You're wrong.

Either they're leaving or they'll continue.
All indications are that if they continue, they will keep Glock.

Kimi's performance already slumped in Singaboredom so I guess he has a contract with a team which is just behind Ferrari.

Brawn - Button/Rosberg
Red Bull Vettel/Webber**
Ferrari Alonso/Massa**
Mclaren Lewis/Kimi
Renault Kubica/Grosjean
Williams Rubens/Hulkenberg
STR Jamie/Buemi**
FI Sutil/Luizzi
Qadbak Heildfeld/Glock
Manor Davidson/Carroll
Campos PDLR/Heikki
Lotus Senna/Fisi

I'm not including USF1 or Toyota as they are in limbo regards to whether they will be in F1 next year.

Shows how few drivers are confirmed for next year.

** is confirmed

Toyota should try and sign heidfeld and glock for 2010.

That would be a competitive driver pairing imho.

I think they'll want a Japanese driver. That was one of the conditions of Williams getting Toyota engines: Nakajima was part and parcel of the whole deal.

And how hypocritical was that, as they themselves ran with non-nationals?

Maybe they figured Williams stood a better chance of winning a race than they did.

But that's the problem with signing drivers based on nationality: you compromise your lineup. Teams should take the best drivers available, not the best drivers of a particular nationality. Once they're in the sport and established as contenders - like Nico Rosberg - it's alright, but taking an untried drier because he's from suc-and-such is a very poor wa of doing business. Super Aguri proved that the Home Team All-Stars approach doesn't work, yet no-one seems to have been paying attention.

I don't know why people think USGPF1 will not make it to the grid, whereas everybody seems certian Manor, Lotus and Campos will be there 100% sure.

Neitehr do I. I keep hearing people talking about he rumours that say they won't make it, but I've never actually seen a rumour that suggests as much. My suspicion is that people have targeted them because they're American, and Americans haven't had much success in Formula One of late.

Alonso replacement at Renault will be announced next week.

NobleF1 Announcing that Renault has announced that later today there will be an announcement about when it is going to announce its drivers. Get it?

It's Robert no doubt, but who's in the second seat?

I am not keen on the idea of Robert moving to Williams.

Toyota is a difficult problem to fathom. All of the moises coming from Toyota indicate that it will be in F1 next season. Yet all of the 'evidence' suggests the opposite.

I wish Rosberg 'all the best' if he moves on. Although I see a few problems a head if he moves to Brawn. Moving to a team with an established driver is a gamble. He will find the team geared towards Button. It may be a culture shock to him. He has had no competition at Williams for the last three years where he has been a clear #1. He will need to turn up at the factory more than the once a month that he did with Williams last Winter if he is not to be overwhelmed by Jensen.

Another possibility is that Nico will go to Brawn as an intended #1. In which case we can expect to hear complaints from Jensen as his grip on the team is loosened. If there is a buy-in from Merc at Brawn, things could become uncomfortable for Jensen.

So we got

Brawn
Button
Rosberg

Red Bull
Vettel
Webber

Ferrari
Massa
Alonso

McLaren
Hamilton
Raikkonen

Toyota
Glock
Trulli or Nakajima or Kobayashi

Williams
Barrichello
Hulkenberg

Renault
Kubica
Grosjean

Sauber
Heidfeld
???

Force India
Sutil
Liuzzi

STR
Buemi
Alguesuari

USF1
???
???

Manor
???
???

Campos
De La Rosa
???

Lotus
Fauzy
????

Is kobayashi any good?

Autosport (print) saying Renault may run without a major sponsor next year. And have a Renault livery. All very speculative if you ask me.

But it'd be nice. I find the use of title sponsors tends to make Formula One too coprorate. With all the political furoe lingering about, we need to go back to what matters: the race.

James Allen's latest silly season piece is very good.

Talks about Lewis probably being less than thrilled with Kimi to McLaren, why Rosberg is going to Brawn and why Barrichello is going to Williams which will probably use Cosworths...

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/10/thou...r-market-moves/

Would be nice if they reheated that old yellow and black liverly.

James Allen is usually very good when he doesn't have a microphone in front of him. I guess it's because he can think about what he wants to say ahead of time, whereas when he's in the commentary box he can't really afford to have long moments of silence.

NobleF1 Heikki Kovalainen has just had a long chat with Bob Bell in the paddock. Wonder if there was any talk about a race seat for next year?

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79082

Kimi to rallying, Kubica to McLaren and Kovalainen to Renault?

