2014 Silly Season Thread

[Belegur]

If I were Force India I would sign Hülkenberg and Pérez. That is a strong line-up that also brings some dollar.

I agree with that. Perez needs to get his head down in a decent mid-field team until he matures a bit more.

I'd argue McLaren was a mid-field team this year. If Perez has maturing to do, he'd better do it quickly.

[Whole Spanish Press]

Two more cents from Argentina's press.

Regalía tested simulator at Woking. Don't know if true, or the purpose of it.

http://www.ole.com.ar/autos/titulo_0_1028897260.html

[sswishbone]

This suggests Perez is out: -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24927323

Nothing too inflamatory, however, crticising the team's organisation, no matter how justified, will not endear him and that is probably the straw that breaks the camels back

[andrew2209]

https://twitter.com/SChecoPerez/status/ ... 80/photo/1

Sounds like he's leaving McLaren

[mario]

This suggests Perez is out: -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24927323

Nothing too inflamatory, however, crticising the team's organisation, no matter how justified, will not endear him and that is probably the straw that breaks the camels back

Given the recent comments Perez has made via Twitter, he is on the way out anyway and these comments are more of a parting shot - and, I must say, comments that are rather valid given that, frankly, most of McLaren's problems this season have been self inflicted.

[SeedStriker]

This suggests Perez is out: -

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/24927323

Nothing too inflamatory, however, crticising the team's organisation, no matter how justified, will not endear him and that is probably the straw that breaks the camels back

Given the recent comments Perez has made via Twitter, he is on the way out anyway and these comments are more of a parting shot - and, I must say, comments that are rather valid given that, frankly, most of McLaren's problems this season have been self inflicted.

I remember that Enoch and I talked about if Checo had what McLaren needed. Now, after seeing what happened all season up to now, it was more a case that McLaren didn't even had what Checo needed. If the guys from Woking are favouring JB, then why bring Checo in the first place? To make Button look better after being thrashed by Hamilton on consecutive years? With that in mind, Kevin Magnussen will have the same problem next year! McLaren is dangerously threading over the same path that destroyed other traditional teams like Brabham and Tyrrell, even with the money that's spend in Woking.

So, now that Checo is officially on the market, where to go? Lotus is a good place, specially if the money from Telmex/Claro helps to develop a car that can make McLaren eat their egos in 2014.

[pi314159]

I remember that Enoch and I talked about if Checo had what McLaren needed. Now, after seeing what happened all season up to now, it was more a case that McLaren didn't even had what Checo needed. If the guys from Woking are favouring JB, then why bring Checo in the first place? To make Button look better after being thrashed by Hamilton on consecutive years? With that in mind, Kevin Magnussen will have the same problem next year! McLaren is dangerously threading over the same path that destroyed other traditional teams like Brabham and Tyrrell, even with the money that's spend in Woking.

I don't think Hamilton thrashed Button:
2010: Hamilton 240 points, Button 214
2011: Hamilton 227, Button 270
2012: Hamilton 190, Button 188

I think they were quite equal, although in 2012, Hamilton was better than the points standings suggest.

[Alextrax52]

It's Official Perez himself has confirmed his Mclaren Departure

[Faustus]

You beat me to it.

[rachel1990]

It's Official Perez himself has confirmed his Mclaren Departure

I highly doubt it was his choice and I think he announced it to save face. Mclaren could have a decent line-up with Magnussen and Button next year. Lets hope the car is decent though... Or it could be a 1995 disaster following on from the peugeot rejectness of 1994.

[mario]

I remember that Enoch and I talked about if Checo had what McLaren needed. Now, after seeing what happened all season up to now, it was more a case that McLaren didn't even had what Checo needed. If the guys from Woking are favouring JB, then why bring Checo in the first place? To make Button look better after being thrashed by Hamilton on consecutive years? With that in mind, Kevin Magnussen will have the same problem next year! McLaren is dangerously threading over the same path that destroyed other traditional teams like Brabham and Tyrrell, even with the money that's spend in Woking.

