2014 Silly Season Thread

[Alextrax52]

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.

It's also worth noting that Rossiter was allowed to test the VJM06 at Jerez in pre-season testing, so he has been given some seat time in the past by the team.

With regards to Calado, it seems that Force India have signed him on the strength of his performance in the Silverstone test session - that, at least, is the official reason given by Mallya - so Calado has already partially justified his position as third driver on the strength of his earlier performances for the team. It also has to be said that Calado's racing record in the junior series - runner up in the British FR2.0 series, British F3 series and GP3, plus 5th in his first season in GP2 (ahead of a number of much more experienced drivers) - is reasonably strong, which would suggest that there is at least some merit in Force India's decision to try him out in Monza.

ART have had one of their least successful seasons in GP2 and Calado has done a great job to get a win and 5 podiums out of it while the highly regarded Daniel Abt sits on just 3 points so far this year. Calado deserves a drive just as much as Bird, Nasr and Palmer do and way more than Cecotto and Canamasas.

[GwilymJJames]

F1Fanatic is reporting that the new Red Bull driver will be unveiled live on Austrian TV. Live stream here, starts in about 5 minutes.

E: Infact it appears that the actual announcement programme will not be shown online for legal reason.

E2: It's Ricciardo

[takagi_for_the_win]

According to twitter, Ricciardo is now a Red Bull driver

[mediocre]

Helmut Marko just confirmed on Servus TV (Red Bull's own TV station) that Daniel Ricciardo will partner Sebastian Vettel next year.

[Alextrax52]

Pretty inevitable decision really. The question for me is that can Daniel chain together a good race pace because he's mighty fast over a single lap (Dragging the dismal 2012 car to 6th in Bahrain last year springs to mind) But he goes missing on race days which is where Vergne has generally had the better of him in their time as team-mates which is something people use to accuse Jarno Trulli of for example. If he performs like he does now he could be in Danger of being a new Trulli.

[good_Ralf]

Pretty inevitable decision really. The question for me is that can Daniel chain together a good race pace because he's mighty fast over a single lap (Dragging the dismal 2012 car to 6th in Bahrain last year springs to mind) But he goes missing on race days which is where Vergne has generally had the better of him in their time as team-mates which is something people use to accuse Jarno Trulli of for example. If he performs like he does now he could be in Danger of being a new Trulli.

And a new Trulli in terms of arriving at a top team just as they begin to lose competitiveness... I know I'm annoying when I rant about how Red Bull could suck next year (which TBH is rather unlikely) but I just had to say that.

[WeirdKerr]

*pops in to see what the fuss is about and walks away muttering*

[Dj_bereta]

Meh. Vergne defeated Ricciardo in 2012 and still ahead in the WDC.

[good_Ralf]

Ja, it's official on the BBC

[James1978]

It's on Autosport as well so it's definitely 100% true. Don't really know what I think yet either way.

Unless Kimi moves to Ferrari, I think the other top teams remain the same now.

[mario]

Helmut Marko just confirmed on Servus TV (Red Bull's own TV station) that Daniel Ricciardo will partner Sebastian Vettel next year.

About time they made the announcement too - they've been milking the rumours of other drivers signing for them for far too long and it had begun to become a bit wearisome (to say the least). There is talk of Ricciardo's contract being at least three years too, so it sounds as if Red Bull want him there for the long term.

It's on Autosport as well so it's definitely 100% true. Don't really know what I think yet either way.

Unless Kimi moves to Ferrari, I think the other top teams remain the same now.

It does make you wonder if, given the fevered speculation over the course of the year, in reality the 2014 grid turns out to be rather anticlimactic and relatively unchanged from 2013. I suspect that is the more likely scenario than some of the more fevered or wild suggestions that have been floating around recently in the press...

