F1 Most liked posts in thread: F1 - 2013

Massa will be at Sauber......

 

How high really is Massa's stock right now? I just can't see him in a major teams plans......

 

Maybe so but looking at Ferrari this year, I'm not too impressed with his development skills, depending on how much input he was able to express there... And Williams is so out of sorts, not sure he is the good fit there right now....

Hope Massa does well where ever he ends up, but not sure he still has the consistency in him like a Kimi to bring along a struggling team..

 

Poppy cock...they are both good but Michael helped lead Ferrari back to the top from a third-fourth place team at the time he arrived.... Ferrari is no better now than when Alonso arrived for whatever reason....like and respect Alonso but facts are facts.

Remember that Massa's opinion is just that.

 

Latest strange roomer... Raikkonen and Hulkenberg could swap seats for the USGP

 

Looks like Kimi has decided to start preparing for next season now...

From motorsports:

The Formula One season of Kimi Raikkonen is over!

The Finnish star of Lotus F1 Team – keeping third position in the drivers’ championship with 183 points – will go through a backsurgery on next Thursday, and because of that cannot race in the two last Grands Prix of USA and Brazil.

Raikkonen has had problems with his back for a long time. During the practise in Singapore in September the pain got so bad, that Kimi would not have been able to participate the qualifying and the race without a cortisone injection.

Now after the race in Abu Dhabi a week ago Kimi’s back has been even worse.

He has not been able to sleep properly without painkillers.

– The experts were recommending the surgery, and it will be done next

Thursday in Salzburg, Steve Robertson, the manager of Raikkonen, breaks the news to Turun Sanomat.

After the operation Kimi is cannot do anything for four weeks. This means the current season stops here.

– Obviously, it is a disappointing way to end the relationship with Lotus after two successful seasons on Kimi's return to F1. However, Kimi cannot afford to delay anymore. It is crucial to correct the problem now to start 2014 fit and healthy, Robertson points out.

Most likely the car number 7 will be driven in Austin by Davide Valsecchi, the Lotus test and reserve driver. Valsecchi has tested the E21 car for two days in Barcelona and Silverstone. If Valsecchi gets the drive, he will be the first Italian

 

It might not sound like that much, but an extra 30 days or so of rehab time after a surgery can be huge, and when your preparing a return to an F1 seat at Ferrari, I'm sure Kimi and the scuderia want no stone unturned...

Wish him the very best, look forward to cheering him on with my favorite team next season...do wish things could have ended on a better note with Lotus, it has been a blast watching them the last couple years. It is what it is.

 

Well that would do nothing for the ticket values....hope he is OK.

 

Alonso rang his bell or rather his backs bell at the last race. I believe he could well have injured his back too.

 

Felipe Massa joins Williams as team-mate to Valtteri Bottas in 2014

A fillip for Felipe and Brazil as he finds a new seat after Ferrari exit; Pastor Maldonado leaves Williams for destination unknown

The Brazilian, dropped by the Scuderia after eight years of service in favour of Kimi Raikkonen, has put pen to paper on a 'multi-year' contract with the Grove outfit to partner Valtteri Bottas.

"He is an exceptional talent and a real fighter on the race track," enthused team boss Sir Frank Williams. "He also brings a wealth of experience as we begin a new chapter in our story."

The news ensures that F1 is guaranteed to have a Brazilian presence on the grid next term with Massa, who came within a whisker of winning the 2008 Drivers' Championship, following a path already familiar to a number of his compatriots in joining Williams.

"Williams is one of the most successful and important teams of all time in Formula One. When I was a kid, I always dreamed about racing for Williams, Ferrari or McLaren and I'm glad to be signing with another icon of the sport following my time at Ferrari. It is also nice to remember that some of the best Brazilian drivers raced for Williams and cemented a strong national link with the team," said Massa, who also revealed he held talks with McLaren, Lotus, Force India and Sauber before opting to transfer to Williams.

After returning to winning ways last year at the Spanish GP after a decade-long absence from the winner's enclosure, Williams have endured a wretched campaign, scoring just a solitary point. Nevertheless, hopes are already high for a more competitive season in 2014, in which the team will be powered by Mercedes engines - expected to be the grid leader - and overseen from the pitwall by Pat Symonds, Williams' recently-appointed Chief Technical Officer.


Massa's arrival is likely to spark further reshuffling, with Rob Smedley, the Brazilian's long-time race engineer, widely tipped to follow the 32-year-old to Williams in a new technical role.

According to Deputy Team Principal Claire Williams, confirmation of the team's driver line-up for next season is merely "part of a number of announcements we will be making over the coming weeks."

After months of behind-the-scenes haggling and jockeying for position, it also appears as if the remaining pieces in the 2014 driver line-up jigsaw are finally falling into place. The sponsorship-laden Maldonado is expected to join Sauber, with Nico Hulkenberg seemingly in pole position to take Raikkonen's place at Lotus.

That leaves McLaren as the burning topic of conversation inside the paddock, following the revelation that the team are seriously considering replacing Sergio Perez with Kevin Magnussen.

-- Courtesy of Skye Sports --