SILLY SEASON 2009/2010

Webber to McLaren then?

I don't expect to see Raikkonen at Red Bull.

As Red Bull said, the Vettel/Webber combo is one of the strongest.
 
Red_Bull said:
As she said, contracts mean very little if the price is right.

Red Bull would be mad to consider this. The Vettel/Webber line-up is one of the strongest in F1 and they make great foils for each other. For sure, Raikkonen would be great for marketing, but I doubt he'd do a significantly better job than either Webber or Vettel.
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Raikkonen doesn't see Red Bull as one of the top teams, despite their position in the constructor's championship. I think he only cares about McLaren & Ferrari.
 
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Waaaooouuuu.
 
Some more rumors.

One, Trulli = Lotus Malaysia F1? http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/091012112729.shtml

Two:Although USF1 has denied it, it's looking more and more like Jonathon Summerton has a seat if he wants it. So, F1 or Indy?

Drivers with contracts or team ending at seasons end (13):

Heikki Kovalainen (Probably gone, but expected to stay in F1. New team?)
Nick Heidfeld (Sauber? Williams?)
Romain Grosjean (Future has been thrown up in the air, but I expect he'll resign)
Sebastien Buemi (Expect to re-sign)
Jaime Alguersuari (Expect to re-sign)
Nico Rosberg (Brawn?)
Kazuki Nakajima (A seat at all? Probably won't be back with Williams.)
Adrian Sutil (Re-sign?)
Rubens Barrichello (Williams?)
Jarno Trulli (Looks like Toyota doesn't want him. Malaysia?)
Timo Glock (Option turned down. Now free agent.)
Jenson Button (Contract disputes ftw! He ain't leaving)
Kimi Raikkonen (On his way to McLaren?)

Seats open (18-20):
McLaren x1
Ferrari x0
Toyota x2
Renault x1
Red Bull x0[strike/]
Toro Rosso x2
Williams x2
Force India x1 (**)
Brawn GP x2
USF1 x2
Dallara-Campos x2
Manor F1 x2
Lotus Malaysia F1 x2
** Sauber F1 x2 (If a 14th team is added)

Drivers signed through next season (8-9?):
Lewis Hamilton - McLaren (He ain't leaving.)
Felipe Massa - Ferrari (Has a seat, according to Luca.)
Fernando Alonso - Ferrari (Signed 9/30. Three years.)
Mark Webber - Red Bull Racing (just signed extension)
Sebastien Vettel - RBR (He ain't leaving)
Giancarlo Fisichella - Ferrari (Signed contract at Monza, will become test driver after this year.)
**Vitantonio Liuzzi - Force India (Signed through 2011? See things to note.)
Robert Kubica - Renault (Signed 10/07)

Things to note:

Liuzzi's test drive contract expired in 2011 and supposedly had a race seat clause in 2010, I have no idea if it has changed since. For now, he stays in the drivers signed list.

It seems like STR wants Buemi and probably Jaime back. Unless either go to greener pastures, expect them to re-sign. Keep in mind one might be bumped for Loeb at Abu Dhabi, but I doubt he leaves WRC for a full-time seat.

With Mercedes now a bigger influence at Brawn, McLaren will probably sign whoever the hell they want. Kimi is the current flavor of the week.

Brawn might be pressured to acquire a German, despite Ross Brawn liking both his drivers. We'll see.

Williams will probably fill one of their seats with Nico Hulkenberg.

Campos supposedly wants Pedro de la Rossa and/or Marc Gene.

USF1 still says they want one euro vet and one American rookie. Don't expect that to change. Jonathon Summerton (Atlantic Series Champ) has been mentioned on several occasions.

Manor F1 has been in talks with Adam Carroll, Christian Klein, and Anthony Davidson.

Lotus is supposedly talking with Trulli.

Renault is back in next year without a doubt. Who knows about Toyota.

If Renault stays, expect Romain to stay.

Piquet's name has been thrown in the trash by all the teams. If he's anywhere next year, it's in the Americas. Probably NASCAR.

The list doesn't include non-F1 drivers or F1 test drivers. Being in the states you hear nothing about them (hard enough finding F1 news here in the first place). The only ones mentioned are the ones that are pretty damn obvious.

Thoughts?
 
Rumors that Rubens is moving to Williams are growing stronger.
http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-barrichello-signs-2010-williams-contract-reports/
F1: Barrichello Signs 2010 Williams Contract - Reports
Written by: SPEED Staff / GMM
10/13/2009
GMM Newswire

According to various reports Rubens Barrichello will jump from Brawn to Williams in the 2010 Formula One Season. (Photo: LAT Photographic) ? More Photos

Multiple Brazilian media sources are reporting that Rubens Barrichello has now signed a contract to switch to the Williams team from 2010.

The emerging news was on Monday played down by the Brazilian veteran's camp, but the same story is now being confidently reported by major outlets including Globo television and the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper.

In Williams' official preview of the Brazilian Grand Prix, the team listed as a 'Hot Topic': "What next for the driver market?"

Folha de S.Paulo said the deal is for the 2010 season with
an option to include 2011, and represents a significant pay rise for the native Paulista, whose place at Brawn is to be taken by Nico Rosberg, who has driven for Williams since 2006.

The Brazilian sources also believe 2009 GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg will be 37-year-old Barrichello's teammate.
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wow.. it's true. But i guess it's purely because Brawn doesn't want him?
 
HatePersonified said:
Raikkonen to Toyota?

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/10/19/toyota-admits-raikkonen-negotiations/

what
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Kimi's manager is just trying to maximise Kimi's options, like a good F1 manager should do. A racing driver should have as many options on the table as possible.

Having said that, I doubt Toyota will be be able to afford Kimi's salary, and they will not be able to provide him with a race winning car. Still, it doesn't hurt Toyota a bit to negotiate with the former champ.
 
I think Toyota are one of the only teams who can pay his salarry. But as Kimi has said, he's not moving to a team without knowing they will be competitive. For that reason, I think no matter what they pay him, he will doubt Toyota can do that. So McLaren is his only other option which fulfills race winning car and high salary...
 
'Piquet in talks with Campos'

19 October 2009

The Spanish media is reporting that Nelson Piquet Jr. may be in the running for a seat at Campos in 2010. The Brazilian, ousted by the Renault team after the Hungarian Grand Prix, is believed to be on the shortlist which also includes Bruno Senna and Pedro de la Rosa.

With the immensely experienced de la Rosa favourite for the first seat at the Spanish team, Senna - nephew of late triple World Champion Ayrton - and now Piquet have been linked with the outfit, which makes the climb up the ladder from GP2 ahead of next season.

Team owner Adri?n Campos, who drove 16 Formula One Grands Prix himself between 1987 and 1988, confirmed his talks with the drivers. "I spoke with Nelsinho Piquet in Nice three weeks ago and it's a possibility," he explained to Spanish news agency EFE.

"Pedro could come but we need to reach an agreement and the issue is dragging on a lot, but hopefully he will be one of our drivers; he would still want to stay as a McLaren test driver but we're not closing the door."
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Source

Perdro wants a race seat but also wants to stay a test driver for another team...I think that's quite a huge conflict of interests.
 
Wouldn't a full racing seat be better? Or is he hoping for a Hamilton or Whoever-it-will-be to have an accident?
 
If you listen to BBC chequered flag podcast Rubens says he is 100% in F1 next year and speaks of Brawn in past tense.
 
MP4/14 said:
If you listen to BBC chequered flag podcast Rubens says he is 100% in F1 next year and speaks of Brawn in past tense.
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Hm.. Williams?
 
When can we expect the first driver swap news to come out? December?
 
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