The 2012 Driver transfer discussion/speculation thread

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I find that hard to believe. Sauber will stay pretty much the same as this season. It's not like one of their drivers have done bad.
 
I'm pretty sure Ferrari probably have a large part in trying to get Bianchi in one of the Sauber seats, ironically aside Perez who is also in their driving program/academy. This could be their little shootout to see who gets the 2nd seat at Ferrari, particularly if Massa does happen to get cut after the 2012 season.
 
Well, it's more likely to be Bianchi beside Perez than Bianchi beside Kobayashi because Perez brings backing from Carlos Slim and Claro/Telemx. Kamui Kobayashi and Jules Bianchi do not have any sponsors.
 
prisonermonkeys
Well, it's more likely to be Bianchi beside Perez than Bianchi beside Kobayashi because Perez brings backing from Carlos Slim and Claro/Telemx. Kamui Kobayashi and Jules Bianchi do not have any sponsors.
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The article you provided clearly implies this. And who knows, I wouldn't be suprised if Ferrari do happen to bring a bit of money to the table for Bianchi (or at least give them sort of break or benefit on their engine deal)- as RBR did with Ricciardo at HRT last season.
 
Of course they would. Why else would Sauber even consider replacing Kamui?
 
Tell that to PM ;)

prisonermonkeys
Well, it's more likely to be Bianchi beside Perez than Bianchi beside Kobayashi because Perez brings backing from Carlos Slim and Claro/Telemx. Kamui Kobayashi and Jules Bianchi do not have any sponsors.
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F1 fan
Why else would Sauber even consider replacing Kamui?
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Because they're out of FOTA, and they know that they're going to need somebody to watch their back. That somebody would be Ferrari, because Sauber is a Ferrari customer engine team, and they have a Ferrari development driver in their line-up. Dropping Kobayashi in favour of Bianchi would create another connection between Sauber and Ferrari, the single most stable team in the sport.
 
Hence why my sentence was preceded with "Of course they would".
 
Except in terms of results. As good as Perez was, he didn't deliver nearly as many points as Kobayashi. I can't imagine Bianchi doing so either.
 
That would require a buyout of Kobayashi's seat, wouldn't it? If i'm not mistaken, he's already signed for 2012, has been signed for 2012 for several months.

Sure, buying him out of the seat isn't hard with Ferrari involved, but it would certainly shake up this already silly season. Question is, where would Kobayashi go? He hasn't got many options, unfortunately. Raikkonen is at Lotus, and it seems as though Petrov is closing in on signing again for them, Force India won't get rid of "future champion" di Resta, and Sutil's seat will most likely be taken by Hulkenberg if Sutil leaves the team. Reverend Maldonado is already signed at Brabham for 1992 Williams for 2012, and the second seat there can go to Sutil, Senna, or a GP2 Graduate, again, if Rubens retires. Caterham is sealed, Virgin is also sealed, and that only leaves one lone seat at HRT, which seems more likely to go to Dani Clos, not that Kobayashi would consider it.
 
Peter.
Question is, where would Kobayashi go? He hasn't got many options, unfortunately.
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Just because he is in the sport, it is no guarantee that he will stay in the sport. Ferrari and/or Sauber would be under no obligation to find him a race seat in 2012 if his Sauber drive was bought out.
 
prisonermonkeys
Just because he is in the sport, it is no guarantee that he will stay in the sport. Ferrari and/or Sauber would be under no obligation to find him a race seat in 2012 if his Sauber drive was bought out.
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I was only pondering as to where he would go. He really doesn't have many options. He brings no money to any team, and every other team is filled, or has other drivers in mind. Only thing that would be left to do is to return to Japan, and perhaps take up Super GT.
 
I certainly hope that is false. Whilst I do believe that Kobayashi may be lacking somewhat in qualifying pace (Though not by much) he has what it takes to be in F1. His 2010 performances and various performances throughout this years should secure his seat for 2012. From my point of view I feel that Kobayashi may not have taken to the Pirelli tyres well. He seems to have struggled compared to last year, but whether that is down to the car or unorthadox strategies, I don't know as he seems to have been ignored by the TV feed this year.

One thing is certain though, Sauber are in a similar situation to Renault in that their car dropped off performance quite dramatically towards the end of the season. In recent races Kobayashi has struggled to make an impact (With the exception of his outstanding qualifying performance in Japan, which is why I think perhaps I and others are wrong on those performances), but has been very solid over the whole season. When driver decisions are made, it's the performances at the forefront of the mind which influences decisions the most.
 
prisonermonkeys
Romain Grosjean will partner Raikkonen at Lotus in 2012:

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96698

No word on Petrov's future.
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Niiice. I'd like to see Grosjean try again. He looked alright in 2009 as a driver, But I recall at Belgium in 2009 seeing his hair after he retired from the race. I hated him.

0258000002357150-photo-f1-2009-renault-romain-grosjean.jpg

(I couldnt find a pic from the race, so Imagine this + the effect of wearing a helmet)
Lets hope his hair is left in the past with the Renault name...

