786 replies to this topic

[Sakae]

They, as a team, travel a lot, thus most of the time they really aren't neither in England or in Italy. I could envision a situation how this could be made work, yet he still spend a lot of time in England. Whether he would be afforded the same elbow room as he is enjoying at RBR is not entirely guaranteed, although he might, if he delivers, thus union between Vettel and Newey at Maranello is not totally out of question IMO.

Deeper, and different problem I think is, and I hope I am wrong on this, but I don't have fuzzy feeling right now that those two are buddies like Brawn and Schumacher were twenty years ago, thus if Vettel tells him come with me, he might get refused (for reasons known only to Newey).

[mymemoryfails]

They, as a team, travel a lot, thus most of the time they really aren't neither in England or in Italy. I could envision a situation how this could be made work, yet he still spend a lot of time in England. Whether he would be afforded the same elbow room as he is enjoying at RBR is not entirely guaranteed, although he might, if he delivers, thus union between Vettel and Newey at Maranello is not totally out of question IMO.

Deeper, and different problem I think is, and I hope I am wrong on this, but I don't have fuzzy feeling right now that those two are buddies like Brawn and Schumacher were twenty years ago, thus if Vettel tells him come with me, he might get refused (for reasons known only to Newey).

And those who know Seb shouldn't be trusted

mymemoryfails

[TheThirdTenor1]

In my opinion there is no chance in the world that Newey would remove himself from the life he has, move to Modena, which is a boring-ish town in the middle of nowhere where only his coworkers would speak English (somewhat of an exaggeration but not a very big one), and subject himself to all the politics and other noise of working for Ferrari. Essentially no chance in the world. Why would he?

I do love the bit in bold, considering he currently lives in Milton Keynes

AFAIK, most top Ferrari employees live in and around the Bologna, with also some living in Parma. Modena is closer, but Bologna is a nicer area and has nicer houses.

I think you've listed the drawbacks from Newey's perspective of a possible move to Ferrari. There are many, but don't underestimate the prestige of working for Ferrari. It is what lured Rory Byrne out of retirement.

[Sakae]

And those who know Seb shouldn't be trusted

mymemoryfails

ehh?

[bourbon]

I do love the bit in bold, considering he currently lives in Milton Keynes

AFAIK, most top Ferrari employees live in and around the Bologna, with also some living in Parma. Modena is closer, but Bologna is a nicer area and has nicer houses.

I think you've listed the drawbacks from Newey's perspective of a possible move to Ferrari. There are many, but don't underestimate the prestige of working for Ferrari. It is what lured Rory Byrne out of retirement.

Byrne needed the prestige? On what planet?

[2ms]

I think it's safe to say Newey's gonna be staying where he is, but I suppose it somewhat depends on how much he likes vinegar and ham.

[TheThirdTenor1]

Byrne needed the prestige? On what planet?

I never said he needed the prestige. Please read more carefully.

[ardbeg]

Why would he want to go back to being a "yes" man when he is given control at RB?

Main reason is that RBR can't keep winning forever, it's not good for business. The Ferrari dominance in proved that even if the most popular (?) team is winning, eventually people get bored. If Newey would go to another team and repeat his amazing record of building winning cars, he could retire as a very satisfied and well respected man: Sure, he can do that already, but making Ferrari a winner would be the icing of the cake. I think his decision will rely heavily upon Ferraris results this year, if they win without him, he can not be the one that brings them the Championships.

[bourbon]

I never said he needed the prestige. Please read more carefully.

"...don't underestimate the prestige of working for Ferrari. It is what lured Rory Byrne out of retirement. "

That is what you said and what I read. What did you mean?

[ardbeg]

"...don't underestimate the prestige of working for Ferrari. It is what lured Rory Byrne out of retirement. "

That is what you said and what I read. What did you mean?

It's like if you have 30 million dollars on the bank, you don't need another million, but nevertheless it's nice to have.

[V3TT3L]

In my opinion there is no chance in the world that Newey would remove himself from the life he has, move to Modena, which is a boring-ish town in the middle of nowhere where only his coworkers would speak English (somewhat of an exaggeration but not a very big one), and subject himself to all the politics and other noise of working for Ferrari. Essentially no chance in the world. Why would he?

Bingo!
Newey was out of F1 designing Americas Cup sails when RedBull offered the F1 project.

