The '13 driver transfer discussion/speculation thread op updated 16/10

[prisonermonkeys]

It's cobbled together from bits and pieces of stupid rumours started by Hamilton fanboys. They don't seem to be organised, but all of them seem to be heading in the same direction: that Hamilton has a contract with McLaren, that the media is conspiring to distract him and make him under-perform, and that he and McLaren are aware of it and letting it happen.

 

[HeXoSKEL3t0n]

Never heard of all those kind of conspiracies on Hamilton, from exactly where did you get that all from?

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

Lewis confirmed today he didnt signed anything yet for the new season, nothing with Mercedes but nothing with Mclaren neither.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Martin Whitmarsh admits McLaren have offered Hamilton less money than Mercedes have:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/sep/21/lewis-hamilton-mclaren-deal-mercedes

 

[niky]

I agree with the move. They need him, but he needs them more. With the Brawn mis-steps over the past two seasons, I doubt Lewis would be fighting this high up in the championship with a Merc.

Comes down to what Lewis is hungrier for... money or titles? My money is on titles.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

It's been widely-reported that Ross Brawn went on a clandestine recruitment drive earlier this year, trying to lure - and succeeding in doing so - as much technical talent over to Brackley. Which makes sense, given that Mercedes' Singapore update is the first major upgrade package they've introduced this year, at a time when most of the leading teams have already had two updates and a lot of the smaller teams have had one.

 

[niky]

I thought they'd already pirated a lot of talent from McLaren before the season started?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

They've reportedly picked up more talent from elsewhere in the time since. Although this appears to be speculation.

 

[Ardius]

Has it already been forgotten that they hired Geoff Willis (Red Bull) and Bob Bell (Renault)?
Its been noted that Mercedes have featured several Lotus ideas on their car this year, likely an influence of Bob Bell and others.
Not to mention they dropped their Head of Aerodynamics, Loïc Bigois this year.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Those are probably some of the names hired in the recruitment drive.

Mercedes are clearly putting together a very strong technical team, which could make for a very attractive home for any driver they want to lure across.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Max Chilton has been appointed Marussia's reserve driver from Japan onwards:

http://www.marussiaf1team.com/news/663/

I reckon we'll be seeing him in Formula 1 next year. I admit, I was a little quick to judge him as little more than a pay driver competing beyond his means after Carlin's horrendous GP2 season last year, but he's currently fourth in the GP2 Series with a real shot at third if he can beat Gutierrez. He's going to have to work really hard to shake the title of pay driver - especially considering that his father owns the Carlin GP2 team, and the last driver to land a Formula 1 seat after racing in a family-owned GP2 team was Nelson Piquet Jnr. (though to be fair to Piquet, his GP2 results were good enough to justify a Formula 1 seat; it was his demenaour that let him down) - but I think Chilton has certainly done enough to be deserving of a shot at Formula 1.

Funnily enough, the big winner in all of this is probably going to be Tio Ellinas. As the best-performing Marussia-backed driver in GP3, he gets a free run at the Young Driver Tests. But because Marussia used up their YDTs giving Chilton and Haryanto a run, Ellinas will have to wait until 2013. If Chilton steps up to Formula 1, that will create an opening at the Marussia-backed Carlin team in GP2, paving the way for Ellinas to do a season and then have a test in Formula 1 - and if he impresses, it could be a shortcut to a Formula 1 seat in 2014.

 

[Ardius]

Is the Marussia seat really worth it though? So far all of the second drivers have been dumped after 1 season and never got anywhere.

I personally wouldn't wish for Ellinas to get a Marussia seat as I think he's pretty talented - he deserves a much better ride to prove himself.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Is the Marussia seat really worth it though?

If it's the only seat available, then the answer is probably yes.

So far all of the second drivers have been dumped after 1 season and never got anywhere.

And neither was particularly impressive in it.

I personally wouldn't wish for Ellinas to get a Marussia seat as I think he's pretty talented - he deserves a much better ride to prove himself.

Well, he probably won't be ready for a seat until 2014 at the earliest. A whole raft of seats could become available by then.

