Crown

More insights on Ferrari's 2012 car

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/01/some-indiscretions-from-italy-about-the-new-ferrari-f1-car/

Mateschitz on Vettel in 2012

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/01/vettel-to-step-up-a-gear-in-2012/
 

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Hamilton unavailable to testify in Sutil's trial

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/16693899.stm

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Lots of F1 news .... :)

Raikkonen re-acquaints himself with a 2 year old F1 car on demo Pirelli tyres before the 1st winter test

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7453147/Raikkonen-Hails-First-Test-A-Success

Pictures http://www.planetf1.com/photo-gallery/7453213/The-Best-Of-Raikkonen-s-Testing

I found this article by the BBC's Andrew Benson especially interesting ... and revealing

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/16678635.stm

Key extracts:

"Trackside operations director Alan Permane said: "From the first run he was pretty much there.""

"Pemane said: "It's very difficult to know where he should be but he was pretty much on the pace on the first run. He didn't find a whole lot of pace during the day."

"I don't see any reason why he won't be on the pace - you can tell he's a very, very experienced driver."

"It was very clear we were working with a former world champion. It was a good day.""

Lotus Renault clearly missed having someone like Alonso or Kubica ... Petrov, Heidfeld and Senna were minnows by comparison.

D'Ambrosio takes reserve driver role at Lotus Renault

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7453086/D-Ambrosio-lands-Lotus-role

D'Ambrosio is managed by a company that is owned by the same private equity firm that owns Lotus ... surprise surprise.

Pirelli introduce new tyres for 2012

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7453279/Pirelli-unveil-new-tyres

Petrov to test for Pirelli ... it stills keeps open a chance of a drive at Caterham

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7453352/Petrov-to-test-for-Pirelli

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7451935/Petrov-promises-quick-resolution

Why has Caterham refused to confirm or deny rumours that Trulli is being replaced? Bringing in Petrov just for the money at this stage would be a poor move ... Trulli is well set ... and the team owes it to the driver to let him know where he stands

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7449977/-Trulli-has-concrete-Caterham-contract-

Saying Trulli will be "part of" the team does not answer whether Trulli will drive in a race seat or as a reserve driver.

Have Ferrari's design secrets been revealed?

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7452375/New-Ferrari-s-secrets-let-out

HRT's car won't be ready in time ... PDLR urges calm

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7453318/De-la-Rosa-No-need-to-panic

Marussia to miss 1st test as well

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7453098/Marussia-to-miss-first-test

Pat Symonds on why Virgin Racing performed poorly in 2011

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7451491/-VR-results-didn-t-match-potential-

Fascinating article by Andrew Benson on Bruno Senna's potential

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/01/how_good_is_bruno_senna.html

Preparations for the Bahrain F1 GP are affected by the repercussions flowing from the fact that various staff were sacked for protesting against the government but are not yet reinstated due to various ongoing issues

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16628942
 

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

But most important one u forgot - Caterham revealed pictures of their new car! ;)

Haha ... I guess someone needs to show those pictures ... they will hardly be shown on TV ... :) :)

Hope you're enjoying the links :)

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Don't worry - am all over the links all the time! ;)

Just too lazy to post them here!

So - a hat down to you!

^ Pics or ban

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

Really appreciate your effort Easy! 

REALZEUS:

Really appreciate your effort Easy! 

+1 ! Your posts have turned into my quick F1 source of info, I get the highlights without having to scroll too much or read a lot of filler 

I can't wait to see the new Ferrari car, if it's as radical as they're making it out to be then it probably will look and perform dramatically different this season. I hope its good enough to give Ferrari the advantage it needs. 

On the Pirelli subject, do you guys believe that by "more gradual wear" does it mean that the tires wont suffer from wearing the same way that the 2011 tires did, meaning the grip was fine right up until the moment it reached the limit and they just completely lost grip. Also I don't support the decision to keep silver and white for the tire markings, they are way too similar. 

The silver and white colourings are a non-issue since there are no races where both are used at the same race. There is always a 2 notch gap in tyre types.

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Enmanuel:

REALZEUS:

Really appreciate your effort Easy! 

+1 ! Your posts have turned into my quick F1 source of info, I get the highlights without having to scroll too much or read a lot of filler 

Thanks guys  It's good to know you appreciate my efforts and that RT complements your passion for F1.

