2008 Line-Up (Rumour Mill)

Yes, I like Wurz. Best wishes for Alex and his family, it would be great to see him race in Lemans and still stay with Williams for testing.
 
Button reiterates commitment to Honda

Jenson Button has reiterated that he is committed to Honda for next season and will not be part of any silly season merry-go-round that follows Fernando Alonso's decision about his future.


HondaF1 is a happy man :D

Well we all know that Jenson's word is only as good as the size of his wallet - Most teams wouldn't touch him now days as he has a proven record of backing out of commitments.

On Wurz - sorry to see him go but it was kinda inevitable. Good driver in his day but I think spending so long out as a tester kinda dulled his raw speed.
 
On Wurz - sorry to see him go but it was kinda inevitable. Good driver in his day but I think spending so long out as a tester kinda dulled his raw speed.

Dunno about raw speed. He was never brilliant and I think Williams must've forgotten his Benetton years where he was comprehensively outpaced by Giancarlo Fisichella (who was actually quite good back then) and was sacked by Briatore at the end of the 2000 season.

Nice guy though, I'm disappointed it didn't work out for him.
 
Wurz wasn't a very fast driver, but he was very consistent. That's why he usually did better in the races than qualifying.
 
Yeh one of the true nice guys of the sport. He would be a great endurance driver.

Another seat becomes available!
 
Yeh one of the true nice guys of the sport. He would be a great endurance driver.

I agree. He said he'd like to do Le Mans, can't wait to see if he'll find a competitive seat and how he'll do...

As far as his speed goes, he did have it once. His efforts in the few races he did for Benetton in 1997 were very good and in 1998 he did do some brilliant drives, most memorable being his battle with Schumacher in Monaco.

Another seat becomes available!

I'm guessing it's already gone or very likely to go to young Nakajima, being a Toyota man.
 
I would rather see Nakajima go to Toyota, particularly as a japanese driver in a japanese company makes more marketing sense. I want Tonio Liuzzi to take the second Williams seat.
 
I would rather see Nakajima go to Toyota, particularly as a japanese driver in a japanese company makes more marketing sense. I want Tonio Liuzzi to take the second Williams seat.

In a way it would make sense, but I think Toyota would have an eye on experienced driver who can develop a car rather than a newbie whose potential is still quite unknown (his efforts in GP2 were sometimes impressive but hardly consistent). Then again, they don't have a wide variety of options either...
 
Liuzzi will get the Williams seat. Wonder if Toyota would look at Montagny though for the second seat?

Im still thinking Alonso to Renault, Sutil to McLaren, Ralf to Spyker.
 
Nakajima to race for Williams in Brazil

Williams? tester Kazuki Nakajima will make his Formula One race debut at the Brazilian Grand Prix next weekend, the British team has confirmed. Nakajima will step into the seat left vacant by Alexander Wurz, who announced his retirement on Monday.

The 22 year-old Japanese driver, who was named GP2 rookie of the year this season, has enjoyed a testing role with Williams since November 2006. He has covered over 7,000 kilometres in the FW29 and has already represented the team at five Grands Prix as a Friday driver.

?I am very grateful to the team who have given me this opportunity,? said Nakajima. ?I hope I now know the car very well and thankfully have done some Friday driving as recently as Shanghai. This is a chance I intend to grab with both hands and repay the faith the team are showing in me with a strong performance.?

The Williams team stressed that the reason behind the opportunity was to build and develop Nakajima?s experience in the car, rather than to evaluate him for a race seat for 2008.

?You cannot assess a driver?s capability on the basis of one race but this is an ideal opportunity to develop Kazuki?s experience,? explained team principal Frank Williams. ?I am confident he will approach the race in a very workmanlike and focused way.?

Nakajima, who is the son of Satoru Nakajima, who raced for Lotus and Tyrrell in the mid 1980?s and early ?90?s, last drove the FW29 during Friday practice at last weekend?s Chinese Grand Prix.

Source
 
Imagine if they put Bruno Senna in that car for Brazil. Nakajima will do ok, but Liuzzi should get the seat.
 
I wonder if Lewis won in China, if they would have, but didnt want to take anything away from the first three way title fight in a long time?
 