Technically there are 14 spaces available next year, although in reality that is 13 - Button's contract is not yet formally renewed, but the comments from both Whitmarsh and Button in the press suggest it is effectively a done deal. Whilst the rumours about Kimi to Ferrari persist, Boullier seems confident that Lotus can hold onto Kimi and Whitmarsh has suggested Kimi probably won't find a seat elsewhere for 2014. I can possibly see Grosjean staying at Lotus due to pressure from Total too, so only Massa's seat may change (assuming that Massa is kicked out at all - whilst seemingly expected, it is not necessarily a done deal just yet).

If you look down the midfield, I'm not expecting drastic changes at either Williams or Force India - Calado will probably be given Friday practise sessions in 2014, which is what Force India did with di Resta, but I think they'll stick with their current line up (di Resta probably won't move elsewhere and no other team has expressed an interest in Sutil this year). Williams, meanwhile, probably can't afford to ditch Maldonado's backing from PDVSA, whilst I think it'll be hard for Bottas to move elsewhere in 2014. As for Sauber, whilst there is a lot of speculation about how the Sirotkin-Gutierrez-Hulkenberg situation will resolve itself, to be honest it is unclear if Sauber will still be alive in 2014...

As for the tail end, Pic is already contracted for 2014 and, given the number of sponsors he brings in, I can see Caterham keeping van der Garde. As for Marussia, I think that Bianchi may stay there another year and Chilton probably has enough backing to stay for now.

[go_Rubens]

It's on Autosport as well so it's definitely 100% true. Don't really know what I think yet either way.

And the official F1 site, so that really backs it up. I think it was the right thing to do, as Red Bull treat Vettel like he's their son, and Kimi moving there may disturb Vettel's dominance and make a real team rivalry, which I feel RBR don't want.

Unless Kimi moves to Ferrari, I think the other top teams remain the same now.

No, I don't think so. Massa's career I feel is starting to sink in quicksand. Unless he skillfully gets out of the quicksand, he is done at Ferrari. His performances have been below par. But Ferrari may keep Massa around for 2014, as experience may play a role next season.

[AustralianStig]

Meh. Vergne defeated Ricciardo in 2012 and still ahead in the WDC.

In terms of sheer points, yes, but I think Red Bull chose Ricciardo based on his consistency - he quite often gets into Q3 and has had more points finishes than Vergne over his career (10 to 7). Let's not also forget that Vergne has had more "rookie moments" such as his tangle with Kovalainen in the 2012 European GP.

I was just reading on Planet F1 that there's some question as to whether Daniel will physically fit in the Red Bull, as his hips are extremely wide. Now THAT would be a rejectful reason to miss out on the seat.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

From an Australian perspective I am quite delighted, but I am a bit worried that this might not work out also

[UncreativeUsername37]

From an Australian perspective I am quite delighted, but I am a bit worried that this might not work out also

Your next great young hope is going to spend their peak years being a #2 to Vettel. Doesn't that make you feel great?

[mario]

Meh. Vergne defeated Ricciardo in 2012 and still ahead in the WDC.

In terms of sheer points, yes, but I think Red Bull chose Ricciardo based on his consistency - he quite often gets into Q3 and has had more points finishes than Vergne over his career (10 to 7). Let's not also forget that Vergne has had more "rookie moments" such as his tangle with Kovalainen in the 2012 European GP.

I was just reading on Planet F1 that there's some question as to whether Daniel will physically fit in the Red Bull, as his hips are extremely wide. Now THAT would be a rejectful reason to miss out on the seat.

Maybe we will see them having to make a wider chassis as happened with Mansell and McLaren? Hopefully the results won't be the same....

As an aside, what makes me curious is the analogy that Newey used on Ricciardo's promotion - he has compared Ricciardo to Damon Hill and the situation Williams were in when Prost left the team, where they decided to promote Hill instead of sticking with an experienced driver (Patrese in that case). I'd guess that Kimi would fit the role of Patrese in that instance as the experienced driver, but it's a curious comparison to make. http://www.espn.co.uk/redbull/motorspor ... 22989.html

[Backmarker]

I was just reading on Planet F1 that there's some question as to whether Daniel will physically fit in the Red Bull, as his hips are extremely wide. Now THAT would be a rejectful reason to miss out on the seat.

