RRRRRRMMMMMMNNNNNN GGGGGRRRRSSSSSSJJJJJNNNNNN

[Jeroen Krautmeir]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/93396

The signs are there that Heidfeld will be shown the way OUT, very soon...

[Londoner]

Looks like Renault/Genii/Group Bahar have become slightly bored of Nick Heidfeld. It's his qualifying that lets old Nick down, plus the fact that he isn't a flashy driver.

Evidently Renault/Genii/Group Bahar have given up on fighting Mercedes for 4th place in the championship, or they have a multitude of spare parts avaliable, which means they can take on the risk that is Rrrrrrmmmmmmmnnnnnnn Ggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrsssssssjjjjjjjnnnnnn.

[RainierSassetti]

Why not Bruno? I know he's bound to be a reject, but GRRRRRJJJJNNN tested and raced at least midfield machinery, why not him? Even if he has not the same racing résumé, I'd try him. Anyways this team is led by some PR-Marketingting dude, it would be nice to see that Brazilian yellow helmet in a black-golden car. But forgive me, I don't know much about driver choices, unfortunately..

[mario]

Why not Bruno? I know he's bound to be a reject, but GRRRRRJJJJNNN tested and raced at least midfield machinery, why not him? Even if he has not the same racing résumé, I'd try him. Anyways this team is led by some PR-Marketingting dude, it would be nice to see that Brazilian yellow helmet in a black-golden car. But forgive me, I don't know much about driver choices, unfortunately..

There are a couple of reasons why the team are more likely to go for Grosjean instead of Bruno:
1. Potential sponsorship - whilst the possibility of having the Senna name on a black and gold car may have some commercial value, there is sustained, heavy pressure being applied on Renault to recruit a French driver, with the potential carrot of state sponsorship as a reward. A French driver in the sport would increase the chances of a French GP - something that quite a few want to see on the calendar again - and Renault is one of the few teams with a young, up and coming French driver on the books.
2. Boullier is known to be biased towards Grosjean - Boullier was, after all, a former CEO of DAMS, the GP2 team that Grosjean is currently driving for. On top of that, Boullier was also a CEO for Gravity Sport Management, and that outfit runs the Renault Young Driver Program, which Grosjean is also part of. As far as he is concerned, Grosjean is probably much more of a known quantity than Bruno, and he'll probably want to try somebody who he is more familiar with first.

[Ferrim]

Everyone who uses a spelling different from GGGRRRJJJNNN* will be papayaed.

*The exact number of characters doesn't matter as long as they are more than one and in the correct order.

[Row Man Gross-Gene]

My namesake (and avatar) will finally return!

I have promised myself to cherish every moment.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Burno's gone one better and is actually driving in FP1 this weekend.

[Peter]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DO NOT WANT!!!!!!!

I know i'm an avid fan of Bruno, but he is, seriously a good driver. Trumped all of his teamamtes last year at HRT bar Klien, though I believe there was a slight bias to Christian, not to mention some bad luck in qualifying by Senna. And off season testing, he was only a second off of Heidfield's time, without using the soft tyre. He's shown some promise, if anything. Roman came and went, he had a chance already, and didn't do much better than Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior (is this the longest full name of an F1 driver?:lol:) I do think he'll do better now, given Renault and he himself are better than 2 years ago, but Roman should use his potential GP2 title to get himself a more permanent seat in a different team, since unless he can beat Petrov by a lot, because even beating him marginally wouldn't be more worth than Vitaly's money unless Roman brings money as well, he'll be shown the door the second Kubica can race again. A drive for Senna may just be the thing to save his career, and he could attract attention and, once Bobby is fit to race, could be snatched up by another team. Both drivers will get seats

[Captain Hammer]

Looks like Renault/Genii/Group Bahar have become slightly bored of Nick Heidfeld. It's his qualifying that lets old Nick down, plus the fact that he isn't a flashy driver.

I think the fact that he's beaten Petrov six times out of ten this year - but is only two points in front of him - might have something to do with it.

[sswishbone]

It's also because Heidfeld was recruited due to how he worked with Robert before and therefore should have that same sense of edgy team leadership, which never was gonna be the case as Kubica is a proper true blood racer, where as Heidfeld is more like an endurance driver who thinks of very long-term stints. Grosjean though is a huge mistake in my view

[Phoenix]

After reading the story, I believe they COULD give him a chance to prove himself after the GP2 season ends. That'd be very good, because it wouldn't mean he misses on a potential chance to win the GP2 title again and is rushed into the limelight like it happened in 2009. If he replaces Heidfeld for the last rounds and wins the GP2 title, he'll take on the task with a lot of confidence and calm and we may see him thrive. But it remains to be seen which'll be the final decision yet.

