Article: 2013 Driver Line-ups, News & Rumours | Formula one

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Kyle? said:
They won't replace Schumacher this early.
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Early? He's 311 years old! <yikes>

Schumacher will definitely be on his way in my opinion. I'd be surprised if either party wanted to extend the deal if Schumacher carries on like this this season. If I was Vettel, Hamilton or Alonso I wouldn't join Mercedes. They'll find it hard to lure a quality driver I think, Raikkonen's their best chance, or Kubica if he can prove he's still got it. Otherwise they're plucking someone from the midfield.
 
I heard a rumour that Red Bull are replacing Sebastian Vettel (when he leaves for Ferrari) with Felipe massa.
 
F1 Today said:
Jaime Alguersuari has told Spanish publications he is "absolute certain" he will be on the 2013 grid. "This is the best year of my life," he told Mundo Deportivo, referring to 2012, the year after his young F1 career stalled when he was dropped by backer Red Bull.

"I'm only 22," said Spaniard Alguersuari, who is now Pirelli's main test driver and a co-commentator for British radio. "I'm in the prime of my life. It is increasingly clear that what happened with Toro Rosso was not a sporting decision. It was an internal decision and I don't want to go deeper."

He sounded confident about the future.

"It is 100 per cent that I will return in 2013. After being with Pirelli I will have very important knowledge. I knew that this transitionary step was necessary and I'm very happy," said Alguersuari.

"If I had gone (to be test driver) with a team, with all due respect, I'd have no options now.

"I am developing a product (Pirelli) that nobody understands but that is vital for formula one -- to know the tyres and to understand them. I'm in the right place," he is quoted by La Vanguardia newspaper.

"I chose to be with Pirelli because I knew it would be the most important (element) in formula one. "I know where I am and I know where I'll be next year," he insisted.
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100%? that means he must have a contract already then?

was the 'If I had gone (to be test driver) with a team' a swipe at Buemi?
 
Red Bull. Webber to retire or go backwards (unlikely) He said the word "transitional" which gives me the idea that he is going further than he was, What has Red Bull got to lose? Webber is crap anyway. He [Alguersuari] was always good at getting points from a bad qualifying.
 
I have no idea where JA will be. Can he afford an HRT seat? He sounds pretty optimistic about it which suggests he's got a pretty decent drive, but who would take him? Maybe Force India, with di Resta moving on, or Senna's seat at Williams, Bottas looks better than Alguersuari though.

Don't think it will be Red Bull Fred, This sounds like a clear swipe at them to me:

Jaime Alguersuari said:
It is increasingly clear that what happened with Toro Rosso was not a sporting decision. It was an internal decision and I don't want to go deeper.
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Bando, I read that as a swipe at Buemi too, I'm not sure though. Either way, I reckon you can safely rule out a seat at Toro Rosso or Red Bull. I don't think its a back-marker team either. He speaks of developing the tyres, and (no offence to HRT, Marussia, and to a lesser extent Caterham), the tyres are the least of their worries, hence De La Rosa at HRT. I don't think he'd be quite so enthusiastic about one of those seats either.
 
Assuming Massa is gone, which he will be, Perez will neatly slide into his seat, leaving an open seat at Sauber. They already have a nice read on the tyres, but having a driver who has spent a year testing them extensively will be very helpful for them indeed
 
Is it not possible that Ferrari and Alonso might see his tyre knowledge as an extremely valuable advantage? The perceived wisdom is of course that Ferrari hire well-seasoned drivers but I think Alguersuari's current standing in the sport would make him accepting of a no. 2 position for a few years, he's Spanish, which I noticed Alonso happily chatting away in to Maldonado after Sunday's race, and he'd be very cheap by Ferrari standards. I could imagine Santander being in favour and I think Alguersuari acquitted himself impressively last season, particularly in being able to gain places from a poor qualifying position.
 
Fred! said:
Red Bull. Webber to retire or go backwards (unlikely) He said the word "transitional" which gives me the idea that he is going further than he was, What has Red Bull got to lose? Webber is crap anyway. He [Alguersuari] was always good at getting points from a bad qualifying.
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"Webber is crap anyway"? Despite having the best car at the time, he was a very very serious prospect for 2010 World Champion, right up to the final race wasn't it?

Vettel may have dominated him last season but really, that was an exceptional low for Webber, who is surely one of the top ten drivers currently in motor racing.
 
cosicave said:
"Webber is crap anyway"? Despite having the best car at the time, he was a very very serious prospect for 2010 World Champion, right up to the final race wasn't it?

Vettel may have dominated him last season but really, that was an exceptional low for Webber, who is surely one of the top ten drivers currently in motor racing.
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Webber had no problems with his car in 2010. [correct me if i'm wrong] And yet, with a dominant car, he came only 3rd in the championship. He cracked under pressure in Korea, then went backwards afterwards. If Vettel didnt have car problems in Bahrain and Australia, Webber (and everyone else for that matter) would have gotten no where near him in the championship. I think Webber is one of the most overrated drivers on the grid. His strength is his qualifying, since 2009 he's been beaten badly. I think it's about 50-10 or something. Alot of you know, i'm very blunt with drivers i dont like, and Webber is no different.
 
Fred! said:
Webber had no problems with his car in 2010. [correct me if i'm wrong] And yet, with a dominant car, he came only 3rd in the championship. He cracked under pressure in Korea, then went backwards afterwards. If Vettel didnt have car problems in Bahrain and Australia, Webber (and everyone else for that matter) would have gotten no where near him in the championship. I think Webber is one of the most overrated drivers on the grid. His strength is his qualifying, since 2009 he's been beaten badly. I think it's about 50-10 or something. Alot of you know, i'm very blunt with drivers i dont like, and Webber is no different.
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I think he's one of the most underrated. Since he's been paired with Vettel I think a lot of people have forgotten how good he used to be, or didn't realise how good he was when he was with smaller teams, in a similar way to how Fisichella was completely disregarded after partnering Alonso. Yeah Webber's not got a great head to head with Vettel in qualifying, but he's usually pretty close, unlike Massa who's usually half a second adrift of Alonso, and occasionally over a second. I only rate Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton, Button and Raikkonen higher than Webber right now. I don't think Kovalainen and Rosberg are any better, and I think the Sauber drivers, di Resta and Grosjean would lack the experience to beat Webber if they were put in the same team.
 
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