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Massa

2013 Grid

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The Daily Mail says a lot of things, like this:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2173427/Nicole-Scherzinger-tore-strips-boyfriend-Lewis-Hamilton-champagne-fuelled-penthouse-party--vowed-stand-man.html

:P

I still don't think he'll move. Red Bull's not an option now, Michael sounds like he'll stay on for '13, Ferrari isn't really an option even though it seems like it is and Lotus...I don't see how that's an option. Boullier won't want to get rid of Grosjean and I doubt they'd dump Raikkonen after one season.

McLaren is where he'll stay.

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I doubt Lewis would go out for a burger when he's got steak at home, then again when you're drunk burgers are amazing eusa_think.gif

Anyway, I don't think he'll move either.

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I doubt Lewis would go out for a burger when he's got steak at home, then again when you're drunk burgers are amazing eusa_think.gif

Anyway, I don't think he'll move either.

Is this a car or woman analogy?

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Away from the big teams, it still seems like there could be a few changes.

Reports today that Kovalainen may move from Caterham to Sauber. Jaime Alguersuari is also believed to be a possible Sauber driver as he hopes to return to race action in '13. It is still widely expected that Perez will move to Ferrari, so Kobayashi's the one at risk.

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Kovalainen's negotiating with Sauber for a 2014 deal, since he's going to do one year at Ferrari while Pérez develops at Sauber and Ferrari attempt to pursue Vettel, who they will be unable to sign, and Kovalainen and Pérez will simply switch rides. You heard it here first...maybe...

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Hamilton wants to finalize his 2013 plans over the break after Hungary.

di Resta wants to finalize his 2013 plans over the break, as well (probably as soon as Hamilton signs).

BUT there's a big obstacle.

Schumacher won't decided on 2013 until October, so unless Mercedes want to kick him out regardless (and I doubt they do), it will be hard for di Resta to sign over the break. I don't think it will really impact Hamilton, because I am under the impression he is staying anyway, and his eagerness to get signed over the break tells me he doesn't have a lot more negotiating to do (and re-signing at McLaren would require the least amount of that).

Now, if Schumacher decides to retire in October, it does make something a little interesting: if a lot of drivers have already signed for 2013, you now have a quality ride open with all the quality drivers signed. Contracts can be broken, but it could also lead to someone bizarre in the Mercedes...

...but it won't because that never happens and di Resta will probably sign some kind of deal with Force India that will allow him to go to Mercedes in the event Schumacher retires which he probably won't even do anyway.

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According to Autosport Schumi is on the verge of signing for next year. I hope Heikki gets a ride at Sauber, honestly his chance in a top team came too soon and it really hurt him.

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Are you telling me you don't believe "Schumacher won't decided on 2013 until October," but you trust Autosport? I'm pretty offend right now. tongue.png

But seriously, stupid me just reading headlines and skipping the article, as ever. biggrin.png

Looks like he just threw October out there for some type of exaggeration kind of thing, and even then, he could just announce it in October after deciding tomorrow.

http://www.gpupdate....ome-in-october/

So fine, we'll get everything all squared away over the five-week break, I hope.

Kovalainen, yeah, he deserves to move up the grid. I was about to defend his time at McLaren in 2008, but then I realized he raced for McLaren in 2009! I only thought he had done one season there...and then I was like "but wait Button was with Brawn so who drove in 2009" and it turns out Kovalainen did! Isn't that something else? Well anyway he should be above Caterham. I assume that would open the door for Giedo van der Garde, unless someone like Alguersuari wants it.

I do wonder if Kobayashi will be this year's Buemi/Alguersuari, perhaps a bit more accomplished results-wise than either of those were, but still, same kind of situation. Not a bad driver at all, has his moments, but isn't what a top team needs (of course most top teams don't need anything since they have everyone all signed up), and isn't really a "safe" choice or a lucrative choice for the bottom teams and just ends up getting squeezed out. Kobayashi to the new third Toyota for WEC/Le Mans next year, co-driving with Loïc Duval who defects from Audi and Jeroen Bleekemolen who Toyota call up from Rebellion...but that's a different thread, and a dream. :P

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Massa: 2013

I believe that Felipe Massa will stay with Ferrari for the 2013 season, although his future beyond that is unknown. Massa is still a very capable driver and probably be able to race competetively enough to stay with Ferrari. Some people think that his crash at Hungary messed up his driving. Although I do believe it might have done a little damage to him, It hasn't done anything to his mental side, which has a huge influence on a persons driving. Ferrari isn't ready to drop Massa, and they even said Massa was a primary candidate for the second driver spot. I do think that Massa will stay with Ferrari for at least one more year, and he hasn't run out of juice yet.

