Grand Prix Rejects

good_Ralf wrote:

Salamander wrote:

Visconti wrote:I don't think Felipe Massa was ever truly a superb driver, the car which he had in 2007 and 2008 was stronger than that of the opposition, and now he's in a car which is nowhere near being the best car on the grid. You can see that in his results that he improves as the car improves. Alonso out performs the Ferrari, something Massa is incapable of.

Yes, but he was largely on par with Raikkonen those 2 years, even besting him in 2008. Unless you also believe that Raikkonen is overrated...

Not to mention thrashing Jacques Villeneuve at Sauber, even though the Canadian was overrated at that point.

Visconti wrote:Jacques Villeneuve was very, very overrated.

Massa was somewhere near to Raikkonen in 2007, yet in 2008 maybe the car didn't suit his driving style or perhaps he was not motivated enough to stay in F1. Ferrari always forced him to do media days, which Raikkonen never liked.

Salamander wrote:

Visconti wrote:Jacques Villeneuve was very, very overrated.

Massa was somewhere near to Raikkonen in 2007, yet in 2008 maybe the car didn't suit his driving style or perhaps he was not motivated enough to stay in F1. Ferrari always forced him to do media days, which Raikkonen never liked.

Somewhere near!? He was ahead of Raikkonen in the points until the Italian GP that year, where he only retired because of a car failure. He was close to Raikkonen in Belgium, fairly close in China, and would have won in Brazil had Ferrari not asked him to support Raikkonen's title bid. He could've matched Raikkonen in points without that failure in Italy. And whether or not Kimi was motivated in 2008 or not is irrelevant - he was not as good as Massa that year. End of.

Salamander wrote:

Visconti wrote:Jacques Villeneuve was very, very overrated.

Massa was somewhere near to Raikkonen in 2007, yet in 2008 maybe the car didn't suit his driving style or perhaps he was not motivated enough to stay in F1. Ferrari always forced him to do media days, which Raikkonen never liked.

Somewhere near!? He was ahead of Raikkonen in the points until the Italian GP that year, where he only retired because of a car failure. He was close to Raikkonen in Belgium, fairly close in China, and would have won in Brazil had Ferrari not asked him to support Raikkonen's title bid. He could've matched Raikkonen in points without that failure in Italy. And whether or not Kimi was motivated in 2008 or not is irrelevant - he was not as good as Massa that year. End of.

Dj_bereta wrote:I read this somewhere: Blick (a Swiss journal) hints that Massa could return to Sauber if he gets the boot from Ferrari. And if this happens, Sauber could get a good discount in Ferrari engines, or even getting they for free.

watka wrote:Which brings up the question of Hulkenberg; will he be without a drive again? He deserves a top drive but will any team have a space? I guess Lotus or Force India might be an option.

Ataxia wrote:Anyway, in other news I've heard that Felipe Nasr has been linked with a drive at Toro Rosso. Of course it's just rumours at this stage, but on the surface it would be a move to replace Ricciardo. However, this could mean many things. Is Vergne's drive not as secure as we thought? Are Red Bull losing faith in their junior drivers? Answers on a postcard, please.

Shizuka wrote:

Dj_bereta wrote:I read this somewhere: Blick (a Swiss journal) hints that Massa could return to Sauber if he gets the boot from Ferrari. And if this happens, Sauber could get a good discount in Ferrari engines, or even getting they for free.

They should hire a certain Russian driver next to him (not Sirotkin!), and they'll be alright.
Imagine Lada sponsorship on a Sauber.

IceG wrote:Two of the top teams with almost unlimited budgets need a driver. Red Bull has a vacant seat. Ferrari has an underperforming number 2 and a disenchanted number 1. There is a former world champion in the market who is demonstrating brilliant form. Both teams should be bidding for him to stop him going to the other as (i) he almost guarantees the constructors championship to whoever gets him and (ii) he is very capable of pushing the current number 1 drivers. Who other than Kimi could do this? Certainly not Ricciardo or Massa. There would be something (else!) very wrong with F1 if Kimi didn't end up at one or the other.

