In Formula 1, there is not only the market of sponsors becoming limited. The announcement of Mark Webber's departure highlights the huge deficits of the discipline on the driver transfer market.
The corporate communication of the teams comes now to the far end of the system and is caught by the reality of the market. This requires a serious deciphering and that the limits of the system are pointed out. Sebastian Vettel is under contract until 2015 with Red Bull Racing, which means that the next team-mate of the triple-champ German will sign a contract for a maximum period of three years (2 years + 1 year as option). Let's put aside Ferrari, Mercedes, McLaren and Lotus for the moment and focus on the rest on the scene.
At Force India, the announcement of the extension of engine supply with Mercedes-Benz guarantees the presence of a German driver behind the wheel. So, Adrian Sutil will settle there a few years, while guaranteeing 8 million Euros in revenues (direct and indirect) to the team. Paul di Resta assured the German KERS and could also continue, although the difficulties of the Indian team could open the door to a pilot bringing a real budget. At Williams, the agreement with PDVSA depends on the presence of a driver coming from Venezuela. This limits the possibilities. In the meantime Valtteri Bottas is an investment of the English team. Assuring an extra budget on 2013 broadcasting rights, the young Finn is a guarantee for the Mercedes-Benz engine in 2014. Toto Wolff, currently based in Brackley, is his former agent. At Toro Rosso, the synergic strategy with RBR is visible from the signing of the Renault engine for 2014. A signature that could guarantee the presence of Jean Eric Vergne in the end, with a possible investment of Total. The future of Daniel Ricciardo is a bit murkier. At Sauber, discussions are active to maintain the Telmex investment (a total of 15 million Euros per year) beyond 2013. Esteban GuĂȘtriez still seems too tender and nothing indicates that the Mexican group wish to divide up its money with McLaren. As Nico Hulkenberg is under contract with Ferrari (that keep him as reserve driver), he will be present in 2014 thanks to the propulsion of the Italian engine - in case of Felipe Massa's extension.
On Caterham side, discussions are intense with Renault and Charles Pic. The latter is dependent on that decision. The other driver of the English team will be a business bringer. At Marussia, next signature for the Ferrari engine guarantees the presence of Jules Bianchi. The second pilot will be a business bringer, as well. The inventory of fixtures of the market concerning the drivers in the middle and bottom of the list shows that the whole thing is locked by the constructors on the one side and the sponsors on the other side.
There are the top teams left now. At Ferrari the duo Alonso-Massa will be extended once again in 2014, in all likelihood. At Mercedes, Hamilton and Rosberg will also continue the adventure. McLaren has signed Sergio Perez until 2015 with the hope of a big budget from Telmex group, while Jenson Button has an agreement until 2014 and he would have to pay for freeing himself from it a year earlier. There is only Lotus left. Kimi RÀikkönen's contract expires in 2013, just like Romain Grosjean's on the other hand. This explains the rumors about a transfer of the 2007 world champion to RBR next year. Because, actually, this is the only solution on the market!
ZitatHulkenberg and Raikkonen the key drivers as thoughts turn to 2014
There is always some movement of drivers in F1 from one season to another and there is usually one driver who holds everything up.
This year the situation is slightly different as the retirement of Mark Webber creates an opening at the sportâs top team, Red Bull. This has fired a starting gun on driver movements for 2014.
As a result there is some action in the paddock with driversâ agents getting busy making conversation with team bosses.
Kimi Raikkonen is in the frame for the Red Bull ride, up against Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric Vergne. While Sebastian Vettel was effusive in his praise for Raikkonen yesterday in the FIA press conference, hosted by JA, that could just as easily be because he knows that the Finn wonât be his team mate, as that he will.
Raikkonen has his supporters within the team, but there is a sense that, for Red Bullâs junior programme and its backers, Ricciardo is in the box seat at the moment. He said on Saturday that nothing is decided yet and Raikkonen reiterated that on Sunday.
Meanwhile Lotus are very keen on Nico Hulkenberg. He has been in discussions with them for some time. If Raikkonen stays at Lotus, it will be interesting to see whether they look to hire Hulkenberg anyway, or whether they stick with Grosjean, who had his strongest weekend for a while in Germany.
