The New Era of Pay Drivers!

Pay Drivers have always been on the grid in F1 and will always remain in the sport! It is just next to impossible to avoid pay drivers in F1. In a sense both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso both had to pay for their first slots but then it was by their sponsors, which is similar to few drivers in the grid and it does not always mean that they are bad. There are 2 types of pay drivers – one who are good but needs some financial backing to get into the sport and others well little said about them is better. Also there are talented drivers who have vanished from the sport because of lack of funds while some mediocre ones continue to appear on the grid.

Ever since the strict tobacco bans came about one sport which has been deeply affected is F1. There was a time when Marlboro was sponsoring both Ferrari & McLaren and nearly every single car on the grid has some cigarette brand on them. Smoking cigarette is injurious to health but just because we see Marlboro on Ferrari does not mean that we are going to go out rushing and buying packs. If Alonso smokes a Marlboro and then drives it may influence people but then having stickers on car does not influence at all. It has been more than a decade since the ban kicked on and people still smoke. Everyone millions of new people join the smoking brigade.

With the global economy in a very bad state there was a time when the top companies had the budget of a third world country but gone are those days and barring a few teams a majority of them lack cash and would not mind more money coming in. Cost cutting and other FIA introduced policies may work but then this is F1 the pinnacle of motorsport so I personally feel like the best of technology should be showcased. I do agree testing 365 days a year is a bit too much but next to zero testing is also not good. FIA for its bit got in 3 news teams recently and among them only Caterham have been decent while Maurussia is there just to get track time while HRT well is a big joke! I would rather see only 10 teams than have 14 teams with teams like HRT on the grid.

In the current grid there are as many as 7 who are in some way of the other classified as pay drivers but then a few can hold on their spot on but still in way their pay driver status helps them get a spot easily over their rivals. Paul di Resta is good enough for a top team but his Force India ride is easier with the Mercedes backing he receives while Sergio Pérez is good enough to be part of the Ferrari Driver Academy but still his Carlos Slim backed sponsorship makes it easier for Sauber to hire him. Williams a team with such a rich heritage is now forced to have 2 pay drivers. Both Bruno Senna^[ and Pastor Maldonado’s credentials are debatable but without their money there is no way that they will be driving for Williams. Also Williams Nico Hülkenberg after a very impressive rookie season for Maldonado’s oil money.

Then there are guys like Narain Karthikeyan who have no business to be in F1 but is still there because of sponsorship money! Here is a driver who is in his mid-30’s in a team which is yet to have a car ready and all this is not at all good for the sport. He maybe a decent driver but without the money there is no chance that he would have made it to F1. Karun is a much better driver who is also younger and it would have been wise for Tata to spend money on him rather than NK. Maurussia has a habit of picking a pay driver for each season and the latest one is Charles Pic. He is young decent driver and could go on for bigger things but currently he is on the grid because he has the sponsors with him.

Romain Grosjean is a very interesting case as he was part of the Renault driver program and though he made his debut for Renault in a controversial way there are people who still feel that he deserves a fair chance in F1 but then he is in Lotus because he is managed by Gravity and also he is still Renault backed so it made sense for Lotus to give him his chance. Petrov the former Lotus driver may still upstage Trulli for the Caterham drive while Sutil though is not a pay driver he does brings with him some sponsorship which will always be helpful. In fact Webber was part of the package when Red Bull got Renault engines but no way can you call a guy like Webber a pay driver.

Pay drivers are not good for the sport but then it is better to have talented pay drivers like Perez & even di Resta rather than have someone like NK still having a go at F1 at the expense of a younger driver. 

Early Days!

It is still early days and the first test is never a benchmark for the season but we can assume a few things as always with this test. In an historic season which will see 6 World Champions on the track with the comeback of Kimi Räikkönen, the season on paper looks to be the most exciting season. 2007, 2008 and 2010 were the most exciting season in recent times while the dominance of Red Bull and Vettel was too much during the course of last season that even Mark Webber in a similar car to Vettel could just not match his pace.

