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

The wording implies that Kovalainen's team has been in contact with Lotus more in hope than expectation.

Moving to Ferrari's a no-brainer for Kovalainen if it's available, I imagine Ferrari have looked at him as more consistent than Massa.

 

Yep reckon Kovi will do what Ferrari what from Massa at the moment, i.e. bring the car home with solid points and take significant points off Alonso's rivals which he did at times in 2008

 

Jose Luis says there are only three people left in the running to be Alonso's teammmate next year: Massa, Kovalainen and Hulkenburg. This guy is reliable - on Monday he said "well-informed sources rule out Perez going to Ferrari next year". The next day Luca di Montezemolo said it was too early for Perez to be a Ferrari driver.

 

Well it has to be Massa then . With rumors of Vettel and certainly Perez in the future buying out Hulkenbergs contract just for short term would be odd, while would Kovalainen after what two years of Lewis and McLaren did to him, really want to be Fernando's bitch?

 

Out of those 3, may as well keep Massa. If Perez is too young, then surely so is Hulk. That leaves Kovalainen and he didn't fare too well the last time he was at a big team.

 

I'd argue it was too much too soon for Kovalainen. Reading interviews from him looking back at that season, he really feels his performance was far from what he was capable of, and he was disappointed with himself. Having a few seasons out of the spotlight has let him mature, and I think (though I'm a fan so biased) he could do a job in a competitive car. If he wants to be Alonso's bitch is another question, but if the choice is play second fiddle to Alonso and have the chance to pick up solid points, podiums and maybe a win or two, surely that's preferable to getting excited over the chance of a single 10th place in a whole season?

 

He did better as Fernando's bitch than he did as Lewis's. It was his time at Renault which got him the McLaren drive. If it worked once, why not again?

 

He was Fisi's b*tch at Renault, not Fernando's.

 

He comfortably beat Fisi at Renault.

 

Yes, but i was illustrating the point that he's never been teamates with Fernando Alonso.

 

Right. So was Fisi Fernando's bitch? My memory's going

Do they have these things written into their contracts? Maybe this is a sticking point in the Hamilton negotiations

 

One concern about Kovalainen is his race pace. When both Caterham drivers have finished, it's 6-4 to Petrov.

 

Yeah.

 

Which is an interesting statistic given that before I looked it up for the Danger Seats article I honestly thought it was the other way around.

 

Does make me wonder if having Trulli as a teammate for the last two years has flattered his sundays. One lasting memory of him at McLaren was Monza 09, Everything perfectly set up to win and he was just slow. He does seem to have improved, but its really hard to be certain and that Petrov statistic doesn't help.

 

As a Renault/Lotus fan, I never really rated Kovi. Sure he is a good points pick upper but not really somebody who can help win WCC titles which Ferrari desperatly need. They need a Barichello esque driver alongside alonso. Fisichella was of that mould too but I dont think there are many in todays F1.

 

They really need a Webber who actually pays attention to the team and not wants it all to himself!
I think Kovalainen would be better than Massa, but what I dont understand is: How is Perez not experienced enough, yet Hulk is on the list. They've both pretty much done the same amount of races.

 

Perez is a few years younger than di Resta and Hulkenberg, he also has less experience in lower formulae than the Force India drivers who both have F3 titles under their belts and a DTM title in di Resta's case and a GP2 title in Hulkenberg's. They also both have a year of test driving experience as well. So Perez being deemed too young and inexperienced for Ferrari doesn't necessarily rule out di Resta and Hulkenberg. Personally I think all three are good enough and experienced enough, surely they would benefit massively from a couple of seasons alongside Alonso too.

 

Kovalainen's a quick driver on his day, I agree that he went to Mclaren too early. I get the feeling that if he got a car where he could qualify well his race pace would improve to suit.

Of course, there's also Monza 2008 and the fact that he distinctly inherited his only victory to date... both of which should help him get the Ferrari seat!

 

Toto Wolff expects Bottas to enter Formula One next year.

http://en.espnf1.com/williams/motorsport/story/89014.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

The interesting quote is this one:

Now forgive me if I'm interpreting this wrongly but is that not basically him saying that he will use his influence at Williams to get Bottas a seat unless Bottas refuses?

EDIT: Just thought I'd add to this, he has also come out and said that Maldonado looks like a quality driver for the future if he grows up, which means that from his perspective Williams' line-up next year might as well be Maldie and Bottas.