Ferrari Make Bid For Bottas

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I don't know where, but I'm pretty sure I saw a reference to Arrivabene talking about Silverstone and Monza. That's four races with Spa being in the mix. Spa being a track Kimi has dominated in the past. Thus what happened in Montreal was shown to not be Kimi's fault, despite Arrivabene prematurely blaming him.

Something feels not quite right with Arrivabene for me. It's like he knows he's not going to be there in the long run, so whatever decisions are made are all for the here and now. I still want to know why they drop kicked Mattiachi. He got tossed out of the Ferrari family completely. James Allen has inferred it had something to do with off track stuff, but nothing more than that. At any rate, Arrivabene just makes me nervous. He was glowing of Kimi only a few months ago, and now, he's so quick to squash him. That's honestly not the type of person needed to running any F1 team in my view.

So if Austria doesn't affect the decision, then it's already been made, or it just means the decision will be made between Silvertone and Monza. They already know they can get Bottas anyway. I mean where else is he going to go at this point? No where. Thus it would then come down to haggling his buyout price because he is after all still under contract with Williams for next year.

Yeah but Kimi is not performing mate. It's one thing after another with him now for 18 months at Ferrari. Whether he's over the hill or just unlucky, he's not bringing home the bacon like he should be and Ferrari want someone who can just finish right behind Vettel every time.

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Yeah but Kimi is not performing mate. It's one thing after another with him now for 18 months at Ferrari. Whether he's over the hill or just unlucky, he's not bringing home the bacon like he should be and Ferrari want someone who can just finish right behind Vettel every time.

Yeah but in saying that, Massa was kept for quite some time.

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Yeah but in saying that, Massa was kept for quite some time.

Yeah but the expectation level is different. And Massa did ok didnt he?

[Emmcee 0]

Yeah but the expectation level is different. And Massa did ok didnt he?

not really, not till his last year when he's replacement was adamant.

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I cant even remember, I never liked him.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Massa was at least 2-3 years overdue to get the boot. I think the adage that he was only there to move aside for Alonso only became truer the longer they kept him on.

Spiral you're right, Kimi isn't delivering the goods at the moment, but apart from the last 2 races, in the races themselves he has. Qualy is hurting him badly, and I don't think he'll really ever get on top of that if it's elements like tyre heat and bad pit strategies. I wasn't his fault his engineer and pit wall gave him the wrong info and thus he ran out of time during Austria. That's their bread and butter. What else are they supposed to be doing anyway. So I don't see those as excuses, rather as things out of his control.

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The biggest thing though is he has failed to beat Vettel when both ferraris are running fine and to take into account this is new ground to Vettel and him coming of a bad year last year really says something IMO. That's why seb wants him to stay next season, so he doesn't have to worry weather he can beat his teammate or not, where as Bottas is an unknown in that reguard. It's a shame kimi isn't the same old kimi, blistering qualifying laps and simply has lost that spark of excitement to watch and me not being a kimi, I must admit at one point he was the most exciting to watch out of all the drivers, just with his on edge driving style, these type of cars don't allow him to drive the way that suits him the most and unfortunately it has hurt him. But in saying that, all the other drivers have adapted, took Vettel another 12 months but he is there now but kimi still isn't. I think spa will be the true indicator as kimi has really excelled there in the past and if he has a trouble free weekend there, it can gauge what has happened IMO or atleast give us a better look into what is going on:

[KoolMonkey 0]

Don't forget that Kimi and Seb have been proper friends for years. Genuine friends like Alonso and Webber. Thus for all the talk of Vettel not supposedly wanting a competitive team mate, you can't look past the fact it's really great to be around ones friends. Kimi's not political in anyway, he's an easy team mate. Thus why wouldn't Seb want Kimi as his team mate.

Personally I think if or when Bottas ends up in a red race suit, that Vettel will beat Bottas. Bottas is no slouch, but I've not ever heard anyone compare him to Schumi in terms of how much preparation he puts in. Vettel I have read and heard the comparison. But that I mean the preparation and attention to detail that he's puts in. He's a freak when it comes to this. I'm not a betting person, I don't ever bet on anything. But I strongly believe Vettel would beat Bottas.

Bottas I rate behind Nico, who is behind Alonso, Kimi, Hamilton and Vettel in no particular order. I think he might be on par with Button however and be at the front of the next group behind the big players.

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I agree with both of you.

I do fail t see what is so great about Bottas. Imo there is no-one else in the field worth replacing Kimi with. Bottas struggles to beat Massa.

