2014 Silly Season Thread

SgtPepper · Post by **SgtPepper** » 10 Sep 2013, 18:50

dr-baker wrote:I'm sad and disappointed that Kamui Kobayashi is not being linked with the Ferrari drive - after all, he has spent this year racing Ferraris in GT racing... How quickly he has been forgotten in F1 from just one year ago.

I was actually going to mention him in my rant, but didn't want to potentially sidetrack the thread with an anti-pay driver rant. But yes, I miss him as well, and this pay driver situation is starting to get ridiculous.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 10 Sep 2013, 18:51

massafelipe
8 minutes ago
From 2014 i will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors. From each one of you I have always received a great support! Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective! Thank you all. Felipe

This is official - Massa himself announced his departure from Ferrari on Instagram.

Post by **kevinbotz** » 10 Sep 2013, 18:53

good_Ralf wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:
kevinbotz wrote:Hulkenberg announced as "Plan B" for Lotus in the case that Raikkonen leaves for Ferrari.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109799

Hulkenberg and Grosjean as line-up would contain bags of speed

But who would be team leader?
Grosjean has been based at Enstone since about 2007-8 but is still prone to overdriving.
Nico is consistent but would be new to the team.

Nobody. There's nothing to prevent Lotus from treating its drivers as equals if Hulkenberg enters the team in 2014.

takagi_for_the_win · Post by **takagi_for_the_win** » 10 Sep 2013, 18:57

kevinbotz wrote:Nobody. There's nothing to prevent Lotus from treating its drivers as equals if Hulkenberg enters the team in 2014.

True, but traditionally Team Enstone run a clear "Team Leader & Number 2" operation- only once in the past 8 years (2011) have they had no clear team leader.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 10 Sep 2013, 18:58

Shizuka wrote:massafelipe
8 minutes ago
From 2014 i will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors. From each one of you I have always received a great support! Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective! Thank you all. Felipe

This is official - Massa himself announced his departure from Ferrari on Instagram.

First tribute video of the evening

Post by **kevinbotz** » 10 Sep 2013, 19:07

takagi_for_the_win wrote:
kevinbotz wrote:Nobody. There's nothing to prevent Lotus from treating its drivers as equals if Hulkenberg enters the team in 2014.

True, but traditionally Team Enstone run a clear "Team Leader & Number 2" operation- only once in the past 8 years (2011) have they had no clear team leader.

Right, but if we do see a Hulkenberg-Grosjean lineup, I can't see either being established as a clear "Number One." Although I'm not familiar with the driver situation in 2007 with Kovalainen and Fisichella, it was pretty evident with Alonso, Kubica, and Raikkonen when they signed with the team that they would enjoy preferential treatment relative to their respective teammates.

I'm going to assume that Hulkenberg and Grosjean will be given equal status until the championship standings begin leaning towards one or the other.

Backmarker · Post by **Backmarker** » 10 Sep 2013, 19:13

Shizuka wrote:massafelipe
8 minutes ago
From 2014 i will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors. From each one of you I have always received a great support! Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective! Thank you all. Felipe

This is official - Massa himself announced his departure from Ferrari on Instagram.

Felipe's a lovely guy, but if he truly thinks there's even the slightest possibility he might win a world championship he should go to the doctor and check that spring didn't do any permanent damage.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 10 Sep 2013, 19:15

Backmarker wrote:
Shizuka wrote:massafelipe
8 minutes ago
From 2014 i will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors. From each one of you I have always received a great support! Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective! Thank you all. Felipe

This is official - Massa himself announced his departure from Ferrari on Instagram.

Felipe's a lovely guy, but if he truly thinks there's even the slightest possibility he might win a world championship he should go to the doctor and check that spring didn't do any permanent damage.

I believe that he may still win a world championship. For RML in the WTCC...

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 10 Sep 2013, 19:23

dr-baker wrote:
Backmarker wrote:Felipe's a lovely guy, but if he truly thinks there's even the slightest possibility he might win a world championship he should go to the doctor and check that spring didn't do any permanent damage.

I believe that he may still win a world championship. For RML in the WTCC...