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Massa: 2013

I believe that Felipe Massa will stay with Ferrari for the 2013 season, although his future beyond that is unknown. Massa is still a very capable driver and probably be able to race competetively enough to stay with Ferrari. Some people think that his crash at Hungary messed up his driving. Although I do believe it might have done a little damage to him, It hasn't done anything to his mental side, which has a huge influence on a persons driving. Ferrari isn't ready to drop Massa, and they even said Massa was a primary candidate for the second driver spot. I do think that Massa will stay with Ferrari for at least one more year, and he hasn't run out of juice yet.

Welcome aboard, Lotusguy!

I would agree that is more "comfortable" to just keep Massa and keep their options open until a valuable candidate can fill in for Ferrari which doesn't seem to be happening until 2014 at least. But even in that role as a mere filler, Massa is just too expensive. For a guy that does not contribute anything tangible to the team (if he is contributiing in any way, it must be a very well kept secret because they have supported Massa through thin and thick, but never explained WHY!) he currently earns more than the lower half of the grid altogether.

I know nobody seems too rushed to replace him, what I do not understand is why keep a guy that is so expensive with the "potential" of becoming merely a decent number 2.

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Prediction:

Red Bull

Vettel

Webber

McLaren

Hamilton

Button

Lotus

Räikkönen

Grosjean

Ferrari

Alonso

Kovalainen (one-year deal with 2014 at Sauber)

Mercedes

Rosberg

Schumacher (he'll have enough good races in the next nine to be convinced he can win in 2013)

Sauber

Pérez (2014 Ferrari option)

Alguersuari (too much talk about him for me to believe he won't have a ride)

Fridays: Gutiérrez (grooming for 2014)

Williams

Maldonado

Senna

Force India

di Resta (2014 Mercedes option)

Hülkenberg (barely...really needs to step it up for the rest of the year)

Fridays: Bird (apparently has a contract, possible replacement to di Resta for 2014)

Toro Rosso

Ricciardo

Vergne

Program disappears after 2013...either one will stick and get Webber's seat, or they'll both be gone, but I think Red Bull's time in driver development is winding down

Caterham

Petrov

van der Garde

Fridays: Rossi (Alex, not the skillful one)

Marussia

Glock

Pic

HRT

de la Rosa

Clos

Kobayashi rejoins Toyota for the WEC/Le Mans/Super GT/Nippon schedule a lot of other Toyota drivers are on. Just gets caught out by not being good enough to get a ride without bringing money, and by so few things even being open.

Massa retires to be a road car consultant with FIAT, testing Chrysler 300s, making the perfect match between a car that can't turn and a driver that can't steer. Makes a few appearances in the Superstars Series driving a Maserati, since that team uses a lot of ex-F1 guys (Salo, Fittipaldi, Herbert, Klien) on a race-to-race basis and is under the FIAT brand.

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Williams are grooming Finn Valtteri Bottas for a ride, with lots of Friday Practice appearances, where he has been impressive at times. So he can at least be added as a potential replacement for Bruno Senna next year.

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Oh wow, Bottas totally slipped my mind despite being the most frequent Friday runner this year. I guess it will come down to who can bring more money...Senna or Bottas. Not sure how many backers the latter has but it would be interesting to see how the extra Friday model of development works compared to the very few miles in an actual F1 car but a race seat in a lower series, which Bottas doesn't have this year.

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Also saw this, which throws Sutil and Kovalainen's names out there with Ferrari, and makes it seem doubtful for Pérez to move up in 2013:

http://www.gpupdate....-about-ferrari/

I think between them contacting Webber, and them not givng Pérez much information about his future, it's not likely we'll see him there yet for all the reasons a lot of posters have been through already. I just hope Ferrari don't alienate him in their pursuits of Vettel for 2014 or anyone else, because he has a lot of potential. He's someone who has improved every single year he's been in motor racing, whatever the series, getting better with each step he's taken up the ladder, and while it makes for a lot of bitter people who beat him back in Skip Barber (and bitter fans tongue.png), it shows some level of something that's probably pretty good for his future. I'm not ready to declare him the next WDC (and it's honestly harder to declare any young drivers future champions these days because you still have Vettel and Hamilton who could be competitive for another decade or more, and a few years left in the tank conceivably for Alonso and maybe even another shot from Räikkönen. The stars aren't aligned for any of today's young drivers given how young the top guys still are, so it'll be extra impressive when someone new breaks into that elite group. Maybe that's Pérez who does it, maybe it's someone else), but we'll see how his career plays out.

If I can't have Massa at Ferrari, I sort of hope for Sutil, just because that feels so wrong.

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Formula Renault 3.5 front runner, Robin Frijns, is believed to be a candidate for a Sauber driver. Makes sense on the basis Sauber have a history of taking young drivers from feeder series on board.

