...And the source of this Brazilian article is the Spanish Marca that we all know and trust.

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/urheilu/uutinen.asp?id=1710960

According to this Nico has already signed a multi-year contract with BMW. His salary will rise from 2 million to 6 million euros per year.

Ilta-Sanomat is not a very reliable newspaper though.

Surely Rosberg's existing salary is closer to $10m. Otherwise McLaren would have promptly purchased the contract when searching for an Alonso replacement and eyeing the regular top 6-7 finishing (at the time) Rosberg.

Except that Nico doesn't want to go to McLaren. Keke has said in Finnish TV that it's not a good place to be. It's Hamilton's team.

Screw him, then. He is going to do squat for the rest of his career with that kind of attitude.

I think the point is that if Nico went to McLaren, he might not get the same kind of treatment that he can get at other teams, and the way a team treats its drivers comapred to one another can influence a lot. They might concentrate on getting Hamilton's setup right and only focus on the other driver once his is down. Or they might choose Hamilton's race strategy first and leave their other driver to work with whatever is left. That was a part of what led to the breakdown between Alonso and McLaren as Alonso felt they were pouring too much effort into Hamilton even though Alonso felt they were both in contention for the title, and as the more-experienced driver, he should be getting more attention.

That's the cheap excuse. The real thing is that Alonso was MATCHED/Hamilton exceeded the expectations, and surprised the whole team.

RD and McLaren have never truly favoured one driver; they give the same level of attention/performance to both drivers (unlike what Renault is doing at the moment with Alonso and Piquet). Alonso was whining because he was NOT GIVEN PREFRENTIAL TREATMENT. That's all.

As far as Rosberg is concerned, if he is truly concerned with Hamilton and favoritism, then he is not cut for a top team drive. This shows an enormous lack of confidence on his part.

You're clearly underestimating the value of a team that supports both of its drivers equally as opposed to a team that gives preferential treatment to one driver. Ferrari did it to Schumacher, Renault currently do it to Alonso, and McLaren are shaping up as doing it Hamilton. I get that it makes sense to do it once one driver becomes a clear contender for the title and the other either cannot win or is a mathematical outsider, but to do it from the beginning of the season can have a major psychological effect (at the least) on the driver who is not getting as much attention from a team. It comes across as a lack of confidence in a driver, or the feeling that they are only really there so that the team is running two cars.

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/formel-...gp-1354717.html

Rosberg is chased by 4 teams for a F1 seat for 2010, Williams, BMW. McLaren ....... and Brawn.

In case it will become Brawn, then Barrichello could go to Williams, in case it will become McLaren,
then Kovalainen could go to Williams, in both these cases Nico Hulkenberg could team up with
Barrichello or Kovalainen, Williams has an option on Hulkenberg

Yuppp... The Rosberg PR machine was working overtime in Nurburgring

Here's a qualified guess:

Brawn
Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel
Mark Webber

Toyota
Jarno Trulli
Timo Glock

Ferrari
Felipe Massa
Fernando Alonso

Williams
Nico Hülkenberg
Kazuki Nakajima

Renault
Robert Kubica
Romain Grosjean

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton
Heikki Kovalainen

BMW
Nico Rosberg
Nick Heidfeld

Toro Rosso
Sébastien Buemi
Jaime Alguersuari

Force India
Adrian Sutil
Vitantonio Liuzzi

Manor
Paul di Resta
Bruno Senna

Campos
Giorgio Pantano
Vitaly Petrov

USF1
Scott Speed
Anthony Davidson

Do you have proof backing up what you are saying? There is no way the team is favoring Hamilton like Ferrari was favoring Schumacher. Now that Ron Dennis is gone, this theory seems even more farfetched that it was.

This is all drivel coming from Alonso as he was trying to stomach his loss against Hamilton, a rookie at the time and to find excuses...

I don't think Scott is still intrested in F1
and Davidson deserved better in F1 but he isn't an american.

USF1 should allow all kinds of nationalities in their cars, but they will stick to their plan

USF1 is not interested in Scott Speed either. JR Hildebrand is on pole to join their attempt as are Jonathan Summerton and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Perhaps these.

Guesses in red.

Brawn
Jenson Button
Kimi Raikkonen

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel
Mark Webber

Toyota
Jarno Trulli
Robert Kubica

Ferrari
Felipe Massa
Fernando Alonso

Williams
Nick Heidfeld
Kazuki Nakajima

Renault
Rubens Barrichello
Romain Grosjean

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton
Timo Glock

BMW
Nico Rosberg
Heikki Kovalainen

Toro Rosso
Sébastien Buemi
Jaime Alguersuari

Force India
Adrian Sutil
Vitantonio Liuzzi

Manor
Paul di Resta
Bruno Senna

Campos
Giorgio Pantano
Vitaly Petrov

USF1
Scott Speed
Giancarlo Fisichella

There's no way in hell BMW will end up with that lineup.

