93 replies to this topic

[MortenF1]

...if Räikkönen is off to Red Bull?
-Who on earth are Lotus going to pick, to fill his shoes? No-one from the top-drawer is available, however from the second rank, there are some good ones to choose from, and these drivers, even if tied up contractually, are always available in practice, it's just a matter of money and compensation.
I'm thinking Hülkenberg, Chilton and DiResta. Massa might be available too, and I believe the same to be the case with both Williams-drivers (doubt Bottas want to, or can leave) and also Sutil?

-If Räikkönen leaves, it's going to take some mobilisation from Enstone to ensure they keep their place in the pecking order I think. A lot is hanging on Räikkönen at Lotus, IMHO.

So what's your view?

Edited by SophieB, 14 August 2013 - 11:43.

[Trust]

Hulk.

[DutchQuicksilver]

Two new drivers. Really can't see them retaining Grosjean after another poor showing.

Maldonado to replace Grosjean's Total money with PDVSA
Hulkenberg or Di Resta alongside him.

[skywing]

...if Räikkönen is off to Lotus?
-Who on earth are Lotus going to pick, to fill his shoes? No-one from the top-drawer is available, however from the second rank, there are some good ones to choose from, and these drivers, even if tied up contractually, are always available in practice, it's just a matter of money and compensation.
I'm thinking Hülkenberg, Chilton and DiResta. Massa might be available too, and I believe the same to be the case with both Williams-drivers (doubt Bottas want to, or can leave) and also Sutil?

-If Räikkönen leaves, it's going to take some mobilisation from Enstone to ensure they keep their place in the pecking order I think. A lot is hanging on Räikkönen at Lotus, IMHO.

So what's your view?

I don't think Lotus is that desperate.

[Baddoer]

Chilton was unable to catch SC in two laps I think today. Says something about this guy.
And Sutil... Big on that after Chinese club.

Edited by Baddoer, 30 June 2013 - 16:04.

[Raikkonen94]

Hopefully Hulkenberg and/or Di Resta. They deserve to drive for a bigger team than they do now.

[Radion]

Ricciardo

[MortenF1]

Ah, sorry, I meant Bianchi of course, not Chilton!

[montoyasminion]

Will Buxton was saying on US tv that they are going to need two pay drivers next year as they are in bad financial shape.

[Vesuvius]

Will Buxton was saying on US tv that they are going to need two pay drivers next year as they are in bad financial shape.

Rumour is Lotus is close to sign a deal with big carmanufacturer for 2014.

[MortenF1]

Ricciardo will also have to be considered I would think, and Vergne too really, unless one starts to totally outshine the other.
One would think Sutil would never be able to set foot at Lotus/Enstone, but if the options were limited, who knows? How involved is Lux nowadays anyway?

[Darrenj]

I think Lotus will do well to give Maldonado total money to stay away..

[Lennat]

Maldonado is a pretty good deal considering he's not completely useless and brings a ton of money.

[SpaMaster]

It depends a lot on how they do this year. If they do well, they may hang on to Raikkonen himself.

[2ms]

Unbelievable they weren't able to capitalize on Raikkonen and get sponsors while they had him. Now they'll be in position of their top driver the one who's 1 point clear of 10th in WDC with 1/4th the number of points of Raikkonen.

[2ms]

To answer the question though: Charles Pic

[2ms]

Ricciardo will also have to be considered I would think, and Vergne too really, unless one starts to totally outshine the other.
One would think Sutil would never be able to set foot at Lotus/Enstone, but if the options were limited, who knows? How involved is Lux nowadays anyway?

I don't see either of them leaving TR. They're more successful there than Grosjean is at Lotus.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Rumour is Lotus is close to sign a deal with big carmanufacturer for 2014.

What, someone is going to suddenly come out and announce they have an engine in development and are entering next year?

[BRG]

Two new drivers. Really can't see them retaining Grosjean after another poor showing.

Would that be the same Grosjean who out qualified Kimi and then had to give way under team orders to let him past?

[SpaMaster]

Would that be the same Grosjean who out qualified Kimi and then had to give way under team orders to let him past?

No it would be the Grosjean who qualified on different set of developments part that were better for qualy and then got ahead of Kimi in race only due to a lucky pit-stop break. Beyond that, Kimi was anyway in a different planet today compared to Grosjean.

[LORDBYRON]

best bet is keep kimi and get Maldonado then that way he pays for kimi as pvdsa is worth 30m

Edited by iii, 30 June 2013 - 18:48.

[Juan Kerr]

To answer the question though: Charles Pic

Jules Bianchi obviously is the best choice.

[MortenF1]

best bet is keep kimi and get Maldonado then that way he pays for kimi as pvdsa is worth 30m

...if only it was up to Lotus, and only Lotus.

Signing Maldonado while retaining or dropping Grosjean would be a bit crazy, 'cause even if he's been relatively tidy this year, it's very much the same type of driver as the frenchman. Brings a lot more money though, but I don't know, I just feel he wont leave Williams. PDVSA might even want to wiggle out of the generous deal they offer now, if they were changing teams.

Edited by race addicted, 30 June 2013 - 18:59.

