Who should stay at Force India/ Williams / Renault/STR

these 4 teams to me have the biggest decisions to make in the off season and therfore thing deserve their own thread.

So in looking at the season ending total, Sutil finished with 42 points to DiResta's 27 and despite some average performances, showed that given the right circumstances and a half decent car, he can easily get into the top 10 and even higher. While DiResta has shown to be decent, he has not lit the world on fire and its pretty clear that Sutil is a couple of notches above him in talent and speed. It would be a shame to see him depart the team because Mercedes have some deal with DiResta vis a vis Force India. But it would be their loss. He finished 9th in the Championship whi is realistically about as good as it was going to get behind the top 4 teams so job well done.
IMO the best lineup for Force Inidia in 2012 would be Sutil and Hulkenberg. Di Resta can go to Mercedes as their 3rd driver or stay at Force India as a 3rd driver.

As to Williams, If I had my way, both drivers would be gone. Rubens needs to retire, and Maldonado is simply not that good. Kimi going there was always going to be a dream unless they gave him part ownership. But it seems like Maldonado would be staying, so I would slot in Buemi in that 2nd Williams seat. I still think the guy has some talent and is probably much better than the car is allowing him to be.

With regard to STR I think they are a right old mess anyway and fully expect both drivers to be gone. Despite those two being very competent drivers IMO. I would keep both of them and focus on developing the car instead. The issue with STR isn't the drivers.

there is talk that Alguersuari may end up at hrt making it a full Spanish team
kimi raikkonen more likely to be at lotus next year

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Originally Posted by CNR

there is talk that Alguersuari may end up at hrt making it a full Spanish team
kimi raikkonen more likely to be at lotus next year

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I can understand him going to Williams (which he isn't) but trolling around at the back of the grid with Lotus - really?!

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Originally Posted by Mark

I can understand him going to Williams (which he isn't) but trolling around at the back of the grid with Lotus - really?!

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FORMULA ONE - F1: Raikkonen On List Of 2012 Candidates Admits Boullier
Lotus Renault GP boss Eric Boullier hasn't ruled out Kimi Raikkonen joining the team next year

Q:did you forget about the name change approved for next year ?
Caterham

If Lotus (Renault) produce a decent car as they did last season (2010) and can occasionally then Kimi would fancy it I would think.

He could probably perform similarly to Kubica in 2010. Never the less I don't see it happening. I hope to be proved wrong.

I was going agree with the OP then realised he'd actually suggested swapping DiResta for Hulkenberg...Paul may have made some silly mistakes but Nico is certainly not a 'better' option, it would be swapping like-for-like.

I find the Sutil situation pretty amazing...he's always been a super solid driver, with occassional glimpses of something better. Really don't see how FI will find a better driver.

I see:

Hulk and Diresta at FI
Maldanado and Sutil at Williams
probably Buemi and Algie staying at Torro Rosso (on notice of being replaced by Vergne or Ricciardo at any time)
Probably Petrov and Senna staying at Lotus Renault (on nitice of being replaced by a fit again Kubica or Grosjean at any time)

Rubens leaves F1 or tools about in an HRT for no reason

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Originally Posted by Robinho

Rubens leaves F1 or tools about in an HRT for no reason

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funny

As the thread title asks, who should drive for those teams rather than who realistically will...

I have to say that regardless of whichever angle to look from, Force India is in a difficult situation. They do have three talented drivers on-board and it is really hard to just give up on one. It is also difficult to evaluate, which ones could be the best choice, because particularly di Resta and Hülkenberg are still in development phase and likely to improve. I know that Hulk didn't manage to impress much on his debut season, but it is worth recalling that the same Sutil wasn't particularly convincing in his initial F1 seasons either, having managed to improve only lately. And I'm sure Hülkenberg has potential to be much better than what he showed in 2010, especially based on his record in junior series. We can only believe that Force India knows, what they are doing, based on what they have seen in Hulk during free practices.