[Emmcee 0]

Don't forget that Kimi and Seb have been proper friends for years. Genuine friends like Alonso and Webber. Thus for all the talk of Vettel not supposedly wanting a competitive team mate, you can't look past the fact it's really great to be around ones friends. Kimi's not political in anyway, he's an easy team mate. Thus why wouldn't Seb want Kimi as his team mate.

Personally I think if or when Bottas ends up in a red race suit, that Vettel will beat Bottas. Bottas is no slouch, but I've not ever heard anyone compare him to Schumi in terms of how much preparation he puts in. Vettel I have read and heard the comparison. But that I mean the preparation and attention to detail that he's puts in. He's a freak when it comes to this. I'm not a betting person, I don't ever bet on anything. But I strongly believe Vettel would beat Bottas.

Bottas I rate behind Nico, who is behind Alonso, Kimi, Hamilton and Vettel in no particular order. I think he might be on par with Button however and be at the front of the next group behind the big players.

That's another thing, maybe seb wants just a harmonious relationship after the torrid time with webber.

[KoolMonkey 0]

I think that's what Seb wants the most. Some peace, and then to be able to focus on development.

Bottas isn't exactly wiping the floor with Massa. And Massa was let go from Ferrari. The more I look at it, it's really only between Kimi and Bottas. Ricci is locked in. There isn't anyone else.

I read this line in an article today concerning Ferrari's tendency to pick drivers which mirrors what I've been saying on the matter.

http://www.formula1blog.com/f1-news/if-not-kimi-then-who/

They like two veterans at the wheels.

Bottas is not a veteran, neither is Ricci. So the analysis we've put into who might be Kimi's replacement has been pretty much on track. It's still Kimi's seat to lose. Hopefully he has a good Silverstone, an epic Spa and gets on the podium in Monza. If he does that, he's safe I feel.

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Bottas is not a veteran, neither is Ricci. So the analysis we've put into who might be Kimi's replacement has been pretty much on track. It's still Kimi's seat to lose. Hopefully he has a good Silverstone, an epic Spa and gets on the podium in Monza. If he does that, he's safe I feel.

I hope so man, I hope so. But even having said that, he better just start performing because Im getting sick of it.

I used to watch races at midnight in NZ before moving to Aus and think about it all week and be excited about it all Sunday because I got to see Kimi race and drive the wheels off.

Nowdays its "oh the steering configuration isnt how I like" "oh the tyres wont warm up" "oh we know what we need to to we just need to do it" "oh its the engine mapping" "oh the suspension isnt suiting the driving style" blah blah blah blah

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I think that's what Seb wants the most. Some peace, and then to be able to focus on development.

Bottas isn't exactly wiping the floor with Massa. And Massa was let go from Ferrari. The more I look at it, it's really only between Kimi and Bottas. Ricci is locked in. There isn't anyone else.

I read this line in an article today concerning Ferrari's tendency to pick drivers which mirrors what I've been saying on the matter.

http://www.formula1blog.com/f1-news/if-not-kimi-then-who/

Bottas is not a veteran, neither is Ricci. So the analysis we've put into who might be Kimi's replacement has been pretty much on track. It's still Kimi's seat to lose. Hopefully he has a good Silverstone, an epic Spa and gets on the podium in Monza. If he does that, he's safe I feel.

IMO I think Ferrari should wait and see what the back half of the season holds for kimi. There circuits he generally does well at and I l agree with Ferrari he should perform where ever he goes but Ferrari don't have the luxury of picking any driver they want next season, it's basically kimi or Bottas and Hulkenberg in the background. So they need to watch the back half if the season watching how kimi and Bottas perform before making a decision IMO.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

He wont have an epic silverstone, monza & spa etc cos he's consistently pants. And he most certainly is not one of the 'big players' above Nico, Button, Bottas etc! I'd rate Button over Nico. Button could match Lewis most of the time in races, Nico clearly cannot (generally).

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Jenson mathematically beat lewis in there time together.

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Yep and even regardless of that he and Lewis would usually be evenly matched in the races. Nico and Lewis are usually not.

Button has proven what he can do with race-winning cars, Bottas is still in the 'potential' category, ie he's clearly shown he's got talent but really he's still unproven until he's sat in a team that's expected to win races. For all we know he might then choke and put it in the wall every other race.

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Yep and even regardless of that he and Lewis would usually be evenly matched in the races. Nico and Lewis are usually not.

