Who will be the first driver to lose his seat in 2009?

Who will be the first driver to lose his seat in 2009?

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Piquet has got to go. And I think Webber will be pretty safe in his seat for the time being after his performance today.
 
Still, hes not even close to match Lewis on race pace and he's been given plenty of time to show himself.
 
Xeon SX said:
It'll be nice to see Vettel and Hamilton in McLaren.
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No it wouldn't.

Vettel deserves better. Besides he made it quite clear to the press that he would like to drive for Ferrari some day. (He kind of looks up to Schumi)

I would like to see him in a winning Ferrari, not like I'm a massive Ferrari fan or anything, but he reminds me of Michael Schumacher... with a better attitude.


I used to be a McLaren fan back in the early 2000s. Was a McLaren fan purely because of Mika and Kimi, but McLaren have disappointed me with their poor reliability. I don't want the same happen to Vettel.

Peter3hg said:
And Villeneuve.
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His bali never managed to win a championship, despite the great driving skills.


Xeon SX said:
Still, hes not even close to match Lewis on race pace and he's been given plenty of time to show himself.
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Kov out qualified golden boy a few times, I don't think McLaren is too worried about his race pace.
 
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^ He is a nice guy, nice guys still need good cars to win championships. Big team is a must then, Ferrari already have Alonso as a candidate.
 
McLaren has lots and lots of cash for development and racing, so despite the PR drama it's still a great team to race for. They have already catched up a little bit, just after 3 races.
 
Xeon SX said:
^ He is a nice guy, nice guys still need good cars to win championships. Big team is a must then, Ferrari already have Alonso as a candidate.
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True.

But judging from the current 09 season, I think Alonso might want to stay in Renault.

I would love to see Kubica & Alonso driving a race winning BMW though.
 
Exactly, I think today Lewis was quicker than Barrichello so that car may already be faster than Brawn in the wet.
2 MadCow809, have you watched the last season or not?
 
MadCow809 said:
hey??
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1 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 98
2 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 97
3 Kimi R?ikk?nen Finnish Ferrari 75
4 Robert Kubica Polish BMW Sauber 75
5 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 61
6 Nick Heidfeld German BMW Sauber 60
7 Heikki Kovalainen Finnish McLaren-Mercedes 53

So I'm pretty sure McLaren didnt like how he ended the season. Qualifying I know he was good but that alone doesnt win you points. As a teammate hes not that good either. He couldnt keep Ferrari behind him, couldnt let hamilton score crucial points (Raikonnen for example in china let Massa past giving Massa extra 2 points he didnt deserve) and obviously he didnt push lewis, not that Lewis needs pushing to begin with ) but still..

Big team such as Mclaren know they had one of the best cars last year and see it wasted like that in the hands of Kovi...
 
^ Because Kovalainen is so important for development and working out how the car performs in a gravel trap?
 
Suspense said:
^ Because Kovalainen is so important for development and working out how the car performs in a gravel trap?
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LMAO

Piquet Jr has to go. In today's race I think he made use of every inch of the track, including every runoff and gravel trap.

Other than that I cant stand S?bastien Bourdais, but that's just a personal grudge. In every caring series he enters I cant stand him.
 
I don't think Vettel is in any rush to switch teams. Even if his contract ends.

Given Ferrari's strategy issues and reliability problems, I don't think any driver wants to drive for them next year. Maybe not even a year after that. For a team to be desirable, it has to prove that it can show results and make the best of given circumstances and different drivers. And a team has to have to go on a run for a couple of years first for it to be desirable. When Shumacher was in Ferrari, they were desirable, because it seemed Ferrari are just amazing. Now, not so much. They just need to prove themselves for a while first.

For McLaren, drivers might not lean that way as well. They did very well last year, and this year they are ok on the track. But there's too much backroom drama. And I don't think any driver wants the distractions. All he wants to do is to concentrate on driving; not this lawsuit and that penalty. If the team is incapable of creating a good environment for the driver, the team isn't desirable at all.

If a driver knows the teams limits, and knows the team is doing its best and not letting the driver down, then the driver won't be as inclined to switch. Even drivers want to create the underdog dream. Knowing that the team is capable of better but not showing results is only going to make the driver feel he could be better elsewhere.

So, I personally think, there won't be much move from Vettel. It's not that he doesn't want to 'upgrade' to a better team, it's that the current climate is showing that RBR is the better team, if only because the other 'better' teams are doing so badly.

Hamilton might move somewhere. Partially because of the team problems, but more importantly because of his father. Did you all notice that Hammy's dad was looking very out of place and very stiff in the Shanghai race paddock? There is a lack of trust in the team. I doubt he'll move to Brawn. The biggest possibility for retirement is Barichello, but with the car doing so well, and his health isn't an issue, I doubt he'll want to leave. Especially when he has a championship chance. Button even less so. He might move to Renault because Piquet really needs the boot. But the problem with this is that Hamilton will be the second driver in Renault. For a world champ, that is less than desirable. I think he would prefer to be the first driver in a smaller team than the second driver in a bigger one.

Bourdais seems to be on shaky ground as well. He has a good record in other races, but Formula One just doesn't seem to be his thing. Especially when Buemi in his first year is doing much better than Bourdais. The contrast shows.


Does anyone have a list of when each driver contract ends?
 
^^Hamilton to Renault :p Lol, were you watching in 2007? :D
 
Judging by the performances that went on in China, I'd now say that it will be Piquet jr. who gets the boot during the season, and Nakajima, Bourdais and Fisichella might gewt ready to move around or leave F1 at the end of the year.
 
Who would replace Piquet though? ...I doubt it would be the President of motorsport in Dubai :p
 
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