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So... The rumor mill has churned up the idea of Vettel replacing Massa at Ferrari. What do you think? Is it plausible? Would the two be able to get on in the same team? Which do we think would get shown up?
My personal opinion is that it's plausible, but that Alonso would stomp all over Vettel.
not gonna happen any time soon... Vettel enjoys his time in Red Bull and feels comfortable there. If by any chance he want's to drive for ferrari just because it's ferrari, then that will probably happen when Alonso is done racing...
IMO there's no place for both of them there at this time...
Alonso fears no one, but I don't see any good incentive for Vettel to contemplate switching just yet. Ferrari = crap car, until proven otherwise.
I think they could coexist. The idea of having two stars in one team hasn't been discredited yet - the sample size has been too small. The most important thing is that they feel they're treated equally within the team. The next problem is driving standards/etiquette, but those problems also exist when they're in separate teams so it's not a completely foreign issue. They were cutthroat, but still in control, at Monza last year which to me is a positive sign.
I would expect Alonso to defeat Vettel by a slim margin. Vettel is probably superior in qualifying but the Spaniard has too many skills to draw upon. They would stomp everyone in the Constructors' though, and I believe that will sorely tempt Ferrari management. Apologies to McLaren, but there is no team in F1 that has two elite drivers currently.
They say there is a pre contract with Ferrari for 2014. That's not the middle of this season, it's not even the end of this season but the end of next season. Until then there is no chance that Vettel will want to leave Red Bull, a team he thinks of as his own, he isn't leaving that anytime soon and why would he... there is literally no incentive.
Who knows, I think Alonso is the superior driver, but how do we really compare them?
I think it would be less drama as neither are or were citizens of Italy. This is a very mature forum (compared to most) and I am continually amazed at how many won't let the Alonso/Boss debacle go. (on other forums)
I would just enjoy the ride (no pun intended)
I won't buy this story, I can't imagine Vettel wants to risk this move in what will be his best years in Formula 1 (as if his previous were bad...). Maybe when he is a bit older, for the brand and the nostalgia, or maybe after 2014 if Ferrari is better at adapting to new regulations and engines.
I'm not saying its a risk because he is slower (I do think overall Alonso will have the edge though, just), but because he would be moving in a team owned by Alonso. You wouldn't want to do this if your alternative is driving in a friendly environment in a equal or better car (for the last few years).
I hear what everyone is saying with the Ferrari being unproven in the new regs to truly make a "competitive" car. But I think it's difficult to say with 2014 on the cards, in honesty. The engines are a big question mark, especially after engine makers are contemplating raising the price of engines sky-high due to development costs, including Renault. With that in mind the only proven consistently "top" team, with a consistently good engine, will be Ferrari.
I hear what people say about Vettel getting stomped by Alonso, and I can see why some say that. Personally I disagree though - I think they're both going to be very close, if this indeed does happen, and in fact too close to call. Whoever beats the other (given equal reliability) will only do so by a slim margin IMO.
Also I hear what people are saying about them not wanting the other in the same team, as that would mean taking points of each other. But with the grid so close, or one as close as 2012 so far, would it really matter? The idea of having a patsy driver coupled with a world-class driver is so that the patsy one doesn't take points off the world-class one when the car is strong. But when the field have cars that are more or less equally competitive in all cars - then that scenario holds no water, really, because everyone is practically in the "same car" when it comes to competitiveness.
The BBC are now reporting Alonso has said he has no problem with either Vettel or Hamilton as team-mate. The plot thickens...
Alonso: "When I won the 2005 championship with Renault, I was linked to Ferrari immediately - and I arrived in 2010... So, if Sebastian is linked now, maybe he'll arrive in five years' time. I don't know."
Vettle will make his decison based on the car alone, at the moment Ferrari are no faster than Red Bull, if over the next couple of seasons Red Bull fall behind then I'd expect him to move, if not to ferrari then to Mercedes who really do want him.
He's not going to move just because he wants to drive a Ferrari before he retires, if he moves it will be to drive a faster car, period.
Would Alonso want him in the team, I doubt it, he's used to being number one and the longer this goes on the harder it is to accept equal status.
I think Ferrari do want him but not yet, maybe a year before Alonso hangs up hig gloves, meanwhile its unsettling vettle & Red Bull which is what Ferrari want.
Unc1e_M0nty wrote:Vettle will make his decison based on the car alone
Really? To me, making your decission on what team to drive for based on a car you won't be driving would be astoundingly stupid.
I would expect he would make the move based on a combination of things such as pay, working conditions, promises of the quality of the next car, having the right engineers around him, ...
I wouldn't be surprised to see Vettel team up with Alonso at Ferrari, but I think it's more likely that he'll end up at Ferrari toward the end of his career, so he can ride off into the sunset on a prancing horse. (Interestingly enough, that was Senna's plan.)
thearmofbarlow wrote:What driver hasn't been rumored to be going to Ferrari?
Karthikeyan, de la Rosa.
But on a more serious note - it's true. Just about every racewinning driver has been rumored as such.
Too true. Slot the phrase "race winning" in between "What" and "driver" in my sentence. As soon as you top a podium the rumors start flying. Hell, it happened with Maldonado and Perez just this season. "OOH, Sergio won a race! Is he going to Ferrari?"
