2014 driver line up market

[landogeorgelewis1]

Well looks like being an interesting one, we could have seats open at:

Red Bull - 1
Ferrari - 1
Lotus - 2?
Force India - 2?


Those are the top teams with possible seats available, who in the midfield/end of grid teams has done enough to warrant a drive at any of those teams?

Personally JEV is really starting to put some consistency together and could well be a contender for that Red Bull seat.

Paul di Resta - maybe a move to Lotus should Raikkonen move on to Red Bull maybe's?

That Ferrari seat could be interesting, maybe Webber?

What do you see happening in the market?

 

[F1Yorkshire]

Rosberg also out of contract this year. Could possibly have a seat open at Mercedes although if the partnership goes well with Hamilton I'm sure there will be an extension.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Rosberg also out of contract this year. Could possibly have a seat open at Mercedes although if the partnership goes well with Hamilton I'm sure there will be an extension.

Mercedes could be quite interesting. There's too many chiefs there and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if there's several factions trying to get power in the team. This would be pure speculation, except for the tyre-testing thing and some of the comments made by Nico vs comments made by Ross. I'm definitely reading too much into it but there's something not quite right about having so many important people in the team.

 

[Brogan]

Don't discount Pérez being out of a seat too.

 

[Kamui-FastestChefInTheWorld]

Why? He's been close to or in front Button at every race I think, and the money he brings won't harm him either, surely?

 

[teabagyokel]

I expect Hulkenburg to take a top seat next year. I hope Webber finally does one.

 

[Galahad]

The rumour is that Red Bull have already approached Raikkonen. If true, it could start something of an arms race, with Ferrari dumping Massa in search of someone more competitive, most likely Hulkenberg, and McLaren also taking another look at their options (though nobody springs immediately to mind).

I'd be surprised if Mercedes make any changes.

That would leave Lotus scratching around for at least one driver and very possibly two. Webber or, perhaps more likely, Massa could be possibilities for their lead car.

The best Vergne and Ricciardo can hope for is a stay of execution at Toro Rosso. If I had to bet now, I'd guess they'll both be dumped - they're incomplete and inconsistent.

 

[Il_leone]

Galahad

I think both Mclaren drivers are under contract so the only option I see is if Button retires which would pave the way for Di Resta who is managed by Button;s manager and Mclaren have links with him as former tester


Lotus - I think you'll find they will put Valsecchi in the other car unless a world class driver decides to take a pay cut and the only who would maybe Webber who knows the team from his Renault tester days ---( don;t mention Flavio though !)

Massa in all fairness has either got to stay at Ferrari or I think will go to Sauber with a swap for Hulkenberg sounds like a good idea

Raikkonen has got two offers already one from Lotus and one from Red Bull. I think he should take it now unless he is being held up by Webber's decision at Red Bull ( Webber deals with Dietrich so Helmut can't remove him and replace him with Ricciardo or Vergne)

Unless Grosjean continues to decline I see him staying another season

Force India - I think Sutil will stay because he has no other team except maybe Williams where he can swap with Maldonado possibly

Di Resta - I am not sure if Mercedes would run two British drivers in their team despite his past association ...I would have thought Mercs want 1 German driver at least

So really he's got a slim hope at Mclaren, Merc or an outside shot at Ferrari

 

[Mephistopheles]

Rosberg also out of contract this year. Could possibly have a seat open at Mercedes although if the partnership goes well with Hamilton I'm sure there will be an extension.

Unless they blame him for letting the cat out of the bag over the tyre test gateywaighty.....

 

[KekeTheKing]

Mercedes have strenuously denied that Rosberg "exposed" the fact that a test took place. And I suspect it wouldn't matter anyway as far as his retention is concerned.

 

[Olivier]

Asked to say specifically that Massa will still be with Ferrari in 2014, Domenicali obliged: "Absolutely."

So I'm confident Massa will stay ... But he needs to stop crashing :/

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns25632.html

 

[KekeTheKing]

As long as Fernando's happy, Ferrari are happy.

 

[Slyboogy]

If Raikkonen goes to Red Bull, Massa should take the Lotus seat if offered, he seemed to do really well when the team was around him in 08 and in 09.

Think he needs a new fresh start, otherwise he'll end up like Webber, retirement age in F1 standards while having false hope.

 

[Il_leone]

Slyboogy Massa to Lotus Would he attract sponsors to them or not ? Agree he needs to move on or he is another Barrichello

I think Raikkonen should go to Red Bull if the other is on the plate unless he has to wait for Webber to declare his intentions

 

[RasputinLives]

I reckon Nico Rosberg is now the key player in the market here with his current form. Does Nico stay at Merc knowing Lewis is probably going to be centre of attention or use his new high standing to go find a seat at a team he can be team leader of. Of course his only option there would be the enstone boys and even then he might have to share with Kimi for a while who I don't reckon will go anywhere. Of course there is the shock option of a move to Red Bull. Yes Nico would have Vettel to go up against but he'd be in a Newy car and I'm sure Newy would love having a driver in the team with the technical knowledge Nico has. Red Bull look more and more like they'll keep Webber now though.

I reckon Ferrari will keep Massa and give Bianchi another year at Ferrari powered Marussia which will annoy Hulkenberg who will have to join the group of Di Resta and Sam Bird hoping Nico leaves Merc or Mclaren drop a driver.

I think Grosjean is toast and I would have said Caledo would have come in as the next Boullier driver but he's been awful this season. Frinjs should be in at Sauber because he looks the real deal and someone will nick him if not. Da Costa and Sainz Jr will take the Toro Rosso seats and Max Chilton will be out on his ear at Marussia for either Quaiffe-Hobbs or the fast looking Cypriete guy whos name slips my mind in GP3 at the min.

oh and Kevin Magunersen to Force India maybe?

Also Jamie Algursauri will spend most of the summer saying he'll def be in F1 in 2014 only to not be.

 

[The Pits]

Nico's position will depend on how well he does for the remainder of this season. Pole positions and race wins with Lewis in the team will only serve to enhance his reputation, and make his position a lot stronger, both in the team and for other teams. However, if he does not step on from his strong start this season, it could serve to lessen his appeal to the other top teams.

 

[jez101]

Webber to Ferrari, Kimi to Red Bull, Rosberg to McLaren, Di Resta to Mercedes, Massa to Force India, Perez to Lotus to be joined by Maldonado (the two of them should sort any budget issues out!)

That's what I'd like to see anyway.

 

[teabagyokel]

jez101 - Will Maldonado's oil money...

1. Survive President Chavez' death
2. Cover spare parts costs?

 

[jez101]

They're used to fixing RoGros car so they should be budgeting for repairs already.

 

[landogeorgelewis1]

Mclaren won't drop Perez, he brings bags of sponsorship and apparently they love his attitude to racing but will help cut out the incidents side.