2009 Line-Up Rumour Mill

THE REAL STIG said:
Have to agree with you that Scott Speed was a much bigger failure than Piquet has ever been, and will ever be...
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How was Scott a failure? He had a shit car, and a team that didn't support him. He was outperforming his far more experienced teammate at the time of his sacking, and his sacking had more to do with behind the scene BS than anything else. I think he had the ability, but ability alone doesn't cut it in F1.
 
Honda happy to wait for Alonso

Monday, 08 September 2008 07:35

Honda boss Ross Brawn says his team's 2009 driver decision remains up in the air while the squad pursues Fernando Alonso.

Brawn believes Alonso is the best driver on the grid and is content to wait for the double world champion to decide where he wants to race next season.

The team is understood to be working hard to entice Alonso for 2009, and has not yet confirmed either of its current drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, despite Brawn indicating earlier this season that both would stay on.

"We are just waiting," Brawn was quoted as saying by Reuters.

"My view is that he's the best driver in Formula 1 at the moment and we're happy to wait and hope that he makes a positive decision for us."

Brawn reckons Alonso still has the edge on current title contenders Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, and would be the best choice for Honda.

"The reason I think he's the best driver in Formula 1 is balance of experience and ability," said Brawn.

"To me there are three very quick drivers who have established themselves so far in Formula 1.

"There's Lewis, there's Kimi and Fernando.

"And Felipe is coming up very quickly and closely behind.

"If you look at those three drivers for a team in our position, where we have a strong rebuilding process going on, then we need a driver with strong development capacity, experience and absolute speed.

"For me, Fernando has all of those things.

"Lewis is clearly very quick, a super guy but doesn't have the experience yet.

"Kimi doesn't have the reputation of being a person who can develop a car strongly but is very quick."

Alonso has had a frustrating time since returning to Renault following his unhappy season at McLaren, but could yet opt to remain with the French manufacturer.

Honda has now languished at the back of the grid for nearly two years, but chose to throw all its resources into preparing for 2009 earlier this year, so is tipped to start recovering next season - especially with the extremely highly-rated Brawn now at the helm.

However Alonso could yet have other options at Ferrari if Raikkonen decides to retire, or BMW if the German squad drops Nick Heidfeld.

Many in the paddock are convinced that Ferrari has already signed Alonso to replace Raikkonen when the reigning champion steps down - most likely at the end of 2009.
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Source
 
Based on his performances this year, I would fully agree with that.
 
Extract from an Alonso interview in a Polish paper (I took it from another forum and it's not written in perfect English, but understandable :D):

Q: Polish fans would like to see Alonso & Kubica in one team:

FA: I hope it happens as soon as possible.

Q: At Ferrari?

FA: I don't know anything. The only thing is certain, is that Robert stays at BMW for another year. I still don't know, what I will do. I would like to cooperate with him, but no details yet.

Q: Who would be the leader of Alonso-Kubica team?

FA: There wouldn't be a leader, because we both have ambitions and we are fast. Obviously at the beginning, because at the end of the season, I would need to score points for the title, Robert would help me and work for me, and vice versa.
 
That's interesting, I'm starting to think BMW is seriously thinking about dropping Heidfeld for Alonso.
 
I really don't see why would Alonso want to go to Honda. Their team is even worse than Renault. BMW looks like the more realistic option.
 
pfrocker said:
I really don't see why would Alonso want to go to Honda. Their team is even worse than Renault. BMW looks like the more realistic option.
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They're getting their ship under control and will only improve from where they are now. Plus if they're offering a tidy sum, then you might be tempted.
 
Red_Bull said:
They're getting their ship under control and will only improve from where they are now. Plus if they're offering a tidy sum, then you might be tempted.
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Ross Brawn is the key.. I think Honda will be up there in a few years with the right drivers.
 
devil500 said:
Ross Brawn is the key.. I think Honda will be up there in a few years with the right drivers.
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As is, let us not forget, the death knell for all the aerodynamic bits and pieces that have caused Honda no end of pain for these two disastrous years. Has anyone seen a diagram for what next year's cars are supposed to look like? I'm getting an impression that they'll look a bit like 1998/99 models without all these extra shavings of carbon fibre that have sprouted all over the bodywork like a rash over the last decade. If this is the case, then that should level the playing field quite a bit.
 
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More like that maybe less winglets on the side, but the front will be a bit bigger and lower to the ground with the rear wing getting smaller and higher up.
 
Ah the best looking F1 car ever. Nope no problem with that here.
 
2009 Cars will look a lot better just think of it this way. What you'll see at Monza will be some what what the cars will be like, but I can't wait it'll shake things up massively :)
 
I don't know if I'm alone here, but I love the way modern cars look like sculptures. I love alll the little winglets and things. But I do agree that they have to go, we need more overtaking...
 
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