Wow, what a silly season! So we have theses candiates for a Lotus-cockpit next year: Perez, Maldonado, maybe Hülkenberg. If Kovalainen drives the last races for Lotus, he maybe have a lastminute chance for Lotus 2014.
quoteKovalainen replaces Raikkonen at Lotus for US and Brazil 14 Nov 2013
Former Grand Prix winner Heikki Kovalainen has been announced as Kimi Raikkonen’s replacement at Lotus for the final two races of the season.
The 32-year-old Finn, who has started 109 races for teams including McLaren and Caterham, will partner Romain Grosjean in the United States and Brazil after Raikkonen elected to undergo season-ending back surgery.
Kovalainen, who had a seat-fitting at Lotus’s UK factory in Enstone on Wednesday, has taken part in six FP1 sessions with Caterham this year, but hasn’t raced since finishing 14th in last November’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
According to team principal Eric Boullier, Lotus opted to replace Raikkonen with Kovalainen rather than promote reserve driver Davide Valsecchi because of the former's’s greater experience.
“Obviously we had to move quickly following the news of Kimi’s non-participation in the final two races of this season, and we found ourselves facing a difficult decision in terms of who should take the wheel in Austin and São Paulo,” explained Boullier.
“On the one hand we had our reserve driver Davide Valsecchi - who is a talented young driver that has shown a great deal of promise - and on the other we had the opportunity to bring in a seasoned Formula One competitor in Heikki.
"Whilst we have every faith in Davide’s abilities, we are obviously involved in a tight constructors’ championship battle, so it was decided that the experience Heikki could bring to the team would be invaluable as we aim to finish the year in the best position possible. We must thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for their professional conduct in allowing Heikki to join us for the final races of this season.”
Kovalainen, who drove for the Enstone-based squad in 2007 when they were known as Renault, said he was delighted to have the opportunity to race again after being released from his Caterham contract.
“It is a fantastic opportunity for me to join Lotus F1 Team for the final two races of 2013,” he said. “We’ve seen this year that the E21 is a car which can win races and finish on the podium, so I will be pushing hard for the best results possible.
“Jumping into a car so late in the year when you have not been competing in the races all season will be a challenge, but I know the team at Enstone well so I have no concerns about getting up to speed. This is a great opportunity for me, so I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for allowing me to take advantage of it.”
Team seats are being filled up. After Nico Hülkenberg has ended up in Force India for 2014, the next secured contract is Pastor Maldonado’s with Lotus.
According to information TS has, Maldonado’s switch to Lotus as Grosjean’s teammate will be confirmed some time next week.
Sauber might end up with a Mexican duo. Sergio Perez has knocked on Force India’s door since Sutil’s contract and driving alongside Hülkenberg depends upon whether someone offers a bigger sponsor budget.
If Perez doesn’t fit in Force India’s plans, then Sauber might be interested to get him as Esteban Gutierrez’s teammate as long as they can agree upon finances. Russian Sergei Sirotkin’s rise to Sauber is still unsolved.
Heikki Kovalainen is a strong candidate for Caterham next season. Heikki is on the top of Tony Fernandez’s list.
Since Kovalainen doesn’t bring money to the team, they expect loads of it from the other driver. Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson is one of the big names who have a big budget, so the continuance of both Charles Pic and especially Giedo van der Garde is unclear.
I wonder if Maldonado is better than Perez for Lotus, they are both crash-prone, they both bring lots of millions to the team... well at least Maldonado has won a race, but with a better McLaren, Perez would have done the same. Maybe Hulk was a better choice but they couldn't sign him because he doesn't bring money to the team.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see, who, of all this middle pack drivers, will shine from his middle pack team next season...
Quote: vida wrote in post #685I was wondering, if maldonado going to lotus means that they will have two oil companies. Is it possible?
This is a really hard for me to understand.
Lotus will go from having a great car driven by a top 3/4 Driver plus an up and coming 'star' to a team that now will only hire pay drivers. How bad can the money situation be?
At least I wont have to cheer for them anymore (would have done so if Hulkie was driving for them) but that pairing. Dunno whom I dislike more =D
"Walk on, through the wind, Walk on, through the rain, Though your dreams be tossed and blown. Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart, And you'll never walk alone, YOU`LL NEVER WALK ALONE!!!"
quoteHulkenberg set for Force India after Sauber turns him down
Nico Hulkenberg looks set to be with Force India next year after apparently failing in an attempt to stay at Sauber.
While the German signed a deal with Force India some time ago he had until the start of this week to make a final decision on whether to proceed – a logical move, given that the Lotus deal was still open to him. However, Pastor Maldonado has finally agreed to join the Enstone team.
Meanwhile in the light of the recent improvement in form Nico enquired about staying with Sauber. It’s believed that he was told on Sunday that it would not be possible, leaving him committed to Force India.
Despite his good performance on track he has apparently fallen out of favour off it, presumably by not only agreeing the deal with Force India, but also paying a visit to Lotus prior to the US GP, which included a seat fitting.
Force India is keen to have Hulkenberg back on board despite being snubbed in favour of Sauber in the middle of 2012.
With Sergio Perez likely to join Hulkenberg at Force India it looks increasingly likely that Adrian Sutil will leave and eventually end up Sauber.
The identity of his team mate remains the missing piece in the transfer jigsaw, as it appears that the team is unlikely to keep Esteban Gutierrez. Sauber’s Mexican sponsorship deals have now come to an end, and sources say that the team is looking elsewhere. As noted here on Monday the name of Jules Bianchi has been mentioned, but both Marussia and the Frenchman’s management have denied that it would be possible. http://adamcooperf1.com/2013/11/27/hulke...turns-him-down/
also, Brawn seems to be out of merc, but not going to ferrari ( Di Papadopoulos)
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Wed Nov 13, 2013 7:07 pm (Last edited: Wed Nov 13, 2013 7:18 pm)
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