The 2012 Driver transfer discussion/speculation thread

The Outlaw · Jan 28, 2012

Actually, it was posted on Autosport.

Some of you may have missed it because the deal was announced at the beggining of December...which was quite early given William's slugishness to sign their second driver (Senna).

prisonermonkeys · Jan 28, 2012

Yeah, I vaguely recall something about it. Bottas was kept as third driver when the team retained Maldonado, I think. I was mostly just having a dig at Autosport because of their tendnecy to make headline news out of everything Raikkonen does. Back when he tested the Renault R30 at Valencia, they actually ran a story to say that he had done an installation lap. It was eventually fleshed out to include his first full session, but the earliest version of the article basically read "Kimi Raikkonen has done an installation lap, and looks set to do more. This is news."

F1 fan · Jan 28, 2012

That would be due to the lack of news. Raikkonen is a big name and anything to do with his comeback probably earns them a lot of views.

prisonermonkeys · Jan 28, 2012

I disagree. Raikkonen has joined Lotus, and Lotus sponsors the Autosport International Show. There have been a lot of pro-Raikkonen stories, mostly relating to his preparedness - at the same time as anti-Raikkonen stories (like Gerhard Berger saying he would not have signed Raikkonen) have been dismissed. This pro-Raikkonen, pro-Lotus agenda has even shown through in stories that do not relate directly to him; for example, when Lotus announced that the E20 (then un-named) would be unveiled on February 5, Autosport's headline was not "Lotus will unveil 2012 car on 5 February", but "Lotus will unveil Kimi Raikkonen's 2012 car on 5 February".

F1 fan · Jan 28, 2012

prisonermonkeys
for example, when Lotus announced that the E20 (then un-named) would be unveiled on February 5, Autosport's headline was not "Lotus will unveil 2012 car on 5 February", but "Lotus will unveil Kimi Raikkonen's 2012 car on 5 February".

Not what I'm seeing here. Perhaps they changed it, but it doesn't look too ott to me.

prisonermonkeys · Jan 28, 2012

That's not the article I was referring to. This is. They set the release date before they named the car.

F1 fan · Jan 28, 2012

Well that is pretty shocking. All I can guess is that Raikkonen's name = more views.

Which reminds me. Why is Raikkonen getting testing to re-acclimatize when Grosjean isn't. They've both been out of F1 the same amount of time (although Grosjean has largely concentrated on single seaters since his time at matech). The difference is, Raikkonen is more experienced than Grosjean. Wouldn't have killed them to give him a day or two of testing now would it?

jcm · Jan 28, 2012

F1 fan
Well that is pretty shocking. All I can guess is that Raikkonen's name = more views.

Which reminds me. Why is Raikkonen getting testing to re-acclimatize when Grosjean isn't. They've both been out of F1 the same amount of time (although Grosjean has largely concentrated on single seaters since his time at matech). The difference is, Raikkonen is more experienced than Grosjean. Wouldn't have killed them to give him a day or two of testing now would it?

If Grosjean had tested the car Autosport would've had to use creativity to promote Raikkonen in the headline.

"Raikkonen helps out at the factory while Grosjean selfishly drives the test car"
"Raikkonen is amazing, Grosjean drives car"
"Raikkonen has already mastered the car so he kindly lets Grosjean try to catch up"

prisonermonkeys · Jan 28, 2012

F1 fan
Which reminds me. Why is Raikkonen getting testing to re-acclimatize when Grosjean isn't. They've both been out of F1 the same amount of time (although Grosjean has largely concentrated on single seaters since his time at matech). The difference is, Raikkonen is more experienced than Grosjean. Wouldn't have killed them to give him a day or two of testing now would it?

I think you answered your own question there: Grosjean has mostly been concentrating on single-seaters since leaving Matech Competition. Raikkonen, on the other hand, has been rallying - which is about as far away from single-seater racing as you can get whilst still being in a car.

Furthermore, Grosjean has a huge advantage over Raikkonen - he already has a year's experience running on the Pirelli tyres. GP2 used them last year. They were exactly the same as the ones used in Formula 1, to make GP2 a better category for young drivers than Formula Renault 3.5, so Grosjean already knows how they work. And although Pirelli have revised their compounds for 2012, they are an evolution of the 2011 tyre. Any prior knowledge of them is going to help understanding the new compounds. Raikkonen, on the other hand, has spent just two days running on the "show tyres", which are very different to the racing tyres (to stop teams from setting up tests in two-year-old cars so that drivers can get more experience with the tyres).

jcm
If Grosjean had tested the car Autosport would've had to use creativity to promote Raikkonen in the headline.

