F1 links: Raikkonen tipped for Brawn move
31st August 2009, 1:18 by Keith Collantine 30 Comments »
Here’s a round-up of F1 news and other interesting links I’ve found today.
If you’ve spotted a hot news story, interesting new website or just something funny from the world of F1, please share your links in the comments below.
Giancarlo Fisichella on red alert for Ferrari
Giancarlo Fisichella's manager Enrico Zanarini: “I repeat, nobody has been in touch. And to tell you the truth, we find ourselves in a fantastic team with a great car for Monza because, if the car is good here, it is good there.”
Kimi Raikkonen will take pay-cut to race for Brawn next season
"Kimi Raikkonen has offered to take a £10million pay cut to be Jenson Button's team-mate at Brawn next season."
Massa creates new category to train pilots in Brazil
Google translation of Portuguese article,
Mercedes to sort engine plans by Monza
"F1's regulations stipulate that any manufacturer supplying more than two teams in F1 needs special dispensation from the FIA. Haug confirmed that his company had received such approval to supply four teams."
Tyre issues are back, says Brawn
Ross Brawn: "The middle period, which will almost certainly be on the hard tyre, he will be very strong. The start and the middle part of the race will be crucial."
Vatanen meets with FOTA in Spa
Ari Vatanen: "They have lived in fear without knowing what the future holds, and that's no way to run a sport. I can't see why different members of the same family cannot work together without one side or another wanting to dominate the other."
Herbert goes back to his roots after horror crash
"Today's debut comes at a happier hunting ground, Silverstone, where he won the British Grand Prix in 1995. But even that moment – which he describes as the best of his career – was tainted by the accident. 'For the last 12 laps I was screaming in the car when I was braking,' says Herbert, who was struggling to brake with his left, more damaged foot in order to give the right a rest. 'The toes got sliced at the top and there's a lot of callous – it was that part that was hurting' he says. 'When I got out of the car I could not tell anyone because I would have been chucked out of the sport!'"
Button fears for championship lead
Jenson Button: "We have a couple of weeks before Monza and hopefully we can find out the reasons. The car doesn't feel to me like it did earlier in the season. We had a couple of cold races but since it has been warmer, I still can't find a good balance."
Teams set to discuss third car concept
Frank Williams doesn't want three car teams: "Three cars? I would block it. It is not necessary today. [...] I am sure it is the case for other people too and if you were Ferrari you could get 1-2-3 in every race, with more testing. It is obvious."
These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.
Superbus said on 31st August 2009, 1:24
I don’t think the “Raikkonen to Brawn move” story is true, he’s making the most out of his Ferrari and still has a contract for next year. If he did move out of Ferrari, I reckon he would go to McLaren, not to a team like Brawn.
KNF said on 31st August 2009, 4:49
Yeah the silly season is in full swing, first it was Alonso to Ferrari, now it’s Kimi to Brawn… If he wants to move, a return to McLaren is more likely…
That said, I’m not sure whether if Kimi’s problem at McLaren was with Ron’s regimental approach or was it just the sheer frustration of having dogs of a car (2004, 2006) or exploding engines which cost him the championship in 2005.
Paige Michael-Shetley said on 1st September 2009, 16:57
Either way, he wouldn’t have to put up with any of the above problems at McLaren anymore.
I’d guess his main issue was the reliability issues Macca kept having. He would have won the championship in 2005 if not for reliability issues occurring while he led grands prix. This probably induced him to sign the contract with Ferrari in 2005.
But yeah, I don’t see him moving to Brawn. For one, look who reported the story.
Maksutov said on 31st August 2009, 17:06
I doubt he would return to McLaren, ever.
Grace Lovvorn said on 31st August 2009, 2:03
Raikkonen article definitely fake. Why would a former world champion want to move to a team that is considered the scraps of Honda? Ludicrous. I wouldn’t be surprised if news of a Raikkonen/McLaren move surfaced. Wouldn’t a Hamilton/Raikkonen pairing be interesting?
Ah, c’mon Jenson! This has happened after every race this summer. “The championship is slipping away! I don’t know what could have possibly happened! (sob, sob)” The shine has definitely worn off. He’s had his chance to go back to his winning streak of earlier this season, but it’s quite possible the title will slip away from his hands. Sorry, Jense. Either shape up or shut up.
Prisoner Monkeys said on 31st August 2009, 8:01
Um, because Brawn have been one of the biggest success stories in years. They were the underdogs going on, and everyone loves and underdog. Especially when they win six races in seven starts.
That said, I don’t believe it. Purely because Brawn have said they see no reason in changing their drivers for 2010.
Becken said on 31st August 2009, 3:24
F1fanatic is famous in Brazil now!!!! The site was quoted by Globo tonight!
Keith Collantine said on 1st September 2009, 8:51
Really? Wow. What did they say?