I don't think Hamilton thrashed Button:
2010: Hamilton 240 points, Button 214
2011: Hamilton 227, Button 270
2012: Hamilton 190, Button 188

I think they were quite equal, although in 2012, Hamilton was better than the points standings suggest.

I would agree that the 2012 standings do flatter Button given that Hamilton has more DNF's than he did (especially given that he twice retired from the lead of races) - they were fairly evenly matched in 2010 and Button did have the upper hand in 2011 though.

I do agree that, whilst Perez is a flawed driver who perhaps should not have been chosen in the first place, it does feel as if McLaren are, to a certain extent, making him something of a scapegoat for their own failings. For their technical excellence, McLaren have also stumbled rather embarrassingly at times - 2011 was closer to a disaster than they dare admit after they botched the design of their exhausts and had to copy Red Bull's design at short notice, whilst 2012 saw them throw away a strong technical package after they admitted that they didn't fully understand the car that they had built after it overperformed on the track.

Added to that, McLaren haven't done that well in a number of other areas either - they have sometimes been bewilderingly poor at strategic decisions, they were sometimes utterly hopeless in 2012 in the pits and are now managing an awkward transition from Mercedes to Honda backing. Perez is perhaps right that, in some ways, McLaren have been blinded by their past success - Whitmarsh himself has admitted that a series of ill judged decisions and lack of fail-safes have allowed them to blunder into such a hopeless situation. Hiring Prodromou is a start, but they have to admit that perhaps more reforms need to be made too...

[Jocke1]

Must have been one hell of a party. Causing the reporter to misspell and forget words...

[LellaLombardi]

"McLaren has struggled to see where we were instead of carrying on thinking we had a car to win races."

In that one sentence Checo has summed up McLaren's (and especially Whitmarsh's) problem perfectly.

[Aerospeed]

It's Official Perez himself has confirmed his Mclaren Departure

I read the news today oh, boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph

[Rocks with Salt]

Right then! Is Heikki replacing Raikkonen at the next two races or not? If Sutil has already signed a contract, is di Resta out of his Force India seat in lieu of Maldonado or Perez? God, this silly season is the most frantic game of musical chairs I have ever seen. Nobody is safe!

[Alextrax52]

Right then! Is Heikki replacing Raikkonen at the next two races or not? If Sutil has already signed a contract, is di Resta out of his Force India seat in lieu of Maldonado or Perez? God, this silly season is the most frantic game of musical chairs I have ever seen. Nobody is safe!

I said it was the most frantic since 2010 and maybe it's even better than 2010

[Backmarker]

With regards Heikki getting the Lotus drive over Davide Valsecchi, my tears are eternal.

Also, I am lead to believe that part of the reason the Hulk turned down the opportunity to drive the last two races of the season for Lotus is that Ferrari have offered to pay for him to replace Alonso, should Fred fail his FIA medical.

[eytl]

Hulkenberg is still in contention for the 2014 Lotus seat but he will not be driving in Austin or Interlagos in the coming weeks.

Whilst there's already discussion in the US GP thread about whether Kovalainen or Valsecchi should get the Lotus seat for the last two races - I personally would like to see Valsecchi for the novelty value even though I think Kovalainen deserves a place on the grid - this for me is the more interesting story. Why would Hulkenberg not take the drive? It says two things to me:

1. He doesn't want to risk two bad races in what should be a competitive Lotus because he hasn't driven it before, thereby hurting his prospects for 2014.
2. He clearly isn't a shoe-in for the Lotus seat for next year even if the Quantum Motorsports deal is going through. If he was definitely in, then two average races now wouldn't be a problem.

Edit: Backmarker, where are you getting that from? That'd be explosive if it's true!

[Rocks with Salt]

With regards Heikki getting the Lotus drive over Davide Valsecchi, my tears are eternal.

This is still deep in rumor territory, but this is what's tipping the journos off about Heikki driving for Kimi. Here it is translated:

[ Exclusive ] Lotus is announcing the hiring of Heikki Kovalainen for the next two rounds of the Formula 1 World Championship 2013. It is a fallback after trying to engage Hulkenberg. Rejected from the outset the application of Valsecchi [sic].

