2010 Driver Market

[Winterspring]

Williams - Ferrari

!
Thus just in: it's snowing in hell.

lol, like as if 80% of mine would happen but if it did...

[XurizManson]

Nice predictions! My vote for best thread.

[CarlosFerreira]

Williams - Ferrari

!
Thus just in: it's snowing in hell.

lol, like as if 80% of mine would happen but if it did...

I have this feeling that, the day Williams need Ferrari engines to go on racing, they'd rather fold the team than ask.

[SuperAguri]

Here is my [fantasy] predictions to the 2010 driver line up... hope you like it

Brawn Mercedes

1 - Rubens Barrichello
2 - Jenson Button

Jenson with two poor races loses the drivers championship to his team mate by a couple of points. Barichello wins another race and strong podiums and points see him win in the last race of the season. Mercedes buy into the team and supply free engines.

Colours - White with yellow and orange

Red Bull Cosworth

3 - Sebastien Vettel
4 - Mark Webber

Mark Webber gets a win in Japan but Vettel having to use another engine as well as an old engine in the last race scores points but no podiums. Mercedes supply engines on a customer engines basis. After failing to persuade Mercedes to supply engines and annoying Renault, Red Bull try to get the Ferrari engines before Ferrari told them where to jump and end up with the Cosworths.

Colours - Blue and red with the Bull.

Mclaren Mercedes

5 - Lewis Hamilton
6 - Adrian Sutil

Lewis Hamilton scores another win in Abu dhabi and scores podiums in other races to drag Mclaren into best of the rest. Adrian Sutil after some excellent points finishes is signed up as team mate to Hamilton much on Hamiltons recommendation.

Colours - Silver and Red

Ferrari

7 - Felipe Massa
8 - Robert Kubica

Kimi Raikkonen decides he's had another of F1 and decideds to drive in the WRC. Massa is already signed up and Alonso decides not to go to Ferrari as he wouldn't get number one status and feels he would get treated as he was in McLaren. Kubica is a shock signing but is seen as a driver who will challenge Massa.

Colours - Red

Williams Renault

9 - Nico Rosberg
10 - Nicolas Hulkenburg

After failing to agree terms with McLaren, Rosberg resigns for Williams who have a spanking new engine deal with Renault who don't pull out. Nico Hulkenburg is no surprise as the second Williams driver.

Colours - Blue and white

Toyota

11 - Fernando Alonso
12 - Kamui Kobayashi

Trulli and Glock were seen to be going nowhere and were dropped, Toyota keen to get a top name driver finially get Alonso to join in a shock move. He is guaranteed lead driver spot and will get a huge pay packet. Alonso promises to get Toyotas maiden victory this season. Kobayashi gets the nod to be the second driver as he isn't seen as a threat and has done some good times in testing.

Colours - White and red

Force India Mercedes

14 - Vitantonio Liuzzi
15 - Giedo van der Garde

After Sutil leaves, Liuzzi is promoted to team leader, Force India decide to give ex reserve driver Van der Garde a chance after a strong finish in GP2. Mercedes are happy to supply engines to Force India after their stroing showings at the end of the season.

Colours - White with orange and green

Toro Rosso Ferrari

16 - Sebastien Buemi
17 - Jaime Alguersuari

Although Buemi got offers from the lower teams, he decides to stay with Toro Rosso as he believes that Mark Webber will get axed at the end of the season and he will get to the parent team. Ferrari supply engines after making sure Red Bull read the contract they sign.

Colours - Blue and red

Sauber Cosworth

18 - Nick Heidfeld
19 - Christian Klien

Sauber in a last minute rush to get the team ready, sign Heidfeld and test driver Klien as their drivers. Failing to get a Mercedes engine deal the team use Cosworth engines.

Colours - Black and white

USF1 Toyota

20 - Marco Andretti
21 - Kazuki Nakajima

After the engines were dumped by Williams, Toyota teamed up with USF1 as Toyota want to be seen to support the American car maket. The FIA reluctantly agreed to allow them so that every Engine maker supplied at least two teams. As part of the deal Nakajima was drafted in to the second seat. USF1 were pleased to get someone with current F1 car. Marco Andretti was choosen as the American race driver, although rumours abound that he only got the seat due to marketability of his name. Only having an average 2009 Indycar season, he hopes to get a podium.

Colours - Red, white and blue

Campos Cosworth

22 - Pedro de la Rosa
23 - Vitaly Petrov

No surprise the de la Rosa signs for Campos, although a surprise signing of GP2 runner up Petrov.

Colours - Orange and red

Manor Cosworth

24 - Anthony Davidson
25 - Takumo Sato

Manor Surprise everyone by signing the experienced Sato and his old Super Aguri team mate and part time BBC Commentator and ex Brawn test driver Davidson.

Colours - Red and white

Lotus Cosworth

26 - Jarno Trulli
27 - Bruno Senna

Lotus offer Burno Senna a full time drive not to pass up on having a Senna back in a Lotus, wanting a race winning driver who can be quick and knows the current spec cars they sign up Trulli on a one season deal.

Colours - Black and gold

Renault

28 - Romain Grosjean
29 - Heikki Kovalainen

Kovalainen returns to Renault after leaving Mclaren knowing that he will get equal equipment in the Renautl this time. Grosjean looks forward to doing a full season with Renault and hopes they can get good results. Renault say they are in F1 in the long term but were banished to the bottom of the pit garages after the race fixing scandal.

