To be fair Maldonado is one of the pay drivers which has talent and deserves to be on the grid even if he didnt have money. I'd rather it if Hulk went to Lotus and Maldo went to Sauber though.
This is about the long and short of it. We need another ludicrous rumour... Hamilton to Sauber anyone?
half the grid I'd say, but lets not forget that even they are tied into sponsorship obiigations, so they have to sort of pay their way too.
Bouillier has apparently said in the presser the contracts for Maldo and Hulk are both agreed, but neither signed yet. I think it comes down to the Quantum deal. If they get it, they'll be ok financially so you'd think it'll be Hulk, Maldo waiting for if the deal goes south.
Lotus were the centre of paddock speculation on Thursday after Raikkonen failed to turn up for the media day. He had been upset by a radio exchange during the Indian Grand Prix when the team's trackside operations director Alan Permane swore at him when asking him to let Grosjean by in the closing laps. Raikkonen, who swore back at Permane, needed some calming words from team boss Eric Boullier before he would get on a plane and fly to Abu Dhabi. He turned up at the track only an hour or so before the first practice session. ON the NH / PM thing , NH could do a lot worse than staying with Sauber IMHO . Everyone knows how good he is , If PM goes to Lotus , it proves the long promised investment has STILL not arrived . They ( Lotus ) Have lost their Star Driver & one or two very important personnel . Stay at Sauber NH & 2015 awaits .
And Hulk had a stomach bug and missed the media day too - or was it a sudden allergy to awkward questions? Incidentally, is it a FACT yet that the Lotus seat is Pastor's?
I wonder what the Quantum deal is dependent on. You'd have to say things have changed with the drivers because Grosjean and Raikkonen have swapped round - now it's Kimi getting all the bad publicity, and Romain who's fighting for podium finishes. On a less positive note, if Quantum are looking for good publicity, Kimi could (and at this rate will) scupper it for them, even if he isn't there next year.
The Lotus seat could yet depend on their results in the last three races. There's about £20m difference between third and fourth in the constructors' and that could be the difference between being able to afford Hulkenberg and needing Pastor's money. Fingers crossed for a double podium for them on Sunday.
It's very sad that things are turning so sour just when they need every point, especially after they've kept right up with the wealthier teams until now; sounds like they've really overstretched themselves. Still, Kimi could maybe learn a little diplomacy from Hulk in how to deal with unpaid wages. Edit: 15million euros is a lot of money though!
Magnussen to Caterham? He has an offer from them according to Kate Walker: http://www.espn.co.uk/blogs/motorsport/story/132943.html
I'm reckon the 2014 line-up will be: Red Bull - Vettel, Ricciardo Ferrari - Alonso, Raikkonen McLaren - Button, Perez Mercedes - Hamilton, Rosberg Lotus - Grosjean, Maldonado Sauber - Gutierrez, Russian Force India - Sutil, Hulkenburg Williams - Massa, Bottas Toro Rosso - Kvyat, Da Costa Caterham - Magnussen, Pic Marussia - Bianchi, Chilton
FR3.5 is over so if Da Costa was going to be replacing Vergne it would of happened already. Tost seemed intent that Vergne be given more time and equal to what Daniel was given so to give a fair comparison in experience.
Tost might want Vergne but it's Matechitz who makes the decision. Vergne was already overlooked for the Red Bull seat and he doesn't know how to qualify. He could be kept for his experience but in the past Red Bull have chosen to bring in a new rookie. If DM can't see a Red Bull future for Vergne, he'll be out and Da Costa is next in line. Interestingly Da Costa has been retained by Red Bull's junior team.
Ricciardo was only given a half season with HRT. They both had equal time. I see little point in STR keeping Vergne beyond him being a benchmark for Kvyat. If Ricciardo fails at Red Bull they won't replace him with Vergne because they've already decided he isn't as good as Ricciardo. Kvyat and Da Costa may well put pressure on Ricciardo to retain his seat if he doesn't perform well. I'm pretty sure they've already confirmed JEV though?
Quantum have said their deal with Lotus is done so hopefully Hulk will be confirmed in the next couple of days, Boullier said deals were agreed with Hulk and Maldonado so it should just be a case of signing on the dotted line now. They also claim to have sorted Raikkonen's pay dispute.
