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Didn't realise how open the driver's market still is:
RED BULL
Sebastian Vettel & Mark Webber
MCLAREN
Jenson Button & Sergio Pérez
FERRARI
Fernando Alonso & ? (anyone's guess, but probably not Massa)
MERCEDES
Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg
LOTUS
None confirmed as yet (Kimi will get a guernsey if he agrees, but Grosjean must be looking shakey)
FORCE INDIA
None confirmed as yet (both of their drivers could be off to better opportunities)
SAUBER
None confirmed as yet (follow the money)
TORO ROSSO
None confirmed as yet (the rookies are likely to be extended)
WILLIAMS
None confirmed as yet (Methinks Maldonado will almost certainly be there, but the other one is up for the highest bidder)
CATERHAM
None confirmed as yet (Heiki almost certainly for one, but the ohter is definitely up for grabs)
MARUSSIA
Timo Glock & ? (who knows???)
HRT
None confirmed as yet (probably stick with the two they have; Pedro for the development & Narain for the money)
Quite amazing that there are 14 drivers spots up for grabs so late in the season.
Comments
RED BULL
Sebastian Vettel & Mark Webber - CONFIRMED
MCLAREN
Jenson Button & Sergio Pérez - CONFIRMED
FERRARI
Fernando Alonso & Phillipe Massa - CONFIRMED (
MERCEDES
Lewis Hamilton & Nico Rosberg - CONFIRMED
LOTUS
Kimi Raikonnen & ?
FORCE INDIA
Paul Di Resta & ?
SAUBER
Nico Hulkenburg & ?
TORO ROSSO
Daniel Ricciardo & Jean-Eric Vergne CONFIRMED
WILLIAMS
None confirmed as yet
CATERHAM
None confirmed as yet
MARUSSIA
Timo Glock & ?
HRT
None confirmed as yet
RED BULL - Webber cannot be looking forward to next year. As long as Newey provides his Scalextric rear suspension, Webber doesn't have a chance. The potential for a miserable last year is very high for Mark. Vettel will likely go on and win number four.
MACLAREN - Ron and Martin must be wondering about their pairing for next year. Jenson needs car and conditions just right to get results, and Perez looks like a liability at the moment. If they get a car that can leap to the front, he is the man for the job. If they can't then it will be bumper cars time at the front. There is still some residual thought around the place that Carlos Slim may yet be a strong influencing factor next year. Telmex Maclaren??
FERRARI - What happens when Fred doesn't get a fast car again? Good for the spectators, but he seems to be barely holding his frustration in at the moment. For the last couple of races, he has looked like a downhill skier who has completed his run, and is watching the rest come down the hill without the ability to affect the result. As for Massa, this is a joke. He really should give up. It is all just the money now it seems.
MERCEDES - Potentially fabulous pairing, but it is all down to the car now. If it is like this year's car, then they will have some serious Lewis problems.
LOTUS - Grosjean, Grosjean, Grosjean.... Boulier must be hugging himself about hiring Kimi, but not enjoying his seat on the board when the discussion rolls around to the talented, but completely undisciplined Frenchman. Logic says replace him, but who would you replace with? At the end of the day, he will probably get another go.
FORCE INDIA - I am not convinced that this team will front up for the grid in 2013. Kingfisher Airlines has ceased operations, and even if they manage to get a restructure together, they are looking at a domestic market that has plummented 15% in the last couple of months, which would make it near impossible to re-enter that market. Even if they did, the taxman is planning to take every penny.How Vijay manages to keep the F1 operation going is surprising, and unless there is a new owner for this team, I reckon they will fade out. If they don't then they will need a pay driver alongside Di Resta, so not much interest for this seat at the moment.
SAUBER - About to Announce a new sponsor (Jet Blue?), and probably also the departure of Telmex. The new driver may be linked to the new sponsor in some way, so expect a joint sponsor and driver announcement soon.
TORO ROSSO - I love the driver pairing here. The car has been mostly shite, though recent results are eerily similar to last year when the car came good towards the end. Can anyone say that the current drivers are better than last year's drivers? I doubt it. The two that they have are incredibly evenly matched. Forget the qualifying crap, which just has Daniel marginally faster than JEV, in the races they are very close. I think that probably Daniel has improved more in racecraft over the course of the year, and is showing a lot more thoughtful aggression lately. Next year however, JEV will not have the learning challenges of this year, so we may see an incredibly tight contest. If Toro Rosso can produce a good car, then I would love to see these guys going after the upper middle, because i reckon they are better than a few of the residents there.
WILLIAMS - The share price is doing much better these days, and this year's car was a big improvement on last year. In fact I would go as far as to say that with decent drivers, they could have scored a lot more points. For the time being, Maldonado will probably retain his seat, but Senna must be gone, gone, gone. Algeusari anyone?
CATERHAM - Another team who are not guaranteed to be back, though if they do, the drivers will be all about the money. If they get enough from one pay driver, then maybe they can afford to keep Heikki.
MARUSSIA - At the very least, a name change for this team. Second driver linked to the name change. Timo deserves better.
HRT - Tick.....tick....tick. No news is awful news, and the next announcement will be about a fire sale of the assets. If they do lure middle East investors, that might be fun. That way, the spectators will get double value, cause after the main field has passed down the straight, they will be treated to double F1 cars drifting with guys in Arab dress doing handstands on the airbox. COOL.
HRT will most certainly hit its last race in Interlagos, and I agree Force India may be at its last race too.
Very curious to see where Kamui and (if Force India closes down) Di Resta will go. Di Resta would be perfect to replace Senna at Williams.
I think Lotus will confirm Gros-Jean, he just needs discipline, but the foot is there.
Lotus remains pretty interesting with Heiki indicating an interest there. It is not as easy a choice as it may at first seem.
Senna is gone. Three strikes for him. So now it is Caterham with one seat, Marussia with one, Lotus with one, Force India with one, and a drunken brawl at the HRT factory.
Methinks that Lotus will still go with Grosjen, though not as certain as I was before. Force India may go with Alguesari now that they have another $50 mil to play with (alledgedly). Caterham would be mad to let Heiki go unless it was for a pay driver. No one particularly cares about Marussia.
Chilton promoted from third to second drive in Marussia.
And, as predicted, HRT not on the current line-up and put on sale. If no buyer turns up, goodnight to the Spanish team.
No news at all from HRT, so, goodnight!
After the first day of tests at Jerez, Mc laren and Red Bull appear in good shape, Renault appears interesting as well, Mercedes, driven by Clewlis, showed some good speed but hten a rear-brake hydraulic system failure caused a crah. Ferrari has not showed anything yet.
Can't wait for the start of the season.
Ferrari way behind but all smiles????? Dont get that one.
Merc no real improvement. They have it all hanging out already methinks.
Sauber is way down comparitively. also Torro Rosso, which does not bode well for another change of gaurd at the end of the year.
Pay drivers at the back end....pfffft! This may get dangerous.
Lotus in the mix, so we may get a 4-way, and sometimes 5-way at the front.