2014 Silly Season

[Prisoner Monkeys]

I'm surprised this one hasn't been reported yet (though I may have missed it): Kamui Kobayashi has reportedly been seen at Caterham's Leafield HQ for a seat-fitting. They have been further reported to be letting go of both Pic and van der Garde, and are said to have been in talks with perennial GP2 nearly-man Marcus Ericsson. Why, I have no idea, but I do have my theories. Sponsorship is of course part of it, but I suspect Caterham are more interested in a specific sponsor. Ericsson was sponsored by Olsbergs MSE when he was racing for iSport, and Caterham might be looking to them as a potential partner for their road car division. That's the only explanation I can think of for their (potentially) picking Ericsson over Pic and van der Garde and the likes of Felipe Nasr and Sam Bird.

The second Marussia seat is even harder to call. McLaren shopped around and tried to place Kevin Magnussen at a few teams, including Marussia, but got no takers. It was suggested that if they had placed Magnussen at Force India, then they might have been able to place Stoffel Vandoorne at Marussia. But since Marussia would not take their first choice, Magnussen, I cannot see them being willing to take McLaren's second choice, Vandoorne. Max Chilton publicly breathed a sigh of relief on Twitter when Magnussen scored the McLaren seat, but his father has since left AON Insurance, so there are now question marks lingering over his head. Since I suspect McLaren want Magnussen and Vandoorne in their team for 2015, I think they might push Marussia to take Vandoorne, and maybe evencoax the team over to Honda power next year. That would also give them access to Jules Bianchi, and any combination of Magnussen, Vandoorne and Bianchi in a McLaren will give them one of the most exciting line-ups in years.

[RS]

Lotus absent for the first test. That's a big miss for this year considering the rule changes.

[easy rider]

It looks as if Kimi after all has made the right move, by moving to the Scuderia.

[RS]

Chilton confirmed at Marussia.

[steveaki13]

To be honest as much as I like Max Chilton. I am not sure he did enough to earn a seat for 2014, but it at least gives him stability to improve.

[Prisoner Monkeys]

It looks as if Kimi after all has made the right move, by moving to the Scuderia.

And Ferrari made the wrong decision in taking him.

Alonso has the support of Luca di Montezemolo. Raikkonen has the backing if Stefano Domenicali. With Ferrari having struggled to win a title since 2008, Domenicali is under pressure to perform. By supporting Raikkonen, his fate is tied to the Finn. That will bring him into opposition with di Montezemolo, who pretty much *is* Ferrari, and has already laid down the law by saying Raikkonen was taken to score points rather than win titles in his Christmas address. Domenicali, on the other hand, lobbied for Raikkonen to get the seat over Hulkenberg, who was di Montezemolo's choice, and since di Montezemolo usually gets his way, taking Raikkonen was a major coup for Domenicali. So the battle between Alonso and Raikkonen will be the battle for Ferrari's soul, because it's really a proxy war being fought between di Montezemolo and Domenicali. Di Montezemolo wields considerable influence over the team, but Domenicali has the luxury of directly influencing things day-to-day.

None of this bodes well for their championship campaign, because the winner of the intra-team battle will reaffirm his backer's influence over the team. Domenicali has much more to lose than di Montezemolo, so if Alonso out-performs Raikkonen this year, both Raikkonen and Domenicali could be looking for alternative forms of employment in 2015.

[Koz]

Maybe...

Or maybe Luca doesn't give a toss about who is faster and only wants the WCC?

[Roamy]

[quote=Prisoner Monkeys]

It looks as if Kimi after all has made the right move, by moving to the Scuderia.

And Ferrari made the wrong decision in taking him.

Alonso has the support of Luca di Montezemolo. Raikkonen has the backing if Stefano Domenicali. With Ferrari having struggled to win a title since 2008, Domenicali is under pressure to perform. By supporting Raikkonen, his fate is tied to the Finn. That will bring him into opposition with di Montezemolo, who pretty much *is* Ferrari, and has already laid down the law by saying Raikkonen was taken to score points rather than win titles in his Christmas address. Domenicali, on the other hand, lobbied for Raikkonen to get the seat over Hulkenberg, who was di Montezemolo's choice, and since di Montezemolo usually gets his way, taking Raikkonen was a major coup for Domenicali. So the battle between Alonso and Raikkonen will be the battle for Ferrari's soul, because it's really a proxy war being fought between di Montezemolo and Domenicali. Di Montezemolo wields considerable influence over the team, but Domenicali has the luxury of directly influencing things day-to-day.

None of this bodes well for their championship campaign, because the winner of the intra-team battle will reaffirm his backer's influence over the team. Domenicali has much more to lose than di Montezemolo, so if Alonso out-performs Raikkonen this year, both Raikkonen and Domenicali could be looking for alternative forms of employment in 2015.[/quote:gxp3yys8]


Flavio will replace Domenicali as soon as he sh!ts himself again this year. Actually it should have been done this year!

[Prisoner Monkeys]

Nobody in their right mind would go anywhere near Flavio Briatore. He's persona non grata for a reason. The man's a disgrace.

[Prisoner Monkeys]

Maybe...

Or maybe Luca doesn't give a toss about who is faster and only wants the WCC?

Oh, he cares. The team has suffered under Domenicali's direction. By rights, Alonso should have been champion in 2010 and 2012. But the team has failed to build a good enough car, in-season development has gone backwards, and tempers are running hot. With those problems and the way Sebastian Vettel could win a WCC single-handedly, change is needed in the rank and file.