Grosjean To Haas?

[Emmcee 0]

How truthful does it sound guys? You think romain is of to haas?

http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/539243/Grosjean_to_leave_Lotus_for_Haas/

[Insider 0]

Romain has confirmed Haas. Despite Button's insistence that it would be McLaren or nothing, he may not have seen this coming and Renault need a consistent driver/developer. McHonda want him to take a 50% pay cut to $5m. He sees that as an insult in view of Alonso's package and I quite agree. Renault would not have a problem with $10m.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Whatsup with Haas, why would Romain or Button join Haas, no guarantees...They will be midfield at best

[KoolMonkey 0]

GRO brings Total with him. That's whose been paying his wages these last few years. So that tells me they are parting ways with Lotus. Does that mean they are leaving or being bought out by Renault. Time will tell. But I think that was a big factor in him being able to land a seat. Not sure if GRO going to Haas is a good thing for Haas. Obviously GRO will be happy to get another seat in F1.

[Emmcee 0]

I think Grosjean is a much better driver now with a lot more respect when it comes to picking drivers.

[Insider 0]

GRO brings Total with him. That's whose been paying his wages these last few years. So that tells me they are parting ways with Lotus. Does that mean they are leaving or being bought out by Renault. Time will tell. But I think that was a big factor in him being able to land a seat. Not sure if GRO going to Haas is a good thing for Haas. Obviously GRO will be happy to get another seat in F1.

Clearly, Lotus signed Maldonado out of sheer desperation. Without the Venezuelan government they could not exist. However, if Renault get involved that could all change. The main danger for Grosjean was Renault not getting involved at Enstone and I believe he may have called it right. Renault could go for Torro Rosso which I see as a much better deal for them but in reality they will probably leave. They don't sell cars outside Europe anyway.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Yeah the Maldonado thing is just baffling. Normally big sponsorship money gets you 1-2 years in F1, and then that's it. But Maldonado has to have surely set a record. Pay drivers are not bad just because they pay for their ride with sponsorship. Rather it seems to gift them a frame of mind, that they can do whatever they like because they are bringing so much money to the team. Perez is another perfect example of this.

I'm not sure if you guys have seen those Arab clowns that were tearing up the streets in Beverly Hills in the yellow La Ferrari. But they claimed to have diplomatic immunity, were running stop signs and speeding way past the speed limit on the streets. Lots of footage of these idiots in full swing. But it turns out they were full of sh*t. They did not have any diplomatic immunity, but have since left the country. Apparently these are the same a## clowns that were in London last year. My point is this, rather than being respectful and grateful and humble, Maldonado and Perez are both c#cky, arrogant and not worthy of their seats. The sole reason they are there, instead of someone else more qualified, is the country they were born in, and who pays for their rides.

I'd like to see Renault stick around. Torro Rosso, hmm that's a very good choice to buyout a team. I think Lotus needs to die completely. If someone else buys them great, but Renault should buy Force India or Torro Rosso. I had heard a figure of $60m euros or pounds or something with 60 in it, as the figure Lotus wanted or valued themselves. They are delusional con artists. They are worth no more than $1. Because I bet you they owe close to or more than $60m in depts.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Something I forgot to add. Lotus keeping Maldonado is strange. Really strange. I cannot for a second believe that Renault would hire the guy. Even for his $40m in coke money. No chance. GRO is leaving. What does that tell us? I think maybe Lotus are not going to be bought out by Renault. This same Renault that's supposedly being buying them out for the past 2.5 years now. Quantum anyone!? lol.

At any rate, I would be surprised if Renault kept Maldonado on. They don't have to since they are the new owners. Thus maybe Maldonado is being fleeced of his sponsorship money when Lotus know full well they won't be on the grid next year.

[Emmcee 0]

Yeah interesting indeed, does this mean maybe Renault is focusing on purchasing toro Rosso instead?

[Delivery_Driver 0]

What about Sauber? Aren't they struggling hard for cash to survive, that Sauber has had no mods on it all year besides a front wing upgrade, Manor even went under at the end of last year, remember? We badly need Manufactures like VW, Mazda, BMW, Toyota and Great Wall, to come into this sport and support these smaller teams badly If F1 is to survive in the next 5 years

[KoolMonkey 0]

VW won't be entering F1 now. Not after what has happened this week. But we need more manufacturers to be in the mix. I'm not sure about Great Wall though lol

As for BMW, /sigh

[Emmcee 0]

It really opens your eyes IMO about the state of the sport when you see how many "big" names aren't involved with it. When teams like Porsche and Audi for example think it's better for them to race in prototypes than against the best drivers in the world in the fastest cars in circuit racing, doesn't that say how much regulations have killed the sport? F1 is the best of the best, Weather you race open wheelers or tin tops, the goal is f1 and if manufacturers see other avenues besides this, makes me quite sad tbh.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Truth be told, F1 is no longer the best when only two manufacturers are left at the competitive end of the sport. F1 is dead as we know it. It's gone. Horribly, it just gets worse each year. Imagine how crap it's going to be in 10 years time.

F1 was a better beast when the teams didn't have so much say. Renault are a perfect example. They threaten to walk away from F1 if V6 Turbos aren't brought it, and they fail big time. And now look to either be leaving for good, or buying a crap team to put their name on it so they can enjoy all their failures in house.

[Emmcee 0]

It was better when teams had more say. Now it's "where banning this,this and this". Look at minardi, classic example, they only survived for as long as they did because of the period they were involved in had minimal changes to the current era were in now. They would've folded quickly just like the rest of them today but back then they had more of a fighting chance as f1 was all about speed first, reliability second and safety wherever. Now it's safety first, reliability and then power. That's why little teams like this could survive as power was main priority so reliability would suffer. That's when we saw numerous cars retiring and allowing teams like minardi to score points on a more frequent Occassion than teams like marussia and today, even when there was more cars and less scoring positions. That's what it should be all about, flat out, qualifying engines and what not. If they kept with the NA v8's they would have had them so refined by now that they could run as many as they wanted with minimal cost compared to the pu today.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

I wonder if Toro Rosso still has many ex-Minardi folk

[Emmcee 0]

That was the little team everyone loved wasn't it? I think I speak for everyone when I say I had a soft spot for the little Italian firm. It's like the story "the little engine that could"

[KoolMonkey 0]

WebRic, the teams have more say now that at any point in modern history. They can all decide to race go-karts next year if they like. The problem is any and all changes/ideas only come into affect when ALL the teams agree. Thus its unanimous or nothing at all. Back in the concorde agreement days the teams did not have this sort of decision making power. The teams cried for years saying they wanted to be a part of the decision making process, forming COTA, threatening to leave F1 and form a rival series. Bernie finally relented, knowing full well it would descend into chaos eventually. This is the show we now "enjoy" because of it. Vested interest has taken over.

Yes it's totally clear if they had stuck with an engine format, it would be super cheap and reliable. The small teams would not be shelling out $20m for four lousy engines a year.

I liked MInardi too. Stoddy was a good Team Principal. Ruffled a few too many feathers, but a good bloke to have in the paddock.

[Emmcee 0]

Yeah you made sense there bro, I agree with this post.