Not grassroots, but I couldn't resist. Official annnouncements today - Hamilton to Mercedes, Perez to McLaren, Michael no confirmed drive right now. Some have suggested that he go to Ferrari to replace Massa for a year, then retire so Vettel can go to the scuderia.
This prompts my daydream - Michael receives a radio message "Michael, Fernando is faster than you. Do you understand?" The planets align, Rubens smiles. Karma restored.
Never gonna happen, but it's an interesting daydream.
Jim Pettengill wrote: Not grassroots, but I couldn't resist. Official annnouncements today - Hamilton to Mercedes, Perez to McLaren, Michael no confirmed drive right now. Some have suggested that he go to Ferrari to replace Massa for a year, then retire so Vettel can go to the scuderia. This prompts my daydream - Michael receives a radio message "Michael, Fernando is faster than you. Do you understand?" The planets align, Rubens smiles. Karma restored. Never gonna happen, but it's an interesting daydream.
Yeah, WIll Buxton (in his blog) seemed pretty sure Vettel will be in scarlet in 2014. I'm not too sure about that...but Hamilton at Mercedes? Only time will tell if that was a good decision. All in all, hope the money is good enough for him.
Snatching Perez was a great move, IMO. He's definitely a star driver, and to steal him from Ferrari was a good play.
Hamilton and Mercedes are betting on the future and that they will have an advantage with the turbo engine rules in 2014. Merc still have to figure out how to design and build a competitive chassis, though.
Macca signing Perez is smart; he obviously has talent and potential. He is destined to go places and McClaren is about as big a destination as one could get.
Who knows if Schumi goes for another drive or if he retires? Does he want to compete so much he'd take a number 2 slot at Ferrarri or lead a mid-pack team?
I like Vettel, but something about him driving a red car just makes me cringe a little. No; I'm not a big fan of the prancing horse.
Not sure about the move of Hamilton to Mercedes when Mclaren is clearly the superior car right now. And yes Mercedes has time to improve but so does Mclaren. Money talks.
Brawn has assembled quite a technical team around him. They weren't there soon enough to affect this year's car, but I expect next year to be better.
Also interesting that Lauda was used to help convince Hamilton with the promise of an advisory role for Mercedes.
I also like the prospect of Sergio in a good car.
Perez to McLaren with Jenson will be great! I think I know where Hami is coming from on going to Merc. McL screwed him over many races this year (including the last one). How many botched pit stops and broken cars can you handle? Merc is no bad outfit, they have Brawn and the engine know-how. Heck, if you discount the broken cars even Schumi had a good year there this season (and has been in less trouble than Maldonado...).
So, who's going to Sauber? Where's Schumi going? What's Ferrari going to do about Massa? (Hmm, Massa to Sauber, Nico to the Fez?)
Vettel as a possible Ferrari driver though? Guess I won't root for red for a few years, then. I can't stand that guy!
Alonso & Vettel would be the ultimate Hate Team. The complete antithesis of the Dream Team.
We'll see how long Hamilton lasts at MB after posting internal performance documents on Twitter and slagging their pit strategy on the radio.
I find it hard to believe that M$chu is having much fun this year. Wouldn't surprise me if he quit, but he's got a lot of experience that would do somebody some good. Maybe he'd go to Force India as junior partner with the MB connection or a minority ownership at Sauber makes some sense, too. I don't see him going back to Maranello--I just don't see Alonso standing for it, let alone Ferrari admitting their error in forcing him out to begin with.
I'm going to be more interested in seeing what happens at Renault.
I would only like Schumi to go to Ferrari for long enough to see Massa cry about it then have him retire or go to DTM.
I cannot stand Vettel or Hamhead so wherever they end up I can root against them - it doesn't much matter to me.
Perez will be a rock star at McClaren, but no one seems to like driving for them for very long. They must be shiny happy people to work for. Maybe Button is thinking or red cars?
In reply to Giant Purple Snorklewacker:
I would so root for Button at Ferrari!
Kimi and Romain are both locked for Lotus next season, and I'm rooting for them to win this year.
I have been following McLaren for a long time. They are nowhere near the team they used to be, nor are they anywhere near the team they need to be.
Do you really think Red Bull will let Vettel go? They have the money to keep him and they will remain fast with that money too
Iusedtobefast wrote: Do you really think Red Bull will let Vettel go? They have the money to keep him and they will remain fast with that money too
The question is whether Seb wants a legion of mindless adoring minions (aka The Tifosi) to stroke his ego. You can't buy that.
I can't see Vettel leaving Red Bull any time soon, but stuff happens. Getting the blown diffuser banned has really put a crimp in Red Bull's performance, but they're still doing well. Seems like whoever gets the tires working well is the one to beat, and I don't believe I've ever seen as level a playing field in F1 as there is this year. Hamilton going to Mercedes is a step down in my opinion, but we'll see how that works out. I agree that McLaren hiring Perez away from Ferrari may just be the move of the year. Seems like Ferrari would have worked a bit harder at keeping him. Cripes-how old is Schumacher now? Yeah, he can still hang, but he's not a top 5 guy, at least not very often. Smart thing to do would be retire (again). There's a reason you don't see 40 year old F1 drivers.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: They must be shiny happy people to work for.
Yeah, they limit your personal sponsorship opps (I have no problem with a guy trying to get it while the gettins' good) and they won't even let you keep your trophys! I mean for berkeley's sake!
In reply to ncjay:
"cough, cough, Fangio"
ncjay wrote: Cripes-how old is Schumacher now? Yeah, he can still hang, but he's not a top 5 guy, at least not very often. Smart thing to do would be retire (again). There's a reason you don't see 40 year old F1 drivers.
'course he was driving a Mercedes ... in a McLaren or a Ferrari .. he might have had some higher finishes
I hope Vettel doesn't go to Ferrari. I like that kid - he's not my favorite, but I like him. I root against the red cars no matter who they get to drive them. Having Alonzo there is perfect for me. He can drive, but I've never really liked him.
Perez is a good catch - it was pretty obvious he was going to go somewhere. I suspect Button would be a good team mate to learn from. How long until it is not clear who is #1 and who is #2 at McLaren?
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