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

[Liquid]

That's why I said 3 or 4 years. He will get the title this year, maybe next year as well. Another couple of years racing, then retire.

Sorry for having an opinion, I will wind my ****ing neck in next time.

Hey, I didn't mean anything by it! I just thought you were implying that Alonso would either re-join McLaren or swap with Vettel for Red Bull and I wanted to know which one. Personally, I think Alonso has a good few years left in him yet and will stay with Ferrari for about 6-7 years.

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Interesting move from Hamilton. I don't think the three-pointed star will be enormously competitive next year, and I can see this being like 2009 all over again. I think the thing with Mercedes is that it gives Hamilton greater freedom to pursue his own sponsorship deals, whereas it's pretty rigid with McLaren I feel.

 

[F1 fan]

Interesting move from Hamilton. I don't think the three-pointed star will be enormously competitive next year, and I can see this being like 2009 all over again. I think the thing with Mercedes is that it gives Hamilton greater freedom to pursue his own sponsorship deals, whereas it's pretty rigid with McLaren I feel.

At least that means I won't have to endure that annoying Hamilton/tony Stewart advert for much longer. A certain Japanese channel airs it several times an hour and it's beginning to get on my nerves.

On a personal note, I wish Mclaren would also get rid of Martin Whitmarsh. That way I might actually like the team again.

 

[dhandeh]

I can't see Alonso going anywhere else when he decides to finish at Ferrari. Not many go onto greater success, after leaving them.

Today news is good for all parties involved, Hamilton gets his move, Mclaren get a decent replacement and Mercedes now have two drivers in their prime.

On a personal note, I wish Mclaren would also get rid of Martin Whitmarsh. That way I might actually like the team again.

Agreed, the man is a drip and his chief yes-monkey, Sam Michael.

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Alonso has said several times that Ferrari will be his last team in F1..

 

[HeXoSKEL3t0n]

Show him up? half the time all you hear on Button's radio is "Oh come on guys, I'm getting massive understeer". With the exception of Spa this year when Button had the new rear wing on when has Button ever looked dominant in a Mclaren?

You forgot Australia 2012 (when Button beat Hamilton to T1).

And the whole of the 2011 season, when he was clearly outscoring Hamilton by quite a large margin, if you could recall that is.

 

[Liquid]

Alonso has said several times that Ferrari will be his last team in F1..

Quite true, but to quote his Murrayness;

"Anything can happen in F1, and it usually does."

 

[Seismica]

Show him up? half the time all you hear on Button's radio is "Oh come on guys, I'm getting massive understeer". With the exception of Spa this year when Button had the new rear wing on when has Button ever looked dominant in a Mclaren?

You're putting words into my mouth.

Hamilton was expected to walk all over Button, like Alonso has done to Massa. Button has showed him up in that respect because all of a sudden everybody who was supporting Hamilton and bashing the Button 'victory' supporters from 2009, were proven to be wrong in their assumption that Hamilton is the best driver. I never said Button dominated Hamilton; My point was that Hamilton didn't. They have been relatively evenly matched whilst they have been at Mclaren. Sure, Hamilton had a bit of bad luck in 2011, but Button has had his fair share of bad luck here and there (See Spa 2010 for example).

Button is very vocal when the car balance isn't good, and this affects his performance. His bad races stand out in results because they are non-points finishes, but he makes up for this with his consistency when the car is working for him. When Hamilton had a bad weekend, he just crashes (Spa 2011) or loses lots of places from his qualifying position (Bahrain 2012). Not to mention how every on of his wins for Mclaren since 2010 have been from the front row of the grid, whereas only 3 and of 7 of Button's has.

Now Lewis is moving to Mercedes, people and certain news sites (Such as the BBC) are claiming he will have 'unequivocal' number one status when they most likely have no idea of the terms in the contract Hamilton has with the team. Nico Rosberg matching Michael Schumacher obviously means Hamilton will walk all over him.