Colours - Light blue and yellow

\

[DemocalypseNow]

My predictions:

Brawn-Mercedes
1. Jenson Button
2. Nico Rosberg
T. Ant Davidson
Both Button and Rosberg get re-acquainted with trundling around the midfield all year with a sub-par car. Mercedes sells out at the end of the year after the team had a Honda-esque year. And mechanics get fed up, because they still can't fry an egg on the tires.

Red Bull Mercedes
3. Mark Webber
4. Sebastian Vettel
T. Daniel Riccardio, Mika Maki
RBR have the same fate as Brawn, going from title challangers to midfield nobodys. Thanks to Newey's uncompromising design, the drivers keep blowing the motors constantly and have to take 10 place grid drops in the last 7 rounds of the year.

Scuderia Ferrari Santander
5. Kimi Raikkonen
6. Felipe Massa
T. Giancarlo Fisichella, Marc Gene, Luca Badoer
Ferrari fail in their ambition to get a 3rd car. Fisi fills in for Felipe in the first handful of races, and the car is good this year. Raikkonen sends almost every journalist to the unemployment line by keeping Alonso out of the team, and securing his second Drivers World Title, but then decides he wants to go to Rally anyway, so leaves for Tommi Makinen Racing.

Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes
7. Lewis Hamilton
8. Paul di Resta
T. Gary Paffett
Pedro de la Rosa quits for Campos, only to find they have filled their seats with other drivers and f**ks off back to Spain. Kovy kicked out for being sh*t, and McLaren are forced to pick the best driver they can find that is willing to play second fiddle to Lewis, Paul di Resta, who is just happy to have finally been given an F1 drive. Similar year to 2009, sometimes at the front, sometimes nowhere.

Williams-Cosworth
9. Robert Kubica
10. Nico Hulkenburg
T. Giedo van der Garde
Williams have their most competitve season for years, and are in the title hunt with Kubica, despite initial worries about the Cosworth engine. Hulkenburg is about as consistent as a Scizophrenic Chimpanzee, but still helps them to 3rd in the Constructors. Surprisingly good performance earns them multi-year deal with Toshiba as main sponsor during the season, helping boost the teams ailing bank balance.

Toyota
11. Timo Glock
12. Heikki Kovalainen
T. Kamui Kobayashi
What would turn out to be their swansong year, was also another year of complete and utter mediocrity. They also sign up Kovy, who was kicked out of McLaren for being crap. Glock scores a couple of 3rds, ditto Kovy, but still no wins, heads start to roll at HQ in Japan, and the team finally folds.

Force India Mercedes
14. Adrian Sutil
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi
T. Karun Chandhok
FIF1 stick with their current lineup, and score some more points here and there, plus an empatic first win for Sutil at a wet Canadian GP!

Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari
16. Jamie Alguersuari
17. Neel Jani/Daniel Riccardio
T. Daniel Riccardio/Mika Maki
STR have their worst season yet, failing to score a single point by miles. Jani gets the seat he was always promised, but even compared to Alguersuari, fails miserably and gets replaced by rookie Riccardio mid-season.

Virgin GP Cosworth
18. Rubens Barrichello
19. Adam Carroll
T. Sebastian Hohenthal
Manor sign the experienced Barrichello, and thanks to buttloads of cash from Virgin, build a half decent car and score a decent haul of points throughout the season thanks to Rubens.

Campos GP Cosworth
20. Fernando Alonso
21. Vitaly Petrov
T. Javier Villa
Alonso moves to Campos for a year after the apparent loss of Renault before he can move to Ferrari in 2011. Petrov is signed on basically to pay Alonso's wages and pretty much everything else too. But Dallara for once build a reasonable car, and thanks to Alonso's know how, he spends most of the year battling with Rubens & Virgin GP for points. Both are in the hunt for best "True" Rookie Team of 2010, but Virgin edges them in the end. Villa signed on as Test/Reserve, only because he is Spanish...

USF1 Cosworth
22. Robert Wickens
23. Marco Andretti
T. Jonathon Summerton, Danica Partick
Wickens is signed from F2, and Andretti joins after the family IRL team starts to weaken and is forced to cut costs and run only 2 cars, for Kanaan and Mutoh. Summerton is the main tester, but Patrick does a few sessions, mostly for the publicity. The car is pretty dismal, and sees them trundling around the back of the pack with the likes of Toro Rosso, Lotus and Qadbak-Sauber.

Lotus-Petronas F1 Team
24. Bruno Senna
25. Fairuz Fauzy
T. Milos Pavlovic
Bernie offers Lotus a little "Financial Incentive" to sign Senna, hence his presence at Lotus rather than elsewhere. Fauzy signed up for his Malyasian Nationality mostly. The car is horrifically slow, and more often than not ends up in the gravel trap next to a Toro Rosso or USF1 car. Lack of money and success see them pull the plug a couple of races before season end. Team uses rebadged Cosworth engines.

Qadbak-Sauber-Cosworth
26. Nick Heidfeld
27. Christian Klien
T. Philipp Eng
First couple of races are so/so, Heidfeld picking up a point. But then the team owners start to default on payments to BMW, and by Round 6 the team no longer exists, the owners nowhere to be found and wanted for Fraud.

