Monthly Archives: November 2013

Heikki Kovalainen looks set to get the Lotus drive for the final two races after negotiations with Nico Hulkenberg came to nothing, with Finland’s MTV saying that the deal is done.

The choice makes obvious sense given that the team has to score points in the final two races, and if it cannot headhunt a driver from another team, even as part of a build-up to 2014, then Kovalainen is the logical option.

He knows the Enstone team well having driven for it under the Renault name in 2007, and since then he has talked several times about a return. Perhaps most importantly he is ‘match fit’ after running six FP1s for Caterham, most recently in Suzuka and Abu Dhabi. He knows the 2013 Pirellis and is totally familiar with the Renault engine and its systems.

He doesn’t have a manager and can thus negotiate directly with the team without any baggage involved. He’s also close to Kimi Raikkonen and may well have been been given a heads-up about Kimi’s plans, allowing him to get his name in the frame early on.

He obviously has a contract with Caterham, but one assumes that the team would not stand in his way, even if it is still considering Heikki as a 2014 race driver – it would clearly do him no harm to return to Caterham having got up to speed by doing a couple of races.

Nico Hulkenberg’s manager Werner Heinz says that the German has turned down the chance to drive for Lotus in the last two races.

Hulkenberg had got as far as visiting Enstone.

“We had an offer from Lotus are available and have discussed about it,” Heinz told Bild. “But we decided that Nico will drive the last two races with Sauber.”

Sauber’s late salary payments would presumably have allowed Hulkenberg to break free of his contractual obligations, although it might still have been complicated legally. Nico may also believe that he might be better off staying with what he knows for the last two races rather than jumping into a new car at short notice. It also begs the question of whether or not the deal led into a guaranteed seat for 2014.

Martin Whitmarsh said today that McLaren has not yet signed contracts with drivers for 2014 – and sounded less convincing than hitherto when discussing the future prospects of Sergio Perez, who many believe will be dropped.

When asked if Kevin Magnussen was in the frame, Whitmarsh declined to be pinned down.

“Lots of people are being considered, when we come to the end of those considerations, we’ll make an announcement,” said Whitmarsh in a phone conference.

“I think firstly we have not provided either of our drivers with a good enough race car this year. So in those circumstances Sergio’s been a great team member. He’s made a spirited contribution, he’s produced some really good races, some exciting races, and ruffled a few feathers. And I think he’s done a pretty good job throughout the whole year. Abu Dhabi was difficult, it was not quite the result that he wanted or we wanted, but it was a difficult weekend, and those happen.

“I think that he’s done a good job. We’re still talking to him, certainly. There’s all sorts of things that I’ve read in the media. The fact is at the moment we haven’t confirmed our driver line-up, we haven’t signed contracts – plural – with drivers, so we’re still talking about that. There’s a lot of honest feedback, both ways, I think it’s best done in private and not in public.”

Whitmarsh was also asked if Perez was driving for his McLaren career over the next two races.

“I think Sergio is a very talented racing driver, I think it’s been a difficult year for him, partly as I said at the outset because we haven’t given him a good enough car. I think he’s a determined driver, he’ll be driving very hard in Texas I know, it’s the closest he’s going to get to home crowd this year, and he’ll want to do a good job in front of those people. We’ll be do everything with him to see if he can get a good result.”

A cynic would point out that for precisely that reason this would not be the ideal time to tell the world that Perez has been dropped.

Regarding the requirement for an intelligent driver in the 2014 turbo era, he said: “I think certainly in an era of change you need bright drivers. I think Sergio is a clever guy, and I think in that regard he’s a good driver for anyone next year, including ourselves.”

He added: “I think we’ve got two intelligent drivers now and I think we’ll have just that next year…”

Williams has confirmed that Felipe Massa will partner Valtteri Bottas in 2014. The Brazilian’s name has been linked with the team for some time, and he replaces Pastor Maldonado, with whom he shares manager Nicolas Todt.

In a statement the team said it “would like to take this opportunity to thank Pastor Maldonado for his efforts and contribution over the past three seasons, in particular delivering the team’s Spanish Grand Prix victory last year. We wish him well for the future.”

Announcing the news, Frank Williams said: “We are delighted to be able to confirm our 2014 driver line-up and welcome Felipe into the Williams family. He is an exceptional talent and a real fighter on the race track; he also brings a wealth of experience as we begin a new chapter in our story. Valtteri is a valued member of the team and I’m pleased he was able to demonstrate his talent in tricky conditions in Montréal. There is much more to come from him.”