This season the likes of Ferrari and McLaren have said that they will be challenging RBR right from the start while Mercedes & Lotus wants to challenge the big 3. So far based on the times, we can say that right now Red Bull once again has the car which everyone has to beat but then the difference between theirs and their challengers could not be determined and it is still early days. McLaren over the last few seasons despite not having the best of starts eventually catch up with speed towards the end of the season. This is good news for the team with regard to the development pace but then too many times the lead is just too much that the team realistically just cannot catch with the Championship team.

Ferrari is having a sense of Déjà vu of the early 90s’s as they once again do not have the pace to beat the best team but then they are better than the rest. Ferrari has promised something different for this season but unless they do something drastic in the next few weeks they will not be race winners during the 1^st half of the season. The F2012 has problems and they need to be solved quickly. Lotus may not be able to do a Brawn but they do have a car which can consistently fight for podium finishes. Which is actually good news for the team where last season they were nearly caught by the Force India.

Mercedes may have topped the timing but it was with a 2011 car and the team needs to show that it has in it to fight the top 3 teams. This could be Schumacher’s last season and though a win may be very tough a few podium finishes could be good while Rosberg needs to show that he is actually a driver capable of a World Championship as given how he is in his career it could either go the Button way or the Heidfeld way!

Force India aspires to come 5^th in the Championship and they certainly have the most existed driving pairing in recent times so if the car is good then they can challenge the likes of Lotus and Mercedes. But then the team does needs funds and given the current size they are punching well above their weight. They have new sponsors in Sahara who do have bucket loads of cash while with UB in a mess don’t expect too much from VJM this season.

Among the others STR looks most likely to finish ahead of Sauber who are short of funds while Williams now are quickly going down the original Team Lotus route. The team missed an opportunity to sign Kimi and even though they have Renault engines now, Williams are right at the bottom and they need to be careful as the likes of Caterham will be looking to beat them. Maurussia will have a car but HRT is one team which should not be allowed on the grid. The team’s flawed principle on how it views F1 is not a good thing for the sport. Would rather see David Richards and his Prodrive team or even ART GP instead of this team.

Over the Curbs Awards – 2011

After a stunning 2010 season where till the final race of the season you were not sure who will win the F1 Driver’s Championship but 2011 turned out to be a year where Vettel not only became the youngest double World Champion but also broke Mansell’s long standing record of the most number of poles in a season. Red Bull proved that they are no one-hit wonder and that they are here to stay. Red Bull was so dominant that Vettel and RBR won the titles even before the season was over. McLaren and Ferrari were able to challenge the team only at few races while the mid-field battle between Force India, Sauber and STR was pretty exciting.

Schumacher nearly hot the podium in Canada but though he still struggles in qualifying, overall the German Legend has improved his race pace and given a good car can challenge for wins once again though there were silly errors from him throughout the season. Also the whole Lotus saga comes to an end with Lotus Renault GP will now become Lotus while Team Lotus will become Caterham.

Robert Kubica was severely injured before the season started and he is not ready to drive a F1 car. We all hope during the course of the 2012 season, he can atleast drive a car in tests and show that he still has it in him. Also there were talks of Kimi racing for Williams and Lotus Renault for 2012 but given the state of global economy and Kimi’s inflated salary, don’t think a Kimi comeback is on cards.

Among the 3 new tears none really made a huge progress but Team Lotus did manage to challenge some mid-field team during a few races and they should make the jump from this pack to challenge the likes of Sauber and STR. Williams are on a deep slide and they had their worst ever F1 season. If they continue going this way they may end up like the original Team Lotus and may eventually go into liquidation. For 2012 they have big plans and they have signed up with Renault for engines. They had the same Renault engines during their successful period 1989 to 1997. Realistically, we can’t expect the team to win races but they should be challenging the likes of Sauber and STR.