 

[Ardius]

Is Pic heading anywhere? He's done pretty well. I heard a rumour for Caterham but then nearly everyone that isn't a top driver is being connected with them.

d'Ambrosio wasn't bad against Glock either. And while di Grassi wasn't that great against Glock, he isn't a bad driver. Both could have earnt a second season in the same car at the very least.

Its hard to judge really when they are so far back on the grid and missing so much of the attention. The hundred things we learn per race about say Hamilton or Button's woes, we hear very little from the backmarker teams unless you go looking for it.

I still don't think much of Chilton. He might be a surprise but I don't rate this year's GP2 field very highly.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Is Pic heading anywhere? He's done pretty well. I heard a rumour for Caterham but then nearly everyone that isn't a top driver is being connected with them.

There have been rumours linking him to everyone from Sauber to Caterham, but John Booth has said several times that Marussia is very happy with him. I suspect they'll keep him if they can.

d'Ambrosio wasn't bad against Glock either. And while di Grassi wasn't that great against Glock, he isn't a bad driver. Both could have earnt a second season in the same car at the very least.

Maybe, but d'Ambrosio was hardly competitive in Italy. Maybe I'm being unfair in judging him on one race, but it's pretty obvious that that was the only race he was going to get, so he had to so something special.

Its hard to judge really when they are so far back on the grid and missing so much of the attention. The hundred things we learn per race about say Hamilton or Button's woes, we hear very little from the backmarker teams unless you go looking for it.

They've definately made some kind of progress. They were consistently in front of at least one Caterham during free practice this weekend, and Glock qualified just two tenths of a second behind Kovalainen.

I do, however, think they might have missed a serious opportunity for progress. Roman Abramovich put Chelsea logos on the Saubers, using some of the $80 million Putin paid him for Sibneft, which is supposed to be put forward to promote Russia. With Marussia being a Russian team and owned by Russians, it would have made more sense for Abramovich to put that money into Marussia rather than Sauber. Putting the logos on the Sauber might have given him an instant pay-off, but putting the money into Marussia might have been better in the long-term. Particularly since Pat Symonds has apparently put in place a three-year development schedule - starting this year - so that the team can be (relatively) competitive at the first Russian Grand Prix.

 

[Ardius]

Er - how does putting Chelsea FC logos on anything promote Russia? Just because its Russian owned doesn't mean anything when in the end its just a logo for an English football club. No one makes the Russian connection when they see that sponsorship deal.

 

[Bram Turismo]

Maybe, but d'Ambrosio was hardly competitive in Italy. Maybe I'm being unfair in judging him on one race, but it's pretty obvious that that was the only race he was going to get, so he had to so something special.

There is no maybe. You can't judge him on that race as he barely has spent time in an F1 car this year, let alone racing one.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Er - how does putting Chelsea FC logos on anything promote Russia? Just because its Russian owned doesn't mean anything when in the end its just a logo for an English football club. No one makes the Russian connection when they see that sponsorship deal.

Well, maybe it came from the team's budget rather than the Sibneft money. But that doesn't change my point: a Russian millionaire who has Russian money is given instructions to use that money to promote Russia, get involved in a sport with a Russian team that could use money ... you see where this is going.

There is no maybe. You can't judge him on that race as he barely has spent time in an F1 car this year, let alone racing one.

Nevertheless, it's the only start he's going to get this year, and he knows it. He knew it then, and he knows it now. He had to make something special out of it, and he didn't.

 

[Bram Turismo]

Nevertheless, it's the only start he's going to get this year, and he knows it. He knew it then, and he knows it now. He had to make something special out of it, and he didn't.

Define special. The only thing he could possibly do was aiming for a single point, or even put in consistent laps. His individual lap times weren't too bad, but his laps were far too inconsistent.

 

[HeXoSKEL3t0n]

D'Ambrosio lost his KERS around the start of the race... Which is a especially substantial disadvantage with the long Monza straights. Coupling that with the slight lack of power from the Renault engine, there's not much he could do about it.

Maybe he should've been able to get a points finish in Monza with that Lotus IMO, but nevertheless still a good drive from him, considering the circumstances.

http://lotusf1team.com/Sunday-in-Monza-Jerome-s-Grand.html

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Maybe he should've been able to get a points finish in Monza with that Lotus IMO, but nevertheless still a good drive from him, considering the circumstances.

