The 2012 Driver transfer discussion/speculation thread

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Where could I find out who actually sponsors Vitaly Petrov? He just refers to "his partner" when talking about the Caterham contract but I can't find any info as to who is the moneyman.
 
I could be wrong but I think he's Government funded, to some extent.
 
OK8
Where could I find out who actually sponsors Vitaly Petrov?
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You can't. That information isn't on the public record.

astrosdude91
Vyborg Shipping is one of his big ones.
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Vyborg Shipping just made up a shortfall at the end of the 2010 season. They only appeared on the car for about five races.

astrosdude91
And Lada.
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Lada is (at least partially) run by the state, and the state is where the money is coming from. If Caterham have some new sponsors - like Gazprom - they will likely come from government-owned enterprises, unless Petrov has found someone in the commercial sector.
 
prisonermonkeys
I think it is highly unlikely that Toyota would field a third TS030.
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Next year? Why? It's the norm for big auto manufacturer teams to field three cars. Peugeot did it, Audi do it, Toyota themselves did it with the 90C-V, TS010 and later with the GT-One. I'd be surprised if they didn't have three cars next year (unless they completely bomb this year).

That third car will be another high profile Lemans seats for high-profile ex-f1 drivers. Hopefully we will see guys like Jarno and Rubens in that car.
 
There is a tad less meaning in that with the new rules making points only count for the highest finishing car. It will give Toyota a better chance with 1 car(2 for Le Mans only), of challenging Audi with 3 for WEC glory, and any other manufacturer that doesn't want to start LMP1 with such a huge programme initially.
 
Mght I suggest moving the conversation over here?

With one month to go until the Australian Grand Prix and Petrov replacing Trulli, I don't think we're going to see much more action on the driver market. The only open seats at the moment are the Mercedes and Marussia testing and reserve roles, so unless we want to discuss them in depth, I think this thread had run its course. After all, it's far too early to start discussing mid-season driver changes, and they usually get covered in the individual race threads.
 
At which point in that article does it state he is a test driver?

[/PrisonerMonkeys]
 
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I actually don't think there's much to it - just a bit of attention-seeking by the journalist, playing to the home crowd.
 
OK8
Where could I find out who actually sponsors Vitaly Petrov?
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The first Russian sponsor to join Caterham is SIBUR, one of the country's largest petrochemical consortiums. Their operations basically cover every step of the refining process, from extracting oil and natrual gas through the sale of refined products (which is why they're so successful).

SagarisGTB
I'd rather see Pic on the grid.
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Really? Wickens beat the highly-rated Vergne in Formula Renault last year, while Pic had an embarrassing late-season collapse in GP2.
 
prisonermonkeys
Really? Wickens beat the highly-rated Vergne in Formula Renault last year, while Pic had an embarrassing late-season collapse in GP2.
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Pic is a bit wild, but he's fast and has always been fast since he began his single seater career. My preference for Pic is simply personal though, at this point there is no way of knowing who is better suited for F1.
 
Wishful thinking by the italian press, still licking the wounded national pride for not having an italian on the grid.

If Massa continues to underperform I guess he'll be shown the door soon. But a veteran like Trulli? I'd go with Kobayashi or Sutil.

Feel sorry for Massa if indeed this happens, but F1 is not forgiving.
 
They'd have to get Kobayashi out of his Sauber contract first. And as we saw in 2009, it took them a month to do it.

I doubt they'd go for Sutil, least of because of his assault conviction. I don't think any driver would willingly sign up for Ferrari without the promise of continuing to race for them in 2013 (or at least having a performance-based clause that would allow them to earn the seat again next year).
 
Perez is the name most-associated with the seat, though Perez himself doesn't think much will come of it. As for Bianchi, he's proven to be a bit of a loose cannon. He was sent to Formula Renault 3.5 this season for further development after he has a scrappy GP2 season in 2011. He also crashed the VJM05 after about three laps during testing in Jerez.
 
Fisichella, Gene or Rigon is my guess as they're all reserve drivers.
 
Gene is more likely than Fisichella - Fisichella is almost holding an honourary position and is busy driving GT cars for them.
Ferrari would probably stick Gene in the seat until they could buy out another driver like they did with Badoer in 2009.
 
Gene, while he doesn't have a Peugeot commitment, still may be a bit too old.

Fisichella is more or less dominating in the WEC with Bruni, so I don't expect that to happen.

I'd expect them to pick up Bianchi or someone from a different series.
 
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