F1 2013 Driver Rumours

marcl Wrote:
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> Pastor has also been linked to Sauber.

That's a point, he has hinted that he might not be at Williams next season. I'm sure that the no-nonsense rule of Monisha Kaltenborn will straighten him out so he's less crash-prone. Of course, the PDVSA money might cover any possible Telmex exit too which would be a financial boon to a team like Sauber.

I don't see Kobayashi leaving; he's still been very good this season but the podium drives of Perez has overshadowed his results somewhat.

One man I feel sorry for is Vitaly Petrov. Remember that crash-prone guy in 2010? He's really become quite a good little driver; he's essentially on a par with Kovalainen and that's not a bad place to be. Unfortunately, it appears that the Russian market requires a little more in order for investment to start coming in, especially if you remember the failed Gazprom deal with Minardi in 2003. It's a shame as Petrov would be a very capable driver at the top half of the grid and being there would generate some Russian interest. Only problem is, he needs Russian interest to get there anyway.

I think that Bruno Senna would join Caterham as he's got plenty of backing which would cover the shortfall of Petrov's cash. Out of Caterham's reserve drivers van der Garde has been in GP2 for years and hasn't really impressed, and I'm quite unsure about Alexander Rossi. Looking at his past results, he's not anything special. I think I once saw Felipe Nasr linked with the seat as he's got plenty of Brazilian backing and would bring plenty of finance to the team.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

Telmex is staying with Sauber, it's been confirmed. As a result, Gutierrez will probably get a seat. I also think they should retain Kobayashi

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GPGSL -
GPGSL-3 - Pizza Party Racing manager and driver
Nations Cup - Team Scotland manager



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2012 03:25PM by smoglessbutton4.

If Gutierrez is almost a dead cert for Sauber promotion then it's highly likely that Kobayashi will be retained.

Hulkenberg to Ferrari?? I really hope not.

He's done nothing special all year and has been comprehensively out-raced by di Resta.

I don't think that's a fair statement. They've been fairly evenly matched most of the year and if anything Hulkenberg has gained the edge recently.

But both drivers have performed well when you consider for much of the year the force India has been inferior to it's immediate opposition.

Yup, it is true that over recent races (particularly today :P ) they have been more evenly matched.

Hulkenberg had a poor start to the year. Perhaps he was still adjusting after a year off, I dunno. I would still pick di Resta over him though.

Incident 2k9 Wrote:
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> I think that Bruno Senna would join Caterham as
> he's got plenty of backing which would cover the
> shortfall of Petrov's cash. Out of Caterham's
> reserve drivers van der Garde has been in GP2 for
> years and hasn't really impressed, and I'm quite
> unsure about Alexander Rossi. Looking at his past
> results, he's not anything special. I think I once
> saw Felipe Nasr linked with the seat as he's got
> plenty of Brazilian backing and would bring plenty
> of finance to the team.

As for Nasr, when I talked to him in Monza (I actually ran into him at the Monza station) he seemed pretty certain he'd stay in GP2 for another year, albeit possibly with a different team if Valsecchi stays at DAMS.

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X (@ed24f1)

Edited my list upon drivers championship lead change and news that a new Massa-Ferrari deal is imminent

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GPGSL -
GPGSL-3 - Pizza Party Racing manager and driver
Nations Cup - Team Scotland manager

I'm sure I heard Ted Kravitz say during the weekend's race that it's an open secret in the paddock that at Sauber next year will be Gutierez and Hulkenburg - did anyone else catch that?

gareth Wrote:
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> I'm sure I heard Ted Kravitz say during the
> weekend's race that it's an open secret in the
> paddock that at Sauber next year will be Gutierez
> and Hulkenburg - did anyone else catch that?


Yeah, and according to multiple websites most acknowledge it as a done deal.

It doesn't do wonders for continuity though, and despite the pain it has caused me I'm beginning to accept Kobayashi without a seat is an inevitability.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

I can see Kobyashi cropping up somewhere else though, better, which could serve him wonders.

Maybe as a tester... Ferrari? Mercedes? Lotus?


Jenson drives it like he owns it; Lewis drives it like he stole it

Well Force India might not even be on the grid next year as there boss has not been paying bills from his airline.

marcl Wrote:
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> Well Force India might not even be on the grid
> next year as there boss has not been paying bills
> from his airline.


Not necessarily, as Sahara own about 42.5% of the team anyway and the Mol family have 15%, so Mallya doesn't even own 50% of the team. It shouldn't affect their operations.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

Plus the team itself is a survivor. Since Eddie Jordan admitted defeat it's been bought and sold more times than a prostitute.

Jordan > Midland > Spyker > Force India.

And in-spite of Mallya's problems it's been under the Force India guise where it's found stability and a general trend upwards in form.

danm Wrote:
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> I can see Kobyashi cropping up somewhere else
> though, better, which could serve him wonders.
>
> Maybe as a tester... Ferrari? Mercedes? Lotus?

Yeah, perhaps a tester and then back with Toyota at Le Mans?

