The '14 driver transfer discussion/speculation thread

[JMoney]

Might I suggest renaming the title to clarify the thread is only about F1? There are many more forms of motorsport other than F1, most with drivers changing from team to team. This thread could be about NASCAR for all we know; it should say in the title.

 

[hawkeye122]

Is there any traction at all to the Lotterer thing? I feel like that's just hot air from Kolles

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Is there any traction at all to the Lotterer thing? I feel like that's just hot air from Kolles

Apparently it's a real possibility. I think far too many people are dismissive of Kolles for no good reason. People forget that he turned HRT around, taking the team - as Campos Meta - from a warehouse with a few CAD drawings to an actual team in the space of three months.

It's worth mentioning that Lotterer has had a lot of experience in Formula Nippon, and despite being relatively unknown in Europe - especially when compared to GP2, Formula Renault 3.5 and European Formula 3 - it's actually one of the fastest feeder series out there.

 

[SVT Cobra GT]

So a kid who legally cannot drive here is being allowed to drive an F1 car?

You heard it here first;

"McLaren sign Lewis Hamilton's grandchild for the 2030 F1 season, making him the youngest ever F1 driver at 2 years old"

 

[prisonermonkeys]

So a kid who legally cannot drive here is being allowed to drive an F1 car?

I wasn't aware Formula 1 drivers were required to perform three-point turns, navigate roundabouts or indicate.

Again, the law's recognition of a person's capacity to drive and their actual ability to drive are not mutually inclusive.

And for the record, by the time he starts with STR, Verstappen would legally be allowed to drive down here.

 

[SVT Cobra GT]

So a kid who legally cannot drive here is being allowed to drive an F1 car?

You heard it here first;

"McLaren sign Lewis Hamilton's grandchild for the 2030 F1 season, making him the youngest ever F1 driver at 2 years old"

I wasn't aware Formula 1 drivers were required to perform three-point turns, navigate roundabouts or indicate.

Again, the law's recognition of a person's capacity to drive and their actual ability to drive are not mutually inclusive.

And for the record, by the time he starts with STR, Verstappen would legally be allowed to drive down here.

That was supposed to be sarcasm.

 

[mikeerfol]

Apparently Lotterer to Caterham is done

https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/501658271695257601

EDIT According to AmuS it's only for Spa, Kobayashi will be back in Monza.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Jolyon Palmer has taken to Twitter to discuss Verstappen's appointment, and in doing so, has proven to be a complete arsehole about it. You can practically smell the jealously emanating from his account, which is hypocritical in the extreme given that he's a pay driver and Verstappen has obvious talent.

Also something about the russian partners he has was a financial issue too that probably played in.

I remember that. Bild claimed the deal was in jeopardy because one of his backers never paid, but Sauber said they were never actually supposed to pay because it was a technical partnership.

Edit: PM sees to stand by him not earning it and usually PM is right.

Damn straight.

 

[TenEightyOne]

So a kid who legally cannot drive here is being allowed to drive an F1 car?

He can drive in Britain now in certain circumstances. In a month's time he'll be 17 anyway, and easily eligible to drive in many countries (including Australia, as @prisonermonkeys noted).

"McLaren sign Lewis Hamilton's grandchild for the 2030 F1 season, making him the youngest ever F1 driver at 2 years old"

If you had the option to pre-buy media rights for the Hamzinger then you would, makes perfect business sense whatever the kid ends up doing

 

[SagarisGTB]

Very Surprsing, no doubt Max is a talent that would do well in F1 but this feels rushed tbh and I would expect a rough first year with maybe a few races where he shows extreme speed, Redbull have to find a seat for Sainz though as he is currently dominating the top F1 feeder series.

Yup, he is putting a pasting to Vandoorne, Nasr, Marciello, Evans, ... oh wait.

Last year there was a debate, and 3.5 was probably a bit stronger, but this year GP2 is clearly stronger.

Apparently Lotterer to Caterham is done

https://twitter.com/tgruener/status/501658271695257601

EDIT According to AmuS it's only for Spa, Kobayashi will be back in Monza.