The team is never quite sure what itâs going to get with the Frenchman on any given weekend and he still has only 35% of the points of Raikkonen â although twice recently he has been instructed to let him through.
Hulkenberg provides a more consistent proposition and is highly rated by everyone he has worked with.
He finds himself in an awkward situation, with Sauber at something of a financial crossroads. The Swiss team is tight on money at the moment and the story in the paddock on Sunday was that Sauber has released him from his contract should he wish to leave.
With Felipe Massa struggling again at Ferrari, as the negotiations over 2014 start to ramp up, one wonders whether they will find a way to give him yet another chance or whether this is finally the end of the road for the Brazilian.
As lead driver in Ferrariâs âsatelliteâ team, Hulkenberg has been on Maranelloâs radar this season, although he has always insisted his move there was not a holding pattern waiting for a Ferrari seat.
The interest from Lotus makes his situation more interesting and raises his stock â one way or another it seems he may finally get his chance with a leading team next year, if the cards fall right for him.
ZitatWhy having Kimi Raikkonen at Red Bull could end lingering doubts about Sebastian Vettel As the rumour mill continues to swirl, Sky Sports F1's Mark Hughes explains why signing Raikkonen could work for both Red Bull and their triple World Champion
In the immediate post-race glow of victory, Sebastian Vettel was asked about the idea of having as a team-mate the man he had just spent the last few laps fending off, Kimi Raikkonen.
"Well, I wouldn't mind," he replied.
So far, so platitudinous; the sort of bland non-committal response that doesn't invite further scrutiny either way. But then Seb chose to expand. "To be completely straight it's not my decision. I have a good relationship [with Red Bull] and we spoke about that. But not in detail yet. I think the team has no pressure on anything; at least that's what they communicated with me. I think I get along fairly well with Kimi; we never had a problem on track, even if one day we might have and crash into each other - which can happen. But then I think we'd deal with it as grown-ups and sort it out and talk about it among ourselves. At least I think that's the relationship I have with him. I respect him a lot, on and off the track. But, as I said, it's not my decision."
No-one at Red Bull makes any secret of the fact that Mark Webber's 2014 replacement will be either Raikkonen or one of the current Toro Rosso drivers. There are two obvious concerns about taking Kimi. One is that it would de-value Red Bull's junior driver programme, given that both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne have performed well in their roles. The other is the possibility of someone of Kimi's calibre threatening the equilibrium of a team that is based around Vettel, their triple - currently on-target for quadruple - World Champion.
Team boss Christian Horner, owner Dietrich Mateschitz and junior driver director Helmut Marko will between them make the choice and of the three it would be Marko who might be expected to be pushing hardest for one of the Toro Rosso guys rather than Raikkonen. But even he is realistic about the choice facing them. He acknowledges that there can be no compromise on performance when talking of a team for which world titles are expected.
Ricciardo, in particular, is performing well at the moment but well enough to convince Marko that he would be a no-risk option? Someone who would push Vettel hard and be ready to instantly and consistently deliver wins and podiums? The feeling from within is that there is still not enough evidence of that. The decision is set to be made 'at the end of the summer' which, at best, gives Ricciardo three races in which to make an irresistible rock solid case for himself. Is that even possible?
Furthermore, signing Raikkonen for Red Bull for 2014 would not necessarily mean the end of Red Bull Racing aspirations for the Toro Rosso drivers. Should one of them put together a stunning 2014 campaign, and Kimi is signed for only one year...
In terms of the equilibrium of the team, Raikkonen's low-wattage personality is actually likely to be lower maintenance than that of the combative Mark Webber. Mark - like Seb - is someone who seeks to maximise everything at his disposal out of the car as well as in. Raikkonen is unusual, maybe even unique, among top drivers in wanting only for the car to be competitive. Ferrari was amazed at how easy and undemanding he was of them; in fact their problem with him was they didn't feel he was demanding enough. The very reason he was unsuitable as a Ferrari team leader might make him the ideal Red Bull Vettel team-mate.