The only thing missing is the official announcement of the team, but sources inside the Lotus have confirmed that Heikki Kovalainen will be to drive in the last two races of the 2013 season of Formula 1.

In fact, as we had anticipated this morning, Lotus had tried to bring in Enstone Nico Hulkenberg, tearing at Sauber. The German driver was easily releasable because of non-payment of salary. Nico was seen at Enstone and also prepared the seat for the E21 . But then "magically" the bank account of the German swelled, but that's another story I'll tell you late, because it deserves to be investigated.

Once you get to the payment of outstanding Hulkenberg, the contract with Sauber 's German was not so easy to terminate. And, for this reason, the Lotus company has had to abandon the option Hulkenberg and management of the pilot is due to retrace their steps, confirming that he would be taken down Hinwil before the end of the current season.

This had left to think of a use of Valsecchi for the last two races, but for him the doors of the team in Enstone are closed. Former champion of GP2 was not deemed suitable by Lotus for the next two races. To confirm it is also the Team Principal Eric Boullier, who said: "We are fighting for third place in the constructors' championship and we need a pilot experience, used to struggle to gain placements in the points. I'm not saying that David does not deserve a chance, because he did a great job and we are pleased him, but pays the lack of experience."

To penalize Valsecchi, also seems to have been limited work that the Italian can not play the simulator due to nausea and migraines that occur immediately after a few minutes of virtual work. A common problem in many drivers, as it had been a short time ago for Michael Schumacher.

[Faustus]

Hulkenberg is still in contention for the 2014 Lotus seat but he will not be driving in Austin or Interlagos in the coming weeks.

Whilst there's already discussion in the US GP thread about whether Kovalainen or Valsecchi should get the Lotus seat for the last two races - I personally would like to see Valsecchi for the novelty value even though I think Kovalainen deserves a place on the grid - this for me is the more interesting story. Why would Hulkenberg not take the drive? It says two things to me:

1. He doesn't want to risk two bad races in what should be a competitive Lotus because he hasn't driven it before, thereby hurting his prospects for 2014.
2. He clearly isn't a shoe-in for the Lotus seat for next year even if the Quantum Motorsports deal is going through. If he was definitely in, then two average races now wouldn't be a problem.

Edit: Backmarker, where are you getting that from? That'd be explosive if it's true!

This is what I've been told by a friend at Lotus:
- Valsecchi has been told by the team that the drive for the 2 races is his if he can come up with half a million Euros. It's a good drive, with a car capable of scoring points, which is an opportunity to impress and try to secure sponsors to pay for a drive next year.
- the Quantum money is not as much as has been reported, especially considering the large debts that the team has built up and the amount of money that has to be paid to staff and suppliers. Lotus is seriously considering taking Maldonado (if his PDVSA money is still available, which is far from certain) and work on him to turn him from the potentially very fast but inconsistent driver that he has been of late into a solid driver. It worked with Grosjean, so the team thinks that it can be done again.

[Sublime_FA11C]

I thought the reason Hulk turned it down is because it might hurt him badly. As good as he is, he is not familiar with the Lotus, and it's really important for him to deliver good performances right now. The Sauber is a donkey he knows and the Lotus may well be a race horse, but he could fail to deliver and then questions would be raised, and his chances of getting any seat would be far worse. Besides, he already has a bit of a reputation for changing teams, leaving his team before season's end might make it even worse. So by staying put he displays loyalty and has an arguably better machine in which to deliver a good result (because familiarity).

As for Valsecchi vs. Kovalainen, it's probably 50-50 because one knows the car but the other has GP experience. Personally, i would choose a team reserve driver, even if the constructor points situation is such that it makes it high pressure. Any driver who wants F1 should be able to cope.

