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

Let's see where we're at:

Hamilton and Schumacher's respective contracts for next year both expected on Wednesday
Hamilton now expected to stay at Mclaren, Schumacher's fate unknown.
Alguersuari is certain he has a drive for next year.
Raikkonen has an option to leave Lotus.
Massa is not guaranteed a seat for next year.
Kovalainen has been in talks with Lotus and Ferrari about a seat for next year.
Perez has been linked with Ferrari and Mclaren.
Both Force India drivers linked with the vacant Ferrari seat but Ferrari will have to pay compensation.
Bottas and d'Ambrosio both apparently deserve to be on the grid next year.

Basically the only drivers definitely accounted for are Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Rosberg and Button!

 

If Lewis stays I can't see any changes myself! Merc have commented on a driver for the future and if it's not Lewis there is no one else!

My guess is that the reason for he coordinated press release for Lewis and Schuey is that thy re both moving teams or Schuey is leaving F1!

 

It does suggest that, Schumacher announcing his retirement and Mercedes unveiling his replacement. Really hope so, if it's another static driver market after all this I'll... well I don't know what I'll do but I won't be very happy.

 

I am very sad after reading this.

Please go to Mclaren Schumi.

 

EJ did mention that the Concorde Agreement had been signed; I'm not sure if this is relevant.

 

http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/12477/8104936/Timely-result-for-di-Resta

 

Agents...

 

What I do not like about Di Resta is that at every opportunity he mentions how he took on drivers like Vettel and Hamilton in the lower formula, it makes him come across as someone who feels a sense of entitlement. As good as his result was yesterday he still is (In my opinion) no more deserving of a possible drive in a top team than Perez is

 

Funny, when Hulk got his fourth place in Spa it barely raised a whisper. indeed.

 

He's a German, what do you expect? There's still a lot of anti-German sentiment in this country, despite what people try and say, we still hate the French even though our last warwas over 200 years ago, the Scots still hate the English because of stuff that happenened even longer ago. I'd like to talk about the other German, he came 12th yesterday, surely Glock deserves a drive in a car that could score points?

 

More hitting of nails on heads there!! If I were a team manager, of the current young guns, I'd want Perez in my team above the likes of Di Resta and The Hulk, heck I'd even take Maldonado over the Force India drivers, he's a few sketches short of a Looney Toon cartoon, but boy, when he puts his mind to it, he's bloody quick, I don't see these traits in Di Resta, he's not as quick as Maldonado and not as rounded as Perez!

 

Drive of the day for me. Shame we weren't allowed to see any of it. Credit to Marussia too, the team no one loves. I used to rate Glock myself and expected his career to go better really. He seems a bit placid for an F1 driver though.

 

Well a lot of cars were taken out ahead of him that race.

 

Completely disagree, both Force India drivers are better than Perez in my opinion. Grosjean is the quickest of the newbies, but Hulk and di Resta are better all round racers.

 

Thats why we all have them, Opinions.. May never happen but if in the same cars I'd be willing to bet my last Rolo that Perez, over the course of the year, would out score either one of the Force India drivers..

 

Perez strikes me as better than di Resta and Hulk but I sometimes worry that he's a one trick pony who's team gambles on strategies. When they go wrong we blame the team and when they occasionally work we give all the credit to the driver.

I'd like to see di Resta given a chance in a bigger team, I think he has the potential to be a solid points scorer. Maybe not championship quality but certainly pretty good.
As for Hulk, not to sure really. He's on the cusp so to say but having read previous comments I'm not allowed to like him apparently

 

I think Maldonado is the quickest out of all the newer generation. Definately not the best though, but he's the only one with a win too.
Perez is the best all rounder I think, but when it goes wrong, it goes very wrong. Both Force India's have been really lucky to get some of their positions (Valencia/Spa come to mind) and I think none of them are as good as Sutil, who isn't anything massively special himself, maybe about as good as Heidfeld.

 

I'd like to see Sutil back in F1, I'd say he was better than at least half the field, Mercedes maybe? for my money he's better than the 2 drivers they have at the moment, the only time he was a bit off form was when he had the court case hanging over his head. Maldonado was unlucky yesterday (as was Senna, who drove fairly well from 22nd), maybe a bit too cautious at times, but when he finds the balance between passivity and aggressivness Pastor will be a force to be reckoned with, we have a lot of potential in the younger drivers, far more now than at any time I can remember.

 

di Resta appears to suffer from a backlash caused by everyone hyping him up. He's rather like Button when he was first coming up or even Hamilton one could argue in that respect.

As for the youngsters, I agree Perez, Maldonado and Hulk are all very exciting. That said one issue with the new teams being so bad is that we can't see how good Pic is, for example, and there's no team where the next Alonso might get a season. (Toro Rosso don't count because they're run by idiots.)

 

Blick say that Massa has signed with Ferrari:

http://www.blick.ch/sport/formel1/massa-bleibt-bei-ferrari-id2045145.html



Presumably it's a one year deal so Vettel can join in 2014. Will Buxton says the Vettel's option with Ferrari is "one of those widely known secrets in the paddock".