Good. It's very nice of Kolles and Albers to give their old buddy this opportunity. I've always like Lotterer and he has little else to prove in Super Formula and prototype sportscars. It'll be interesting to see how he compares to Ericsson in this one-off.

 

[noshog]

Well you have to really wonder what Caterham are thinking ??
Why would you take Kobayashi out of the seat when he has destroyed Ericsson all season, I think Caterham would learn a lot more by putting Lotterer in Ericsson's seat ? Honestly how are we supposed to take this team seriously now ??
It will be intersesting to see how Lotterer goes but put him up against the team leader !

 

[Northstar]

Well you have to really wonder what Caterham are thinking ??

Probably that the season is a lost cause so might as well start doing some random things.

Why would you take Kobayashi out of the seat when he has destroyed Ericsson all season

One is a rookie trying to get a feel for F1, the other is a veteran with 71 GP's under his belt. I'm not so sure it would be fair to expect Marcus to be able to one-up Kamui.

Honestly how are we supposed to take this team seriously now ??

The real question is why would you in the first place?

 

[Pupik]

It's not like these current drivers aren't paid enough to have someone chauffeur them about. But at his age and pedigree, it might go like this:

"Jos, can you give me a lift to Adelaide? I'm going to be late if you don't hurry..."

I would probably be slightly jealous too, but since I'm older than every current driver now, it really doesn't matter to me any more.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I think some people - not necessarily here - are reading far too much into Lotterer's Audi connections. I seriously doubt that it foreshadows the manufacturer entering Formula 1, considering that they lobbied for inline-fours when the new regulations were first being discussed, and even then they lost interest.

 

[SagarisGTB]

Lotterer also drives for TOM'S, therefore TOM'S WILL BE ENTERING F1 WITH NEW TOYOTA ENGINES!!

 

[noshog]

Probably that the season is a lost cause so might as well start doing some random things.
One is a rookie trying to get a feel for F1, the other is a veteran with 71 GP's under his belt. I'm not so sure it would be fair to expect Marcus to be able to one-up Kamui.
The real question is why would you in the first place?

The main thing I'm doing is questioning the logic behind taking the stronger driver out of his seat. For a team that is battling for F1 to take them seriously this seems to be a strange decision.
But in regards to Marcus matching Kamui, you could argue that Kamui did have a year off and that they are both new to the team, so in a way they are starting off even, then you could also compare him to other rookies this year, Kvyat is easily matching JEV for pace, as is Magnussen with Button.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

The answer is simple: money. Ericsson has more of it than Kobayashi.

 

[Pupik]

Lotterer also drives for TOM'S, therefore TOM'S WILL BE ENTERING F1 WITH NEW TOYOTA ENGINES!!

1993 called, they want their bubble economy back.

That's like saying that ATS is back in F1 because Gergard Berger is at Toro Rosso. Although, Helmut Marko plays the role of Gunther Schmidt in varying degrees.

/says the guy with the Yamura team avatar.

 

[zippy_the_cat]

The main thing I'm doing is questioning the logic behind taking the stronger driver out of his seat. For a team that is battling for F1 to take them seriously this seems to be a strange decision.
But in regards to Marcus matching Kamui, you could argue that Kamui did have a year off and that they are both new to the team, so in a way they are starting off even, then you could also compare him to other rookies this year, Kvyat is easily matching JEV for pace, as is Magnussen with Button.

Being the stronger of the two Caterham drivers isn't much of an argument for KK, given that neither has looked all that good. Lotterer is arguably the fastest guy in the WEC, which means he has a case for being the fastest guy in motorsport, full stop.

 

[mustafur]

Being the stronger of the two Caterham drivers isn't much of an argument for KK, given that neither has looked all that good. Lotterer is arguably the fastest guy in the WEC, which means he has a case for being the fastest guy in motorsport, full stop.

Yet he spent 10 years in Nippon and only won the championship once?

Kobayashi won GP2 Asia against a much more talented field, as much as Lotterer is a good driver to compare him to kobayashi who has proven himself very well in F1 but has been spat out purely because of money isn't any comparison. he has often Out-qualified Ericsson(Japanese F3 champion) by up to a second on a regular basis and is consistently fighting with the superior marussias, he honestly couldn't prove more if he tried.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

1993 called, they want their bubble economy back.