Also there was the first ever Indian GP and it managed to go on without a hitch while Force India has sold a 42% stake to the Sahara group and with Sahara coming onboard, the only way for Force India is to go up and after a stunning last 2 seasons, the team should challenge the likes of Lotus Renault for the coming season.

Over the Club Awards for 2011 Season:

Driver of the Season – Sebastian Vettel

Team of the Season – Red Bull Racing

The Next Big Thing – Paul di Resta

Most Improved Driver – Jenson Button

Most Improved Team – Force India

Race of the Season – Canadian Grand Prix

Best Grand Prix – Singapore Grand Prix

Worst Grand Prix – Chinese Grand Prix

Rookie of the season – Paul di Resta

Most disappointing driver of the Season – Lewis Hamilton

Most disappointing team of the Season – Williams

Lucky to be in F1 (for the season) - Jarno Trulli

Veteran of the Season – Michael Schumacher

Comeback of the Season – Adrian Sutil

Most entertaining driver of the season – Michael Schumacher

Most boring driver of the season – Vitaly Petrov

JV of the Season – Lewis Hamilton
(For the driver who talks utter nonsense like how JV used to do it in his racing days)

Whiner of the season - Rubens Barrichello

Most missed Driver – Robert Kubica

Least missed Driver - Pedro de la Rosa

The Crazy and no-so Crazy Driver Market!

The F1 driver market will always be an interesting read as at times you can hear some audacious stories floating around. For 2012, there is an unusual calm and more or less all the big 4 teams have announced their drivers. I don’t expect any change in Red Bull (Vettel & Webber), McLaren (Button & Hamilton), Ferrari (Alonso & Massa) and Mercedes (Schumacher & Rosberg) and also Sauber has announced that it will continue with Sergio Perez & Kamui Kobayashi while Team Lotus has re-signed both Heikki Kovalainen & Jarno Trulli, there is still some speculation on Trulli’s role if he is going to be a race driver or will he take up a David Coulthard type of role.

Williams, Lotus Renault, Force India, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Marussia Virgin Racing and HRT still has available seats and there are plenty of drivers in the market. The biggest news which is going around is that former World Champion Kimi is having talks with Williams. One may wonder why a driver of the caliber of Kimi would have talks with Williams but it actually makes sense for everyone involved if this actually happens. Williams have gone from one of the most dominant team of the 90’s to a mid-field team which this season has gone even worse. They are just ahead of the 3 new teams of F1. Force India and Sauber are well ahead and even the possibility of catching up Toro Rosso is remote. Williams have announced a partnership with Renault but Red Bull is the premier works team of Renault while Williams is more or less a customer team only. The benefit for Williams by signing Kimi is that they have a former Champion racing for them and this could easily attract new sponsors for the team. Also the serious intent that the team is looking at breaking away from the mid-field will be shown by this move. Williams took a lot of flank by replacing Hulkenberg  with Pastor Maldonado but then atleast the team’s financial situation is stable and Maldonado is doing a pretty decent job and comes with a decent driver pedigree as having won the GP2 Championship. For Kimi, Williams is the sort of team where he would have less pressure as no one expects him to win races with the team and a few good drives would once again entice the likes of Red Bull and McLaren. If Kimi had gone to Red Bull and had Vettel smoked him out like he is doing it to Vettel, Kimi’s future in the sport will have a downward spiral. So Kimi and Williams is the best combination for both the parties involved.

Force India is now almost challenging Renault for the 5^th place and has a realistic chance of taking it but then with Sahara taking over a major stake in the team and also Sahara is keen on an Indian driving for the team, things are not too clear for the team. But then Paul di Resta seems to have a contract for 2012 while there are reports saying that Nico Hulkenberg has already signed for 2012. This line-up seems to be the most logical for the team and if the car is as good as this year, this line-up can pose a challenge for even 4^th place for the 2012 season. F1 is business and nationalistic ideals do not go well with it and Force India may actually will not a sign an Indian driver to race while Sutil is bound to get the axe despite being in the team since the beginning. Sutil has had enough chances and also the brawl in China has not done him any favors. He has some personal sponsors and he is looking at the Williams seat as well but then his days in F1 is more or less over if Force India does drops him.