My guess is Kimi to Ferrari which may be enough to make Alonso leave to go to Red Bull. In which case is it Hulkenberg to Ferrari or Button to Ferrari and Hulkenberg to McLaren?

Sniff Petrol wrote:As Formula 1 enters its traditional silly season of speculation, there are strong whispers that Kimi Raikkonen has been talking to people during his summer down time. Now a source close to the Finnish driver has sensationally confirmed these rumours to Sniff Petrol.

‘It is true, Kimi had three conversations during the last couple of weeks,’ our mole revealed. ‘The first was with his friend Henning when he came over to play Xbox. I understand that Kimi said “hey” when he answered the door. The second conversation was a little longer as I understand that Kimi said “See you” when Henning left five hours later. I can’t go into too many details about the third conversation but I will say that at some point Henning may have gone to the kitchen and Kimi might have shouted “Beer!” whilst holding an empty bottle in the air.’

If these stories are true, they mark a dramatic increase in the amount of talking Raikkonen has done in the course of a month. In fact, they would indicate that Raikkonen spoke more during the 2013 summer break than he did during the 2007 and 2008 breaks put together or during the whole of the 2009 season.

As if this wasn’t enough, however, there are unsubstantiated rumours that three weeks ago Raikkonen received a phone call from Red Bull but that he ignored it because he was having a shite.

CoopsII wrote:http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130830/f1/130839975#ixzz2ddpR9uQf

Appazza, Ferrari wont be announcing any 2014 line-up news at Monza

So Massa's fate it still undecided it appears.

good_Ralf wrote:

CoopsII wrote:http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130830/f1/130839975#ixzz2ddpR9uQf

Appazza, Ferrari wont be announcing any 2014 line-up news at Monza

So Massa's fate it still undecided it appears.

They'll just keep postponing the announcement, leaving it later and later. They did that with Massa last year.

mario wrote:

IceG wrote:Two of the top teams with almost unlimited budgets need a driver. Red Bull has a vacant seat. Ferrari has an underperforming number 2 and a disenchanted number 1. There is a former world champion in the market who is demonstrating brilliant form. Both teams should be bidding for him to stop him going to the other as (i) he almost guarantees the constructors championship to whoever gets him and (ii) he is very capable of pushing the current number 1 drivers. Who other than Kimi could do this? Certainly not Ricciardo or Massa. There would be something (else!) very wrong with F1 if Kimi didn't end up at one or the other.

My guess is Kimi to Ferrari which may be enough to make Alonso leave to go to Red Bull. In which case is it Hulkenberg to Ferrari or Button to Ferrari and Hulkenberg to McLaren?

Whilst Kimi may be in strong form (although how much of that is due to preferential treatment by the team is open to question), there is also the fact that Kimi is one of the older drivers in the field - he will be 34 later this year. From the point of view of Red Bull, Ricciardo, though less proven, also has the advantage of youth on his side and potentially could drive for them for much longer than Kimi is likely to stay in F1 for.
Ferrari, similarly, have alternative options that could prove to be good long term bets too - they have been reportedly keeping an eye on Hulkenberg and are training Bianchi over at Marussia - whilst the political situation at Ferrari could also be more delicate (Alonso might resent the move and it is unclear whether he would be able to repair the relations that were strained during his first tenure at Ferrari). Hulkenberg could also potentially fill the role of consistent points scorer too at Ferrari, so Kimi isn't necessarily a shoe in for Massa's seat either should Ferrari kick him out.

Whilst there is a logic for the teams in terms of a short term move, there is a competing longer term interest that does make some of the alternatives to Kimi more compelling. Alonso might be becoming a little more disenchanted with Ferrari but I don't think that things have reached breaking point quite yet between him and the team, so I don't think that he'll be going elsewhere just yet.

takagi_for_the_win wrote:Gosh

Sniff Petrol wrote:As Formula 1 enters its traditional silly season of speculation, there are strong whispers that Kimi Raikkonen has been talking to people during his summer down time. Now a source close to the Finnish driver has sensationally confirmed these rumours to Sniff Petrol.