Superfund-Nissan
28. Takuma Sato
29. Alexander Wurz
T. Sergio Perez
Renault pull the plug on their F1 team after the FIA allows 14 teams into the championship anyway, but Chrisitan Baha buys out the team and keeps the Enstone factory alive. They still run works Renault engines, although they are rebadged as Nissans to save their image. At first, the team struggles after the very late buyout, but as the season progresses, the team gets better and better, so much so that Taku wins the last 3 races of the year! This combined with podiums and consistent points from Wurz earns Taku a Top 5 place in the Drivers rankings, and another Top 5 championship position for the team!

[Salamander]

Alright, here's my current predictions.

Brawn Mercedes

1 - Jenson Button
2 - Nico Rosberg

Despite a rejuvenated Barrichello's late surge, winning the Japanese GP, Jenson holds strong and takes the driver's title. Mercedes announce that they are giving equal support to Brawn and McLaren, in exchange for both taking on a German driver, with the idea being to give factory backing to whoever does better in the season.

Red Bull Ferrari

3 - Mark Webber
4 - Sebastien Vettel

A good finish to the season, with a win in Singapore, sees Webber wind up a fair few points ahead of Vettel, thanks in part to some mistakes by the German and his running out of engines. After failing to secure Mercedes engines, Red Bull settle for the next best thing and take the Ferrari's from Toro Rosso.

Ferrari

5 - Kimi Raikkonen
6 - Felipe Massa

Raikkonen announces shortly after taking the win in Interlagos that 2010 will be his very last season in F1, moving to the WRC afterwards. Robert Kubica is confirmed soon after to be Raikkonen's replacement, much to the dismay of the Spanish media. Massa, despite his time away from the cockpit, puts in some repsectable testing times, although it becomes readily apparent that he will be spending the first part of 2010 getting back into the groove.

Mclaren Mercedes

7 - Lewis Hamilton
8 - Adrian Sutil

Hamilton pulls off some impressive performances towards the end of the season, but with Kovalainen clearly unomtivated and knowing his time at McLaren is over, fails to pull his weight. Despite consistently beating the Ferrari's, Hamilton can't beat both of them single-handed, seeing McLaren settle for 4th in the Constructor's title. Mercedes make it clear that they are backing McLaren and Brawn equally, in exchange for both taking on a German driver. Whitmarsh quickly signs the impressive Adrian Sutil, after driving some spectactular races for Force India. Sutil is not expected to match his old teammate, but he is riding high after winning the season closer in Abu Dhabi. The team sets Brawn as their newest rivals, and are eager to knock the new kids off the block.

Williams Renault

9 - Robert Kubica
10 - Nico Hulkenberg

After being all ready to sign a one year deal with Renault to tide him over before he begins driving for Ferrari, Kubica pulls out at the last second, instead signing for Williams, who return to using Renault engines. After taking the GP2 crown, Hulkenberg is promoted to a race drive, and both drivers are looking to impress, as the newest Williams doesn't look too shabby.

Toyota

11 - Fernando Alonso
12 - Timo Glock

After Jarno Trulli announced his retirement after the 2009 season, and almost winning the Brazilian GP, Timo Glock was expected to be Toyota's lead driver, until Fernando Alonso makes a shock signing for Toyota soon after Glock's win. Glock is clearly unhappy at the development and promises to push Alonso as hard as he can. Expect fireworks.

Force India Mercedes

14 - Vitantonio Liuzzi
15 - Karun Chandhok

Mallya pulls out everything he can to convince Sutil to stay after taking a very popular win in Abu Dhabi, but he can't match McLaren's offer to the young German. Dejectedly, he promotes Liuzzi to team leader, with Karun Chandhok made the second driver at Bernie's nagging. It is quickly apparent that Chandhok is on a race-to-race contract, with Giedo van der Gaarde ready to step in should Chandhok fail to meet expectations. Mercedes are pleased with Force India's recent success and are happy to continue the engine deal.

Renault

16 - Heikki Kovalainen
17 - Romain Grosjean

Renault, in the wake of Crashgate, manage to hold on to the current constuctor points, with the FIA seeking only to punish Briatore and Symonds. Kovalainen makes his return to the team, but finds it much more dire straights then when he left it. Grosjean is one of the surprises towards the end of 2009, and the team is desperate to keep him as a driver to build around. 2010 is to be a rebuilding year for Renault, with Alain Prost the new team manager, as they seek to begin anew.

Toro Rosso Cosworth

18 - Sebastien Buemi
19 - Brendon Hartley

With little options, Buemi holds on to Toro Rosso, looking to show up new teammate Brendon Hartley. After Red Bull takes away the team's Ferrari engines, Toro Rosso are stuck with the Cosworth's, and it is quickly realised that Red Bull intend to sell off the team for 2011.

USF1 Cosworth

20 - Robert Wickens
21 - Kazuki Nakajima

After Williams dump their Toyota engines, Toyota work out a deal with USF1 to supply engines from 2011 onwards. Nakajima is assigned to the team over Kobayashi, the general feeling being that any experience is good experience, with Robert Wickens taking on team leadership after impressing in Formula 2. Jonathan Summerton and Graham Rahal are both given spots in GP2, as they look to progress.

Campos Cosworth

22 - Pedro de la Rosa
23 - Jaime Alguersuari

de la Rosa signs for Campos as everyone expected, with Alguersuari being brought over from Toro Rosso after being generally faster than Buemi in the last 4 races of 2009.