Adrian hired professionals of his liking, one by one. Competent and pleasant people.

Why would he leave his own personnal paradise for another F1 team ?
For sailboats I would understand.

As mentioned before, at Ferrari there is a lot of politics, technicians below par and his #1 enema, Nick Tombasis.

Edited by V3TT3L, 06 May 2013 - 01:26.

[BackOnTop]

Raikkonen is the perfect teammate for Vettel- Coulthard
http://www.f1zone.ne...oulthard/18752/

Niki Lauda admitted he has been trying to convince Vettel to join Mercedes, whose current drivers are Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. “I continued what (former motor sport director Norbert) Haug began,” said Lauda, Mercedes’ new chairman and shareholder.

Fellow Austrian Marko, who is Red Bull’s F1 consultant, insisted he has no hard feelings. “Niki should absolutely be trying to get Vettel,” he said.

The news gives fresh insight into the driver rumblings at Red Bull, amid Mark Webber’s possible exit at the end of the year, and rumours Kimi Raikkonen is being courted. Technical expert Gary Anderson told the BBC, “I believe he (Raikkonen) is a perfect fit for Red Bull. I wouldn’t be surprised if negotiations were well down the road for this to happen,” he added.

Similarly, David Coulthard thinks Lotus might be hard-pressed to convince Raikkonen to stay, if powerful Red Bull comes knocking. “They definitely have good people there (at Lotus),” he told Germany’s motorsport-magazin.com, “but it looks like not the same financial setup (as Red Bull).”

Coulthard said his former teammate Mark Webber is still doing a good job, “but the link between Kimi and Red Bull goes way back”. “If Mark decides to do something else, in my view Kimi would be the perfect teammate for Sebastian.”

For now, Raikkonen’s public comments on the matter are guarded. “I don’t have a contract (beyond 2013),” he told Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper, “but at some point I have to think about it. “I want to win, and at least for the moment, I want to be here (at Lotus).”

Some have named the 2007 world champion as Vettel’s most likely challenger for the 2013 title, but 33-year-old Raikkonen is not so sure. “It’s going to be hard to catch Sebastian if he keeps taking good results so we need to start taking more points from him,” the Finn said.

Edited by BackOnTop, 06 May 2013 - 08:31.

[Sakae]

So, Seb has more or less on his table interest in him as a driver from RBR, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Perhaps even from Lotus, if he promises to obey father EB. Not bad.

[Sakae]

Raikkonen is the perfect teammate for Vettel- Coulthard
http://www.f1zone.ne...oulthard/18752/

Niki Lauda admitted he has been trying to convince Vettel to join Mercedes, whose current drivers are Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. “I continued what (former motor sport director Norbert) Haug began,” said Lauda, Mercedes’ new chairman and shareholder.

Fellow Austrian Marko, who is Red Bull’s F1 consultant, insisted he has no hard feelings. “Niki should absolutely be trying to get Vettel,” he said.

The news gives fresh insight into the driver rumblings at Red Bull, amid Mark Webber’s possible exit at the end of the year, and rumours Kimi Raikkonen is being courted. Technical expert Gary Anderson told the BBC, “I believe he (Raikkonen) is a perfect fit for Red Bull. I wouldn’t be surprised if negotiations were well down the road for this to happen,” he added.

Similarly, David Coulthard thinks Lotus might be hard-pressed to convince Raikkonen to stay, if powerful Red Bull comes knocking. “They definitely have good people there (at Lotus),” he told Germany’s motorsport-magazin.com, “but it looks like not the same financial setup (as Red Bull).”

Coulthard said his former teammate Mark Webber is still doing a good job, “but the link between Kimi and Red Bull goes way back”. “If Mark decides to do something else, in my view Kimi would be the perfect teammate for Sebastian.”

For now, Raikkonen’s public comments on the matter are guarded. “I don’t have a contract (beyond 2013),” he told Finland’s Turun Sanomat newspaper, “but at some point I have to think about it. “I want to win, and at least for the moment, I want to be here (at Lotus).”

Some have named the 2007 world champion as Vettel’s most likely challenger for the 2013 title, but 33-year-old Raikkonen is not so sure. “It’s going to be hard to catch Sebastian if he keeps taking good results so we need to start taking more points from him,” the Finn said.