Nigel Mansell at McLaren all over again. Surely Red Bull have time to make a car big enough for Ricciardo's child-bearing figure though?

[madmark1974]

It's probably time to remove the "The Case For JEV" story from the main page now ...

I wish Daniel all the best in his new venture!

[watka]

Congratulations to Daniel Ricciardo. It's difficult to judge the true potential of a driver at a mediocre outfit like Toro Rosso, but he deserves his shot. I think that he might take a little while to settle but will ultimately do about as well in 2014 as Mark Webber is doing currently. The team will undoubtedly revolve around Vettel still so he won't be in a position to win many races, he'll just have to do his job and bring it home on the podium when he can.

What does this mean for Jean-Eric Vergne though? Red Bull won't be taking anyone new on in the near future, so do Toro Rosso have any reason to keep him? If so, then they are basically committing to have him in the team for at least 4 or 5 years going back to when he first joined. Can't see that happening. If I was JEV, I'd start collecting a lot more personal sponsors so he doesn't end up on the F1 scrapheap.

[CoopsII]

Its a good time for Ricciardo to join RBR given that the team will be starting the season, like everyone else, with a new set of rules to get to grips with. It should level the playing field a little for him.

[James1978]

I find the comparison with Patrese/Hill very odd indeed. Hill was what 32 then? A lot older than Ricciardo is now anyway.

[good_Ralf]

What does this mean for Jean-Eric Vergne though? Red Bull won't be taking anyone new on in the near future, so do Toro Rosso have any reason to keep him? If so, then they are basically committing to have him in the team for at least 4 or 5 years going back to when he first joined. Can't see that happening. If I was JEV, I'd start collecting a lot more personal sponsors so he doesn't end up on the F1 scrapheap.

If Vergne (who I think deserves to stay in F1) is dumped by STR it would be purely tragic.
While one driver at a midfield team moves to a dominant one, the other driver, the one that lost out is dropped and long forgotten.

[mario]

I find the comparison with Patrese/Hill very odd indeed. Hill was what 32 then? A lot older than Ricciardo is now anyway.

Not to mention the fact that Hill had less experience than Ricciardo too (Ricciardo will have two and a half seasons in F1 under his belt compared to the half a season Hill had at time time), so I wouldn't have thought of Hill as the most directly comparable driver to Ricciardo.

Moreover, whilst Kimi is being cast in the position of Patrese, Patrese was within the team and looking to move out given the uncertainty over his seat (eventually signing for Benetton). By contrast, Kimi is outside of the team and looking to move to Red Bull because of uncertainties over the security of Lotus (which, in a nice twist of fate, is the descendent of the old Benetton team that Patrese moved to all those years ago).
In that sense, therefore, Williams had a pretty clear idea of what Patrese and Hill could bring to the team in terms of performance and the strength of their working relationship. With Ricciardo and Raikkonen, by contrast, they would be more certain of Ricciardo but Kimi would be a relatively unknown quantity by contrast.

[Backmarker]

I find the comparison with Patrese/Hill very odd indeed. Hill was what 32 then? A lot older than Ricciardo is now anyway.

Not to mention the fact that Hill had less experience than Ricciardo too (Ricciardo will have two and a half seasons in F1 under his belt compared to the half a season Hill had at time time), so I wouldn't have thought of Hill as the most directly comparable driver to Ricciardo.

Moreover, whilst Kimi is being cast in the position of Patrese, Patrese was within the team and looking to move out given the uncertainty over his seat (eventually signing for Benetton). By contrast, Kimi is outside of the team and looking to move to Red Bull because of uncertainties over the security of Lotus (which, in a nice twist of fate, is the descendent of the old Benetton team that Patrese moved to all those years ago).
In that sense, therefore, Williams had a pretty clear idea of what Patrese and Hill could bring to the team in terms of performance and the strength of their working relationship. With Ricciardo and Raikkonen, by contrast, they would be more certain of Ricciardo but Kimi would be a relatively unknown quantity by contrast.