Manor Cosworth

24 - Takuma Sato
25 - Vitaly Petrov

Takuma Sato makes a very popular comeback as Manor's old hand with Vitaly Petrov bringing in a sleuth of sponsorship dollars on top of Virgin. Money is, therefore, not expected to be a problem for Wirth's new team.

Lotus Cosworth

26 - Rubens Barrichello
27 - Fairuz Fauzy

Barrichello is a little displeased by his departure from Brawn in favour of Rosberg, and it shows in his driving. He is nonetheless happy with the Lotus, whose designs were bought off of Lola, with Fauzy being brought in to add a little more Malaysia to the team.

Qadbak-Sauber Cosworth

28 - Nick Heidfeld
29 - Christian Klien

Qadbak appear to be sound for the moment, with Peter Sauber just happy that his team is still alive. Heidfeld is kept on with Christian Klien being promoted to replace Kubica.

[Klon]

At first, the team struggles after the very late buyout, but as the season progresses, the team gets better and better, so much so that Taku wins the last 3 races of the year! This combined with podiums and consistent points from Wurz earns Taku a Top 5 place in the Drivers rankings, and another Top 5 championship position for the team!

If that happens, I will accept and pray to you as my real lord and saviour and the son of god.

[Many Blue Flags]

Why are so many people convinced of a Sato return?

[shinji]

Why are so many people convinced of a Sato return?

'Cos he's loike a ledge you know roysh? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_O_Carroll_Kelly#Language

[Many Blue Flags]

Looking over this topic, I began to wonder exactly what the most popular choices of driver were for each team. So I've gone through everybody who's made a list of drivers for next year, and tallied them up. Though it'd make for some interesting reading. If you don't know a three letter abbreviation, ask or guess.

I've counted doubles of peoples' post, mostly because this represents exactly who has been suggested where throughout the season since this topic started to give an overall bonkers picture. Wherever someone's changed the name of a team (Eg. Captain Hammer guessing Renault would become Epsilon), I've counted the driver choices in the orginal team, except Lotus, which shares the spot with Quadbaker/Sauber/BMW/Whatever. If someone's put down two drivers for the same spot, they both get a point. (Eg - Red Bull - someone said the second seat would be 'either Webber or Buemi', which is why both have a point but are not lagging behind Vettel.

Maybe this could end up on the Silly Season podcast if we keep it up. Shall I look after it, or someone more trustworthy?

Brawn:
BUT 14
BAR 9
ROS 5
SEN, PET 3

Red Bull:
VET, WEB 16
BUE 1

Ferrari:
MAS 15
RAI 10
ALO 6
KUB 1

McLaren:
HAM 16
ROS, SUT 5
KOV 4
KUB, DIR, GLO, RAI 1

Toyota:
GLO 14
KOB 7
NAK 6
TRU 4
ALO, KOV 2
RAI 1

Williams:
HUL 15
ROS 7
NAK, KUB 3
SUT, KOV 2
DAV, LUZ, KOB, CAR, RAI, HEI, BAR 1

Renault:
GRO 13
KOV, ALO 4
KUB 3
PET 2
ROS, PIQ, SEN, HEI, SAT, WUR 1

Qadbak/Lotus:
HEI 12
KLI, KUB 7
SEN 5
FAU 4
GRO, DAV 2
ALO, ROS, KOV, PET, SAT, TRU, BAR 1

Campos:
DLR 12
PET 7
ALO 4
SOU, PAN, ALG 3
GRO, VIL 1 (Javier Villa)

Torro Rosso:
BUE 14
ALG 10
HAR 6
SEN, PET, JAN (Neel Jani), RIC (Daniel Riccardo), ALE 1 (Mikhail Aleshin)

Force India:
LUZ 11
SUT 9
CHA 8
DRE 4 (Paul Di Resta)
VDG 2 (Van Der Garde)
FIS, KLI 1

US F1:
WIK 7 (Robert Wickens)
AND 4
SUM, NAK 3
BAR, SPE, DLR 2
WEB, FIS, BOU, PAT (Danica Patrick), HEI, DAL (Conor Daly), VIL (Jacques Villeneuve), BUT, LOE, GRO, HUR 1 (Ryan Hunter-Reay)

Manor:
CAR 9 (Adam Carroll)
DAV 4
KOV, SAT, HEI, MAL 2 (Pastor Maldonando)
FIS, PIQ, SUT, PET, BAU, BAR, KLI, BOU 1

[Dirty Flav]

What About This

Brawn-Mercedes
#1: Jenson Button
#2: Rubens Barrichello

Red Bull-Mercedes
#1: Sebastien Vettel
#2: Mark Webber

Ferrari
#1: Fernando Alonso
#2: Felipe Massa

McLaren-Mercedes
#1: Lewis Hamilton
#2: Nico Rosberg

Williams-Renault
#1: Nico Hulkenburg
#2: Lucas di Grassi

Toyota
#1: Timo Glock
#2: Katsumi Koyabushi

Renault
#1: Robert Kubica
#2: Romain Grosjean

Force India-Mercedes
#1: Adrian Sutil
#2: Vitantonio Liuzzi

Toro Rosso-Ferrari
#1: Sebastien Buemi
#2: Sebastien Loeb

USF1-Cosworth
#1: Kimi Raikkonen
#2: Danica Patrick

Campos Dallara-Cosworth
#1: Pedro de la Rosa
#2: Andy Soucek

Virgin Manor-Cosworth
#1: Kazuki Nakajima
#2: Bruno Senna

Malaysia Lotus-Cosworth
#1: Jarno Trulli
#2: Alex Yoong

Qadbak Sauber-Ferrari
#1: Nick Heidfeld
#2: Vitaly Petrov

[CarlosFerreira]