I say again, people should not underestimate Hamilton now that he's driving a Mercedes. But lest people forget how dominant Nico was in China. If they have a fast car, Nico will be right up there with Hamilton. Lewis will by no means be the number one, it will be very similar to his time at Mclaren; He'll be faster but he's not Alonso, he's not going to dominate.

 

[Hun200kmh]

Equal status for Rosberg and Hamilton

And that's how it is 👍

 

[Liquid]

Equal status for Rosberg and Hamilton

And that's how it is 👍

Barrichello and Schumacher were publicly equal partners at Ferrari.



What is said and what actually happens aren't always the same. We'll see what happens when Rosberg is heading a Mercedes 1-2.

 

[niky]

Against Button, Hamilton is dominant in qualifying, but only par or less in terms of race strategy. Against Alonso, Hamilton took him down to the wire, but it's arguable that Alonso was struggling that season and wasn't on his "A" game, because he was royally pissed off at his royalness, Emperor Lewis.

Against an Alonso in his comfort zone, it might be that Lewis would lose... badly. They'd be dead even on qualifying and Hamilton would be worse off in race craft.

Against Rosberg... look... Rosberg dominated Schumi in Schumi's first season back, but look at them now that Schumacher is back in fighting shape. Schumi's ahead on average qualifying positions, and in the races he actually finishes, he's often ahead of Nico or not far behind.

When Nico won that race, Schumi qualified second and might have finished second or third if not for that pit-stop boggle.

Schumi's low placing in the driver's championship is all down to retirements. If not for on-track or mechanical incidents, he could be even with Rosberg or better.

Now, maybe some of that is down to some remnant of Schumacher's immense talent, but you've got to wonder... how will Rosberg match up to a championship-level driver who's still in his prime?

 

[Peasantslayer]

You're putting words into my mouth.

Hamilton was expected to walk all over Button, like Alonso has done to Massa. Button has showed him up in that respect because all of a sudden everybody who was supporting Hamilton and bashing the Button 'victory' supporters from 2009, were proven to be wrong in their assumption that Hamilton is the best driver. I never said Button dominated Hamilton; My point was that Hamilton didn't. They have been relatively evenly matched whilst they have been at Mclaren. Sure, Hamilton had a bit of bad luck in 2011, but Button has had his fair share of bad luck here and there (See Spa 2010 for example).

Button is very vocal when the car balance isn't good, and this affects his performance. His bad races stand out in results because they are non-points finishes, but he makes up for this with his consistency when the car is working for him. When Hamilton had a bad weekend, he just crashes (Spa 2011) or loses lots of places from his qualifying position (Bahrain 2012). Not to mention how every on of his wins for Mclaren since 2010 have been from the front row of the grid, whereas only 3 and of 7 of Button's has.

Now Lewis is moving to Mercedes, people and certain news sites (Such as the BBC) are claiming he will have 'unequivocal' number one status when they most likely have no idea of the terms in the contract Hamilton has with the team. Nico Rosberg matching Michael Schumacher obviously means Hamilton will walk all over him.

I say again, people should not underestimate Hamilton now that he's driving a Mercedes. But lest people forget how dominant Nico was in China. If they have a fast car, Nico will be right up there with Hamilton. Lewis will by no means be the number one, it will be very similar to his time at Mclaren; He'll be faster but he's not Alonso, he's not going to dominate.

It's easier to win from off the front row when you are rarely on it, in Bahrain Lewis had 2 bad pit stops which cost him an additional 17 seconds IIRC. I think Hamilton will outscore Nico next year but not by much, I think if Nico was given the chance in something like a Mclaren he would perform as well as Button over the course of a season.

Australia 2010. Canada 2011. He is very sensitive on the tires, but I suspect the car will be very good for him next year. Now that they have two drivers who are sympathetic to the tires rather than one who is and another who isn't.

Canada 2011, lets be honest Hamilton was going much quicker which is why he hit the back of him. How about a dominant performance in the dry?

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Hamilton was dominant at Hungary and Italy this year wasnt he?

