Horner rubbishes latest Webber rumours

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Christian Horner dismissed rumours Mark Webber will move to Ferrari.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Horner: No reason for Webber to leave (Autosport)

“Every spring seems to be a reciprocal thing that Mark is going to Ferrari. He is not wearing red overalls. I think it is inevitable, almost every driver in the pit lane has been linked alongside Fernando [Alonso] next year, but we are focused on ourselves.”

US consortium favourite to take over Silverstone (The Telegraph)

“Telegraph Sport understands that the American consortium, financed by New York-based Guggenheim Partners and working under the name Project Penelope, will meet the BRDC and its advisors and book runners PricewaterhouseCoopers next week to talk over their vision for Silverstone.”

Hard To Draw Conclusions From First Four (Speed)

“This year everything is so close that a top team which has an off weekend risks not just slipping off the first couple of rows, but outside the top ten.”

Romain Grosjean on the Spanish GP – “We Will Have to See What We Can Pull out of the Hat!” (Lotus)

“You can gain a lot of time from an aggressive strategy, but you can lose a lot of time from an aggressive strategy. Barcelona is the hard and soft tyre allocation. Let’s see how it goes, but I think both compounds work very well on our car. It will be harder for qualifying as the lap time difference between the two compounds will be bigger so maybe we will have to use the soft tyre from Q1 onwards.”

Teams brand Mugello test a waste of time and money, as Alonso crashes (James Allen)

Christian Horner: “It’s very beautiful and the food is very good, but we are spending a lot of money and honestly we didn’t feel the need to come here.”

Comment of the day

Another interesting statistic on Keke Rosberg’s 1982 world championship win from DavidJH:

Rosberg also holds the distinction of being the only driver to have failed to score a single point in the year before he won the championship. Indeed, Rosberg had only scored a total of six points in four seasons before his championship year!
DavidJH

From the forum

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On this day in F1

Mercedes revealed an unusual innovation ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix two years ago today – a split air intake.

They dropped the configuration for 2011 but Force India and Caterham introduced their own version. However none of the teams are using them this year.

Image © Red Bull/GEPA

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Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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74 comments on “Horner rubbishes latest Webber rumours”

  1. Where the teams forced to go to the Mugello test? If they all thought it was a waste of time and money why did they go?

    1. No, they weren’t forced, but if they chose to skip it, it would be three days of testing they would not get back. Although mid-season testing was reintroduced for 2012, the number of overall testing days remained the same since 2011. The net effect was that there were three pre-season tests instead of four, so if the teams wanted the full allocation of test days, they had to go to Mugello.

    2. Not because HRT didn’t go.

  2. So why did they go? Or did they not realise how much time and money they would end up wasting in the process? Surely any testing time is useful? Even if its in the slightest bit helpful.

    1. Mclarens and Red Bulls are upset because as front runners, they stand less to gain from this in season test than the teams trailing them. If either Mclaren or Red Bull were in a similar position as Ferrari or Mercedes, we wouldn’t hear these statements from them.

      They both seem to sulking at the fact that Ferrari, Mercedes and even Renault now have an opportunity to catch up and make life difficult for them.

      1. I don’t remember hearing any complaints from the McLaren camp throughout the whole test, I can understand why Horner is moaning though, this is the first year in season testing is back, and this is the first year Red Bull have started off the pace for a few years!

        1. Then if anything, this test was Red Bull’s chance to make up some ground between races, and McLaren should be the ones complaining about it.

          1. Mclaren were the first to complain about it

          2. I haven’t seen any comments from them, and I read everything that comes up.

          3. @prisoner-monkeys Paddy Lowe said it severely interfered with their year – not long after the Bahrain Sunday concluded.

          4. Paddy Lowe complained and Button said it was pretty much a waste of time (for the race drivers themselves that is)

    2. I suspect part of the reason for them saying so now, is that Ferrari would now want to propose doing it again next year (maybe asking for a fee this time, after they provided the track without charge this year?). So these teams tell Ferrari that they can imagine better forms of testing.

      Apart from the fact that Ferrari always were the ones who were most to gain from running at Mugello, which they know very well and have a lot of data from, a test at Barcelona would be a lot cheaper for teams, as they would just send over equipment a week early for the race.

      1. With so much things that re said to media in F1 being politics, I think that indeed this is the most likely reason @bascb.

