He is indeed. And I wouldn't chose Nak either but you can never tell with Toyota. If they are in cost cutting mode and want to play to their home market it could happen I suppose.
They really haven't played this driver market very well. But at least they've got Kobayashi. That was a find.

I don't reckon Nakajima will be back.

No points this season is a terrible result.

They'd be better off taking Takuma Sato if that were the case. Someone experienced who could help Kobayashi in his maiden season, not someone like Nakajima who has arguably gone backwards since his first race.


There wasn't much on the market to begin with; at least, nothing they could really expect. The Usual Suspects and the best of 2009 have been taken, or will probably be taken shortly. But there's a huge shortage of skills between the top pedigree and everyone at the back. Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock are two of the better midfielders, but Toyota are cutting them loose. I wouldn't be too surprised if they go in for a test driver like de la Rosa - I've heard his name in connection to Toyota - as someone who could guide Kobayashi in the subject of setting up the car. Toyota are just their own worst enemy: their inconsistency and winless streak means they're an unattractive prospect to the drivers who could give them their first win, but their desire to mount the top step of the podium rules out the younger drivers, especially if they're already going for Kobayashi. I think their best chance at a victory is to get someone like de la Rosa or Alex Wurz, someone who knows their way around a Formula One car and use them to fashion Kamui Kobayashi into a respectable driver. They might get their first win faster if they managed to land Kimi Raikkonen, but this way would be better in the long run. Plus, if Kobayashi won their first race, I don't think Toyota would mind it at all.

Hear, hear!

@ Alguersuari's blog

[...]I've got to tell you that the week before Abu Dhabi, my other boss, Christian Horner, sent me my new signed contract with Toro Rosso for 2010 [...]

11.8-Waiting……
Sutil will be at F1 next year!

I don't get this. The same Toro Rosso that was so quick to dismiss drivers after they failed to live up to expectations is enamoured with Alguersuari who, arguably, hasn't done much with his ride. Does he bring money (and do Toro Rosso need it badly)? He's met very low expectations? Nothing against the guy, but I haven't seen how he's ready for F1 yet, nor how he even landed in that seat. It all sort of confuses me; obviously, I've missed something, but what?

Enlighten me, please.

Alguersuari, unlike Bourdais, was - and still is, really - a member of Red Bull's young driver development program, so they may be willing to go easy on one of their own. Sebastien Bourdais was only ever kept around for the sake of continuity coming into this season with all the new regulations, anyway. And while Alguersuari has had five retirements, only one - Japan - was clearly his fault. He's had two gearbox failures, and the team retired the car early rather than risk an accident in Singapore. As for his fifth incident in Belgium, I think he was really in the wrong place at the wrong time: if he and Hamilton had swapped track positions at the time of the accident, I think the end result would have been largely the same. Hamilton backed off when he saw Grosjean take out Button, and Alguersuari had nowhere to go but into him. As for his pit stop cock-up in Abu Dhabi, the blame for that rests with his team. He had a very slow in-lap, so he had to know something was terminal. He contacted the team, but hen he arrived, they were not ready to receive him. Alguersuari, however, saw purple-clad mechanics out in the pit lane in roughly the position that they should have been; the Toro Rosso and Red Bull pits are right next to each other because Toro Rosso carry the 11 and 12 while Red Bull have the 14 an 15. He saw exactly what he was expecting, and did exactly as he was supposed to do. The problem was that his team wasn't ready for him.

And, of course, there's the whole thing about him being a rookie and having had no testing. And I'm not rightly sure there would beanyone to replace him; Brendon Hartley stepped down from the testing and reserve role to concentrate on hi World Series by Renault campaign and may not think he's ready for racing.

so if toyota quits hopefully sauber can take up the open spot....

@Captain Tightpants re:Alguersuari

But he's not impressive. Most often, the only time he gets noticed is when his race goes poorly. Can you come up with a list of highlights as easily as that list of lowlights? Usually, a promising talent shows some hint of what's to come but so far I don't see where he's doing that. To me, he looks like he needs more time to build up his skills and confidence before he's ready to show his potential.

I know he comes from the young driver program but I'm sure there are others waiting for a chance too. My thought, and it's not a nice one, is that Alguersuari might find himself shuffled off mid-season to make way for yet another member of the Red Bull development crew, thus killing his F1 career before it should (IMO) have started. I think he got his lucky break too soon.

