37 replies to this topic

[Zava]

rumour has it that he joins RBR on Webber's side.

[Zava]

Dimi PAPADOPOULOS ‏@f1enigma
@redbullracing confirms that Pilbeam left the team to join @Lotus_F1Team. Simon Rennie joins RBR who will be Mark Webber's race engineer.

[boldhakka]

Sounds like Rennie left on his own for greener pastures, as opposed to having been let go by Lotus.

Edited by boldhakka, 17 January 2013 - 09:03.

[BackOnTop]

Sounds like Rennie left on his own for greener pastures, as opposed to having been let go by Lotus.

Whao... Looks like a Pre-arranged & thought out Swap between both RedBull & Lotus, and something to do with Renault, Kimi & Webber themselves.

Maybe ground work is being laid out for a mutual swap between Webber & Raikkonen for 2014! Just Assuming of course! Makes sense to install their engineers a year in advance to get the ground work running. Makes sense for all parties benefits with this move, assuming something has been pre-arranged with Robertsons as well as Webbo's management for engineer swap.

All assumption, but one thing is clear.... The days of a triple championship winning team giving free rides to inexperienced Torro Rosso drivers are over! RedBull cannot afford to risk average, unproven drivers to take on Ferrari & Mclaren & Fia. They will get crushed.

[fullthrottle]

Woa.... where did you get those assumptions from.

I think just thier personal career choice moves.

[BackOnTop]

Woa.... where did you get those assumptions from.

I think just thier personal career choice moves.

It's off-season... so it's fun to "assume" & put forth theories Why Kimi's Engineer moved to RedBull while at the same instance Webber's engineer heads to Enstone.

On the other hand, Webber might like Lotus to end his career while Kimi would surely enjoy RBR since they'd allow him to do some X-Sports. At least the Engineers are happy for now. Good move by both Rennie & CP, one heading to a Championship winning team while the other gets a big heads up as Chief Engineer in a good team with major prospects.

[eronrules]

to add fuel to the fire ....

[BackOnTop]

to add fuel to the fire ....

Webber, Raikkonen swap race engineers
http://mobi.superspo...aspx?Id=1754564

Red Bull's Mark Webber and Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus will be working with new Formula One race engineers this season after their previous ones swapped teams.

Red Bull said Ciaron Pilbeam, who has worked with Webber since 2007, had taken a new role at Lotus while Raikkonen's 2012 race engineer Simon Rennie had moved in the opposite direction to team up with Webber.

[Dolph]

Whao... Looks like a Pre-arranged & thought out Swap between both RedBull & Lotus, and something to do with Renault, Kimi & Webber themselves.

Maybe ground work is being laid out for a mutual swap between Webber & Raikkonen for 2014! Just Assuming of course! Makes sense to install their engineers a year in advance to get the ground work running. Makes sense for all parties benefits with this move, assuming something has been pre-arranged with Robertsons as well as Webbo's management for engineer swap.

I don't see any benefit.

[NotSoSilentBob]

So what do the Webber fans make of this one?

I think for Mark it's not a bad development, frankly. I think he'd gotten a bit stale with Ciaron Pilbeam and a change to a new & experienced Race Engineer like Simon Rennie might be just the ticket. However, it might take a few races to gel.... so expect another dud Oz GP from Mark.

[Wander]

A case of *shrug

I don't think this is a big deal either way.

[lbennie]

I always expect a dud Oz GP from mark ;D

[FPV GTHO]

My first impression was not good. There's bound to be a period of adjustment for Webber due to this and if he's got any hope of another serious title challenge this puts a dent into it.

When I saw it was Raikkonens former engineer I thought it wasn't so bad. At least there's a good history there

[KirilVarbanov]

to add fuel to the fire ....

Yep, that was me on Twitter, two or three days ago, long before anyone else. Initially it would seem that Lotus press team did not know about it, but Pilbeam was fast enough to update his Linkedin profile.
For me, this is a big deal, as it brings tons of insights to Lotus. In the same manner as Ben A. joining Ferrari as aero man. Yes, these things happen, of course, the outcome is interesting.

[Shiroo]

tbh I would like to see Webber, one day in Lotus, in 2014 prefered, but I dont find it somehow connected with changing race engineer. But still, his tactic can't go any worse than it was this year (but I believe it was mostly due to ******** team policy than Pilbeam going full ****** few times )

[Brother Fox]

Some strategy was mind boggling last season so lets hope?

However Kimi was on the wrong end of some weird strategies last year too.

[repcobrabham]

i think mark needs a change. he didn't exactly finish the year on top form.

[H2H]

I hope that it will help Mark and team.

[BackOnTop]

I don't see any benefit.

Good for you I guess! I will tell Kimi not to apply for your team.

[beqa16v]

Some strategy was mind boggling last season so lets hope?

However Kimi was on the wrong end of some weird strategies last year too.

Simon is a very good engineer.
Last year he started to work with Kimi as a race engineer since German GP and the strategy improved immediately. It was a disaster before that.

[BackOnTop]

Simon is a very good engineer.
Last year he started to work with Kimi as a race engineer since German GP and the strategy improved immediately. It was a disaster before that.

