2013 Silly Season Thread

inchworm · Post by **inchworm** » 25 Sep 2012, 13:32

Autosport are reporting that McLaren have matched what Merc are offering Hamilton. Guess the "hamfisted" tactics from XIX worked then...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102848

They're also saying another management reshuffle for Mercedes - as though that wasn't Jaguar-esque enough, they're talking about bringing in Niki Lauda!

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 25 Sep 2012, 14:27

inchworm wrote:Autosport are reporting that McLaren have matched what Merc are offering Hamilton. Guess the "hamfisted" tactics from XIX worked then...

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/102848

I thought it was more a matter of Hamilton driving like a boss rather than his management's moves.

Ed24 · Post by **Ed24** » 25 Sep 2012, 15:27

Roger Benoit from Blick claims Massa has signed for Ferrari for 2013

http://www.blick.ch/sport/formel1/massa-bleibt-bei-ferrari-id2045145.html

I guess this gives them the option of Perez or Vettel for 2014, whereas if they had taken Perez for next year, they'd have the potential of a three-into-two situation which already happened to them after 2006 and 2009.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 25 Sep 2012, 15:36

Ed24 wrote:Roger Benoit from Blick claims Massa has signed for Ferrari for 2013

http://www.blick.ch/sport/formel1/massa-bleibt-bei-ferrari-id2045145.html

I bloody hope not, he's done nowhere near enough to deserve it.

cbbcisace · Post by **cbbcisace** » 25 Sep 2012, 17:43

Ed24 wrote:Roger Benoit from Blick claims Massa has signed for Ferrari for 2013

http://www.blick.ch/sport/formel1/massa-bleibt-bei-ferrari-id2045145.html

I guess this gives them the option of Perez or Vettel for 2014, whereas if they had taken Perez for next year, they'd have the potential of a three-into-two situation which already happened to them after 2006 and 2009.

please dont be true!

Benetton · Post by **Benetton** » 25 Sep 2012, 22:00

All the signs are pointing that Massa will retain his seat for 2013.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 25 Sep 2012, 22:47

Please. Stefano Domenicali has been preparing everyone for the news that Massa will be retained for months now, talking about how Massa knows what he has to do without going into any specifics about what that might actually be, and saying that the team fully supports him and so on.

Post by **mario** » 26 Sep 2012, 10:13

Captain Hammer wrote:Please. Stefano Domenicali has been preparing everyone for the news that Massa will be retained for months now, talking about how Massa knows what he has to do without going into any specifics about what that might actually be, and saying that the team fully supports him and so on.

Alonso has also been talking Massa up recently and has indicated that he would prefer to see Felipe stay at Ferrari for another year, suggesting that he too may be actively preparing for Massa staying on into 2013: added to the conservative nature of Ferrari's driver policies, the odds of Massa staying on at Ferrari for one more year do seem to be improving. He is, after all, an established part of their team, is a known quantity and has a strong working relationship with Alonso, so much as some spectators may dislike the move, Massa may well be offered a short term extension whilst Ferrari sort out their long term driver plans.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 26 Sep 2012, 10:32

And Vettel is widely-believed to have a pre-contract that could (and possibly will) see him race for Ferrari in 2014. If that is the case, then if Ferrari were to get rid of Massa, they would need to find someone willing and able to race for just one year. If you look back over Ferrari's driver line-ups for the past twenty years, you'll see that they value stability - a driver who joins the team does so for several years. Only two drivers stand out as having a shortened Ferrari career: Kimi Raikkonen, who still did three years before he was released, and Ivan Capelli, who lost his seat after only one year because he was not performing, but was originally signed on a three-year deal. For Ferrari to sign someone up for a single season goes against their established practice of keeping a stable driver line-up.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 26 Sep 2012, 11:24

If Vettel goes to Ferrari he would probably get beaten comprehensively by Alonso

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 26 Sep 2012, 11:29

The only driver I could think of who would fulfil three criteria for Ferrari; be supportive of and not take points off Alonso, contribute more towards the WCC than Massa, and be happy to only have a one-year contract is actually Nick Heidfeld (and even then he's rusty not having raced since mid-2011). Young drivers are out of the question if they need to look elsewhere for 2014.

People talk about Schumacher for one last hurrah but if Hungary and Singapore are anything to go by, he wouldn't be doing any better than Massa.

Benetton · Post by **Benetton** » 26 Sep 2012, 11:32

Read Will Buxton's blog today morning about his take on the silly season speculation and where which driver will end up.