[DanielPT]

After reading the story, I believe they COULD give him a chance to prove himself after the GP2 season ends. That'd be very good, because it wouldn't mean he misses on a potential chance to win the GP2 title again and is rushed into the limelight like it happened in 2009. If he replaces Heidfeld for the last rounds and wins the GP2 title, he'll take on the task with a lot of confidence and calm and we may see him thrive. But it remains to be seen which'll be the final decision yet.

I agree. Maybe RRRRRRRMMMMMMNNNNNNN can still become a successful F1 driver that way. It is not pitting him against what is arguably the best F1 driver without any F1 racing experience whatsoever and expect him to come good. Not everyone is as talented as Hamilton.

[Tealy]

I thought the mistake with GGGRRRRRSSSSSSSSSJJJJJJJJJJJNNNNNNNNN in '09 was the fact that he came in mid-season and struggled to get to grips with the car. I dont think throwing him in mid-season again is such a good idea. In my opinion they would be better served giving him a race seat in 2012 either in their own car or a Ricciardo style drive at a smaller team who need the money.

On top of that I don't see a particular reason to drop Heidfeld anyway, sure he only has a few more points than Petrov but Petrov is much improved on last season and the car is falling slowly down the grid so points are becoming harder for the team to score anyway.

[DanielPT]

On top of that I don't see a particular reason to drop Heidfeld anyway, sure he only has a few more points than Petrov but Petrov is much improved on last season and the car is falling slowly down the grid so points are becoming harder for the team to score anyway.

Falling slowly down the grid might be another reason for the team to drop Heidfeld. Nick was hired not because they needed a quick, unspectacular and reliable guy, but because they needed someone with experience to lead the team in the development front. Sure, Nick is no Kubica in that front, but being his former teammate it would be natural to think that Nick could follow down Robert's development path.

If one looks to the start of the season Renault was very much there battling with Mercedes and considered able to deal the odd surprise. Except they're not and are now battling for 10th and 9th with Sauber, Force India and Toro Rosso, which means that they fell in the thick of the midfield battle. Worst, the team seems to be in disarray with plenty of Engineers fleeing and there is an absence of a clear leader (yes, Boullier isn't one or so it seems and the uncertainty about who is the effective owner of the team doesn't help either). Beforehand Kubica was the beacon and everyone was united around the objective of delivering him the goods, but in his absence Heidfeld failed to do that. In my opinion, that was the main reason to hire him because if you want someone just quick you could've picked Klien (I think he is underrated) or even offer the seat to Hülkenberg...

I think it is justifiable that they are disappointed overall and, in bid to shaken things up, decide to bring in someone who might boost the team, someone who looks like to be RRRRRRRMMMMMMNNNNNNN GGGGRRRRRRRJJJJJNNNNNNNN!

[mario]

On top of that I don't see a particular reason to drop Heidfeld anyway, sure he only has a few more points than Petrov but Petrov is much improved on last season and the car is falling slowly down the grid so points are becoming harder for the team to score anyway.

Falling slowly down the grid might be another reason for the team to drop Heidfeld. Nick was hired not because they needed a quick, unspectacular and reliable guy, but because they needed someone with experience to lead the team in the development front. Sure, Nick is no Kubica in that front, but being his former teammate it would be natural to think that Nick could follow down Robert's development path.

If one looks to the start of the season Renault was very much there battling with Mercedes and considered able to deal the odd surprise. Except they're not and are now battling for 10th and 9th with Sauber, Force India and Toro Rosso, which means that they fell in the thick of the midfield battle. Worst, the team seems to be in disarray with plenty of Engineers fleeing and there is an absence of a clear leader (yes, Boullier isn't one or so it seems and the uncertainty about who is the effective owner of the team doesn't help either). Beforehand Kubica was the beacon and everyone was united around the objective of delivering him the goods, but in his absence Heidfeld failed to do that. In my opinion, that was the main reason to hire him because if you want someone just quick you could've picked Klien (I think he is underrated) or even offer the seat to Hülkenberg...

I think it is justifiable that they are disappointed overall and, in bid to shaken things up, decide to bring in someone who might boost the team, someone who looks like to be RRRRRRRMMMMMMNNNNNNN GGGGRRRRRRRJJJJJNNNNNNNN!

I think that if Kubica was still driving for Renault, the team would be in just as much trouble as they are now, even if he did his best to try to rally the team. After all, the recent lost personnel from Renault include a Managing Director (Bob Bell), several senior aerodynamicists and now the head of their composite materials division, Nigel Leaper, is reported as having defected to Ferrari. There has been a steady trickle of experienced personnel leaving the team - we've only heard about the highest ranking ones leaving, after all - and, as Faustus pointed out in another thread, a lot of those engineers are being head hunted by Ferrari, leaving the Renault team an increasingly hollow shell compared to what it was just five years ago.
On top of that, by their own admission the design team have struggled to develop the car - the front exiting exhaust doesn't offer the team many further development avenues, and Boullier has recently publicly lambasted his design team for making mistakes - and the team is not in the best of health financially either.