Sutil and straight in the same phrase.

I'm kidding, hope Sutil goes to Maca w/ Lewis, they used to be a competitive couple in ASM Euro F3.
Lewis was dominating and Sutil a consistent - not so far away - second.

He might not have got another chance. He had to go for it. Anyway, he should do much better next year.

I've been saying it even before Jaime got the seat - it was too soon for him and there was no way it'd work.

Thing is, Red Bull has loads of drivers but none really ready to replace him. Ricciardo was great this season but basically is at the same point Jaime was 1 year ago, and only had a field of nobodies to prove himself against. Hartley shows flashes of speed ocasionally but had a poor season in terms of results. The F2 guys (Aleshin, Wickens, Bortolotti) were all near the front but it seemed disappointing that they couldn't get close to Soucek. Vergne had a good year and is starting to make a name for himself, but is below all of the previously mentioned drivers in the ladder.

So I don't think Toro Rosso are necessarily being patient with Jaime - in the past they shown no patience for the likes of Speed and Liuzzi. They just have nobody else to replace him with, and apparently the team is being used exclusively for developing drivers now, since Berger is gone.

Toyota signed the Concorde Agreement. If they withdraw, they have the right to sell the team to whomever they wish, which does not necessarily mean QADBAK, who I doubt would be interested in buying two teams.


I agree that he's been thrown to the wolves too soon, but he should have done some serious testing in the buildup to 2010. Maybe he'll be stronger next season. I don't think he'll be a race winner, much less World Champion, but I think he could be a strong midfielder and maybe get some podiums if he impresses next season and steps up to a new team.

He used to say Marc Gené was in his list too... and not too long before not mentioning him at all... Maldonado could be a last minute appearance with a nice amount of petrodollars from PDVSA...

GrandPrix.com has an article on who goes where for 2010. Their list looks like this:

Brawn
Jenson Button
Nico Rosberg

Red Bull – Renault
Mark Webber (confirmed)
Sebastian Vettel (confirmed)

McLaren – Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (confirmed)
Kimi Räikkönen
Adrian Sutil
Heikki Kovalainen

Ferrari
Felipe Massa (confirmed)
Fernando Alonso (confirmed)

Toyota
Kamui Kobayashi

Williams – Cosworths
Rubens Barrichello (confirmed)
Nico Hulkenberg (confirmed)

Renault
Robert Kubica (confirmed)
Timo Glock

Force India – Mercedes
Tonio Liuzzi (has 2010 deal)
Adrian Sutil (likely)
Neel Jani
Karun Chandhok

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi
Jaime Alguersuari

Campos
Bruno Senna (confirmed)
Pedro de la Rosa
Nelson Piquet

Manor / Virgin
Lucas di Grassi
Christian Klien

Team US F1
Pedro de la Rosa
Jacques Villeneuve
Alexander Rossi
Jonathan Summerton

Lotus
Jarno Trulli
Fairuz Fauzy
Anthony Davidson

Sauber / Qadbak – Ferrari
Nick Heidfeld

No Petrov.

Damn.

Joe Saward confirms Toyota is moving out of F1 with immediate effect.

Correction: Joe Saward reports Japanese newspaper is reporting Toyota is exiting.

Brawn
Jenson Button
Nico Rosberg

Red Bull – Renault
Mark Webber (confirmed)
Sebastian Vettel (confirmed)

McLaren – Mercedes
Lewis Hamilton (confirmed)
Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari
Felipe Massa (confirmed)
Fernando Alonso (confirmed)

Williams – Cosworths
Rubens Barrichello (confirmed)
Nico Hulkenberg (confirmed)

Renault
Robert Kubica (confirmed)
Timo Glock

Force India – Mercedes
Tonio Liuzzi (has 2010 deal)
Adrian Sutil (likely)

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Buemi
Jaime Alguersuari

Campos
Pedro de la Rosa
Bruno Senna (confirmed)

Manor / Virgin
Adam Carroll
Vitaly Petrov

Team US F1
Heikki Kovalainen
Andy Soucek

Lotus
Jarno Trulli
Kamui Kobayashi

Sauber / Qadbak – Ferrari
Nick Heidfeld
Christian Klein

The BBC were hinting all weekend that Ant Davidson is going to be testing/trying to secure a drive for one of the new teams. Manor or Lotus most likely.

