Rory Phoulorie Zorce Jedi Knight
Joined: 26 Jan 2007 Posts: 1698
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Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 11:09 am Post subject: F1: Silly Season Goes Into Full Swing |
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Friday 17th August 2007
The past seven days have seen the column inches dry up on two of the most controversial episodes in the history of F1.
McLaren and Ferrari have gone quiet on the 'spy' scandal that emerged from the acquisition of Ferrari technical information by McLaren's suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan.
With an appeal hearing into the case due to be held at world governing body the FIA's court of appeal in Paris on September 13, all those involved have gone to ground as the teams prepare their cases.
Meanwhile, McLaren drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are each simmering in silence as the dust begins to settle on their pit-lane contretemps at the Hungaroring last time out.
Aside from a couple of statements issued by the Woking-based team that tried to play down the rift between their drivers, the British marque have largely adopted a 'least said, soonest mended' attitude to their internal strife.
This being Formula One, however, the news never stops, and the latest hot topic to grip the paddock is the who-goes-where-next-season debate that traditionally rears its ugly head in the weeks following the Hungarian Grand Prix.
It's time to forget all the serious stuff.
The Formula One 'silly season' is in full swing.
Two drivers have already been handed a harsh lesson in F1 politics and expectations in the 2007 season.
Christijan Albers was replaced by Sakon Yamamoto at Spyker after one of the Dutchman's personal sponsors failed to stump up cash promised to the team, while American Scott Speed has been usurped by Sebastian Vettel at Toro Rosso after a very public spat with the team's management.
Vettel will stay at the Red Bull-funded squad for next season, when he will be joined by namesake and three-time Champ Car Champion Sebastien Bourdais, who replaces the underperforming Tonio Liuzzi.
Looking ahead to the driver merry-go-round for 2008, Williams test driver Narain Karthikeyan has emerged as a realistic contender to bag a race seat with the Grove-based squad.
The Indian comes with a guarantee of substantial backing from the largely untapped economy of his homeland, with Karthikeyan's Rupees having already secured him a season with the now defunct Jordan team in 2005.
Karthikeyan's links to a race seat at Williams inevitably puts pressure on incumbents Alex Wurz and Nico Rosberg.
Of the two, Rosberg is clearly the quicker driver - although he trails his Austrian team-mate in terms of points on the board - but he is fast falling out of love with Frank Williams' midfield-running team, and is reportedly on the lookout for a new drive.
There will likely be a few options open to the young German, with Ralf Schumacher out of contract at the end of the season following three disappointing seasons with Toyota.
There also remains doubt over the future of Italian veteran Giancarlo Fisichella, who is sweating on a new deal with reigning Constructors' Champions Renault.
And talk of Renault inevitably brings us back to the future of their former driver Fernando Alonso, who left the team at the end of 2006.
So bad have things gotten at McLaren in recent weeks that speculation has started to mount the Spaniard might try to bail out just 12 months into his three-year agreement with McLaren team principal Ron Dennis.
Drives at Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Honda can be ruled out, with those teams certain to retain their current line-ups for 2008, leaving Renault and possibly BMW as Alonso's only options.
BMW, however impressed they may be with Germany's Nick Heidfeld, would no doubt jump at the chance to run a title-winning driver in their squad alongside the up-and-coming Robert Kubica.
However, Alonso's likeliest move would be back to Renault, taking the place of Fisichella alongside the rapid yet inexperienced Heikki Kovalainen.
The 26-year-old enjoyed some of his happiest F1 moments while racing for the Anglo-French squad between 2003 and 2006, claiming the Drivers' title twice and winning 15 races.
Given the events of the past few weeks, Alonso will almost certainly be wondering what he could achieve back at the team that gave him his big break in F1.
Far fetched? Certainly. But then that's what the silly season is all about.
Planet-F1 |
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