And Hill had only qualified for, what, two, three grands prix? And Kimi is a far better driver than Patrese ever was.

[takagi_for_the_win]

Right then, with the one potential big curveball gone, here's how I see the front of the grid panning out next year.

Red Bull- Vettel, Ricciardo
Both already confirmed.

Mercedes- Hamilton, Rosberg
Both already confirmed.

Lotus- Raikkonen, Grosjean
Can't see Raikkonen leaving for Ferrari really. I'd imagine Bouiller will give RoGro another chance, because a) his inherent pace, and b) Total.

Ferrari- Alonso, Massa
Alonso's already confirmed. Again, I'd imagine they'll give Massa "another year", again. He won't be there for 2015 though.

McLaren- Button, Perez
I believe this pair are practically confirmed.

Force India- di Resta, Hulkenberg
I can't see di Resta leaving FIndia yet, and if the rumours that I've heard about Sutil going to sportscars are true, it would give Hulkenberg a prime chance to escape Sauber

Toro Rosso- Vergne, AF da Costa
I'd imagine Toro Rosso will keep Vergne; he's not a shabby driver and a decent yardstick with which to measure the man who gets the second seat. I believe that will be da Costa, just on a hunch.

Sauber- Gutierrez, Petrov
Simple. Gutierrez brings Telmex money theoretically, and Petrov happens to be Russian (and hampered by the fact that Sirotkin uses, and crashes, his car on every single Friday morning.)

Williams- Maldonado, Bottas
Again, simple. Maldonado brings lovely PDVSA dosh, and Bottas is the baby of the team and no slouch behind the wheel.

Caterham-
Not going to lie, I really have no idea.

Marussia- Bianchi, Chilton
Why? Booth has stated he wants to keep both drivers, I think I read somewhere that Bianchi wants to stay, and MaxiAttack is hardly going to get an offer from higher up the grid unfortunately.

[mario]

I find the comparison with Patrese/Hill very odd indeed. Hill was what 32 then? A lot older than Ricciardo is now anyway.

Not to mention the fact that Hill had less experience than Ricciardo too (Ricciardo will have two and a half seasons in F1 under his belt compared to the half a season Hill had at time time), so I wouldn't have thought of Hill as the most directly comparable driver to Ricciardo.

Moreover, whilst Kimi is being cast in the position of Patrese, Patrese was within the team and looking to move out given the uncertainty over his seat (eventually signing for Benetton). By contrast, Kimi is outside of the team and looking to move to Red Bull because of uncertainties over the security of Lotus (which, in a nice twist of fate, is the descendent of the old Benetton team that Patrese moved to all those years ago).
In that sense, therefore, Williams had a pretty clear idea of what Patrese and Hill could bring to the team in terms of performance and the strength of their working relationship. With Ricciardo and Raikkonen, by contrast, they would be more certain of Ricciardo but Kimi would be a relatively unknown quantity by contrast.

And Hill had only qualified for, what, two, three grands prix? And Kimi is a far better driver than Patrese ever was.

He qualified for the British and Hungarian GP's in 1992 so Hill had only completed two full race distances by that point in his career. It's also worth noting that Patrese was 38 in 1992 (when he decided to leave the team) whereas Kimi is 33 now, so Kimi in theory would be likely to remain competitive for much longer than Patrese would have at the time.

Another thing that makes the comparison a little odd is the fact that I was under the impression that Patrese chose to leave Williams as he feared that he would be pushed out by the team given that Williams were talking to Prost and Mansell and Senna was lobbying Williams for a seat too.

If anything, I would have said that Kimi's situation would be closer to that of Senna - a former world championship winning driver lobbying the strongest team in the field whilst competing at a team that, although competitive, is now no longer leading the field and no longer has full manufacturer support, whilst the lead driver already under contract by the team has expressed his reservations about the deal and objected to the move (Tobias Grüner, a journalist for Auto Motor und Sport, is quoting Marko as saying that Vettel made it clear, when he was asked for his opinion, that he preferred Ricciardo over Raikkonen).