Exactly.
And Timo Glock won't be McLaren's #2.

And do you have any proof that it's not happening? I think you're just trying to find excuses as to why Rosberg shouldn't be in a top team.

There's a reason why McLaren gave the upgrades to Hamilton for the Nurburgring and not Kovalainen: aside from being a blind test (ie comparing the new parts to the old parts), it was clear they expected Hamilton to be the one racing for position.

re: Hulkenberg


"I have not only held conversations with Williams," he (Willie Weber) told Sport Bild, "however if Williams takes up the option, we will drive there for certain."

Weber said he has had talks about Hulkenberg with every Formula One team ‘except Red Bull’.

Yes, Hulkenberg is poised for a switch to Williams if Nico goes. His German sponsors are very welcome to the team, although it is not known whether they will be on the car as well.
Nakajima will probably stay. I'd say Nico Rosberg switching to BMW or McLaren is the likely move.

About Toyota... I'm used to reading how they're trying to sign just about everyone wandering around the paddock in a nomex suit, but this year? A big fat nothing. What are they up to? Am I to assume that Trulli and Glock will stay?

Barrichello won't switch to Renault. Definitely not. He is not on Briatore's list of stars or drivers he could potentially make one.

There will be no German driver at McLaren.
Never has been since Ron.
They took Mika over Schumacher.
They took Kimi over Heidfeld.
They took Kovi over Rosberg.
I don't know why and will not speculate. It's just a fact.
Unless the departure of Ron signals a change in policy, the Finn hangup will likely continue.

They need Alonso in that car, they've never had a top line driver to see what their car can actually do. Remarkable considering th emoney spent. I remember Trulli jumped in the car when McNish and i think Zonta were driving it and went like 8/10ths faster within a few laps. I rate Trulli as a decent peddlar but maybe not "Team leader" so to speak.

Rumour has it that they did try to sign Räikkönen but were snubbed. On the record his managers keep shouting that the Ferrari contract is still in place, but that's probably to talk up the price Ferrari would have to cough up to get rid of him. Aside from that it seems other teams are neither too keen to do their utmost for him, so a future in rally may well be on the cards. Glock in my view still has a contract and Trulli's contract has options.

Kimi over Heidfeld... On relfection would you say it was the better or worse thing to do?

Kovi over Rosberg? Are you suggesting Ron does not like Germans???? He does afterall use German engines, and has done for a while.

There is rather simple reason Kovi was chosen, it may amaze you but Nico was contracted to Williams....

They tried to sign Rosberg in 2007 only for Williams to enforce his contract.

Nico will go for BMW as Kova will stay for one more year.

Mclaren's bet is Vettel for 2011 probably which is when I think his contract with RBR runs out.

That's my boy alright - a disappointment 'til the very end. I was so hoping to see my favourite driver at my favourite team and now the stupid twit will rather be laughed off the sport than accept the only offer he's got? Brilliant.

I hope it's just a rumour and that there's still a chance he'll be around next year.

Vitantonio Liuzzi thinks that he will be on the grid.

so... to FI?

Some recent rumours from TS:
-Senna to test Brawn. And to partner Button, no doubt.
-Webber's contract already extended (with lower salary, as I read). Makes very much sense to me.
-Rosberg to BMW, relegating Heidfeld back to Williams (or even worse; I thought Nick had quote a sour relationship to Sir Frank)
-Trulli might retain his seat with less money (I find this a bit strange as Jarno has been so much above Glock for most of the season)
-Liuzzi in, Fisichella out. Most unfortunate considering Fisico's recent form. I think he'll be able to find a seat at some of the new teams, if he continues with similar drives as Monaco, Silverstone and Nürburgring. Afterall, he has this thing called experience in addition to being still very fast in his day.

Liuzzi can think whatever he wants...

It was a worse thing to do. Nick had beaten Kimi at Sauber, clearly. Kimi with no championship at Mac, top car, did not set the worl on fire. Heidfeld has much better, down to earth work ethic and many believe would have produced more. But he's NOT a Finn and Mika was pushing for Kimi. Give Heidfeld a top car and he will do a Button. He's driven shit for 9 years, has beaten teamates such as Kimi, Massa (by far), Webber (not by much), JV (yes, the WDC) and Kubica, 3 out of 4 years so far. Last year Kimi finished 1 position ahead of Heidfeld while in a top car while Heidfeld had his worst year ever in F1. Yes, Ron made a mistake.
Oh yes, and Ron had an option on NH even the year after he chose Kimi but did not take it. So then came JPM. How did that work out for him? About as much as Alonso.

I'm NOT suggesting that Ron doesn't like Germans. Given the obvious pressure from Mercedes, it strikes me that one would need to go out of the way in order to avoid this. I have NO IDEA why Ron likes Finns over Germans.

