The '14 driver transfer discussion/speculation thread

  • Thread starter NotThePrez
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There was no major regulation change since 2009, the last time brawns car dominated the field.
What's your point? That Brawn was only any good when faced with major regulation changes? If so, how do you explain his constant success at Bennetton and Ferrari, when the rules were stable by comparison? And his slump in form once Mercedes came on-board and the sport again had stable rules? 2010 can be excused, given the financial problems the team had in 2009; they were pretty much relying on race-by-race sponsor deals to get to the next Grand Prix, and when Barrichello crashed qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, he took the team's only spare chassis, so from that point on, a single race-ending mistake could have cost Button the title, which had had to win in a car that had taken part in every single pre-season test, free practice session, qualifying period and race; it literally had tens of thousands of kilometres on it before he was even in a position to win the title, while the Red Bull drivers got brand-new cars to chase him down.
 
What's your point? That Brawn was only any good when faced with major regulation changes? If so, how do you explain his constant success at Bennetton and Ferrari, when the rules were stable by comparison? And his slump in form once Mercedes came on-board and the sport again had stable rules? 2010 can be excused, given the financial problems the team had in 2009; they were pretty much relying on race-by-race sponsor deals to get to the next Grand Prix, and when Barrichello crashed qualifying for the Singapore Grand Prix, he took the team's only spare chassis, so from that point on, a single race-ending mistake could have cost Button the title, which had had to win in a car that had taken part in every single pre-season test, free practice session, qualifying period and race; it literally had tens of thousands of kilometres on it before he was even in a position to win the title, while the Red Bull drivers got brand-new cars to chase him down.
Im saying the exact opposite of what your implying, i know that the lack of funds in Brawn GP meant 2010 was severely compromised for Mercedes, with rule stability making is very hard to move up the grid(Redbull had this same problem before 2009 when Newey couldn't take advantage when the Evolution development of those regulations where getting close to plateau)

Also comparing the 90s rule stability to now is not comparable as the aero and engine rules where much more open compared to the extreme restricted days of now, where a big regulation change is your best hope to move up the grid fast.
 
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Roberto Merhi's stock seems to have increased overnight after a dominant win - thirty seconds - in tricky conditions in the first FR3.5 Series race at the Hungaroring.
 
Italian press is reporting a seat swap between Alonso and Vettel.

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I mean, that's awesome if it's true, but considering it's coming from the Italians I'll take it with a grain of salt the size of Montana until it's confirmed.
 
Wehrlein has been put as Mercedes Reserve driver, wouldn't be surprised to see him in GP2 or F3.5 next year, or even a possible Lotus seat, if they do infact go with Mercedes Power.
 
Except that Alonso wouldn't settle for a one-year deal, least of all if was a stop-gap for Kvyat's promotion.
Im not sure, he looks like someone that wants another title pretty badly knowing he is approaching the last years of his career, allthough Redbull wouldn't be the best place for an outsider, with Marko Helmut there and all.
 
Vettel to Ferrari is mad. Unless they have a super secret Brawn GP plan up their sleeve, why on earth would he dismount from the bull in exchange for a lackusture nag?
 
Vettel to Ferrari is mad. Unless they have a super secret Brawn GP plan up their sleeve, why on earth would he dismount from the bull in exchange for a lackusture nag?

Every so often when both Ferrari and the spectator attendance are down, the FIA allows the Prancing Horse to run an extra 500 cc. :rolleyes:
 
Vettel to Ferrari is mad. Unless they have a super secret Brawn GP plan up their sleeve, why on earth would he dismount from the bull in exchange for a lackusture nag?
Because he's a four-time World Champion, but has not been accepted as a legend of the sport, has faced criticism for his inability to pass, has been unable to shake the perception that the team unfairly favour him, and has been upstaged by Ricciardo in their first season as team-mates. At some point, Vettel needs to strike out on his own and prove his doubters wrong. He has achieved everything he can achieve at Red Bull; another title isn't going to shake perceptions of him.

Ferrari might be lacklustre at the moment, but they will have a resurgence sooner or later. They're not going to do what Tyrrell did and slide into obscurity before collapsing totally. Why wouldn't the challenge of rebuilding Ferrari appeal to a driver like Vettel, especially if winning another title isn't enough for him?
 
Vettel to Ferrari is mad. Unless they have a super secret Brawn GP plan up their sleeve, why on earth would he dismount from the bull in exchange for a lackusture nag?

Because Adrian Newey isn't designing the cars at Red Bull anymore. So why not Ferrari? Every racer wants to win with that team, it's a vanity thing, and as PM says above, it allows him to prove himself.
 
@prisonermonkeys Fair point. But I would not imagine him with Ferrari so low. If there were signs of a resurgence, that could be more understandable but obviously he could know things that we, the public, do not. On track Ferrari don't look anywhere near ready for a comeback.
 
I can easily picture Vettel continuing at Red Bull next season, while keeping one eye on the performance of the Scuderia. Seeing as there are no technical rule changes for next season, next years Red Bull will surely be an evolution of the Newey designed RB10. So it should still be pretty nippy! I fail to see why he'd give that up just yet...

Whereas Ferrari this year have been a complete dud. Only Alonso's superhuman performances have managed to hide just how bad things really are at the Scuderia right now. I'm not sure which driver would want to take up that unenviable position.
 
A Portuguese publication is claiming that Lawrence Stroll's offer to buy Sauber was rejected, and so he has turned his attentions to Marussia.
 
More rumours are gaining steam, this time claiming McLaren and Honda are ready to buy Alonso out of his Ferrari contract for ~€30 million.

And the latest contender for weird rumour is that Carlos Slim wants to consolidate his drivers and place Gutuerrez alongside Perez at Force India with Hulkenberg left out in the cold. I can't see it happening unless three-car teams become a reality, or Hulkenberg gets called up to replace Alonso.
 
Don't know how they can dump Kimi without paying him out, which im not sure they would want to do again.

Bianchi would be the obvious Alonso replacement.

Hulkenburg Will have a seat though no way will Force india remove him for Carlos slim, unless he moves himself.
 
Don't know how they can dump Kimi without paying him out, which im not sure they would want to do again.
Raikkonen's contract would have a performance clause, outlining the minimum expected of him. If he failed to meet that standard, Ferrari could dump him at no expense.
 
I highly doubt Raikkonen's contractual performance clause would cover finishes of those barely in the points spots like he typically has achieved this year.
 
I highly doubt Raikkonen's contractual performance clause would cover finishes of those barely in the points spots like he typically has achieved this year.
I'm not sure what you mean by that. Yes, the F14 T has been disappointing, but Alonso has demonstrated that it's capable of decent results. Raikkonen has been downright embarrassing this year. I'm sure history will remember his second stint with Ferrari as the worst performance by a Ferrari driver since Ivan Capelli.
 
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