Ferrari New Driver?

Ok Well I think the only thing stopping Ferrari from replacing Massa is they had to pay allot of cash to move Kimi on and are probebly having to spend allot on the car right now. This might be why they are reluctant to get rid of Massa and pay him up for the rest of the season.

But he has been very poor and Im not sure putting more pressure on him is going to bring any more out of him. I think ever since his accident he has lost a quarter of a second.. He has just not been the same bar a couple half decent performances. Ferrari have shown loyalty to their long servant but I think its over due now.

I think its a matter of time till he goes and I would not be shocked if after the next race.
The question is, who will replace him?

My first Choice would be Di Resta, I think he is cut from the same cloth as Vittel and Lewis and is young and hungry... he will come and give Alonso a closer race and will also learn allot from him...

Then there was the rumor of Pirez, being a member of the Ferrari academy this is very likely, have not really seen enough of him but he seems like he has something about him.

Sutil has also been spotted around the Ferrari team, and could slot in short term... I am not sure he would do much better than Massa seeing as he has been out of action a while.

other than that im not sure who would be worth bringing in, unless they wait till the end of the season when maybe Kubica is ready to race again..

With Massa lagging behind so much, surley this is also not good for the speed of development as it seems only one driver is making progress, while if you look at McLaren both drivers seem to be making inroads with the car are helping each other out with development..

Bonjourno!

At the end of the season Massa will leave Ferrari, that I am certain. Getting a replacement, especially 1st choice not so easy.

Mark Webber is out of contract this year so a seat at Red Bull will be available.

Lewis Hamilton is also out of contract. Do you think he will sign again for Mclaren? Listening to 606v2 members, I would think not.

Michael Schumacher. Doing as well as Massa and I think he could become surplus at Merc this winter. He hates F1 at the moment and I think he's off at the end of it.

That's 4 seats at the front four teams up for grabs.

As the current 606v2 Pre Season Picture Quiz Champion 2012, I would have to say Perez is coming to Ferrari.

He is young, gifted, a genuine prospect and already knows all about Ferrari.

Got to say i cant see Di Resta goign to Ferrari, i dont understand the hype. He's done fairly well for his first year, but good enough to get Ferrari interested, im not sure. Perez on the other hand looks a better prospect.

Id have to agree with AC, though Ferrari have already said they wont make a move for Perez until he's had a little more experience in the sport. Also Webber has been Rumoured to be goign there for a year.

Though who knows, maybe the big suprise will be MSC going to Ferrari even for one year.

I personally think Ferrari will be looking for a stop gap until they can bring Perez into the team. So maybe MSC or Webber would be the choice.

It's all just a guessing game at the mo.

How about this, Ferrari call Barrichello back, that would be something special

I can see LH goign to Mercedes though or even possibly Di resta.

Will Massa be out of a seat or in one of the mid pack/lower teams?

Critical_mass wrote:Got to say i cant see Di Resta goign to Ferrari, i dont understand the hype. He's done fairly well for his first year, but good enough to get Ferrari interested, im not sure. Perez on the other hand looks a better prospect.

Will Massa be out of a seat or in one of the mid pack/lower teams?

Whilst i can't see him going to Ferrari i can very much see his team mate Hulkenburg going there, If Massa leaves he'll go to another type of Motorsport or to a team like Williams/Sauber etc

Fernando wrote:

Critical_mass wrote:Got to say i cant see Di Resta goign to Ferrari, i dont understand the hype. He's done fairly well for his first year, but good enough to get Ferrari interested, im not sure. Perez on the other hand looks a better prospect.

Will Massa be out of a seat or in one of the mid pack/lower teams?

Whilst i can't see him going to Ferrari i can very much see his team mate Hulkenburg going there, If Massa leaves he'll go to another type of Motorsport or to a team like Williams/Sauber etc

Interesting thought. Williams do seem to like South American drivers at the moment and if Senna doesn't start putting in a few good performances, it would seem an ideal place for someone like Massa. Also, I would love to see Felipe finally given some freedom to show what he can do and not be forced to accept the No.2 driver tag. I think that, as much as anything has contributed to his poor form.

Don't really see Di Resta going to Ferrari. I would have thought Perez was the most likely candidate, being from the "sister" team and a fellow Spanish speaker. Would hate to see him go though, as I think he has the potential to make a name for himself at Sauber, rather than just be Alonso's wingman.

