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bajo39

2006 Grid Rumours

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F1 MEDIA:

Just five races into the season and already the Formula One rumour mill is well on its way to naming the grid for 2006.

Last week's decision to ban BAR for two races effectively settled the argument over where Jenson Button will drive next year.

The Englishman needs 70% of the world championship leader's points by the end of the Turkish Grand Prix on August 21 if BAR are to keep him.

But he will return to action for round seven at the Nurburgring without a single point to his name.

BAR are confident they have a car capable of challenging for victories but for their contract clause to kick in, they will need a miracle.

Assuming Button falls short of that target, a long-term contract with Williams kicks in for 2006 which would see the 25-year-old return to the team with which he started his Formula One career.

This is where facts end and rumours begin.

It is no secret BAR would have replaced Button with test driver Anthony Davidson had they lost their star driver last season to Williams.

They even blocked the up-and-coming Davidson from testing a Williams to ensure he is their property in the long term, a move which must make him favourite to step into Button's shoes next year.

A wildcard in all this is Indy Racing League star Dan Wheldon, a former karting rival of Davidson and Button and a favourite of engine supplier Honda.

Despite Wheldon's success in the United States, he is unlikely to be thrust straight into a race drive and considering his new-found fame in IRL, a test berth would seem a step down.

Button's expected arrival at Williams will mean the end for one of their current racers, and few would bet on Mark Webber being that man.

The Australian is revered at Williams, meaning late signing Nick Heidfeld is odds-on to make way, with Sauber a possible destination.

BMW announced last weekend they are almost certain to supply Sauber with engines in 2006 and their keenness to have a German driving their cars would make Heidfeld the ideal replacement for the under-performing Jacques Villeneuve.

The former world champion is struggling at Sauber and the prospects of him seeing out his two-year contract are bleak.

So too are those of David Coulthard, who despite a superb season so far for Red Bull looks set for an undeserved exit come the end of the season.

The Scotsman has been the surprise of the season in earning 10 points for Red Bull but the team's owner Dietrich Mateschitz has already indicated his preference for a Christian Klien-Vitantonio Liuzzi partnership in 2006.

That would put Italian star Liuzzi behind the wheel of a Ferrari-powered car next season, the last season Michael Schumacher is contracted to race.

Liuzzi in a Ferrari in 2007 becomes very plausible - but most paddock rumours are very plausible until they turn out not to be true.

This time last year both Mika Hakkinen and Villeneuve were said to be on the verge of signing for Williams, Giancarlo Fisichella was staying at Sauber and Formula One was preparing to race in Switzerland.

There are 10 months to go before the 2006 season start and 10 months is a long, long time in Formula One.

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potential seats:

BAR: bit early but i think BAR will have davidson and sato unless sato performs really badly in which case nick might jump in.

Williams: it looks like its going to be webber and button for williams althoguh again nick looks like he might be able to nick webber's seat in which case webber might go to renault and replace fishi if he disappoints this year.

Midland: if doornbos or what ever he is called fails to impress if he replaces teiro, then davidson could end up there, or even sato if he loses his BAR seat. And even Nick could end up back there if BAR wont give him a seat and willaims won't renew. Kartikeyan is probably the only person who will likely have a seat in midland at this time.

sauber: by contract looks like they will retain JV but there may be all these crazy clauses that may see him not stay his two year contract. Massa may be the successor to Barichello in the ferrari in which case liuzzi or Klien may take his place soon. potentially the same line up though

renault: fernando should be there for 06 but fishi may not, he may make way for webber who is owned by briatori.

toyota:both drivers look pretty safe. trulli and ralf

ferrari: they have two old timers in their team who don't have long left, as stated before, i think barrichello may hand over to massa in the next few years, or even gene. Micheal schumacher is a tough one, will he hang on? will he reitre early, or even extend his contract? but i can't see no realistic successor.

Mclaren: kimi looks like to be part of the mclaren family but ferrari has made it no secret they have an interets in him. montoya, is uncertain where he will go, maybe turn into a second fiddle man to Kimi.