If Toyota go (as they are expected to) then Sauber Qadbak is back on again obviously. Hope Kobayashi finds a berth somewhere.

That assumes Toyota will not sell the team.

Indeed. Pitpass mentions a possible Toyota management buy-out:

Oh, God, Howett F1?

Collective aneurysm in three ... two ... one ...

doesn't a german manufacturer wanna buy a team this days?

bye bye brawn "mercedes"

It was more hoping than hinting!

It won't happen. Mercedes are tied up in a watertight contract with McLaren. They're not even buying into Brawn - if it happens, it will be Aabar (sp?), one of Daimler-Benz's subsidiaries or partners who makes the purchase/

Oh, god, i'd rather keep kova than seeing Sutil in the second car ...

I think it's slightly sick that Kovalainen is still seen as a credible candidate for the second McLaren seat but anyway... Let's say he doesn't get the McLaren seat. He seems to think he'll definitely be in F1 next year and he's said he won't go to a small team. What options does he actually have? Third driver at McLaren? Is he delusional or does he know something we don't? Fake bravado?

It seems like sushi bar is waiting for Kobyashi after all...

Good news is that Sauber will now get a place in the grid for 2010. I wonder how many teams we actually have next season.

My picks, in light of Toyota's withdrawal:

Brawn GP / Mercedes
#1 - Jenson Button
#2 - Nico Rosberg

Red Bull Racing / Renault
#3 - Sebastian Vettel
#4 - Mark Webber

McLaren / Mercedes
#5 - Lewis Hamilton
#6 - Timo Glock

Scuderia Ferrari
#7 - Felipe Massa
#8 - Fernando Alonso

Williams / Cosworth
#9 - Nicolas Hulkenberg
#10 - Rubens Barrichello

Renault
#11 - Robert Kubica
#12 - Lucas di Grassi

Force India / Mercedes
#14 - Adrian Sutil
#15 - Vitantonio Liuzzi

Scuderia Toro Rosso / Ferrari
#16 - Sebastien Buemi
#17 - Jaime Algueruari

Team USF1 / Cosworth
#19 - Pedro de la Rosa
#18 - Robert Wickens

Campos / Cosworth
#20 - Bruno Senna
#21 - Vitaly Petrov

Manor / Cosworth
#22 - Anthony Davidson
#23 - Alvaro Parente

Lotus / Cosworth
#24 - Jarno Trulli
#25 - Kamui Kobayashi

Sauber Qadbak / Ferrari
#26 - Nick Heidfeld
#27 - Christian Klien

Untitled Toyota Rescue Package / Toyota
#28 - Takuma Sato
#29 - Heikki Kovalainen

He performed much better at Renault and didn't burn any bridges as far as I know. Why isn't he considered a credible candidate for the second Renault seat? I'm not saying he should get the seat based on his bad performance this year, but I wonder why he was considered to be in frame for Toyota and not Renault. Personally I think he might get the Renault seat.

With Toyota now out of the 2010 equasion, the list looks like this:

Emirates Brawn Mercedes
Brawn BGP 002 – Mercedes FO108X (Mercedes rumourd in (partly) take-over)
Team Principal: Ross Brawn ; Technical Director: Ross Brawn (?)
1. Jenson Button (negotiations for new contract ongoing, with money an issue)
2. Nico Rosberg (likely dependent on Mercedes deal)

Red Bull Racing
Red Bull RB6 – Renault RS27 (currently) / Cosworth CA2010 (remains an option) / Mercedes FO108X (ever more unlikely)
Team Principal: Christian Horner; Technical Director: Adrian Newey
3. Sebastian Vettel (on a multi-year deal until '11, with an option for '12)
4. Mark Webber (re-signed for '10)

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
McLaren MP4-25 – Mercedes FO108X
Team Principal: Martin Whitmarsh ; Technical Director: Paddy Lowe, Neil Oatley
5. Lewis Hamilton (contracted until '12)
6. Kimi Räikkönen (highly likely with Alonso-Ferrari now confirmed)
Timo Glock (rumoured)
Heikki Kovalainen ('10 option not taken up)

