I would have thought that Palmer was a good bet for an f1 drive, consistent, clean at overtaking, good qualifier and has a winning mentality. Nasr is certainly quick and hungry, but hot headed at times. Maybe he'll calm down in time.
I'm not happy about either of them getting the seat frankly, it took them both three years to be competitive in GP2.
Maybe Marussia are getting the dream Palmer-Chilton lineup. Chilton will probs go for the title with Palmer his wingman.
So Marrussia have now dropped now the name of their 2013 owners and will go back to the original original name Manor!
I seem to remember something about official names as declared on FIA entrant list meaning that they might loose money, something about position of team in last 2 of 3 years.
Timo Glock ‏@realTimoGlock 9m9 minutes ago @adamcooperF1 that’s life in formula 1 no sport anymore just the biggest pocket wins the seat….
Actually there is one good thing about Nasr being on the grid - if Sauber give him a decent car and he ends up fighting the Williams then Crofty'll tie his tongue in knots trying to commentate.
It's an interesting situation at McLaren now. They seem to be struggling to close the deal with Alonso and the delay has alienated Button. They ought to be careful they don't end up with neither.
Suddenly, i'n quite looking forward to them meeting on track! I don't think McLaren are struggling with Alonso tbh, i suspect the issue is with Alonso and Ferrari parting ways. Alonso wants them to terminate his deal, Ferrari want Alonso to break it. All a matter of who will be due who money. Until either happens he can't sign anything binding with McLaren. McLaren are however starting to get impatient waiting on them sorting it out, Boulier has issued a deadline.
Such a shame to hear the rumours swirling around Jenson. He hasn't helped himself sometimes with his excuses but the fact is that McLaren have given him a shocking car for two years running. We know he isn't the raw speed demon but this guy would have been great with Alonso IMO. Jenson doesn't go in pissing anyone off, won't out-qualify Fernando but races very well on Sundays to bring home the points. I'd have thought McLaren could have lent Magnussen to one of the lower teams and paid his salary? It's a real shame that Button hasn't had chance to lead the team with a competitive car. I was very excited to see him lead McLaren in 2013 but what can you do when the car has been as bad as it has. I've said it before- could Ferrari really do any worse than stick Button in alongside Vettel whilst they fine tune their rebuilding operation? Kimi has been woeful.
It would be a good option, but it's about time Ferrari looked to the future as far as drivers are concerned. End yep, Kimi is but a shadow of his former self.
Certainly an option (and not a bad one at that). I was going to say i'd stick with Kimi, I do think the problem is the car just not being near what he can use and he should have a shot at an Allison Ferrari, but if Vettel is doing even half of what Alonso has done to Kimi this year, i'd drop him mid season. There is certainly going to be plenty of very decent drivers of various experience without a seat next year I honestly think another good option is Grosjean. He is a driver who has proven to be very quick, and one who also suits a car with a number front end (hence why he was suddenly beating Kimi second half of '13 the second Lotus moved to LWB spec and their rear downforce increased making the car more naturally understeery). Or maybe even Vergne? Regardless, it will be interesting to see if Ferrari sign up a reserve driver, it might not be a bad place for a driver to sit and wait at.
Jenson Button has dropped his heaviest hint yet that he is set to leave McLaren – and F1 – at the end of the season. Confirmation that the 2009 World Champion will be replaced by Fernando Alonso for 2015 is believed to be imminent with McLaren set to retain rookie youngster Kevin Magnussen as the Spaniard’s team-mate. Although Button has scored almost twice as many points as Magnussen this term, McLaren are thought to consider the 22-year-old a better fit alongside Alonso than the 34-year-old Englishman. Rumours that Alonso is poised to return to McLaren have abounded since the summer and Button sounded resigned to his fate when he spoke to reporters in the Interlagos paddock on Thursday ahead of this weekend’s Brazilian GP. With Jenson Button's F1 future up in the air, Ted Kravitz and David Croft debate whether the McLaren man should look for another drive or leave the sport a “It’s been going on for months now,” the Englishman reflected. “Initially, I was ‘Ok, what’s all that about?’ But then it makes you think about other opportunities and challenges, in F1 and other motorsport. "There’s so much out there, so many challenges I am interested in taking on. Whatever I'm going to do next year, it's going to be exciting and a challenge - I'm looking forward to it." While Alonso’s signing is set to signal the end of Button’s F1 career, the Spaniard himself has expressed his hope that Button will continue in the sport. “He’s a very talented driver, we’ve seen that in all his career, and also he’s a very nice person,” said Alonso. “We need people like him in F1. I hope he will be here next year.” According to Alonso, an announcement on his own future is "very close" and a deal will be "finalised soon". After almost fifteen years in F1, Button is thought to be considering following in the footsteps of Mark Webber and switching to sports car racing to drive for Porsche in the World Endurance Championship. "Am I disappointed? I'm disappointed I'm not in a winning car. I'm here to win and only want to be in Formula 1 to win," he added. Asked whether he would agree to stay with McLaren if the team were to offer him a race seat for next year, Button pointedly replied: "I don't know." McLaren have agonised over the identity of their 2015 driver line-up ever since Honda announced they would be returning to F1 to power the team next year. The Japanese company has reputedly demanded that McLaren deliver a marquee name to spearhead their comeback – prompting McLaren to publicly flirt with both Alonso and former driver Lewis Hamilton as well as reportedly make a name-your-own-price approach to World Champion Sebastian Vettel. The German’s departure from Red Bull was announced over a month ago, with confirmation that he will replace Alonso at Ferrari expected before the season finale at Abu Dhabi in two weeks’ time. Button joined the F1 grid in 2000 and drove for Williams, Benetton and BAR-Honda before winning the World Championship with the Brawn outfit, which rose from the ashes of the defunct Honda team.
Exactly why i still think he deserves another chance on the basis he shows much more next season. I just think Ferrari have saddled him with a dog of a car that also happens to be the exact opposite of what he needs to show it. Should he be able to adapt better to it? absolutely, but it's not like he's driving a good car and getting nowhere with it, he's driving a comparative dog and just not scraping the same points as his team mate for the reasons above, let's be honest here, as good a job as Alonso has done, it's not like he's setting the heather alight in the F14-T either. Ferrari have let both of them down.
If you'd only watched this season you'd have to be forgiven for thinking Vettel was awful too. The very best drivers can drive around any deficiencies in the car, by that I mean Hamilton and Alonso. Behind them you've got the likes of Kimi, Vettel and Button who can be the quickest guy out there, if they're given the type of car they need. A Vettel/Raikkonen partnership could be interesting for Ferrari next year. Kimi likes a planted front end, Vettel is more reliant on rear-end grip. Unless they produce a car which is easy to set up then one of their drivers is really going to suffer.
