Silly Season 2011/2012

[Trailer23]

Well it looks like RenaultF1 are taking Romain Grosjean quite seriously as he'll be given Two Friday drives in the last GP of the year (Abu Dhabi & Brazil).

He just might get a race seat next year.

[Trailer23]

Picture this if Schumacher retires after 2012.

[MIKEY_!]

Iceman to replace Schumacher... where have I heard that before?

[ESPImperium]

From some rumors going about, Luiz Razia is trying to find €m of sponsorship in Brazil to displace Trulli for his home GP at the enbd of the season.

[mbvinnie]

Interesting that all year the talk has been of Di Resta doing so well despite the disadvantage of not knowing the tracks. And then when they come to the one track that they are both new to, Sutil has one of his biggest advantages in qualifying...

I realise it is a one-off situation etc, I just find it quite interesting.

Force India Driver decision now due before Abu Dhabi apparently:
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/95779

[ESPImperium]

Intresting that Hulk talked about 2011 as a T&RD in the past-tence.

Ill confirm Hulk in Force India now, aside Paul Di Resta id recon.

[raymondu999]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zaPON4thko[/youtube]

[munudeges]

That puts a little bit of a different complexion on it. He said everything he possibly could other than Raikkonen has signed.

[ringo]

Sutil adds a spin to it though.
Maybe just maybe sutil is sharper than raikonen right now.

I'd go for sutil. Raikonen is a bit of an unknown in terms of motivation, ability to motivate, speed and familiarity with the regs.

Head to head in all aspects, Sutil is the better choice.

[multisync]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zaPON4thko[/youtube]

The three of them were trying to ambush him. He had to be as circumspect as possible and ty to aviod any misinpretations. I feel he handled them pretty well as far as he could.

It was "When did you stop beating your wife?" time

[Tyler]

From Adam's reaction, I just have a feeling that Williams are on the verge of signing Raikonnen. I think if they weren't he would have just denied it flat out.
I think that Raikkonen and Sutil would be a far better combination than Barichello and Maldonado, the latter of which I feel they definitely need to drop.
I can't understand why FI are dropping Sutil.
It hasn't been announced yet but it's looking like Hulkenburg is going to be taking his seat.Sutil has been a very reliable points scorer and I don't think it's wize for the team to go with 2 green drivers for 2012.
Di Resta may have outqualified Sutil on more occassions but the race is what counts and Sutil has scored more points.Just because Di Resta is very quick does not mean Sutil is slow.
I think that Hulkenburg is going to be seriously outmatched by Di Resta and Mallaya is going to be kicking himself for letting Sutil go.
I see this as a big mistake by FI and a stab in the back for his years of team building and loyalty towards the team.
I hope we see him joining Kimi at Williams and that they kick FI's butt next year

[Tyler]

I was just thinking about Williams situation for next year.
Doesn't Sutil bring more sponsorship money than Barichello?
If so and if Sutil really is dropped by FI, surely it would make sense to replace Barichello with Sutil?
Barichello's getting on a bit and perhaps is not as quick as he used to be - he was never all that quick to begin with in any case (although he rates himself very highly).
Sutil also brings a lot of experience and set up knowledge to the table and can help team development just as well as Bari, just that he possibly brings more money and almost certainly more speed too.
I really don't see the point in hanging on to Barichello, if he was paying for his seat then fine but there are better options for a driver you are paying a vast sum of money to.
Maldonado has been utterly hopeless IMO. As was said in the interview Maldonado has statistically been the worst driver in the teams history.
It pains me to see 'Venezuela' and 'PDVSA' plastered all over the car too - I don't think it's the right image for the team.
If they really do need a pay driver, surely there are more exciting prospects than Maldonado?
Raikkonen and Sutil for 2012!!! - that will definitely make Williams the team worth supporting in 2012, along with Mercedes of course.

[Trailer23]

It's already being discussed in the Silly season thread that Sutil should be banging on Ferrari's door already. Personally I wouldn't be surprised if Perez was too.

Q. What kind of contract does Massa have with Ferrari? Is it 2012 OR a multi-year deal?

Pérez might be a good replacement (in 2013) if he finishes strong next year in the Drivers Standings & since he's already part of their Ferrari Driver Academy. Almost appears exactly like Daniel Ricciardo's situation with HRT & STR/Red Bull.

[scuderiafan]

My thought was always that Jules Bianchi would be the one to replace Massa. Ferrari have put too much into him to not give him a race seat.

[Trailer23]

One would think they would, but I don't think its fair to put a 22 year old rookie (Bianchi) in a Ferrari who hasn't clocked a single lap in a F1 grand prix.