Button has proven what he can do with race-winning cars, Bottas is still in the 'potential' category, ie he's clearly shown he's got talent but really he's still unproven until he's sat in a team that's expected to win races. For all we know he might then choke and put it in the wall every other race.

He did better than Massa last year but this year there pretty even so has Massa stepped up or is Bottas just struggling abit?

[Jem of the Shire 0]

I think last season was a bit skewed by Massa's bad luck, he got crashed into several times. Bottas was still better, but the gap shouldn't have been as big as it was.

I don't think Bottas is struggling, I think Massa has raised his game a bit, seems very happy at the mo

[Emmcee 0]

Yeah, Massa has really found a home at Williams hasn't he?

[Jem of the Shire 0]

Its funny I would never have pictured him as a Williams driver. I think most drivers enjoy it there as they often say its a lot more relaxed than the bigger teams like McLaren & Ferrari.

Massa can look forward to having a new team-mate in Button next year, I hope!

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You really think Mclaren will ditch him? Hasn't he got another year to go on his contract.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

2016 is an option (for McLaren). They do love making driver changes, they shouldn't ditch him but they came close last season despite it being incredibly stupid to consider doing so. But they do have a very impatient Magnussen and an expectant Vandoorne to take care of...

[Insider 0]

2016 is an option (for McLaren). They do love making driver changes, they shouldn't ditch him but they came close last season despite it being incredibly stupid to consider doing so. But they do have a very impatient Magnussen and an expectant Vandoorne to take care of...

I am at Silverstone today visiting old mates and the buzz about Kimi is he will retire. Honda will explode if McLaren's engineers don't get their Sh#t together rapidly. The engine is sound, built to Woking spec but the car breaks it. You can't go round sacking drivers when they haven't driven the damn thing. Frank wants JB and a Honda engine and he may get both. He'll never catch Merc and Ferrari without a factory deal. Honda may buy half the team. Anything to save face. That's the word. McLaren may have to pull up a B spec to save theirs. Alonso will probably sue for millions and millions. There is no way that the current car will ever be competitive or reliable. Those were the words of Tyler Alexander heard at lunch.

[KoolMonkey 0]

I tend to listen to Kimi directly rather than rumour. The hate towards Kimi in the media at the moment is extraordinary. I can't recall a time as intense and stupid as this. The media appear to want Kimi gone and are going to all lengths to try and achieve it.

How many years must Kimi endure this BS about his motivation. It's beyond a joke. I don't say that meaning I think he will be around for several more years. It's clear his time is coming to an end, but for goodness sake give the guy a break. He's always said the same thing basically and been consistent with it when it comes to his motivation. As soon as things aren't going so well for him, the tried and tested rubbish about his "motivation" gets dragged back into the fray by the media. No wonder he doesn't want to talk to them, and then why he does, goes into his monotonic persona.

Kimi Raikkonen hit back at questions about his motivation ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix, saying that he would not be racing in Formula 1 if he didn’t want to be.

Raikkonen’s contract with Ferrari expires at the end of 2015, but the Italian team has an option on the Finn’s services for next season.

Recent reports in Italy suggest that Valtteri Bottas is being lined up as a possible replacement for Raikkonen, whilst Nico Hulkenberg and Daniel Ricciardo have also been linked with the seat.

Speaking to NBCSN at Silverstone, Raikkonen said that he was unfazed by questions about his motivation and claimed that they have been a recurring theme throughout his career.

“They’ve questioned it for I think 12, 13 years now, so keep doing it, I don’t mind,” Raikkonen said.

“They can write what they want. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be here, if I wouldn’t want to do well and do racing. I could stay home, I suppose.”

Raikkonen has already scored 17 more points in the first eight races of the 2015 season than he did in the entirety of 2014, but some of his performances have been brought into question.

The Finn has struggled to match teammate Sebastian Vettel for pace, but he feels that a few more things need to fall into place before he can unlock his full potential with the Ferrari SF15-T car.

“I choose to be here, I want to do well and obviously sometimes you have hard times,” Raikkonen said. “We’re in fourth place in the championship, second as a team."

“Obviously it hasn’t been exactly as we wanted so far this year, but we have all of the tools. We just have to put things together and clean up certain things and I’m sure we’ll get the result we deserve.”

I don't want to bring Alonso in this post, but I only do so because when he's having a tough time, it's ALWAYS the car apparently. ALWAYS. When Kimi's going through a rough patch, according to the media it's ALWAYS his motivation. Neither assumptions are true.

Go Kimi. Have a great race weekend

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Yeah I agree. Alfonso and Button have the best car in the field at the moment and they cant do anything with it!