[Peteroli34]

With Regards to 2014 i dont believe that there is going to be much change next season, the majority of teams will probably keep the same line up, with only Toro Rosso, Sauber Caterham and Marussia

Toro Rosso - Likely to keep Vernge his team mate possibly between Da Costa and Sainz JR
Sauber - I can see Sirotkin joining as a race driver, Alongside Gutiérrez as they have backing, although with Saubers troubles with paying Ferrari for engines we could see Bianchi move to sauber, Hulkenburg i feel will probably leave and wont be able to get a seat unless he drives for caterham or Marussia
Caterham - Pic supposedly has a contract but really drivers depandent on who can pay for second seat
Marussia- Bianchi stays if he cant get sauber seat if he leaves i can see them taking a pay driver alongside Chilton

[good_Ralf]

I think the most recent seasons where a lot of line-ups were exactly the same as the year before were 2004 and 2009.

[Aerospeed]

I think the most recent seasons where a lot of line-ups were exactly the same as the year before were 2004 and 2009.

And in 2009 we had the mother of all mid-season changes (especially in the modern era), and 2004 had some changes as well. Here's hoping we'll have some more in 2014 - leaves more room for speculation and more reject drivers.

[go_Rubens]

From an Australian perspective I am quite delighted, but I am a bit worried that this might not work out also

Your next great young hope is going to spend their peak years being a #2 to Vettel. Doesn't that make you feel great?

That depends if Vettel stays at Red Bull for much longer, as I believe his contract ends at the end of 2014. Now, I'm sure Seb will probably renew his contract then, but if not, Daniel could become the Red Bull #1. Now that would be cool, despite being American and Aussies should surely be delighted with that. But the chances of it happening are not likely form my point of view Not to get your hopes up, eurobrun, or any other Aussie who supports Ricciardo, but it's just that I don't see Vettel moving anytime soon.

[mario]

From an Australian perspective I am quite delighted, but I am a bit worried that this might not work out also

Your next great young hope is going to spend their peak years being a #2 to Vettel. Doesn't that make you feel great?

That depends if Vettel stays at Red Bull for much longer, as I believe his contract ends at the end of 2014. Now, I'm sure Seb will probably renew his contract then, but if not, Daniel could become the Red Bull #1. Now that would be cool, despite being American and Aussies should surely be delighted with that. But the chances of it happening are not likely form my point of view Not to get your hopes up, eurobrun, or any other Aussie who supports Ricciardo, but it's just that I don't see Vettel moving anytime soon.

It's been reported that Vettel's contract with Red Bull runs until the end of 2015 - it was originally 2014, but Red Bull had an option to extend the contract to 2015 that they took up in June this year. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22865133

[HawkAussie]

Your next great young hope is going to spend their peak years being a #2 to Vettel. Doesn't that make you feel great?

That depends if Vettel stays at Red Bull for much longer, as I believe his contract ends at the end of 2014. Now, I'm sure Seb will probably renew his contract then, but if not, Daniel could become the Red Bull #1. Now that would be cool, despite being American and Aussies should surely be delighted with that. But the chances of it happening are not likely form my point of view Not to get your hopes up, eurobrun, or any other Aussie who supports Ricciardo, but it's just that I don't see Vettel moving anytime soon.

It's been reported that Vettel's contract with Red Bull runs until the end of 2015 - it was originally 2014, but Red Bull had an option to extend the contract to 2015 that they took up in June this year. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22865133

Why would you change in the middle of the year

[CoopsII]

Button hasnt officially signed for McLaren yet. There could be a seat available at Ferrari. There were rumours last year. I wonder...

[mario]

That depends if Vettel stays at Red Bull for much longer, as I believe his contract ends at the end of 2014. Now, I'm sure Seb will probably renew his contract then, but if not, Daniel could become the Red Bull #1. Now that would be cool, despite being American and Aussies should surely be delighted with that. But the chances of it happening are not likely form my point of view Not to get your hopes up, eurobrun, or any other Aussie who supports Ricciardo, but it's just that I don't see Vettel moving anytime soon.

