Zitat von WHATEVERAnd for giving Gro the preference strategies ...
I hate to use the word.. But Romain is making lotus look foolish for retaining him.
I will never deny his one lap pace. It's exceptional. But he simply doesn't have what it takes to race at this level. He keeps proving he doesn't belong at this level rather than proving he does.. When will his chances run out?
agree, Sonny. Lotus is not in the position they should be in WCC and this means MONEY! I am puzzled that both him and Massa keeping their seats for so long
ZitatCould Fernando Alonso really go to Red Bull? Talks between Fernando Alonso’s manager and Christian Horner have set up the intriguing possibility of the Spanish star emerging as a candidate for a Red Bull seat.
While he obviously has a Ferrari contract it’s no secret that Alonso has been frustrated by the team’s failure to win the championship since he joined in 2010 – and especially the poor one-lap form the red cars have shown over the past three and half years, which has left always having to fight through the field. He may also have reservations about Ferrari’s 2014 powertrain.
The big question is whether he has a way of getting out of his contract due to a performance clause of some sort.
There is also the very obvious question of how Red Bull could work with both Vettel and Alonso on board, although on the other hand the marketing advantages would be huge – and at the same time the Ferrari package would be weakened.
One far-fetched suggestion is that 2014 would be the perfect time for Vettel to move to Ferrari in a straight swap, and give himself a new challenge.
Asked about that by this writer Horner said: “That will never happen. I wouldn’t swap Sebastian for anybody.” As for the general prospect of hiring Alonso he added that, “You’d be amazed at who we have had interest from…”
Later when quizzed by the media Horner elaborated on the situation.
“We’re in the fortunate position where there’s quite a lot of interest obviously in the seat for next year. We’ve also been able to have a good look at Daniel [Ricciardo] at the test last week, and we’ll take a bit of time over the summer just to reflect on the options that are open to us and look to make the right decision to put the right driver alongside Sebastian next year.”
Asked if he would confirm or deny contact with Alonso, he said: “I think any conversations between any of the drivers or any of the parties are always going to remain confidential, but of course there’s been quite a few drivers who have expressed interest in the seat, as you can imagine.
“We’re going to take a bit of time to make sure we make the right decision, we’ve got some great options. We don’t need to be in rush.”
Pressed further Alonso, he said: “Is he available? I don’t know, you ask him…”
Meanwhile Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali made it clear that he intends to hang on to Alonso, although perhaps he didn’t sound quite as convincing as you might expect.
“First of all we have a contract with him, and for sure everyone knows about it. Fernando is an asset for the team and we need him to work closely with everyone, above all in this difficult moment of the season.”
Asked about what Ferrari had to do to retain Alonso, he said: “It’s a team work. We have to deliver a job, full stop, and at all levels. But this is for everyone, not only for the team.”
There is nothing to this story but Red Bull will milk it for all it is worth. Just like they are doing with the Kimi to Red Bull rumours. It will help their negotiations. But at the end of the day they will properly just go with Ricciardo, they want a second driver. Red Bull just wants some PR from this, no one would have cared if Ricciardo was just announced.
Alonso's manger also manages Sainz Jnr. Here is the piture with Alonso's manager and Sainz snr.
The BBC interview of Alonso, Horner, Vettel and Domenicali... quite interesting to see their expressions... I don't know if you can watcch it from outside of UK though.
Zitat von YiNingMaybe eventually someone will put it on Youtube, the Vettel part about "I prefer Kimi" is already posted everywhere.
Yes and now people are saying that Vettel prefers Kimi because Alonso would be a real challenge. " title="roll" />
Red Bull is starting to bore me the news just changes every day, every day another candidate is favorite. In reality it doesn't work like that, they are not even going to speak to the candidates every single day. Most likely they have already made their discussion and perhaps a contract is even signed already. We will just see rumours and speculation now for weeks on end. I wish they would just announce the seat and get it over and done with. But they will not do that they want the publicity.
Putting Alonso in the frame is just a joke, serious who is going to buy out Alonso's expensive contract at Ferrari for 2 - 3 years? A part of me would actually find the pairing of Alonso and Vettel highly amusing, I bet the destruction level would be atomic. If you are going to put two top drivers in a team I think the easiest two would actually be Kimi and Lewis, and then Kimi and Vettel. I am not even sure the Kimi and Vettel idea is really feasible. I wouldn't hold what Vettel says in the heat of the battle against him. But Vettel was only stuck behind Kimi for 10 laps, and he already lashed out. If something like this were to happen often and it was an actual teammate, then I could see the situation perhaps evolving into more then just a heat of the moment thing.