Lotus Renault is the most complicated team on the grid as despite being called a Renault the team has nothing to do with the car company and all it does is run Renault engines. The team could have had a stellar year this season but Kubica’s accident has ruined everything and his replacement Nick Heidfeld has failed drastically and has even been dropped by the team. It is a bit harsh on Heidfeld as more or less his F1 career is over with this move. Kubica is still recovering and there are rumors floating around that he may become the reserve driver for Ferrari in 2012 and take up the race seat during the 2013 season once Massa’s contract is done. This seems to be a good option for Kubica as given how murky the Renault teams has become. Renault still had a decent car and could attract some good drivers but does the team actually has the money to pay a good driver is a good question. Vitaly Petrov & Bruno Senna are currently racing while Petrov is well backed, Senna if he could pull off some good performance during the last few races, could be a good for the team as the Senna name can attract sponsors. Romain Grosjean is more mature and a better driver than we last saw him and his French connections could earn him a seat but then it call comes to money when Lotus Renault will decide on its drivers.

Toro Rosso has four drivers for 2012 with the incumbents Jaime Alguersuari & Sebastien Buemi more or less evenly matched but with new Spanish sponsors coming in, Alguersuari may have an edge while Daniel Ricciardo & Jean-Eric Vergne will also come into the mix. Ricciardo has done decently well with HRT while Vergne is rated highly but still is untested in F1. STR may just drop both Alguersuari & Buemi and bring in the other guys.

For the minnows, Timo Glock will race for 2012 while Jerome d’Ambrosio may get the boot. The likes of Charles Pic & Giedo Van der Garde will come into the mix while even Petrov can come in if Lotus Renault decides to give him the ax. For HRT, the biggest thing once again will be getting their car ready and anyone with enough money will be driving for team but Vitantonio Liuzzi may yet be retained.

Rubens Barrichello’s long F1 career is coming to an end and it looks certain that Williams have not renewed his contract while Lotus Renault could be his realistic shot at driving a good car while HRT may sign him if he brings in the money.

2012 looks sober but 2013 will be very interesting with the likes of Hamilton, Massa, Webber, Schumacher and Rosberg all without contracts meaning that big 4 teams has seats available. But Mercedes is sure to sign on Rosberg unless McLaren dumps Hamilton while Schumacher will retire at the end of next season but then a few race wins may even keep him going longer for a bit. Massa needs a miracle to continue with Ferrari while only a World Championship could get Red Bull retain Webber. Hamilton’s best chance of another title is with McLaren but then stranger things has happened in F1 and a former World Champion did sign for BAR and his F1 career plunged into the depths and it never took off again. Kimi’s return will be a big  plus for the 2013 silly season as a solid year with Williams could add him in the mix and F1 is just getting interesting.  

Enough is Enough!

Michael Schumacher is one of the greatest formula 1 drivers of all time and he is the best if you go only by statistics. AT 42 Schumacher still has it in him to go head-to head with drivers who were in their diapers when he started racing!

The constant criticism he gets from former drivers and the British media is uncalled for and it is just plain sour grapes. One his arch rivals Jacques Villeneuve who is often known for his brash and crazy comments actually made a good point about Schumacher’s’ comeback. F1 is not about the driver alone and though till the early 80’s it was 50/50 now it is more on the technical side and the car that it is become 80/20 in favor of the car. Yes a Karun Chandhok given a Red Bull may not win a race but a Rosberg with a Red Bull will be a title contender.

During this Belgian GP Schumacher would be celebrating his 20^th anniversary of his F1 debut which happened at Spa. This was also the venue which saw his 1^st race win and been host to a bunch of memorable Schumacher drives. Even during the Canadian GP we were shown that he has not lost much and was actually in line for a podium finish but eventually the faster McLaren of Button and Red Bull of Webber overtook him and he finished a much celebrated 4^th place.