        This year Barcelona wasn’t available last week, so Ferrari proposed Mugello, and didn’t charge for the track usage. They clearly knew few would agree to go there where it would always be more valuable data for Ferrari with their home advantage than for other teams, even if their car had been an instant winner, had they charged for it. Other teams are saying this is a one time thing.

  3. the Red Bulls will not have any problem replacing Mark if he moves to Ferrari they have already 2 talented drivers (Ricciardo & Vergne) who can replace him but it seem that Horner is concerned about this rumor maybe because Mark is very involved in the development of the car & he knows lots of details that can be helpful to Ferrari so Mark will probably stay another year with the Bulls & he will be replaced in 2014 when the regulations change
    i don’t know if this is a coincidence or not but every driver who has been linked to Ferrari has renewed its contract
    Vettel=>2014
    Button=>2014
    Roseberg=>2013
    Is Mark Webber playing a game ??????

    1. It’s Ferrari we’re talking about. Every top driver is/has been linked with Ferrari at some point.

    2. Dangerous game to play with Helmut Marko!

      1. @bullfrog Webber doesn’t have a lot to do with Marko. Marko is in charge of their driver development program, which Webber is not a part of.

  4. Christian Horner dismissed rumours Mark Webber will move to Ferrari.

    Good.

    Now, can we plase put this ridiculous rumour to bed?

    1. Now, can we plase put this ridiculous rumour to bed?

      I just heard from sources close to Maranello that Webber’s moving to Ferrari :P

      1. No-one should ever believe a pit lane rumour, or a denial.

      2. @david-a Rubbish. Montezemelo’s chauffeur has reliably told me that Felipe will be replaced by @prisoner-monkeys before Monza.

        1. I’d stop trusting that source of yours if I were you – everyone knows I’m no Ferrari fan.

          1. Neither am I but I wouldn’t turn down a drive!

      3. The best way to deal with these situations is to ignore them and not discuss them! Sometimes they turn out to be true (Alonso to Ferrari), and at other times they’re nonsense. I don’t know of anything, so I refuse to give rumours credence, but I also refuse to deny there’s some possibility. I do, however, choose not to think about it. :-P

        1. Alonso was known to have a pre-contract with the team, though. It basically said that if an opening became available at Ferrari, then they would enter negotiations with him first.

          1. Yeah, in Alonso’s case it was almost certain he would go to Ferrari a soon as he agreed to quit at McLaren, it was just a question of when would the deal kick into action.

            And I remember how many people were sceptical of the Kimi deal at the time as well. But Webber himself said that he is not really talking about what to do next year yet, so I would say its mostly just generating headlines for now.

          2. Of course, at the time, everyone assumed the contract had already been signed. It started as early as Bahrain, when Luca said hello to Alonso on the grid. I remember it well, because 2009 was the year I started regularly contributing to Wikipedia, and I lost count of the times I had to remove Alonso from the 2010 driver table because the page couldn’t go five minutes without someone editing him in and pointing to a Spanish tabloid as “proof” of it being legit.

          3. @PM, Is Wikipedia paid you? Just curious hence they got Millions of dollars of donations.

          4. No, you don’t get paid for editing Wikipeida.

            Conversely, I haven’t donated anything to them.

    2. Briatore>Ferrari 2013 = Webber>Ferrari 2013

      1. Briatore won’t go to Ferrari. In fact, it’s likely that he will never be a team principal again. The French courts might have overturned his life ban, but he was never acquitted of the charges. The French just said that the FIA didn’t have the power to hand down the sentence they gave. While he is technically free to work in Formula 1, no team – least of all Ferrari – will work with him because of what he did in Singapore.

        1. why? Ferrari have showed in the past they have no problem breaking rules, or currying favour with Bernie.

          1. And how would recruiting Briatore appease Bernie? I haven’t heard anything – certainly not recently – from Bernie saying he wants Braitore back in Formula 1.

          2. I think PM was referring to the fact Piquet’s crash cost Massa vital championship points that may have sealed the title.

          3. No, I’m referring to the way no-one wants to work with him because of what he did – he cheated to win a race.

          4. @prisoner-monkeys Doesn’t seem to stop people from wanting to work with Pat Symonds!

      2. Briatore himself denied this in a statement last month he said that he will never be team principle again he said that Ferrari’s problems are far from being resolved by one single man

        1. I like the way he words that – as if he is leaving Formula 1 by choice.

          1. why just Briatore i didin’t understand why you said no one wants to work with him there are many other cheaters in Formula1 that are working now
            what about Mike Couglan??

