I'm so confused. Where will Fisi drive? Who is the driver at Renault? Piquet? What about RB, RS, DC, etc... Where do we stand on the lineup for 2008? Can we get a list of confirmed and speculative drivers? Ferrari- KR,FM McLaren-LH,HK Renault-FA,Mr.P (I don't know his first name) etc.etc.... Thanks.
"Honda's brains trust are adamant that Rubens Barrichello is the right man to race alongside Jenson Button in 2008." So Honda is RB,JB.
Ferrari: Raikkonen/Massa McLaren: Hamilton/Kovalainen Renault: Alonso/Piquet BMW: Heidfield/Kubica Williams: Rosberg/Nakajima Toyota: Trulli/Glock (Is Trulli for sure staying, lots of rumors of people (alonso/kov) in talks with toyota...) Red Bull: Coulthard/Webber Toro Rosso: Vettel/Bourdais Super Aguri: Sato/Davidson (really not sure on this one actually) Force India: Sutil/ Fisi? (They would be foolish not to take him I think) Honda: Button/Barichello I think this is about right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Formula_One_Season This has the complete driver's list for next year, currently there are only 3 openings for race seats, 2 at Super Best Friends, and 1 at Force India/Spyker/Spkyer MF1/Midland/Jordan. I see Sato getting one at SA, then either Ralfy or Fisi at Force India, and maybe Davidson at Super Aguri.
Lucio Cavuto, who is Jarno Trulli's manager, has confirmed that JT will be at Toyota until the end of 2009.
Fisichella at Force India would be quite appropriate, because he drove for the same team twice before in its prior identity as Jordan, including scoring their last victory in 2003.
If I were force India, I'd give Klien a race seat. He is a young talent, and Fisi is almost ready for retirement.
If I were Force India I would give both Fisi and Ralf the two seats. F1 is all about marketing and promoting. Being a low budget team you need to think outside the box to attract sponsorship and media attention. Two "old timers" - as washed up as they might be - would bring attention to the team. They also have a wealth of knowledge that could be invaluable to a young team. Use them for what they're worth for a year and then bring in some young guns once the foundation is built.
I could still see Karthakeyan (the Indian F1 driver who drove with Jordan a few years back and was the Indian equivalent of Yuji Ide), because he is Indian. Like how Super Aguri, brought in Ide to race for them even though he had no F1 experience.
From autosport.com: Ralf not interested in Force India drive By Pablo Elizalde Friday, December 7th 2007, 10:08 GMT Ralf Schumacher testing for Force IndiaRalf Schumacher has said he is not interested in driving for the Force India team after testing for them at Jerez on Thursday. The German, the younger brother of seven-time champion Michael, was believed to be one of the drivers in contention for the remaining seat at Force India following his exit from Toyota. Schumacher tested for the team for the first time in Jerez yesterday, but endured a troubled day and finished at the bottom of the times. Giancarlo Fisichella and Franck Montagny also tested for Force India this week, but Schumacher said the test was not a shoot-out. He admitted, however, that he is not interested in racing for the Silverstone-based squad. "It was not shoot-out," Schumacher told autosport.com after testing for the team. "I don't think I will be driving for Force India. I want to achieve something and I don't think I can do that with Force India. "I am going home now and we will see." Schumacher was quoted as saying in Sport Bild newspaper: "It's possible that today was my last drive in a Formula One car."
Translation: Ralf has been told he is not under consideration by the team and is trying to save face.
I think Force India should take Klien and Sutil on board. Both fast and young yet experienced enough to get decent results. Unfortunately it looks like Fisi's time is up on the GP scene, which is a shame, but then again he hasn't really produced results. It is also a shame to lose Liuzzi from the grid.
Klein over Fisi?!? Why?? I would take Fisi over any of the other currently available drivers, he is a winner and a proven development driver. Liuzzi won't be missed, he had trouble outpacing Scott Speed and had the most ridiculous facial hair to grace an F1 paddock since Clay Reggazoni. He brings nothing to the table and neither does Klein. They had their shot and failed to produce.
