Where will Webber be come 2013?

[jez101]

So we keep the status quo

Boring.

I don't think Massa will survive but I feel the lineup needs more of a shakeup for next year. It could even be 4 years with the top 4 cars all with the same drivers. I think the sport deserves better than that.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Grosjean to Ferrari
Senna to Lotus
Hamilton to Williams
Di Resta to Mclaren

 

[Bill Boddy]

I don't see what is boring about it. Just bringing in new drivers just for the sake of it is pointless.

Webber is putting some pressure on Vettel who seems to have suddenly turned taciturn when talking to the media. None of the new drivers have shown sufficient quality to replace Webber, a much underrated driver imo.

 

[KekeTheKing]

Mahk would've needed a head examination if he had left RBR.

 

[Brogan]

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has admitted the team had to overcome the 'significant lure of Ferrari' in persuading Mark Webber to stay for another season.

I think Ferrari may have been a good move - a great way to finish his career at least.

 

[jez101]

For me Bill Boddy it's a gladiatorial thing. I like to measure drivers against their team mate because I think we build the picture of greatness based on who a driver beats and is beaten by. Webber alongside Alonso would tell me a lot about Fernando, Mark, Sebastian, Lewis and even Nico. As a further consequence you can compare Jenson with that crowd too because of how he has done (in favourable and unfavourable conditions...) against Lewis.

If the pairings lock as they have done for a number of years, you lose opportunities for such cross-referencing.

 

[KekeTheKing]

From purely a car perspective Brogan, this was an absolute no-brainer.

Why would you leave a team that has won 24 of the last 45 GP? Certainly not to go to a team that has won only 6 in that same time span.

And Mark has never struck me as a guy to be lured in by the nostalgia or mystique surrounding the Prancing Horse.

 

[Brogan]

Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

The Ferrari of 2012 looks a lot better than the Ferrari of 2011, whereas the Red Bull of 2012 is nowhere near as dominant as it was last year.

I guess we'll find out next year whether he made the right decision or not.

 

[KekeTheKing]

Past performance is no guarantee of future performance.

With Newey, it basically is. As long as he's drawing the car, that's where I'd want to be.

 

[F1Yorkshire]

There's also the number 2 driver factor. At Red Bull he may feel like he's the black sheep of the family but at least he is allowed to win races. Would he get the same opportunity at Ferrari?

 

[ExtremeNinja]

I wonder how the Ferrari engines will fare against the Renault engines in 2013. I suppose Fiat did do those Abarth Unos. (My friend's one ran 187 bhp!)

 

[ZakspeedYakspeed]

As much as FA and MW are best of racing buddies... MW would taught a few key words in Italian in the relatively unlikely event that he was about to finish ahead of FA... "miss gear change"; "report a problem and slow down"; "time for a mystery pitstop"; etc...

 

[Mephistopheles]

Well I guess that answers that then, one less team for Lewis to consider..

 

[F1 Shift.net]

As a Ferrari fan I was really hoping to get Webber to partner with Alonso. Now I'll change gears and hope for Perez to come in. Nothing against Massa, but I would rather watch a youngster come in and try to impress folks along side Alonso than watch Massa continue to get his butt whooped.

 

[F1 Shift.net]

Well I guess that answers that then, one less team for Lewis to consider..

Maybe a move to Lotus doesn't sound so crazy? Kimi back at McLaren could be fun.

 

[Mezzer]

F1 Shift.net I still don't believe its totally outside the realms of possibility for Hamilton to go to Ferrari. Unlikely, but a prospect to savour.

 

[F1 Shift.net]

F1 Shift.net I still don't believe its totally outside the realms of possibility for Hamilton to go to Ferrari. Unlikely, but a prospect to savour.

You could be right...and it could be what Alonso wants, actually. If Alonso could bring Hamilton to Ferrari, then beat him (which I think he would) it would be a little revenge for 2007.

 

[teabagyokel]

I really don't think anyone knows who would win in a Hamilton vs Alonso battle, F1 Shift.net. Last time they finished level after 17 Grands Prix.

Possibly Hamilton will win more races and Alonso will take more "positions" but its difficult to calculate.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

...anyway, about Webber...

I had always thought of Mark as a 'nearly man'. He got into F1 (went my thinking) at the expense of a guy who beat him hands down in F3000 (Justin Wilson), thanks to his Aussie mate Paul Stoddart who happened to own Minardi.
Then he had the good fortune for the team he'd lucked into to be taken over by a rich, ambitious energy drink company who hired Adrian Newey, and still he was a solid 'No. 2 driver', nothing more. Two years ago I was pretty sure that Horner would want to bring fresh young blood in and that Mark would retire from F1.
Well, he is now a realistic dark horse for the WDC, and I take my hat off to him. And I can completely understand why he would want to stick with Red Bull.

 

[Bill Boddy]

Isn't there something missing there? After Minardi he was at Jaguar and WIlliams before moving to Red Bull. He and Newey arrived at more or less the same time in 2006.