Becken said on 1st September 2009, 15:23
In fact, they quoted F1fanatic as one of the main stream sites — alongside with Autosport and Grand Prix.com — that gave credibility to Reginaldo Leme´s claim about Renault investigation.
…And they done that in their main Sunday show — Fantástico — in front of a huge, huge audience in Brazil.
I will try to find the video!
Kovy said on 31st August 2009, 5:54
I think Kimi is heading back to McLaren. That’s why Martin Whitmarsh is waiting for the Alonso move which would force Kimi out.
Arun Srini said on 31st August 2009, 7:21
Kimi to McLaran would be the worst move for both him and the team!!
AndrewT said on 31st August 2009, 9:04
I simply don’t see a reason why would Brawn change their driver line-up, and according to Ross himself, he neither. Despite performing very well recently, someone has to move if Alonso comes next year, and there are too many facts that support this.
The McLaren move sounds interesting, but considering how they treated Alonso alongside Hamilton (even if with Dennis), I wouldn’t want to be a McLaren driver even if i had such strong teammates as DC or Montoya.
DC said on 31st August 2009, 9:12
I’m going to ask a very fundamental question that I confess has been really bothering me.
Why would Ferrari want to get rid of Raikkonen?
The guy has won them a WDC and helped with two Constructors championships in 3 years.
Conversely, why would Kimi want to leave Ferrari?
He has, well, won one Driver’s and two Constructor’s championships there.
I seriously do not understand all these rumours. By any conceivable measure, this has been a glorious partnership. Why break it?
John H said on 31st August 2009, 15:17
1) Kimi has never really got involved in the whole family spirit of Ferrari which is their trademark. He turns up and just races – which is great for most teams, but you can see that there is more love for Massa ‘for sure’
2) He gets a massive payout of his contract (about 25 million) plus whatever he earns at a new team (be it 10 million at Brawn or whatever). He can then move to WRC in 2011 when he’s more ready.
What with Santander moving to Ferrari in 2010, and knowing Massa will definiely not be asked to leave, Kimi going elsewhere is really the obvious outcome to all of this.
Maksutov said on 31st August 2009, 17:27
This is the best post I’ve seen about Kimi and Ferrari. Personally I see no logic to Kimi leaving and I have been asking myself these questions ever since the rumors began.
Kimi has stated on numerous occasions that Ferrari will be the last team he races with in F1, in addition, he has stressed endlessly that he has a contract with Ferrari for 2010, and would like to remain there.
However in saying that, it is more likely that Ferrari could be making this decision in favor of bringing Alonso into the team who has openly expressed his strong desire to move to Ferrari over the past 2 years. Ferrari probably wish to fast track this, or who knows.
If this happens I believe Kimi will do whatever is necessary to fulfill his initial decision of staying in F1 for 2010. Meaning that he will then seek another team, and personally Brawn would be the best choice, however I think that information is fake. Media and rumors are a funny thing, even though media do not have the jurisdiction of deciding drivers, they certainly have an influence in peoples decisions. All these rumors are quite amusing I must say.
Superbus said on 1st September 2009, 2:51
The question I’ve been asking myself is, why doesn’t anyone think that maybe the driver that is going to be sacked is Massa?
It would be a much more logical move, the guy lost the championship by a couple of points (or was it only one?) and on the year before, he wasn’t racing as well as Raikkonen. On the other side, Raikkonen has got a lot of speed and, given a semi-good car, can really work to make things happen.
And we all know Massa just isn’t at Raikkonen’s level.
DC said on 1st September 2009, 5:37
I don’t see why Ferrari should drop either driver. The only reasons I have seen for this so far is John H’s, who, to his credit, at least tried to find some logic in these rumours.
But I’m still not convinced. Sack a 3-time title winner because he doesn’t fit in to the “family”? I don’t buy it. Ferrari is a business. Kimi produces. That is the bottom line.
If all these rumours are true (and everyone from McLaren’s principal on down seem to think they are), all of us must be missing something.
Michael.Brownbridge said on 1st September 2009, 14:03
I agree.
There is also the point of Massa’s fitness. We, the fans, dont know if Massa will ever be allowed to race again. “For sure” Ferrari will have the best forecast they can get from the doctors.
Rabi said on 31st August 2009, 9:50
Article is by the Mirror which is a joke of a paper and not even worth linking to. Garbage article by a garbage paper.
Prisoner Monkeys said on 31st August 2009, 11:32
Honestly, I didn’t even look at the url attached to the link, it was so obviously phony.
