Mark Webber: retires from F1 after '13, joining Porsche LMP1 next year
- Thread starter Wardez
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- GTP_ZippyCat
I too would expect Vettel to win the teammate war with Kimi over the long haul, but he will need to up his game to do so. He has the measure of Webber and these days has very little trouble with him. Raikkonen being younger will retain more of his raw speed than Webber and thus be a more consistent threat in qualifying; he's also consistent off the start and so will usually be closer to Seb on race days.
The real tension I see would involve Vettel v. Horner more than Vettel v. Raikkonen. It's already clear Seb believes there's potential in the car he's not being allowed to tap because of RBR's generally conservative approach to race strategy. If Kimi's close, Seb will want to let the dog off the leash, while Horner through Rocky will be demanding restraint.
I would by the way also expect some Raikkonen v. Horner tension. Kimi as we all know has very little patience with nervous nellies. While he won't do as much as Seb to inspire Horner's toe-tapping, he'll most certainly react poorly to what little pit-wall anxiety bounces his way. We'll in the event be hearing more radio conversations along the lines of "I know what to do."
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- HamiltonMP427
Is Adidas also considered a "technical partner"? (It's on the wing).
Duh, they built a "24h Le Man's racing shoe" that helped them win in the end, they are energy recovery shoes that light up orange and they push the accelerator beyond those who wear regular shoes....
I still say that is a stupid thing to do on their part, the only reason is now they are throwing money away at the opportunity they built the YD program for and having STR being around at all. However, like I said earlier the Red Bull group have done head shaking things before.
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- GTP_Anghammarad
braunracing88
(Banned)
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- braunracing88
That's exactly the point I was trying to make. Alonso can't stand being challenged by a teammate, so I don't see him filling the vacant seat at Red Bull. And I wonder how long Massa will tire of playing second fiddle to him.
Räikkonen, on the other hand, didn't make a big fuss about having a quicker teammate than him, so him and Vettel could work. Hell, Vettel has even said he'd like the idea of pairing with The Iceman.
http://www.sport360.com/motorsport/webber-confirms-red-bull-exit-vettel-wants-raikkonen-fill-void
Even the World Endurance Championship website has confirmed that Webber has signed with Porsche.
http://www.fiawec.com/en/news/mark-webber-to-contest-fia-wec-for-porsche_1244.html
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- GTP_Mars
Good move from Mark Webber - it's been time to move on for a while now.
I can't see anyone with a desire to win the World Championship in the next 2-3 years wanting to join Red Bull - and I can't see Vettel entertaining that idea either. Red Bull would maybe be wise to choose a long term partner/successor to Vettel - someone who Vettel canbeat mentor for a season or two, and avoid the kind of hassle that having an unwilling #2 driver brings. Kimi Raikkonen has never been nor will ever be a willing #2 driver, and neither has Sebastian Vettel - ergo, Vettel-Raikkonen 2014 is something that doesn't make alot of sense to me.
I can't see anyone with a desire to win the World Championship in the next 2-3 years wanting to join Red Bull - and I can't see Vettel entertaining that idea either. Red Bull would maybe be wise to choose a long term partner/successor to Vettel - someone who Vettel can
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- HamiltonMP427
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If you were ask personally, I think Alexander Rossi is a much better candidate for IRB and for several reasons:
- Rossi is no Scott Speed e.g. Rossi is the real deal
- Rossi have proven himself to be a very competitive driver in the feeder championships
- Rossi driving for a top team like Infiniti Red Bull plus the fact that come 2014 we're going to have 2 american rounds(NJ and Texas) is it make alot of sense to have a much worthy american finally at the top level.
- Rossi compliments Vettel and it gives RB and a team with young talent.
Don't get me wrong, but pairing Vettel with Kimi is anothing but recipe for disaster. Just look at MotoGP where teams continue to pair riders of equal talent..its has create nothing but tons of infighting.
- Rossi is no Scott Speed e.g. Rossi is the real deal
- Rossi have proven himself to be a very competitive driver in the feeder championships
- Rossi driving for a top team like Infiniti Red Bull plus the fact that come 2014 we're going to have 2 american rounds(NJ and Texas) is it make alot of sense to have a much worthy american finally at the top level.
- Rossi compliments Vettel and it gives RB and a team with young talent.
Don't get me wrong, but pairing Vettel with Kimi is anothing but recipe for disaster. Just look at MotoGP where teams continue to pair riders of equal talent..its has create nothing but tons of infighting.
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- Wardez
- Wardez
Not even Vettel was able to jump straight into a top team, why would Rossi?
He still needs to prove his worth as a backmarker as he isn't getting extraordinary results in feeder series anywhere. Marketing's important to an extent, but having an American driver in RBR, just 'cause, would go totally against their aims.
Supposedly, Webber decided to bow out 6 months ago:
http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/Webber-decided-to-quit-six-months-ago,62834.html
He still needs to prove his worth as a backmarker as he isn't getting extraordinary results in feeder series anywhere. Marketing's important to an extent, but having an American driver in RBR, just 'cause, would go totally against their aims.
