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Lotus Renault GP is pleased to announce that Kimi Räikkönen will race for the team next season. The 2007 World Champion, who left Formula 1 at the end of 2009 to pursue a career in rallying, has decided to make a comeback at the pinnacle of single-seater racing. He has now signed a two-year agreement with Lotus Renault GP.
Source: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96917Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko says Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari were given enough time to demonstrate whether they were potential grand prix winners, and lost their Toro Rosso seats because they failed to do so.
Buemi and Alguersuari had driven for Red Bull's junior Formula 1 team since the start and middle of the 2009 season respectively, but have been dropped in favour of Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne for 2012. While Alguersuari's future is currently uncertain, Buemi will remain in the Red Bull fold as a reserve driver.
Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost said last month that the driver decision had been taken to ensure STR remained a training ground for the next generation of Red Bull F1 stars rather than a home for established drivers. Marko - who oversees the firm's driver development - believes Buemi and Alguersuari had sufficient opportunities to show what they could do, and proved adequate rather than exceptional.
"Toro Rosso was created to give young drivers a chance," Marko told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Alguersuari and Buemi had it for three years and after this time it's possible to evaluate a driver's development.
"We haven't seen in them any possibility of growth. Both are worthy of grand prix racing, but for us that's not enough: we need winners."
Marko said he did not foresee any changes in Toro Rosso's role in the near future, even though it was becoming increasingly independent from Red Bull since having to switch to being a chassis constructor in its own right in 2010.
"It will certainly remain an Italian team based in Faenza, oriented towards young drivers," he said. "But Toro Rosso will have to keep developing more and more autonomously."
He also expects STR's Ferrari engine deal to continue.
"The contract is on for 2012; at the moment I can't say what will happen in the future, but up to now we are very satisfied with this co-operation," Marko said.
So what else is new... The only thing he's capable of is driver-bashing.scuderiafan wrote:Some pretty brutal words from Mr. Marko.
you have to see how well they do first.SAEED wrote:I believe it'll be either Ricciardo or Vergne who replaces Webber.
Thats sad for Rubens and Sutil. Definitely not good for the team if it wants to improve. Hope its just another rumour.Bruno Senna’s chances of staying on the Formula 1 grid in 2012 remain more than alive according to one of the Brazilian’s powerful sponsors, who mid last season helped Senna to take over Nick Heidfeld’s race seat at Renault/Lotus.
Just after the 28-year-old joined the team and the sponsor deal with oil company OGX was announced, a spokesman for Senna confirmed the driver’s links with the holding company EBX.
At the helm is multi billionaire Eike Batista, who according to Forbes is Brazil’s richest man.
Just before the weekend, Senna insisted he is “still battling for a place in F1″ this year, having not been “confirmed with any team”.
But when contemplating Senna’s next move, the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper quoted Batista as saying: “Simple — he will race for Williams.”
You are not allowed back to GP2 if you raced a full season in F1. Grosjean was able to go back because he replaced Piquet and didn't drive a full season. He doesn't have a lot of choices.Tyler wrote:It's pointless for Buemi to stay at a team that doesn't believe in him.
All Marko is doing is badmouthing him and hurting his chances of finding a drive in another team.
If I was Buemi, I'd go back to GP2 and work my a...e off to get results in the hope of being noticed.
Going to a team like HRT isn't the answer either, it's hard to look good in a car that's so far off the pace, just ask Bruno Senna.
The best thing for Buemi and Alguersuari now - go back to gp2 and rack up some more experience.
It worked for Grosjean.
I just hope that Vergne and Ricciardo have been watching and know to get out the way IMMEDIATELY should Vettel ever be approaching them in their mirrors!
So much for dreaming about joining RBR in 2013.The 'not good enough' comments came from controversial Red Bull motorsport consultant Helmut Marko, who also rubbished Buemi's claim that he hopes to use his recently confirmed reserve role with the drinks brand's two teams as a springboard to take over from Mark Webber when the Australian calls time on his career with RBR.
“They had their chance for three years and that's enough to evaluate the development of a driver,” Marko told Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, “We didn't see in them the possibility for more. They are grand prix drivers, but not enough for what we want, which is to have grand prix winners.”
Williams need money right now, and if Senna has it, then he is welcome to the team.spadeflush wrote:According to yallaf1,Thats sad for Rubens and Sutil. Definitely not good for the team if it wants to improve. Hope its just another rumour.Bruno Senna’s chances of staying on the Formula 1 grid in 2012 remain more than alive according to one of the Brazilian’s powerful sponsors, who mid last season helped Senna to take over Nick Heidfeld’s race seat at Renault/Lotus.
Just after the 28-year-old joined the team and the sponsor deal with oil company OGX was announced, a spokesman for Senna confirmed the driver’s links with the holding company EBX.
At the helm is multi billionaire Eike Batista, who according to Forbes is Brazil’s richest man.
Just before the weekend, Senna insisted he is “still battling for a place in F1″ this year, having not been “confirmed with any team”.
But when contemplating Senna’s next move, the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper quoted Batista as saying: “Simple — he will race for Williams.”