And where do Perez and his money go? Could well be Lotus. Hulk? Probably Sauber or FI. I don't see Gutierrez out of F1 next year, so Di Resta and Sutil are the ones really sweating now. Maldonado's millions are irresistible but i somehow don't see him fitting in at FI. Well whatever, this silly season's results could just as easily been drawn out of a hat...

[Backmarker]

Edit: Backmarker, where are you getting that from? That'd be explosive if it's true!

From The Judge who's a bit hit and miss sometimes. But it would be great to see the Hulk in a Ferrari.

[TomWazzleshaw]

It's official - Kovy to Lotus for Austin and Brazil.

[Dj_bereta]

In other words: Valsecchi will never drive for Lotus.

[eytl]

"I think I delivered more to the [Williams] team than they for me," he explained.

"We found a victory, we found a very good result last year, and even this year we have been doing quite well races. But this is not everything.

"I am waiting for something more, I am expecting something more from F1."

From http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111289

With an attitude like that, I wouldn't want to take him, but then again I'm not after squillions of Venezuelan oil money.

[LellaLombardi]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula-one/24935646

OMG is all I can say to that. Would've been kind of cool to have Schumi drive for Enstone one more time.

[IceG]

I still have a nagging doubt over Magnussen at Mclaren. He could be a place-holder for Alonso to swap from Ferrari at the end of 2013, with Magnussen getting the reserve position. Mclaren would never pass over a opportunity like that, especially to get one over on Ferrari into the bargain. It would be good news for Hulkenberg though.

[BigG80]

This is possibly the greatest news of the Silly Season so far:

http://www.motorsport.com/#!/f1/news/reserve-nasr-to-join-massa-at-williams-in-2014/

Nasr and Massa together at last. Felipe double baby!

[GwilymJJames]

Magnussen confirmed at McLaren.

[solarcold]

Magnussen confirmed at McLaren.

Well... I'd like to see what he has to show.

[roblo97]

This is possibly the greatest news of the Silly Season so far:

http://www.motorsport.com/#!/f1/news/reserve-nasr-to-join-massa-at-williams-in-2014/

Nasr and Massa together at last. Felipe double baby!

That would be great for the team as both are talented drivers and if Petrobras can be enticed back, that could mean a fair few $s in that team.

[mario]

Hulkenberg is still in contention for the 2014 Lotus seat but he will not be driving in Austin or Interlagos in the coming weeks.

Whilst there's already discussion in the US GP thread about whether Kovalainen or Valsecchi should get the Lotus seat for the last two races - I personally would like to see Valsecchi for the novelty value even though I think Kovalainen deserves a place on the grid - this for me is the more interesting story. Why would Hulkenberg not take the drive? It says two things to me:

1. He doesn't want to risk two bad races in what should be a competitive Lotus because he hasn't driven it before, thereby hurting his prospects for 2014.
2. He clearly isn't a shoe-in for the Lotus seat for next year even if the Quantum Motorsports deal is going through. If he was definitely in, then two average races now wouldn't be a problem.

Edit: Backmarker, where are you getting that from? That'd be explosive if it's true!

The official explanation from Hulkenberg is exactly along the lines of what you were thinking.

Although he says that he used the discussions with Lotus to talk to Boullier about options for 2014, Lotus were only willing to offer him a seat for the final two races of this season. Lotus are not currently prepared to commit to him for 2014. As Faustus points out, if Maldonado's backing from PDVSA does continue into 2014, financial necessity may mean that he gets the seat over Hulkenberg, whilst walking out of Sauber carries the risk that he might then jeopardise his chances of staying with them for 2014 (having a seat for 2014 is better than none).
Furthermore, he did say that he was worried that jumping into a different car for the final two races against Grosjean, who would be thoroughly bedded in with the team and now the de facto No. 1 driver since Kimi is gone, would carry the risk of damaging his career prospects for 2014. http://www.espn.co.uk/sauber/motorsport ... 34983.html