Redbull: looks like a liuzzi and Klien paring, although speed might be there meaning one of the drivers may go to sauber. Dc has an outside chance of staying with the team or could go to sauber, but sadly may end up as a tester.

minardi: who knows

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Team: number 1 driver (notes), number 2 driver (notes)

Ferrari: Schumacher (he will honour his contract), Barrichello (although he should be replaced ASAP)

Renault: Alonso, Fisichella

Toyota: Trulli, Schumacher

McLaren: Kimi, Montoya

BAR: Davidson, Sato (although he should be replaced ASAP)

Williams-Cosworth: Button, Webber

Midland: Doornbos, Karthikeyan (Schnaider will not throw away $30m)

BMW - Sauber: Heidfeld, Massa

Red Bull: Klien, Liuzzi (although it should be Klien, DC)

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Team: number 1 driver (notes), number 2 driver (notes)

Ferrari: Schumacher (he will honour his contract), Barrichello (although he should be replaced ASAP)

Renault: Alonso, Fisichella

Toyota: Trulli, Schumacher

McLaren: Kimi, Montoya

BAR: Davidson, Sato (although he should be replaced ASAP)

Williams-Cosworth: Button, Webber

Midland: Doornbos, Karthikeyan (Schnaider will not throw away $30m)

BMW - Sauber: Heidfeld, Massa

Red Bull: Klien, Liuzzi (although it should be Klien, DC)

I agree with you very much...It all seems very likely...but you forgot Dubai-Mercedes...If they'll make it to the grid they'll likely have an experienced driver (Coulthard maybe,thanks to his links with Mercedes and the fact he already was in talks with Dubai) and another McLaren-Mercedes driver (either Wurz,De La Rosa or the young Lewis Hamilton)....If BMW buys Sauber Sauber woould lose the name Sauber definitely....

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i'm not getting ionvolved as i really dont have a clue as for next year, im enjoying this one too much, however i would say i think its 50/50 whetehr button will be at bar or williams at the moment, and williams with cosworth, hmmm, may wll happen but dosnt do it for me im afraid!

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Team: number 1 driver (notes), number 2 driver (notes)

Ferrari: Schumacher (he will honour his contract), Barrichello (although he should be replaced ASAP)

Renault: Alonso, Fisichella

Toyota: Trulli, Schumacher

McLaren: Kimi, Montoya

BAR: Davidson, Sato (although he should be replaced ASAP)

Williams-Cosworth: Button, Webber

Midland: Doornbos, Karthikeyan (Schnaider will not throw away $30m)

BMW - Sauber: Heidfeld, Massa

Red Bull: Klien, Liuzzi (although it should be Klien, DC)

I agree with most of this.

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Cosworth is very capable of doing competitive engines.

Well have RBR had any problems with reliability this season except Klien having a Hydrulics problem and Luizzi going off but and engine failures?

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JV's seat is on the line as Nick will probably get one of the Sauber seats. With Ferrari out of the picture, does this mean Massa goes as well. He could spend a year out in '06 like in '03 then take over from Rubens in '07, meaning JV and Nick will be the 2006 Sauber team. That's how I see it anyways, but if JV keeps how he is, then he will probably not be there. But as the article says, this time last year JV and Mika were very close to signing for Williams apparently, so anything can happen.

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JV's seat is on the line as Nick will probably get one of the Sauber seats. With Ferrari out of the picture, does this mean Massa goes as well. He could spend a year out in '06 like in '03 then take over from Rubens in '07, meaning JV and Nick will be the 2006 Sauber team. That's how I see it anyways, but if JV keeps how he is, then he will probably not be there. But as the article says, this time last year JV and Mika were very close to signing for Williams apparently, so anything can happen.

Why would they let Villeneuve drive and sit Massa, isn't the opposite more likely?

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"but if JV keeps how he is, then he will probably not be there."

I ended it with the above quote, so yes, Massa staying is more likely to happen. However, with the Ferrari influence gone, and with Jean Todt's son being Massa's manager, where does it leave him? We'll see how much of an influence Ferrari has in his hiring and re-hiring.

At the moment, JV's chances aren't that great, but it's all pure speculation, and JV does have a two year contract. We all know who his manager is and he is notorious for his cunning negotiating skills. No matter how hard DR tried to get rid of JV for '03 he couldn't as his contract was iron cast, CP and JV would have been stupid to have put in any clauses or the like in his current contract considering JV had been out for a year and there were alot of doubts.

If the decision was made now, Massa would keep his drive, but there are still 14 races left. At the end of the day, Sauber may decide to stick to this line-up for next year, we can only speculate.