What About This

Brawn-Mercedes
#1: Jenson Button
#2: Rubens Barrichello

Red Bull-Mercedes
#1: Sebastien Vettel
#2: Mark Webber

Ferrari
#1: Fernando Alonso
#2: Felipe Massa

McLaren-Mercedes
#1: Lewis Hamilton
#2: Nico Rosberg

Williams-Renault
#1: Nico Hulkenburg
#2: Lucas di Grassi

Toyota
#1: Timo Glock
#2: Katsumi Koyabushi

Renault
#1: Robert Kubica
#2: Romain Grosjean

Force India-Mercedes
#1: Adrian Sutil
#2: Vitantonio Liuzzi

Toro Rosso-Ferrari
#1: Sebastien Buemi
#2: Sebastien Loeb

USF1-Cosworth
#1: Kimi Raikkonen
#2: Danica Patrick

Campos Dallara-Cosworth
#1: Pedro de la Rosa
#2: Andy Soucek

Virgin Manor-Cosworth
#1: Kazuki Nakajima
#2: Bruno Senna

Malaysia Lotus-Cosworth
#1: Jarno Trulli
#2: Alex Yoong

Qadbak Sauber-Ferrari
#1: Nick Heidfeld
#2: Vitaly Petrov

So, you had nowhere to put Raikkonen and plopped him in USF1. A former world champion, and a guy with the highest pay in the market today.

Right.

[DemocalypseNow]

*Snore*

No Sato, No Approval.

[noisebox]

Looks like things are firming up. I think we can assume that the follwing will happen:

- Alonso to Ferrari in place of Raikkonen
- Rosberg to Brawn in place of Barrichello
- Raikkonen back to McLaren
- Hulkenberg to Williams

That leaves a seat free at Williams which I think Kubica will bag, and 6 or 8 seats at new teams which will be filled by a combination of rookies and experienced but slow campaigners. I'm assuming Renault will be out of it altogether.

[SuperAguri]

Looking over this topic, I began to wonder exactly what the most popular choices of driver were for each team.

I was going to do that today, but you've beaten me to it.

I've counted doubles of peoples' post,

You should probably only count the most recent post they have done rather then every post as someone might start a campaign to have HWNSNMB at Brawn and there where would we be.

I've counted the driver choices in the orginal team, except Lotus, which shares the spot with Quadbaker/Sauber/BMW/Whatever.

I think you should count them as two seperate teams as there is a good chance that they will be seperate teams.

If someone's put down two drivers for the same spot, they both get a point.

You should take there first answer, we don't want people dithering about where a driver might or might not go.

Maybe this could end up on the Silly Season podcast if we keep it up.

I think it should, maybe we should have a closing date of end of the year or when teams confirm drivers (so if Williams announce that Takuma Sato is their number one driver then that seat and driver can't be choosen again).

[Captain Hammer]

Looks like things are firming up. I think we can assume that the follwing will happen:

- Alonso to Ferrari in place of Raikkonen
- Rosberg to Brawn in place of Barrichello
- Raikkonen back to McLaren
- Hulkenberg to Williams

That leaves a seat free at Williams which I think Kubica will bag, and 6 or 8 seats at new teams which will be filled by a combination of rookies and experienced but slow campaigners. I'm assuming Renault will be out of it altogether.

Never assume. It makes an ass out of you and me.

[midgrid]

I predict that things will start to fall into place very quickly following the WMSC announcement tomorrow.

[Captain Hammer]

USF1-Cosworth
#1: Kimi Raikkonen
#2: Danica Patrick

What about thos?

Neither is going to happen. Danica Patrick is eyeing off doing both IndyCar and NASCAR next season. Even if she could somehow do Formula One, she's useless on road circuits.

[CarlosFerreira]

Never assume. It makes an ass out of you and me.

Have I heard this in a film?

[Captain Hammer]

Never assume. It makes an ass out of you and me.

Have I heard this in a film?

Possibly, bordering in probably. It's a pretty common expression.

[Waris]

I noticed lots of people are listing Sauber as running Cosworth engines next year, only one or two people listed them as running Ferrari. They (well, Peter Sauber) have already confirmed they will be running Ferrari engines next year.

[dr-baker]

I noticed lots of people are listing Sauber as running Cosworth engines next year, only one or two people listed them as running Ferrari. They (well, Peter Sauber) have already confirmed they will be running Ferrari engines next year.

Have they? Not read that anywhere (Ok, haven't read it on Autosport or BBC websites)...

[DemocalypseNow]

I noticed lots of people are listing Sauber as running Cosworth engines next year, only one or two people listed them as running Ferrari. They (well, Peter Sauber) have already confirmed they will be running Ferrari engines next year.

I'm 99.9% sure that is not true. Where could you possibly have heard this?

[Waris]

I noticed lots of people are listing Sauber as running Cosworth engines next year, only one or two people listed them as running Ferrari. They (well, Peter Sauber) have already confirmed they will be running Ferrari engines next year.

I'm 99.9% sure that is not true. Where could you possibly have heard this?

Peter Sauber says it in an interview, and I also read it in one of the stories about Qadbak buying Sauber. I can't be bothered to look it up, but I'm sure it's on Pitpass or Autosport or GPUpdate or something.

