F1 2007 driver lineup: Your prediction

[si|verfish]

Well he just said he's not moving. Its either Ferrari or bust.

From Yahoo.com
Schumacher rules out team switch
Thu 13 Jul, 3:28 PM
Michael Schumacher has finally ruled out the possibility of switching to a different Formula One team at the end of 2006.

Therefore simplifying speculation about his future, the German revealed at Magny Cours that - when the time finally comes at Monza later this year - he will either announce his retirement or a renewed Ferrari contract.
''There is nothing new,'' Schumacher said in France, before adding: ''If I continue, it is with Ferrari.''
Albeit improbably, Schumacher had been linked with potentially sensational switches to rival teams such as Renault.

Also something I've said before (usually with my "Kimi should go to Ferrari rants"). In fact, I've said it in this thread itself in the first page.

When Schumacher leaves Ferrari, it'll be for retirement.

 

[butthead]

Kimi is actually left with no where to go...although there is no driver status in McLaren... but i doubt Ron will still favor Kimi over the world champion in the next season... furthermore Kimi is having hard times at McLaren for this past 2 seasons either with luck or with reliability issues...all reasons to support Kimi to leave the team...be it Renault or Ferrari...

and it is a good bet if you think of it... Kimi would be hoping that Alonso would be having the same problems as he is having in McLaren now... and he would have a stab at the championship.. but MSC would still be in the way, but he would have 1 less to content with...but he would need to be in Renault to do this...as Ferrari is stil MSC based...furthermore Kimi is also not getting any younger... his current progress in McLaren would ruin his future...

but for long term i would say Ferrari would be a worthy team... as we know Michael is considering retirement in the near future...if Kimi could just be patient about being in Michael 's shadows and maybe assist him him in 1 last WDC...i think there is a good chance MSC would leave Ferrari to Kimi... and Ferrari is one of the top budget teams and they have enough resource, a reliable car, able to produce a world championship winning car, 1 tyre supplier next season which is bridgestone which Ferrari is currently using...again all reasons that support him to leave for Ferrari... if he can just forget about his status at Ferrari for maybe another 1 or 2 seasons...i would say Ferrari is the best bet for Kimi...as for his character though... if McLaren engineers could stand with his character i don't see why Ferrari can't...

 

[acwa238]

Interesting conversation you guys are having here. Don't mind if I stick in with what I know and purely my own opinion.

McLaren - Ron Dennis. Once said during this season it's very likely both drivers (JPM & Kimi) won't continue it's contract with McLaren next season. JPM is first to prove that statement with a switch to NASCAR. With Fernando Alonso occupying 1 race seat, my guess would be either Gary Paffett or Pedro De La Rosa taking the other race seat while Lewis Hamilton will be spending 1 season testing.

Ferrari - Schumi's win at Indy rejuvenates it's soul to race, the main reason for him to stay in F1. With Ferrari improving, it's even more unlikely to see Schumi retire, not at least for another season. Even though Massa is giving Schumi a run this season, he's still capable of winning, no doubt about that. For that, Massa will be likely to stay for another season or as long as Schumi is still racing. Reason: Massa just wants to race for Ferrari regardless of team orders, is a good No.2 driver, obey Ferrari's instruction and for some reason, Ferrari works well with Brazilian? Look at how many years Rubens stayed at Ferrari.

Where does that leaves Kimi?

Marlboro has made it's intention clears. They will support Ferrari any way possible, car decals without Marlboro Logos? No problem, we're cool with the rules. They have also informed Ferrari about the dream driver line up, Schumi & Kimi, will be worth close to 100 Million (Pound) :shocked: and Marlboro will foot the bill!

Kimi's real motivation is not money, his manager has made this clearer than any other issue. It is a winning car that Kimi is hunting hopelessly for... at least at McLaren. With Ferrari's race seat under control by Schumi (don't forget he gets to choose who will partner him for the 2nd race seat at Ferrari), it's unlikely Kimi will beg for it.

The only other things that could overwhelm money is a winning car, perhaps Renault eh, Kimi?

Renault: Giancarlo Fisichella secured a race seat for 2007, the right thing to do for both Renault and Fisi. Fisi is sure and confident his partner for 2007 is a Finn (Big hint!) So that leaves us 2 obvious choice, Kimi or Heikki Kovalainen. Even however much I'm not used to seeing Kimi in a Renault and very much wants to see Heikki in action and sees how well he gets on with it compare to Nico, I still think Flavio is up to something...