It appears that DC too thinks where is smoke..., otherwise he would dismiss the rumor at the outset.

[Vesuvius]

It appears that DC too thinks where is smoke..., otherwise he would dismiss the rumor at the outset.

Yes, he said excatly like that to turun sanomat after bahrain gp, that no smoke without fire.

[swerved]

Probably most relevant in this thread.



Lopez seems fairly certain that they'll retain Raikkonen.




"Kimi is a fantastic guy," Lopez said in an exclusive interview with AUTOSPORT. "The thing about Kimi is that he is very thankful we brought him back to where he is.

"And we are very thankful that he has brought the team to where it is now. So it fits nicely.

"To be honest with you, I am convinced, and I don't say this lightly, that if Kimi gets what he wants from us in terms of performance and so on, we will see Kimi moving forward with us.

"He knows that; and he says that. He is not going to get what he gets with us here anywhere else. It doesn't matter if the team has a blue car, a red car or a silver car.


"I knew I wasn't getting someone who was going to shoot a commercial every week or whatever. That is not what we want. But a dedicated racer? That was a given."


http://www.autosport...t.php/id/107245

[Sakae]

Who would be surprised to see Lotus covering bases, and do their best to sway this driver to stay. He is a good deed for them, but the thing is, Kimi at the end will be the one making decision about his own future, and from my observation of this guy over years it's safe to say, that nothing is certain, he is so unpredictable IMO (hard to read).

Edited by Sakae, 07 May 2013 - 11:20.

[beute]

Probably most relevant in this thread.



Lopez seems fairly certain that they'll retain Raikkonen.




"Kimi is a fantastic guy," Lopez said in an exclusive interview with AUTOSPORT. "The thing about Kimi is that he is very thankful we brought him back to where he is.

"And we are very thankful that he has brought the team to where it is now. So it fits nicely.

"To be honest with you, I am convinced, and I don't say this lightly, that if Kimi gets what he wants from us in terms of performance and so on, we will see Kimi moving forward with us.

"He knows that; and he says that. He is not going to get what he gets with us here anywhere else. It doesn't matter if the team has a blue car, a red car or a silver car.


"I knew I wasn't getting someone who was going to shoot a commercial every week or whatever. That is not what we want. But a dedicated racer? That was a given."


http://www.autosport...t.php/id/107245

And I hope he is right, as I totally agree with him.
Unlike Mclaren/Ferrari they(lotus) havent done anything wrong yet with regards to Kimi.

They took a leap of faith when they signed him.
No top team was ready to sign him, his stock has fallen even more after his 2 year pause.
the schumacher comeback debacle gave them even more reason to not consider him.(every top team had a top driver already, they didnt have to take any chances here)

lotus took the risk, they lost kubica at the beginning of the year and at the end of the season they saw what difference a top driver can do... compared to.. you know..

Kimi has to be thankful for Lotus, and lotus is thankful for Kimi.
It would feel like a betrayal if he left Lotus.

[Sakae]

Drivers want to win, and should Lotus fail to convince him that they have competitive drive for 2014, that might be the turning point, and he would walk away, methinks.

Edited by Sakae, 07 May 2013 - 12:14.

[Jimisgod]

Driver abandons team where he is #1 and has a car capable of wins, for team where he is going to be undermined and attacked by people deeply loyal to another driver. Totally going to happen.

[SpaMaster]

Probably most relevant in this thread.



Lopez seems fairly certain that they'll retain Raikkonen.

"To be honest with you, I am convinced, and I don't say this lightly, that if Kimi gets what he wants from us in terms of performance and so on, we will see Kimi moving forward with us.

..

That was never in doubt. If Lotus can provide a genuinely championship-contending car until the last few races of the year, there is no way Kimi would leave the team. If he wins the championship or gets a very close second with multiple wins, it would be that. I hear a lot of talk about regulation changes for 2014, but besides the engine change are there big changes with respect to chassis? If so, what difference does it make to move to Red Bull anticipating mainly engine change?

[JRodrigues]

Driver abandons team where he is #1 and has a car capable of wins, for team where he is going to be undermined and attacked by people deeply loyal to another driver. Totally going to happen.

Well... he has already done that before, so..

[mnmracer]

Driver abandons team where he is #1 and has a car capable of wins, for team where he knows the chances he will be given, regardless of what tinfoil hat conspiracy theories are posted online.

