As you may have noticed over the past week there has been a
lot of movement in the driver market for next year, and even for this year. Let’s
start with the biggest story, that of Kimi Raikkonen leaving Lotus before the end
of the season so he can have an operation to cure his recurrent back problems.
It could appear to be that Kimi has left Lotus in the lurch
but to be fair to the Finn, he hasn’t been paid this year, that money is not
looking like it’s going to be forthcoming any time soon either. Added to that
and probably more importantly, the recovery time of this op is estimated at
around four weeks.
He’s facing a huge challenge with taking on Fernando Alonso
at Ferrari next year, so will want to be ready to hit the ground running as
soon as 2014 testing starts early next year. With the season finishing so late,
it’s probably a good plan to get it done and dusted as soon as possible.
It’s probably a wise decision, although a disappointment for
all Kimi fans not to see his smiling face for the final two grand prix. Nico
Hulkenberg apparently turned down the chance to replace him as he felt it was
too big a risk for just two races. Heikki Kovalainen grabbed the opportunity
with both hands though. Having only played a bit part for Caterham in practice
sessions this year he will be eager to show he still has what it takes. I sincerely
hope he takes this opportunity.
However, I’d have liked to have seen 2012’s GP2 champion
and Lotus reserve driver Davide Valsecchi be given the chance. After all what’s
the point of having a reserve driver contracted if when the opportunity arises
he is passed over? I know they are in a scrap to be in the top 3 of the
constructors championship, but how are these reserve drivers ever likely to
progress if they are not trusted for the job they’ve been employed to do?
I think it’s a bit ridiculous that he hadn’t managed to get
a drive while someone like Max Chilton did. Yes, he was a race winner in GP2, but
his drive was bought. The top level of motor sport should not be employing
drivers who have paid for their seats. They should only be for the best of the
best.
Perhaps a restructuring of the revenue generated by this
global car circus would enable teams to afford to hire the drivers they really
want and not the ones they need for the sake of budget. Even if it is an
economic downtime, there is something seriously wrong when the top echelon of
the sport has top teams not being able to afford to pay its drivers. But that’s
an entirely different blog to be discussed later.
McLaren
Kevin Magnussen was awesome at the young drivers test at
Silverstone this year. I was there and for lap after lap he just looked on it
all the time, it was certainly very impressive. He also won the Formula Renault
3.5 world series this year, so I am glad that McLaren haven’t chosen to blood
him in a lower team but have taken the chance to promote one from their own
young driver program. I can’t wait to see how he performs next year alongside
Jenson Button. I think Jenson is going to have his work cut out, much like
Fernando Alonso did when a rookie Lewis Hamilton partnered him.
However the fact that Sergio Perez has been replaced after
just one season seems a bit unfair. I hope he gets a decent driver next year
because he deserved a bit more. Yes Button has scored nearly double the points
but I think in general Perez has done nearly as good a job and certainly
recently has looked the better bet for points.
It’s such a shame that he came to the team on one of their
down years, as there is no doubting that on his day he’s a very good driver
indeed. Much like Button in fact. And on their day, given the car in a certain
year, they can be world champion, like Button was. But this looks like it’s
back to the midfield for Perez, at least with his budget he should be able to
secure a decent drive somewhere. I hope he does because I don’t think he
deserved to be treated like this.
With rumours of Alonso perhaps joining for 2015 when Honda
join the team, Button might have to look over his shoulder too, although the
Woking team also have Formula Renault 3.5 runner up Stoffel Vandoorne on their
books too so there’s another young prospect to look too. At least McLaren (along with Red Bull and Ferrari amongst others) are
bringing in fresh good talent to fill the F1 seats. Watch out for Vandoorne, he’s
plying his trade in GP2 next year.
Massa gets his 2014
seat
Felipe Massa will continue in Formula 1 next year at
Williams. I’m delighted for him, he deserves to lead a team and I think getting
away from Ferrari and the shadow of Alonso will do him good. I hope he
rediscovers his form from before the accident in 2009 and shows that he’s not
done yet.
If some of the rumours that his engineer from Ferrari, Rob
Smedley might join the team as well as potentially a link up with Ross Brawn
are true, then it could be a fantastic time to be joining the Williams team as
they look to move back up the grid.
Valtteri Bottas is a good young hopeful and will keep Massa
on his toes, but I think Felipe will believe he’s been hired to lead this team
and I think that will give him the impetus to spark a second wave in his
career; looking forward to seeing what he can do.
Of course that means Pastor Maldonado is now on the market
with his masses of Venezuelan cash behind him, so the 2014 driver market is
going to be a hot topic for some time to come with seats at Lotus, Force India,
Sauber, Caterham and Marussia still to be announced.
A final note about
young drivers
The fact is money is hard to come by at the moment which is
why many teams are looking for their drivers to bring a budget with them.
Sometimes this means that a lot of the talented drivers who have not got the
money miss out on an opportunity at the top of the sport.
This means that if this trend continues then the sport might
not be presenting the best cars with the best drivers driving them. For
instance last years GP2 champion did not get an F1 drive. This year at the
moment it looks like the top 2 from GP2 are not going to get drives.
This is unacceptable. However the economy means that this
may happen more often, so what I would like to see is the FIA buying two cars,
perhaps year old ones or perhaps new ones from other teams and running them in
free practice.
They would be run independently from the teams that made
them so there would be no advantage for a team that sells a car. With these two
cars, should a top driver from one of the top feeder series fail to find a
drive in Formula 1 or high end alternative he would be given an opportunity to
show what he can do to the teams and sponsors in the Friday free practice
sessions.
Just put them in the shop window and maybe the teams might
take a chance as might some sponsors. What with testing being restricted it
would give a decent chance for drivers to get experience too. It’s a plan with
perhaps many flaws, but flaws that could be ironed out. Surely worth a thought?
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