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Who's Coming To An End?
Topic Started: Feb 12 2007, 06:06 PM (317 Views)
Paul_Murtagh
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Which driver's F1 careers could be coming to a close by the end of the season? Every season one or more of the F1 driver's dreams of becoming the world champion end forever and I was wondering who you felt would drop out at the end of the season?

I feel it could be the end of the road for Fisichella, Trulli, Barrichello and Speed. Kovalainen's performance in the Renault could show up Fisi and he will be dropped by Renault at the end of the year. I feel Toyota will also get weary of Trulli's average performances this year against Ralf and he could be replaced for 2008 by Montagny. Rubens will call it a day at the end of the season after 15 years in F1 and Speed, if he is comfirmed by STR, has been average compared to Liuzzi and hasn't made the impact in America that Red Bull had hoped, and could be replaced by and up-and-coming Red Bull driver
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Penelope Pitstop
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I agree with some of your predictions.

IF Heikki can beat Fizzy then Fizzy has nowhere to go. But that isn't going to happen, so no problem there.

Ralf is very vulnerable. His performances are good but not great, he earns a huge salary and (I think) his contract is up at the end of the year. Will Toyota renew him? Is he worth that huge fee? He's going to have to do a lot better than he has done so far if he is win a new contract.

David Coulthard will have nowhere to hide if Mark Webber beats him.

Rubens will have to beat Jensen if he is to earn a new contract with Honda. I don't see that happening.

Is Wurz a stop-gap fixture at Williams? He'll have to earn a renewal from Frank. Or be very, very cheap.

Both Torro Rosso drivers are on borrowed time. If Gerhard could find somebody better they'd be out already.

It's a big year for a lot of drivers. Their only saving grace may be that there are not enough youngsters coming thorough the ranks ready to replace them.
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dcoulthard19
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I think trulli has a long term contract at toyota so he won't go, rubens I think had definitely got to perform next year if he wants a drive in 2008.

If Fisi doesn't beat Heikki then he will be out of renault but I feel he could find a seat somewhere else, but he might just about beat Heikki so I wouldn't draw curtains for Fisi just yet.

I don't really see Speed getting anywhere in his F1 career but I could be wrong, Speed and Liuzzi really need to perform this year as there is so much tough competition for seats now which is great for F1!!!!.

Ralf I think will be out of toyota but like the couple of the other guys mentioned in this don't rule out the possibility of them finding another seat.

This may be DC's last year but if he performs well like I think he can do I am sure he still has a future, maybe even another year at red Bull but admittedly it will be tough for him to retain his place but not beyond possibilityin my opinion. If the car is decent he can return to his brilliant 2005 form.
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The Saint
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Great question paul and her is my two cents worth...

I think 2007 will see the end of DC and Speed. Fiascos time in a Renault may come to an end but I think a lesser team will pick him up. Unless Scott Speed picks his performances up (we was not too bad mid season 2006) Scott will go.

Jarno and Ralf cannot expect too much more time in F1

My favorite to go though is Coulthard, i cannot see what he has left to offer.
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Monty
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Well if its on performance it should be Barrichello top of the list, a few others of course but we will just have to wait and see.
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Red Andy
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1. Rubens Barrichello: I feel Rubens is the person most at risk in F1 at the moment. He was brought into Honda in order to give the team some race-winning experience, and it seems that he hasn't delivered very much. Certainly he's not been the team leader that they hoped he would be, and his performances in 2006 left a lot to be desired. If he doesn't up his game in 2007 he's out, simple as.

2. David Coulthard: DC says he's signed a "multi-year" contract with Red Bull, whatever that means - but that could easily be one year plus options. If he's outpaced by Webber in 2007 - which I think he will be - it is fairly likely that he will be left without a drive in 2008. His performances in 2005 were very good, but dropped off steadily during 2006 (occasional flashes of brilliance such as Canada aside.) Of course, we all said DC would be gone at the end of 2004!

3. Ralf Schumacher: Ralf must prove himself this season - Toyota's volumnious management want results and if they aren't delivered this season, an axe is bound to fall somewhere - and it is as likely to be on the head of their lead driver as much as anywhere else. I believe his contract is up at the end of 2007, and since all he has to show for his two years at Toyota so far is a brace of third places, they may not be flocking to renew it.

