Any F1 fans

[vauxhallmaniac]

You've just gotta love Alonso http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/18673...s-for-demanding-someone-else-s-car-as-present

 

[toby1]

Half term boredom - seats for 2014?

I've nicked this from another website but there are still plenty of unconfirmed seats for next season:

Red Bull

Vettel (has contract)
TBC

Ferrari

Alonso (has contract)
Massa (TBC)

McLaren

Button (has contract)
Perez (has contract)

Lotus

Raikkonen (TBC)
Grosjean (TBC)

Mercedes AMG

Hamilton (has contract)
Rosberg (has contract)

Sauber

Hulkenberg (TBC)
Gutierrez (TBC)

Force India

di Resta (TBC)
Sutil (TBC)

Williams

Maldonado (TBC)
Bottas (TBC)

Toro Rosso

Vergne (TBC)
Ricciardo (TBC)

Caterham

Pic (TBC)
van der Garde (TBC)

Marussia

Bianchi (TBC)
Chilton (TBC)

 

[stwat]

http://jalopnik.com/how-much-can-cnn-get-wrong-about-f1-engines-physics-in-1111423405

 

[Alex Crow]

I guess with Max Chilton still up for grabs, most teams will not want to commit just yet...

 

[drmw]

Then of course there's that dark horse, Martin still not been signed up by anyone

 

[wkdc230k]

I am a huge fan, but not a huge fan of the motor config for next year.

 

[wkdc230k]

I wonder who is going replace Webber. Vettel might race alone, lol. Not a Red Bull fan. Love the Mercs and Ferrari's

 

[toby1]

Autosport is reporting that Kimi will not have the other RBR seat

Daniel Ricciardo is now set to secure the second Red Bull Formula 1 seat for 2014, with talks between the team and Kimi Raikkonen having come to an end.

Amid growing speculation that Red Bull had decided to pick Ricciardo, Raikkonen's manager Steve Robertson told AUTOSPORT on Monday that the Finn was no longer a contender to line-up alongside Sebastian Vettel next year.

Robertson confirmed the news, which first appeared in Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat, that the former world champion's discussions with Red Bull had come to an end.

"It's true," said Robertson. "Kimi will not be driving for Red Bull in 2014. We held some talks, but a deal will not be happening."

Red Bull had openly admitted that its choice for Mark Webber's replacement was between Raikkonen and Ricciardo - despite being made aware in Hungary that Fernando Alonso could be available too.

Raikkonen had always been happy to stay at Lotus for 2014, but the prospect of racing for reigning champion Red Bull was given serious consideration.

The Finn's representatives opened negotiations with Red Bull, as the team weighed up whether to opt for Raikkonen's experience and guaranteed speed, or put its faith in a youngster like Ricciardo as a long term prospect.

Although Red Bull is insisting that it is not in a position yet to announce its 2014 drivers, Robertson's revelation that Raikkonen is now out of the running points to a Ricciardo deal being a formality.

An announcement about Red Bull's plans could be made as soon as this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, although the team may opt to wait for the following race in Italy.

Should Ricciardo be confirmed, he will move up to Red Bull's main team after two full seasons with its junior Toro Rosso outfit. He also competed in 11 races for HRT in 2011.

The collapse of the Red Bull talks means that Raikkonen's best option to remain in competitive machinery in 2014 is to finalise a fresh deal with Lotus.

But such a deal is not a formality, amid questions about the financial health of the team, with Raikkonen having been paid late on some occasions.

Robertson said that Lotus was just one possibility for Raikkonen as talks continued with a number of teams.

"We are pretty confident that Kimi will be in F1 next year," he explained. "There are options - and that is plural - out there and I will continue to talk to teams. I am hopeful we will sort something out in the not too distant future."

 

[Gkinghorn]

Looks like another lotus season for Kimi then . Would have been great to see him challenge Vettel though in the same car.

sent from my Galaxy Note 8 via Tapatalk

 

[toby1]

Yes, I am disappointed. I really thought he'd be in a Red Bull next season

 

[Gkinghorn]

Just been offered tickets to the Singapore GP. Coincides nicely with a business trip too. Complete coincidence of course

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk 4

 

[toby1]

Good place. Went to the GP two years ago (my brother living there at the time had nothing to do with it, of course)

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Either Vettel Vetoed him out or RBR didnt want to make a mockery of their driver programmes.

Personally I dont think that Ricciardo is much of a superstar, hes had some good quali times but often outscored by Verne in the race. I too would have loved to see how Vettel would have stacked up against KR who is as equally talented as Alonso and Hamilton IMO.

Rumour has it he is talking with Ferrari, which is a very realistic possibility. If Ferrari can put up with faces as red as their machinery for a year given that they paid off KR to keep Massa.

 

[toby1]

I thought they paid off RAI to grab ALO.

RIC isn't a done deal (from what I read) but he's looking like the favourite. I'd be surprised if VET had a say on his team mate but maybe the truth will out in the near future. ****** annoying when we'd really find out how good VET really is against a top driver.

However, would ALO agree to RAI? Can't see it!

Anything can happen in Formula 1, and it usually does

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

No RAI was under contract for 10 but he was outscored by Massa and Ferrari's thinking was that he would be a better driver than RAI to partner ALO. So they paid him off. Which was daft given that the 09 Ferrari was a dog and yet RAI still won with it, Massa was hit on the head with a Brawn rear spring and both Badoer and Fisichella couldnt get to within a second of RAI. In fact Badoer couldnt get off the back of the grid.

 

[toby1]

So ALO was coming anyway and MAS was orginally for the boot?

 

[ShinyF1]

So ALO was coming anyway and MAS was orginally for the boot?

Alonso was coming, allegedly signed for the 2010 season as early as May 2008. All connected to Santander swapping from McLaren to Ferrari.

Kimi fell out of favour for some reason in 2008, perhaps they thought they couldn't see a ALO/RAI team working out? I think he ended up not getting on that well with di Montezemolo which isn't going to do him much good at Ferrari

 

[toby1]

No Red Bull driver announcement at Spa

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns26108.html

Dr Helmut Marko backtracked on Tuesday, revealing Red Bull will in fact not finalise its 2014 driver lineup this weekend in Belgium.

Earlier, amid reports the world champion team has decided to promote Daniel Ricciardo to replace the Le Mans-bound Mark Webber, Marko told Germany's Sport Bild that "we will make an announcement at Spa".

But on Tuesday, the Austrian was quoted by SID news agency: "We will express ourselves when the time comes, and that will definitely not be at Spa."

24 hours ago, Kimi Raikkonen's manager Steve Robertson said talks with Red Bull had ended. Reports suggested the 2007 world champion is now more likely to return to Ferrari in 2014.

Marko did not want to comment.

"What we will do will be the best for the team, in the medium term," said team owner Dietrich Mateschitz's right-hand man.

 

[bob 6600]

Q2 has been fairly tight so far, although HAM seems to be struggling a bit

Should be a good scrap for pole

 

[Cole@MBS]

Raining in Q3. gonna be good.....