Personally, in IndyCar.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 10 Sep 2013, 19:23

kevinbotz wrote:Hulkenberg announced as "Plan B" for Lotus in the case that Raikkonen leaves for Ferrari.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109799

Dump Grosjean and take Maldonado for his money. With some decent money in place, I think Team Enstone could carry on challenging for wins. It would be a shame for Williams as it would harm them greatly, however.

Post by **mario** » 10 Sep 2013, 19:35

Shizuka wrote:massafelipe
8 minutes ago
From 2014 i will no longer be driving for Ferrari. I would like to thank the team for all the victories and incredible moments experienced together. Thank you also to my wife and all of my family, to my fans and all my Sponsors. From each one of you I have always received a great support! Right now I want to push as hard as possible with Ferrari for the remaining 7 races. For next year, I want to find a team that can give me a competitive car to win many more races and challenge for the Championship which remains my greatest objective! Thank you all. Felipe

This is official - Massa himself announced his departure from Ferrari on Instagram.

It has to be said that the writing seemed to be on the wall for Massa in terms of his seat for some time, given that speculation has been rife for a couple of years now despite the leniency of the management. I half suspect that, with the midfield teams struggling for cash, that he might well be out of the sport altogether unless he can rustle up some sponsorship.

kevinbotz wrote:
takagi_for_the_win wrote:
kevinbotz wrote:Nobody. There's nothing to prevent Lotus from treating its drivers as equals if Hulkenberg enters the team in 2014.

True, but traditionally Team Enstone run a clear "Team Leader & Number 2" operation- only once in the past 8 years (2011) have they had no clear team leader.

Right, but if we do see a Hulkenberg-Grosjean lineup, I can't see either being established as a clear "Number One." Although I'm not familiar with the driver situation in 2007 with Kovalainen and Fisichella, it was pretty evident with Alonso, Kubica, and Raikkonen when they signed with the team that they would enjoy preferential treatment relative to their respective teammates.

I'm going to assume that Hulkenberg and Grosjean will be given equal status until the championship standings begin leaning towards one or the other.

It is probably what will happen, but I expect that the team would want one of those drivers to step up and assume the role of team leader very rapidly. They've said in the past that they want a strong lead driver around whom they can rally, whilst they've tended to struggle a bit more in the past when trying to split their resources and attention between two drivers.

As for what happened in 2007, I believe that Fisichella was nominally the team leader at the beginning of the season due to his greater experience and because he was the incumbent driver. That said, it does seem that Fisichella was not given much in terms of preferential treatment - I think he had greater flexibility in terms of fuel strategy but, in contrast to earlier or later drivers, had the same upgrade packages as his team mate.

Faustus wrote:
kevinbotz wrote:Hulkenberg announced as "Plan B" for Lotus in the case that Raikkonen leaves for Ferrari.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109799

Dump Grosjean and take Maldonado for his money. With some decent money in place, I think Team Enstone could carry on challenging for wins. It would be a shame for Williams as it would harm them greatly, however.

It'd certainly help plug the gaps in their finances and perhaps help them even make a slight profit, although it would certainly blow a major hole in Williams's finances - they're already reporting a £5.6 million loss in their latest set of accounts and the deal with PDVSA is worth about £30 million a year, so losing that at a time of escalating engine costs could well sink the team altogether.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 10 Sep 2013, 19:52

good_Ralf wrote:
dr-baker wrote:
Backmarker wrote:Felipe's a lovely guy, but if he truly thinks there's even the slightest possibility he might win a world championship he should go to the doctor and check that spring didn't do any permanent damage.

I believe that he may still win a world championship. For RML in the WTCC...

Personally, in IndyCar.

But IndyCar is not a World Championship?

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 10 Sep 2013, 19:57

dr-baker wrote:
good_Ralf wrote:
dr-baker wrote:I believe that he may still win a world championship. For RML in the WTCC...

Personally, in IndyCar.

But IndyCar is not a World Championship?

Maybe not a world championship, but still a championship and an iconic one at that.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 10 Sep 2013, 20:00

good_Ralf wrote:
dr-baker wrote:But IndyCar is not a World Championship?

Maybe not a world championship, but still a championship and an iconic one at that.