If he was to be signed, the intrigue of how he might compare to Vettel would be intense. There is a small but insistent element within the F1 community - drivers included - that insists Vettel is merely a good driver in fantastic equipment. Ironically, Raikkonen's standing within the paddock is probably higher than Vettel's. " title="ii" /> This might be the very reason Vettel would relish being partnered with him. If he were to go up against someone of Kimi's standing and emerge on top, it would obliterate any doubts about his level.
What he delivered at the Nurburgring on Sunday was a drive that ranks up with any from history. The Red Bull was simply not as fast in race conditions as the Lotus. It lacked the E21's slow-corner grip and fast-corner balance. If either Romain Grosjean or Raikkonen could have got past they would have pulled comfortably away.
Obviously, the Red Bull was a quicker car in qualifying and still very good in the race, but keeping it in front of a car that needed just the smallest chink of daylight in his defences for the whole race was quite remarkable. The mental demands of that are extraordinarily high and he combines this with a natural qualifying pace that is devastating.
The world might finally accept that in fullness if Kimi Raikkonen were to become a Red Bull driver in 2014.
Lotus co-owner Gerard Lopez is confident his team can prevent Kimi Raikkonen being lured away to Red Bull next season.
There is an open seat at Red Bull in 2014 now that Mark Webber has announced his retirement and Christian Horner has made no secret that Raikkonen is on his list of potential candidates. The Finnish driver insists he has not yet made a decision on where to go next year, but from a sporting perspective Red Bull's unrivalled success in recent years makes it the obvious choice.
However, Lopez thinks the team culture at Lotus is attractive to Raikkonen, an assertion backed up by interviews with the Finn since he joined the team in 2011. Asked what he felt his chances were of keeping Raikkonen on board, Lopez replied: "I would say high."
"He's been treated well like we would treat any driver," Lopez added. "I think this team has a culture that is quite human and somebody told me that for the human-being Kimi this is the best team and for the racer he has to decide."
Lopez is also confident his team can provide Raikkonen with the competitive car he desires next season.
"He knows the technical side of things," Lopez added. "We developed the car to the point last year that the delta between us and Red Bull was the same at the second race as it was at the two last races. So I don't think that is much of an issue.
"People keep talking about budget, and while we have a lower budget than a lot of teams, we seem to do quite well with it. There is a certain culture about this team that does things right and that's the culture that Kimi likes. If we had huge time constraints on him I don't think he would enjoy it, and as a matter of fact he hasn't enjoyed it at other teams before."
Lotus is in the process of bringing new investors to the team, and although they have not taken a shareholding yet, Lopez said the deal was still going ahead.
"That is progressing onwards, but it also sits with us," he said. "We issued a statement because we have to as our group is a well-known group and we can't just wait for things to come out. It's progressing and it's partly up to us to push that forward."
Further gossip and rumour. The word at Red Bull is that Ricciardo â barring disaster â will get the Vacant seat left by Mark Webber and that this will be announced in Spa. Johnny Herbert appears to believe he has a source who is suggesting it will be Kimi. Yet TJ13 believes the team think Kimi too much of a maverick, and Red Bull will follow the Ferrari model and now admit to having an outright number 1 driver in Vettel.
Kimi had problems during his 2002-06 tenure at McLaren and his biggest problem was Ron Dennis. Dennis wanted to change him the same way he changed Mika, but it Kimi resisted. When allowed Kimi would arrive at the F1 destination, drives the car and then goe home. Speculation was high when Dennis retired from his day-to-day F1 duties that Kimi would return, but Ron still held a veto on who drives for McLaren and who does not and there was no way Kimi was to be allowed a second chance.
Raikkonen similarly had problems with the hierarchy during his time at Ferrari. He had signed an extension to drive with the team until 2010 as reported by FOM, âFerrari have announced an extension to Kimi Raikkonenâs contract for a further two seasons, keeping the world champion with the Italian team until the end of 2010. With Raikkonenâs team mate Felipe Massa also under contract for that period, it means Ferrariâs race line-up will remain unchanged until at least the start of their 2011 campaignâ.