For the British media anyone not from the isles winning races means the car is good while if their own guy wins then it is all about the driver. Vettel, the reigning Champion and also according to many the heir to Schumacher’s throne is considered an inferior driver to Hamilton according to the British press. Vettel has shown that he is a more consistent driver and by far a better team player than Hamilton will ever be. F1 is not about one race but it is about performing the whole season. This is something which Schumacher throughout his F1 career has shown.

From the time he made his debut for Jordan, he has shown that he is a special talent and with an unfancied Benetton managed to win 2 driver’s championships. This was the time when Williams seems invincible and everyone wanted to drive for the team. Also the Frenchman and multiple-time World Champion Alain Prost ran away from Ferrari after a poor season but not Schumacher. Given his German connections he could have easily gone to McLaren but he stuck around with Ferrari and ensured that Ferrari which at that point was lagging behind the likes of Williams, Benetton and McLaren became the best team in F1 history!

His time with Ferrari was one the greatest moments in F1 which resulted in 5 consecutive world championships and barring 2 years of his time with Ferrari, he was challenging for the title every other time. He is one of the greatest drivers ever but he is not a superman who can take a dog of a car and win races in it. Seriously who has managed to do it? None has in reality. Senna did manage to drag a Toleman to a Monaco during very wet conditions while Vettel went one up by actually winning at Monza during a wet race driving for the Toro Rosso team which in its previous incarnation as Minardi was always a back-marker team.

You have to remember that the Brawn GP car in which Button won was actually one of the most expensive F1 cars ever which had close to 2 years in development time. While the likes of McLaren & Ferrari were fighting for titles and Red Bull just coming up the ladder, Brawn thanks to a very generous funding by Honda managed to build a car which during the 1^st half of the season was close to invincible. You can always argue that Rubens Barrichello did not win a single race during that phase but again the driver does make a difference. Best example is if Chandhok is in a Red Bull. Do you thing he can win the title?

The very team in its previous avatars as BAR & Honda F1 has proved real dog of cars. Except for 2004 and to an extend 2006, the team has never produced cars capable of even challenging for podiums at regular intervals. Now how can you expect Schumacher to actually come take this dog of the car and challenge the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren? He can’t and the car is just not capable enough. Also Schumacher is not 28 anymore and he is 42 and he has been out of F1 for 3 years. Yes he is not the same Schumacher anymore but then Rosberg is a very good driver and given a good car he can challenge for wins and maybe even a title. He is similar to Jenson Button who is very consistent and can win a title if everything goes in his way.

It not like Trulli is beating Schumacher and the difference between Rosberg and Schumacher this season is actually not much. Schumacher given the right car will be challenging for wins but then even Vettel with this Mercedes would find it difficult to challenge for podiums leave alone a win. The car could be the best of the rest but it is lagging behind the top 3 teams. So unless Mercedes produces a car where one driver is winning while the other is yet to win you can question Schumacher. Something similar is happening in Red Bull but then since Webber is Australian who is a darling of the British media they still manage to spin the conspiracy theory that RBR gives Vettel a superior car compared to Webber!

Guys like Lauda and Jordan can keep quiet as they have had their time and it is sour grapes that Schumacher has done something which they have never managed to it. Also the British press despite their constant criticism of Schumacher he is actually not that as bad as they portray. Well the last 30 years has produced 4 British Champions and Schumacher alone has more titles put together than these 4 combined. Britain despite being home to F1 has not consistently produced good drivers. Germans since the arrival of Schumacher has had more drivers than the Brits. Among the 2 drivers on the grid, Button can win if there is rain and chaos or he has a car which is 2 second faster than any other car while Hamilton is getting worse as a driver since his F1 debut.

Schumacher is Schumacher and this comeback does not take away anything and if you look purely at statistics like a few commentators have done then Rosberg in his 6^th season is yet to win a race while Schumacher in the 6^th season has already won 2 World Championships! So statistics alone would count for nothing! Give the man a good car and he will show he is still the Man! 

