F1 2016 Season: Lineup's - Rumours - News

Wonder if he felt that way when they beat Mercedes from 2010 - 2012?

Didn't hear him/McLaren say much about possible disparity then!

 

Ferrari may have this problem with anyone good they look at. With Mercedes as strong as they are, the only way Ferrari have a chance of getting even (if their 2016 package is another big step forward) for the constructor's championship is to have two strong drivers. Vettel wants the WDC which is easier with a rear gunner rather than a competitor, so the two parties are likely to want different things.

Hulkenberg, and to a slightly lesser extent Bottas, have good experience and could be useful to the Scuderia but both have at least a shout at ruffling ol' Seb's feathers. Ferrari could ignore that problem, bank on Sebastian showing some of his skills and just being plain better than any potential second driver, or they could go for one of their growing field of development drivers (I heard there was slight pressure to use Gutiérrez as he is bringing cash to the team) and have them act as a rear gunner in any potential 2016 title challenge by Vettel.

Personally I'd favour a strong second driver, it would help the team develop the car even more thus making a double title fight an actual possibility unlike the current situation. Hulkenberg was passed up for Raikkonen in late 2013, has he really shown enough since then to justify being given the seat? I doubt it. Bottas would be an exciting proposition who is in his 3rd year of F1 but could continue to learn at Ferrari whilst helping drive the team forward and he is rumoured to be a free agent for next year. Will one flying Finn replace another? Time will tell!

 

I don't think Vettel is the kind of person to care who he's paired up with, he gets a fair amount of flak but I think he's the type who'd love to prove himself again a top team mate (not that he has anything to prove, cough 4 titles). I think the stubbling block would be Ferrari, you don't really want your drivers racing each other, can make for some messy results.

Unless you have Mercedes levels of dominance you can't really afford your drivers to tangle, you basically want the quickest number 2 you can get away with. Teams care about the WCC the most and so in theory don't care who finishes first out of the two drivers. But when your drivers start getting in the way of each other you start to hurt the team result.

 

I agree that he doesn't have to prove anything now, certainly not his fault at times the Red Bull was the best car but he still had to win championships where it wasn't the best all season long. In 2010 it was fragile, and in 2012 he had to hunt down a huge deficit to Alonso. Guess you are also right in that Merc are so fast they're usually guaranteed 1st and 2nd so it can get messy and they'll still dominate. It'll be interesting to see therefore who Ferrari deem fast enough to do a good job but not get in the way, may as well not be Kimi because he is expensive and has definitely cost himself points. I do really like the guy, but the team could save a bucketload of cash and have achieved the same results with others.

 

I'd have no idea who they'd replace Kimi with, the second Ferrari seat is seen as a bit of a poison chalice. The last 'number 2' to be granted a shot was Massa in the post Schumacher years, and that was only because Schumi was still around and probably trying to redeem the years of submitting. I'm not sure if Hulk would come as I think he fancies more goes at the WEC, Force India can give him that and with rumours of Aston looking at teams (including FI) he may fancy his chances staying put.

Bottas may go as he may feel he can beat Vettel, which he'll have to do straight away before he is defaulted into the number 2 slot. How about Perez? Used to be a Ferrari young driver, hardly shamed himself lately and with his slow and steady technique could act as a blocker for the team. He may want to go and banish the McLaren mess from his CV. Then theres the young driver who's name escapes me, Marcelo? Although he's hardly shining at the moment and it's not Ferraris style to take youth.

No one really stands out at the moment, which could save kimi's skin.

 

Ferrari have always favoured a 1-2 policy, but Arrivabene does things differently to di Montezemolo and may prefer to get the two strongest drivers he can.

Hulkenberg's size is his biggest problem, Ferrari might have started work on their 2016 car already and probably won't fancy stretching the cockpit to accommodate Hulkenberg. I think he has his eyes on WEC next year too, but under the assumption that his only option in F1 is with Force India, no way would he turn down a Ferrari drive.

Bottas would be favourite right now. His reputation is growing, he seems down to earth, consistent, and he's out of contract no?

Ricciardo was linked last week, and would be by far the best option. He's locked in to Red Bull pretty tight though.

I've seen Verstappen mentioned by his fans, but he's far too erratic and I don't see why any top team would want a teenager driving their car.

Vergne has been mentioned as well. I assume he has a good relationship with Seb as he moved from Red Bull with him. He'd be an excellent number 2, I think he's very underrated.

And Raikkonen himself is obviously an option, but a year and a half of poor performances isn't going to keep him in the sport, especially with the salary he commands.

Marciello just isn't good enough/ready for F1 never mind Ferrari. He's been underwhelming in GP2, and done some pretty stupid **** this year, most notably binning it behind the safety car when he was on for a podium.

 

The Hulk will definitely want to give WEC another go, he won Le Mans on his first attempt so that must generate a buzz for him. Ferrari are highly unlikely to let him do that as they've got their own efforts in the lower classes and there are constant rumours that they're working in secret on their own LMP1 car so a guy representing Porsche isn't ideal. If Aston came in and funded FI then it'd good for that operation and the drivers involved so he could be better served staying as you suggest.

Bottas is a tough one because he's obviously talented but he's not yet put together a series of results that suggest he's the next potential WDC, that could just be because he's not had the machinery to do it so a change may help him.