Kovi was a good choice. If you say so... Much better than any of the 5 Germans currently driving. 3 of which were available to McLaren.
They could have bought Rosberg. Williams needed cash. Frank sold Webber.

Want to count the Germans Frank has hired at Williams?

I stopped right there and need not explain myself. Ill let Mclarens reliability record speak for me thankyou very much.

btw - are you suggesting I said Kovi was a good choice? Because nowhere in post did I say such a thing.

Your argument that Kovi was chosen due to Rosberg's contract does not hold water.

"Before we signed Heikki (for 2008) we spoke with both but they had contracts that we of course respected. For the future I don't want to exclude anything" - Haug

Those 'both' mentioned are Vettel and Rosberg.

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news...716193025.shtml

I don't think drastic shake-ups are likely. Unless we have situations like the McLaren-Alonso fiasco,there is little chance of the big names taking seats up at random,whatever the status of the contracts....We have this every single year,and very little of what's predicted ends up happening.

1 - wasn't even in the cards, Schumi was contracted to a direct rival, Mika was available.
2 - made perfect sense given their level of experience and estimated potential at the time.
3 - made perfect sense given Kovi was available for nothing and they would have to pay for Nico. At the time they looked about equal prospects.



Well, I know why: it's a coincidence. You're seeing a pattern where there's none. I have no idea why you keep on bringing this wacky theory up, because it makes no sense.



Fisi would be perfect for a team like Manor.

Brazilian press says AS is sure PDLR will be joining Campos for 2010 and 2011.

Pedro will be a huge asset to them, he must know a fantastic amount. And great if he finally gets a proper race seat after all those years testing and driving the simulator.

Mac will need a new sim driver/reserve driver. Who will that be, I wonder?

My list for next year:

Brawn
Jenson Button
Bruno Senna

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel
Mark Webber

Toyota
Nick Heidfeld
Timo Glock

Ferrari
Felipe Massa
Kimi Raikkonen

Williams
Nico Hülkenberg
Kazuki Nakajima

Renault
Fernando Alonso
Romain Grosjean

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton
Giedo van der Garde

BMW
Nico Rosberg
Robert Kubica

Toro Rosso
Sébastien Buemi
Jaime Alguersuari

Force India
Adrian Sutil
Vitantonio Liuzzi

Manor
Paul di Resta
Heikki Kovalainen

Campos
Sergio Perez
Pedro de la Rosa

USF1
Marco Andretti
Sebestian Bourdais


Toyota could be the surprise driver move as Timo and Jarno could be out of a drive if the team does quit at the end of the year. Not sure Rubens, Nelshino, or Jarno can keep a drive in 2009?

PR talk quotes of McLaren/Mercedes people concerning their respect towards contracts mean zilch as reality proved several times that they don't give a damn about contracts.

Sorry to post a list and turn this into a pred thread.

Brawn
Jenson Button
Anthony Davidson

Red Bull
Sebastian Vettel
Mark Webber

Toyota
Jarno Trulli
Timo Glock

Ferrari
Felipe Massa
Kimi Raikkonen

Williams
Nico Rosberg
Kazuki Nakajima

Renault
Fernando Alonso
Romain Grosjean

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton
Heikki Kovalainen

BMW
Robert Kubica
Nick Heidfeld

Toro Rosso
Sébastien Buemi
Jaime Alguersuari

Force India
Adrian Sutil
Vitantonio Liuzzi

Manor
Paul di Resta
(No clue)

Campos
Pedro de la Rosa
Bruno Senna?

USF1
RHR or Marco Andretti
Rubens Barrichello

Paffet, who is currently another test driver at McLaren.

1- Wrong, There were discussions, which both parties admit.
2- Wrong again. It was Kimi's first year in F1, Heidfeld's second (if you count the Prost). Both were brand new to Sauber. Nick had more pre-F1 experience in OW. Estimated potential? Mercedes wanted NH so he must have had more potential since he did wonders for them in lower series. However, Ron wanted Kimi and only he decides. Haug has FA to do with driver decisions.
3- And wrong again. Equal prospects? Surely you jest. And since when was paying a problem for Mac. They were replacing Alonso FFS.

You don't know why. You dont know Dick. If the Finn/German thing is a coincidence, it has been so for a very long time, and very very odd.
It's not a theory. I point to their record as fact. If I speculated as to why, that would be a theory.

Ron having a Finn fettish. That's a theory that many find fascinating.

Maybe a train engine driver...?

Oh yes, I'd forgotten about him. He's slower than Pedro though.

According Spanish press De la Rosa is discussing with Mclaren so he can work for Campos before the season ends.

Maybe Paffet was not so fast but he was a good test driver.

I would say much slower...