If Webber leaves, there are any number of young up-and-comers who could step in, either from RB's development program, or the likes of Vergne or Ricciardo. Again, I can't see any big names taking the seat, to be No.2 to Vettel.

How's this for a shocker? If Hamilton decides not to renew his contract with Mclaren, I could see him signing for Mercedes, assuming Schumacher decides to call it a day. Despite their preference for German drivers, he already has links with Mercedes through McLaren, he is mates with Rosberg (or so I've heard), he is a former world champion and a known talent...and I can't see him having to play second fiddle to Nico.

dyrewolfe wrote:

Also, I would love to see Felipe finally given some freedom to show what he can do and not be forced to accept the No.2 driver tag. I think that, as much as anything has contributed to his poor form.

lol, sorry I have to totally disagree. No one at Ferrari is bigger than the team it is a fallacy that Massa is a designated no 2 driver just because of one instance where Alonso clearly was the only driver with potential to challenge for the title. how can Alonso be responsible for Massa being poor?, they both drive a Ferrari a team with huge amounts of money, why would they only be able to equipped one driver? sorry thats just a lousy anti Alonso excuse IMO. Bottom line is since Massa nearly got killed on the track he has not been the same and when put up against Alonso he has simply been out classed in every field. If anything Alonso has had an up hill battle in the last two years as he has not had a team mate taking points off other challengers, he has had to be up there all by him self.

You only need to look at Kimi's time at Ferrari, he was world champ and the following year Massa out raced him..

I would have thought Perez was the most likely candidate, being from the "sister" team and a fellow Spanish speaker. Would hate to see him go though, as I think he has the potential to make a name for himself at Sauber, rather than just be Alonso's wingman.

You think if Perez shows title challenging form Ferrari will ignore it ?, sorry I cant see the logic in that.

Ok Alonso has done so much work with the car and put input so initially it would be understandable that his input would be taken on board more say for this season.. But Ferrari do not just focus on one driver unless that driver proves to be one of the best of all time, of which they have no choice. Currently there are not many drivers that could out do Alonso.. Lewis and Vittel being the main contenders and I personally think Alonso is better than both.

dyrewolfe wrote:
How's this for a shocker? If Hamilton decides not to renew his contract with Mclaren, I could see him signing for Mercedes, assuming Schumacher decides to call it a day. Despite their preference for German drivers, he already has links with Mercedes through McLaren, he is mates with Rosberg (or so I've heard), he is a former world champion and a known talent...and I can't see him having to play second fiddle to Nico.

My thoughts exactly. Ive heard they're good mates, since they were team mates in karting, so would make a good line up. I wouldnt see it as a bad thing Lewis moving to merc. As long as they keep developing their car to keep up with the front.

Who to go to Mclaren though in replacement?

tunes666 wrote:

dyrewolfe wrote:
I would have thought Perez was the most likely candidate, being from the "sister" team and a fellow Spanish speaker. Would hate to see him go though, as I think he has the potential to make a name for himself at Sauber, rather than just be Alonso's wingman.

You think if Perez shows title challenging form Ferrari will ignore it ?, sorry I cant see the logic in that.

Ok Alonso has done so much work with the car and put input so initially it would be understandable that his input would be taken on board more say for this season.. But Ferrari do not just focus on one driver unless that driver proves to be one of the best of all time, of which they have no choice. Currently there are not many drivers that could out do Alonso.. Lewis and Vittel being the main contenders and I personally think Alonso is better than both.

Really - you can't see the logic in it?

Perez outraced Alonso in a Sauber and was ordered not to overtake him. You really think that would change if Sergio joined Ferrari?

Critical_mass wrote:

dyrewolfe wrote:
How's this for a shocker? If Hamilton decides not to renew his contract with Mclaren, I could see him signing for Mercedes, assuming Schumacher decides to call it a day. Despite their preference for German drivers, he already has links with Mercedes through McLaren, he is mates with Rosberg (or so I've heard), he is a former world champion and a known talent...and I can't see him having to play second fiddle to Nico.

My thoughts exactly. Ive heard they're good mates, since they were team mates in karting, so would make a good line up. I wouldnt see it as a bad thing Lewis moving to merc. As long as they keep developing their car to keep up with the front.