So we have a lot of good drivers fighting only for a few seats and this makes it difficult for teams. The same can be said about Toro Rosso and the whole Red Bull program. Again Alguersuari and Buemi are sort of solid drivers, but the junior records of Ricciardo and Vergne are really impressive. Red Bull can't afford to halt their development as drivers, even to the detriment of current STR drivers. I think one of STR drivers - Buemi - should definitely be let go. Alguersuari + Ricciardo at STR with Vergne doing free practices could perhaps be a conceivable solution unless Red Bull finds a way to fit one of their drivers into another team.

Regarding Williams I think Maldonado has been doing well enough in comparison to Barrichello to be retained for another season. Combined with the enormous amount of money he brings with him, it's almost a no-brainer. As Williams has made lots of changes to build up the team for the future, I think they would do well to find a younger replacement for Barrichello. I see that they are looking for money, so everyone - Räikkönen, Barrichello, Sutil - have been involved in looking for sponsors. I have to admit I'm surprised Bottas has been rumoured as a candidate for a race seat, because I am struggling to see, what he can bring. He has perhaps reasonable talent, but I'm not aware of any financial boost. In any case, I think Sutil would be a really good choice for Williams all around. Fast, reasonably experienced, but also still relatively young driver + some backing as well.

Renault. Yes, personally I'd like to see Grosjean getting a chance. Alongside whoever then. In a broader context - again, like many other midfield teams, money is an important issue for the Enstone team, so keeping Petrov is a lifeline for them. Perhaps more than in any other team, there has been a lot of talk about the underperformance of drivers in this team. First Heidfeld, now the whole line-up. It will be difficult to solve this matter efficiently. Grosjean, despite his talent, is not a sure bet either yet. Lotus Renault GP could also aim for another talented youngster, like Ricciardo or Vergne from Red Bull programme, but none of them is a sure bet for results either, so they might as well try with Grosjean. There have been suggestions that maybe they should aim for an experienced driver, but I don't think Barrichello at this stage of his career is a particularly appealing option any more. If they wanted an experienced driver, they should have kept Heidfeld and tried to help him as much as possible to support him. They didn't. Again, like in the case of Williams, Sutil would be a good choice, but due to the fall-out with Eric Lux they may have burnt the bridges already... Renault needs to take a gamble, so perhaps Grosjean and Petrov and hope that Romain turns out to be a raw diamond? If not, they can go and hunt for some other talented rookie driver, there seem to be a few of them around, who struggle to get a seat in that highly-contested racing world anyway.

Grosjean will 100% have a seat at Lotus, Petrov and Senna to fight it out for the other one, both can bring backing but who will have the most will be the question.

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Originally Posted by I am evil Homer

I was going agree with the OP then realised he'd actually suggested swapping DiResta for Hulkenberg...Paul may have made some silly mistakes but Nico is certainly not a 'better' option, it would be swapping like-for-like.

I find the Sutil situation pretty amazing...he's always been a super solid driver, with occassional glimpses of something better. Really don't see how FI will find a better driver.

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:up:

Force India: I think people who are comparing di Resta's points with Sutil's forget that di Resta was a rookie this season while how many years had Sutil had to learn F1 and be comfortable with the car and the team? Don't get me wrong, Sutil had a very strong finish to the season, he's a solid driver. But he is solid like Nick Heidfeld, where as both Hulk and di Resta have the potential to be more.

Lotus: I really think Senna has done enough to deserve another chance. He was slotted in at the middle of the season, without knowing the car or doing any testing, and he has performed reasonably well. A pairing of Grosjean-Senna will be interesting, if a bit lacking in the experience department.

Williams: I have similar feelings towards Maldonado. Yes he didn't set the world on fire, but again, this was his rookie year, and he performed very well in the second half of the season against a driver who is a known quality. He deserves his seat. As for his team mate, as much as I would like to see Kimi there, it's probably not going to happen. They will probably find a good solid driver in Sutil.

Toro Rosso, who knows. They are so close. But I think one of the Toro Rosso drivers need to be put aside, and again, I think between the two, it's Alguersuari with the higher potential. I would like to see him partnered with Ricciardo next year.