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Webber Not racing for Williams in 2007
Autosport.com has just announced that Alex Wurz will race alongside Mini Keke next season. So where has Webber gone to.
Has he gone to Renault?
or has he gone to Red Bull?
Any thoughts
Comments
wow, the comeback of wurz!
here come the wurz jokes :D
F*ck, I hope him & Briatore know what they're doing, they're playing a dangerous game knocking back a seat like a Williams, even if they were down on form this year.
My money is that Kimi is signed sealed and delivered to the Reds, and Webber is a Renault boy next year.
If not, he's in McLaren grey.
I can't imagine him leaving Williams for RBR.
And stop fishing, i'm not biting.
He's matured and improved his racecraft giving the overrated Rosberg a good run for his money.
I wish him a top seat either at McLaren or at Renault.
BTW, good call on Rosberg, Fox. What is Williams thinking? Drop Webbo for Wurz and Rosberg? Right.
Personally, I hope he gets screwed and gets no ride, but that obviously won't happen. I sure as hell hope he doesn't go to Renault, or I'll have to burn that Renault hat I own.
[Edited on 2-8-06 by Rekart]
On a slightly less polarising note though - and one hesitates to detract from such incisive, exciting verbage - where is Frank's head.
Nico and Alex are competent, reasonably reliable drivers, but they are not the guys that are gonna revive the team's fortunes unless the factory puts out a supercar.
This all looks more like an exercise in battening down the hatches in a fiscal sense. Neither of these guys would be on any kind of real money. Frank has shown in the past that he is quite happy to let a driver go if he thought the ask was too high, but conversely he has never shied from paying the talent when he thinks he has a shot at the title either.
It all makes me think that Williams are looking at at least another year in the doldrums.
And what about the wiz kid - Michels? How many chances does he get?
It all seems so reminiscent of the days when Williams screwed Heinz-Harald's potential future.
Yes its about Money and politics and sometimes racing. My bet is that he is off to Renault, Kimi will stay grey and schummi will go another year.
Good luck Frank, the slippery slope is getting close to the bottom. Only Aguri have completed less laps this year.
The fact is, Webber will never be a championship driver unless he falls ass-first into a great car with an incompetent teammate. He can win some GPs and be a consistent point-scorer, but his reliability will always be less than, say, Coulthard, because Webber drives much more aggresively. He's a #1 driver with #1.5 driver speed and a massive ego (but what F1 driver doesn't have a massive ego.)
For the record, Coulthard is a #2 driver in speed, but he's almost guaranteed to finish.
[Edited on 3-8-06 by Rekart]
Could you please define 'incompetant teammate' btw? I'd like to know who Webber has to race beside and beat (in your opinion) to get respect as a real #1.
And fyi, Mark Webber would have to be the most ego-less and genuine driver in F1. I think viges will testify to that.
Who has he beaten? Yoong, Pizzonia, Wilson, Klien, and Rosberg? And about even last season with Heidfeld? These guys aren't exactly top-tier guys. The only true #1 drivers in F1 are Raikkonen, Alonso, and Schumacher, and Webber will never reach their level. Ever. He's not as consistent, safe, or quick. He's not bad, he's just overrated.
[Edited on 3-8-06 by Rekart]
Try this quote from Alonso on for size, "Indeed the reigning world champion himself recently told ITV Sport’s Louise Goodman that he rates Webber as one of his key rivals in years to come.
“I think he is a good driver as well, fantastic person and quite honest with us, professional and again, one of the drivers that in the next five or six years we will fight with him for championships and respect on the track,” Alonso said.
But hey who the hell does Alonso think he is, and deserve to have such an opinion. He obviously needs to speak to you to get the real truth.
And I rate Kovalainen highly, and think Renault should stick with him instead of going for Webber. I would put Webber 3rd on my wish list if I were Renault, behind Raikkonen and Kovalainen.
[Edited on 3-8-06 by Rekart]
I personally think Webber would edge Alonso in equal machinery. Alonso is a prat who is incredibly flattered by his car. The German GP proved that, and also showed me that Fisichella is at least his match when the equipment equation is levelled to a point where Alonso has to actually rely on talent rather than engineering.
Renault would be better off with Webber alongside Fisico, and putting Kovalainen into RBR or Toro Rosso for a year. If that happened, I'm sure Webber would shine - his qualifying prowess would crush Fisichella's spirit.
If Webber ends up at Red Bull, that will be a better opportunity than staying at Williams. Newey won't transform the team overnight, but they've hired a lot of talented people, and will be going places.
McLaren? Can't see it myself, I think they'll promote Hamilton, but Mark'd do fine there too.
I don't think Webber was dropped, I think he walked. If he had options, why would he stay?
The guy is a solid driver but not top notch. As Lease said if Webber was considered a match for Schumacher, Raikkonen and Alonso FW would have paid the money to keep him!
[bewerken aan 3-8-0606 door vuurmuur]
Wasn't it here that JetSetJim said a few years ago that there was nothing it between Webber and Alonso (when testing with Renault i think). In fact he added that Webber's cornering speed was a little better.
So I think they would be awesome to see as team mates.
We shall see, last year Mark was not impressive due to many factors including his own mindset and frustration. This year he has been good when the car would keep going.
I hope it's Macca or Renault. Matching up against Alonso or Fisi will be entertaining to watch.
French sports magazine L'équip has confirmed that Mark Webber will partner Giancarlo Fisichella for the 2007 season. Webber's manager Flavio Briatore persuaded the Australian to join Renault after failing to sign Kimi Raikkonen for a 1 year deal."
I would think the cheese eatin' surrender minkey's would be 'appy to have a countryman behind the wheel.
As for where Williams is going, their engine has failed more than their car. Their car started off the season great, but it's just been downhill since then. It's a lack of development, and it's not hard to see why. Look at the sides of the cars, there's no major sponsorship. The Toyotas should help them, and next season will be better either way, even with Rosberg and Wurz. They need to find sponsorship, though.
I think it was bit of Webber leaving himself and a bit of Williams dropping him. I don't think either him or the team really wanted to stay with the other. If he goes to Renault, which is obviously likely (no official announcement yet, sure, but he's going there,) I think him and Fisichella will be close.
The FIA have ruined their season by outlawing the principle around which their whole '06 car is built, and Flav is gone next year.
Whatever the opinion of him as a technical man, he certainly seems to have been rather successful at Benetton and Renault. I will always back a good manager who knows how to spot good talent and give them a good plan and the room they need to achieve, over a top notch engineer who thinks that engieneering talent equals management talent. Michels being an example that comes to mind.
Renault will have to build another car in a disrupted environment for '07. Yes, a lot of it is underway now, but as has been demonstrated so many times before, new management in a team either takes a dog and makes it bark a little (Toyota); or takes a rocket and turns it into a garbage bin (Honda).
One more thing. If Renault keep getting the results that they are getting now for the reast of the season, and TOIT get the results that they are getting, they could win the championship. Not only that, it will have happened in the eyes of Renault by the offices of low dealings by the FIA. How will that play at budget time when the Renault board meets?
Ferrari is losing Brawn, and possibly Schumacher, and who knows how many others if Schumacher does leave. They could be less stable next season as well. McLaren is the team I would worry about. Picking up Alonso, getting their massive Vodafone sponsorship, and having a competent second driver in either Raikkonen (more than competent, obviously) or de la Rosa. I can't see them going with either Hamilton or Paffett, really. De la Rosa is a better choice.