He wrote that neither Perez or di Resta will end up at McLaren. Seemed reasonable. Buxton suggested Hulkenberg for the seat. While Hulkenberg is good there is one driver I would atleast negoatiate first, that is Kimster.

While Raikkonen may hate the pr and likes the environment at Lotus I have a feeling the most he wants is to win. Winning is something Raikkonen has a better chance with McLaren. Would he be willing to sacrifice a little more of himself for pr, etc, that the team wants him to do but instead get in a winning car. The combo of Button and Raikkonen is more than solid.

And if Ferrari is going to wait for Alonso to retire (who could easily still drive for half an decade) to get Perez in the team beside Vettel.. Sorry Luca not going to happen. Or atleast Sergio won't drive a Sauber the next five years, that I am sure of.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 26 Sep 2012, 11:41

James1978 wrote:The only driver I could think of who would fulfil three criteria for Ferrari; be supportive of and not take points off Alonso, contribute more towards the WCC than Massa, and be happy to only have a one-year contract is actually Nick Heidfeld (and even then he's rusty not having raced since mid-2011). Young drivers are out of the question if they need to look elsewhere for 2014.

Heikki Kovalainen probably has a better chance at getting the second Ferrari drive than Heidfeld. His Caterham contract is up for renewal at the end of the year and by the looks of things in recent months, relations between the two parties are heading south quite quickly.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 26 Sep 2012, 11:44

Wizzie wrote:
James1978 wrote:The only driver I could think of who would fulfil three criteria for Ferrari; be supportive of and not take points off Alonso, contribute more towards the WCC than Massa, and be happy to only have a one-year contract is actually Nick Heidfeld (and even then he's rusty not having raced since mid-2011). Young drivers are out of the question if they need to look elsewhere for 2014.

Heikki Kovalainen probably has a better chance at getting the second Ferrari drive than Heidfeld. His Caterham contract is up for renewal at the end of the year and by the looks of things in recent months, relations between the two parties are heading south quite quickly.

I really want this to happen now for some reason

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 26 Sep 2012, 11:46

Wizzie wrote:
James1978 wrote:The only driver I could think of who would fulfil three criteria for Ferrari; be supportive of and not take points off Alonso, contribute more towards the WCC than Massa, and be happy to only have a one-year contract is actually Nick Heidfeld (and even then he's rusty not having raced since mid-2011). Young drivers are out of the question if they need to look elsewhere for 2014.

Heikki Kovalainen probably has a better chance at getting the second Ferrari drive than Heidfeld. His Caterham contract is up for renewal at the end of the year and by the looks of things in recent months, relations between the two parties are heading south quite quickly.

I think Caterham need Heikki a lot more than Heikki needs them. Just about everyone has been impressed with his attitude and team leadership since he joined, and they would be hard pushed to find anyone to do a better job.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 26 Sep 2012, 12:59

madmark1974 wrote:I think Caterham need Heikki a lot more than Heikki needs them. Just about everyone has been impressed with his attitude and team leadership since he joined, and they would be hard pushed to find anyone to do a better job.

Spot on, you only need to compare how he's gone about the job with Glock's time at Virgin/Marussia, which has been characterised by a lack of motivation and continual problems and questions over whether he has a future at the team (last weekend's race notwithstanding).

girry · Post by **girry** » 26 Sep 2012, 15:18

to be fair, while Kovalainen did a great job in Caterham for the first two seasons or so, now especially after the first few races this year he only seems increasingly unhappy about the team each race, and his performances have been getting worse with the same ratio.....somehow I wouldn't be surprised to see him left without any F1 team altogether next season.

---

Also regarding Alonso, iirc he has said something about a big aim for a third title which would according to Fernando himself put him up there with the 'legends'...I could see him retiring after 2013 if he succeeds. Which would free Vettel & Perez to Ferrari and Hamilton to Red Bull, etc..

LellaLombardi · Post by **LellaLombardi** » 26 Sep 2012, 19:09

The idea of Vettel going to Ferrari in 2014 is annoying if it would be at the expense of Perez. What's the point of having a driver academy and then not keep a seat open for them when you've got a driver as good as him? Unless it would be Vettel/Perez?

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 26 Sep 2012, 19:12

Isn't Alonso signed up with Ferrari until 2017 or something? I also don't think Ferrari would just dump him for Vettel...