It's been reported that Vettel's contract with Red Bull runs until the end of 2015 - it was originally 2014, but Red Bull had an option to extend the contract to 2015 that they took up in June this year. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/22865133

Why would you change in the middle of the year

It's probably more likely that Red Bull and Vettel started negotiations earlier in the year but the official announcement only came through by that point in time. The announcement came through a few weeks after the Monaco GP, which usually marks the start of the period when negotiations over contracts begins in earnest (usually because most of the major sponsors of the teams also come to the Monaco GP, making it easier to sort out sporting and commercial deals at the same time).

If Vettel was to move to another team - unlikely that scenario would be right now when he is in one of the best funded and most competitive teams on the grid - then Monaco would probably have marked the time when he might have started looking around the paddock for an alternative outfit. Given that Red Bull have always been keen on renewing their contract with Vettel, I expect that the negotiations would probably have been relatively brief and already partially sorted in advance, which would probably explain why the deal was sorted out by June.

It is perhaps more common for contracts to be announced around September to October - Hamilton, Button, Hulkenberg, Vergne and Ricciardo had their contracts officially announced around that time of year - but not unheard of for drivers to renew their contracts earlier in the season. Alonso, for example, was a similar case - his contract renewal in 2012 was announced in late May, so sometimes these announcements are brought forward in the year if negotiations are relatively straightforward.

[kevinbotz]

In addition to losing his GP2 seat, Robin Frijns will not be retained by Sauber as a reserve driver for 2014.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109642

I guess he will be supplanted after all...

[Ataxia]

In addition to losing his GP2 seat, Robin Frijns will not be retained by Sauber as a reserve driver for 2014.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109642

I guess he will be supplanted after all...

Although it was on the cards, it's a real shame. Although I've been strong in my defense of "financially-incentivised" drivers in the past, I think this whole situation where an inexperienced 18-year-old seems to have a possible race-seat over a twenty-something driver who's won various junior championships is a ridiculous one.

[Alextrax52]

In addition to losing his GP2 seat, Robin Frijns will not be retained by Sauber as a reserve driver for 2014.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109642

I guess he will be supplanted after all...

Although it was on the cards, it's a real shame. Although I've been strong in my defense of "financially-incentivised" drivers in the past, I think this whole situation where an inexperienced 18-year-old seems to have a possible race-seat over a twenty-something driver who's won various junior championships is a ridiculous one.

Truer words have never been spoken Ataxia. Why can't they just sign Petrov who brings cash and is mega fast?

[go_Rubens]

In addition to losing his GP2 seat, Robin Frijns will not be retained by Sauber as a reserve driver for 2014.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109642

I guess he will be supplanted after all...

That sucks. A real bathplugging shame. I hope that Red Bull get him on their junior team if he is to have a shot at F1. But I don't think he could make it to a top team that way either.

[Salamander]

In addition to losing his GP2 seat, Robin Frijns will not be retained by Sauber as a reserve driver for 2014.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109642

I guess he will be supplanted after all...

That sucks. A real bathplugging shame. I hope that Red Bull get him on their junior team if he is to have a shot at F1. But I don't think he could make it to a top team that way either.

Frijns, from what I recall, apparently avoided becoming a part of the Red Bull driver academy.

[mario]

In addition to losing his GP2 seat, Robin Frijns will not be retained by Sauber as a reserve driver for 2014.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/109642

I guess he will be supplanted after all...

That sucks. A real bathplugging shame. I hope that Red Bull get him on their junior team if he is to have a shot at F1. But I don't think he could make it to a top team that way either.

Frijns, from what I recall, apparently avoided becoming a part of the Red Bull driver academy.

Not only has he refused to join their program, he has publicly complained about the way they treat their drivers and seems pretty keen to avoid them if possible.