 

[EDK]

No entirely surprised to see Lewis go for the money and fresh start. A little surprised to know Perez was the chosen replacement. He's been impressive this year, but we'll see soon how much of that was the car.

Here's my bold prediction -

Schumacher will decide to come back for one more year, and he will drive in Massa's seat at Ferrari.

Maybe not so bold, but not sure I've read it in here yet.

 

[Peasantslayer]

Hamilton was dominant at Hungary and Italy this year wasnt he?

It probably would have been the same in Singapore.

No entirely surprised to see Lewis go for the money and fresh start. A little surprised to know Perez was the chosen replacement. He's been impressive this year, but we'll see soon how much of that was the car.

Here's my bold prediction -

Schumacher will decide to come back for one more year, and he will drive in Massa's seat at Ferrari.

Maybe not so bold, but not sure I've read it in here yet.

I'm sure he'd love to go back to Ferrari but I don't think he'd love being embarrassed by Alonso week in week out.

 

[EDK]

I'm sure he'd love to go back to Ferrari but I don't think he'd love being embarrassed by Alonso week in week out.

Agree that he's no match for Alonso, but Massa is not either. My view is that the team is only looking for a 1 year solution, and they would rather have someone who is popular with the fans and everyone realizes is a temporary solution, rather than the same old Massa who everyone has become fed up with.

 

[Anghammarad]

The only reason for Ferrari to take on Schumacher is because he is quite good, or he used to be, in helping developing cars

 

[zippy_the_cat]

Stunning news to wake up to here in the States, what with Hamilton and Perez both on the move. Hamilton's move was obvious, though. It wasn't in the cards for him to stay at McLaren after he hired XIX. In this country when a baseball player hires Scott Boras (top agent) it's a given he's leaving whatever team he's with to go to the one that offers the most money. The Hamilton/XIX relationship had the same vibe.

Out in the cold: DiResta, unless he swings a Ferrari deal. Otherwise he can forget about ever driving for a top team.

 

[Peasantslayer]

The only reason for Ferrari to take on Schumacher is because he is quite good, or he used to be, in helping developing cars

He'll sell lots of merchandise and isn't he one of the richest sportsmen of all time. He could easily buy his way in if he wanted to.

EDIT: He's worth half a billion pounds according to this

 

[MUSC4EVER]

Thats a good point about DiResta zippy_the_cat!

If he doesnt get a Ferrari seat then he will be stuck at Force India next season!

 

[Anghammarad]

He'll sell lots of merchandise and isn't he one of the richest sportsmen of all time. He could easily buy his way in if he wanted to.

EDIT: He's worth half a billion pounds according to this

He hasn't really helped to nurture his status in the past three years.

 

[HeXoSKEL3t0n]

I don't get the reason why so many people tend to dismiss Button so easily...

IMO, each of them has had a fair share of good and bad weekends against each other, with Button tending to use smart racecraft and strategy to make up for his slight lack of speed.

It's a bit irking to see some people just writing off some drivers out of ignorance sometimes. (Also notably some critics' comments on Schumacher's comeback performance)

Note: Not directing at any particular person, just saying in general

 

[Peasantslayer]

He hasn't really helped to nurture his status in the past three years.

Of course he won't sell stuff like he used to but lets look at Valentino Rossi for example, he's done pretty much nothing in MotoGP for 2 seasons but whenever the camera pans to stands during a race there is still a sea of yellow caps with the number 46 on the front.

I don't get the reason why so many people tend to dismiss Button so easily...

As a person he comes across as one of the most likeable on the grid even on a bad day, with the exception of this season he has generally had very good race pace but he just lacks that raw speed that Vettel, Hamilton and possibly Alonso seem to have. I'm actually surprised when Button is less than a couple of tenths off Lewis in qualifying.

 

[Hun200kmh]

http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsport/story/90083.html

Just looking at those comments makes me smile. Schumacher fans are delusional, there's absolutely no way Montezemolo would accept Schumacher back. And ... it would be an even bigger mistake for MSC himself (to return to Ferrari) than it was to return to F1 at all 3 years ago.

