Hulkenberg Out!

[Flyin Ryan]

Originally Posted by SennaTheGreat

Pastor Maldonado according to the bbc is highly tipped.

Can we please make Pastor Maldonado's nickname Preacherman?

[Joe Taylor]

Originally Posted by Super Hans

It wasn't too long ago that a sold, unspectacular debut season was seen as a positive thing! I think Hamilton and Vettel must've raised the bar with their storming debut seasons.

But, remember that Vettel and Hamilton made their débuts before the testing ban was brought in.

[Knowlesy]

Williams put me more and more in mind of the last ten to fifteen years of Tyrrell.

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by ECW Dan Selby

Great shame for him, as I can't see him ending up in a team that's ahead of Williams.

Selby

Unless Williams becomes 2011's HRT....

And No. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

[SennaTheGreat]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

Williams put me more and more in mind of the last ten to fifteen years of Tyrrell.

Just like i said about the joke saying i heard/maybe read on this forum somewhere?

Originally Posted by SennaTheGreat

Regarding Williams I heard a funny quote a while ago, could have been off here. It's something like this

"Williams. The new Tyrell. McLaren. The new Williams." Or something like that.

[The SpeCTator]

Cant think why they did not drop Rubens, his best days are well past, Nico H best days are still to come, another blunder by Frank and Patrick, but hey they have done it before, sadly many times!

[jab]

I'm thinking Williams are more old Lotus than Tyrrell

Lotus had that "dead dog bounce" from 85 to 87 where they won a few races with Senna and de Angelis, which you could compare with the Williams-BMW years

Tyrrell were never really the same team after Scheckter left, which was 1976, 22 years before they were finished. You could go as far as to say they're a one man team in terms of F1 history. Which might be a bit controversial. I don't think you can compare them to Williams, though - Williams are a much greater team than Tyrrell ever were

And they aren't going to drop Rubens because 1) he was better than Hulkenberg this year and 2) he's got the experience to develop a car and he's one of the best in the field for that. If they picked Hulkenberg paired with Maldonado, they'd slide even further down the field. It's because of Rubens that they got as far up the WCC as they did

[Skam85]

Yes, but Tyrrell became BAR, which became Honda F1, which became Brawn, which became Mercedes GP.

Villeneuve to Williams.

[Paradise City]

I would've considered the one year HRT deal (or being benched for a year as that HRT team presently has noone to build their cars!)

Pastors millions would've worked their magic on the Williams infrastucture so a definite move up the grid is likely and a seat would've been available once Barrichello moves out.

As it is he's let loose out there and he'll be lucky to find a seat where he won't be forgotten by this time next year.

[Wims]

Originally Posted by EGG

...

Would like to see Nico at Lotus, but I think their contracts are tied up.

That would be very, very bad for Nicos career. There's no way out of that hole I dont think

[WapFlap]

If I would be Mercedes I would sign the guy and let him be the testdriver or place him at Force India to let him mature a bit more. Then in 2012 he can replace the other Willi Weber managed driver

[OZ_HCR32]

Hulk has had a great year. If I was Liuzzi I wold be concerned there is now another reason why I could lose my seat. Mercedes sign another promising young German, park him in a Mercedes engine powered team and have a seed in the ground growing whilst Michael gives it one, final nudge

[ensign14]

Originally Posted by Wims

That would be very, very bad for Nicos career. There's no way out of that hole I dont think

Hm, Alonso and Webber parlayed a seat at Minardi into something better, in Alonso's case he had patronage - the same would have applied to Hulk, as surely he would have stepped into Rubens' shoes. Only with the extra skills of working with a much worse car.

I assume Hulk's got something definite lined up, but it's ifficult to see where. Renault? Force India? Will Massa be moved out and the resultant shuffle create a space somewhere? Is Toro Rosso THAT much of an improvement on HRT-with-Williams?

[Knowlesy]

Depends if HRT even make it over winter really. Toro Rosso perhaps carries the chance of promotion to RBR too.

[Peter Mallett]

I have no time for Kolles, who IMO is a nasty, small minded individual. He can't even get a decent pay driver to work for him.

As to the Hulk? I hope he finds something good, because I was impressed by his performances overall.

[stripedcat]

Since Newey left Williams they have been on a downward spiral. Okay they had some good races with the BMW engine, but since then their performance has been really poor. I hope from next season they will be back on better form.

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by ensign14

Is Toro Rosso THAT much of an improvement on HRT-with-Williams?

