Adrian Sutil has secured a deal with Sauber to ensure himself a race seat for 2014. He will effectively make the inverse move of Nico Hulkenberg who joined Force India following his departure at Sauber.
Huh, why on earth would Mclaren want Massa?"I've had contact with McLaren," added Massa, who has seven races remaining with Ferrari. "I cannot judge, it's hard to say. With Lotus, the contact has been very good."
Yes it seems Marko asserted himself and took a unilateral decision to get with signing Riccardo. I'm sure Horner has seen that happen a few times each year on stuff we don't normally hear about. The question for Horner is whether the reward of being TP of one of the most dominant teams in F1 history outweighs the annoyance of the owner's interference. Other examples are Steve Jobs at Apple through to Abramovich at Chelsea FC.munudeges wrote:Yer. Just be careful you're not announcing it without first informing the people who are actually running said Austrian team.
The quote doesn't say that, it simply says he's had contact with them. For all we know that contact could have ranged from "get lost", to "lets meet for a cup of tea" to "we'll pay anything you want", to GT racing in the P1.xDama wrote:Huh, why on earth would Mclaren want Massa?
Oh, my original post mentioned 'contract' as opposed to 'contact' which changes a lot. Please discard the older version. Let's see where Massa will land.xDama wrote: Huh, why on earth would Mclaren want Massa?
Test driver? He s supposedly pretty good at development work...I think...xDama wrote:http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/3003 ... tus-talks/
Huh, why on earth would Mclaren want Massa?"I've had contact with McLaren," added Massa, who has seven races remaining with Ferrari. "I cannot judge, it's hard to say. With Lotus, the contact has been very good."
If Hulkenburg doesn't have a seat next year I won't be watching F1 anymore. If he doesn't make a move to a good team, I will be very disappointed. If Massa or Maldonardo get picked above him, I will wreck my house.ESPImperium wrote:The rumor I was hearing was Maldanado is off to Lotus with Massa replacing Maldanado.
The €12m from Grosjean from Total and the €65m from PDVSA would steady the Lotus finances, and Massa could then bring money from Brazil in BR Petrobas and a couple other Brazilian companies who are looking at Massa as a stop gap as Nasr isnt maturing the way he should.
The wild one i heard is that Hulkenberg may be left without a seat, as Sauber are looking at trying to lure Pic and his €24m to pair him with Sirorkin and his €35m in order to stabalise their finances.
Leaving Caterham with Van Der Garde and his €17m and posibly Rossi with a €20m from American companies like GE.
Marussia will probably keep Bianchi and Chilton.
There is loads of wild rumors out there. Some of the sensible ones are too sensible to me.
Valid point.richard_leeds wrote:The quote doesn't say that, it simply says he's had contact with them. For all we know that contact could have ranged from "get lost", to "lets meet for a cup of tea" to "we'll pay anything you want", to GT racing in the P1.xDama wrote:Huh, why on earth would Mclaren want Massa?
Sauber/Sirtokin while Frijns doens't even have a testseat anymore? Probably one of the biggest talents that'll be wasted because of the financial state of F1.SectorOne wrote:Yea Hulk needs a proper seat, very good driver.
If Massa gets a seat over him you know the financial state of F1 is completely wrecked.
via Grand Prix 247Lotus confirm Grosjean and deciding between Massa or Hulkenberg
Lotus is weighing up between Nico Hulkenberg and Felipe Massa to complete its 2014 Formula 1 driver lineup.
Asked recently if – in the interests of continuity – Romain Grosjean will definitely be retained next year if Kimi Raikkonen departs, team boss Eric Boullier answered simply: “Yes.”
So that leaves only the cockpit currently occupied by the Ferrari-bound Finn Raikkonen to fill.
The candidates are Hulkenberg – the impressive German who after moving from Force India last year is now seeking to jump from struggling Sauber – and the experienced Ferrari refugee Massa.
Brazilian Massa, 32, might have the edge.
According to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, Frenchman Boullier said recently that, “In 2014, experience will be more important than speed”.
He is referring to the move from the current engine rules to next year’s regulations surrounding the turbo V6s, which according to most of the sport’s technical insiders is perhaps the biggest shift in the history of Formula 1.
That is why, on the face of it, while the younger but hugely promising Hulkenberg perhaps should be the favourite, Massa’s vast wealth of experience might have him in pole position for the seat.
A source close to Boullier told Brazilian correspondent Livio Oricchio: “The chances are 50 per cent apiece for Hulkenberg and Massa.”
Oricchio said the prize on offer is a two-year contract with options.
And there may be another factor counting in Massa’s favour — money.
While definitely not a traditional ‘pay driver’, Massa would bring some weighty support to Lotus in the form of his well-connected manager, Nicolas Todt.
The son of FIA president Jean Todt, Nicolas has – according to Italy’s Autosprint – already brought a sponsor to Lotus in the form of Swiss watchmaker Richard Mille.
Massa’s continuity in Formula 1 is also backed strongly by Bernie Ecclestone, who fears the absence of a single Brazilian on the grid could affect the success of the crucial Brazilian market, and the popular Brazilian Grand Prix.
“It would be surprising if (Ecclestone) has not talked to Boullier and (Gerard) Lopez about his preference regarding the choice between Hulkenberg and Massa,” said Oricchio.
Massa told Brazil’s O Globo broadcaster this week: “We are negotiating (with Lotus).
“The Lotus is a very competitive car, which is what I want. It’s a team that has a very important story with Brazil as well.
“They’ve had a hard time financially, so we are having many conversations to try to find a way not only for me to have a good car, but for Lotus as well.”
Meanwhile, when asked about Massa’s claim there has also been contact with McLaren, a spokesman for the British team told us: “We don’t comment on media speculation with regard to rumoured driver movements.” (GMM)
Would Total be happy sharing car space with another oil company? Would be a little strange certainly!ESPImperium wrote:The rumor I was hearing was Maldanado is off to Lotus with Massa replacing Maldanado.
The €12m from Grosjean from Total and the €65m from PDVSA would steady the Lotus finances, and Massa could then bring money from Brazil in BR Petrobas and a couple other Brazilian companies who are looking at Massa as a stop gap as Nasr isnt maturing the way he should.
The wild one i heard is that Hulkenberg may be left without a seat, as Sauber are looking at trying to lure Pic and his €24m to pair him with Sirorkin and his €35m in order to stabalise their finances.
Leaving Caterham with Van Der Garde and his €17m and posibly Rossi with a €20m from American companies like GE.
Marussia will probably keep Bianchi and Chilton.
There is loads of wild rumors out there. Some of the sensible ones are too sensible to me.