I'm very disappointed that they've done this. They're an excellent publication, but in the past few months they've taken on something of a pro-Lotus bias.

prisonermonkeys · Jan 29, 2012

A journalist in Brazil is claiming that Bernie Ecclestone is pushing to keep Vitaly Petrov racing this year, and that he is working on getting the Russian into the second Caterham with an announcement expected soon.

jcm · Jan 29, 2012

prisonermonkeys
A journalist in Brazil is claiming that Bernie Ecclestone is pushing to keep Vitaly Petrov racing this year, and that he is working on getting the Russian into the second Caterham with an announcement expected soon.

Does Bernie love Petrov, or does he hate Truillli, or is this something that got messed up in translation?

F1 fan · Jan 29, 2012

jcm
Does Bernie love Petrov, or does he hate Truillli, or is this something that got messed up in translation?

My guess is that part of the deal for the race in Russia involved the continued presence of Vitaly in F1. I.e Maybe they offered more money if Petrov was still in F1.

prisonermonkeys · Jan 29, 2012

F1 fan
My guess is that part of the deal for the race in Russia involved the continued presence of Vitaly in F1. I.e Maybe they offered more money if Petrov was still in F1.

I very much doubt that.

No, Bernie would want Petrov racing because it builds a fanbase in Russia. Caterham would be a good team in that respect because they're pushing for the points. If they're the first of the "new" teams to score and Petrov is in the team at the time (even if Kovalainen is the one to get the results), it will be a boon for Formula 1 in Russia.

The Russian Grand Prix will happen regardless of whether or not there is a Russian team or driver in the sport. If Bernie is pushing for Petrov, then he is doing it to sweeten the deal and get exposure for the sport. He did the same thing with Karun chandhok, to get an Indian driver into the sport.

hawkeye122 · Jan 29, 2012

Saw this, pretty much laughed.

On topic- I hope they keep Petrov in F1. Despite my dislike of him now(People on this forum have really turned me off of him.) I really think Caterham needs more young blood

jcm · Jan 29, 2012

prisonermonkeys
I very much doubt that.

No, Bernie would want Petrov racing because it builds a fanbase in Russia. Caterham would be a good team in that respect because they're pushing for the points. If they're the first of the "new" teams to score and Petrov is in the team at the time (even if Kovalainen is the one to get the results), it will be a boon for Formula 1 in Russia.

The Russian Grand Prix will happen regardless of whether or not there is a Russian team or driver in the sport. If Bernie is pushing for Petrov, then he is doing it to sweeten the deal and get exposure for the sport. He did the same thing with Karun chandhok, to get an Indian driver into the sport.

That makes sense. It would've been perfect if he'd been with Marussia, but it's better to steal Mr. Truilli's seat.

hawkeye122
Saw this, pretty much laughed.

prisonermonkeys · Jan 29, 2012

jcm
It would've been perfect if he'd been with Marussia

Marussia have said they won't take Petrov just because he's Russian. They have also said that if they do take him, then they want to be confident that they can give him a good car.

jcm · Jan 29, 2012

prisonermonkeys
Marussia have said they won't take Petrov just because he's Russian. They have also said that if they do take him, then they want to be confident that they can give him a good car.

Maybe in 10 or so years, they can win the championship with Petrov driving

prisonermonkeys · Jan 29, 2012

I have heard that they have started work on their 2014 car - so that they can have a competitive chassis for the first Russian Grand Prix - because a preliminary set of regulations for 2014 have been drafted, no doubt because of the change in engine formula, but also because of some of the energy recovery systems that will be used:

KERS continues in its current guise for another two years, then for 2014 - along with all new engine regulations - there will be a new format KERS. Energy recovery will be from different sources, so the overriding term for the hybrid technology on the car will simply be ERS (Energy Recovery Systems). However, KERS will still exist, harvesting energy from braking, but will have a greater allowance for energy stored and reapplied. But there will also be TERS (Thermal Energy Recovery), with an MGU harvesting energy from the turbocharger. Overall, ERS will provide a third of the engine's power for some 30s of the lap. No longer will the driver press a button for their KERS boost; it will be integrated in their demand for power from the throttle pedal. The electronics will be constantly managing the powertrain's energy, harvesting and applying energy based on whether the driver is on or off the throttle. In 2014, powertrains and ERS are set to become very complicated.