[Many Blue Flags]

I noticed lots of people are listing Sauber as running Cosworth engines next year, only one or two people listed them as running Ferrari. They (well, Peter Sauber) have already confirmed they will be running Ferrari engines next year.

I'm 99.9% sure that is not true. Where could you possibly have heard this?

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/n ... 1243.shtml

And SuperAguri, feel free to take over responsibilities. :3

[DemocalypseNow]

That website just reports on rumors from other press, and turns it into "news", e.g. reporting that the Mirror reported Kimi signed for McLaren...whats the point really?

[Enforcer]

The FIA gets all 14 teams into F1, but only 26 cars will make it onto the grid.

Williams - Cosworth
1: Rubens Barrichello
2: Nico Rosberg.

Barrichello will pip Button to the WDC, but after some consideration come to the conclusion that Brawn will side with Button if there's a choice to be made between them in the future and leave. After being unable to secure a drive with Ferrari or McLaren, he'll go to Williams. Likewise, Rosberg seeing the doors at Ferrari, McLaren and Renault all closed, decides that remaining with Williams is his best option, which Barrichello accepts, knowing there isn't a better place for him on the grid either.
Williams, concerned about the long term plans of Toyota & Renault, and unable to secure Mercedes powerplants, opt for Cosworth engines. Reckon they'll start well, but will dwindle off as the deeper pockets of McLaren, Ferrari and maybe Renault come into play in terms of development.

Brawn - Mercedes
3: Jenson Button
4: Nick Heidfeld

Brawn retain Button and and after being given a stable, but not overpowering, financial position by a very favourable "working partnership" with Mercedes, they decide to go with Heidfeld as a steady, but unspectacular option for #2. They'll be consistent points finishers and may challenge for the ocassional win, but won't come anywhere near retaining the constructors championship.

Red Bull - Renault
5: Sebastien Vettel
6: Mark Webber

Same line up, and no engine change simply because there isn't a viable option to change to. Similar to Brawn, they'll be okay next year, but not a top team like this year.

Ferrari
7: Fernando Alonso
8: Felipe Massa

Alonso will get out of Renault, saying he won't drive for them as he feels his reputation will be damaged by remaining with the team. Raikkonen goes the other way as part of the deal, with a not insignificant wage subsidy from Ferrari. Alonso to take the WDC. Massa will put up with being #2 at the team because no other team will give him enough cuddles.

McLaren - Mercedes
9: Lewis Hamilton
10: Adrian Sutil

Kovalainen dumped after a disappointing season. Whitmarsh will deem Sutil the more likely to accept a "rear-gunner" job than Rosberg, and snap him up quickly. The (relative) guarantee of competitive machinery to make a bigger mark on the paddock is all the incentive Sutil needs. Hamilton and McLaren will be Alonso's greatest challenger.

Toyota
11: Timo Glock
12: Kazuki Nakajima

Trulli's dumped because Toyota don't want to pay his wages anymore. Looking for a Japanese driver, they opt for Nakajima instead of Kobiashi for experience. They don't have a good season and pack it in at the end of the year.

Sauber - Ferrari
14: Robert Kubica
15: Jarno Trulli

What's Kubica still doing here? Well simply put, word on the paddock is that Sauber will be a "B team" for Ferrari again, and that's why, after McLaren snap up Sutil, Kubica takes a punt on staying at the team rather than angling for a move to Williams or Brawn. Depsite summer long rumours that Bruno Senna will drive for the team, Trulli arrives in an effort to quash speculation that Sauber are going back to being a shop window for Ferrari. It's a steady season for Sauber, with Kubica taking one win late in the season.

Renault
16: Kimi Raikkonen
17: Romain Grosjean

Kimi goes to Renault because it's preferable to retiring. He's determined to send a "f- you" to Ferrari for dropping him. But things don't go his way as the car is a dog at the start of the season and he soon slips into disinterest, cumilating in being out-qualified by Grosjean a couple of times mid-season. New developments improve his and the team's form, but it's a testing season for both, spent largely in mid grid.

Force India - Mercedes
18: Vitanio Liuzzi
19: Takuma Sato

Liuzzi steps into the team leader's position after an impressive finish to 2009, and Sato is just wishful thinking on my part. Like Williams they start fairly well, but don't maintain enough development to be on the pace for the whole season.

Toro Rosso - Ferrari
20: Sebastien Buemi
21: Brendon Hartley

Toro Rosso are a little better next season inheriting a lot of pieces from the current Red Bull car, but they'll still be in the lower echelons of mid-grid more often than not. Algesuari is dropped because he hasn't really done anything other than not crash the car at every race, with Hartley the natural replacement. The season proves to be Torro Rosso's last.

USF1 - Cosworth
22: Marco Andretti
23: Jacques Villenuve

I really have no idea who they're going to get, the above are just guesses.

Campos - Cosworth
24: Pedro de la Rosa
25: Bruno Senna

de la Rosa is picked because he's experienced and Spanish, with the Senna picking up the other seat.

Okay, here's the REALLY controversial one:

Manor - Cosworth
26: Nelson Piquet Jnr.
27: Adam Carroll

Piquet Snr. manages to buy his son into another seat, which immediately makes Manor a very popular team (not!). In any case, he's thoroughly destroyed by Adam Carroll and replaced mid-season, probably by Christian Klien or Anthony Davidson.