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

Toro Rosso perhaps carries the chance of promotion to RBR too.

I know that contracts mean nothing in F1, but STR have confirmed their drivers for next season. That said, i'd have Nico in the STR over its current 2 drivers, but then i'd have Nico in the Force India over Sutil and Liuzzi.

Surely Nico has to be an attractive proposition for both RBR and Mercades, and STR and F1-F1 have to be ideal seats as previously mentioned.

[Dan Fielden]

I personally dont think william's offer of a loan season at HRT before coming back to williams was a bad offer. Yes its a season at the back and not where he's used to being, however having a guaranteed return to an (in my opinion) improving williams team after a season in a diffcult car i believe he'l come back a stronger driver.

I think he'l fall on his feet because he is a top young driver and id like to see him as Merc's 3rd driver for next season. I think that would be a good alternative for him.

STR would be a good idea but with the amount of Red-Bull development drivers on the books, i dont see him getting the nod over a Riccardio or a Jean Eric Vergne unfortunatley. Sato and Bourdais would vouch for the difficulty in keeping a torro rosso drive over one of the dev drivers.

Force India seem content with their squad and if Liuzzi does go Di-Resta surley would take the vacancy id hope.

He's got a bright future and will be battling Hamilton, Vettel, Rosberg and co' for future titles but the HRT dal wasn't to be sniffed at IMO

[Teretonga]

Assuming HRT is around next year....
Williams can't pay for his seat or they would have employed him, not Maldonado.
joes saward says Williams is still looking for money so maldonando can be farmed out an dthey can take Hulkenberg, which all makes sense.

But for now he is a free agent, but there aren't any seats and Petrov seems certain to get his back.

We need a buyer for HRT to put the team on a proper basis and develop the 12th team into something competitive for F1. Its not a hobby, F1 is a business and a highly competitive one.

[Ingsy]

A couple of people mentioning a third driver role for him - are they bringing any sort of testing back next year? "Test driver" seems to be a one way ticket to retirement at the moment.

I'd rate the Hulk better than Sutil - I've never understood the hype about him. Still living off that Monaco race from about 2 years ago? Liuzzi also, although he seems to have had more of the bad luck this year, from what I can remember. Don't they both have contacts with FI for next year though?

I thought Petrov was looking shaky with Renault, until the last race, but wouldn't be surprised to see him there next year.

How about BMW - have they got two drivers signed for next year? I'm hoping they keep Kobayashi though, as he is highly entertaining to watch

[chunterer]

Agree about Sutil, fairly overrated but his face must fit.

Sauber (BMW) have Kobayashi and Sergio Perez for next year. Now if we're talking about potential stars like Hulkenberg, Perez may be another one.

[chillibowl]

i suppose it is a sign of the times, but why can't Hulk get sponsorship and become a pay driver himself or race for less money and earn a living through personal endorsement deals secured by the fact he is an F1 driver....or is he already doing this?

with a new German WDC, a highly connected manager and considering Hulk is talented it should be much easier for him to find backers and commercial opportunities than almost every other pay driver out there.

im almost certainly missing something here.

[Teretonga]

What was interesting were comments attributed to Sir Frank W. that he was a star in the making before and after Brazil.
After Abu Dhabi there were a lot more frank comments about his current performances and I read somewhere that Adam parr had said something to the effect that they had had ups and downs with him.

Don't forget that Williams had invested in his F3 and GP2 career and may have been miffed that he didn't buy into the idea of a year at HRT with a long term Button type 'development contract'.

(Assuming the rumours about going to HRT have some substance to them).

[jab]

As a big Sutil fan, and a fan of Hulkenberg too, I'm inclined to disagree that Hulkenberg is better. At least at this stage. Sutil had another positive year, finishing level on points with Rubens and quite a way ahead of Nico despite having a poorer car for at least half a season

And no, Adrian isn't living off Monaco 2008. He's proved himself enough times since as well - have we forgotten that he got a front row at Monza last year, for instance? And his wet weather driving, usually the sign of a talented driver, is generally exemplary. I think he's the most underrated driver on the grid, not far off the position Webber was in a few years ago

[miniman]

Originally Posted by chunterer

Agree about Sutil, fairly overrated but his face must fit.

Sauber (BMW) have Kobayashi and Sergio Perez for next year. Now if we're talking about potential stars like Hulkenberg, Perez may be another one.

Rather a stupid move in GP2 sprint race, taking both himself and Bird out!