BTW you should check out the F1 links thread .... I've overhauled the whole thread with revised links so everything is bang up to date for the 2012 season.

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Here's some pics of the Caterham.

Although you'll be wishing you never saw them, quite possibly the ugliest F1 car I can remember in a long time.

I know the regulations stipulate a lowering of the nose this year but I hope other teams have found a more elegant solution than this.

There were rumors that the Ferrari has an ugly hump on it's nose too, but these have been dispelled by the team. It was just Alain Prost visiting the factory.

The pictures are freely available in high res on the Caterham website ... but quite why anyone would want to look at them though is beyond me :)

I'm expecting all the 2012 cars to be ugly ... just that some will have nicer paintwork than the others ...

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

I'm not even going to try and point out all the things visually wrong with that design. 

Lets just hope it makes up for it by doing a better job that its 2011 predecessor. 

The only reason why most people are paying any attention at all to the Caterham car is if it will give any clues to how the leading teams may be interpreting the rules. Otherwise, I can't see many people being too interested in how a car that will be lapped 2-5 times per race looks :)

Caterham operate in their own bubble fighting with HRT and Marussia .... battle of the minnows :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/16727904.stm

Early signs are that Caterham's nose could be the norm for other teams ...

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7456385/Caterham-CT01-s-Nose-Will-Be-Typical

Kovalainen thinks KERS could make a difference. One would hope so.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7456360/Heikki-KERS-could-make-the-difference

Probably the more important topic is 2012 tyres. Pirelli have launched a new range of compounds, all softer than those in 2011. The gap in softness between them is also narrower. This should make for interesting strategy changes.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/16722169.stm

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/01/pirelli-unveils-f1-tyres-to-give-strategists-something-to-work-with/

Pirelli denies Petrov will test for them. They say he has been a guest driver. This has become worse than a soap opera. Caterham should confirm who will drive their other car, Trulli or Petrov. Pirelli should say who their test driver will be. Caterham have a limited window to get some attention. Once the other car launches begin and winter testing starts, no one will care less about Caterham's announcement. They owe it to their drivers to know where they stand so that they can be mentally prepared for the long season ahead. Tony Fernandes is noticeably quiet at the moment.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7456093/Pirelli-No-truth-to-Petrov-rumours

Here is the article that quotes Petrov's manager telling stories that turned out to be false

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7453352/Petrov-to-test-for-Pirelli

Alonso and Massa have had their seat fittings

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7456270/Alonso-Massa-have-seat-fitting

More empty words from Maldonado

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7453780/Maldonado-excited-by-Senna-partnership

Just how do Maldonado and Senna expect to develop the car? Maldonado performed abysmally as a rookie in 2011. What potential does he have? Senna had a season to forget at HRT and was inconsistent at Renault in the races he was with them in 2011.

I expect Senna to perform better than Maldonado and that by the end of 2012, Williams will be thinking whether to keep Maldonado (for the money he brings in) or to get a F1 driver who will actually take the team forward

This is hilarious. Liuzzi is fed up with pay drivers. But, doesn't he realise that he doesn't deserve a race seat on merit? There are better drivers than him without a race seat. Liuzzi had multiple chances with Toro Rosso, Force India and HRT. He fluffed them all. How many more chances does he expect to get?

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7454467/Liuzzi-fed-up-with-pay-drivers

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997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Caterham introduce the latest member of their design team. He works in the aerodynamics department.

Hilarious :)

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

jaffamonkey:

Caterham introduce the latest member of their design team. He works in the aerodynamics department.

 

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

More on Raikkonen's return to F1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/16747926.stm

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/01/raikkonen-theres-nothing-better-than-an-f1-car/

Some interesting comments. In rallying, he was racing against the clock, tasted racing against other cars in NASCAR and realised that he missed racing other cars in F1.

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7458778/Kimi-s-Not-Obsessed-With-Title-Glory

At least he's not making outlandish predictions and that he is coming back for the pleasure of racing, rather like Schumi.

Interesting article on Kimi's return

http://www.planetf1.com/features/7453253/Return-Of-The-Ice-Cream-Man

Caterham targetting points in 2012 ... surely this requires a lot of faster cars to crash or break down?

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7458575/Q-A-with-Tony-Fernandes

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7457935/Boss-Target-Is-First-Point

Williams rely on Michael Johnson to improve their pit stops ... I think they need to improve their car ...