          2. Organising a crash is generally seen as far more despicable.

  5. sagar atgamkar (@)
    6th May 2012, 4:47

    ferrari is never going to take another world champion as long as alonso is there. and with the way things are , he may stay with them till his retirement.

    1. @its1life2liv – Uh, what? Alonso is generally acknowledged as one of the best drivers on the grid. Just look at the F2012: it’s a horrible car to drive. Massa’s performances are about what the team could reasonably expect from it. But in Alonso’s hands, the F2012 is capable of a whole lot more, because Alonso has the rare ability to drive a car beyond its limits and still stay on the road.

      I’d say that if anybody is going to win a World Championship with Ferrari, it’s Fernando Alonso.

      1. @prisoner-monkeys I thought he meant about Ferrari not taking another world championship driver on while Alonso is there, not that Webber is one of course.

        That’s how I read it anyway! Can you clarify, @its1life2liv ?

        1. sagar atgamkar (@)
          6th May 2012, 14:09

          yes, i do believe alonso is the best one on that grid. too bad that ferrari can’t keep up with him. and they will keep him as their no.1. for that they may not take up any other world champion as no. 2. also that as we have seen since more than a decade now, ferrari does keep the best driver, may not lead to a championship though. michael,kimi, alonso

    2. The way things are, I wouldn’t be surprised if Alonso left Ferrari if the team continue to create disappointing cars. But what PM says is right, Alonso maybe the only driver would could win a world championship with Ferrari at the moment.

  6. @keith-collantine
    Would it be possible for you to have a little app on the side which shows the date of the next race? with the timing and a button to convert it to local timing? like the one on Formula1.com?

    1. @hatebreeder I appreciate the suggestion but it’s not something I’m looking to add at present. All the race weekend session times (and more) are in the F1 Fanatic Google Calendar.

    2. i understand Kieth, however, if i may, thats the only reason i go to that other site. YOU are it otherwise. :-)

  7. no rumours like this would arise if Webber had a contract for next year with Red Bull. period.

    1. Webber is known to be on a one-year deal with Red Bull. He has been since about 2009; he just signs a new one-year deal each year around the time of the British Grand Prix.

      1. I would question how much of that is actually Mark’s decision. It seems that Red Bull always keep their option of replacing Webber open. So none of these rumours would exist if Red Bull decide to lock Mark down for a few years.

        1. I think that quite a bit of it is Webber’s choice. He is, after all, thirty-five years old, which makes him one of the oldest drivers on the grid. I think he is hesitant to commit to anything more than a one-year deal because he knows that, sooner or later, he is going to retire from Formula 1. He probably wants to go out on a high note, instead of slowly sliding back down the grid.

          1. Taking MS as an example, MW may have 8 more years on F1 if he wants it. ie. I don’t think it is beyond the possiblility that he might, next year or the one after, sign for 3 years with someone else to give himself some time to gel with a new team and progress as opposed to sliding back down the grid. Maybe for 2014 when the face of F1 will change with big rule changes. All speculation of course, but for now I sure don’t see why he would move given how it is going for him vs. SV. Nor do I see where he would move to that would be so much better.

    2. @andrewt Trulli had a contract with Caterham for this season and there were plenty of rumours about him being replaced. Which turned out to be true!

      1. Not to mention of course that Massa has been rumoured to be replaced now for three years, despite having a contract until next year @andrewt, see the past years round-ups by @keithcollantine, as all those Ferrari links recently have been for his seat :)

  8. Meander as a guest
    6th May 2012, 9:18

    Hmm, I’d say it’s time to do just rhe opposite. Webber would benefit from signing a contract that has him set for 2 or 3 years after which he can retire respectfully. It would be a lot nicer than doing the Alboreto and finding all top team’s seats closed out and sliding down the order in your final years. Not that I see Mark ever signing for a back marker, but it would spoil his career if he did.

    1. sagar atgamkar (@)
      6th May 2012, 14:12

      we have all seen the way rubens went, he would have even raced for HRT if they offered him a seat

      1. If you still have the motivation as Rubens clearly had, why not keep doing what you love for as long as you possibly can? maybe Rubens would find it laughable what you do for a living

        1. sagar atgamkar (@)
          7th May 2012, 14:10

          there are only so many seats, might as well see the drivers who can race rather than the ones who just love to do laps. no offense to rubens but the sport is racing.