Claire Williams added: “It is very exciting for us to be able to confirm our 2014 driver line-up as part of a number of announcements we will be making over the coming weeks. Felipe has demonstrated his talent and speed over the years, as well as his ability to help motivate and drive a team to championship success, and we are extremely pleased that he will be joining us as we embark on our 2014 campaign. Valtteri is an exciting, young talent who has done a solid job for us in his rookie season and we are looking forward to giving him the equipment he deserves to show just how good he is.

“This announcement is a key step towards our goal of returning Williams to the front of the grid, and part of our on-going plans to ensure we are stronger in 2014 and beyond. The stability of having both our drivers on multi-year contracts, Mercedes-Benz as our engine partner and a strong commercial base all contribute to the future success of the Williams F1 Team.”

Massa said: “Williams is one of the most successful and important teams of all time in Formula One. When I was a kid, I always dreamed about racing for Williams, Ferrari or McLaren and I’m glad to be signing with another icon of the sport following my time at Ferrari. It is also nice to remember that some of the best Brazilian drivers raced for Williams and cemented a strong national link with the team. With such a major change of regulations in 2014, I hope my experience will be useful in helping the team in its effort to move on from a difficult period. Since my early days in motor racing, I don’t remember seeing so many new rules in a single season and I’m fully prepared to work with everyone at Grove to make sure we find the right direction.  I’m highly motivated to start working hard from the very beginning in what is an exciting new challenge in my career.”

Valtteri Bottas said: “I have known everyone here for many years, firstly as a test driver and now as a race driver, so it feels like home. I have faith in Williams and I know we can do so much better in the future than our current performance shows. I am looking forward to having Felipe as my teammate. He is a quick and experienced driver and together we will be pushing to the maximum to improve the car and get as many points as we can next season. We will be working throughout the winter to ensure we are ready for the challenge of 2014. I would also like to thank everyone at Williams, especially Frank, Claire and the senior management for their on-going trust in me.”

Kimi Raikkonen will miss the US and Brazilian GPs due to surgery on the back problem that reappeared over the Singapore GP weekend.

Finnish paper Turun Sanomat revealed today that the Lotus driver has opted not to compromise preparations for his return to Ferrari in 2014.

“Kimi will travel to Salzburg on Thursday and the operation will be carried out Thursday or possibly Friday,” his manager Steve Robertson told this writer. “The doctor treating Kimi has already worked on Kimi’s back issue in the past. Having had cortisone injections in the back  already this year and due to the discomfort of being in continuous pain it was felt there is no alternative to delay the operation.”

Inevitably there will be speculation as to how his decision reflects his pay dispute with Lotus and the deterioration in his relationship with the team, especially since the Indian GP controversy. He currently lies third in the World Championship, just eight points ahead of Lewis Hamilton. If he drops out of the top three he won’t have to attend the FIA prizegiving ceremony in Paris in December.

“Kimi had two successful years returning to F1 with Lotus,” said Robertson. “And it would have been nice to secure another top three position in the drivers world championship and to have help the team fight in the constructors  championship.”

It remains to be seen who Lotus opts to hire for the final races.

David Ward has backed a proposal by several FIA member clubs to reform an electoral system that could see the presidential candidate frozen out of the 2013 leadership contest.

The clubs want to reduce the amount of support a candidate needs to gain in order to be nominated, a requirement that could yet preclude Ward from contesting the upcoming election. The deadline is November 15, and Ward has yet to confirm that he has been nominated and is thus able to take on Jean Todt.

Ward has written to other clubs in support of the new proposals, noting: “…a candidate now has to submit a list and support nominations totalling 37 compared with 24 in last election. This is excessive and increases the democratic deficit in the FIA’s election system. Fortunately some clubs have now tabled statute amendments to significantly reduce the size of the list and nomination requirement to seven.”

He’s also pointed out how hard it will to gain acceptance for the proposals, which follow similar attempts in previous years.

“It is likely that the FIA leadership will try to block the new statutes reforms. They will propose referring them to the Statutes Review Commission and encourage the World Councils to oppose a vote at the General Assembly. Whilst the World Councils should be able to make recommendations on statute changes tabled by clubs, in my opinion they should not be allowed to block them. To do so would abrogate the sovereign authority of the General Assembly.

“Rather than wait for more internal review the FIA membership now has the opportunity to vote for change. If approved the 2013 reform proposals will reinvigorate the FIA’s democratic system making it less complex and time consuming but crucially also more accountable and fair.

“I strongly believe that governance reform rather than who will be the next FIA President is the major issue of the 2013 election. I would, therefore, strongly encourage your club to vote in favour of the statute changes that will now be on the agenda of the 2013 General Assembly.”

Even if the changes are voted through at the December World Council meeting it could be academic as far as the leadership election is concerned. However, it could have an impact on the vice-presidents, as they would have to be elected separately – and thus there would be fewer World Council members in place due to the patronage of the president.