Why do F1 teams insist on wasting talent? It'll be a travesty if Barrichello or Massa are on the grid next season.
It's a shame that Sauber look set to drop Hulkenberg and instead have Guttierez and Sirotkin/Barrichello in the car considering for so long they were a team synonymous with taking on young talent who were not loaded with cash (Kimi being a prime example).
McLaren haven't given up on Alonso for 2014. I personally think they're wasting their time and should focus on getting him for 2015, but anyway it explains the delay with Perez.
Adam Cooper ‏@adamcooperf1 2m Sauber finally confirms an extension of its deal with Ferrari into 2014 and beyond
BlogF1.it already linked Magnussen to the second Marussia seat, and they now say Petrov is a candidate as well. Does anyone know what happened to Petrov? He was replaced by Caterham and then seemed to disappear?
Chilton says he's in talks with the team and that things are "progressing nicely", but with Andrei Cheglakov promising to clear Marussia's debts, do they really need Chilton? Let's face it, if they wanted pay drivers, they could have done much better than Bianchi.
At this stage I think it's safe to say unless we hear otherwise (for example, he doesn't get his superlicense), Sirotkin is a guaranteed seat and it is Gutierrez who is at risk. We don't know about Hulkenberg, I'm sure Sauber will do their best to keep him if he doesn't get a better offer.
Fuel effect is generally about 3/10ths per 10kg of fuel. Personally I think Hulk's skill would more than make up for running the car 5kg overweight if it came to it, compared to someone like Perez or Massa. It's obviously not ideal but his weight shouldn't be a major stumbling block for him getting a top drive.
Surely with most cars having to add ballast becuase even with drivers majority are under minimum weight it would make even less difference than that? Maybe less ballast low down but overall weight shoudl be the same. Very short sighted of McLaren to overlook Hulk, unless their 'design philosophy' doesn't allow for a larger driver to fit into the cockpit?
Yeah exactly, even in extreme cases it's hard to see it costing more than a tenth. Hulk's only two centimetres taller than JB, surely McLaren could find a way of squeezing him in there. He's the same height as Webber, who Red Bull manage to squeeze in despite Newey's aggressive packaging. I believe Red Bull have a shorter wheelbase than McLaren too.
We've already heard that the new engines will make the 2014 cars a lot harder to drive, but now we have something more specific, from Massa who has driven the 2014 Ferrari in the simulator. He says: "It will be another world. All different. The car does not have grip, skates also in top gear, and more fast on the straight and very different to drive. Adapting will be quite a challenge. " 2014 should be fun
Lets hope so. The cars should be difficult to drive, otherwise what's the point in having the best drivers in the world driving cars that just stick to the road. Too easy to make a mistake and get away with it. Really hope it does mix it up a bit and the drivers, rather than just strategy, can make the difference.
Monday morning mini-quiz: Who said this? "It's a bit of a waiting game. I've built up a good relationship with the team and I think I've done a good job for them over this season to ensure they know what I can do."
