F1 Madness

Tag: silly season

  • Ferrari confirm Sebastian Vettel until the end of 2020

    Ferrari confirm Sebastian Vettel until the end of 2020

    Ferrari has announced that Sebastian Vettel will remain with the team until the end of the 2020 F1 season.

    The news rules out a switch to Mercedes in the near future and this was also confirmed by Niki Lauda during the third practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix where Niki said, “He has no reason to move, they are competitive, he is winning. We stopped talks with him months ago.

    The statement issued by Ferrari confirms that Vettel has extended his technical and racing agreement with the team.

    It’s very likely that Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull will retain the same driver line-ups for the 2018 F1 season. At the moment, we’re only waiting on an announcement from Mercedes around Valtteri Bottas’ future.

  • Di Montezemolo Confirms Ferrari Exit for Alonso

    Di Montezemolo Confirms Ferrari Exit for Alonso

    Former Ferrari President, Luca Di Montezemolo confirmed last night that Fernando Alonso will be leaving the Maranello based team at the end of the season.

    Speaking on a television show yesterday, Di Monetzemolo told Italian media that Alonso is leaving for two reasons. “One, he wants another environment. Two, because he is an age when he cannot wait to win again,” he said.

    Di Montezemolo also revealed that Alonso asked him to release him from his contract during the summer break as he believed Ferrari will be unable to provide him a race winning car in the near future.

    His role as Ferrari Chairman came to an end this week after it was announced that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne would take over the role as Ferrari Chairman.

    It’s no secret that Alonso wants to leave Ferrari at the end of the season. The Spaniard has remained tight lipped about his future in F1 with the strongest rumors saying that he may have a drive with McLaren next year. The other rumor is that he will take a year off and work on a deal with to drive for Mercedes in 2016.

    Alonso dropped a few hints at the at the Russian Grand Prix saying that he does not think that he will be in a Mercedes powered car in 2015. He also added that he thinks that there isn’t a big risk that he wont be in F1 next season.

    We are yet to hear anything from Alonso or Ferrari at this point. Alonso has said that once the announcement on his future is made it will be “obvious”. Lets wait and see, Fernando.

     

    Photo Credit: Suderia Ferrari Formula 1

  • Sergio Perez to Join Hulkenberg at Force India

    Sergio Perez to Join Hulkenberg at Force India

    Sergio Perez was confirmed at Force India today on a multi-year deal.

    Perez joins Force India after just one season at McLaren after they decided to go with Kevin Magnussen for their 2014 campaign. Perez will race alongside Nico Hulkenberg who was confirmed at Force India a few weeks ago.

    “It’s great to announce my new team as Sahara Force India. Coming here was always my first choice and I’m really happy everything has now been confirmed,” said Perez.

    “I want to say thank you to Vijay and the whole team for giving me the opportunity. This is a young team with a lot of determination and they’ve produced competitive cars for the last few years. It’s all change for next season with the new regulations, but I already have a good feeling about 2014. My plan now is to visit the factory and get to know everyone in the team,” he added.

    Team Principal, Vijay Mallya had this to say about Checo: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Sergio to the team. He brings a healthy mix of youth and experience, and I’ve been very impressed with his recent performances.”

    “By pairing Sergio alongside Nico, we enter the new season with an extremely competitive line-up, which will go toward helping us achieve our goals for the new season,” Mallya added.

    According to AUTOSPORT, Perez brings a cool 15 million Euros to the team.

    With Perez now confirmed, the two Force India drivers for 2013 will be searching for new teams. It is very likely that Adrian Sutil will get the nod at Sauber. As for Paul Di Resta, it looks like his time in F1 has come to an end and will look to Indy Car racing

  • McLaren want Fernando Alonso for 2014

    McLaren want Fernando Alonso for 2014

    According to BBC Sport, Mclaren are now targeting Fernando Alonso to beef up their driver line up for next season.

    Yes, you guessed it, the Silly Season rumour mill is back in full swing.

    BBC Sport‘s chief F1 Writer, Andrew Benson, Alonso is unsettled at Ferrari, and McLaren are hoping to use this to persuade the Spaniard to return to the team – who he drove for in 2007.

    When asked whether he wanted Alonso, McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh said, “Yes – any team would. He’s the best driver. “I don’t know his contractual situation. I assume he’s under contract”.

    This news comes just after Jenson Button confirmed to SkySportsF1 yesterday that his contract with McLaren is sorted saying, “It’s done, I’ll be here next year.”

    Sergio Perez also seemed pretty confident that his McLaren seat is secure for next year, but this news is bound to be a bit of a cat amongst the pigeons. It would seem that if Alonso did join McLaren next season, it is the Mexican who will be replaced.

    Alonso is contractually bound to Ferrari until the end of the 2016 season but there has been plenty of friction between himself and the team in recent weeks.

    Di Montezemelo was exceptionally unhappy about Alonso’s critical remarks about his car. Then there’s the signing of Kimi Raikkonen as his team mate for next season. Alonso has said he is “happy” about the team choosing Raikkonen as his team mate but this move puts his number 1 spot at the team in great jeopardy.