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro (Santander title sponsor?)
Ferrari F2010 – Ferrari 056
Team Principal: Stefano Domenicali ; Technical Director: Aldo Costa
7. Felipe Massa (contracted until ‘10)
8. Fernando Alonso (3-year deal '10-'12)

AT&T Williams
Williams FW32 – Cosworth CA2010
Team Principal: Frank Williams ; Technical Director: Sam Michael, Patrick Head
9. Rubens Barrichello (confirmed)
10. Nico Hülkenberg (confirmed, probably on long-term deal)

Renault F1 Team
Renault R30 – Renault R27
Team Principal: Bob Bell ; Technical Director: unknown
11. Robert Kubica (confirmed for 2010)
12. Timo Glock (rumoured)
Heikki Kovalainen (may return to the French team)
Lucas Di Grassi (long time Renault development and test driver)
Franck Montagny (former test driver, brings some experience to the team)
Romain Grosjean (replaced Piquet mid-season; allegedly fallen out of favour due to bad results)

Force India F1 Team
Force India VJM03 – Mercedes FO108X
Team Principal: Vijay Mallya ; Technical Director: James Key
14. Adrian Sutil ('10 option taken up by the team, but free to go to bigger team)
Nelson Piquet (could be an option if Sutil leaves)
Karun Chandhok (after another GP2 season, he gets the nod from Mallya; will test McLaren simulator)
Neel Jani (Swiss with Indian father, will test McLaren simulator)
15. Vitantonio Liuzzi (has '10-'11 deal)

Scuderia Toro Rosso
Toro Roso STR5 – Ferrari 056 (Ferrari contract allegedly runs until ‘10) / Renault R27 (if Red Bull-Mercedes comes to fruition)
Team Principal: Franz Tost ; Technical Director: Giorgio Ascanelli
16. Sébastien Buemi (hard to see him dropped after a solid season)
17. Jaime Alguersuari (replaced Bourdais mid-season '09, likely to stay on)
Brendon Hartley (Red Bull junior driver and tester)
Neel Jani (finally he gets his chance, but 2 Swiss drivers at STR?)

Petrobras Campos Meta Team
Campos CM10 – Cosworth CA2010 (Dallara-designed and -built car)
Team Principal: Adrián Campos ; Technical Director: Daniel Audetto
18. Bruno Senna (gets his chance at new team, allegedly along with Petrobras money)
19. Pedro de la Rosa (experienced test driver; excellent choice to develop the new car)
Marc Gené (rumoured)
Vitaly Petrov (although Russian, he drove for Campos/Barwa in GP2 successfully, and brings sponsorship, too)
José Maria López (rumoured)
Nelson Piquet (Adrián Campos said he's a possibility)

Virgin Manor F1 Team (likely renamed Virgin F1 Team)
Manor BW01 (Virgin VF1-10) – Cosworth CA2010 (car designed and built by Nick Wirth, formerly of Simtek and Benetton)
Team Principal: John Booth (of Manor Grand Prix) / Alex Tai (of Virgin) ; Technical Director: Nick Wirth
20. Anthony Davidson (experienced ex-F1 driver)
Adam Carroll (GP2 race winner and A1GP champion, has been approached by 2 teams for ‘10)
Esteban Guerreri (has a priority pre-contract until 5 November)
21. Nelson Piquet (Booth allegedly stated he would consider him)
Lucas Di Grassi (GP2 race winner, did F3 for Manor in 2005)

Best Buy Team US F1
US F1-10 – Cosworth CA2010 (contracted) / Toyota RVX-10 (rumoured)
Team Principal: Peter Windsor ; Technical Director: Ken Anderson
22. Jacques Villeneuve (says he's in talks with the team; getting a former F1 WDC and Indy 500 winner would be a major coup for the team)
23. Pedro de la Rosa (although Spanish, experienced test driver; excellent choice to develop the new car)
Franck Montagny (rumoured although French, has some experience)
Alex Wurz (although Austrian, experienced test driver; excellent choice to develop the new car; allegedly lost interest)
Ryan Hunter-Reay (experienced driver)
Jonathan Summerton (oft-rumoured, but still young)