True. But I just reckon Massa would do better in tin-tops than another big, powerful single-seater championship.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 10 Sep 2013, 20:03

dr-baker wrote:But I just reckon Massa would do better in tin-tops than another big, powerful single-seater championship.

Join Ferrari predecessor Rubinho in StockCar Brasil?

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 10 Sep 2013, 20:07

I'm having a nightmarish flashforward involving the Lotus PR team repeatedly tweeting images of Dr. Bruce Banner and his alter-ego, and thus I hope Hulkenberg does not sign for Lotus.

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 10 Sep 2013, 20:08

Faustus wrote:
kevinbotz wrote:Hulkenberg announced as "Plan B" for Lotus in the case that Raikkonen leaves for Ferrari.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109799

Dump Grosjean and take Maldonado for his money. With some decent money in place, I think Team Enstone could carry on challenging for wins. It would be a shame for Williams as it would harm them greatly, however.

harm? This spells doom for Williams. I don't think they survive without the Reverend now.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 10 Sep 2013, 20:10

GwilymJJames wrote:I'm having a nightmarish flashforward involving the Lotus PR team repeatedly tweeting images of Dr. Bruce Banner and his alter-ego, and thus I hope Hulkenberg does not sign for Lotus.

In case Lotus slides further backwards in 2014? In case he has a repeat of 2013?

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 10 Sep 2013, 20:13

good_Ralf wrote:
GwilymJJames wrote:I'm having a nightmarish flashforward involving the Lotus PR team repeatedly tweeting images of Dr. Bruce Banner and his alter-ego, and thus I hope Hulkenberg does not sign for Lotus.

In case Lotus slides further backwards in 2014? In case he has a repeat of 2013?

Oh no, it's purely because I fear his every success will be referred to as "incredible", and any problems he has will be based around the theme of not liking him when he's angry.

SgtPepper · Post by **SgtPepper** » 10 Sep 2013, 20:59

GwilymJJames wrote:
good_Ralf wrote:
GwilymJJames wrote:I'm having a nightmarish flashforward involving the Lotus PR team repeatedly tweeting images of Dr. Bruce Banner and his alter-ego, and thus I hope Hulkenberg does not sign for Lotus.

In case Lotus slides further backwards in 2014? In case he has a repeat of 2013?

Oh no, it's purely because I fear his every success will be referred to as "incredible", and any problems he has will be based around the theme of not liking him when he's angry.

Surely the PR machine would realise that even by cringe-inducing PR standards, that would be a step too far?

Surely?

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 10 Sep 2013, 21:21

dr-baker wrote:I'm sad and disappointed that Kamui Kobayashi is not being linked with the Ferrari drive - after all, he has spent this year racing Ferraris in GT racing... How quickly he has been forgotten in F1 from just one year ago.

I can think of at least 10 drivers on the spot who would be more qualified to take the Ferrari top seat. Kobayashi is no robbed sure-fire world champion, he is a midfielder who just happens to lack sponsorship. Sad for him but no loss for the sport, as far as I am concerned.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 10 Sep 2013, 23:29

Klon wrote:
dr-baker wrote:I'm sad and disappointed that Kamui Kobayashi is not being linked with the Ferrari drive - after all, he has spent this year racing Ferraris in GT racing... How quickly he has been forgotten in F1 from just one year ago.

I can think of at least 10 drivers on the spot who would be more qualified to take the Ferrari top seat. Kobayashi is no robbed sure-fire world champion, he is a midfielder who just happens to lack sponsorship. Sad for him but no loss for the sport, as far as I am concerned.

I have to agree. Perez kicked Kobayashi's ass at Sauber.

Faustus wrote:Red Bull and Toro Rosso should dump Jean-Eric Vergne at the end of this year and take António Felix da Costa and Carlos Sainz Jr. for next year. Vergne will get one more year at Toro Rosso at best and then he'll be out to make room for someone else. Might as well dump him now.

I think Vergne will be used next year in a similar way Red Bull used Vitantonio Liuzzi at HRT -- as a gauge to measure how well the other driver is doing.