[Vesuvius]

What, someone is going to suddenly come out and announce they have an engine in development and are entering next year?

who knows... anyways that's what the rumour in the paddock is according to Turun Sanomat.

[Cyanide]

I'd take Bottas or Maldonado despite his sometimes inexplicable driving.

[MortenF1]

Unless it's a sponsorship-deal, like with Infiniti and Red Bull. Only thing is it would make little sense for both parties.

[InSearchOfThe]

Massa.

[Vesuvius]

Unless it's a sponsorship-deal, like with Infiniti and Red Bull. Only thing is it would make little sense for both parties.

it's somekind of sponsorship-deal for sure.

[Dunc]

Hopefully DiResta. Scottish driver + Lotus =

[Ensign]

If Jerome d'Ambrosio is still their reserve driver they should give it to him. He did a good job at Virgin.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Hopefully DiResta. Scottish driver + Lotus =

Makes sense. They're not Lotus and he's no Jim Clark...

[TheUltimateWorrier]

If both drivers leave, then Di Resta/Massa would be nice, with Hulk heading to Ferrari in the latter's place. Not sure about the Toro Rosso drivers, as they flip-flop too much with their performances.

Hopefully DiResta. Scottish driver + Lotus =

If money were no object, if this sponsorship rumour is true, I'd love to see a Raikkonen & Di Resta pairing. Two consistent drivers and a chance to see if Di Resta can compete with a top-level driver.

[SpaMaster]

Makes sense. They're not Lotus and he's no Jim Clark...

[wj_gibson]

They're chasing Maldonado, no? Though that coverts Lotus's financial problems into Williams' instead.

[rmpugh]

No it would be the Grosjean who qualified on different set of developments part that were better for qualy and then got ahead of Kimi in race only due to a lucky pit-stop break. Beyond that, Kimi was anyway in a different planet today compared to Grosjean.

If Kimi was in a different planet today, why did he need Romain to move over? Surely, his massively superior speed would have allowed him to pass without Romain being ordered to move?

[dts9624]

Would that be the same Grosjean who out qualified Kimi and then had to give way under team orders to let him past?

So now a driver is only as good as his last race? Grosjean gets his act together for one qualifying, after being
rubbish for all the others, and now he is suddenly better than Raikkonen? I find this illogical at best.

Sorry, but the championship standings do not lie (98 vs 26), and Kimi has gathered those points without any significant
aid from Romain Grosjean, which is a fact you must surely acknowledge.

[artista]

Hmm, interesting question. What if Räikkönen leaves?
Difficult to know, because there is no other name of the same caliber free for next year. Of course, they can try to get Hülkenberg, for example, but he would not bring the team the same media attention as Kimi does, given that Nico is not a world champion. Maybe, they have nothing better to choose.

I suppose, they will choose depending on how much money they have. Maybe, they need two pay drivers, maybe they need one, maybe they need none. After listening to Monisha Kaltenborn today in RTL, I'm afraid the situation of the private teams is really desperate at the moment.
Valsecchi is on their radar, maybe they could give him a 2nd seat.

[AJFIN]

Schumacher?

[03011969]

I'd like to see Di Resta there, but doubt that will be the case.

[Zesus]

I would like to see in Lotus Hulkenberg and Ricciardo. I think that would be promising lineup...but as it seems, maldonado will come.

[2ms]

They'll wish they could get Bianchi but who knows what their position will be due to money.

[William Hunt]

What, someone is going to suddenly come out and announce they have an engine in development and are entering next year?

That would be a huge suprise but... I did recently hear a rumour about Ford possibly wanting to return to F1 with an engine (that's possibly already in development), seemed like a wild rumour.

[noikeee]

i'm expecting:

Nico Hulkenberg as lead driver

highest bidder as #2 driver replacing Grosjean - Charles Pic is indeed a great guess.

[Dunc]

Makes sense. They're not Lotus and he's no Jim Clark...

Much as I don't want it to, that makes me

[muramasa]

Kobayashi, who's as good as Perez who's now faring well against JB. Also he handled immense pressure of having to get good results for securing 2013 seat towards the end of last season and kept it together well despite situation.

[NotSoSilentBob]

Will Red Bull farm Ricciardo into a bigger team if he doesn't get the RBR seat?

[SPBHM]

Bianchi?

[sopa]

i'm expecting:

Nico Hulkenberg as lead driver

highest bidder as #2 driver replacing Grosjean - Charles Pic is indeed a great guess.

Makes sense, but I think there will be better bidders than Pic. I think Maldonado will easily outbid Pic and is rated as a faster driver too. I can throw a completely new name in here as well. Felipe Nasr from GP2, who also has sponsorship support.

Oh and Hulkenberg seems to have a similar character to Raikkonen, so I see why they (Lotus) could be interested in him. Because with Kimi co-operation has been nice.

Edited by sopa, 01 July 2013 - 12:05.

[V8 Fireworks]

Unbelievable they weren't able to capitalize on Raikkonen and get sponsors while they had him.

They have heaps of sponsors !? Rexona etc.

If Raik goes then ditch Grosjean.

Bring in Hulkenburg and Ricciardio IMO. Strong line-up.

[Baddoer]

Someone with money will be a safe bet.