[Driver] Silly season in full swing

[sauber11]

http://motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=340578&FS=F1
Senna a target for 2010 seat - Campos

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Originally Posted by sauber11

Things getting hot here in Russia ( by the way , i live in russia but wasnt born here - i am saying that to prevent "He is russian and just favouriting Petrov". So lets continue:
About week ago we heard rumour , saying that after Grosjean will be promoted to racing driver Petrov will be named third and reserve driver at renault.
Press immediately phoned to Petrov manager team and they said:"We cant comment that , just wait a little bit and soon you will know".
Then some days after it was confirmed that 16-17 september there will be formula1 road show at Sochi(olympic games 2014) and one of the team that will be presented there for sure is ... renault. Interesting, right ?
And for dessert: Petrov on the phone ( i myself heard that) said to press, that he have already racing ?pre?contract with one of the team but it all depends on position where he will finish gp2 championship. For sure its not campos or manor right?, saying for example :"We will take you only as a gp2 champion". Must be some established team like williams or more likely renault( Petrov talked with Frank during recent moscow bavaria show , and Frank afterward said :" pretty soon there will russian driver in formula one ") or Coulthard also in moscow said:"one russian driver will be there but i cant name who (mb because its not redbull junior Aleshin)". Of course these words doesnt mean much(almost nothing) as they saying every year since 2005(renault show in moscow) that soon formula one will come to russia and still nothing done here.
And to finish this "poem" final rumour again about Usmanov that he will increase Megaphone sponsorship in renault as ING leaving team.( But again,remember Carlos Slim already bought honda in 2008). Also apart from renault some others team willing to sign contract with Petrov(also said on phone) but he is just waiting for right moment.

Conclusion: Petrov will be in formula1 2010 for sure as a racing driver, but maybe with bigger team than most of us( me also, i thought about campos) expected
P.S. English not my native language so i believe it was hard to read. My apologies.

Well, I managed to make sense of it at least. I could see Petrov in F1 next year for sure, either at Renault with Grosjean (if Alonso leaves for Ferrari) or somewhere like Williams or such. Have to say I'm warming up to Petrov a little, he's improved a lot in GP2 as the years have rolled on. There's hundreds of drivers that would have done better given his opportunities, but by now he's a fairly good driver.

[sauber11]

http://www.tomorrownewsf1.com/f1-meg...-convoite-6675
This is between Renault and Campos. Petrov will drive for one of this teams in 2010.

[kartracer41]

The way it is looking, I see Ferrari putting Massa, Alonso, Kimi, and Schumacher in cars for next year.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Does anyone else not think Renault would be taking a tremendous gamble....?

It's been sometime since they decided to field 2 rookie (ish) drivers.

Selby

[csirl]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

Does anyone else not think Renault would be taking a tremendous gamble....?

It's been sometime since they decided to field 2 rookie (ish) drivers.

Selby

Renault may see this as a big gamble, but it's possible that Toleman may need pay drivers.

[strider]

Autosport seems to think that Kubica will be heading towards Enstone, assuming Alonso does indeed leave.

[kartracer41]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

Does anyone else not think Renault would be taking a tremendous gamble....?

It's been sometime since they decided to field 2 rookie (ish) drivers.

Selby

The way they go through #2's, they need to have two #2's. They'll probably have a few more on as backups.

[chunterer]

So Ferrari and Usmanov Enstone GP will each field 3 cars then?

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by kartracer41

The way it is looking, I see Ferrari putting Massa, Alonso, Kimi, and Schumacher in cars for next year.

Ahhh.....
So they are going to buy BMW and rename it Ferrari-Sauber and have Michael and Kimi run next year as a Swiss based extension team....

That would be interesting....

[VIVA GT]

Originally Posted by Teretonga

Ahhh.....
So they are going to buy BMW and rename it Ferrari-Sauber and have Michael and Kimi run next year as a Swiss based extension team....

That would be interesting....

And the team would be run by David Richards of Prodrive - remember where you heard it first!

[strider]

There's a general round-up of what everyone might be doing on crash.net here.

Kimi is the one who intrigues me. I was reading, I think in Autosport, that he really does want to stay in F1 for one more season before he switches to the WRC. It looks as though he is no longer welcome at Ferrari, barring an amazing run of success in what remains of the season, so where next?

[chunterer]

Originally Posted by strider

Kimi is the one who intrigues me. I was reading, I think in Autosport, that he really does want to stay in F1 for one more season before he switches to the WRC. It looks as though he is no longer welcome at Ferrari, barring an amazing run of success in what remains of the season, so where next?

Well unless he is prepared to take a substantial drop in salary, it might be difficult for him to get another drive?

Pro's:
A WDC
Quick (quickest still?) on his day
A big name driver (attract big sponsor on back of his name?)
experienced... in...

Con's:
No longer consistently quick
Questionable PR benefits
Arguably Not 110% committed any longer.

[Peralta]

Noticed that there is an opening in GP2 with Durango for the remainder of the season. Maybe USF1 should put Summerton in the car and see how well he goes before he steps up to F1. Are you listening Peter?

[Peralta]

Campos Meta F1 are considering Senna now as second driver while also mentioning Vitaly Petrov and Antonio Garcia, a close friend of Alonso as possible choices to partner either De La Rosa or Jordi Gene.