Perez would be interesting. He left the Ferrari Driver Academy to join McLaren but that went horribly for him, so he is certainly looking for some kind of redemption. He would also fit the need to satisfy the Mexican backers thus solving the Gutiérrez issue as I don't think he is good enough whereas Perez did show back in his Sauber days that he can do a good job as well as having a deft touch with the Pirelli rubber. Ferrari may almost use the remainder of the season as a shootout between Hulkenberg and Perez, see who can get the most out of the new FI package.

In terms of other drivers Ferrari have, JEV is under contract mainly for simulator work and is unlikely to get promoted despite having some decent showings at Toro Rosso. The Red Bull empire binned him for a reason so maybe Ferrari won't take the risk. Raffaele Marciello is the guy you were talking about, and no he's not done that well in GP2 but he is in a fairly poor team (Trident) and has steadily been gaining F1 experience both with the Scuderia and Sauber so Ferrari obviously still have some kind of faith in him. They've also got some promising kids coming up in GP3 but they are too far away to consider for the next few years. What they really need is a B team, like they had with Marussia and Jules Bianchi. Really he was their next hope, and it has come out that he was going to be one of the Sauber drivers this season had he not had the accident.

All in all, I think they'll go for a known quantity rather than a young gun, but maybe keep pushing Marciello at Sauber to keep their future options open.

 

You could make a case for Hulk's weight being an advantage. Can't set up the Ferrari quite as well, extra weight makes him slightly slower. He'd need to drive phenomenally well given the handicap to challenge Vettel, so he becomes number two without Ferrari forcing it. But he'll still be a safe pair of hands,avoiding accidents and picking up solid points.

That said, I think Perez will get it. Still pretty solid, but ticks the corporate boxes.

 

Nobody mentioning Grosjean? I wouldn't rule him out, he would do well in a top team.

 

Grosjean is possible I guess, he has certainly matured from the guy that used to crash loads (that honour seems to belong to his teammate) but I'm not sure if he's better than people already mentioned and probably has a contract for 2016 thus would need buying out furthering the case for Bottas. Thing is, he was beaten Raikkonen in both of the seasons they were together. He definitely got closer in 2013 but still only took one 2nd place and a load of 3rds against Kimi's 1 win and load of 2nds. HIs cause then hasn't been helped by being in the dog of a Lotus in 2014, and now the 2015 car isn't even the definite best of the midfield behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Williams.

 

I'd love to see JEV get the seat, but knowing Ferrari they'll keep the pensioner

 

Well I've just read a interesting story, Button to Williams for 2016.
Doesn't sound totally ridiculous

 

He started his career there, may be nice to finish in the same place. They have a competitive car, with a good engine, whereas McLaren are a long way from regularly challenging for the points and have an engine that needs loads of work. Would pave the way for Bottas to go to Ferrari and either KMag or Vandoorne to take the 2nd seat at McLaren.

 

As much as Button was so close to losing his drive last year, I think he will be on the gird for a couple of years yet. Williams is highly likely IMO and I wouldn't rule out Ferrari either, they have flirted with him in the past. For me the logic of investing In Seb (like they did with Alonso before) is that they want to focus on him - a young challenger just doesn't fit the bill. I cant see them going down the rookie route either because it doesn't fit their need for a driver who can take points off the competition to enhance Sebs title contention and Ferraris constructors chances.

Bottas does still seem the most obvious (especially if he is free next year) but there would be a certain irony being currently beaten by Massa - a driver deemed no longer suitable for the 2nd drivers seat.

 

Someone pointed out that Ferrari haven't hired someone under 25 since the 1960's, I think that shows their view on youthful talent!

The merry-go-round of Bottas to Ferrari, Button to Williams, Vandoorne to McLaren fits quite nicely.

Vandoorne can be developed at McLaren with limited pressure due to the awful car. Button will be a pair of steady hands for Williams and for him it's a better chance of results for what must be his final few seasons. Leaving Ferrari to get what they want, a strong driver who is looking more and more like he's not strong enough.

 

Bottas hasn't exactly done badly vs Massa. He's 3 points ahead having not done the first race, only been outscored in 3 races this season and has had more points since the Spanish Grand Prix. He soundly beat Massa last season as well, he could just have found over the last two races that he didn't quite nail the set-up. Wasn't as if in the dry he was slower than Massa, he kept very close to him which is supposed to be tough with the turbulent air effect but Silverstone is difficult to overtake on because there aren't many big braking zones, and the straights often follow on from aero heavy corners.

 

Can't see it myself. Williams were less than impressed when he bought himself out of a contract he had signed so that he could stay with BAR. That kind of stuff would not sit well with Frank.

Can see that Button would be great for Martini sponsorship as he probably has every attribute they would want to market, but think Williams will think their money is better spent on replacing Bottas with more young (cheap) talent. There is plenty out there.

 

Yes, you're right about the contract issues. That was a right mess come to think of it. They could move Alex Lynn up, he's only in his first season of GP2 but is doing a decent job in a championship dominated by Vandoorne. Won GP3 last year so obviously has some talent. The issue would be whether he qualified for the super licence which will depend on where he finishes the GP2 season (currently in 5th).

 

I don't think Frank will be too worried about previous contract issues, he reportedly made over 10 million over Button not driving - pretty shrewd business.

 

I think next season Lynn will be promoted to several FP1 drives (like Bottas was a few seasons ago). He'll then be lined up to replace Massa in 2017. Which is why I think they'd be tempted by Button, give them a cross over of experience for 2017 when it's looking like it'll be Lynn + ?. Then in 2018 they can replace Button with the new new