010 - News Headlines F1

Buemi for Red Bull in 2012?

This story I have to admit took me completely by surprise. On the back of Mark Webber having re-signed to Red Bull to partner Sebastien Vettel for 2011, news or rathe rumour has suggested that Toro Rosso (Red Bull 'B' team) driver Sébastien Buemi is being lined up to partner Vettel in 2012. This story surprised me somewhat, as only recently Buemi was told to up his performances if he was to retain his current drive for next season. This coupled with the in my opinion more consistent and impressive drives by his Spanish stablemate Jaime Alguersuari (pictured) such as challenging Schumacher in Australia and his points finish in Malaysia (especially considering Buemi has driven these tracks before), I would not have considered the Swiss born Buemi as a potential candidate for a seat in what has become a championship challenging team. To give credit where credit is due Buemi's performance in Canada was solid, though my doubts about his consistency and future potential continue to linger. Furthermore Red Bull have recently been linked with attempting to offer 2007 champion Kimi Raïkkönen a return to the sport, despite their inevitable denials. Choosing solely between the two (although it is evident that both require more experience yet) I would rather have highlighted Alguersuari as the potential heir to Webber's Red Bull throne. Then again Red Bull's Helmut Marko has a habit of not making sense sometimes, and perhaps Toro Rosso's current line up should be grateful if nothing else that his usual trigger happy finger hasn't quite reared its ugly head just head, as Tonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed and 4 time ChampCar champion Sébastien Bourdais will attest to. Let's not forget that this story remains largely as rumour for now, but will be an interesting one to watch.

Mercedes against 4th team supply to Red Bull:

This story frankly should come as no surprise at all given that two of Red Bull's chief rivals are currently using Mercedes power in the shape of McLaren and also the works Mercedes team themselves. It's understandable that Norbert Haug wouldn't want to be supplying another team with engines when ultimately they could result in defeating the works crew. Mercedes' works team has had a somewhat troubled start to the 2010 season, potentially suffering as a result of the investment issues under previous incarnation Brawn GP, and Brawn's heavy push for the 2009 championship. Much has also been said about the somewhat inconsistent performance of the returning 7 times champion Michael Schumacher, as although further time will tell if the German can adapt to the new regulations his performances thus far have mostly not been eye catching, with particular reference to what appeared to be an almost desperate drive in Canada last weekend during which he became involved in a multitude of collisions and near-misses. With talk already of Mercedes GP abandoning most of the developmental work on the 2010 car to focus on the 2011 design process, it comes as no surprise that the company will not put themselves under extra potential pressure by supplying frontrunners Red Bull.


Ferrari's Di Montzemolo criticises new teams (again).

Forgive me for a moment if I congratulate myself on almost predicting the latest outburst from Ferrari's head principal, for it was only in my previous post that I mentioned the issues regarding the new teams and the maligned nature of their performance. di Montzemolo has been critical from the outset of the performance of Lotus, Hispania and Virgin Racing suggesting that their current pace should not warrant a grid position in the pinnacle of motor racing, and that instead top teams should be allowed to run 3rd cars. I won't for one moment deny that currently the new teams are lacking in performance somewhat, that they have had some embarassing troubles along the way with Virgin's fuel tank issue and the accident above easily recalled, and are racing in almost a league of their own (though Lotus' Heikki Kovalainen impressed in Canada). It seems though that Ferrari's chief should re-assess his focus, as the Italian team are in danger should their Valencia upgrades be unsuccessful of slipping out of championship contention. It cannot be denied that there were some serious negligances on behalf of the FIA and Max Moseley on awarding entries last year, though again to give credit where it is due Lotus' (and to a point Virgin's) performances continue to improve, and Hispania are making large advances especially given their almost non-start to the season. Whilst di Montezemolo has a point about the new teams' poor performances, a little support in the way of my suggestion in my previous post yesterday may go a long way to resolving both of their issues.