2013 Silly Season

[steveaki13]

I personally dont really see why Force India would welcome Sutil back?

I think he had a decent run at Force India and was never really showing signs of moving on, so I wonder why after getting rid of him, they now want him back

[dj_bytedisaster]

I personally dont really see why Force India would welcome Sutil back?

I think he had a decent run at Force India and was never really showing signs of moving on, so I wonder why after getting rid of him, they now want him back

Sutil is at least on the same level as Hülkenberg, he was often fighting for solid points finishes. He also brings sponsor money and on top of that he's a known entity in the team. They know that he can deliver. Such a driver is important when you're close to staking your claim in the midfield with aspirations for more. They probably let him go last year to give it a bit of time until the trial and its consequences had blown over a bit. Word is that most of FI's technical and commercial partners still think very highly of him, despite the offtrack troubles.
I don't know how much significance it has, but a couple of days ago a countdown to Melbourne 2013 suddenly appeared on Sutils website.

[The Black Knight]

Maldonado and Bottas confirmed at Williams. Looks like Senna is now most likely without a drive.

[Wasted Talent]

Maldonado and Bottas confirmed at Williams. Looks like Senna is now most likely without a drive.

Formula 1 - Bottas joins Maldonado at Williams - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

WT

[Malbec]

Wolff has put his wife in as a test driver and someone he manages as the second driver.

Nepotism dead in F1? Right...

[I am evil Homer]

In fairness Bottas has shown as much promise as Senna so it's replacing like for like, but I sense the Finn has more potential. Senna, while coming across as a likeable and pleasant guy just hasn't been close to Pastor this season - sure the Williams isn't a fantastic car but even so I think he can't be that surprised he's been replaced.

[truefan72]

In fairness Bottas has shown as much promise as Senna so it's replacing like for like, but I sense the Finn has more potential. Senna, while coming across as a likeable and pleasant guy just hasn't been close to Pastor this season - sure the Williams isn't a fantastic car but even so I think he can't be that surprised he's been replaced.

Actually, Senna has been the more consistent driver for Williams this year. No doubt that pastor is a faster driver in his good days and more talented. But apart from his win in Spain, Senna has actually done a better job. That being said. I would retain maldonado over Senna and hope the guy matures more, and it is worth a shot to see what bottas can do. I think his results will be just the same as senna's imo. I was never high on Senna anyway, but in fairness he did finish up the 2nd part of the year with some gusto. He's had his chances in F1 with a decent Williams and Renault, and I suspect that a few finishes higher up on the podium or one single race where he could have shown an outstanding performance, might have saved his job. Both Senna and Diresta were the only midfield drivers to not have at least one outstanding/sensational performance throughout the entire year.

[Ranger]

I would hate to see Kobayashi miss a drive at Force India because they choose di Resta and Sutil.

[ArrowsFA1]

Maldonado and Bottas confirmed at Williams. Looks like Senna is now most likely without a drive.

Poor decision IMHO. Senna was chosen by Williams after, we were told, a rigorous selection process which included Bottas who was not chosen for the race seat. He has shown good consistency, despite losing track time to Bottas, and would without question be a stronger driver for Williams in 2013.

[pino]

Nothing against Bottas but Valsecchi would have been a better choice