Webbergate: Version 2

The whole “team order saga” once again erupted but then this time around Webber whining is just getting plain boring. Mark Webber is just lucky to drive for Red Bull. If Webber was so good, he would have gone to Renault during the 2007 season but the only reason he got his Red Bull drive was because of Renault supplying engines to Red Bull and his manager Flavio Briatore ensured that the deal happened.

Webber is way over-rated and on his day he can be a good driver but then he is not a “special” driver who can go on and win titles. He can be a good #2 or he can be a good driver for a mid-field team but then expecting Webber to win and challenge for titles is something which just is not possible. Last year people say it was Webber’s best chance but then he was just not consistent enough and that showed that by the end of the season it was Alonso who was Vettel’s biggest threat not Webber.

This season in 8 races before the British Grand Prix, Vettel has won 6 races and managed to finish 2^nd in the other 2 races. McLaren drivers Hamilton and Button both won races but Webber was just chasing Vettel throughout the season and was not even close to him. Even at the British Grand Prix despite on being pole Webber never did challenge him till the last 2 laps and that too it happened because of a horrible pit-stop by the Red Bull crew on Vettel while Webber actually got the better pit strategy.

Webber’s indiscipline this time is unacceptable and Red Bull should just not re-sign him for the next season. If they feel the younger drivers whom they have under contract is not good enough they can just sign Kamui Kobayashi who has proved that he is a highly capable driver and given a fast car he can be more than a capable teammate for Vettel. Or else they can just look at Massa who after the last 2 years in Ferrari is looking lost and he seems to have lost that spark that made him a challenger to the Championship during the 2008 season.

Red Bull does not need Webber while Webber needs them more than anything else. Webber does not have too many good options and the only seat which could be possible is Ferrari but that depends on Massa. Massa had a contract for 2012 but in F1 contracts means nothing so that is a possibility but then Alonso has molded the team around him Webber will have to be a #2 driver. He can go to Renault but with the whole Group Lotus fiasco, Renault may provide a good car but they just cannot provide a race winning car.

Williams and Force India are two options while Williams with a deal with Renault may look like they are keen on revival but given his age Webber would not want to spend his last few years nurturing the team while Force India will always be a team which performs well on a few track rather than a team which challenges for podiums.

Webber should have kept quiet and Red Bull should just sign Kobayashi as he is one for the future and has a good marketing potential too. Webber can just call it day or finish his career with Renault as he has just shot himself with his latest outburst. 

2012: The Silly Driver Market

The driver market has been very stable for the last few things and the last big move occurred when Alonso left Renault to join Ferrari while that was always expected but there have not been any big shocking moves which caused most teams to change drivers. Looking at the line-up of the top teams for the current season, everyone has a good line-up and maybe expect for McLaren, 2012 could be very different for the likes of Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes and even Renault.

Two drivers who could really make a difference and plunge 2012 into a silly season are Mark Webber and Felipe Massa. Webber has a deal only till end of the year while Massa despite on paper has a deal till 2012 nothing is guaranteed as everyone knew what happened to Kimi Räikkönen.

Red Bull owns Toro Rosso for the development of drivers in their program and Vettel’s success vindicates continuing the program but then with Daniel Ricciardo all set for a Toro Rosso seat in 2012, both Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari will be hoping to step-up and become Vettel’s teammate for 2012. But then it all depends on Webber and his chemistry with the team. No team likes a driver who is way too outspoken and keeps criticising & whining to the press about the team and Red Bull given how strong they are can actually any driver to partner Vettel.

Things in Ferrari are a different story and some speculate that had it not been for Massa’s serious accident, it would have been Kimi and Alonso rather than Massa continuing in the team. Massa had one great season where he nearly won the championship but then apart from that season Massa has lacked the consistency which is needed for a top driver. Last season Alonso owned Massa and looking at how things have shaped up this season things may not be that different. Massa’s failure last season was one of the main reasons why Ferrari could not even challenge for the constructors title while McLaren due to good point scoring drives by Button and Hamilton were very much in the hunt.