Who to go to Mclaren though in replacement?

Wonder if they'd fancy getting Kovaleinen back? In all seriousness, although he was outperformed by Lewis, he did have some decent results. I'm sure a certain other former driver would be their No.1 target if he hadn't just signed for Lotus. Think they'd have to settle for someone like Kovi, or Di Resta, unless they opted to bring in one of their development program or test drivers.

I think Red Bull are going to find themselves with a bit of a dilemma. While in 2011 Red Bull and in particular Vettel was dominating they were laughing off a move for Lewis right from the word go. Since then things have changed, the team is not dominant with only one win and they have basically already understood that Ricciardo, Buemi, Vergne are not upto the job of replacing Webber and helping the team to win constructors titles from 2013 onwards. I can see them making a complete u-turn with regards to Lewis. Just think, if the continued contract delay continues throughout the summer season they have the possibility of taking one of the best drivers on the grid away from arguably their biggest rivals.........

In regards to Merc, I think that seat has Di Resta or Sutil's name on it while Ferrari will probably end up with Perez who is highly talented.

dyrewolfe wrote:

Critical_mass wrote:

dyrewolfe wrote:
How's this for a shocker? If Hamilton decides not to renew his contract with Mclaren, I could see him signing for Mercedes, assuming Schumacher decides to call it a day. Despite their preference for German drivers, he already has links with Mercedes through McLaren, he is mates with Rosberg (or so I've heard), he is a former world champion and a known talent...and I can't see him having to play second fiddle to Nico.

My thoughts exactly. Ive heard they're good mates, since they were team mates in karting, so would make a good line up. I wouldnt see it as a bad thing Lewis moving to merc. As long as they keep developing their car to keep up with the front.

Who to go to Mclaren though in replacement?

Wonder if they'd fancy getting Kovaleinen back? In all seriousness, although he was outperformed by Lewis, he did have some decent results. I'm sure a certain other former driver would be their No.1 target if he hadn't just signed for Lotus. Think they'd have to settle for someone like Kovi, or Di Resta, unless they opted to bring in one of their development program or test drivers.

tbh i rate Kovi, i think he's a good driver, not in the top 5 but oen of the best of the rest drivers and is capable of winning races. Id enjoy seeing him back at Mclaren.. and im sure Button would too

Seriously though, he's a likeable guy and a good racer. ALways has a smile on his face even when he's just retired from a race

Fernando wrote:

Critical_mass wrote:Got to say i cant see Di Resta goign to Ferrari, i dont understand the hype. He's done fairly well for his first year, but good enough to get Ferrari interested, im not sure. Perez on the other hand looks a better prospect.

Will Massa be out of a seat or in one of the mid pack/lower teams?

Whilst i can't see him going to Ferrari i can very much see his team mate Hulkenburg going there, If Massa leaves he'll go to another type of Motorsport or to a team like Williams/Sauber etc

Why would they pick Hulkenburg over Di Resta, it's been 4-1 in qualifying to Paul and he's 15 to 3 ahead in points.

My opinion for 2013 season and there realistic choices

Red Bull - Vettel & Buemi (He's testing this season for RB as Vergne/Ricciardo not upto job)

McLaren - Hamilton & Button

Ferrari - Alonso & Perez

Mercedes - Rosberg & Di Resta

Lotus - Raikkonen & Grosjean

Sauber - Kobayashi & Massa

Force India - Hulkenberg & Sutil

Williams - Maldonado & Webber (Resurgent Williams could tempt Mark to not retire, also Alan Jones last Australian World Champion drove for Williams)

Thoughts?

They seem a plausible line up John. Dont think i can argue much with it to be honest.

monty junior wrote:

Fernando wrote:

Critical_mass wrote:Got to say i cant see Di Resta goign to Ferrari, i dont understand the hype. He's done fairly well for his first year, but good enough to get Ferrari interested, im not sure. Perez on the other hand looks a better prospect.

Will Massa be out of a seat or in one of the mid pack/lower teams?

Whilst i can't see him going to Ferrari i can very much see his team mate Hulkenburg going there, If Massa leaves he'll go to another type of Motorsport or to a team like Williams/Sauber etc

Why would they pick Hulkenburg over Di Resta, it's been 4-1 in qualifying to Paul and he's 15 to 3 ahead in points.

