know how F1 will possibly manage such a large calendar, surely the logistics would take a massive strain.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 04 Jun 2011, 00:38

Back to the drivers Silly Season for a moment...

KOBAYASHI TO RED BULL RACING!!
This is all that matters. Who cares about the rest of the driver market? :mrgreen:

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 04 Jun 2011, 00:41

kostas22 wrote:Back to the drivers Silly Season for a moment...

KOBAYASHI TO RED BULL RACING!!
This is all that matters. Who cares about the rest of the driver market?

I can't help but feel RBR would then give him prehistoric machinery....

...and then he'll decimate the field!

GroupLotusRenault · Post by **GroupLotusRenault** » 04 Jun 2011, 00:55

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:
kostas22 wrote:Back to the drivers Silly Season for a moment...

KOBAYASHI TO RED BULL RACING!!
This is all that matters. Who cares about the rest of the driver market?

I can't help but feel RBR would then give him prehistoric machinery....

...and then he'll decimate the field!

If he gets into Red Bull next year...poor Vettel wont stand a chance

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 04 Jun 2011, 14:30

dr-baker wrote:
DanielPT wrote:
dr-baker wrote:Sorry for the terrible pun, but the 2012 season will be silly with a calendar THIS long:

21 races? Really? And the teams are already complaining about 20 races this year... Why isn't Suzuka paired with Interlagos at the end of the season where it belongs? At least putting USA and Canada together makes sense...

There are a few silly things with that calendar. To start in Bahrain then head to Australia only to come back to Korea is stupid. Then having Singapore "isolated", meaning far from Malaysia and Korea is also stupid. Abu Dhabi should clearly be paired with Bahrain and India.

I think a good calendar would be like Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi as the first away leg. Then Turkey, Monaco, Spain as the first races in Europe. Canada and United States next. Then the second series of races in Europe, starting with the European GP (that should move to somewhere else or disappear to be back at 20 races), Britain, Germany and Hungary. Summer break and then the final leg in Europe with Belgium and Italy. Then finally Korea, China, Japan and Brazil.

DanielPT to replace Bernie, pretty please?

I don't know if I would want that. It generally comes with repercussions... I would unwillingly transform myself into a scrupleless stingy old dwarf.

Jeroen Krautmeir · Post by **Jeroen Krautmeir** » 04 Jun 2011, 14:59

DanielPT wrote:I don't know if I would want that. It generally comes with repercussions... I would unwillingly transform myself into a scrupleless stingy old dwarf.

Then I shall take the job! Afterall, we share the same birthday.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 13 Jun 2011, 09:42

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92327

Hamilton in new Red Bull link for 2013.

I'd be a little disappointed if that happens - at least before he wins his third title with McLaren and gets the McLarenF1 on display at Woking.

Peter · Post by **Peter** » 14 Jun 2011, 00:45

2012 looks like an utterly exciting year, in my mind.

Red Bull Racing - Renault
Drivers: Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa
Vettel wraps up the 2011 World Championship, and gets an offer of $40 million from Ferrari. The natural attraction to a Ferrari race seat kicks in, and Vettel buys himself out of his RB contract to join the Scuderia. Refusing to ever be a number 2 driver, Alonso jumps ship to the only front running seat available, and Massa follows, after a promising second half of the 2011 season, being offered Webber's race seat.

Vodafone McLaren - Mercedes
Drivers: Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button
Hamilton managed to push Vettel all the way until the final race, after a nice streak of wins in the second half, but Vettel wraps up the title in India. Little is changed in this team.

Scuderia Ferrari Santander
Drivers: Sebastian Vettel, Kamui Kobayashi
2 time World Champion Sebastian Vettel joins the legendary Scuderia Ferrari, hoping that Vettel can bring Ferrari the glory days once enjoyed with Schumacher. The master passer, and very talented Kobayashi managed to impress the top team, after giving Japan their first F1 podium since Sato in 2004, which gives Ferrari arguably the most explosive lineup on the grid.

Mercedes GP Petronas
Drivers: Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg
Both drivers manage to give Mercedes their first podiums of the year in the second half of the season, narrowly missing out on wins. Schumacher at last gets the best of his teammate and fellow German, Nico Rosberg, and Adrian Sutil steps up to be their reserve driver, after deciding to leave Force India after a dismal 2010.