Supposedly, Webber decided to bow out 6 months ago:
http://motorsport.nextgen-auto.com/Webber-decided-to-quit-six-months-ago,62834.html
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As I have said, he's a very competitive driver and one that is talented at that and for this a factory/works seat is long overdue.
Overall the prevailing attitude of some in the F1 community remind of the trap MotoGP currently has itself when it come to talent...hold the exceptional talent back while promoting a certain group of individuals.
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What now? LOL, Rossi ain't getting anywhere near that RB seat. Rossi isn't any sort of "exceptional talent". I don't think he's as promising as Frijns, Nasr, AFdC, Magnussen, Lello, Wehrlein, and others, so he's lucky his association with Caterham will eventually get him a race seat. There's many other drivers of similar talent who never even get a chance at F1.
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Do you know what happens when you leave milk in the fridge for too long? Sooner or later, it starts to curdle. And while it might keep for longer in the fridge than if you just left it on the kitchen counter, the end result is still the same.
Rossi might have been hot property once upon a time, but that doesn't mean he deserves a seat in Formula 1 (much less a seat with the top team, as others have pointed out). Red Bull would probably take Antonio Felix da Costa, Stoffel Vandoorne, Kevin Magnussen, Sergey Sirotkin, Nigel Melker, Felipe Nasr, Fabio Leimer, Robin Frijns, Mitch Evans, Tio Ellinas, Kevin Korjus and Patric Neiderhauser before they even considered Rossi.
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No, the Raikkonen-Red Bull rumours started when Raikkonen announced that he was going to the WRC. Red Bull sponsored him there, but they didn't back Conrad Rautenbach, who drove the second Citroen Junior car. A lot of Raikkonen's fans thought that the sponsorship deal was for a year so that Red Bull could stake their claim to Raikkonen when he made his return to Formula 1 in 2010. It never happened - Red Bull were obviously just sponsoring him for a year for the added media coverage, and had chosen not to back Rautenbach because of the way he got into the sport (the man made even the most useless pay driver look like a saint).
You can't always trust those interviews. The journalists tend to ask very specific, leading questions that are designed to get a pre-determined answer out of the driver. When Raikkonen says that it would be difficult to leave Lotus, is that because he is genuinely considering it, or because the journalist asked if it would be difficult to leave?
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- ganon83
A bit late replying to this proper, but do you mean sort of like what Rubens was to Schumacher?
If there was any driver I think who could put Vettel in his place when it comes down to the nitty gritty and follow team orders outside of Schumacher, it would have to be Kimi.
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Maybe this is a surprise suggestion; but I'd love to see Valtteri Bottas driving for Red Bull. Unfortunately he hasn't had many chances to show his worth this year, due to Williams building what is quite possibly their worst ever car (and we thought the FW33 was bad 
); however he has out-qualified his more experienced team mate five times already this year.
What's more, I feel he showed outstanding race-craft and maturity during the Canadian GP. Realistically he was never going to finish in the points driving such a slow car; as Fernando Alonso can testify however, he didn't make it easy for those trying to pass him. Yet despite defending hard he also defended fairly.
Now I'm aware some will feel that he's too young and inexperienced to move to a top team after just one season. However, remember Kimi Räikkönen, when he first came into F1? He wasn't just an F1 rookie; he was pretty inexperienced at car racing as a whole. In fact he only had one full year of car racing on his CV, before he came into Formula One; and look what happened there? Three top five finishes in his first season, and tenth in the drivers championship. After seeing this (and a recommendation from the departing Mika Häkkinen) McLaren were impressed enough to offer him a race seat. And as we all know, he did not disappoint. After securing his debut podium and setting fastest lap for his first race in a McLaren, he out-qualified Coulthard more often throughout the year, and nearly won in France. And of course, in 2003, he only narrowly missed out on the drivers title.
); however he has out-qualified his more experienced team mate five times already this year. What's more, I feel he showed outstanding race-craft and maturity during the Canadian GP. Realistically he was never going to finish in the points driving such a slow car; as Fernando Alonso can testify however, he didn't make it easy for those trying to pass him. Yet despite defending hard he also defended fairly.
Now I'm aware some will feel that he's too young and inexperienced to move to a top team after just one season. However, remember Kimi Räikkönen, when he first came into F1? He wasn't just an F1 rookie; he was pretty inexperienced at car racing as a whole. In fact he only had one full year of car racing on his CV, before he came into Formula One; and look what happened there? Three top five finishes in his first season, and tenth in the drivers championship. After seeing this (and a recommendation from the departing Mika Häkkinen) McLaren were impressed enough to offer him a race seat. And as we all know, he did not disappoint. After securing his debut podium and setting fastest lap for his first race in a McLaren, he out-qualified Coulthard more often throughout the year, and nearly won in France. And of course, in 2003, he only narrowly missed out on the drivers title.
I think if Raikkonen doesn't happen based on recent performances and if he can keep them up Ricciardo is favourite. Webber also recommended him although some might say there is a hint of Aussie bias. I don't though, I think of the two STR drivers he's the best bet if they were to sign one of them tomorrow.
I don't think it'd make much sense Red Bull taking on a young rookie/development driver from another team when they have their own.
I don't think it'd make much sense Red Bull taking on a young rookie/development driver from another team when they have their own.
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