You've answered your own question, You really think they want someone who's good enough to beat Alonso?

I see i see, i follow Paul closely but i still don't think he could beat Alonso. I'm certain he'd do a better job than Massa though who frankly since his comeback from injury has got worse year on year.

Good call about Webber going to Williams, if he doesn't end up retiring.

If they don't fancy Massa, I'm sure Frank would be happy to have one of his former drivers back and judging from his last column, Mark seemed to have good memories of his time there.

If Sauber can continue to develop their car and keep running in the upper-mid pack, I could see Felipe signing for them.

Bruno Senna brings a lot of commercial revenue to Williams. I can't see Webber going to Williams and replacing him.

Frank Williams does not do sentiment. Ask Damon Hill about when he was shown the door as WDC.

Next Ferrari driver, will b Perez, he was on their young driver programme, & he class at managing his tyre, & F1 all about tyres this year.

Making a flying visit over here from the cricket forum.

Personally I think it will be somebody young, who will play second fiddle to Alonso, but do better than Massa has the last couple of years. So obvious candidates are Perez, Maldonado and di Resta. Given his links to Ferrari you have to say that Perez would be favourite.

I think we will have:

McLaren - Button and Hamilton
Red Bull - Vettel and Ricciardo
Ferrari - Alonso and Perez
Mercedes - Rosberg and di Resta
Lotus - Raikkonen and Grosjean
Sauber - Kobayashi and Massa
Williams - Maldonado and ?
Toro Rosso - Vergne and ?
Force India - Hulkenberg and Kovalainen

dyrewolfe wrote:

Really - you can't see the logic in it?

Perez outraced Alonso in a Sauber and was ordered not to overtake him. You really think that would change if Sergio joined Ferrari?

LOL

first of all it is just your decision to conclude that Perez was ordered to drive off the track, just because they use a Ferrari Engine. but your ignoring the fact that the messages on radio come through late, which does not add up to the time he came off track.. and also ignoring the fact that he did not need to drive off the track and jeopardize his own position just to not pass Alonso... Talk about Fairy tail bowlocks!...

He was pushing hard and gaining, no doubt but if you are familiar with F1 you will know that at the end of the race tires are worn and his tires were worn and he was pushing incredibly hard, as a result he came off the track... not interested in anti Alonso Fairy tails..

Like I say, illogical.

Ferrari back who ever is going to win them the championship. which is why Kimi won it in 2007 and Massa missed out by 1 point in 2008.

tunes666 wrote:

dyrewolfe wrote:

Really - you can't see the logic in it?

Perez outraced Alonso in a Sauber and was ordered not to overtake him. You really think that would change if Sergio joined Ferrari?

LOL

first of all it is just your decision to conclude that Perez was ordered to drive off the track, just because they use a Ferrari Engine. but your ignoring the fact that the messages on radio come through late, which does not add up to the time he came off track.. and also ignoring the fact that he did not need to drive off the track and jeopardize his own position just to not pass Alonso... Talk about Fairy tail bowlocks!...

He was pushing hard and gaining, no doubt but if you are familiar with F1 you will know that at the end of the race tires are worn and his tires were worn and he was pushing incredibly hard, as a result he came off the track... not interested in anti Alonso Fairy tails..

Like I say, illogical.

Ferrari back who ever is going to win them the championship. which is why Kimi won it in 2007 and Massa missed out by 1 point in 2008.

Biggest pile of horse manure I've read on here to date...and this is on a forum with a certain AC among its ranks.

If you really believe what you wrote here you're either unbelieveably naieve, are clueless about F1 or did not watch the race in question...or you're just trolling.

Politics plays a BIG part in F1 whether we like it or not and delayed radio transmissions don't mean a thing. We only hear what the teams want us to hear - we don't get to hear everything that is said. You clearly weren't watching the race either, as Perez has been closing on Alonso at 0.5 -1 second a lap and the Sauber was running like it had been on rails...no sign of tyre degradation. Also, if he had been pushing that hard you would think he'd have locked his brakes in an effort to stay on the track. The way he ran off looked pre-planned to me.

Also, for the record I am NOT anti-Alonso, as you put it. I just hate the fact the politics of F1 can be used to manipulate race results.

dyrewolfe wrote:

tunes666 wrote:

dyrewolfe wrote:

Really - you can't see the logic in it?