    We’re not too sure that Alonso would be keen on a move back to McLaren though. The massive fallout with Ron Dennis and then team mate Lewis Hamilton – over Hamilton getting priority status over him.

    Then there’s his contract of course. If Alonso wanted to terminate his contract with Ferrari, there would need to be talks around this and it’s not likely that Ferrari – who now have the strongest driver pairing for the 2014 grid, would be keen on doing this.

    Whitmarsh has however confirmed to SkySportsF1 that he most certainly is interested in signing Alonso, “I would if I could,” he told them. He also refused to confirm that either Jenson Button or Sergio Perez will continue driving for McLaren next season.

    Only time will tell really. We will of course, keep you posted!

     

  • Confirmed – Raikkonen to Rejoin Ferrari in 2014

    Confirmed – Raikkonen to Rejoin Ferrari in 2014

    Ferrari have announced that Kimi Raikkonen will return to the team for the 2014 season.

    Raikkonen, who will partner Fernando Alonso, is said to have agreed to a two-year deal. It is believed that Shell will be footing the bill for Raikkonen to join the team. The Finn will reportedly earn 20 million Euro per season. Another alleged condition of Raikkonen’s contract includes his current race engineer, Mark Slade, make the move to Ferrari as well.

    Raikkonen’s return to Ferrari comes on the heels of months of speculation about fragile negotiations with the Lotus team. Raikkonen was believed to have asked for a closer working relationship between Lotus and the Renault factory. Reports had also been making the rounds about Lotus inability to pay Raikkonen’s wages.

    The end of the first relationship between Raikkonen and Ferrari at the end of 2009 could have been handled better but Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has already been smoothing the waters. Asked about the events surrounding the end of the 2009 season and what happened with Raikkonen Montezemolo said “What happened with Kimi? We won a world championship with him.”

    Attention will now turn to the relationship between Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso as they become the first Ferrari championship pairing since 1954. On a personal level Raikkonen could care less about who his teammate is. On a professional level buckle up race fans because this is going to be some ride.

  • 2014 F1 Silly Season Grid Predictions

    2014 F1 Silly Season Grid Predictions

    With silly season in full swing and with rumours flying everywhere we thought it would be a good idea to flesh out a few grid predictions for the 2014 season.

    Red Bull

    Red Bull have confirmed Daniel Riccardo for their second 2014 seat, in what was probably the worst kept secret in Formula 1. While there was much speculation about the seat and that Kimi Raikkonen was in contention for the seat, and at some stage even Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was said to be interested, it all seemed rather certain that Ricciardo would get the nod.

    Sebastian Vettel | Daniel Ricciardo

    Ferrari

    Kimi_RaikkonenThe Maranello based team announced on Wednesday 11 September that they’ve signed Kimi Raikkonen as their second driver. That came a day after Felipe Massa announced to his fans on Twitter that he will not be driving for Ferrari in 2014.

    The opinion is divided amongst commentators on weather this is a good move for Ferrari. There are vast personality difference between Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. One the one hand we have the fiery, very political Alonso and on the other side we have a very cool and calm Raikkonen that doesn’t say much. Many are saying that it will be another McLaren 2007 situation, some think that being the strongest driver line up for 2014, Ferrari have their best chance of taking on Red Bull.

    Fernando Alonso | Kimi Raikkonen

    McLaren

    With Jenson Button most likely to extend his contract at the Woking based team, Sergio Perez expressing his desire to stay at the team and Martin Whitmarsh determined to keep both his drivers, it is unlikely that we are going to see a change at McLaren for 2014.

    Jenson Button | Sergio Perez

    Mercedes

    Lewis Hamilton has a contract to stay on until the end of the 2016 season and Nico Rosberg has been given the option to extend his contract at the end of 2013. So it seems as though Mercedes will also have an unchanged team for 2014.

    Nico Rosberg | Lewis Hamilton

    Lotus

    Nico_HulkenbergLotus have been a rather curious case. There is lots of controversy surrounding the team recently with their money problems, the falling out between Kimi Raikkonen and Allan Permaine, and the “will it happen, wont it happen” investment deal with investment group Quantum. The future of Nico Hulkenberg sort of depends on this deal. If the deal goes through, Hulkenberg will get the drive. If the deal does not happen, it is very likely that Pastor Maldonado will swoop in and get the drive at the Enstone based team.

    It could mean that Hulkenberg will be left without a drive for 2014. This would be such a shame as he is a very talented driver. A good option for him could be McLaren. Martin Whitmarsh has made it public that they are looking for a driver, and with Jenson Button having signed a contract for 2014, its Perez’s seat that’s available. Lotus are not saying anything about the investment deal at this time. A few weeks ago it was a done deal. Nothing has been signed or announced till this day. The long it takes for the announcement, the more likely it looks that Maldonado will get the drive.

    Romain Grosjean | Pastor Maldonado

    Force India

    With Paul Di Resta secured for 2014, we’re left with Adrian Sutil. The German has performed well in his comeback season. At the start of the season he has showed very good pace. While the changes to Pirelli’s tyres have resulted in the pace of Force India dropping considerably, Sutil has still been bringing home the points. It seems unlikely that he’ll be replaced this time round.

