SILLY SEASON 2009/2010

[Deathstar_Kat]

There is a rumour at the moment that USF1 want Alex Wurz for next year

[Devon]

Originally Posted by xkatieloux

So it looks like Red Bull are keeping the same line-up for next year as Vettel is still under contract I believe.

Excellent news.

[lv2xlr8]

Originally Posted by Deathstar_Kat

There is a rumour at the moment that USF1 want Alex Wurz for next year

That would be great for them. He is an excellent test type driver and will be able to comment very well on how the car should feel.

[MattD1zzl3]

Does anyone think this massa situation is the perfect opportunity for ferrari to pick up alonso and run him for the rest of the year? There is no way that massa can recover from a skull fracture in 4 weeks enough to participate in a grand prix.

[DaHitch]

This was mentioned in another thread as well, but even if Alonso could get out from under his Renault contract(as in: "you hired me to drive a car, you can't offer me a car to drive so I want to go elsewhere"/"you screwed me over, so let me drive for Ferrari in return") I still think various sponsorcontracts would get in the way.
It's an interesting train of thought, but imo highly unlikely.

[MP4/14]

What about Kimi back to McLaren next year?

[pfrocker]

Originally Posted by MP4/14

What about Kimi back to McLaren next year?

he already said that he wants to finish off his career in F1 with Ferrari. After Formula One, he surely will go to Rallying.

[MattD1zzl3]

I'm sure maranello has enough money to buy out alonsos contract in some way. And kimi will crawl back to mclaren when he is forced to stare the post f1 void in the face sooner than he expects.

[anti-net]

Next season will be interesting, I think McLaren will keep Lewis (kinda obvious) they may not keep Heikki and he hasn't really delivered a huge amount of points for them. I don't think Sutil will go to McLaren but he might go to a mid-field team like Williams, I doubt they'll keep Nakajima. Nico is 5th with 25.5 points and Nakajima is 18th...with no points! Figures kinda speak for themselves! Nico isn't a bad driver and I'm sure a few teams would be interested to have him in there car.

I think Alonso could take Massa's seat as he might not be better to race for 2010...or ever, but I hope not. I think Kimi will stay in F1 but will keep threatening to quit

[Necx0]

I think next year will see the return of Klien and Liuzzi to the grid. Klien maybe for BMW and Heidfeld will get booted. Liuzzi maybe to replace Giancarlo or go to Campos or Lola.

Kimi's future will probably depend on how he goes in WRC Finland this weekend, which I hope is very very well.

Still NFI who USF1 are going to run. I can't even think of any likely candidates!! (given that they have to be American) although if they include South America take Bruno Senna and Nelsinho Piquet, as surely Grosjean will have the second Renault seat.

[Walsh_e]

Piquet throws toys out of the pram

Piquet and Briatore in war of words

A war of words between Renault boss Flavio Briatore and Nelson Piquet has increased speculation that the Brazilian driver is unlikely to finish the season with the team.

Piquet admitted ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix that his place at the team was in doubt, with rumours having already suggested he could have been absent from the Hungaroring race, where the Brazilian qualified in 15th and finished in 12th.

Speaking to Autosprint magazine, Briatore said he expected more from Piquet and was critical of the driver for "opening the book of excuses" for his lack of results.

"I've always been fair with my drivers," Briatore was quoted as saying by Autosprint. "I expected more from Piquet because this is his second year with a full-time drive. He's done less testing compared to Alonso, but Webber as well tested less than Vettel because of his broken leg, but look where he is now.

"When a driver lacks results, he opens the book of excuses and begins: the fault is the weather's, a spectator's sunglasses, a spin on the straight, this and that...

"It's not true that there's a technical difference of seven tenths between Alonso's and Piquet's car. If that was true, we'd have a car capable of winning the title, and that unfortunately isn't the case. The technical difference has always been minimal and never longer than one race."

Piquet, who is yet to score a point this season, was critical of his team boss, saying he only thinks about money.

The Brazilian driver claimed Briatore, who left Sunday's race before it was over after Fernando Alonso had retired, has no respect for him.