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X (@ed24f1)

in all honesty, kobayashi underachieved or at least, did not achieve what he should have, had he wanted to go to a bigger team. He only has 1 podium in over 3 years in a car, which quite honestly has never been so bad.

dont get me wrong,. he is a very good driver, achieves good results over the course of a full season, BUT:

1) he is not anywhere near consistent enough
2) his ultimate speed is not for a top team (neither is perez's in my opinion, but anyway).

I wish the bloke all the best. he's been fun to watch and extremely hard pushing, it just never really seemed to be enough. Take a look at vettel for example. he has a streak of:

6-th, 5-th, 1-st, 5-th, 6-th, 9-th, 4-th.... IN A TORRO ROSSO !

mitadumapaga Wrote:
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> in all honesty, kobayashi underachieved or at
> least, did not achieve what he should have, had he
> wanted to go to a bigger team. He only has 1
> podium in over 3 years in a car, which quite
> honestly has never been so bad.
>
> dont get me wrong,. he is a very good driver,
> achieves good results over the course of a full
> season, BUT:
>
> 1) he is not anywhere near consistent enough
> 2) his ultimate speed is not for a top team
> (neither is perez's in my opinion, but anyway).
>
> I wish the bloke all the best. he's been fun to
> watch and extremely hard pushing, it just never
> really seemed to be enough. Take a look at vettel
> for example. he has a streak of:
>
> 6-th, 5-th, 1-st, 5-th, 6-th, 9-th, 4-th.... IN A
> TORRO ROSSO !

...which was, at the time, exactly the same as the red bull. The current STR drivers have it a lot harder, hence I have respect for Ricciardo and Vergne getting occasional points!

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GPGSL -
GPGSL-3 - Pizza Party Racing manager and driver
Nations Cup - Team Scotland manager

I think it will be a shame if Kobayashi looses a f1 drive. Ok fair enough he isn't exactly champion elect material but he's as worthy as any other in the midfield. He's also been pretty much the best Japanese driver we've had in F1 as well.

Hulkenberg to Sauber sounds like a strange move as well.. It's a bit sideways really. He'd be as well off staying at Findia for the sake of continuity. Gutierrez to Sauber makes sense from a commercial and progression point of view although I see little to make him stand out over any other GP2/word series level driver.

I really hope Alguersuari gets a decent drive, I feel he was progressing well when he got the chop by Marko, plus he'll have handy 2013 spec Pirelli experience.

Rumours are that Pic is set to get dumped by Marussia I favour of Chilton. I am unconvinced by Chilton, although the team have a history taking the driver from GP2 with the biggest wallet or sponsor available.

Talking of the GP2 driver with the biggest wallet or sponsor available, Maldonaldo thinks he may not stay with Williams next year, whilst I'm sure many mid-field teams would welcome PDVSA money with open arms, I don't really see the other teams going for him given his many points scoring chances he's wasted. So he's likely to stay at Williams who can hardly boot him out for Senna or Bottas. Though I do hope they take a chance and put Bottas in the race seat next year whoever it' at the expense of.

mitadumapaga Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> in all honesty, kobayashi underachieved or at
> least, did not achieve what he should have, had he
> wanted to go to a bigger team. He only has 1
> podium in over 3 years in a car, which quite
> honestly has never been so bad.
>
> dont get me wrong,. he is a very good driver,
> achieves good results over the course of a full
> season, BUT:
>
> 1) he is not anywhere near consistent enough
> 2) his ultimate speed is not for a top team
> (neither is perez's in my opinion, but anyway).
>

Well, the Saubers of 2010 and 2011 weren't good enough for podiums, and this year the long game played by the team plays far more into Perez's hands. I think that strategy neuters Kobayashi somewhat as he likes to go for regular strategies. When he's saving tyres, it's not really possible to attack other drivers as the team are relying more on getting the jump on others in the pits.

It's rather a 50/50 strategy, even for Perez.

I don't particularly think that there was a gauge for how Kobayashi had to do. He's driving for a perennial midfield outfit, and although the car's quite good this year he's still doing well. A bit inconsistent, yes, but when he's unleashed on a strategy he likes (note Japan 2010, and Spain 2012) he can put some great moves on people.

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GPGSL: S6 - TafuroGP Tester (14th) /// S7 - ART Tester (6th) /// S8 - Demon Driver (13th) /// S9 - Demon/Snake Driver (13th) /// S10 - Snake Driver (???) ///]
"My ambition is handicapped by laziness" - Charles Bukowski

If I was Hulkenberg I'd have snapped up the Sauber drive myself. This season that car has been capable of wins - Perez did well not to win at Sepang and he could have won at Montreal if they'd played the strategy a touch sooner - it's probably fair to assume they'd have been on the pace in Spa too had Grosjean not Grosjean'd them.. Granted, I can't see the Sauber being as quick next year, but I'd have more faith going there than I would staying at Force India.

As for Pic, wasn't he rumoured to be making the jump into a midfield car? So it's gone from him making the step up to being dropped from F1 altogether? Harsh sport.