    Paul Di Resta | Adrian Sutil

     

    Sauber

    Sauber have made it public that they would like rookie, Sergey Sirotkin to drive for them in 2014. This is obviously on condition that he obtains his Super licence. Sirotkin brings in much needed money from Russia which should hold the team over for the 2014 season. Another possibility is Pastor Maldonado. Having left Williams, the Venezuelan is looking for a drive in 2014 and the money that he will bring with him will be very welcome at Sauber.

    With McLaren also looking for a second driver it could mean the return of Sergio Perez to his former team. The other option is that Nico Hulkenberg could return to Sauber if the deal with Lotus falls through. At this stage we cant say who we think could fill the space in Sauber.

    TBA | Esteban Gutierrez

    Williams

    We got this one half right. Williams have announced Felipe Massa as their next driver, but they’ve kept Valtteri Bottas and have negotiated and exit payout with Maldonado’s sponsor, PDVSA. Next year we see Massa for the first time in an England based team. It is a good move from Sir Frank Williams to put Massa in the team. At a time where the new regulations come into play, you need a driver that can provide very good feedback about the car to the engineers as well as the experience.

    We will have to wait and see how it goes for Massa at Williams. Thier 2013 car was not very good, but their new engine partner for 2014, Mercedes, will be very interesting and they are confident that they can bring the Williams name back to the front of the grid.

    Felipe Massa | Valtteri Bottas

    Toro Rosso

    daniil-kvyat

    Toro Rosso have confirmed Daniil Kvyat as their second driver for 2014. This was a very unexpected move as we all here at F1 Madness were pretty sure that Antonio Felix Da Costa would get the 2014 drive for the Faenza based team. Dr Helmut Marko thinks that Kvyat shows more potential than the other rookies out there.

    Coming from GP3 it’s going to be a very big change into F1 for nineteen year old Kvyat. No doubt that he will be bullied on track by other drivers. It’s up to him to hold his nerve and show them that he can mix it up with the best of them.

    Jean Eric Vergne | Daniil Kvyat

    Caterham

    Charles Pic is already contracted for 2014, leaving only Giedo van der Garde’s seat with a question mark hanging over it.

    There is word that Heikki Kovalainen will make a F1 comeback for 2014. He has already been driving for the team in Free Practice sessions. But since he is not a pay driver, it makes it less likely that Caterham will bring him back on-board. There is also a chance for Rodolfo Gonzalez to take van der Garde’s seat. However, money talks in F1 so it seems likely that Caterham will keep their existing line-up.

    Giedo van der Garde | Charles Pic

    Marussia

    Both Marussia drivers need contracts for 2014. With Ferrari wanting Jules Bianchi in a mid-field team it will be interesting to see who Marussia signs up if Bianchi were to leave.

    Being the test driver for Ferrari and for Force India does help him out a bit and with him finishing above his team mate, it would seem that Chilton might be the one that will get the chop. For now, there’s no indication that things will change though.

    Jules Bianchi | Max Chilton

     

  • Daniel Ricciardo Confirmed at Red Bull for 2014

    Daniel Ricciardo Confirmed at Red Bull for 2014

    In what was Formula 1’s worst kept secret, Dr Helmut Marko today confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo will be driving for Red Bull Racing in 2014.

    This comes after many weeks of speculation about who the second driver would be and after Mark Webber’s rather curious comment at the Belgian Grand Prix.

    “Daniel is absolutely the right man for the job. He’s really deserved this graduation on merit.” said Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull.

    Ricciardo will follow a similar path as Sebastian Vettel by graduating from the sister team, Toro Rosso. “For sure I’ll have to put up with scrutiny next year and obviously I want to get results for myself and for the team” said Ricciardo.

    This announcement will no doubt get the rumour mill spinning once more. All the attention will be on Kimi Raikkonen now and there’s also that other small issue of who will replace Ricciardo at Toro Rosso?

  • Red Bull to confirm Daniel Ricciardo at Spa

    Red Bull to confirm Daniel Ricciardo at Spa

    Daniel Ricciardo is set to partner Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull according to a report in Germany’s, Sport Bild.

    The tabloid’s correspondents Bianca Garloff and Ralf Bach said that the news will be announced at next weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix. The paper quoted Red Bull’s Dr Helmut Marko as saying, “Unfortunately, I cannot say any more than that we will make an announcement at Spa.”

    There has been no further official confirmation from Red Bull, Toro Rosso or any of the drivers.

    Daniel Ricciardo told Sport Bild that he expects to get along with the reigning world champion should he be selected to race for the Red Bull team, “I know Seb quite well,” he said, “as I was the reserve driver in 2010. I was out for dinner with him a few times and we get on really well.”

    Both Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso have also been linked to Mark Webber’s Red Bull seat, so we’ll only really know once an official announcement has been made.

    If Alonso does move to Red Bull, Kimi Raikkonen’s rumoured move back to the Ferrari team does seem a little more likely than the Finn joining the team to play second fiddle to Alonso.

    Photo by Red Bull Racing Twitter Team.