4. Scott Speed: With Red Bull's gigantic young driver programme, there are a large number of drivers clamouring for seats at STR and Red Bull. Speed's performances in 2006 were fairly average (although he did pick up a little mid-season.) With such huge competition for places, it can't be long until Dietrich Bullschitz tires of Speed constantly crashing into things and puts someone new in the seat. Neel Jani, maybe?

5. Anthony Davidson: He's spent so long testing and so little time racing, our Ant probably only has one shot at getting himself noticed by the big teams. With Klien signed up at Honda, there's nowhere for Ant to go if he doesn't impress this year (or Super Aguri decide to go back to an all-Japanese lineup, which is certainly within the realms of possibility.) Ant has a very fast, if inconsistent teammate in Takuma Sato and will have to match up to him if he wants to be spotted by a top team.

On the cusp (as James Allen would say): Jarno Trulli, Giancarlo Fisichella, Alexander Wurz (although at least one of them should find a seat at Prodrive, and the others may well find their way into a smaller team as well.)
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safc_fan89
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Barrichello top of the list...I fail to see why Honda would keep him should he repeat his 2006 form. Then, Fisichella. He HAS to beat Kovalainen, otherwise it is curtains for him. I would say the Toyota drivers but Toyota are showing such a lack of ambition that I can see those 2 plodding around for several more years yet...then DC. If he loses to Webber badly then that could be it.

Quite a few drivers need a big year. Oh, and then there is Albers and the 2 STR drivers.
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The Saint
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safc_fan89,Feb 12 2007
06:55 PM
Barrichello top of the list...I fail to see why Honda would keep him should he repeat his 2006 form. Then, Fisichella. He HAS to beat Kovalainen, otherwise it is curtains for him. I would say the Toyota drivers but Toyota are showing such a lack of ambition that I can see those 2 plodding around for several more years yet...then DC. If he loses to Webber badly then that could be it.

Quite a few drivers need a big year. Oh, and then there is Albers and the 2 STR drivers.

So you dont think Fiasco will be picked up by someone else then?
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Paul_Murtagh
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I forgot about Prodrive. I think Fisi could get a seat there as they want an experienced driver in their car for the first year or so, and Dave Richards rated Fisi highly when he was his boss at Benetton in 1998
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Red Andy
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That was my thinking. Of course, Richards is shopping for a chassis and engine supplier; if he's linked to Mercedes, for instance, then Paffett could get a seat. I think Prodrive will go for an experienced driver/rookie pairing, which is why I reckon one of Fisi, Trulli or (maybe) Wurz will end up there.
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safc_fan89
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The Saint,Feb 12 2007
06:56 PM
safc_fan89,Feb 12 2007
06:55 PM
Barrichello top of the list...I fail to see why Honda would keep him should he repeat his 2006 form. Then, Fisichella. He HAS to beat Kovalainen, otherwise it is curtains for him. I would say the Toyota drivers but Toyota are showing such a lack of ambition that I can see those 2 plodding around for several more years yet...then DC. If he loses to Webber badly then that could be it.

Quite a few drivers need a big year. Oh, and then there is Albers and the 2 STR drivers.

So you dont think Fiasco will be picked up by someone else then?

No. I would have thought if he has a bad season this time out, that would be it. I couldn't see Fisi offering the same advice and experience that DC offered Red Bull in 2005.
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Alien_SAP_Fiend
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DC, Trulli sooner, Ralf and Fizzi later. Rubens has just joined Honda, why would he leave so soon???
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Monty
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Alien_SAP_Fiend,Feb 12 2007
08:46 PM
DC, Trulli sooner, Ralf and Fizzi later. Rubens has just joined Honda, why would he leave so soon???

because he is crap thats why! might change this season younever know
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Alien_SAP_Fiend
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DavidColthard202,Feb 12 2007
08:54 PM
because he is crap thats why! might change this season younever know

I dispute that. He won a lot of races for Ferrari and he had a bad time adjusting to the Honda last year. I agree he's not a champion, but he does deliver from time to time.

At least he's not a has-been like Trulli and DC. Those two make no effort at all.
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NewMrMe
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1) Barrichello. Beaten too often by Button last year. He took a long time to adjust to the car. That would not have been a problem had is later results been worth it.

2) Coulthard or Webber. I think it could be the end for whichever of the two Red Bull drives loses out to their teammate.

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