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The Liberator · 11-29-2009, 02:24 PM

Sorry to dig up a really old thread, and sorry for a really long post.

The 2010 silly season has been absolutely messy so far, albeit interesting.

Qadbak turned out to be a scam, so BMW sold their former team back to Peter Sauber, who is now looking to save the team with investors. Allegedly, an American investor or group of American investors will be buying into the team, and they're supposedly well-known in motor racing circles. I'm confident that it is not Roger Penske (though it could be), but it may be his son, Jay, who owns an IndyCar team with Stephen Luczo.

A lot of doubts surrounding Team US F1. Many other teams, like Stefan Grand Prix and Lola, who did not gain entrance to the 2010 grid, are still preparing an entry for next season. Both are probably expected US F1 to pull out and either leave an empty space for them or sell their team to them. Toyota apparently are not looking to sell the team, as they'd like to keep 25% of the staff and start a sports car racing program.

Also, Renault may be saved, as many think Kamui Kobayashi will be joining the team and brining Panasonic and KDDI sponsorship from Toyota.

Young driver testing begins this week at Jerez. McLaren will test Oliver Turvey; Mercedes will test Marcus Ericsson and Mike Conway; Daniel Ricciardo will get a go in the Red Bull; Ferrari have Jules Bianchi and the top three from Italian F3 lined up; Williams will test Hülkenberg and Andy Soucek; Renault testers will be Lucas di Grassi, Ho Pin Tung, and Bertrand Baguette; Paul di Resta and JR Hildebrand will pilot the Force Indias; and Brendon Hartley and Mirko Bortolotti will be in the STRs.

So, all that said, some grid predictions, which may be wrong (italics are guesses, the rest are confirmed):

McLaren
1. Jenson Button
2. Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes
3. Nico Rosberg
4. Nick Heidfeld

Red Bull
5. Sebastian Vettel
6. Mark Webber

Ferrari
7. Fernando Alonso
8. Felipe Massa

Sauber
11. Heikki Kovalainen
12. Vitaly Petrov

Williams
14. Rubens Barrichello
15. Nico Hülkenberg

Renault
16. Robert Kubica
17. Kamui Kobayashi

Force India
18. Adrian Sutil
19. Vitantonio Liuzzi

Toro Rosso
20. Sébastien Buemi
21. Jaime Alguersuari

Campos Meta F1
xx. Nelson Piquet, Jr.
xx. Bruno Senna

Virgin Manor
xx. Timo Glock
xx. Lucas di Grassi

Lotus
xx. Jarno Trulli
xx. Takuma Sato

Team US F1 (I don't feel as though they'll compete)
xx. Pedro de la Rosa
xx. José María López

11-29-2009, 02:24 PM	#21
The Liberator Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 3	Re: Formula 1 Sorry to dig up a really old thread, and sorry for a really long post. The 2010 silly season has been absolutely messy so far, albeit interesting. Qadbak turned out to be a scam, so BMW sold their former team back to Peter Sauber, who is now looking to save the team with investors. Allegedly, an American investor or group of American investors will be buying into the team, and they're supposedly well-known in motor racing circles. I'm confident that it is not Roger Penske (though it could be), but it may be his son, Jay, who owns an IndyCar team with Stephen Luczo. A lot of doubts surrounding Team US F1. Many other teams, like Stefan Grand Prix and Lola, who did not gain entrance to the 2010 grid, are still preparing an entry for next season. Both are probably expected US F1 to pull out and either leave an empty space for them or sell their team to them. Toyota apparently are not looking to sell the team, as they'd like to keep 25% of the staff and start a sports car racing program. Also, Renault may be saved, as many think Kamui Kobayashi will be joining the team and brining Panasonic and KDDI sponsorship from Toyota. Young driver testing begins this week at Jerez. McLaren will test Oliver Turvey; Mercedes will test Marcus Ericsson and Mike Conway; Daniel Ricciardo will get a go in the Red Bull; Ferrari have Jules Bianchi and the top three from Italian F3 lined up; Williams will test Hülkenberg and Andy Soucek; Renault testers will be Lucas di Grassi, Ho Pin Tung, and Bertrand Baguette; Paul di Resta and JR Hildebrand will pilot the Force Indias; and Brendon Hartley and Mirko Bortolotti will be in the STRs. So, all that said, some grid predictions, which may be wrong (italics are guesses, the rest are confirmed): McLaren 1. Jenson Button 2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 3. Nico Rosberg 4. Nick Heidfeld Red Bull 5. Sebastian Vettel 6. Mark Webber Ferrari 7. Fernando Alonso 8. Felipe Massa Sauber 11. Heikki Kovalainen 12. Vitaly Petrov Williams 14. Rubens Barrichello 15. Nico Hülkenberg Renault 16. Robert Kubica 17. Kamui Kobayashi Force India 18. Adrian Sutil 19. Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso 20. Sébastien Buemi 21. Jaime Alguersuari Campos Meta F1 xx. Nelson Piquet, Jr. xx. Bruno Senna Virgin Manor xx. Timo Glock xx. Lucas di Grassi Lotus xx. Jarno Trulli xx. Takuma Sato Team US F1 (I don't feel as though they'll compete) xx. Pedro de la Rosa xx. José María López Last edited by The Liberator; 11-29-2009 at 02:31 PM.