I have a strong suspicion Red Bull is just riding high on the PR, in the end they will most likely go for Ricciardo.
I thought last week, Kimi hasnt desided, and then thought, Kimi has desided to stay at Lotus..but now I am not so sure anymore. I am sure Kimi has desided and RBR has desided also . Next year is unknown territory for all, sure they know what kind of car they are building but I have a sneaky feeling BRB isnt sure about Vettels adaptability to the new kind of car. Vettel had a bit of problems at the beginning of 2010, because of different tyres and forbidden blown diffusor. In case Vettel strugless at the beginning of 2014, they need good and experienced driver..so I would not totally close the door for Kimi. What comes to Vettel crying a river behind Kimi, I thought so too, Vettel isnt going swallow this kind of situations if they are team mates. Interesting matters about Hungary elsewhere...Turrini hinted Grosjean was organized in front of Kimi. Then Speed week wrote Boullier had asked to the whole team to pray for Grosjean as something very unfortunate things had happened to Grosjean and Boullier asked them to be very gentle for him. I hope its nothing to do with his baby. " title="pray" />
Red Bull Deal Might Turn Into a Business Partnership for Kimi
The discussion on Hungary paddock between Christian Horner and Alonso's manager Luis Garcia Abadi started rumours about Alonso being a candidate for Vettel's new teammate next season.
Red Bull wants the best driver duo. They can also afford it. There is a small chaos in Ferrari but Alonso isn't going anywhere. If the situation would arise, then sky is the limit for the means to keep Alonso in Ferrari. No matter how much money they would have, I don't see Red Bull paying astronomical sums for an Alonso-switch and before all taking part in such a complicated contract bundle.
Horner pulled off a splendid strategical move by having secret discussions with Alonso's manager so that they conveniently leaked out in public. This way they sent the message to the markets that Red Bull has the opportunity to get anyone they want and give proper signals about contract conditions in Räikkönen's direction for example. At the same time they got to feed the media mill, so that the team's new driver will be surrounded with the best possible glow.
Alonso fit in the picture now that the big wheel is spinning.
***
A week before Hungary I was in Austria following future F1-drivers performances in Formula Renault 3.5 –serie's race. The F1-markets were more visible than in a long time.
McLaren's protégé Kevin Magnussen and Red Bull junior Antonio Felix da Costa and a few other got a lot of attention after well driven F1-tests. Toro Rosso's Jean Eric Vergne drove show performances with a F1-car and he was running back and forth on the paddock just like Helmut Marko also.
However the talks were all about Räikkönen. As far as I understand Lotus has just sealed a new sponsor contract, which should help to keep Räikkönen in the team. Still they think inside the team that the situation is difficult. They talk about an arrangement between Red Bull and Räikkönen, which will be hard to match.
My conclusion is that Räikkönen is negotiating a very long contract with Red Bull, a contract which would cover the next ten years at best. Räikkönen will surely get a decent salary for himself, but for him the most important thing is to make a partnership deal where Red Bull would be involved in everything Räikkönen does from now on.
Räikkönen would in the long run be a convenient PR-face for Red Bull, the same way Mika Häkkinen is for Mercedes-Benz. He would also have work in the Finnish motocross-team, which is in need of a famous partner's banners. Besides, knowing Räikkönen he can come up with almost anything which might interest Red Bull.
As one of the most talented racing driver of all times Räikkönen deserves at least one more WDC in Formula One. In Red Bull he would have all the possibilities for that.
But in the bigger picture he now has all the keys to get himself a winning car and instead of just an employer a long-term business partner.
Can there be a more smart and compatible arrangement than that.
Hmm very interesting when you watch the interview and connect it to the 10 year deal thing, then it all sounds very plausible. But who knows really.
Earthquake
TJ13 has just heard from a fairly reliable source, there will be a driver announcement in Monza that will resonate throughout F1 with the equivalent force as would an earth tremor which registers as a 9.0 on the Richter scale. I give this source a 7 out of 10 on the reliability scale.
Further, in my opinion and experience of F1, it will be tricky to keep this quiet beyond the weekend of Spa and the Belgium GP. http://thejudge13.com/2013/07/29/daily- ... july-2013/
This sounds interesting. But usually these kinds of things are rarely as big as people make it out to be. Seeing as it is Monza it might be Ferrari related. " title="hmm" />
As long as it isn't something like Kimi returning to Ferrari.
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Sun Jul 28, 2013 4:38 pm
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" title="hmm" /> i think i agree in every single point....
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