Also:

Caterham unsure about 2014 driver salaries

Marko rules out Nasr for STR

Post by **kevinbotz** » 11 Sep 2013, 00:50

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24042352

No official confirmation from either Ferrari or Raikkonen, but the contract seems a done deal.

The fulcrum of the "Silly Season" shifts yet again.

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 11 Sep 2013, 07:48

good_Ralf wrote:
Freeze-O-Kimi wrote:
kevinbotz wrote:Hulkenberg announced as "Plan B" for Lotus in the case that Raikkonen leaves for Ferrari.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109799

Hulkenberg and Grosjean as line-up would contain bags of speed

But who would be team leader?
Grosjean has been based at Enstone since about 2007-8 but is still prone to overdriving.
Nico is consistent but would be new to the team.

The same question was asked of Ferrari in 2007. The answer is whoever gets better results.

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 11 Sep 2013, 09:26

Kimi to Ferrari

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 11 Sep 2013, 09:46

Kimi two last team-mates are Massa and Grosjean. Massa used to beat Kimi more often than not and Grosjean, when not in crash/wild mode, can reasonably match the Finn. Thing is, those drivers were also Alonso's team-mates. And they were trashed. I feel next year might be a reality check for both Kimi and many of his fans...

Post by **mario** » 11 Sep 2013, 11:54

DanielPT wrote:Kimi two last team-mates are Massa and Grosjean. Massa used to beat Kimi more often than not and Grosjean, when not in crash/wild mode, can reasonably match the Finn. Thing is, those drivers were also Alonso's team-mates. And they were trashed. I feel next year might be a reality check for both Kimi and many of his fans...

It's certainly true that, in 2007, Kimi only managed to pull out a definite lead over Massa after the Italian GP - up until then, Kimi had been fairly level in the WDC against Massa (Massa was a point ahead of Kimi, with 69 to 68 points, after the Turkish GP, which was two thirds of the way through the season). Mind you, the reverse happened in 2008 too - Massa was marginally ahead up until the German GP, but the gap really grew after the European GP following Kimi's retirement in that race. As for 2009, you're right that, up until Massa's injuries in Hungary, Massa was soundly beating Kimi in the WDC too (22 points to 10, and he'd picked up five back to back top six finishes to boot).

However, against that I do strongly believe that Massa's performances now are nowhere near as strong as they were before his accident, so it is somewhat unfair to compare Alonso's relative form against Massa to Kimi's relative form against Massa. Alonso is beating Massa by about the same time margin that Vettel has been beating Webber by in the more recent races, but it does seem that Massa just struggles that bit more to find those last few tenths that used to come so naturally to him in the past and he is struggling to get his car set up in the right way to cope with that.

As for the comparison with Grosjean, it has to be said that Grosjean's first season was in very difficult times - the car was uncompetitive and the team were struggling to develop it, then it was left reeling from the impact of "Crashgate" that saw most of its sponsors, and eventually Renault Sport itself, withdraw their support from the team. Add to that the restrictions on testing the car - meaning Grosjean faced the same issues as Badoer did when he stepped in for Massa - and it adds up to a situation where almost any driver would have struggled, especially one only halfway through his GP2 career and at a time when, mentally, by his own admission he wasn't fully prepared to make that step up in those circumstances.
Grosjean's subsequent return to the cockpit under Boullier's management, by contrast, is more favourable - OK, he has to put up with the fact that the team are rather obviously biased towards Kimi, but mentally he was able to prepare himself much more thoroughly this time around and, on top of that, was able to get to grips with the car through the pre-season tests as well.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 11 Sep 2013, 12:23

mario wrote:However, against that I do strongly believe that Massa's performances now are nowhere near as strong as they were before his accident, so it is somewhat unfair to compare Alonso's relative form against Massa to Kimi's relative form against Massa. Alonso is beating Massa by about the same time margin that Vettel has been beating Webber by in the more recent races, but it does seem that Massa just struggles that bit more to find those last few tenths that used to come so naturally to him in the past and he is struggling to get his car set up in the right way to cope with that.