Fixed that for you ;-)

[tweiss]

Bingo!
Newey was out of F1 designing Americas Cup sails when RedBull offered the F1 project.

Adrian hired professionals of his liking, one by one. Competent and pleasant people.

Why would he leave his own personnal paradise for another F1 team ?
For sailboats I would understand.

As mentioned before, at Ferrari there is a lot of politics, technicians below par and his #1 enema, Nick Tombasis.

Newey was not designing sail boats... he worked for Mclaren and then went on gardening leave and then showed up at RB... He would "LIKE" to design sailboats but has not yet!

[Jimisgod]

Fixed that for you ;-)

Is that why Alonso stayed at McLaren all those years.

[boldhakka]

It just occurred to me that driving for RBR and building a stronger relationship with them and their money-making machine will allow Raikkonen many more options after he retires to do crazy stuff than if he sticks with Lotus. They have already sponsored him before, but it's not the same as driving for them directly as an employee. So there's that to consider, and the Robertson's are a shrewd pair who'll be looking to the future as well.

I personally think Kimi has already repaid Lotus for taking the risk with him when they signed him originally. He doesn't owe them for life. It was a mutually agreed upon contract with a low base rate and high performance bonus ratio - something a WDC would never accept unless he accepted that he was a risky choice. Debt is paid, IMO.

But I would like him to remain at Lotus.

Edited by boldhakka, 07 May 2013 - 14:18.

[Buttoneer]

This thread keeps going into off-topic discussions about Newey or Vettel or both. If they are relevant to the point you are making then please by all means mention them, but they should not become the point of the discussion. The thread is about the possibility of Kimi joining Red Bull or being a candidate for a 2014 seat.

[V3TT3L]

Newey was not designing sail boats... he worked for Mclaren and then went on gardening leave and then showed up at RB... He would "LIKE" to design sailboats but has not yet!

Newey already did it ;)
http://mccabism.blog...igh-taylor.html

Ops, sorry didn't see the above post before.

Anyway... Newey has already worked with Kimi at McLaren.
And talking about Newey, he is one of the reasons Kimi might be lured to RBR as much as money is or whether Vettel is leaving is.

Edited by V3TT3L, 07 May 2013 - 14:57.

[intelligentsia]

According to this blog, Kimi's salary for last year was only 3 mil:

http://www.sportyou....-f1-457155.html

I am sure Red Bull can do better then that.

[Atreiu]

Webber better than who, Rosberg?

[Cool Beans]

According to this blog, Kimi's salary for last year was only 3 mil:

http://www.sportyou....-f1-457155.html

I am sure Red Bull can do better then that.

I think his base salary was 5 million, but like Vettel with his seemingly small 10 million the salary is actually comprised of very large payments for points and podiums. Just a different approach to a contract. In 2012 Lotus had to delay paying Kimi because he got much more points and podiums than they had budgeted for.

[Jovanotti]

Seriously, still the salary discussion? 5 million base salary, 50'000 $/point, 1 million/victory = 16'350'000 $ for 2012.

[Kingshark]

Was just taking my dog for a walk and a guy down the park said he heard from his wife's brother's uncle who works for the company which builds Renault engines that a chef overheard Dietrich Mateschitz's chauffeur's second cousin say that Raikkonen is going to Lotus next year.

Edited by Kingshark, 09 May 2013 - 06:38.

[Headspin]

Was just taking my dog for a walk and a guy down the park said he heard from his wife's brother's uncle who works for the company which builds Renault engines that a chef overheard Dietrich Mateschitz's chauffeur's second cousin say that Raikkonen is going to Lotus next year.

Wow arent you a funny dude. Funny and relevant.

[nomi]

On topic of Kimi, i read comment on other web page that he has disc bulging in his back and some of his vertebrae has some cracks from previous accidents in rally.
Is this true?

[artista]

On topic of Kimi, i read comment on other web page that he has disc bulging in his back and some of his vertebrae has some cracks from previous accidents in rally.
Is this true?

It's the other way around. He has some cracks in his back from accidents in F1, and they gave him some problems in rallying because the sitting position.

[Buttoneer]

OK, so this thread is no longer about his possible move to Red Bull but a driver thread in disguise. It is therefore closed.