Bigbadderboom said on 31st August 2009, 10:55
I don’t think its as unlikely as it sounds initially. Ok the source could be described as less than reliable, and it is silly season, but if Ferrari have Alonsos signature, (Martin Whitmarsh seemed fairly sure of this), would Alonso share the team with Kimi? Alonso is the worlds worst teammate in every respect, he will try to destroy a team before he gives any ground and has proven this before. And Kimi still has form and may still feel there is work to do for him in F1, I’m sure he still has a long time to fulfil his rallying ambitions. Rubens may have sealed his own fate with the Brawn team after his outbursts, and may accept retirement with grace. I think Jenson also needs an experienced head in the team, as I don’t think Rubens getting the hump and Jensons lack of for are coincidence, is Rubens being less than generous with set-up data all of a sudden????
Steph90 said on 31st August 2009, 12:07
Kimi to Brawn move was whispered few weeks back and his reps reportedly seen coming out of their motorhome. Brawn have Ross Brawn, a strong team, Kimi could easily beat Button and Brawn now are financially secure. That all said I don’t believe Brawn really want rid of Rubiniho and who knows whether Brawn will be half as good next year?
If Kimi wants to stay for another year, which he probably does, Mclaren move more likely or he’ll try and ride out his Ferrari contract.
In Brawn Rubens and Button have a fairly good relationship anyway and Barrichello’s criticisms have only ever been directed at the team with little animosity towards teammate and Rubens has clearly and fairly been driving better and getting results while Button is languishing.
Maksutov said on 31st August 2009, 17:37
Honestly if you look at the history of Barrichello and his frustration towards team orders issue (which is still inside him) this does not sit very well with Ross Brawn who has had to deal with many of his incorrect outbursts. I believe Ross could be little fed up with Barri’s temper, and it is very likely that Barrichello gets replaced regardless of his result. If this replacement turns out to be Kimi, well its no brainier that Kimi is much better than Barrichello.
Anyway it will be interesting to see what happens.
Steph90 said on 31st August 2009, 18:01
I agree Masksutov if they do get rid of Rubens (though I’m not sure if they will) a lot of it will be based on his outbursts. He has great car and his best chance at title before retiring and he’s made it a lot harder for himself.
Bartholomew said on 31st August 2009, 20:52
For the good of F1 I hope Kimi continues to race. Besides, there is no guarantee that Ferrari wil have a leading car next year. After what has happened this season, who knows. I doubt that he goes back to McLaren again. Maybe he will be at Williams ?
Kimi is a good driver, but maybe Ferrari wants a dominant figure like Alonso ?
I oppose the 3 car measure – it would be a lot of fun, but not fair for the smaller teams. Modest teams should have the same opportunity for succes as the large ones. I loved Fisichella´s strong showing at Spa !
Cheers
Bartholomew said on 31st August 2009, 21:09
Tyre issues are back —-
How could tyre rules be modified so that cars are not so sensible to setup and have such a small “sweet spot” of good performance ?
After all, everything has to go through the tyres, so maybe there is something to be done there, to make things easier for everyone
DGR-F1 said on 1st September 2009, 13:21
It shows the shortsightedness of Ferrari if they are hoping to have a three car team and hope that Old Schuey can have one. Although he might be good in the short term, for PR reasons, shouldn’t the team as a whole be looking further ahead and start finding younger (Italian?) drivers? Even Massa isn’t going to last forever, and who knows, he might decide to move on in a year or two…..
I’d also like to know which of the other teams would have three cars – and aren’t they going to face the wrath of Max for being so obviously against cost-cutting?
The Limit said on 2nd September 2009, 3:44
I think there might be so weight to this story. If Kimi Raikkonen were to leave Ferrari and to continue in F1, then he obviously would want to go to the team best equipped at providing him with a winning car. The McLaren experiment is over, and I don’t think Kimi or his management are as stupid as to go there. For one, McLaren have put their eggs in one basket with Hamilton. His compatriot Kovalainen probably keeps him up to date with life in his former team, so thats out of the question.
If Rosberg leaves Williams, then that leaves that option open, but Williams don’t look likely to provide a good car for 2010 do they? They havn’t had a race winning car since the days of Montoya/Ralf Schumacher, so thats a dead end.
The best option, at the moment, is Brawn Gp. They look very likely to win the constructors championship this year, and have both drivers topping out the drivers championship standings. On top of that, Brawn Gp have one of the oldest drivers in their team in Rubens Barrichello.
I have often suspected that Ruben’s frustration this season when things have gone sour stems from the fact that he knows his career is on borrowed time. This is probably the last chance he has of ever winning the championship.
The fact remains is that Raikkonen is one of only three ‘current’ F1 drivers to have won the championship. This carries with it alot of clout, alot of sponsors, and alot of money. Just what a team like Brawn Gp needs. We must forget about Team Honda F1, that team died nine months ago, times have changed and people have moved on.
I don’t doubt for one second that Kimi will leave Ferrari out of choice, he would be bonkers to, but never rule anything out!