Lotus - Cosworth
28: Heikki Kovalainen
29: Fairuz Fauzy

Kovalainen is simply left with nowhere else to go an accepts the offer from Lotus, whilst Fauzy is brought in ahead of Yoong.

[tristan1117]

Well, I'll have a go.

Brawn-Mercedes
1. Jenson Button
2. Robert Kubica

The Kubica to Renault deal will fall through, leaving and opening at Brawn when Barichello leaves. Button stays on to defend his championship.

Red Bull-Mercedes
1.Sebastien Vettel
2. Mark Webber

Red Bull ditches the Renault engine and gets a contract with Mercedes, Vettel helping. No change because lineup is confirmed.

Ferrari
1. Fernando Alonso
2. Felipe Massa

Alonso makes the move to Ferrari to partner a recovered Felipe Massa. Santander are pleased with the move.

Mclaren-Mercedes
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Nico Rosberg

With Mclaren desperate to keep the Mercedes engine, they take a (semi) German driver. Hamilton stays.

Williams-Renault
1. Nick Heidfeld
2. Nico Hulkenberg

Hulkenberg is moved up to Williams. Heidfeld is also taken by Williams who have a new Renault engine. Bit of controversy with an all German lineup.

Renault
1. Heikki Kovaleinen
2. Adrian Sutil

With Flav gone, Heikki resigns with Renault. Sutil gets picked up by Renault after the Kubica deals fails.

Toyota
1. Timo Glock
2. Kamui Kobayashi

Toyota decides to stay in F1 for 1 year. Basically if they succeed, they stay in business, if they don't they're screwed. Nobody wants to sign so they take Kobayashi, who fails miserably.

Force India-Mercedes
1. Takuma Sato
2. Vitantonio Liuzzi

Adrian Sutil doesn't stay at Force India after a flurry of rumors. Liuzzi is hired to drive again and does well. They also pickup a new sponsor and Takuma Sato.

Torro Rosso-Cosworth
1. Sebastien Buemi
2. Brendan Hartley


Alguersauri to Campos and Hartley is hired to fill the gap. Red Bull gets the cheapest engine possible to assist them.

USF1-Cosworth
1. Alexander Wurz
2. Scott Speed

Alex Wurz is immediately hired but Pete Windsor hires Scott Speed as a last resort. As long as Speed doesn't try to knock over Peter or Ken, everything should be fine.

Manor-Cosworth
1. Kazuki Nakajima
2. Adam Carroll

Manor (or Virgin Manor or Virgin or whatever) take Nakajima for some reason. They also take Adam Carroll. Nakajima gets booted by Manor and replaced by Van der Garde.

Lotus-Cosworth
1. Rubens Barichelllo
2. Bruno Senna

Senna drives the Lotus in a ironic twist of fate. Lotus hire Barichello as his last shot at F1. Fauzy is the test driver should anything happen.

Campos-Cosworth
1. Pedro de la Rosa
2. Jaime Alguersauri

Alguersauri is taken from Red Bull and De la Rosa signs for Campos. Dallara help them to become midfielders.

Qadbak-Sauber-Ferrari
1. Anthony Davidson
2. Kazuki Nakajima

Nakajima is hired along with Davidson to get 2 relatively experienced drivers to race for the team.\

Well that's it! the DNQ is re-instituted to limit the grid to 26. Unfortunately, Lotus collapses midseason, a reject team. And guess who buys it! F1 Rejects Racing Life!

F1 Rejects Racing Life
1. HWNSNBM
2. Rubens Barichello

Jamie and Enoch take a stake in the team after a large donation from a wealthy benefactor. After buying the Life engines (25$) they set out to race. They then write about their own team on their website!

(Edit: Fixed Heidfeld double problem, Sutil to Renault, Sato to Force India, and Hartley to Torro Rosso.)
(Edit 2: Ferrari to give engines to BMW Sauber Qadbak.)

[RejectSteve]

Williams-Renault
1. Nick Heidfeld
2. Nico Hulkenberg

Hulkenberg is moved up to Williams. Heidfeld is also taken by Williams who have a new Renault engine. Bit of controversy with an all German lineup.

Renault
1. Heikki Kovaleinen
2. Nick Heidfeld

With Flav gone, Heikki resigns with Renault. Heidfeld has no real options and signs with them.

Which Heidfeld is which? Is clean-shaven 2000-vintage Heidfeld at Williams with the bearded one at Renault?

[TomWazzleshaw]

It's my turn (After a lengthy discussion with a fellow Formula 1 fan from school)
Brawn-Mercedes
1. Jenson Button
2. Nico Rosberg

Kubica was in the box seat for the 2nd Brawn drive when Barrichello announced his retirement after winning the championship. However Brawn snubbed Kubica and went with Nico Rosberg.

Red Bull-Ferrari
1.Sebastien Vettel
2. Mark Webber

Red Bull ditches the Renault engine and goes for Toro Rosso's Ferrari engines with an unchanged lineup.

Ferrari
1. Kimi Raikkonen
2. Felipe Massa

Even though the Alonso-Ferrari rumours are rife during the off-season they decide to keep Raikkonen on board.

Mclaren-Mercedes
1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Adrian Sutil

McLaren hired Sutil in a bid to keep the Mercedes powerplant beyond 2010. Hamilton stays on.

