2014 / 2015 Silly Season. Drivers Market.

[Il_leone]

Alonso to Team Enstone - not a chance unless Briatore is going to take over the team and find some backers

 

[Il_leone]

Incidentally Hugo Boss will be sponsoring Mclaren next season so could they be a title sponsor ?

 

[cider_and_toast]

What do we think about Bianchi ?? One more year at Marussia before going to replace Kimi at Ferrari or is he yet another driver who will be in the wrong place at the wrong time and is going to miss out on a dream move?

He's certainly done well at Marussia so you'd think there may be some interest there.

 

[Il_leone]

not sure who else rates Bianchi because if Renault wanted a French driver then Red Bull would have stuck with JEV and really Kimi needs to clear off

 

[Bill Boddy]

If Vettel goes to Ferrari and Raikonnen stays there it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. The other ting is that there was a mention on the Beeb that Raikonnen and Vettel were best friends, Eddie Jordan replied that "was" is definitely the right word, you cannot be best friends with your biggest rival when in F1.

I can't be bothered to go back and look but earlier this season I did suggest Kvyat for RBR in 2016 or possibly earlier.

 

[Rutherford]

Vettels move has ended Jenson Buttons career, I doubt that he is interested in driving for a such as Sauber and that Alonso will replace Magnussen, after all he is the better option for the future.

It would also be silly to dissolve Raikkonens contract to keep Alonso, that would mean they would have to pay him off again.
Is Alonso taking Santander with him or will they continue to sponsor Ferrari to 2016?

I can understand Vettels decision. It started with Newey, then his race engineer who is scheduled to be replaced next year and a couple of days ago his chief mechanic and Red Bull parted ways, plus the numerous mechanical problems particularly at the beginning of the season.

 

[sushifiesta]

It's a shame for Jenson that Williams committed to Massa so early. It's not a done deal that McLaren will ditch him yet though.

 

[teabagyokel]

If I were Williams, I would be regretting committing to Massa when Button, Hulkenburg, Vergne, Grosjean and Bianchi may have been available.

 

[Rutherford]

It's a shame for Jenson that Williams committed to Massa so early. It's not a done deal that McLaren will ditch him yet though.

But why should they keep him, he is older than Alonso and judging from the outside he doesn't bring anything to the team that Alonso hasn't got to offer.
I don't think that Massa is worse than Button currently, Button would most likely also struggle against Bottas. It should also be into consideration that Massa had a fair bit of bad luck during the European races.

I also like to mention Jean-Eric Vergne, anyone thinking of him? Are his recent performances going to be enough to secure him the much needed sponsors to be a candidate for a different team next year?

 

[teabagyokel]

I don't think that Massa is worse than Button currently

Button is ahead of Massa in the championship. In a significantly worse car.

 

[cider_and_toast]

Eddie Jordans predictions have just been displayed on the Beeb. To say they are stating the bleeding obvious would be to erm... state the bleeding obvious.

 

[Rutherford]

Massa has had his best season in years, and the Williams team have messed it up. Most post-race interviews with Claire Williams include an apology from her to Massa.

 

[teabagyokel]

Massa has had his best season in years

Yes, he's been made to look slightly less awful by Bottas than he was by Alonso, but yet again he's scored basically half the points his team-mate has.

 

[sushifiesta]

He's only beaten his team mate twice in his career - Jacques Villeneuve at Sauber in 2005 and Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari in 2008.

 

[Rutherford]

I'm afraid I have no interest in continuing this discussion, if you only look at numbers without taking other factors into account which influenced his score. It just doesn't make sense that way. . . .

 

[teabagyokel]

That cuts both ways. Bottas lost hugely through poor strategy in Hungary and Singapore, and stopped in Monaco with an engine failure.

Massa has not had a mechanical all year, he was blameless for the Kobayashi incident in Melbourne but not for the Magnussen one in Germany.

He's like Webber, there's always an excuse as to why he's not achieved what he should have. He's being beaten by Button and Hulkenburg in cars which really are not close to being comparable with the Williams.

 

[Rutherford]

Both Williams drivers have been affected by poor strategies applied by the Williams team throughout the season which have cost the team a huge amount of points.

Undoubtedly Massa has his faults but if you look back at the season so far if he had had slightly more luck with strategies he would be in front of Button and Hulkenberg.

Yes, Webber had his KERS issues but his driving was pitiful and not comparable to Massas this season.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

I wonder if Williams are re-thinking their decision to confirm drivers? It wouldn't be popular but I'm sure it's been done before.

 

[teabagyokel]

he had had slightly more luck with strategies he would be in front of Button and Hulkenberg.

Yes. But he shouldn't be in a position where he's left to chance the possibility of being behind those two.

 

[Il_leone]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mo...nson-Button-on-the-brink-of-McLaren-exit.html

Vettel's offer a staggering £120m over 3 years which dwarfs all other driver's salaries in the paddock... no wonder Seb was turned than again Ferrari offered Kimi Raikkonen a similar amount and he did not justify the amount paid to him

It is rumoured that Mclaren's offer to Alonso is £32m a year with Honda financing his salary