Ed24 · Post by **Ed24** » 26 Sep 2012, 19:20

LellaLombardi wrote:The idea of Vettel going to Ferrari in 2014 is annoying if it would be at the expense of Perez. What's the point of having a driver academy and then not keep a seat open for them when you've got a driver as good as him? Unless it would be Vettel/Perez?

I'd say it's largely as an insurance policy - look at what happened (as much as it breaks my heart) with Badoer in 2009 for example. Also, while Perez is a promising talent, he's not at the standard of Vettel yet in my opinion, so I guess he would have to fall in line if an opportunity arose for Ferrari to poach Seb.

Post by **mario** » 26 Sep 2012, 21:17

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Isn't Alonso signed up with Ferrari until 2017 or something? I also don't think Ferrari would just dump him for Vettel...

He signed a contract extension back in 2011 that'll take him right up to the end of the 2016 season, so Alonso is planning on staying at Ferrari for the long haul. I can't see a reason for terminating that contract for either side - Alonso is in his element within the team, whilst Alonso has given the team a sense of purpose and direction that was perhaps lacking a little in the past. The only way that I could see Alonso leaving Ferrari before 2016 would be if he wanted to retire from the sport, something that doesn't seem likely whilst he remains at or near the top of the pecking order.

Ed24 wrote:
LellaLombardi wrote:The idea of Vettel going to Ferrari in 2014 is annoying if it would be at the expense of Perez. What's the point of having a driver academy and then not keep a seat open for them when you've got a driver as good as him? Unless it would be Vettel/Perez?

I'd say it's largely as an insurance policy - look at what happened (as much as it breaks my heart) with Badoer in 2009 for example. Also, while Perez is a promising talent, he's not at the standard of Vettel yet in my opinion, so I guess he would have to fall in line if an opportunity arose for Ferrari to poach Seb.

I would presume that you are right - Ferrari would probably prefer to play it safe with their driver options after what happened in 2009, where they found that their preferred driver (Kubica) couldn't be bought out of his contract.

AdrianSutil · Post by **AdrianSutil** » 27 Sep 2012, 19:35

Alonso has already said, several times, that Ferrari will be his last team.

As for Kovalainen and dropping performance. Blame Caterham. They came out at the beginning of the year and said "we wil be fighting the back of the midfield and score a few points", it didn't happen. Then the massive upgrades the team had from Silverstone havent worked either. The team have gone nothing but sideways since last year. Kovalainen's performances can hardly be blamed for continual 'bigging-up' by Caterham, only to see them get their faces covered in Marussia-liveried egg.
I could see Kovalainen at somewhere like Sauber or Williams net year. The latter not very likely I know, but the team is on the up and Kovalainen is a careful and clean driver. He deserves a better seat than the one Caterham are currently supplying.

Ferrari second seat? Adrian Sutil, Nick Heidfeld, Alguersuari (remember he recently announced a contract has been signed with 'someone'). But in all honesty, it'll probably be Massa again. His performances in the last few races have t been earth-shattering, but a big improvement over his early part of the year.

LellaLombardi · Post by **LellaLombardi** » 27 Sep 2012, 19:49

AdrianSutil wrote:Alonso has already said, several times, that Ferrari will be his last team.

As for Kovalainen and dropping performance. Blame Caterham. They came out at the beginning of the year and said "we wil be fighting the back of the midfield and score a few points", it didn't happen. Then the massive upgrades the team had from Silverstone havent worked either. The team have gone nothing but sideways since last year. Kovalainen's performances can hardly be blamed for continual 'bigging-up' by Caterham, only to see them get their faces covered in Marussia-liveried egg.
I could see Kovalainen at somewhere like Sauber or Williams net year. The latter not very likely I know, but the team is on the up and Kovalainen is a careful and clean driver. He deserves a better seat than the one Caterham are currently supplying.

Ferrari second seat? Adrian Sutil, Nick Heidfeld, Alguersuari (remember he recently announced a contract has been signed with 'someone'). But in all honesty, it'll probably be Massa again. His performances in the last few races have t been earth-shattering, but a big improvement over his early part of the year.

Kovalainen and Maldonado at Williams could be very interesting indeed!

Rocks with Salt · Post by **Rocks with Salt** » 27 Sep 2012, 21:31

I hesitate to make any predictions about the silly season -- after all, it's silly for a reason. I'm looking through previous years' silly season predictions, and I'm loving what everyone was so sure was gonna happen!