More than the accident though (here I believe in Massa when he says that he overcome that), I think that there are two other factors that you didn't mention and may, perhaps, weight more in the pasting that Massa is currently dealing with at Ferrari: Tyres and spirit. I am in the group of folks that think Massa never really got to grasp this 'new' F1, much like Webber. I think these black round parts didn't suited Massa and he consequently failed to adapt to them. His chronic set-up troubles are more connected to this than anything else, I believe. As for the second point, Massa wasn't that far of Alonso in 2010 until the Germany team-orders debacle. After that Massa, never really challenged Alonso for the rest of that season. He might have become subdued.

mario wrote:As for the comparison with Grosjean, it has to be said that Grosjean's first season was in very difficult times - the car was uncompetitive and the team were struggling to develop it, then it was left reeling from the impact of "Crashgate" that saw most of its sponsors, and eventually Renault Sport itself, withdraw their support from the team. Add to that the restrictions on testing the car - meaning Grosjean faced the same issues as Badoer did when he stepped in for Massa - and it adds up to a situation where almost any driver would have struggled, especially one only halfway through his GP2 career and at a time when, mentally, by his own admission he wasn't fully prepared to make that step up in those circumstances.
Grosjean's subsequent return to the cockpit under Boullier's management, by contrast, is more favourable - OK, he has to put up with the fact that the team are rather obviously biased towards Kimi, but mentally he was able to prepare himself much more thoroughly this time around and, on top of that, was able to get to grips with the car through the pre-season tests as well.

As for Grosjean, it is true that those were difficult conditions but raw speed is raw speed and although Romain seemed to have shown glimpses of it after returning to F1, he didn't back then. While it is true that he had pretty much the same experience of the car as Badoer, I believe that the Ferrari was much harder to drive than the Renault. Fisichella didn't faced those same issues and still struggled. It is obviously difficult here to judge how much faster was Grosjean last year compared to that outing with Renault (As this year he has been definitely poor, specially in qualifying). I admit he did improved, but not enough to match Alonso, while in turn giving a few concerns to Kimi (in his first year return, it must be said).

Finally, I've read somewhere (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24031963) that engineers at Ferrari think Alonso (due to intra-team comparisons) is definitely faster than Raikkonen, which is why I support that theory...

EDIT: Added the link/source to that info. After having corrected some badly constructed sentences...

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 11 Sep 2013, 12:39

It's official in Autosport:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109812

So, I guess all eyes turn to Lotus now............

GwilymJJames · Post by **GwilymJJames** » 11 Sep 2013, 12:45

James1978 wrote:It's official in Autosport:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109812

So, I guess all eyes turn to Lotus now............

And all eyes see........

Two rabbits bathplugging.

TheBigJ · Post by **TheBigJ** » 11 Sep 2013, 12:51

Will Andrea Stella be a race engineer for both drivers? Who tells Raikkonnen that Alonso is faster than him?

In all seriousness, I think this means Alonso is on the way out

DonTirri · Post by **DonTirri** » 11 Sep 2013, 13:30

I absolutely loathe the fact that Kimi goes back to Ferrari. Why? Because I STILL can't stand ferrari. I absolutely loathe the team, their way of doing business and their tendency to think that they're bigger than F1.
So now that my absolutely favorite driver drives with them again... Ah well.

DonTirri · Post by **DonTirri** » 11 Sep 2013, 13:33

TheBigJ wrote:Who tells Raikkonnen that Alonso is faster than him?

More importantly: How rudely will Räikkönen ignore them.

"Kimi, Fernando is faster than you."

"Don't talk to me in the middle of a corner!"

"Kimi, Fernando is faster than you, do you understand?"

"Yes, yes yes, I know what I am doing."

"KIMI, LET FERNANDO PASS HE IS FASTER THAN YOU!"

"LEAVE ME ALONE I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING!"

:d :d :d

Zetec · Post by **Zetec** » 11 Sep 2013, 13:39

TheBigJ wrote:In all seriousness, I think this means Alonso is on the way out

Not necessarily. Ferrari must just learn to let both drivers do their jobs without any team orders. And give both drivers equal cars. I mean you can't tell Kimi to let Fernando pass and vice versa.
But there will be a problem, if one driver fights for the championship. Because you have to assure, that the other driver doesn't grab to much points away of the leading driver. But that means you have to give a team order.