It'll be interesting if it's true. I actually think Kovalainen's debut season was better than Hamilton's. Where Hamilton was consistently finishing on the podium, Kovalainen had to struggle with a poor car to begin with, but by the end of the season he had impred remarkably. That counts more to me than simply starting at the top and staying there. The problem with Kovalainen's McLaren tenure is that he was really chosen because he's no threat to Hamilton.

It was a disaster, after half season Flav kicked him in the arse and then he had some good races.

That's a ridiculous comment.

How can finishing 7th (behind the superior McLaren's, Ferrari's, and BMW's) on your debut season and a good 9 points clear of your much more experienced team-mate be a disaster?

Granted he had a slow start, but not many rookies come out of the traps flying.

If Mclaren signs Kubica it will be their biggest mistake ever.

He isn't as fast as Alonso and whinnes even more.

If Kimi is done with F1, the rallying switch makes sense.

Kubica to McLaren makes sense too.

Can't see Kovalainen going to Renault though, there are better people on the market.

Can't see McLaren signing Kubica. If Kimi doesn't go back (I think he will) then Rosberg must be favourite for the 2nd McLaren seat

NobleF1 Have heard a rumour there may be a shock in the #f1 driver market. Will dig some more in the morning. Too early to say if it is a bum streer

I wouldn't be surprised if Renault discreetly clear a few people out - engineers and the like - and drop Grosjean with the intention of coming back as a new team under the Renault name.

I hope it's not Button leaving Brawn ...

Button to McLaren?

He was chosen because the alternatives were all signed up already. Rosberg was by far the favourite choice but Williams wouldn't release him. HK was 3rd or 4th choice at best, but once in it was up to him to prove he was worth keeping. Unfortunately he has failed.

Lewis to Renault?

Dont see any space for shocking move on the market honestly.

OK, so what would be a shock...

1) Button leaving Brawn because they're not willing to meet his salary demands

2) Ferrari firing a recovering Massa and rehiring Barrichello or grabbing Kubica

3) Lewis Hamilton walking out on McLaren because they've hired Raikkonen

4) Vettel walking out of RBR, heading for McLaren or Brawn

...any others which might be shocking?

It would be a bummer if Grosjean only got a handful of races because of politics involving Renault and Briatore.

Renault have invested in Grosjean and should keep him.

Like others, he's suffering badly from no testing.

Raikkonen to Toyota alongside Nakajima

I fear massa after karting realizes that he is unable...

Michael Schumacker to drive for MCLaren!

I actually doubt it's anything to do with Brawn; they want to wait until the end of the season - or at least until the championships are sewn up - so as not to distract their drivers.

Raikkonen to Toro Rosso.

Liuzzi to Williams, Rosberg to Brawn, Barrichello to Force India.

I don't mean cutting him loose entirely. I'm thinking more along the lines of dispatching him to a new team - someone like Campos or Manor - so that he can build that experience up. Then, Renault can get a relationship going with a new team and maybe explore the possibilities of supplying an engine in the future, with the promise of a race seat for Grosjean once he's expeirenced enough and once Renault re-invent themselves as a new team and start hunting for wins.

Alonso leave Ferrari before he came ? scandal ??

Kubica to partner best friend Alonso at Ferrari?

Glock to McLaren? Villeneuve to McLaren?

Added: Barrichello to McLaren?

Schumacher replaces Massa for 2010 season

Or Villeneuve back at F1 with Ferrari replacing Felipe...

Piquet Jr replaces Massa at Ferrari?

Ricardo Rosset to make a spectacular comeback into a McLaren?





Seriously though, a "big shock" doesn't necessarily entail one of the "big" drivers, it could as much mean one of the drivers at the lesser teams getting a better drive as well.

Will be interesting to see if someone's pulling Noble's leg or not..

Even if they are, I hope he tells us what the rumour is. Just so that we know what it was.

Nakajima to Mclaren

Sorry couldn't resist that, but it WOULD be shocking!

Sutil at McLaren to meet with his friend Lewis, Raikkonen to Force India

On Kovy, Renault could make sense from the point of view that they know him, so they can see beyond what's happened to him at McLaren against Lewis. In 07 I read a Pat Symonds quote that he improved a lot when he started following Fisi's example and drove that difficult car slightly more within its limits, allowing a margin for its unpredictable behaviour under braking.

That's not the 'shock' though .

Hamilton to works (Brawn-)Mercedes team in 2011!