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7458624/Johnson-We-can-make-Williams-quicker

Valencia wants to renegotiate its deal with Bernie

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7457604/Valencia-awaits-word-from-Ecclestone

Barrichello may try IndyCar racing ... breaking a promise to his wife not to race on ovals

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7456663/Rubens-to-break-promise-with-Indy-test

This guy not only missed the perfect opportunity to retire with grace and dignity at his home race in Brazil at the end of 2011, but he is now risking his life in a form of racing that saw the tragic death of Dan Wheldon in 2011. Doesn't he realise his time is up and that doing a bit of IndyCar or NASCAR or whatever is just something he might do as a substitute for what he really wanted to do, which is to race in F1? He has many millions in his bank account. He never needs to work again. He can relax and enjoy the rest of his life in luxury. I feel sorry for Rubens's wife. He's a stubborn fool.

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997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Whitmarsh begins defending Hamilton already ...

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7460730/Boss-Defends-Brilliant-Hamilton

IMO this is unnecessary. I think Hamilton re-discovered his mojo by Brazil anyway ...

McLaren aiming high in 2012

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7463938/-McLaren-to-add-to-title-tally-

Norbert Haug defends Mercedes GP's decision to delay introduction of their 2012 car

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7460900/Haug-Merc-right-to-delay-2012-debut

Gerhard Berger thinks 2012 will be Schumi's last season in F1

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7462995/-This-season-will-be-Schumi-s-last-

I like Vergne's gutsy attitude. He wants to follow in Vettel's footsteps by doing well in 2012 at Toro Rosso so that he can be considered for a race seat at RBR whenever Webber leaves.

I actually think Vergne will be the rookie of the year in 2012. He showed that he was extremely quick in Abu Dhabi at the end of last year. I think he is already confident that he will outperform Ricciardo by a comfortable margin. I think Ricciardo may find that he has to learn fast just to survive in F1. I'm not optimistic about Ricciardo. He has a pleasant manner and a can-do Aussie attitude but I just don't think he is quick. Vergne by contrast looks like he has a lot of potential and a real hunger to get on.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7465509/Vergne-wants-to-follow-Seb-s-path

No KERS for Marussia. Now there's a surprise. They are already giving themselves a disadvantage vs Caterham.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7462946/Marussia-will-not-run-KERS

They can't afford it. I expect that they want to spend their budget on aerodynamics which is the exact opposite of what they used to do when their previous technical team used only CFD (and no wind tunnels).

Poor Glock. He is putting on a brave face even though he knows that Marussia will not be ready for the first 2 winter tests and that they have no KERS. This could be a very tough season for him.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7463095/Glock-confident-despite-delays

Following Niki Lauda, now it's Emerson Fittipaldi's turn to state the obvious. He thinks the first 6 months of 2012 will be critical for Raikkonen's return to F1. You don't say! Duh. He thinks RBR will be the team to beat because of Adrian Newey but that Ferrari and McLaren could return to the top too since they are very big and have excellent drivers. OMG. I'm blinded by these dazzling insights. Former F1 champions need to realise that they only add value in their comments if they can shed real light on the situation rather than just stating the obvious or rehashing the same platitudes that everyone already knows.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7461018/-First-six-months-crucial-for-Kimi-

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997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Briatore thinks Ferrari could be 2 or 3 tenths slower than RBR but that Alonso can overcome this.

Seems like guesswork to me. Alonso is a great driver but none of us has a clue where the cars really are relative to each other right now. Let's see how things pan out at Melbourne. Even winter testing can be very misleading.

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7467458/Flavio-Alonso-Can-Bridge-Gap-To-Bulls

Petrov's manager, Oksana Kosachenko, makes me laugh. She is claiming that Ecclestone supported Petrov remaining in F1 and that he made phone calls to the teams trying to assist.

This is the same manager who claimed that Petrov would be assisting Pirelli with testing until March, something that Pirelli totally denied immediately afterwards.

It seems to me that what really happened is that, our of desperation, she called Bernie when there was even a glimmer of hope that Petrov may be able to buy a race seat at Lotus or at Caterham and that Bernie just told her that there's nothing he could do since the teams make their own decisions.

It's been a while since I came across comments that distort what the reality might actually be by so much.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7467298/Bernie-hopes-Petrov-remains-in-F1

McLaren denies reports that it might use Pure engines from 2014.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7467074/McLaren-brush-off-Pure-reports

You can tell people are trying to fill webpages with something. This story is so old it has cobwebs on it.