And the swiss newspapers see now Hülkenberg at Lotus, Massa at Williams and Sauber with Bianchi/the russian guy.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 11 Sep 2013, 13:44

Zetec wrote:
TheBigJ wrote:In all seriousness, I think this means Alonso is on the way out

Not necessarily. Ferrari must just learn to let both drivers do their jobs without any team orders. And give both drivers equal cars. I mean you can't tell Kimi to let Fernando pass and vice versa.
But there will be a problem, if one driver fights for the championship. Because you have to assure, that the other driver doesn't grab to much points away of the leading driver. But that means you have to give a team order.

And the swiss newspapers see now Hülkenberg at Lotus, Massa at Williams and Sauber with Bianchi/the russian guy.

Massa at Williams? No chance of that. Maldonado is staying because of his money if nothing else and Williams won't dump Bottas after having invested so much in him.

girry · Post by **girry** » 11 Sep 2013, 13:49

Is there anything more overused than leavemealone quotes on the face of earth? :roll:

...

would predict that eventually, the pair will be very evenly matched and the conspiracy theorists will still keep arguing the events of 2014 in 2064. Hopefuly Felipe is out of F1 to race something else too, if it 'frees' a seat for Nasr. Or Frijns...

Zetec · Post by **Zetec** » 11 Sep 2013, 14:56

Faustus wrote:Massa at Williams? No chance of that. Maldonado is staying because of his money if nothing else and Williams won't dump Bottas after having invested so much in him.

Well, Maldonado still has no contract for 2014 as he has revealed. And he said that PDVSA has a contract with Williams irrespective of him being there or not. Of course they want a venezuelan driver but it's reportedly not a deal-breaker. So who knows. Everything is possible in F1 (who would have thought that Räikkönen will be driving for Ferrari again and who would have thought that Mercedes would win a race in 2013?)

Post by **mario** » 11 Sep 2013, 15:12

GwilymJJames wrote:
James1978 wrote:It's official in Autosport:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109812

So, I guess all eyes turn to Lotus now............

And all eyes see........

Two rabbits bathplugging.

I guess it is one way to show that you are screwed...

Zetec wrote:
TheBigJ wrote:In all seriousness, I think this means Alonso is on the way out

Not necessarily. Ferrari must just learn to let both drivers do their jobs without any team orders. And give both drivers equal cars. I mean you can't tell Kimi to let Fernando pass and vice versa.
But there will be a problem, if one driver fights for the championship. Because you have to assure, that the other driver doesn't grab to much points away of the leading driver. But that means you have to give a team order.

And the swiss newspapers see now Hülkenberg at Lotus, Massa at Williams and Sauber with Bianchi/the russian guy.

I don't think Alonso will be on the way out for now, but I do suspect that relations between himself and the team are going to be cooler than they once were.

If it came down to a situation where only one driver was mathematically still in contention for the title, then I expect that the other would ultimately accept having to give way to their team mate (even if they somewhat resented having to do so). We have seen Kimi do just that in 2008 when yielding his position in China to Massa when he let Massa through and dutifully followed him home - we have not seen Alonso in a position where he was obliged to do the same, but officially he has claimed that, were that to happen, he would yield his position for the good of the team.

As for Hulkenberg to Lotus, they did say that he was one of the potential alternatives to Kimi that they've been looking at, even if Hulkenberg is jumping from one potentially financially unstable team to another. He doesn't seem to have had much luck in that regard - he's gone from the financially strained Williams to the loss making Force India to the near bankrupt Sauber team and now potentially to the Lotus team that has had difficulty for a few years in paying its staff and drivers.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 11 Sep 2013, 15:14

DonTirri wrote:I absolutely loathe the fact that Kimi goes back to Ferrari. Why? Because I STILL can't stand ferrari. I absolutely loathe the team, their way of doing business and their tendency to think that they're bigger than F1.

You might like Ferrari a bit more once Kimi refuses to play silly games with them or for them.

Jocke1 · Post by **Jocke1** » 11 Sep 2013, 16:25

giraurd wrote:Is there anything more overused than leavemealone quotes on the face of earth?

This kind of question?