Any news on drivers for Manor?

[Tim 27]

Hopefully Felipe will be well enough to compete next year, but who remembers Ferrari making mumblings about Nico not so long ago?
If Massa turns out not fit enough to drive, and Nico still hasn't signed for anyone, what are the chances of a Alonso/ Rosberg pairing for 2010?

[Jamesy-18]

Originally Posted by Tim 27

Hopefully Felipe will be well enough to compete next year, but who remembers Ferrari making mumblings about Nico not so long ago?
If Massa turns out not fit enough to drive, and Nico still hasn't signed for anyone, what are the chances of a Alonso/ Rosberg pairing for 2010?

Not likely i think. Rosberg's either staying put or going to McLaren.

[Rf1 Fan]

Originally Posted by sauber11

http://www.tomorrownewsf1.com/f1-meg...-convoite-6675
This is between Renault and Campos. Petrov will drive for one of this teams in 2010.

Be carreful with this website.
He is not the most reliable,i'm french and i know the website since several years.

He said some bull**** about Renault.

[Rf1 Fan]

According to the french magazine Auto Hebdo the only thing pretty certain about Renault is that the seat number 2 in 2010 will be for Romain Grosjean.

[Tim 27]

Originally Posted by Jamesy-18

Not likely i think. Rosberg's either staying put or going to McLaren.

At the start of the season Nico declared that if Williams couldn't provide him with a race winning car (which they clearly have not done) then he would be off.
But then going from number one at Williams to number two at Mclaren wouldn't be that sensible either would it?
It's difficult to predict where he will end up, but I do believe he is championship material.

[Jamesy-18]

Originally Posted by Tim 27

At the start of the season Nico declared that if Williams couldn't provide him with a race winning car (which they clearly have not done) then he would be off.
But then going from number one at Williams to number two at Mclaren wouldn't be that sensible either would it?
It's difficult to predict where he will end up, but I do believe he is championship material.

Yes that was when he was unhappy with Williams though, wasn't it? Recently he's given them praise and he seems to have found a new lease of life at Williams, he seems very happy there currently and i believe in an interview he gave with the BBC not so long ago, he pretty much confirmed that he'd like to stay at Williams. I wouldn't be suprised if he was there paired with Hulkenberg.

As per the Alonso/Rosberg Ferrari link up, it's not in the Ferrari way to have two new complete drivers in their team for a season. They've always carried a driver over from the previous year to partner a new driver, most recently in the case of Felipe staying at Ferrari alongside Kimi in '07. Whilst i expect Alonso to be at Ferrari next season, i'm sure they'll peek Felipe. He has been the team's strongest point scorer for them in the past two years, heas put in some solid wet weather drives and after all, came within one corner of winning the championship in 2008. They'd be foolish to get rid of him and it wouldn't be right after what Felipe has gone through this season.

Kimi's heart is in rallying now, he has the enthusiasm for that. As crash.net points out, Kimi would get a nice fat bonus for early contract termination and he could easily buy himself a ride in a works team with that. But i guess based on his performance in Finland he could get a works drive just down to a combination of his talent and name.

[ghinzani]

Originally Posted by Peralta

Campos Meta F1 are considering Senna now as second driver while also mentioning Vitaly Petrov and Antonio Garcia, a close friend of Alonso as possible choices to partner either De La Rosa or Jordi Gene.

Any news on drivers for Manor?

Jordi Gene? or Marc? Its years since Jordi drove a single seater isnt it? He's been in trucks and Seats since.

Anybody think that if Rosberg cant get a number 1 drive elsewhere might he go to Renault? Or is Kubica a shoe-in at Renault already? Thinking about it I expect Nico's Dads opinion of Briatore is pretty low so he might countenance agauinst it - but surely number 1 there is going to be a good drive, especially since Grosjean seems to be a bit erratic and has gone off the boil.

[jab]

Rosberg is being chased by McLaren and was being chased by Brawn. He had been likely to join BMW but obviously that won't happen now. I can't see him at Williams again next year, as they're already lining up replacements - Hulkenberg + AN Other, with Nakajima probably (deservedly) getting the boot

Kubica to Renault could prove interesting. When Robert was a Renault Junior, Briatore let him go because he didn't rate him. Apparently he's also been talking to Williams (who hasn't?), Toyota and McLaren, who definitely seem to be after a Kovalainen replacement

The most remarkable thing is it's mid-August and it's still very unclear. Nobody knows what's going to happen. It's pot luck. I've been on holidays for the last 2 weeks and I really expected a few 2010 announcements to be made as per usual, but there's been nothing. There are still some suggesting Kimi will leave Ferrari but wants to stay in F1. Sauber's future is up in the air. Renault and Williams are looking for new lead drivers. Brawn could be looking for a number 2. Toyota refusing to confirm their drivers. And 3-4 new teams on the grid looking for drivers

And Summerton would be a poor choice for US F1, even by American standards. Nakajima has a more impressive CV

[Ralf's Girl]

Are Williams not having Toyota engines next season? Because if they are, surely they can't really give Nakajima the boot unless he's moving to Toyota?

[Peralta]

Maybe BMW will return with just supplying engines to Williams. Let go of Nakajima and install Kubica or Heidfeld with Rosberg or Hulkenberg sounds silly but hey it can happen.