It's Official - Fisichella to stay with Renault for '07

I am really suprised but happy for Fisichella. He has definitely underachieved while being at Renault the last couple of years. Fisico has made some mistakes this year but so has the team. Maybe that is why Briatore thought he should give him another year. Either way this has got to be good news for Ferrari. Renault will most likely be a much weaker team next year.

 

Does this mean that GF will be considered the number one at Renault? Or would GF be a good number two to JPM or KR?

 

#1

Since they even rehire Fisico I'm sure now there is no room at the inn for JPM or KR. I bet #2 goes to Kovalainen.

And given Fisico's performance this year, that's not so bad. He is no Alonso, but makes a lot less mistakes than last year.

Two years of Renault dominance will come to an end. Good for Ferrari and good for F1.

 

Yes, good for F1 and good for Ferrari. So does this mean JPM will stay at McLaren? Does this mean Kimi will go to Ferrari? Who will be the beneficiary of Renault customer engines?

 

I agree. If they could have got Raikkonen they would have signed him up already and picked Kovaleinen as the #2 driver.

I think maintaining stability was the main reason that allowed GF to secure his seat. Interesting to note that the extension was for one year only. So Renault want to keep their options open for the future.

Anyone think that Mark Webber has a chance at a Renault seat?

 

Why would there be no room? Until we hear confirmation of Kimi or Montoya signing elsewhere, then the possibility does exist. They don't call it the "silly season" for nothing!

If Flav gets the opportunity to sign Kimi or Montoya, he would be a fool to take Kovalainen over either of those two. Either of those two would be the number 1 over Fisi. Heck, if Villeneuve came to Renault, I would consider him the number 1 over Fisi.

 

kimi..yes, JPM, no. he can barely drive the car on a straight line properly. imo, he makes more mistakes compared to GF.

 

Just speculation, no hard reasons.

I'm 100% convinced Kimi will be in the Ferrari next year, regardless of what MS decides. And I believe Kovalainen is better/has more potential than JPM. And I believe that is how Flavio sees it too.

As I said: Just waxing poetically.

 

I agree: Kimi to Ferrari and Kovalainen will take the second seat at Renault.
Oh, and that cursing sound in French you just heard was Bourdais throwing a well deserved tantrum.

 

LMAO

It's a shame that no one will give him a shot, I think he would do quite well.

 

I think Kimi will go to Renault and Fisi will have joint number 1 status, whatever the hell that means, but if Kimi does not go to Renault, I think Mark Webber will go to Renault. Renault is one of the few teams that I wish could run a thrid car since they have a good operation and there are a few drivers that I would like have the chance to win.

Too bad Button is locked into his k with Honda; he'd love to drive for Renault right about now.

 

If Fisi is staying, I wonder if that means that Britore is leaving.

 

I'm not so sure Kovalainen will be at Renault..
It could be Kimi/ Fisi or Webber/ Fisi

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autosport:
One high-level Renault figure told autosport.com: "There is a suspicion that Mark Webber could be a Division One driver - up there with Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. He has not proven it yet, but there is a chance. We would love to work with him again."

Webber himself has said that he enjoyed his working relationship with Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds, both of whom have praised his efforts over recent weeks.

"First of all, I've got massive respect for Pat Symonds, when I was testing there he was very good. Flavio as well - he's a real pro as well.

"For both those guys to say things, it's nice for me to hear. I do my best every weekend and I feel that I've driven very well. A **** day in F1 isn't the end of your career. I pretty much nailed everything I wanted to do this year."
---------------

Renault are keen to supply a second team.

Turun Sanomat says that Red Bull are interested for Renault engines. Kovalainen might be going to Renault's B team.

 

What do these people see in Webber that I seem to miss?

The guy is fast in qualifying, but never seems to be able to finish a race without an incident of some sort.

 

I fully agree.

 

I third that.

 

Call me biased cuase I'm an Aussie, but to my memory all but a few of his incidents and non finishes are not his fault. They're mostly mechanical failures or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, like last week. Granted he has had a few brain fades, but even the other top drivers have them. I can't think of a driver out there who hasn't.

What do the big bosses see in Webber? From what I've read in F1 magazines etc. It seems his phsysical fitness is second to none out there and his work ethic in analysing practise, testing and race results is up there with MS. Also I think he showed in Monaco, that when all things are relatively equal he can drive just as fast as Alonso and Kimi. The Williams obviusly has good mechanical grip but struggles hard on the tracks that require good aero grip. If he were to get a seat in one of the top teams I think he would definately show his true worth.

 

a fourth from me !!

 

You should watch ch 10 from Australia at pre-race time, they spend a good deal of time on him. I expected it the first time I saw one of thier broadcasts.

What was said by Tojo is right, though, to an extent. He has been in the wrong place at the wrong time (Scott Speed really pisses me off) and the Cossy isn't the most reliable at all. Williams haven't put out a decent chassis for some time now, but Mark has done well at tracks were the aero department isn't critical (i.e. Monaco). I'm curious to how he would do in either the McMerc, Clio, or Fiat. If he does move to one of those teams and gets a win, I take back everything bad I've said. Just one win is all I'm asking.

I will say that I'm not a huge fan of his since I haven't see much results. He is very good with the press, though. He's pretty much the only guy interviewed during the Allianz Safety Focus videos out of the entire Williams crew and does real well. He was very good on Top Gear, too. Probably the best PR driver I've seen in F1 recently. He also looks to be the most fit and devoted to that aspect of F1 than any driver I can currently thinkg of.

 

to be honest, i gotta agree on this one. i mean, most of webber's retirements aren;t really his fault. i think he's one of the most commited person out there. between JB and webber, i'd rather have webber driving for renault.

 

Not to beat up on Webber, but being in the wrong place at the wrong time a lot to me sounds a bit like Kimi have all that bad luck with the car's reliability. Maybe it is true, but I'm a believer that luck/bad luck equal each other out in the long run.

Some collision you can't avoid, but there are some where it takes two to make it happen.

I agree that he is a nice fellow, in great shape and fast.

 

I want so much for Webber to get a good ride because I believe he has the right attitude and work ethic. He is undoubtedly stellar at qualifying. His race performances have been blighted more by mechanical failures than driver errors.

One area he needs to work on IMO seems to be getting a great getaway from the start. He has qualified in the Top 2 rows of the grid so many times and either stalled on the grid or lost a couple spots on the run to the first corner which he tries to make up by aggressively late braking leading to a couple crashes or spins.

I am not too sure he has the elan of an Schumacher, Alonso or Raikkonen when it comes to making a decisive overtaking manouevre.

 

Rumours from Turun Sanomat:

Renault will be announcing an engine deal with Red Bull. That will lead us to a wild thought that Kovalainen will be driving Red Bull along side Coulthard.

BTW Horner tried very hard to have Kovalainen for the 2005 season but Flavio said no because he felt that he needed a year in GP2.

 

Very interesting.

I have been wondering why we haven't heard anything about HK. It sounds like he is not quite ready for prime time and has to learn a few things at a B team.

That would of course open the door for another big shot at Renautl. JPM?

Also I wonder if Red Bull gets Renault engines, who will get Ferrari engines next year? Toyota?

If this rumor is true, they better announce this deal soon: Newey is probably already working on the design of the 07 RB car.