Yes, Heidfeld is not the most stunning of drivers, though, to be honest, the biggest problems at Renault are amongst their senior management, who have allowed the team to disintegrate, and their designers, who have ended up going down a dead end with their forward exhausts. Heidfeld has done essentially what he was asked to do - pick up points, provide good technical feedback and generally try to keep the team moving forwards - and, realistically, I doubt that switching him for Grosjean is likely to transform the fortunes of the team.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO DO NOT WANT!!!!!!!

I know i'm an avid fan of Bruno, but he is, seriously a good driver. Trumped all of his teamamtes last year at HRT bar Klien, though I believe there was a slight bias to Christian, not to mention some bad luck in qualifying by Senna. And off season testing, he was only a second off of Heidfield's time, without using the soft tyre. He's shown some promise, if anything. Roman came and went, he had a chance already, and didn't do much better than Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior (is this the longest full name of an F1 driver?:lol:) I do think he'll do better now, given Renault and he himself are better than 2 years ago, but Roman should use his potential GP2 title to get himself a more permanent seat in a different team, since unless he can beat Petrov by a lot, because even beating him marginally wouldn't be more worth than Vitaly's money unless Roman brings money as well, he'll be shown the door the second Kubica can race again. A drive for Senna may just be the thing to save his career, and he could attract attention and, once Bobby is fit to race, could be snatched up by another team. Both drivers will get seats

As I pointed out before, though, Grosjean is one of Boullier's former pupils, and Boullier has boasted of the "strong bonds" between himself and Grosjean. Whatever Bruno's merits are, Boullier already has a strong bias towards Grosjean, and will want to see him do well as a result; so, even if Bruno does well in the practise sessions in Hungary, the odds of him actually being offered Heidfeld's place are low.

[AdrianSutil]

I for one hope that Senna does well in his practice session, and gives the team something to think about. It would be nice to see him given a proper chance. Even if Bouillier is there in massive favour of Romain, it would be nice to see the team give Senna a couple of races.

[Yannick]

Indeed, a mid-season start into F1 would not be a good idea (again) for the "Man Without Vowels". Instead, he should be a safe bet if Kubica were not yet to return at the beginning of next season. So Renault most likely will give RMN GRSJN a few Friday drives this season to let him gain some experience with the current crop of cars.

It'll be great to see him back.

[whatisdeletrazdoing]

[quote="East Londoner"]Looks like Renault/Genii/Group Bahar have become slightly bored of Nick Heidfeld.

I've always been slightly bored by Nick Heidfeld.

[Londoner]

Pretty much just a rehash of the first post/link plus a recap of the GP2 season from Collantine, but GGGGGRRRRSSSSJJJJNNNNN can win the GP2 title next weekend, with a 'possible' drive with Group Bahar in F1 next year. There's also a bit about Jules Bianchi.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/08/19/grosjean-cusp-gp2-title-f1-comeback/

[RAK]

And GGGRRRRSSSSSJJJJJNNNN has taken the GP2 Series dominantly. What do we want to bet that he ends up back in Formula One next year?

[DanielPT]

And GGGRRRRSSSSSJJJJJNNNN has taken the GP2 Series dominantly. What do we want to bet that he ends up back in Formula One next year?

We will be back sooner than that or so it seems. Also, for me his victory was not very impressive since his opposition was a bit useless. The fact that a winless van der Garde is second in the overall standings says it all...

[Mister Fungus]

And yet his team mate didn't score a single point.

[Myrvold]

Nah, Pål was lost the whole season. Sure, it's not the best to come in a team that have a very clear driver 1 driver 2 policy, as a rookie and then drive against Grosjean, but... Heck, Pål is Norwegian, I am Norwegian, we've never had a F1 driver before, and if not Pål gets a seat for next season and then picks up a lot, we won't until Dennis Olsen maybe.

[14 Hundred Hours]

Maybe he'll follow in Timo Glock's footsteps: brief stint in F1, followed by relegation to GP2, then win GP2, then finally get a drive with a good team...

[Aerospeed]

Maybe he'll follow in Timo Glock's footsteps: brief stint in F1, followed by relegation to GP2, then win GP2, then finally get a drive with a good team...

And then fade into obscurity? Hopefully the said good team won't self destruct

[sswishbone]

Yeah following timo glock's approach ain't brilliant, your decent team withdraw and you end up with a backmarker team that are sans a wind tunnel

[Klon]

And then fade into obscurity? Hopefully the said good team won't self destruct

There are some rumours about Renault not being too strong on the financial side. This is getting uncanny.
Edit: on the other hand, that means Renault will fold after the 2013 season in which Rubens Barrichello becomes World Champion. I like that idea...