Speed sacked from STR. Vettel replaces him!

You heard it here first!

 

from autosport.com
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61233

Have we seen the last of Scott Speed in Formula 1? I suppose this also means Dieter Mateschiz has ditched his plans of a US-styled or even based Formula 1 team in order to play the US market with his powerdrinks. And this in the wake of Indy being dropped from the calender, F1 is drifting away from the American continent.

 

and another thing is that Vettel is actually released from his contract at BMW, so I expect BMW to retain both Heidfeld and Kubica. I´m not sure this development is in the best interest of Sebastian Vettel. If he will be a STR-runner in 2008, he´ll probably be partnered by that other Sebestien.

 

Not really:

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=159970&page=3

And I mentioned it in an even older thread, but I'm too lazy to dig it up.

 

Wow. I am so not impressed with STR.

I hope Red Bull yanks their sponsorship and gives it to a team that operates in a much more professional manner. I also hope that Speed finds a home with another F1 team. Ferrari should yank their engines from them as well.

 

yes, over a week ago.

 

i'm really surprised. how can STR pick a rookie, who practically have no experience, to help them to get the results they want?

 

Good question, but at least that rookie has more talent and less attitude.

 

i'm not sure i'd say that that fast Andreas. Scott has been improving lately.

 

completely missed that one.

 

You mean like Mclaren picked Hamilton? (sorry couldn't resist)

 

They can´t. I suppose STR was looking for a short term solution and that was getting rid of Scott Speed. Mind you, they aren´t too pleased witg Liuzzi either, so this is probably STR sitting out the remainder of 2007. They probably will line up Bourdais and Vettel for 2008. Bourdais seems likely, since he did the driving in all three days of the test at Spa.

 

Impossible. The news was confirmed today. Let´s not confuse rumor with fact.

 

No problem, the situation was a bit fluid anyhow. I'm glad to get to see Vettel "with my own eyes" again.

 

+1 I didn't think they would drop him that fast since he did the tests recently at Mugello.

 

Hammi was trained for this. but then again, i could be wrong about Vettel. he is after all, supposed to be the next Schumacher

 

"BusinessF1" calls rumors "premature facts".

I like that.

 

Every time in a F1 car, he has done very well. STR certainly isn´t trading down with replacing Speed with Vettel. I just hope that Vettel will survive in F1 after cutting his lifeline with BMW. In modernday racing, a job with a major manufacturer can be a nice asset. Apparently BMW wasn´t considering Vettel as a racingdriver for 2008, which is not even that surprising when they have Heidfeld and Kubica at their disposal.

 

After scoring a point in his first race in the BMW it will be interesting to see how he does in the STR. With everyone's high opinion of him, I am waiting to see if the STR was that bad or it was the drivers. They now have a good driver and a top engine, so it is up to the car to prove its value.

 

I for one am extremely pleased to hear this. Speed thinks he is heiBe scheiBe when really he isn't and Vettel, I believe, has potential to be a long term great. I would have liked to have seen BMW replace Kubica with him, but seeing speed gone from STR and seeing Vettel in is a win win. I just hope they can get their cars together for next season since they should have two fairly competent drivers in vettel and bourdais (assuming those are their two drivers).

 

I wasn't too impressed with Vettel at Indy since he did make some mistakes here and there, finished below his quali position, and only scored a point because Nico (who I think was better in his first race) had his engine fail with less than 10 laps to go.

 

I believe that Red Bull is not just a sponsor, but the actual owner of the team. They bought the Jaguar team (Red Bull F1 team) and the Minardi team (Torro Rosso), later selling 50% of Torro Rosso to Gerhard Berger. The problem here is their own doing.

 

I think there has been a lot of misguided in house STR effort to sabotage the reputation of Liuzzi and Speed. Liuzzi hasn't lost his talent and Speed certainly picked up his game considerably in recent months. This is an F1 team managed by political wankers and no matter who drives for them they aren't going to look any better until they sort out fundamentals. Liuzzi in particular has had a terrible run of misfortune and they have done nothing to clarify that, flat tyre in Monaco, damaged suspension /steering in Montreal and broken rear suspension at Nurburgring. Even in a marginally better car, say a Toyota (?) either of these drivers would be able to give a representative performance. Maybe neither of them is a shadow of Hamilton but for sure a change of helmets in the cars isn't going to alter STR results. A miserable period for all concerned.

 

It would be nice if any of the larger teams like Toyota or Honda picked up Speed as a test driver. It would do him some good also. Maybe if he was able to show some good pace he could have a shot at the #2 seat at either team in place of Ralf or Reubens.

 

Umm... Hamilton ran away with GP2 Championship last year.