2010 Drivers Line-Up Takes Shape Friday 13th November 2009 - PlanetF1.com With only four teams having confirmed their complete 2010 driver line-up there are plenty of places still available on the grid. But not many with the top teams... MERCEDES GP Nico Rosberg: Confirmed. The German will definitely drive for the German team in 2010, bringing into the open one of the worst-kept secrets in F1. Nick Heidfeld/Heikki Kovalainen: Should Mercedes decide to go for an all-German line-up Heidfeld will be the man in pole position. If not Kovalainen may end up doing a straight swap with Button. RED BULL RACING Mark Webber: Confirmed. Sebastian Vettel: Confirmed. Red Bull has become a hot team for drivers to join given their remarkable move up the pecking. However, their 2010 line-up is signed, sealed and has proven they can deliver. McLAREN Lewis Hamilton: Confirmed. The 2008 World Champion has a long-term contract with McLaren and will remain at Woking next season where plotting another title-tilt in 2010 will be top of the winter agenda. Jenson Button: Confirmed. The British dream team that will have many a fan salivating. Having left Brawn/Merc GP for a 'fresh challenge', Button should have a car capable of retaining his title. FERRARI Felipe Massa: Confirmed. Massa proved himself a racer in 2008 when he came within a heartbeat of winning the World title. He also proved himself a gentlemen, earning respect in the paddock. This past season, he also earned a whole heap of sympathy after a life- and career-threatening injury sidelined him mid-season. The Brazilian, though, has another chance at glory next season after being confirmed by Ferrari. Fernando Alonso: Confirmed. One of the longest sagas in Formula One history finally came to an end in September when Ferrari confirmed Alonso would definitely be racing for them in 2010. Finally! The double World Champion, who says he brings 6/10ths of a second to the car, will need every millisecond of those 6/10ths to get Ferrari out of their 2009 slump. SAUBER Nick Heidfeld/Heikki Kovalainen: Still to be confirmed. With Toyota out of the mix, the Sauber team looks to have been thrown a lifeline, although that too is unconfirmed. But should the team make the 2010 grid, expect Heidfeld to be behind one of their steering wheels unless he's snapped up by Merc GP. Should this be the case Kovalainen may fill the void. Rookie: Still to be confirmed/Still to be decided. No rumours have been forthcoming about who could race for Sauber because one even knows if they'll be on the grid next season. But one would expect given Peter Sauber's past-history of uncovering natural talent that an unnamed rookie we've never ever heard of is likely to team up with Heidfeld or Kovalainen. WILLIAMS Rubens Barrichello: Confirmed. The most experienced driver is Formula One has been handed yet another season in the sport. And he's got talent too. Nico Hulkenberg: Confirmed. A future World Champion? Schumi 2, Schumi-esque, and a sort-of Kimi Raikkonen look-a-like. And this lad is a talent. RENAULT Robert Kubica: Confirmed. Kubica will definitely race for Renault next season after the team announced he would be their No1 driver. A nice move up for the Polish driver... Romain Grosjean/ Heikki Kovalainen/ Franck Montagny: Still to be confirmed/Still to be decided. Although Grosjean had the No2 seat in the latter part of 2009, Mongtagny is talking with the team. And if that doesn't happen, Kovalainen could return to his old team. FORCE INDIA Adrian Sutil: Still to be confirmed. Better than the car but as yet still too inconsistent, Force India will be wanting more from Sutil next season. Tonio Liuzzi: Still to be confirmed. Having taken over from Giancarlo Fisichella when he moved to Ferrari ahead of the Italian GP, Force India will most likely give Liuzzi a full shot at F1 racing next season. TORO ROSSO Sebastien Buemi: Confirmed. Already confirmed by Franz Tost, Buemi has a year's experience under his belt and the drive to succeed in F1. Jaime Alguersuari. Still to be confirmed. Hinted at but not confirmed, Jaime is a raw and young talent. Is that enough for Toro Rosso, though? CAMPOS META Bruno Senna: Confirmed. Bruno brings with him not only talent but also the Senna name back into Formula One. Huge pressure on his shoulders as the world waits to see if his talent can live up to his name. Pastor Maldonado/Vitaly Petrov: Still to be confirmed/Still to be decided. Both are talented GP2 racers looking to make the move up to F1. And both have caught the eye of team boss Adrian Campos LOTUS Jarno Trulli: Still to be confirmed. Lotus wants Trulli's experience and Trulli wants a race-seat after Toyota quit the business. It's a match made in heaven. Jacques Villeneuve/Kamui Kobayashi/Anthony Davidson: Still to be confirmed/Still to be decided. Although Lotus have spoken with Villeneuve, it's unlikely that the former F1 Champ will make a return. He's just been out of F1 for too long. However, Kobayashi is a breath of fresh air for the sport, an exciting prospect who deserves a chance. But he may yet come with a hefty repair bill. That means former F1 racer Anthony Davidson could be the better option. Davidson has experience, is more recent than Villeneuve and has pace. USF1 Alex Wurz/Pedro de la Rosa: Still to be confirmed/Still to be decided. Although USF1 initially wanted American drivers, their tune has changed as the team admits experience will be necessary in their debut season. And one thing Wurz and de la Rosa both have is experience, Kyle Busch: Still to be confirmed/Still to be decided. NASCAR driver Busch is keen to try his hand at Formula One and USF1 could try hold onto at least half an American line-up. MANOR GP Timo Glock: Confirmed. The German has been confirmed at Manor's No1 driver for 2010, turning down 'established' teams to lead the new outfit Lucas di Grassi/Adam Carroll: Still to be confirmed. Di Grassi has proven himself in the GP2 series as well as winning Macau at the wheel of a Manor F3 car while Carroll is another youngster coming through the lower ranks.
I'm pretty sure that won't / can't happen - IIRC, he said recently (in R&T?) that he wants to stay in, and is under contract to, the taxicabs for at least another couple of years and then may be interested..... OTOH, if Peter and his merry band *could* make it happen it would be a huge shot in the arm for 'em [and they need one it seems ] He could probably even bring a boatload of sponsorship money and a few "fans" (!) with him Cheers, Ian