That's like saying that ATS is back in F1 because Gergard Berger is at Toro Rosso. Although, Helmut Marko plays the role of Gunther Schmidt in varying degrees.

/says the guy with the Yamura team avatar.

Though I agree, I'm pretty sure he wasn't being serious.

 

[Pupik]

I wasn't being serious...but I need to invoke Gunther Schmidt in more posts, now that I think of it.

 

[TenEightyOne]

I think some people - not necessarily here - are reading far too much into Lotterer's Audi connections. I seriously doubt that it foreshadows the manufacturer entering Formula 1, considering that they lobbied for inline-fours when the new regulations were first being discussed, and even then they lost interest.

I agree. He's won at Spa three times in the R18... coupled with Joe Saward's article (I linked it in the Spa thread, I'll try to find it) Caterham don't find Kobayashi's feedback too useful. If they're evaluating car updates then Lotterer seems a good choice even if the last F1 car he drove was a Jaaaag. It has nothing to do with VAG making an F1 bid, imo.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

coupled with Joe Saward's article (I linked it in the Spa thread, I'll try to find it) Caterham don't find Kobayashi's feedback too useful.

Sauber said the same thing when they let him go. Cynics thought they were just trying to explain away releasing a popular driver, but if Caterham are also saying it, then I doubt lightning has struck twice.

 

[TenEightyOne]

Sauber said the same thing when they let him go. Cynics thought they were just trying to explain away releasing a popular driver, but if Caterham are also saying it, then I doubt lightning has struck twice.

Here's the Joe Saward article saying that Caterham didn't like KK's feedback.

Well you have to really wonder what Caterham are thinking ??
Why would you take Kobayashi out of the seat when he has destroyed Ericsson all season, I think Caterham would learn a lot more by putting Lotterer in Ericsson's seat ? Honestly how are we supposed to take this team seriously now ??
It will be intersesting to see how Lotterer goes but put him up against the team leader !

Presuming of course that a driver's job is simply on the track. Some drivers (what heroes!) see themselves that way, unfortunately an F1 team has to make full use of every single resource. A driver who only does half a job (the tarmac part) isn't much good.

I hadn't realised that Sauber said the same thing about Kobayashi, clearly Caterham aren't the only people feeling they weren't maximising their driver.

The main thing I'm doing is questioning the logic behind taking the stronger driver out of his seat. For a team that is battling for F1 to take them seriously this seems to be a strange decision.
But in regards to Marcus matching Kamui, you could argue that Kamui did have a year off and that they are both new to the team, so in a way they are starting off even, then you could also compare him to other rookies this year, Kvyat is easily matching JEV for pace, as is Magnussen with Button.

Again, "the stronger driver", I suspect you're looking at just the track performances and ignoring the rest of the job?

 

[Blitz24]

Chilton is out at Marussia. Replacing him will be Alexander Rossi.

 

[mustafur]

Chilton is out at Marussia. Replacing him will be Alexander Rossi.

See Caterham, this is how you do it, you replace your weak driver.

 

[Pezzarinho17]

"Contractual Issues" = money. Max Chilton posted a pic en route to Belgium so I would presume this is news to him...

Rossi needs to buy a lottery ticket ASAP, leaves Caterham and ends up at the right team when they need a reserve!

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Chilton is out at Marussia. Replacing him will be Alexander Rossi.

See Caterham, this is how you do it, you replace your weak driver.

Well if this is correct Chilton claimed he gave it up on his own. I guess he'd rather watch the race with Kamui while snacking on peanuts and cracker jacks.

 

[Pezzarinho17]

Just read this on Autosport.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115469

"Max Chilton has volunteered to step out of his race seat for this weekend's race in Spa, Belgium, to allow the team to attract much needed funds by selling his seat," read the statement.

"Max will attend the race and be on hand to support the team in any way possible."

The statement indicated that the driver swap was only a temporary measure for Spa."
​

Hmmm.