  9. Mark likes to keep his options open. He never says that he is staying with Red Bull either :P

  10. What about Hawthorn? He only won once in ’58 and became champion.

    1. If this is in response to the Rosberg COTD, Hawthorn did score in 1957. He was fourth on 13.

  11. quick question: Why in this shot is Horner in a race suit?

    1. Sean (@spaceman1861)
      6th May 2012, 20:12

      I was wondering as well, perhaps its just sponsership deals or even health and saftey i.e. anyone in pitlane has to wear fire proof gear.

    2. @andy92 @spaceman1861 It was a big media day at the Red Bull Ring, and I they were all doing laps in various cars, if I recall correctly. Newey was wearing his as well:

      https://www.racefans.net/2011/05/16/f1-cars-run-a1-ring/motorsport-media-day-rb-ring/

  12. At this point in Webbers career the most important thing is his legacy.

    The Drivers Championship has to be his primary focus so it makes absolutely no sense for him to trade his Red Bull for a Ferrari given the current state of affairs in Maranello.

    The way I see it if the deal is not already done to keep Mark at Red Bull in 2013 then either it will be by seasons end or he will announce his retirement.

  13. Well a few years ago we had MW saying after winning the controversial one-new-front-wing-between-two-drivers race, “not bad for a number 2, eh?” And last year he was dominated by SV, as was everybody. One would understand after those two years MW wanting or needing a change and yet here he is, competing very well vs. SV.

    I personally don’t see MW wanting or needing to change teams at this stage. Rumours about favouritism at Red Bull toward SV have been around for two or three years, and some would say that is a fact, not a rumour, and yet MW is there. Either they have convinced him he is not treated any less well than SV, or it is simply a fact…that he is in fact treated equally and last year simply came down to SV liking the EBD effects moreso than MW.

    And as Ferrari struggles and Red Bull looks to be more competitive vs. them again this year, I don’t see why MW would do anything other than try to stay at Red Bull if they want him. He’s 35 which in MS years means he potentially has, if he wanted it, 8 more years on F1…ie. there’s potentially plenty of time depending on his wishes, so why not avoid trying to fix something that isn’t broken for now?

    1. I think its well possible, that MW is really treaded a bit less as an equal to SV, but still Webber sees Red Bull as the best place to be. After all, they do have Newey who has been the most successfull F1 designer in the past 2 decades.

      And going to Ferrari he would only be sure to pay second fiddle to Alonso, without knowing there’s a good chance they will bring a competitive car to the track.

      1. Yeah, and this all presumes Ferrari would want MW as a teammate to FA…if it is such a sure thing that MW, or perhaps any driver they hire post-FM, will be playing second fiddle to FA, then perhaps the spot should go to someone for whom going to Ferrari would be a big step up such that they would just be honoured (at least initially) and lucky to be there, ala Reubens…for MW, going to Ferrari after being in a WDC potential car might not carry that same mystique, especially if there is some unwritten rule that he is a natural number 2.

        Bottom line…we don’t know what type of driver Ferrari might want post-FM, assuming his days are numbered. We don’t know if they want a big challenger for FA (but I think it is not likely), or someone who will just be happy to be in F1, and feel like he won a lottery by being at Ferrari, and therefore would be happy to be second fiddle to FA. To me MW does not fit the description of the second option I propose. But who knows…stranger things have happened…for now, and for all we know, they are happy with FM and confident he will gel more with the car and perform to their satisfaction sooner than later such that they will not feel the need to find someone else.

  14. To me it would make sense to sign for Ferrari if I was in Webbo’s shoes. He is as unlikely to win a WDC with Seb in the team at RBR as he is in a somewhat uncompetitive Ferrari alongside Alonso. It would be a great thing to have on your post career CV that you were a Ferrari driver, he gets on well with Alonso (if media reports are to be believed – I don’t know for sure but they seem to be correct) and from Ferrari’s point of view he would be an ideal fill-in until another top line driver becomes available in a couple of years or Bianchi matures enough for Maranello to offer him a drive.

    I’d say if the contract is on the table Mark, sign it!

  15. Now, here’s the deal. If Ferrari does not deliver a competitive car this seasson, we shall see in Barcelona, and Alonso has had it with the Marranellos, seat swap! – FA to the Bulls and MW to Ferrari

    1. I would love to see that!

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