Williams-Cosworth
1. Heikki Kovaleinen
2. Robert Kubica

With nowhere to go Robert Kubica goes to the 2nd seat at Williams alongside Heikki Kovaleinen who was dumped by McLaren. Williams terminate the Toyota deal and go with the Cosworths

Renault
1. Fernando Alonso
2. Vitaly Petrov

When it was announced Raikkonen was going to stay with Ferrari, Alonso had no choice but to stay with Renault. Vitaly Petrov brought much needed funds to a cash-strapped Renault outfit.

Toyota
1. Timo Glock
2. Kazuki Nakajima

Toyota decides to stay in F1 and immediatly dump Jarno Trulli. They bring in Kazuki Nakajima from Williams to be number 2 to Timo Glock who is kept on.

Force India-Mercedes
1. Vitantonio Liuzzi
2. Karun Chandouk

Adrian Sutil doesn't stay at Force India after being picked up by McLaren. Liuzzi is resigned after scoring a poduim at Abu Dhabi and Chandouk is put in the 2nd seat. However Jarno Trulli, Takuma Sato and Giancarlo Fisichella are linked to the seat should Chandouk fail to impress

Torro Rosso-Cosworth
1. Sebastien Buemi
2. Brendan Hartley

After having their Ferrari engines taken by Red Bull they are given Cosworth engines. Hartley is brought in to replace Alguersauri.

USF1-Cosworth
1. Alexander Wurz
2. Scott Speed

Alex Wurz is immediately hired for his experience but Scott Speed is brought in as a last second measure as Peter Windsor wasn't able to secure the services of someone of higher caliber.

Virgin Manor-Cosworth
1. Romain Grosjean
2. Adam Carroll

Manor take on Carroll as one of their drivers while Grosjean is hired as he has prior experience in the 2009 cars

Lotus-Cosworth
1. Rubens Barichelllo
2. Bruno Senna

In a ironic twist of fate, Bruno Senna drives for Lotus. Barrichello backflips on his retirement decision but the only seat avaliable was at Lotus.

Campos-Cosworth
1. Pedro de la Rosa
2. Jaime Alguersauri

Alguersauri is snatched from the stagnant STR to partner fellow Spaniard Pedro De La Rosa after Adrian Campos failed to lure Alonso.

Qadbak-Sauber-Ferrari
1. Nick Heidfeld
2. Nico Hulkenberg

Williams loan Hulkenberg to Qadbak-Sauber who managed to retain Nick Heidfeld to make the transition period easier for the team.

[Libertango]

According to French TV Kubica will be at Renault next year, he is taking intensive French classes

[Waris]

According to French TV Kubica will be at Renault next year, he is taking intensive French classes

If things like that would be anything to go by, he would've gone to Ferrari long ago, he speaks Italian fluently.

[Ben Gilbert]

According to French TV Kubica will be at Renault next year, he is taking intensive French classes

If things like that would be anything to go by, he would've gone to Ferrari long ago, he speaks Italian fluently.

Or what about Rosberg, speaker of German, English, French, Italian and Spanish? This means he could drive for any team next year except Force India, Lotus or Toyota.

[Waris]

According to French TV Kubica will be at Renault next year, he is taking intensive French classes

If things like that would be anything to go by, he would've gone to Ferrari long ago, he speaks Italian fluently.

Or what about Rosberg, speaker of German, English, French, Italian and Spanish? This means he could drive for any team next year except Force India, Lotus or Toyota.

No one in the current paddock speaks Dutch. =(
Nico Hülkenberg does though, apparently. It would be cool if he would get a seat next year so the Dutch TV crew could interview him in Dutch.
Though, now that Spyker's no longer in F1, this wouldn't matter at all, of course.

[TomWazzleshaw]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78995
Oh dear... so the Spanish Media were right all along

[Captain Hammer]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/78995
Oh dear... so the Spanish Media were right all along

Read it carefully, Wizzie. Nowhere does anyone from Ferrari even mention Alonso in any context. Look at the direct quotes from Ferrari's people:

"I think that as soon as we are ready, we'll let you know. We don't want to wait too long."

And:

"It's a possibilty, but it's not guarnteed."

Neither of those have anything to do with Alonso. For all we know, they're still considering Raikkonen, given his recent run of results (bar Singapore). I know Renault's Caubet said the team will miss Alonso, but that onyl means he is leaving Renault, not that he is going to Ferrari.

[Paul Hayes]

According to French TV Kubica will be at Renault next year, he is taking intensive French classes

Is that what they speak in Enstone?

[Captain Hammer]

Awesome idea I had: USF1 sign someone like Summerton ... and Vitaly Petrov. One car is covered in American sponsors, the other in Russian (or, if Bernie doesn't like that, one side Russian the other American) and a new Cold War will begin.

[Jordan192]

Neither of those have anything to do with Alonso. For all we know, they're still considering Raikkonen, given his recent run of results (bar Singapore). I know Renault's Caubet said the team will miss Alonso, but that onyl means he is leaving Renault, not that he is going to Ferrari.

Given the legal wranglings that are going on (unpicking contracts and paying off involved parties), Ferrari stating anything definitive in public prejudices the negotiations and strengthen's Raikonnen and Alonso's positions in whatever negotiations remain. I'm sick of the story too, but rest assured it is happening.

[Captain Hammer]

It's only circumstantial. Everyone is only assuming that Ferrari are getting rid of Raikkonen in favour of Alonso, but neither party has confirmed or denied it.