I would expect that McLaren intends to stick with its collaboration with Mercedes High Performance Engines. It's tried and tested. PURE is a new venture and if McLaren had an informal chat many months ago as a courtesy gesture, I assume it would only have been a case of granting them a meeting out of politeness even though McLaren has no intention to ditch Mercedes engines.

Some complimentary words from Whitmarsh about Raikkonen's return

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227/7466139/-F1-will-be-better-for-Kimi-s-return-

A nice appetiser from Andrew Benson on the 2012 season

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/01/formula_one_gets_ready_for_ano.html
 

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

easy_rider911:

Briatore thinks Ferrari could be 2 or 3 tenths slower than RBR but that Alonso can overcome this.

Seems like guesswork to me. Alonso is a great driver but none of us has a clue where the cars really are relative to each other right now. Let's see how things pan out at Melbourne. Even winter testing can be very misleading.
 

Right, last season the Ferrari looked like it was very competitive from its witer testing and when the time came in Australia it wasn't even close. The only good thing Ferrari has going this season vs the last is that there is no blown diffuser this season, and in the last season the only race without blown diffusers was SIlverstone were the Ferrari showed to be on par with the rest of the grid and Alonso used it to take the victory. So without blow diffusers the Ferrari seemes to be right up there, but there are so many other changes this year that who knows in the end....

From the magazine drawing by Giorgio Piola (contained in Andrew Benson's article), it is rumoured that Ferrari has tried a very bold and aggressive design for 2012. I assume this is because of the new guys Ferrari has recruited in order to try to turn things around. Let's see.

Meanwhile Adrian Sutil has just been found guilty of assault and has been given a fine of around 200k Euros and a 18 month suspended sentence.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16810585

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/7467577/Suspended-Sentence-For-Sutil

More on Kubica's comeback. Seems clear to me that Alonso has been instrumental in getting Kubica considered by Scuderia Ferrari even though there is no way of knowing if Kubica will ever be able to drive a F1 car again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/01/kubica_comeback_far_from_certa.html

This article was a very good read IMO. Andrew Benson is great at looking under the surface and joining the dots.

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Sutil's story disappoints me though. At least this cloud is now over. The 200k Euro fine will hurt. Will he appeal?

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

easy_rider911:

More on Kubica's comeback. Seems clear to me that Alonso has been instrumental in getting Kubica considered by Scuderia Ferrari even though there is no way of knowing if Kubica will ever be able to drive a F1 car again.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/01/kubica_comeback_far_from_certa.html

This article was a very good read IMO. Andrew Benson is great at looking under the surface and joining the dots.

You have a good point, Alonso and Kubica have always been best of friends, they used to hang out together during the GP's, etc... for sure Alonso is trying to get him in the team, and if he proves to be back in the game in testing, it would be a great opportunity for Ferrari to get such a good driver being up for grabs like that, and finally getting rid of Massa, I cannot believe Massa will have a seat again next season 

People like Stefano Domenicali are giving Massa encouragement in public but LCdM is less diplomatic. He wants results or Massa is out.

Personally, I think Ferrari's mind is already made up and I can't see Massa remaining at Ferrari beyond 2012.

IMO it's just a question of who will replace him.

Webber would move from no 2 at RBR to no 2 at Ferrari. I don't see the point of that. Also, he is at the end of his career. From Ferrari's perspective, what is the point of hiring him? They should build for the future by either getting a younger guy with potential OR a guy in his prime ... but not a guy approaching the end.

I think the talk about Hamilton is nonsense. There is no way that Alonso would tolerate Hamilton there with him. Alonso wants a good no 2 who will earn points for the team (towards the Constructors' title) and also, more importantly for him in the Drivers' title, take points off his rivals at RBR, McLaren and Mercedes. This is something Massa has failed to do since his return from his accident.

Hamilton is much too fast to play that role without threatening Alonso's own position as no 1.

I also think Button won't move. He is very happy at McLaren. Having a team mate like Hamilton with endless personal problems is also useful. It means Hamilton's performances are inconsistent at best.

Alonso is a smart cookie. IMO he is gambling that Kubica will make a comeback but will not be as quick as before. So publicly, he achieves his aim of seeing his friend come back to F1 (and privately, he gets his poker buddy back) but at no risk to him. Kubica was a good team mate to Heidfeld at BMW so Alonso is not expecting Kubica to be difficult to get along with.

