Where is Kimi racing next year?

[Fil]

i was told last week at work that kimi was joining us (McLaren)or 2010
But things can change hourly in this sport!!!
goony

ooh, fascinating insider info, do tell more!

who told you at work, and who would be giving them their gossip?
Martin Whitmarsh wouldn't be walking around the composites laminating labs spreading rumours would he?

[James]

[compo]

[Astro1]

I was told during the weekly team meeting!!

so where do you get your info from??

goony

Those two exclamation points and double questions marks make you sound more credible. :^o

[segedunum]

I'd expect him to join McLaren but it won't happen until the season is over so I think all these money rumours are wide of the mark. Notice that Brawn won't be announcing anything until then either and it seems as though Kimi rather than Alonso now is holding up the driver market.

Toyota was never a realistic option, and Howett can say all he wants about money but the fact is that they almost certainly won't be winning next season. They don't even have a budget yet. There's no point in a driver who wants to win championships going there if his stock is simply going to fall.

[lebesset]

I admit I am torn in where I would like to see kimi next year , being a fan of his

I am sure that he would be great at big mac , and give them the strongest line-up by a margin ...but would that be good for F1 ?

so perhaps better for the business [ sorry , sport ] if he does go to toyota ; if they don't get some real success soon the owners are going to pull the plug ; and what are their chances of success without a top driver ? somewhere around zero ! if reports from big mac are to believed , he is just fine at developing a car ; perhaps a driver of that calibre would give the team that last final push to achieve their goals ; is there anyone here who wouldn't want toyota to stay ?

with kimi , toyota could afford to appoint a novice japanese driver , and , imho , that would be A GOOD THING !

of course , that would leave a hole alongside lewis , rosberg senior is said to be strongly against jnr going there at this stage of his career , and it isn't hard to see why , could well put his career back rather than forward !

so stop playing hard ball with toyota , kimi , what's a few million here or there ! the last 2 deals you have done have demonstrated why they call you the iceman ...nothing to do with your driving ; and turning a team that have never won anything into winners would show that you really are as good as your fans believe

if brawn can win this year , who's to say that toyota can't do it in the next couple of years by working night and day ....and given the incentive , people do that

I think that kimi would be such an incentive ...just look at what he has managed to achieve with this years ferrari

[ISLAMATRON]

about the same as Brawn's chances without a "top" driver

[Fil]

I was told during the weekly team meeting!!

so where do you get your info from??

goony

no no, please, u misunderstood the tone of my initial post directed to you. i was genuinely interested and don't doubt you, i believe the same to be true anyway, and sincerely hope you're right! it'll be great to see Kimi back at Macca & a fascinating battle with Lewis.

i was actually curious as to how the team transfers this info around the team. as an insider, you've offered us a rare glimpse into the team workings and i'm intrigued.

[sunny1304]

i think it will be great if kimi goes to Toyota.
In Mclaren for sure at some point team have to choose someone between kimi and lewis like in ferrari in 2008 which is not good to see for the fans.

Toyota will give their everything to develop a quick car if they get kimi. So i would like to see kimi in Toyota.

[Mr Alcatraz]

Acording to Bild he's inking a deal with USGP F1
But I misplaced the link

[lebesset]

toyota would be crazy to let kimi go for the sake of an extra 10 million or so , they would have to accept that it is necessary to outbid big mac ; sometimes you have to pay over the odds ; toyota may be a huge company with greater resources , but big mac have the better track record [ pun intended ]

look at this way ; how much have have toyota poured in so far to little effect ? in comparison this is peanuts !
so it is crunch time , put up or shut up

howett must realise that the doors are going to shut in the not so distant future if there is no success so he should say to his masters in japan.....

we have no chance to achieve what you want without a top driver
kimi is the real McCoy and is available at a price , a rare opportunity
if you have him you can put in a novice japanese driver to fill the team , dirt cheap and what you would like for image reasons

so stick or twist ; if you don't do it now why go on , end of the season , pull out

if toyota don't want to be seen to pay the money for what ever reason it would be no problem to arrange it in the form of sponsorship through one of their major suppliers , an adjustment of the prices they pay the supplier on their product passes the money back

I once read an excellent book called go, go negotiating ...I think kimi must have read it as well

ps , just had a thought ...maybe howett has read it as well !

[ISLAMATRON]

If toyota wanted Kimi to drive for them why didnt they just buy his contract from Ferrari, Howwitt & Luca are best buds these days, as soon as they had any inkling that Alonso was driving for SF, they should have put in a bid.

Or is it that F1 driver contracts cant be bought and sold like that anymore?

I still dont understand why McLArn didnt sell Alonso's contract to Renault instead of letting him go for nothing.

[lebesset]

I don't think they banned black slavery to bring in white slavery !

paying a team to release a driver from his contract when the driver wants to go is a rather different concept ...just ask button !

[ISLAMATRON]

WTF are you talking about? Soccer clubs & Basketball clubs sell player contracts all the time... it is just part of the business of sports.

[noname]

Toyota will give their everything to develop a quick car if they get kimi.

every year they are saying they've gave everything but there is still no single win on their scoring board.