Yet by the end of 2009, Kimi was mysteriously gone and Fernando had been recruited. Kimi said to the BBC at the time, âI am very sad to be leaving a team with whom I have spent three fantastic years. I have always felt at home with everyone here, and I will have many happy memories of my time with the team.â Clearly someone in the team felt otherwise.
Itâs a shame Kimi is not going to Red Bull because it would be interesting to see how Vettel measures up to another world-class driver. Of course other comparisons also become possible as following Hamiltonâs move to Mercedes, many Schumacher critics now admit his second career looks rather better now than he was given credit for when driving against Rosberg.
Kimi verses Vetell could also vindicate Webber similarly from those who think he is a choker.
I see word now that Lotus will talk to Kimi.. I can't figure out if this is a last attempt to sign him.. Or if Kimi is truly interested in staying " title="hmm" />
ZitatLotus confirms Hulkenberg talks By Editor on Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Eric Boullier on Tuesday confirmed reports Nico Hulkenberg is a candidate to drive for Lotus in 2014.
That is because the Enstone based team is facing up to the very real possibility lead driver Kimi Raikkonen will switch to Red Bull.
We reported earlier that Frenchman Boullier, the Lotus team boss, is scheduled to sit down with Finn Raikkonenâs management this week.
In the meantime, German Hulkenberg is technically a free agent, because â while he will continue to race for Sauber in 2013 â the struggling Swiss team reportedly breached contract by failing to pay him in May and June.
âI am in contact with Nico,â Boullier, who reportedly also mentioned Paul di Resta, is quoted on Tuesday by Franceâs LâEquipe.
Still, Lotus has not given up on retaining Raikkonen â and the inimitable Finn might not like the sound of comments made on Monday by Red Bullâs Dr Helmut Marko.
First, Raikkonen does not like his decisions rushed, and Lotus is prepared to wait for him.
But Marko said Red Bull wants to settle the name of Mark Webberâs 2014 successor âin the summerâ.
âBudapest is the beginning of the summer break. Spa at the end. So it (the decision) will fall some time in August,â he told Austrian television Servus TV.
Marko is also insisting Webberâs successor make a long-term commitment â something Raikkonen might also baulk at.
âIt shouldnât be for only one year, but for the next three years,â said the Austrian. âContinuity has distinguished us as a team.â
Further, Raikkonen despises media and sponsor work, while rumours suggest he also likes to spend precious little time with his engineers.
Marko, though, wants Sebastian Vettelâs next teammate to do plenty of âsimulator workâ " title="ha" /> whilst working âawfully hardâ with the teamâs technical boffins.
âThere are many criteria that must be filled,â he added.
Presumably, Marko wants Raikkonen to truly want the Red Bull seat, rather than slip into the sort of top team-complacency that at Ferrari ended his first F1 career.
âWe have plenty of choice,â said Marko. âThere is Kimi and there are many others â almost everyone would want to be with us.
âWe need two strong drivers, so you also can win the constructorsâ championship. The opposite is Ferrari, who put everything on Alonso and the driversâ championship.
Zitat von KrissI'm trying hard to imagine Kimi doing "plenty of âsimulator workâ and "working awfully hard with the teamâs technical boffins".
Maybe they try to scare Kimi away
seems like it h" title="hih" /> well from the impression and his words I think Marko doesn't prefer Kimi.. the interview (in german) can be watched here http://www.servustv.com/cs/Satellite/Ar ... 9518429570 actually he said: "The work off track like simulator and a lot of technical briefings has to be done by both drivers at the same time. On the other side you need two strong drivers so you can win constructors championship."
the long time commitment might be a problem too " title="dunno" /> first he said it should be for two, three years then later again it's not for one year but three years.
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Sun Jul 07, 2013 7:34 am
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" title="ii" /> This might be the very reason Vettel would relish being partnered with him. If he were to go up against someone of Kimi's standing and emerge on top, it would obliterate any doubts about his level.
" title="hmm" />
" title="ha" /> whilst working âawfully hardâ with the teamâs technical boffins.
" title="blink" /> 
h" title="hih" /> well from the impression and his words I think Marko doesn't prefer Kimi..
" title="dunno" /> first he said it should be for two, three years then later again it's not for one year but three years.