While we thought that the extension of Massa and Webber would put a stop to big movers and shakers this silly season, that has not stopped some other names from picking up the slack. While Kimi Raikkonen has been the subject of a number of F1 seats since his departure, Sebastian Buemi has only been linked with his seat and its defense but now finds himself the subject of perhaps a Red Bull Racing seat.
Raikkonen has been linked to Renault once before after being released by Ferrari. Rumor has it that the Enstone-based team is now looking to secure the Finn’s services in 2011 if he becomes available. The only problem is that Kimi is currently tooling around WRC stages with the Citroen Junior team. While Raikkonen is happy in the WRC, there is news beginning to surface that would indicate this may be a one year visit to rallies top flight. Citroen, whom the Kimster drives for has announced they only plan to have four Citroen DS3 S2000T cars at the start of next season. One would assume that Loeb, Ogier, Sordo, and Solberg would acquire these machines. The first three will be part of the Citroen Total factory effort if those rumors are to be believed, while Solberg may recieve one on the fact that he could have signed with Ford, but chose Citroen. Wild speculation? Perhaps. However, I don’t think Kimi’s performance to date is good enough to waste a car on. With Sordo and Ogeir perhaps teaming with Loeb next year, where does that leave Kimi? I think that the Finn would do good to comeback to F1 and join a team like Renault where he can be quick and have a good teammate in Robert Kubica. That combo may lead to one of the best lineups the French squad has had in a while.
That leaves us with Sebastian Buemi. The Swiss driver had a spectacular weekend in Canada and has been a solid driver since taking the team last year. There are now reports that indicate Buemi may be in the works for a RBR seat in 2012. It is no secret that Scuderia Torro Rosso has been somewhat of a feeder team to the parent Red Bull squad, but does one performance warrant this kind of speak? While I really like Sebastian Buemi, I am not sure that his performance will continue to live up to Canada standards. Formula 1 is a world where you are in one day and out the next. Buemi will need to continue to improve his performance if he is to get a ride like the RBR.
So silly season rolls on still with fresh speculation. Would Renault be a good fit for Kimi? Can the 2007 return or will Adrian Sutil who is also in the running take the seat?
Photos are courtesy of Michal Fus. Jump over to the OP Forum and check out the amazing shots that he was able to take over the weekend. Thanks Michal!!!
This just sounds like someone figuring out the driver market through process of elimination, though you got something wrong right at the beginning.
Raikkonen has money to bring to Citroen. Solberg does not. With Prodrive making a comeback, and the fact he drove for them for most of his WRC career, and the fact they would be the only works effort with free seats, it makes way more sense that Solberg would move there, giving the 4th Citroen to Kimi.
Kimi fans just don’t give up coming up with rumours to keep their hopes up he’ll ever make a comeback. It’s getting annoying now.
Agreed, it may be through process of elimination or Kimi fans wishing for the second coming of their beloved driver. Then again, silly season really is usually speculation and process of elimination until the big boys at the team open their mouth.
As far as the money situation, does Citroen really need the money? I am not sure that Citroen or the junior squad is really in the state of a pay to drive. The team is looking to groom drivers or maintain the best lineup for their teams or satellite teams for that matter. While Solberg could stand a chance at scoring a Prodrive seat, I was working off of the notion that PG Andersson and Atkinson were the front runners. Again, speculation but those were the last names to be linked with the seats.
You bring some very good points Alasdair and that is the beauty of the silly season! 😉 All that is left to do is sit back and watch it happen!
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“I don’t think Kimi’s performance to date is good enough to waste a [WRC] car on.”
Not unless you want him to test it out for crash worthiness. F1 would be the best place to put him but he just needs to be motivated by something…other than money and alcohol.