Ron Dennis pulled a masterstroke on Flav by hiring Alonso, surely Flav is not just gonna let it go... It's a tough call on this, Heikki has the potential and has 1 season testing and getting used to Renault's already. Would Flav holds back Heikki just for Kimi? I think he would, Kimi is a proven Championship contender. Heikki may just as well took over Fisi's seat after next season seeing he's not the reliable type of driver. No offence but I do like him.

Red Bull: Ever thought of Kimi going to Red Bull? Unlikely but not impossible... Dietrich Mateschitez (hardest name spelling ever comes across) has big ambitions. I'm not surprised otherwise he won't be this rich... Anyway, he's made no secret he wants Schumi to drive for him. Since it's gonna be an impossible scenario, what about Kimi?

Adrian Newey design car 2007 onwards, David Coulthard's connections, Money not an issue, Dietrich Mateschitez big ambitions... all these recipes could only makes success, it's just a matter of time...

Nah... not the time yet for Kimi... lol... Still, after all that analysis, I could not confirm where Kimi will end up at next year...

 

[zan]

I'd like to aggree with silverfish. Kimi can partner up with Alonso and get bettered by the world champion. ALonso might stay there for quite some time as joining McLaren was his intention long ago (maybe during his time with Minardi).

so Kimi got reasons not to stay.

Schumacher is staying in F1 for another season - that's for sure. i believe he may move to a new team in 2008. the team is called Retirement where he can enjoy his wealth as a multi millionaire. beautiful wife, list of victories...ahh!

it does make sense for Kimi to take over Felipe's place. once schuey retires, then the team will evolve around him right?

with Ferrari's performance now back to its height, that would be a great attraction for Kimi to grab Ferrari's offer - if any.

McLaren on the other hand may want Kimi to stay to make things easier for them winning the constructor's championship.

the ball is in Kimi's hand.

p/s Renault may use their test driver to take over Alonso's place. he seems pretty damn fast. what's the name aa?

 

[si|verfish]

Heikki Kovalainen or something or rather.

 

[butthead]

I'd like to aggree with silverfish. Kimi can partner up with Alonso and get bettered by the world champion. ALonso might stay there for quite some time as joining McLaren was his intention long ago (maybe during his time with Minardi).

so Kimi got reasons not to stay.

Schumacher is staying in F1 for another season - that's for sure. i believe he may move to a new team in 2008. the team is called Retirement where he can enjoy his wealth as a multi millionaire. beautiful wife, list of victories...ahh!

it does make sense for Kimi to take over Felipe's place. once schuey retires, then the team will evolve around him right?

with Ferrari's performance now back to its height, that would be a great attraction for Kimi to grab Ferrari's offer - if any.

McLaren on the other hand may want Kimi to stay to make things easier for them winning the constructor's championship.

the ball is in Kimi's hand.

p/s Renault may use their test driver to take over Alonso's place. he seems pretty damn fast. what's the name aa?

i'd say screw McLaren and go ahead to other teams... Ron is pretty much an A^HOLE...

 

[munpeng]

I think the best bet is on Kimi to Renault, we all know Schumi has alot of power at Ferrari, and with the form Schumi is in at the moment, we can guess that he will be staying, afterall Ferrari is a car that's fun to drive isn't it? Even for a guy of near-40.

 

[zan]

schumi at almost 40 = respectable.

tongkat ali is it?

 

[ARTC5859]

Renault keen on signing Raikkonen

Renault keen on signing Raikkonen

Renault have set their sights on signing Kimi Raikkonen to replace world champion Fernando Alonso in 2007.
McLaren driver Raikkonen has been widely tipped to move to Ferrari, but Renault F1 president Alain Dassas said his team were also talking to the Finn.

"It's no secret, Raikkonen is our priority for the 2007 season," Dassas told Italy's Gazzetta dello Sport.

"We are talking with Raikkonen about a contract," Dassas said, describing him as "one of the greatest drivers".

He added that Renault would be "very satisfied" if the two parties could come to a definitive agreement.

Renault are also considering test driver Heikki Kovalainen as a partner for Giancarlo Fisichella, who is staying at the team.