Perez outraced Alonso in a Sauber and was ordered not to overtake him. You really think that would change if Sergio joined Ferrari?

LOL

first of all it is just your decision to conclude that Perez was ordered to drive off the track, just because they use a Ferrari Engine. but your ignoring the fact that the messages on radio come through late, which does not add up to the time he came off track.. and also ignoring the fact that he did not need to drive off the track and jeopardize his own position just to not pass Alonso... Talk about Fairy tail bowlocks!...

He was pushing hard and gaining, no doubt but if you are familiar with F1 you will know that at the end of the race tires are worn and his tires were worn and he was pushing incredibly hard, as a result he came off the track... not interested in anti Alonso Fairy tails..

Like I say, illogical.

Ferrari back who ever is going to win them the championship. which is why Kimi won it in 2007 and Massa missed out by 1 point in 2008.

Biggest pile of horse manure I've read on here to date...and this is on a forum with a certain AC among its ranks.

If you really believe what you wrote here you're either unbelieveably naieve, are clueless about F1 or did not watch the race in question...or you're just trolling.

Politics plays a BIG part in F1 whether we like it or not and delayed radio transmissions don't mean a thing. We only hear what the teams want us to hear - we don't get to hear everything that is said. You clearly weren't watching the race either, as Perez has been closing on Alonso at 0.5 -1 second a lap and the Sauber was running like it had been on rails...no sign of tyre degradation. Also, if he had been pushing that hard you would think he'd have locked his brakes in an effort to stay on the track. The way he ran off looked pre-planned to me.

Also, for the record I am NOT anti-Alonso, as you put it. I just hate the fact the politics of F1 can be used to manipulate race results.

My word I have never heard such a ridiculous attempt by someone pretending they know what they are talking about, when they are clearly just a little bit anti Alonso/Ferrari...

Best team in F1 history... deal with it
Best driver... Deal with it.

Forst I will address you silly "politics" issue... Yes there are politics in F1, but I find it staggering how you can try to make out that the fact Perez came off the track while desperately trying to Catch Alonso is some kind of evidence of this. and further more you ignore my very valid points as to why it was not, and imply Im a troll?

The Radio message comes through about 2 or 3 minutes late on the TV, which means his message had come through before he was still catching Alonso... I ask you again seeing as you make out to know so much about F1... If so, then you would also know that F1 teams put alot of money into their teams and finishing places are very important for up and coming teams as well as up and coming drivers... Now answer me this F1 guru..

Why would Perez (who believe it or not suffered the same case of tire degradation at the end of a race as every other driver on the track) choose to drive completely off track and into the gravel at hi speed and risk his own position simply just so he would not catch Alonso?... are you saying he was too incompetent to simply back off and not put in as good lap times?? By your reasoning you think Perez is a bit of an idiot.

Or is that not good enough for your little anti Alonso conspiracy?

further more, your original point was that Perez was someone out racing Alonso when everyone knows Alonso won that race with a Car that was not even good enough to make the podium.. yet you still claim you are not anti Alonso... Give me a brake..

Alonso has out raced all his team mates and if that happens you are a no1 driver simply because you are the no1 driver.
with Lewis they were both equal but Alonso was to blame?... nope, do your research and you will find out it was Lewis who started not playing fair...

Just for the record I too think Perez will come to Ferrari, but he will be given a car and the support to do just as well as Alonso..

As if McLaren has never favored a driver in the past.. and I don't even think they expected Button to do as well as he has, neither did Lewis..

Lastly, You think with the amount of money Ferrari are putting in and with so many other teams able to challenge now due to how its all changed, they are not going to give them selves two chances to win a title like all the other teams?.. Nothing to do with politics, its to do with common sense and no one makes Ferrari do anything they don't want to do.

Interesting comments from Helmut Marko revealing the get-out clause in Vettel's contract for 2014 and a possible pre-contract agreement with Ferrari. Also a highly respected French F1 journalist has said that he believes Lewis Hamilton has already decided to quit the McLaren team after the abysmal performance of the team this season.

There might be some extraordinary and unpredictable racing or pacing happening out on track, but this summer's off track driver market promises to deliver some action to rival it.