I bet they would have if Lewis had wrapped up the championship. He'd have a better chance of a good result, considering the race doesn't mean anything for the top 4 drivers, except for Massa I guess.
 
1191935051.jpg


Ralf still confident he will stay in F1

By Jonathan Noble and Mark Glendenning Tuesday, October 9th 2007, 13:03 GMT

Ralf SchumacherRalf Schumacher has cheekily suggested that he is ready to deliver bad news for 'the English guys' in Formula One by securing his future on the Grand Prix grid.

The German has already announced he is leaving Toyota and, although his options in F1 appear very limited, he has not yet given up on remaining in F1 next year.

And in a reference to his perceived belief that the English press do not like him, on the back of their historical criticisms of his brother, Schumacher says that an extension of his F1 career may not be welcome by all.

"It is too early to say," said Schumacher when asked about his future. "We're still in talks, but my confidence about being in Formula One next year still hasn't changed. It's terrible for the English guys, but..."

Schumacher has been linked with a vacant seat at Spyker, through his close ties to new owner Vijay Mallya, even though sources close the Indian have ruled out such a lifeline.

One other option could be Prodrive, who are close to securing a supply of customer McLarens for 2008.

When asked whether or not he would drive a car that was not definitely a front runner, Schumacher said: "The situation will depend on what's possible with whatever car you're given.

"I'm really interested to start something new, something where you can improve with a decent situation. And in F1, everything can be possible if you work your way through and you're able to build the team around you and build a proper car."

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/63175

Oh Ralf..
 
^ He says that because he is mates with the new owner of Spyker.
 
Too bad Alexander is leaving, i was really hoping that he would get to the top. After all it was his ultimate goal.

15-6-1997/7-10-2007

http://img234.imageshack.**/img234/225/a0130my08pn2.jpg

http://img77.imageshack.**/img77/1597/wurz01130797il0.jpg

http://img234.imageshack.**/img234/5605/1285649pz8.jpg

http://img503.imageshack.**/img503/2404/fisichella1999mf0.jpg

http://img266.imageshack.**/img266/8025/pits2970613ci7.jpg

Goodbye Alexander, have fun in the future! :thumbup:
 
Prodrive-McLaren negotiations collapse

By Jonathan Noble and Biranit Goren Tuesday, October 9th 2007, 16:51 GMT

Prodrive's negotiations with McLaren-Mercedes for a partnership in next year's Formula One World Championship have collapsed, autosport.com has learned.

Prodrive have been pursuing a deal with the Woking-based outfit for a supply of customer cars, and just a few weeks ago Prodrive boss David Richards said the only hurdle left to overcome in the negotiations is the new Concorde Agreement.

However, sources have told autosport.com that McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh notified his staff yesterday that the team are no longer pressing ahead with their plans for a partnership with Prodrive.

Neither McLaren nor Prodrive would comment on the matter.

It is not clear yet why the negotiations fell through. Nevertheless, it comes just days after the FIA announced Prodrive will face a Court of Appeal hearing later this month over their entry, following legal questions from rivals Williams.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis said at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix that the team had not signed a deal with Prodrive, and could not do so without complete clarity over their entry.

"We have not entered into any contract with any team at this moment of time," he said. "If a team wishes to enter the 2008 World Championship and that team does not have complete clarity as to whether it is or is not permitted to enter then it is a matter for that team and certainly not for McLaren."

As recently as the Belgian Grand Prix, Richards revealed that a deal for car and engines had been agreed - although he never named McLaren specifically.

"We are there, but there are lots of issues surrounding the validity of the Concorde Agreement," Richards told autosport.com about the progress with his team.

"It is those sorts of things that leave question marks at the moment, and they need to be resolved. Every other aspect of it is cleared up."

Despite Whitmarsh's statement, Prodrive sources insist that they have not yet completely given up on reviving the McLaren deal.

Should that not be possible, however, then Prodrive may still have opportunities elsewhere - with Renault having been favourites for a supply deal at one point.

In an interview with the Times newspaper in August, Richards said that McLaren were one of three teams that Prodrive were speaking to at the time.


http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/63182
 
Top