For Red Bull things are not that complicated as given how strong their car is any good driver would want to drive for them. Webber if he still has that hunger could be retained but I doubt if that could happen. Among the 3 young drivers Daniel Ricciardo is the most talented one but he is yet to drive in F1 while the current STR drivers Buemi and Alguersuari are both good but lacks consistent which Vettel showed when he was in Toro Rosso. If Massa is booted out of Ferrari he could come into the picture as he is a proven performer and with a fast car he can always have a good race. But one name which could surprise everyone was Nico Rosberg. Rosberg has always showed that he had the talent when he was in Williams and moving to Mercedes he did manage to beat Schumacher but then if he does manage to beat him once again this season Rosberg will be able to prove that he belong with the race winners.

One name which keeps popping up whenever Red Bull comes up is former champion Kimi Räikkönen, who is sponsored by Red Bull and is not that serious about either rallying or NASCAR as his deals are all on per race basis. A Kimi return would do F1 a world of good and it would be good to see Kimi and Vettel go up against the likes of Hamilton, Button, Schumacher and Alonso. But then Kimi has been out of F1 for 2 years and things have changed now but not that drastically that he could still be fast and challenge for races. Kimi would be a marketing coup for the team and he is also close to current world champion Vettel which means that the driver harmony in the team will be very good.

Massa and Webber could just swap seats but then Ferrari would actually benefit a lot from Webber as he is off proven quantity and since he does not have too many years left in him, he could fill in the seat till Vettel is available or till the likes of Sergio Pérez and Jules Bianchi are ready for F1. Another name which could be associated with Ferrari will be Nico Hülkenberg. The man is managed by Wili Weber, the same guy who brought Schumacher to Ferrari and the Hulk showed last season that how good he was in a bad Williams’s car and this season in Friday practices he has shown good pace with Force India.

Mercedes could end up losing both its drivers but then though Rosberg to Ferrari rumours are afloat, he is currently in the best position to pick teams as if he has a good 2011, he can actually choose between Ferrari and Red Bull while his teammate Schumacher has said that he will continue to drive till 2012, but then if Rosberg dominates him once again like he did in 2010 and Paul di Resta if he continues in the way he has started the season, he could retire to make way for the younger driver. Another possibility for the Mercedes seat will be Hülkenberg but then his nationality would play a major factor in getting him the seat.

Renault will be waiting for Kubica as this season they do have a car which can challenge for the title and no offence to Nick Heidfeld, who is very good but then he did not have a whole season for 2010 and the car was built around Kubica. Heidfeld could still do well but then losing the early momentum means that the team would be forced to fight for the 3rd place in the championship rather than look at race wins and the title itself. Vitaly Petrov has been impressive so far and if he continues to do the same he could hold on to the seat for quiet sometime. A very good season for Heidfeld means that he could possibly get a seat with likes of Williams and Force India for 2012.

Among the others, veteran Rubens Barrichello could stretch his career further but that is not going to benefit anyone while Sutil if he continues to get outpaced like this then his dream of a top car could just vanish as Mercedes would be looking at the likes of di Resta and the Hulk while Renault wants a consistent driver which Sutil may not be. Timo Glock will rue that he did not take the gamble and sign with Renault as his chance of getting a drive for a top team is getting very slim. Maybe he and Sutil can look at Team Lotus for a drive as Trulli is not getting any younger. One driver who I wish gets a good drive is Kamui Kobayashi as he is a true racer and Red Bull will do no harm in giving him a chance for 2012. If he fails to land a drive in the next few seasons he could fast become these generations Heidfeld, a good talent but never had a race winning car.

Long way to go for the 2012 season but the traditionally the driver’s market slowly picks up momentum at the start of the European season and this year it could be no different.