If you were a team principal - any team principal - would you give d'Ambrosio a drive in 2013?

 

[HeXoSKEL3t0n]

If you were a team principal - any team principal - would you give d'Ambrosio a drive in 2013?

To be honest, his capabilities is a bit of a ?, especially since we only got to see him in a Virgin for one season and a Lotus for a race.

I'd say I'd strongly consider him for a midfield team race drive. From there, the team(s) would be able to see how he can develop, and whether he can make the cut for going on to top teams.

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

Pic is going to Caterham he sign a deal with them, at least that's what the french commentator said.

 

[Bram Turismo]

If you were a team principal - any team principal - would you give d'Ambrosio a drive in 2013?

I'd definitely keep him around as a third driver.

Put him into the Lotus? I would not. He only got 1 season at Virgin, and he certainly deserves a season at a midfield team such as Force India or Williams to further develop and prove his worth. I'd take the risk to boot Senna and put D'Ambrosio in the seat to see what he's got if Williams didn't need the money.

I'd not immediately put him in a Lotus, but that is not saying I wouldn't grant him time to develop in a midfield car.

It's the same case with Petrov and Grosjean. They were only given a single season before everyone wrote them off. Then they got a second season in a decent car and people actually realized they were more than capable drivers when the media weren't focusing them.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Both Eddie Jordan and Martin Brundle are of the belief that today - Wednesday - will finally see some movement on the driver market, possibly a major announcement. I, personally, doubt it will happen, since McLaren have announced that they are prepared to match Mercedes' bid for Hamilton. So unless Hamilton has already signed something with Mercedes and hasn't told McLaren about it, I don't think much will come of it.

 

[Centura]

Eddie Jordan said an announcement will be made on a wednesday, not specifically this wednesday.

 

[SKIDMARX]

I, personally, doubt it will happen, since McLaren have announced that they are prepared to match Mercedes' bid for Hamilton. So unless Hamilton has already signed something with Mercedes and hasn't told McLaren about it, I don't think much will come of it.

I heard that they had outbid Mercedes AMG earlier today.... Mercedes had offered Hamilton £10.5 million for so many years, McLaren said they would match Mercerdes AMG's contract period for £12 million. But still no reply from Hamilton.

 

[F1 fan]

But still no reply from Hamilton.

Of course not. He's going to make them sweat to get a better offer.

 

[Ardius]

I heard that they had outbid Mercedes AMG earlier today.... Mercedes had offered Hamilton £10.5 million for so many years, McLaren said they would match Mercerdes AMG's contract period for £12 million. But still no reply from Hamilton.

But presumably the sticking point isn't just money but also the number of years on the contract, sponsor/media commitments, etc.
One would assume Mercedes' contract is a bit more free on this front whereas McLaren might want to sign him for longer and more commitments.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Yeah, it's believed that Hamilton wants to keep his original trophies (instead of giving the trophies to the team and keeping replicas for himself), and the ability to go out and find personal sponsors.

Will Buxton actually had a really interesting piece on why a move to Mercedes might be exactly what Hamilton is looking for:

Interestingly, the brand which Red Bull reportedly fears the most is Monster. Its rival is doing big business globally, especially in America, and unlike Red Bull has the fall back position of numerous flavours in full time rather than limited edition production.

Coca Cola wants to buy Monster. It has been trying for months.

Coca Cola is interested in entering Formula 1. Company bosses were guests of Bernie in Valencia.

Coca Cola, however, is unlikely to sponsor a team. It doesn’t do things that way and never has. It sponsors events, championships etc. But it probably won’t become a sponsor of the sport itself, because that would create a political issue for Bernie with Red Bull.

But what about Monster?

What if, and I may be putting two and two together and coming out with 37, but what if Coca Cola buys Monster, ups its already existing sponsorship of Mercedes, and facilitates Lewis Hamilton’s move to the three pointed star, at the same time turning Hamilton into the poster boy for one of the world’s biggest soft drinks companies… and by that I don’t just mean Monster. I mean the Coca Cola Company.

Doesn’t sound so silly now, does it?