And that's just the powertrain and KERS. I know other regulations call for a lowered nose and narrower front wings, so getting a head start on 2014 probably isn't as crazy as it sounds.

jcm · Jan 29, 2012

prisonermonkeys
I have heard that they have started work on their 2014 car - so that they can have a competitive chassis for the first Russian Grand Prix - because a preliminary set of regulations for 2014 have been drafted, no doubt because of the change in engine formula, but also because of some of the energy recovery systems that will be used:

And that's just the powertrain and KERS. I know other regulations call for a lowered nose and narrower front wings, so getting a head start on 2014 probably isn't as crazy as it sounds.

Petrov and Marussia are actually going to win the championship in 2014!

peter_vod69 · Jan 29, 2012

jcm
Petrov and Marussia are actually going to win the championship in 2014!

And I'm selling a space shuttle in the local trading post.

jcm · Jan 29, 2012

peter_vod69
And I'm selling a space shuttle in the local trading post.

It wasn't meant as sarcasm, though it does sound as ridiculous as selling a space shuttle in the local tradding post. Obviously you'd sell it on Ebay or Amazon. Worldwide online trading posts.

joetruckv8 · Jan 29, 2012

I'm going to have a good season this year with all the info you guys know, plus my speed.com mobile phone app!

astrosdude91 · Jan 29, 2012

joetruckv8
I'm going to have a good season this year with all the info you guys know, plus my speed.com mobile phone app!

Get the ESPN F1 app too. The SPEED app is sometimes really slow to get important news out. I use both personally.

jcm · Jan 30, 2012

Is there any news on the second HRT seat? Or, the HRT engine?

prisonermonkeys · Jan 30, 2012

HRT is still using a Cosworth engine. That was never in doubt, so I don't know why you think it might change.

As for the identity of their second driver, don't you think someone would have posted news if they had it?

jcm · Jan 30, 2012

prisonermonkeys
HRT is still using a Cosworth engine. That was never in doubt, so I don't know why you think it might change.

As for the identity of their second driver, don't you think someone would have posted news if they had it?

According to this page of F1.com their engine is To Be Announced...

As for the driver news, I just thought maybe I missed something.

prisonermonkeys · Jan 30, 2012

That's because it's the FIA entry list, which isn't really representative of anything more than who had submitted paperwork at the time. A previous version was released in December, without Pedro de la Rosa's name on it despite the fact that he joined the team in November.

jcm · Jan 30, 2012

prisonermonkeys
That's because it's the FIA entry list, which isn't really representative of anything more than who had submitted paperwork at the time. A previous version was released in December, without Pedro de la Rosa's name on it despite the fact that he joined the team in November.

Okay, thanks for the clarification 👍

prisonermonkeys · Jan 31, 2012

Reports from Spain suggest Jaime Alguersuari could wind up as Mercedes' third driver as sponsors CEPSA are upset he was dropped without warning:

http://www.as.com/motor/articulo/cepsa-quiere-alguersuari-mercedes-amg/20120130dasdaimot_2/Tes

The report also suggests that Petronas is re-thinking its involvement in Formula 1, and could withdraw, paving the way for CEPSA to sponsor the team. Which means we would have two silver-and-red Mercedes-powered teams.

Sach · Jan 31, 2012

prisonermonkeys
Reports from Spain suggest Jaime Alguersuari could wind up as Mercedes' third driver as sponsors CEPSA are upset he was dropped without warning:

http://www.as.com/motor/articulo/cepsa-quiere-alguersuari-mercedes-amg/20120130dasdaimot_2/Tes

The report also suggests that Petronas is re-thinking its involvement in Formula 1, and could withdraw, paving the way for CEPSA to sponsor the team. Which means we would have two silver-and-red Mercedes-powered teams.

Interesting.

The 2012 Driver transfer discussion/speculation thread

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