1Malaysia Lotus F1 Team
Lotus 110 – Cosworth CA2010
Team Principal: Tony Fernandes ; Technical Director: Mike Gascoyne
24. Jarno Trulli (rumoured)
Alex Yoong (relatively experienced and, well, Malaysian)
25. Takuma Sato (rumoured)
Jacques Villeneuve (allegedly in talks with the team; would be nice to see him with #27)
Fairuz Fauzy (Malaysian)

Sauber F1 Team (BMW-owned team did not sign 2010-2012 Concorde Agreement, but obtained '14th place', gets 13th spot due to Toyota's leaving)
Sauber C25 – Ferrari 056 (again with Petronas badge?)
Team Principal: Lionel Fischer (of QADBAK) / Peter Sauber (unlikely) ; Technical Director: Willy Rampf
26. Nick Heidfeld (contracted for '09; may stay on)
27. Vitaly Petrov (successfully raced in GP2, and brings sponsorship)
Christian Klien (current test driver; could make for a typically sound Sauber line-up with Heidfeld)
Giancarlo Fisichella (Ferrari tester; comes with the engine deal)
Kamui Kobayashi (only mentioned on this forum, IIRC)

I thought the second Renault seat more or less has Glock's name on it, even if it's not official yet. Besides, there was some chatter about Renault wanting to steer clear of drivers Briatore used to manage so, if true, and everything else being equal, that would probably count against Heikki.

I figured Kovalainen had a chance at Toyota but if they're indeed buggering off, what options does that really leave him with?

Did Toyota say they were closing the team down? Because tha Pitpass article from yesterday suggests they may be putting together a rescue package.

Sauber Ferrari with either

Heidfeld
Klien

or
Fisichella
Klien

Why? Sutil's shown some talent.

Ah, well, if Pitpass said so....

Koba to McLaren please. Unlike other teams, McLaren is the only team that gives unknown drivers a chance in top cars.

Seeing how well that worked out for them, with Kova, Magnussen, Michael Andretti, etc. it wouldn't be too surprising if they went back to signing well-proven drivers (I don't think you should count Hamilton as a 'unknown driver' - to them it was probably the best known driver they ever signed).

They have to in some way or another don't they? I thought the whole thing with the concorde agreement was supposed to guarantee their presence until 2012.

Thanks, and thanks for your outstanding work on this thread.

Yes, feel free to disregard any news reports that would prove you wrong. People held AS and La Marca up as proof Alonso was going to Ferrari; I'm doing the exact same thing here.

A few questions come to mind:

1) Does Toyota's pull-out mean the end of Kobayashi's career? If not, which team might pick him up?
2) I had pictured Kovalainen at Toyota, but find it hard to see him elsewhere, since Glock is bound for the 2nd Renault seat. Heikki could be valuable for one of the newcomers. If Lotus were smart, they'd pick him alongside Trulli.
3) Is there a seat for Takuma Sato somewhere? He is experienced. I can picture him at Manor/Virgin, since he has a sponsorship deal with Virgin Atlantic.

I feel free to disregard any opinion article that is nothing but a press statement mixed with opinion.

Where you see the "news article" is still not clear to me (I always thought that news corresponded somehow to facts).

If he has impressed enough, he could go to Lotus. They're said to be looking at Trulli; Kobayashi has worked with Jarno before, so they already have rapport. I know Fauzy has been linked to therole, but lately I've heard suggestions he might bethe test and reserve driver. That way, Lotus could have Trulli help develop Kobayashi and eventually cut him loose, promote Kobayashi to lead driver and bring Fauzy to fill in the void.


If USF1 have trouble getting an American driver and/or coaxing a test driver into the role, Heikki could be bound Stateside in 2010. But it's not looking good for him with Toyota's withdrawl.


Sato's name has also come up when the subject has been Lotus.

Didn't Heikki say that he wasn't interested in Lotus or the other new teams? Maybe he'll replace De la Rosa if he moves to one of the new teams. It doesn't seem to have been a bad choice for Pedro.

AMuS informed, that Manor is interested in Heikki, and Glock also said, that it`s a variant. So I think, that Timo now decides Kova`s future. If Glock will sign for Manor, Heikki - to Renault, and if Timo prefers Renault, Heikki - to Manor

Adam Carroll deserves a seat in F1 - still rumoured to be in with a chance at Manor.