On the topic of Perez, it seems that he is not entirely happy with the way that McLaren have kicked him out of the team - he is claiming that McLaren were telling him up until a couple of weeks ago that he was going to be retained for 2014 and that he was only told he was going to be replaced a couple of days ago. If that is true, it begs the question of why McLaren would have left the decision until so late in the year - perhaps they were waiting for Magnussen to be awarded the FR3.5 title at the end of October, which would therefore automatically grant him access to a superlicence, before making the final decision? http://www.espn.co.uk/mclaren/motorspor ... 35005.html

[watka]

Sam Michael's view on the whole Perez-Magnussen business

[Faustus]

Hulkenberg appears to have come to accept that he won't be with Lotus next year:

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns26843.htm ... ndprix.com

[Divina_Galica]

"I think I delivered more to the [Williams] team than they for me," he explained.

"We found a victory, we found a very good result last year, and even this year we have been doing quite well races. But this is not everything.

"I am waiting for something more, I am expecting something more from F1."

From http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/111289

With an attitude like that, I wouldn't want to take him, but then again I'm not after squillions of Venezuelan oil money.

To be fair, Maldonado delivered more than $100m to Williams...

[eytl]

Sam Michael's view on the whole Perez-Magnussen business

Even though I think Sam Michael's track record of far too often being involved in bad seasons for supposedly top teams makes me suspicious about what he has to say, I find this comment quite telling and even insightful, when asked about whether McLaren might regret not taking on Hulkenberg:

"I think you are putting too much emphasis on Nico himself. To be honest, I rate Nico - I was involved in his lower-category career and the start of his Formula 1 career. He's a great driver, but our focus has been internally with Kevin and that's where we've decided to go next year.

"When you mention football players who are 26 and 27 and are proven quantities, if you actually look at the grid, we already have a World Champion in one of our cars. Then you have the choice of trying to get another World Champion, and that's not possible at the moment, so then you have the choice of going down a route which you think will create another World Champion.

"You have to remember that on all of our Young Driver Programmes, they are there to produce World Champions. They are not there to produce also-rans because, quite frankly, McLaren has the buying ability to go and buy anyone we want on the grid in that situation. So therefore if you look at our programme critically, we believe that Kevin can be a World Champion - the same way that we believe Vandoorne can be and anyone who comes in behind him. If we don't, they don't stay on our programme - it's as brutal as that."

It suggests that there is some nagging doubt about whether Hulkenberg is the real deal or not. And when I think about it a bit more, I see the point. Even now, the suggestion that money aside he ought to be the obvious choice for Lotus or any other team looking for a driver seems to come from the fact that he is the "best of the rest", ie the best available driver not already locked into a top team. I guess that's probably how I'd rate Nico as well. What I haven't heard anyone say, for example, is "Put Hulkenberg alongside [insert name of driver in top team] and Nico would come out on top." So if there's not any raging confidence that Hulkenberg could beat, say, Button, Grosjean, Rosberg or Raikkonen, let alone Hamilton, Alonso, Vettel on equal terms, that's not exactly a sparkling commendation is it? In that case, why not gamble on a Magnussen or a Kvyat?

[Londoner]

The president of PDVSA appears to have confirmed that The Reverend is indeed on his way to Lotus.

[the Masked Lapwing]

Apparently Alendro Scerdi is Caterham's new driver.
Ah, Wikipedia. Where would we be without you?

[Shizuka]

Apparently Alendro Scerdi is Caterham's new driver.
Ah, Wikipedia. Where would we be without you?

„He has never raced at a competitive level. CF1 are sure that he will be a greater drive than Caterham's previous driver Giedo van der garde.”

Whoever edited it apparently forgot to capitalize the G

[go_Rubens]

Apparently Alendro Scerdi is Caterham's new driver.
Ah, Wikipedia. Where would we be without you?

„He has never raced at a competitive level. CF1 are sure that he will be a greater drive than Caterham's previous driver Giedo van der garde.”

Whoever edited it apparently forgot to capitalize the G

Apparently this dude has no Wikipedia page for himself Probably what happened was a real guy named Alendro Scerdi edited the page with himself to gain more pride. ROTY contender for hilarity, anyone?