Top people to replace Mark Webber

[dj_bytedisaster]

Kimi Räikkönen. Him and Vettel would be a better combination than they have now. It makes perfect sense: Red Bull sponsored Kimi's rallying "career", he gets along with Seb and Horner very well and is a better driver than Mark Webber. At Red Bull he'd get a winning car.

But they're both alpha-males. That wouldn't work. Look what sort of problems pairing Vettel with a guy, who believes to be an alpha. What sort of trouble would pairing him to a driver, who actually is one, bring?

[DexDexter]

But they're both alpha-males. That wouldn't work. Look what sort of problems pairing Vettel with a guy, who believes to be an alpha. What sort of trouble would pairing him to a driver, who actually is one, bring?

I'd be down to Seb and his attitude. Räikkönen always respects his teammates and will work for the team if necessary, like in 2008.

[janneppi]

I'd be down to Seb and his attitude. Räikkönen always respects his teammates and will work for the team if necessary, like in 2008.

So it's already a doomed idea.

[Knock-on]

Kimi Räikkönen. ...... At Red Bull he'd get a winning car.

[Tazio]

Leave Kimi alone.

[Coulthard Fan]

I have always rated Sutil he is a very fast consistant driver! He is so underrated.

[dj_bytedisaster]

I'd be down to Seb and his attitude. Räikkönen always respects his teammates and will work for the team if necessary, like in 2008.

You forget a few facts here. 2008 and especially 2009 played a major part in Kimi buggering off to WRC, Also I don't see much attitude in Vettel. He never demanded preferential treatment over Mark until last race and if one looks at all publically known facts without wearing Vettel-hate goggles, it was the team, who made an atrocious call, resulting in Vettel going ballistic.
A combination of two drivers, who are WDC material has rarely worked in the past. Hamilton/Alonso, Senna/Prost, Mansell/Piquet should be all the examples you need to not even entertain the idea.

[Mia 01]

We don´t talk about him in this forum.

I really think that If Spongebob came out of then he would be a excellent replace , they are about equivalent in skills . . .

[jens]

Räikkönen is certainly an attractive option for Red Bull Racing. RBR could have considered him in the past as well, but as Kimi had taken a sabbatical, it was unclear, how good would he still be after coming back to F1. But by now he has shown he is still very good. However, the main question is if Kimi is interested in the move, because Lotus is fast and he seems very comfortable there.

The only reason could be if he sees RBR as a clearly better long-term prospect despite Lotus currently doing well. Much like Button saw McLaren as a better prospect than Brawn/Mercedes despite winning the title for the latter in 2009. But this is something only Kimi can know.

If I was in Horner's shoes, I would certainly keep my eye on Hülkenberg. Quietly building himself up in the midfield. However, I am not sure Red Bull would like to have two Germans in their line-up, so that could be an obstacle.

Ricciardo and Vergne? Both have shown flashes of brilliance here and there, but nothing extraordinary on a consistent basis. Also based on their form in feeder categories I think both drivers are fundamentally pretty good, but whether this is enough to get hired by the best team in the sport, is another matter. I suspect neither has really proven themselves that attractive so far. So RBR has a dilemma of what to do.

Who else? Someone mentioned Grosjean. Well, he really has to impress this season then. Bottas, Bianchi and others sound like even a longer shot.

In any case, exciting times ahead. And it is certainly interesting to see, what will happen to RBR's second seat in the long run, especially if Kimi turns it down. But even if he doesn't, Lotus' second seat would automatically become an interesting topic.

Its strange. Most of the top drivers in F1 are already in teams and looking settled. I dont really see any second tier drivers so to speak ready to step up.

You normally have a couple of youngsters who everyone is sure will be a future champion. i.e in 2001-2003 everyone saw potential in Alonso & Raikkonen, 2004-2006 Button showed he was certainly going to be a decent driver, then Hamilton and Seb popped up.

No one really leaping out at me yet.

I think Hülkenberg is gradually going the same route as the drivers you mentioned. Silently impressing in midfield, even though his debut season in Williams was a disappointment. By 2004-06 Button was a very experienced driver, so it is even a bit unfair to compare Hülkenberg to that and say he hasn't done anything. After all, Button himself wasn't that spectacular in his first couple of F1 seasons either, getting beaten by his team-mates.

But as said, RBR may not want an all-German line-up... So Hülkenberg has to wait for another team to pick him up.