At this point last year:
Trulli was supposed to stay at Lotus/Caterham.
Raikkonen was supposed to go to Williams.
Sutil was going to find a drive for next year; it was Hulkenberg who should have been worried.
Petrov's position at Lotus was secure.

So as it stands, I'm going to sit back and see what happens. Everybody else, keep guessing wildly. Eventually something's going to stick.

Mister Fungus · Post by **Mister Fungus** » 28 Sep 2012, 00:55

Telegraph reporting that Hamilton is off to Mercedes, while Perez is off to McLaren.

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 28 Sep 2012, 01:28

Mister Fungus wrote:Telegraph reporting that Hamilton is off to Mercedes, while Perez is off to McLaren.

OH bathplug.

Please don't let this be true. Waiting for Autosport confirmation.

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 28 Sep 2012, 01:51

That would actually be pretty funny to me if Ferrari's decision to keep Massa directly lost them Pérez.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 28 Sep 2012, 02:25

F1000X wrote:
Mister Fungus wrote:Telegraph reporting that Hamilton is off to Mercedes, while Perez is off to McLaren.

OH bathplug. Please don't let this be true. Waiting for Autosport confirmation.

You're going to be waiting for a while, because Mercedes have reportedly called a press conference for some time this morning - which means it could be up to ten hours away.

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 28 Sep 2012, 02:36

Captain Hammer wrote:
F1000X wrote:
Mister Fungus wrote:Telegraph reporting that Hamilton is off to Mercedes, while Perez is off to McLaren.

OH bathplug. Please don't let this be true. Waiting for Autosport confirmation.

You're going to be waiting for a while, because Mercedes have reportedly called a press conference for some time this morning - which means it could be up to ten hours away.

So I'll be having cereal with a side of disappointment for breakfast tomorrow morning.

Rocks with Salt · Post by **Rocks with Salt** » 28 Sep 2012, 02:52

THE PROPHET EDDIE JORDAN SPEAKETH THE TRUTH AGAIN!

McDuck · Post by **McDuck** » 28 Sep 2012, 05:34

Hamilton is a madman if this story turns out to be true. IMO, his F1 legacy will be compared to the greed of Ralf Schumacher and the arrogance and driving ability of Jacques Villenueve.

For his sake he'd better hope the next Brackley bucket has a million horsepower and is a fan car.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 28 Sep 2012, 07:12

Mister Fungus wrote:Telegraph reporting that Hamilton is off to Mercedes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9t_KDGqOmE

Post by **Londoner** » 28 Sep 2012, 07:18

F1000X wrote:
Mister Fungus wrote:Telegraph reporting that Hamilton is off to Mercedes, while Perez is off to McLaren.

OH bathplug. Please let this be true. Waiting for Autosport confirmation.

Fixed.

I so want a Perez-Button team at McLaren next season. It'd be bloody awesome.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 28 Sep 2012, 07:29

CoopsII wrote:
Mister Fungus wrote:Telegraph reporting that Hamilton is off to Mercedes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9t_KDGqOmE

That was almost like my reaction

girry · Post by **girry** » 28 Sep 2012, 08:17

Good move since it greatly increases the likelihood of Sauber still retaining Koba ^^

WIDD · Post by **WIDD** » 28 Sep 2012, 08:21

Where does this leave the open Sauber seat and Ferrari is the question now. Along with Senna's seat at Williams which surely isn't safe.

Schumacher to Sauber?

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 28 Sep 2012, 08:42

It's official. Perez has replaced Hamilton at McLaren and Hamilton's off to Mercedes.

Rumours that Emperor Montezuma's about to sacrifice Stafano Domenicalli in a fit of rage proved unfounded :lol:

LellaLombardi · Post by **LellaLombardi** » 28 Sep 2012, 08:45

YES!!!!! Perez at McLaren!!!!! Now all we need is Schumi at Sauber!

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 28 Sep 2012, 08:56

I say good - the driver market at the top end has been stagnant for too long if you ask me, it needs a good shake-up. Only Lotus of the top 5 teams have changed drivers since the start of 2010 (ironically Lotus I feel need some continuity).

Also serves Ferrari right for never taking risks with drivers and it's looking like they're now going to have to keep Massa now McLaren have snatched away Perez.

Would love to see a Schumacher-Kobayashi combo at Sauber but probably won't happen as they need some backing with Perez going.

WIDD · Post by **WIDD** » 28 Sep 2012, 09:02

Would be something quite fitting if Schumi ended his career as a pay driver...just like he started!