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I'd be fine with that, mostly because I'm biased toward WSR over GP2, so any time a WSR guy can get a seat, that's cool. Plus, the cars this year are a lot closer to F1 (they even have DRS) than they were in the past, so it'd be interesting to see if the transition has changed from what Vergne and Riccardo are going through this season after coming from the old car.

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Some interesting ideas for who will go where. Personally I think there will be less movement than we would have thought at the begining of the year, here are my ideas (stolen some ideas from others)

Red Bull

Vettel

Webber

Mclaren

Hamilton

Button

Ferrari

Alsono

Massa (one year extension as he has picked up the past few races)

Mercedes

Rosberg

Schumacher

Lotus

Raikkonen

Grosjean

Sauber

Perez

Kovalainen

Williams

Maldonado

Bottas

Force India

Di Resta

Hulkenberg

Torro Rosso

Sutil

Chandock

Caterham

Petrov

Van der Garde

Marussia

Glock

Pic

HRT

De la Rosa

(some one from GP2 no idea who though)

Some of these will depend on who can bring money into teams i think as mentioned before; ie senna vs bottas. Also thought I would add in some randoms that may never even appear in a F1 car again but may do (chandock i think should for sure!)

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Ben Barrichello wants to be back in F1. There's a difference, of course, between desire and having actual offers.

He's already announced that he will be leaving his current IndyCar team, though he does have some options in that series. He's complained at first just about the team being unable to set the car up to his liking, but he is now complaining about the series in general. He says that his driving style makes no difference in the car, as it is 200 kg heavier, has no power steering, and has less reliance on aerodynamic grip than F1 (but still a ton, of course). He's really frustrated with how poorly his transition has gone, and he's mentioned a few times in the last month how much he misses F1 and how he still watches F1 and how he hopes to talk to F1 teams.

I don't think there will be an opportunity for him. Might be time to look at sports cars or give it up entirely...

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Ben Barrichello wants to be back in F1. There's a difference, of course, between desire and having actual offers.

He's already announced that he will be leaving his current IndyCar team, though he does have some options in that series. He's complained at first just about the team being unable to set the car up to his liking, but he is now complaining about the series in general. He says that his driving style makes no difference in the car, as it is 200 kg heavier, has no power steering, and has less reliance on aerodynamic grip than F1 (but still a ton, of course). He's really frustrated with how poorly his transition has gone, and he's mentioned a few times in the last month how much he misses F1 and how he still watches F1 and how he hopes to talk to F1 teams.

I don't think there will be an opportunity for him. Might be time to look at sports cars or give it up entirely...

I feel for the guy. He obviously loves F1. I don't think he is finished, but he will never return to a top team (unless..."Rubinho, Nando is faster...oh, what the hell, you know the drill already!"

He was always an also ran. Too bad because he seemed very talented in his days at Stewart and he has also had some great drives with Ferrari. But that proves than even guys capable of winning the way he won at Hockenheim from last are not enough to be considered greats. That shows how competitive F1 is for all those skeptics. Just like Massa, who we are all regarding as laughing stock despite him being a WDC contestant in 2008.

No mistake people, many of these are also-rans (Rubinho and Felipinho among them), but none of these are completely worthless.

And then there's Piquet Jr, of course...

:D

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It would be interesting to see what Barrichello's performance in this year's Williams would have been - perhaps he'd have done even better than Senna and Maldonado are doing. He's a nice guy, but I think that once you're out of F1, unless you are a former champion (Raikkonen and Schumacher) or young and good enough to warrant another chance (Grosjean), there's not much chance you'll get back in.

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Yeah, I don't think any team is going to take on a guy who:

1. While a nice enough guy off the track, will throw his team under the bus whenever he can during a race weekend or season.

2. Is old by F1 standards.

3. Has been away for a year, and was off the year before.

4. Doesn't bring enough money.

You have options who are going to be less demanding or entitled within a team, options who are younger, options who raced this year or were racing these tracks in GP2 or WSR or whatever this year and have testing mileage, and options who bring money. I'm sure there's an option or two meeting all four. Barrichello's experience is his only upside, but that doesn't translate into results, just some contributions to development. Despite his experience, he's only been left-foot-braking for a few years now, he's not experienced with this era of Pirelli tires, and he's spent a year trying to completely alter his driving style to something totally different from F1. So I'm not sure if his upside even has much valuable, especially in an era where drivers can be 25-years-old and be F1 veterans with tons and tons of mileage in these cars.

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Eddi Jordan seems certain that Lewis going to Mercedes next year. Headline on the beeb sport page

Edit - I am not going to link to it, I am sure you can find it :lol:

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