Webber joins Coulthard at Red Bull

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andyF1
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Joined: 13 Oct 2005, 08:54

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pRo wrote:Hey guys, here's how it goes. 8)

McLaren: Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton.

Toro Rosso: Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed.
Agree with the rest except, Lewis Hamilton will be a test driver at most I think. Good chance Pedro de la Rosa will keep the seat if he can produce a few more drives like this last race!

Speed? Not sure if they will retain him.

RH1300S
RH1300S
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I believe McLaren has only confirmed DLR until Monza. This leaves the possibility that someone else may be in the car for the last few races (China, Brazil, Japan?). Could be a gap for Hamilton? A chance to learn the tracks at the fly-away races?

Would Mclaren run two people from the same country? (in this case Spain) - commercial pressures tend to tempt team managers to choose not just on pace alone (even Ron).

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Scuderia_Russ
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andyF1 wrote: Agree with the rest except, Lewis Hamilton will be a test driver at most I think. Good chance Pedro de la Rosa will keep the seat if he can produce a few more drives like this last race!
I think you are right Andy. Hamilton is such a prospect that I can't see him getting thrown in at the deep end with a World Champ as a team mate. When Alonso whips him it will not be good to see on the time sheets or for the guys confidence. de la Rosa has already stated that he has been consistently quicker than Paffet in testing and he does have quite a few races under his belt even if he wasn't very impressive at Jaguar ( ! ) So it is between Hamilton and de la Rosa IMO.
"Whether you think you can or can't, either way you are right."
-Henry Ford-

RH1300S
RH1300S
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Agree with your logic.......but a good chance to try him out before the season end beckons??

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mini696
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I think the best thing for McLaren to do would be keep PDLR as teamate to Alonso with Hammi taking over the testing role.

DaveKillens
DaveKillens
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I think Hamiton will follow the same path as Kubica at BMW. Spend next year testing for the McLaren, and if needed, fill any seat left vacant for future unknown reasons. Ron Dennis has long range plans for Hamilton, He wants to groom him for future WDC in a few years. But right now, it's too soon, he would be swimming with the sharks, and it could permamently damage him.
Is this Webber's last chance to shine? I expect Red Bull to improve a lot between seasons, we should see a brand new Newey car. Along with a lot of money being thrown into that team, and DC's invaluable contributions of leadership and performance, Red Bull just might take the next step up, and be a genuine podium contender next year.
With Braun leaving Ferrari, they will have lost a major contributor to their winning ways. Over the years, he has been the architect of many of their wins, and titles. Not unless Braun's just playing hard to get, and wanting a huge salary from Ferrari next season. It all, once again, depends on the great staller, Shu. He's really got the entire team by the short hairs, he's just so good.
We just need a public announcement by Renault soon, and see who they have for next season. I just can't see Fisi as their major hope, he's still incredibly inconsistent.

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johny
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if shu doesn't retire, kimi will go to renault, if he does we'll see kimi in ferrari. Shu has the key

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wrk
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Joined: 17 Feb 2005, 17:00
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Super Aguri: Takuma Sato, ?........shuy........lol
gentlemen start your engines......

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f1.redbaron
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Joined: 31 Jul 2005, 23:29

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I just thought of something - Webber is joining the team he couldn't wait to get out of at the end of '04...

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Ciro Pabón
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There is some logic in Hamilton "swimming with the sharks": he could get some experience on China, Japan and Brazil, tracks he cannot test any other way.

Besides, if is not De La Rosa, who? And De La Rosa is not. All sites carry the news that he has only two more races left.

Hamilton could test after Italy GP: is there another reason to give such an specific timetable for De La Rosa services?

As we say in my beloved (and beautiful, and frequently mentioned) Colombia: it is white, a hen lays it...

I am happy for Hamilton: actually, I am pretty excited about a black racing in F1. (Long explanation follows: I apologize in advance if the adjective "black" sound rude to some of my international readers: this is how they call themselves here and they are proud about it, BTW. We do not talk any more about "african-americans" than we say "european-americans" either: it sounds derogative.)

It is ABOUT TIME! Actually, some of us have been waiting for thirty years for this to happen. I can see some beautiful and ugly remarks about this "under-commented" issue coming in the following years. I am not asking for affirmative-action programs here, but... c'mon, it is that hard to have an "african-british" or a woman?

But, if you ask for my opinion (please, do not, you will regret it :wink: ) it could be that Alonso is going to be for Hamilton what Kimmi was for Montoya.

Hamilton is only 3 years younger than Alonso. If some guy clinched his teeths on Alonso's move to McLaren, he must have been Mr. Hamilton.

He is going to have to confront Alonso sooner or later. Dave supposes he really need careful coaching. Then, my advice would be: "you better prepare to be owned, Lewis". :lol:

And I can see jhonny smiling while he reads that McLaren could be "forced" to spanish-only pilots... it must have a reason: they could be better than british ones. :wink:
Ciro

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joseff
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f1.redbaron wrote:I just thought of something - Webber is joining the team he couldn't wait to get out of at the end of '04...
Yeah, Webber got out because he didn't believe Red Bull was for real. There's a Button-ness in it.

I've been a Webber fan ever since Le Mans '98, but I can't remember a driver winning F1 WDC after leaving Williams. I think the most successful ex-Williams driver is David Coulthard. Look at the others: Schumacher, Montoya, Hill, Villeneuve. Most simply became known as "The guy who left Williams for money."

RH1300S
RH1300S
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I think Webber went to Williams for lots of good reasons.....I'm pretty sure that when he signed all was faily rosy with BMW. Williams were a team that looked like it could mount a title tilt. Jaguar/RedBull were not looking too great then.

Things have changed, Red Bull has shown that it's a serious team, sadly (and I mean sadly - I'm a fan) Williams are not the team they were.

I don't see a Button-ness at all...........

zac510
zac510
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f1.redbaron wrote:I just thought of something - Webber is joining the team he couldn't wait to get out of at the end of '04...
If I recall, Webber had decided his future at Williams for '04 while Jaguar was in the doldrums and no buyer had been found. He could have waited but any wise man would get out without waiting to find out what would happen.

I agree with RH1300S, remember Williams won the last race in 2004 so they were looking reasonable for race victories in 2005. Not to be..

DaveKillens
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Hindsight is 20-20. When Webber left Jaguar, it really was a horrible team that seemed to have no future or chance of success. And back then, Williams appeared to be one of the top teams, they were still able to contend for wins.
At the time, it appeared to be the proper choice for an ambitious driver looking to reach the top. The same goes for Kimi, when he got on board with McLaren it seemed they definitely had the potential to propel him to the WDC. He has come close, but now each race, that dream seems to be receding into the distance within Mclaren.
Who knows, "IF" Shu retires and Kimi takes over his seat next year, Ferrari could slide backwards into a slump, while McLaren finally got things right. No team stays on the top forever, they rise and fall. The great teams regularly get back to winning form for a few years, but eventually they all wind up having a few bad years every so often.