"Flavio is a business man, but he doesn't understand s*** about F1," Piquet was quoted as saying by the Italian magazine. "He's my manager, but in his role of team boss he doesn't respect me.

"He only thinks about money, at how much money he can pocket in everything he's involved, he's a man with no friends. Every day everyone asks me what's going on, so why should I always keep quiet?

"Webber has been in F1 since 2001, he started in a different era, when testing wasn't limited. He's probably done more than 20,000 kms in testing, so it's not a fair comparison. Now the situation is more difficult for a driver with little experience.

"And besides that, I have to fight against Briatore and Alonso himself, who is a fantastic driver. When I wasn't competitive in qualifying, I was the first to own up to it. But if Briatore doesn't understand that, what can I do?"

I'd be amazed if Piquet was still at Renault by the end of the season after this, its one excuse after another from him and he is now turning against his own manager. No one expects him to be beating Alonso every week but at end of the day from 28 starts he's finished in the top 10 seven times (same amount of top 10 finishes as Bourdais!), compared to Timo Glock who has cracked the top 10 on 18 occasions (also racing against a much more experienced team mate).

I'd imagine he will be out very soon, Grosjean will almost certainly replace him for next season and probably before then as well if he is willing to give up his chances of winning the GP2 title.

[Suspense]

I kind of agree with Nelson to be honest. From what I've seen, Briatore seems to treat him like shit and throw shit his way, then complains that his driver is covered in shit.

[ladora]

Flavio leaving mid-race in Hungary disgusted me.

[Sir Stiggington]

Nelson makes very valid points but unfortunately he just isn't quick enough.

[Suspense]

Originally Posted by ladora

Flavio leaving mid-race in Hungary disgusted me.

Couldn't agree more. That was childish and incredibly poor leadership. Ok we get it, he hates Nelson, but what about all the rest of the team who were still working during that race? He walked out on an entire team, not just Piquet.

Originally Posted by Sir Stiggington

Nelson makes very valid points but unfortunately he just isn't quick enough.

Also agreed, but as someone (I think it was Brundle) said, instead of trying to develop and help Piquet last year and especially early this year, they (i.e. Flavio) just gave up on him and gave him shit. That's no way to help a new driver who is struggling and obviously lacks confidence. They didn't try to help him when he stumbled, they just kicked him down and left him there. In my view, that only makes the rest of the team look bad as they don't seem to have any way to develop or nurture a young driver. I may be wrong, but it seems like after years of Alonso and Fisi, they couldn't adapt to having an inexperienced driver on the team and expected him to be in the same league as those guys when he clearly wouldn't be without development and support.

[Spazatao]

From Nelson Piquet's twitter, http://twitter.com/NelsonPiquet_, posted about 7 minutes ago:

"Pessoal, eu ando sumido daqui, eu sei. Peco desculpas. Mas os dias tem sido malucos. Muita coisa acontecendo e assim que puder comentarei."

and also :

"Fiquem ligados nas noticias sobre F1. Muita coisa vai acontecer. Muita coisa um tanto... Nova!"

Free translation to 1st: Guys, I know I've been away from here. I apologize. But those were crazy days. Lots of things happening and, as soon as possible, I'll comment them.

Free translation to the 2nd: Stay alert for F1 news. A lot of things will happen. A lot of... new things!

Doesn't look like bad things for me... is anyone else thinking the same as me? That he might get Massa's seat OR has signed a deal for next season? Hope so, I like the guy.

[ladora]

Piquet in Massa's seat? Er...

[Spazatao]

^I didn't believe in it too, and now it's official that Schummy will take his seat... but let's wait and see what he means with that.

[DaHitch]

I'd actually be sad to see Piquet leave. He should leave Renault as soon as possible though. It's just not a healthy situation for him there and that will only add to his lack of confidence. :/

[Bundesautobahn]

Originally Posted by ladora

Flavio leaving mid-race in Hungary disgusted me.

I have to say that this is the Briatore he always was. He did exactly the same thing in Imola 1995: Schumacher crashed and while Herbert was still driving he already left.

Wouldn't surprise me if he did that on a regular basis.