The thing is... Contrary to popular beliefs, Raikkonen is a very busy driver on track trying to maximize his position just like every Championship contender on the grid.

Lotus was not a Championship contender before Kimi arrived and changed it around Bahrain onwards. So the team thought Parmane could handle a midfield team strategy. Then they got busy and assigned Rennie to Kimi in addition to Slade so information & strategy can be calculated quicker & better.

They improved, & now have realized I guess that Parmane needs help too if Lotus want to aspire to beat top teams... So CP as chief engineer is a very good move and show of intent.

He brings with him 3 titles worth of experience from Red Bull itself. It's a big grab for Lotus.

Edited by BackOnTop, 18 January 2013 - 12:47.

[NotSoSilentBob]

^ this thread is about the Webber side of the deal, not the Kimi side of the deal. Last time I checked, there's another thread about the benefits or otherwise for Lotus, Pilbeam, and Kimi.

[BackOnTop]

^ this thread is about the Webber side of the deal, not the Kimi side of the deal. Last time I checked, there's another thread about the benefits or otherwise for Lotus, Pilbeam, and Kimi.

That thread is closed! It talks about Pilbeam leaving... So it's valid to state where he's gone and what benefits he brings.

[boldhakka]

Probably a net win for Lotus. They'll get some good insights into how things work at RBR. And there's a lot of operational stuff that could be improved at Lotus.

[turssi]

Yep, that was me on Twitter, two or three days ago, long before anyone else. Initially it would seem that Lotus press team did not know about it, but Pilbeam was fast enough to update his Linkedin profile.
For me, this is a big deal, as it brings tons of insights to Lotus. In the same manner as Ben A. joining Ferrari as aero man. Yes, these things happen, of course, the outcome is interesting.

Excellent detective work!

[Seanspeed]

I dont really think anything of it. We know very little of what influence each race engineer has on what goes on. Its impossible to say 'so and so' is a better race engineer than another or that one suits another better than another.

Hope it works out for all parties involved.

[sanjiro]

No big difference.
Pil was put in his box after the 2010 debacle.

[Dolph]

Good for you I guess! I will tell Kimi not to apply for your team.

I don't have a team.

[Ian G]

tbh I would like to see Webber, one day in Lotus, in 2014 prefered, but I dont find it somehow connected with changing race engineer. But still, his tactic can't go any worse than it was this year (but I believe it was mostly due to ******** team policy than Pilbeam going full ****** few times )

If he doesn't retire then its probable he will have a season or 2 at Lotus.I can't see him back at Williams and the Ferrari dream seems gone.

[loki]

Good for you I guess! I will tell Kimi not to apply for your team.

You don't have to tell Kimi anything. He knows what he's doing...

[Dolph]

If he doesn't retire then its probable he will have a season or 2 at Lotus.I can't see him back at Williams and the Ferrari dream seems gone.

You had a dream of him at Ferrari? I'd like to see him there.

[v@sh]

You had a dream of him at Ferrari? I'd like to see him there.

You late on the rounds? Ferrari and Webber negotiated to replace Massa earlier last year and around 2010 as well. Never came to fruition and Webber stayed at RBR. I would like to see him at Lotus to finish off his career vs. Kimi.

Edited by v@sh, 19 January 2013 - 21:36.

[goldenboy]

I like this change even though I like Pilbeam personally. Sometimes a change can do wonders, lets hope so.

[W154]

If he doesn't retire then its probable he will have a season or 2 at Lotus.I can't see him back at Williams and the Ferrari dream seems gone.

At this stage of his career Williams would be a very good choice for MW. The 2014 Williams will be a dead set winner. They need a mature driver to balance the air head they have there now. We all know how SFW feels about Mark.

[BackOnTop]

At this stage of his career Williams would be a very good choice for MW. The 2014 Williams will be a dead set winner. They need a mature driver to balance the air head they have there now. We all know how SFW feels about Mark.

Bottas & Maldonado has greater possibility & excellent prospects for Williams. Only a pessimist would believe Bottas will fail. Maldonado has already proven his worth... Literally.

Webber staying/extending at RBR after 2013, or a swap with Kimi & him, or a space to fill at Ferrari if Massa fails again are his good options.

Webber might as well retire then to move to Force India etc, if one of these options doesn't work out.

RBR has provided a change from monotony by hiring a new Engineer... so maybe his peeformances will improve from his 2011-12 season in great cars.

Edited by BackOnTop, 20 January 2013 - 11:13.

[Shiroo]

well, he mentioned once in his BBC column that only team that he can driver after RBR is Lotus due to it's atmosphere similar to RBR's one

[boldhakka]

Can anyone clarify what a "Chief Race Engineer" role exactly is? Are there similar roles in other teams?

[Ian G]

Can anyone clarify what a "Chief Race Engineer" role exactly is? Are there similar roles in other teams?

It differs between Teams but overall he's in charge of the particular drivers car,mechanics,basic race strategy in conjunction with the driver etc.,in Marks case case its to make sure the race strategy employed doesn't interfere with Seb.

Edited by Ian G, 20 January 2013 - 22:49.