 

[Peasantslayer]

http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsport/story/90083.html

Just looking at those comments makes me smile. Schumacher fans are delusional, there's absolutely no way Montezemolo would accept Schumacher back. And ... it would be an even bigger mistake for MSC himself (to return to Ferrari) than it was to return to F1 at all 3 years ago.

I laughed at "Schumacher and Alonso in same car, could be like Senna and Alain... just epic!"

 

[SKIDMARX]

Not sure this has been mentioned. Schumacher is rumoured to be moving to Sauber to take Perez' place is he decides to stay in racing, otherwise it is also rumoured that he may be rumoured to work on Mercedes AMG's management team. It is also said that if he decides to go to Sauber money will then become a problem, but I don't reckon who would want to be paid that much compared to others.

 

[EDK]

http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsport/story/90083.html

Just looking at those comments makes me smile. Schumacher fans are delusional, there's absolutely no way Montezemolo would accept Schumacher back. And ... it would be an even bigger mistake for MSC himself (to return to Ferrari) than it was to return to F1 at all 3 years ago.

I did not claim to be a Schumacher fan, I simply made a prediction. The article you linked to is just more posturing on their part. I think they were waiting to see how things shake out with the other teams before making the call on a 1 year driver. Again, just my opinion/speculation.

I'm not sure why you say there is no way Montezemolo would accept Schumacher back? His general indecision about the future of his career, and then the move to another team? Or is there some bad blood that I'm not aware of, with the driver who won them 5 championships?

 

[gorsad]

First time I didn't check the internet in school today, and this happens. pretty surprised that Lewis would switch from Mclaren, who have had 5 wins this season, to Mercedes, with their solitary win. But eh. he probably has his reasons. I'm mostly interested to see what Perez will do in a car that should be fast.

 

[Hun200kmh]

I did not claim to be a Schumacher fan, I simply made a prediction. The article you linked to is just more posturing on their part. I think they were waiting to see how things shake out with the other teams before making the call on a 1 year driver. Again, just my opinion/speculation.

I'm not sure why you say there is no way Montezemolo would accept Schumacher back? His general indecision about the future of his career, and then the move to another team? Or is there some bad blood that I'm not aware of, with the driver who won them 5 championships?

Kevin, I didn't mean you, in fact I didn't notice your previous post and had to look it up to check what you had written. If you see the comments you'll understand.

About Schumi and LdM, you won't find it in any Press Release, and there's no "hard facts" I can point you to, but it's more or less "common knowledge" among F1 fans that LdM showed MSC the door because he wanted Kimi. A bit like, years later, he did the same to Kimi because he wanted Alonso.

You'll find references to this in die-hard F1 fan forums, like autosport and others. And maybe articles of old by serious F1 commentators, but I can't find those now

 

[F1 fan]

Canada 2011, lets be honest Hamilton was going much quicker which is why he hit the back of him. How about a dominant performance in the dry?

Japan 2011. As for Canada, Hamilton had been going backwards, lined up one pass and cocked it up spectacularly. Hardly "much quicker".

 

[EDK]

Kevin, I didn't mean you, in fact I didn't notice your previous post and had to look it up to check what you had written. If you see the comments you'll understand.

About Schumi and LdM, you won't find it in any Press Release, and there's no "hard facts" I can point you to, but it's more or less "common knowledge" among F1 fans that LdM showed MSC the door because he wanted Kimi. A bit like, years later, he did the same to Kimi because he wanted Alonso.

You'll find references to this in die-hard F1 fan forums, like autosport and others. And maybe articles of old by serious F1 commentators, but I can't find those now

Fair enough, I was just the one that started a bit of the Schumi banter in the last couple pages. But I'm no fan boy.

I guess the rest just remains to be seen. I can see why they would want him out as their primary driver at the time, but not sure they would take the same view of him as a second.