On the other hand, Petrov wasn't Horrible. I do hope he gets a seat.
 
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I really have to question the decision behind promoting Grosjean. Not because I'm a Petrov fan, but because Eric Boullier has made some bizarre management decisions this year. I can't help but think that Grosjean was promoted because Raikkonen is already in the team - Renault want to make a "name" out of him, which will be easy to do given that Raikkonen is in the team.
 
Gutted for Petrov. It seems to be very hard for him in Formula One but he did fine this season... Shame. If the worse is going to hit him, I think he will still be able to come back into GP2 since he's not yet a GP2 champion.

So I'd like to see what Grosjean can do together with Raikkonen. Sounds like an interesting pairing.
 
The decision on Petrov's future reportedly came down to Petrov himself. The team were happy to take him, but if he did not want to race for them, then he had the option of leaving. I don't think he would have wanted to race in a team where he could be replaced in the middle of the season should Robert Kubica be ready - but at the same time, I don't think he would have left without an arrangement in place with another team. He said he had three options outside Renault.
 
But will they just give Kubica a seat back with no driving since last summer? Personally, I'd keep Petrov in all season. Let Kubica have Fridays till 2013.
 
They will make a car available to him. The ban on aero testing only applies to current-generation cars - Renault have been running an R29 for younger drivers and Maria de Villota. Kubica could easily run laps in an R29 or R30 uncontested for a few weeks before returning to the sport.
 
Well for that matter, yeah. I wouldn't want my seat taken either. But what is Grosjean going to do when Kubica does come back? Just out of luck then? It'll be back to the testing seat I presume.

Also, think about Massa... He came back, and will probably be looking for a new home in 2013 as he seems to have lost any interest in doing any sort of racing. And even though I'm a Hamilton fan, I still don't buy that as a reason he was unsuccessful.

Additionally, I still see Raikkonen as a pretty major liability. Granted he is younger than Schumacher, I fear the same thing may happen.

Assuming their car is on pace with Force India, they will sink or swim based on their driver choices...
 
hawkeye122
But what is Grosjean going to do when Kubica does come back? Just out of luck then? It'll be back to the testing seat I presume.
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Pretty much. But when you're trying to break into the sport, you take any opportunity you can get. When you've got two years under your belt, you can afford to pick and choose a little.
 
How do we know Kubica will even come back? His hand may never fully recover.

Now I wonder what will become of Petrov. I appears that LRGP were glad to keep Vitaly if he wanted the seat. So if he chose to leave a perfectly good seat that was his for the taking, surely he has somewhere else in mind. The question is where?

Also, quotes from Grosjean were coming out just today that he was prepared to give up on an F1 return if he didn't get a spot for 2012. So this move may be even a surprise to him.
 
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I'm not saying this to tick anyone off, but Petrov has been underwhelming since his debut. Scoring a mere fraction of his teammates score in his first year, while crashing quite often. Apart from the single podium finish this year, luckily, and the fact that he's crashed much less often this year, he is still underwhelming to me. Only thing i'd rate him for is how hard of a driver he is to overtake. 👍
 
astrosdude91
How do we know Kubica will even come back? His hand may never fully recover.
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Eric Boullier has said that if Kubica feels he is ready, the team will work around it - even if it means a mid-season start.

astrosdude91
if he chose to leave a perfectly, surely he has somewhere else in mind. The question is where?
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Pretty much any team with a vacancy (except Toro Rosso) - and a few others - could take him:

- Williams were banking on Raikkonen to get sponsors from the Middle East. With Raikkonen going to Lotus, there is a quesion of what becomes of that planned sposnorship.
- Force India were supposed to annouce their driver line-up in Abu Dhabi, which didn't happen. With Vijay Mallya's businesses being in trouble, there will be pressure on his companies to appear fiscally-responsible (even if Force India's sponsorship is handled differently to other teams); that means Kingfisher, at least, is unlikely to appear on the side of the car in 2012. Petrov's money will further ease the pressure on the team.
- Hispania have an available seat and are in serious need of sponsors.
- Daniel Ricciardo has talked up the idea of replacing Trulli at Caterham. If Trulli's contract can be bought out, then Russian rubles work just as well as Australian dollars, and Red Bull are unlikely to match Petrov dollar-for-dollar to secure Ricciardo a seat.
- Petrov has been linked with a move to Marussia, possibly replacing Glock (who could go to Williams) or Pic.
 
Now that I think about it, it all makes sense. Perhaps Boullier said "hey Vitaly, I'd hate to tell you this but if Robert comes back in 2012 it's going to be your seat he's taking. So if you want to stay with us knowing that you'll be gone if Kubica comes back, then that's fine. But I'm giving you fair warning incase you want to go ahead and find a seat elsewhere. The choice is yours."

Seems legit, right?

Also, Alonso and Webber may have just switched teams:
eber08.jpg

:dopey:
 
If Petrov were to stay at Renault, then he'd want some assurance that he would stay at Renault for a full season - that he could not be replaced by Kubica until 2013. That was probably the deciding issue for him.
 
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