The thing is ... it's one thing being a good friend of a guy in another team BUT what happens when one of your best friends becomes your team mate? Can that friendship last when you are trying your best to beat that guy because he is the only other guy on the grid with the same equipment as you and which therefore provides the most direct performance comparison?

IMO, I just don't think real friendship can last. All one can have at best is a kind of superficial friendship like Button and Hamilton. At worst, it becomes very poisonous like Vettel and Webber.

The big elephant in the room is Vettel. It's clear Ferrari want him at some stage. But would they get him at the same time as Alonso is there or after Alonso retires? I don't think the latter is on the cards. Alonso still has so many years of racing left in him. He might race for another 8-10 years. I just don't think Ferrari want to wait that long. They want Vettel in his youth and not just in his prime.

The guy I think Ferrari could (even should) consider is Nico Rosberg. He is no rookie. He is clearly very quick. He would not cause a fuss in his dealings with Alonso. He is quiet and would do his 'talking' on the track. A perfect addition to the team IMO. Mercedes won't want to let go of him though. I also think Rosberg is quite a sensitive guy who feels more at home in a very professional German environment rather than the less predictable Italian environment at Ferrari.

I would also not rule out a future move by Hulkenberg or Perez to Ferrari ... but we're talking some years down the line. Those 2 guys have real potential, especially Hulkenberg. They are naturally very quick but would play a good no 2 role to either Alonso or Vettel.

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997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

I agree Easy with that analisys. I don't think Ferrari is interested in Vettel though, not now anyway, Ferrari only wants one nº1 driver, and they feel the have the best one on the grid, and on top of that, one that who' s character and ways of doing things that has adapted perfectly to their team as well, and one who still has a few years left to carry out that role, that if only they give them a competitive car can bring them back to winning, he almost did two seasons ago and with a less competitive car if it wasn't for the mega tactical blunder of the last race.

Ferarri is as happy as they can be, the only thing keeping them from winning is not delivering a decently competive car and its only a matter of time for that. Unless something happens to Alonos they have no interest in someone like Vettel who has a lot of potential but hasn't yet proven himself outside a superior RBR and who they don't know will fit in the team either. And Vettel won't be leaving RBR anytime soon unless things start to go south badly in terms of performance, he is the team who has proven to be smarter lately and a team that is wrapped around his finguer. Vettel has it perfect in RBR.

One who I would throw in the cauldron is Kimi. If he shows he is still in shape, Ferarri may fish him back who knows, he can rack up a lot of points for the team but won't be a problem with Alonso since he is quiet, and basically the personalyily of a cauliflower. He is not the type of driver that implicates himself in the team but would not need to, they have Alonso for that who is the opposite.

I can't believe anyone is even contemplating Hamilton for Ferrari. Neither Ferrari nor Hamilton nor Alonos would allow that. Ii would be season 2007 all over again, except this time it would be Hamilton who would get the short end of the stick from the team and would be the outsider with Ferrari favouring Alonso in all the desitions.

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Personality of a cauliflower. I like that :) From what I can tell, Raikkonen is now more open and talkative, pleasant even. He used to be a nightmare to interview giving monosyllabic replies. Do you remember when he ended a Brundle grid walk interview by stating that he had to go take a sh#t just before the race? I doubt Ferrari want him back. They are one of the few teams yet to say anything about his comeback. He won the title with them and then wasted 2 seasons with them before leaving. They were even prepared to pay his expensive salary without him having to drive for them. That's how desperate they were to get rid of him. There's no way I can ever see him back in Maranello.

997.1 C2S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen pickup, BMW Z4 2.5i Roadster Sterling Grey/Red

Carlos from Spain:

I can't believe anyone is even contemplating Hamilton for Ferrari

You should tell that to Hamilton's management. They seem to know little about F1 and see Ferrari as the biggest team with the most $$$$$. Hence their aim is to get Hamilton in there ASAP, regardless of whether it's best for him or not.

As for Ferrari paying Raikkonen's salary. I believe there was a clause in his contract that stipulated, they only had to make up the difference between what he was earning and what Ferrari were paying him. Ferrari were hoping that he would sign for another team and only have to make up the difference.  When he decided to jack it in altogether I can imagine Ferrari were well pi****. So you stand more chance of seeing Weber selling ice creams in Milton Keynes than seeing Raikkonen in the scarlet car again.