Lotus Renault GP
Drivers: Vitaly Petrov, Bruno Senna
Petrov proves himself to be a good team leader, by getting the better of his teammate Heidfield for most of the year, and picking up 1 more podium for 2011, so Renault, feeling that they can survive without the experience lifeline of Heidfield, end their contract. Third driver Bruno Senna gets the opportunity to show his colours in the Lotus. Robert Kubica is put in the reserve role, and drives in Friday sessions, on the way to recuperation.

Sauber F1 - Ferrari
Drivers: Mark Webber, Sergio Perez.
Red Bull's rivals catch up by half season, and Webber finds himself often behind both Ferraris and McLarens for the rest of the season, never again seeing the podium. Disappointed, he finds himself in the Sauber seat Kobayashi left behind. Perez had a good year in the Sauber, but there is no space for him in any higher race seats, so stays in the ever-improving Sauber.

Williams F1 - Cosworth
Drivers: Rubens Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado
A dismal start to the season, but Willaims manage to turn around and put themselves ahead of Force India. Maldonado manages to beat Rubens in the points. A technological agreement with Porsche puts them in a very strong position for 2012, adna future engine agreement is signed for 2013 onwards.

Force India - Mercedes
Drivers: Paul di Resta, Nico Hulkenberg
Sutil, disappointed with Force Inida's 2011 performance, jumps ship to become the Mercedes reserve driver. Meanwhile, the speedy Scot steps up to become #1, while the quick German Hulk gets to be in a race seat once again.

Can't bother with the others at the moment.

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 14 Jun 2011, 01:35

Peter wrote:Sauber F1 - Ferrari
Drivers: Mark Webber, Sergio Perez.
Red Bull's rivals catch up by half season, and Webber finds himself often behind both Ferraris and McLarens for the rest of the season, never again seeing the podium. Disappointed, he finds himself in the Sauber seat Kobayashi left behind. Perez had a good year in the Sauber, but there is no space for him in any higher race seats, so stays in the ever-improving Sauber.

Really? I doubt Webber would get fired. Then again, never say never to retirement for Webber...

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 14 Jun 2011, 03:01

It's a bit early I think, to discuss drivers next year. We've still got over 10 races yet!! But in regards to RBR and Toro Rosso, I think Vettel and Webber will remain for one more year and Buemi will be paired with Ricciardo. Sure, Alguersuari impressed many with his drive under incresing pressure, but a couple of childish mistakes in Valencia will erase everyone memory of Canada pretty quickly. It'll then be up to Buemi (a driver whose impressed me very much this year) and Ricciardo to fight it out and replace Webber for 2013 (yep, thinking about the next next year already). We shall wait and see, but that's my guess. As for HRT not being around next year, I'm sure they will. Whilst the management might not be totally passionate and dedicated, the team itself seem to be a really good bunch of guys and sponsors are joining all the time. They'll rely on a couple of pay drivers though and will be the next Minardi, which isn't a bad thing really.

sswishbone · Post by **sswishbone** » 20 Jun 2011, 09:25

Not 2012 but a 2013 silly season rumour, found this referenced on www.606v2.com motorsport sub-forum, seems a tad crazy to me, what does everyone else think?

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19062011/ ... rrari.html

Paul Hayes · Post by **Paul Hayes** » 20 Jun 2011, 11:02

BBC Sport think that Button and McLaren are close to agreeing terms for him to stay in 2012:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula ... 839176.stm

Benetton · Post by **Benetton** » 20 Jun 2011, 11:08

sswishbone wrote:Not 2012 but a 2013 silly season rumour, found this referenced on http://www.606v2.com motorsport sub-forum, seems a tad crazy to me, what does everyone else think?

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/19062011/ ... rrari.html

It's not that far fetched. But the fact is that Ferrari needs a better car if they want to win the WCC.

An open spot at McLaren would start the Raikkonen rumours too.

Kobayashi to McLaren in2013.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 20 Jun 2011, 12:02

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/92479

That should kill the rumours about Button. I wonder though, how much of those rumours about Ferrari were to improve Button new contract conditions?

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 20 Jun 2011, 15:34

Benetton wrote:...
Kobayashi to McLaren in 2013.

I reckon Button and Kobayashi together would work. With that combination, it wouldn't matter at all about McLaren's qualifying pace, they would both be able to charge through the field from whereever they qualified.