But Dassas said the younger Finn's lack of experience was a negative.

"To have a driver with no experience like [Kovalainen] would be risky. In F1 nowadays, you need quick, immediate results, and it could be a problem to obtain them with a debutant."

 

[acwa238]

ITV-F1 reports:
Despite denials by Raikkonen’s management, Kimi is believed to have some kind of pre-contract agreement with Ferrari.

But it has been reported that there may be a potential escape clause in this that allows Raikkonen to opt out instead of race alongside Michael Schumacher – who now looks set to defer his retirement until at least the end of 2007.

So let's refresh...

2007 grid:

Ferrari - Schumi, Massa

McLaren - Alonso, ? (Paffett / Pedro / Hamilton)

Renault - Fisico, Kimi

Seems very possible to me...

 

[MK84]

And the music continues.

 

[acwa238]

Guess we'll just have to wait a while longer before anyone pops the surprises... Drivers nowadays are getting better and better dealing with medias as no one knows what is certain and what is not as long as they don't say anything about it~!

 

[BlackSamurai]

more update

Kovalainen confident of race seat in 2007
http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=124860

Renault test driver Heikki Kovalainen is in action for Renault this week at Jerez de la Frontera. The 24-year-old Finn has shown his speed in testing this year and says he is now ready for the next step: racing in Formula 1. What is more, Kovalainen is confident he will be racing next year.

There is plenty of speculation over who will partner Giancarlo Fisichella at Renault next season. Fisichella has already claimed it would be a Finn - in other words either Kovalainen or Raikkonen.

Kovalainen isn't sure who Renault will go for, but he is confident he will race next season in Formula 1. Kovalainen told F1Racing.net: "I haven't paid a lot of attention to that, because the team hasn't made a decision yet, and the management hasn't made a decision either. They told me to carry on testing and not to worry about anything else. I´m quite confident that I am racing next year and wherever it is, I am sure it will be at the right place. We will just have to wait."

Furthermore Kovalainen believes the team stands good chance of beating Ferrari this season. "I think we have a good chance. Obviously, the last couple of races Ferrari has been very strong, but we keep working on our package, we keep improving the car and I'm sure we will be fighting for the win again. I'm not too worried yet."

"I would be worried if Ferrari wins a couple of more races, then it's obviously not looking good. But they won two races earlier this year in a row and then we came back so we work very hard in testing and we're trying to improve the car. We have some improvements coming for Hockenheim that should be an improvement. Obviously the tyres are also quite good. The tyres look quite promising here in Jerez. There is nothing more we can do."

 

[ARTC5859]

He's going to Renault as I predicted.

 

[si|verfish]

Eh? I distinctly remember you predicting Raikkonen is staying at McLaren . If it is indeed Raikkonen you meant in the post above.

 

[ARTC5859]

I was referring to Kovalainen and I should have said that Kovalainen is STAYING at Renault.

 

[si|verfish]

I see, the word going is seriously confusing.

 

[acwa238]

So settle then...

Ferrari - Schumi, Massa

McLaren - Alonso, Kimi

Renault - Fisi, Heikki...

Any objections? hehe... but didn't Renault mention Heikki is still premature and they'll want Kimi's service? All these speculations are killing my brain cells...

 

[BlackSamurai]

schumi voice out, i believe Ferrari will definately respect his wish..
http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=125034

Schumi backs Massa for team mate
23 July 2006

Michael Schumacher has lent his support to team mate Felipe Massa saying the Brazilian is doing a good job, and presumably that he'd like him to stay on as his team mate in 2007.


"Many people make the error of comparing Massa to what Barrichello and Irvine did when they had already been racing for Ferrari for a long time," Schumacher told the Gazzetta dello Sport. "You need to let people have time to learn. I think Felipe is doing a good job and you can't expect someone to just jump inside a car and beat everyone immediately."

Schumacher is thought to be stalling on signign a new Ferrari deal while he waits to see who could partner him next season - clearly Felipe Massa seems to be a preferred option to Raikkonen.

 

[butthead]

schumi voice out, i believe Ferrari will definately respect his wish..
http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=125034

Massa is definitely maturing... he no longer gets so many mistakes under preassure from other drivers...

and maybe Schumi is scared of the finn over shadowing him :P jus a thought...