‘It is true, Kimi had three conversations during the last couple of weeks,’ our mole revealed. ‘The first was with his friend Henning when he came over to play Xbox. I understand that Kimi said “hey” when he answered the door. The second conversation was a little longer as I understand that Kimi said “See you” when Henning left five hours later. I can’t go into too many details about the third conversation but I will say that at some point Henning may have gone to the kitchen and Kimi might have shouted “Beer!” whilst holding an empty bottle in the air.’

If these stories are true, they mark a dramatic increase in the amount of talking Raikkonen has done in the course of a month. In fact, they would indicate that Raikkonen spoke more during the 2013 summer break than he did during the 2007 and 2008 breaks put together or during the whole of the 2009 season.

As if this wasn’t enough, however, there are unsubstantiated rumours that three weeks ago Raikkonen received a phone call from Red Bull but that he ignored it because he was having a shite.

@alo_oficial wrote:I have important news coming these days ... Stay tuned here on Twitter and on the Web.. !!!

ADx_Wales wrote:oops, Red Bull's got an itchy twitter finger:

https://twitter.com/redbulIracing/statu ... 5465527296

GwilymJJames wrote:

ADx_Wales wrote:oops, Red Bull's got an itchy twitter finger:

https://twitter.com/redbulIracing/statu ... 5465527296

redbulIracing.

not them.

ADx_Wales wrote:Lol, Nico Rosberg has already retweeted it.

Aerospeed wrote:

ADx_Wales wrote:Lol, Nico Rosberg has already retweeted it.

His official twitter account is @nico_rosberg. The one you're referring to appears to only speak in Spanish.

go_Rubens wrote:

Aerospeed wrote:

ADx_Wales wrote:Lol, Nico Rosberg has already retweeted it.

His official twitter account is @nico_rosberg. The one you're referring to appears to only speak in Spanish.

I don't have a Twitter account, but surely people wouldn't be allowed to call their accounts after a celebrity like that.

go_Rubens wrote:

Aerospeed wrote:

ADx_Wales wrote:Lol, Nico Rosberg has already retweeted it.

His official twitter account is @nico_rosberg. The one you're referring to appears to only speak in Spanish.

I don't have a Twitter account, but surely people wouldn't be allowed to call their accounts after a celebrity like that.

Plus, I'm fairly sure Nico Rosberg is not a Spanish name.

Dark77 wrote:Kimi to Red Bull next season.

good_Ralf wrote:Actually, does Rosberg speak that much Spanish?

Dark77 wrote:Kimi to Red Bull next season.

good_Ralf wrote:It might be the account Rosberg uses to speak Spanish on. Actually, does Rosberg speak that much Spanish?

GwilymJJames wrote:

@alo_oficial wrote:I have important news coming these days ... Stay tuned here on Twitter and on the Web.. !!!

A move? A contract? A sponsorship? A new watch??????

I wish I had a tenterhook so I could be on it.

wsrgo wrote:James Calado has been signed as Force India's third driver, and will do FP1 with them at Monza, alongside his GP2 commitments.
So, who's gonna get the chop? Sutil or di Resta? Or neither?

good_Ralf wrote:

wsrgo wrote:James Calado has been signed as Force India's third driver, and will do FP1 with them at Monza, alongside his GP2 commitments.
So, who's gonna get the chop? Sutil or di Resta? Or neither?

I'm disappointed in FI because they were going to put namesake Rossiter in the car at Silverstone, only for the wet weather to cancel the outing.
Then they don't give him another chance. It's as if they've forgotten him. What would be even worse is that Calado gets the FI drive because he impressed at Monza.

wsrgo wrote:

good_Ralf wrote:

wsrgo wrote:James Calado has been signed as Force India's third driver, and will do FP1 with them at Monza, alongside his GP2 commitments.
So, who's gonna get the chop? Sutil or di Resta? Or neither?

I'm disappointed in FI because they were going to put namesake Rossiter in the car at Silverstone, only for the wet weather to cancel the outing.
Then they don't give him another chance. It's as if they've forgotten him. What would be even worse is that Calado gets the FI drive because he impressed at Monza.

Rossiter is 30 years old, and made his car debut 11 years ago.