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JV's seat is on the line as Nick will probably get one of the Sauber seats. With Ferrari out of the picture, does this mean Massa goes as well. He could spend a year out in '06 like in '03 then take over from Rubens in '07, meaning JV and Nick will be the 2006 Sauber team. That's how I see it anyways, but if JV keeps how he is, then he will probably not be there. But as the article says, this time last year JV and Mika were very close to signing for Williams apparently, so anything can happen.

Really, or is that how you want to see it?

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that is what we want to see maybe :lol: but CP has always maintained that he would not under any circumstance sign a contract that allows JV's contract to be terminated in a year and I hope he has seen to it that no loopholes are possible

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"Really, or is that how you want to see it?"

well I think it's pretty obvious that's what I would want to see. Don't care who his teammate will be but obviously I prefer JV keep his seat. Look, the situation I posted is a remote possibility, but a possibility at that.

"CP has always maintained that he would not under any circumstance sign a contract that allows JV's contract to be terminated in a year and I hope he has seen to it that no loopholes are possible"

well I always remember how hard DR tried to kick JV out of BAR, but just couldn't, so that gives me some heart.

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"Really, or is that how you want to see it?"

well I think it's pretty obvious that's what I would want to see. Don't care who his teammate will be but obviously I prefer JV keep his seat. Look, the situation I posted is a remote possibility, but a possibility at that.

It is a very remote possibility, highly unlikely to happen, hence my comment.

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You are such an arrogant person Senna, you think you are so bloody good, thinking you know everything. NoJVnoF1 is probably more right than you are about JV for next year.

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You are such an arrogant person Senna, you think you are so bloody good, thinking you know everything. NoJVnoF1 is probably more right than you are about JV for next year.

It

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The season isn't over Senna.  If you compare JV to the likes of Ralf, Montoya, Webber and Fisi he is not the only driver stuggling at the moment.  I'm not saying anything is likely or unlikely, just that you need to stop being so.. well Senna like  ;)

I too am a JV fan but I am not as confident as others it seems. Taking the entire season into consideration, JV has performed worse than every other serious F1 driver - and by this term 'serious' I mean to disclude all the pay drivers who really haven't earned a comparison to proper drivers like Villeneuve: Karthikeyan, Monteiro, Albers, Freisacher and arguably Sato. Although he put in a near-competitive drive in Imola and had been improving steadily until then, he disappointed badly in Barcelona. Recall that this is how the weekend unfolded:

Saturday Qualy -

JV crosses the line 9 tenths of a second slower than FM

Sunday Qualy (note that JV made his first stop 4 laps later than FM) -

JV laps 1.325 seconds slower than FM for an aggregate time nearly 2.3 seconds slower.

Race -

An uneventful race that would not have resulted in any points had he finished. The only possible defence for JV here is that the engine (hydraulic?) problem which eventually saw him retire on lap 51 somehow limited his pace throughout. I don't think it's a very good one though and, in any case, his fastest lap was nearly 8 tenths slower.

His unforunate performance understandably brought into question the progress he had made since then in a lot of people's minds and we are left to request that these people allow more time before passing final judgement. I think, for JV fans like myself, this argument is more sensible than suggesting he will somehow be favoured over Massa if one or the other is to be replaced. He will not.

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I too am a JV fan but I am not as confident as others it seems. Taking the entire season into consideration, JV has performed worse than every other serious F1 driver - and by this term 'serious' I mean to disclude all the pay drivers who really haven't earned a comparison to proper drivers like Villeneuve: Karthikeyan, Monteiro, Albers, Freisacher and arguably Sato. Although he put in a near-competitive drive in Imola and had been improving steadily until then, he disappointed badly in Barcelona. Recall that this is how the weekend unfolded:

Saturday Qualy -

JV crosses the line 9 tenths of a second slower than FM

Sunday Qualy (note that JV made his first stop 4 laps later than FM) -

JV laps 1.325 seconds slower than FM for an aggregate time nearly 2.3 seconds slower.

Race -

An uneventful race that would not have resulted in any points had he finished. The only possible defence for JV here is that the engine (hydraulic?) problem which eventually saw him retire on lap 51 somehow limited his pace throughout. I don't think it's a very good one though and, in any case, his fastest lap was nearly 8 tenths slower.

His unforunate performance understandably brought into question the progress he had made since then in a lot of people's minds and we are left to request that these people allow more time before passing final judgement. I think, for JV fans like myself, this argument is more sensible than suggesting he will somehow be favoured over Massa if one or the other is to be replaced. He will not.

Indeed.

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who ever said that JV was not struggling. we are all just hoping that he'll improve. enough said

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