Williams F1
Williams drivers unlikely to change in 2011
Rubens & Nico
By Andrew Hooper
October 6 2010
From comments been made by various team members it would appear that the AT&T Williams is unlikely to change their drivers for the 2011 Formula One season. Test driver Valtteri Bottas and part owner Toto Wolff added weight to the view that both Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg will remain with the team for 2011.
| Williams drivers unlikely to change in 2011 |
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For AT&T
Williams test driver Valtteri Bottas the prospects of him been able to
secure a full time drive with the team are having to be put on hold until
2012 because he feels that the Williams team is "not likely to change" its
current driver line-up for 2011. Wolff also spoke of the financial siltation at Williams saying that it was going well for the company and that they were able to able to return a profit of more than 20 million Euros. In added that rather than spending this money now it would be better to keep such a money in the company for 2011, as the financial situation may be become tight again as in the next year two sponsors, Philips and Royal Bank of Scotland, are leaving the team. But Wolff also said that the Williams team was already in good discussions with possible new partners. |
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Discussion started by Williams F1 , 06/10/2010 13:58
Williams F1
06/10/2010 13:58
06/10/2010 13:58
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I read an interview with Toto and he never said that two sponsors leaving were RBS and Philips.
We are sure about RBS but not about Philips, or have they announced it?
Sir Frank: "It's what we do, we love doing it. It's like oxygen, it fixes you".
We are sure about RBS but not about Philips, or have they announced it?
Sir Frank: "It's what we do, we love doing it. It's like oxygen, it fixes you".
Allianz will sponsor the Mercedes team next year. Although it's sad to see a long serving sponsor leaving the team, they 'only' paid 750.000 to Williams, so in terms of money it's not huge.
Phillips is a big question mark. I heard the Dutch F1 commentator (I live in the Netherlands) say a few GP's ago that Phillips is considering to stay if Williams improves in the constructors standings. I know this sounds a bit odd, but I really thought he said this. Is there perhaps someone from the Netherlands who can confirm (perhaps I was totally mistaken). Let's hope it's true, it would make the fight with Force India even more interesting
Phillips is a big question mark. I heard the Dutch F1 commentator (I live in the Netherlands) say a few GP's ago that Phillips is considering to stay if Williams improves in the constructors standings. I know this sounds a bit odd, but I really thought he said this. Is there perhaps someone from the Netherlands who can confirm (perhaps I was totally mistaken). Let's hope it's true, it would make the fight with Force India even more interesting
On Totalf1 this morning they were reporting Pastor Maldonado is in line to take Hulkenbergs seat at Williams. According to an Italian Newspaper (can't find the story on Total F1 anymore so this is all from memory) we are losing 4 sponsors at the end of the year. Maldonado would bring in sponsorship from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA. He is the 2010 GP2 champion so it's not like we are getting another Nakajima.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:10:07:11:03:53 by ghettonation.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:10:07:11:03:53 by ghettonation.
Montoya was one of my favourites. F1 needs another character like him.
If Nico leaves, where can he go? There arent any empty seats out there...
[img][/img]
WILLIAMS RACING
WILLIAMS RACING
Hulkenberg's seat in doubt
Quote:2010 rookie Nico Hulkenberg's race seat at Williams is in doubt for next season, according to Italian reports.
The Autosprint magazine claims the British independent team is set to lose four sponsors at once, including RBS and Philips.
At the same time, it is rumoured that German Hulkenberg's famous manager Willi Weber is asking Sir Frank Williams for a pay-rise for his 23-year-old charge.
The first name mentioned as a potential new teammate for Rubens Barrichello is Pastor Maldonado, who is set to succeed Hulkenberg as the new GP2 champion.
25-year-old Venezuelan Maldonado, backed by state oil company PDVSA, had hoped to go to Sauber, who have instead signed the Telmex-sponsored Sergio Perez.
Williams' third co-owner Toto Wolff said last weekend that he is not expecting a "lightening fast decision" about the team's 2011 drivers.
"I feel quite comfortable about our (current) driver lineup," he told Kleine Zeitung newspaper.
[www.motorsport.com]
Quote:raiden
If Nico leaves, where can he go? There arent any empty seats out there...
I suppose it's a simple sum. Is Hulk improving to the point where he takes us up the constructor's table, where a place is worth millions?
How many millions would an unproven Maldonado bring?
It's my impression Hulk is now looking more solid than Rosberg did in his first year. I think Pastor would need a lot of money to tip the scales. Or for Hulk to throw the last few races.
And I'm sure Weber asking for more money isn't helping.
Its all about negotiating tactics.Weber asking more money the team throws maldonado with sponsorship money on the table.And as i see it hulk dosent have to many options at the moment.
The issue is that constructors positions are never guaranteed, whilst SFW can at least have a contract with driver-sponsors. If Williams' budget is a major issue for 2011, then retaining Nico could expose the team to a big financial risk if the team were to then have a disappointing season in 2011.
I would much prefer Hülkenberg to be retained, obviously, but Maldonado must be operating at a decent level to dominate the GP2 championship, even if it has taken him a long time to get there. Rubens would probably blow his doors off, but I would hope he could at least put in a competent solid effort.
Im not sure where Nico would go if he were dropped. This is a critical time for him in his career- or at least, this is what SFW should be saying to Weber
I would much prefer Hülkenberg to be retained, obviously, but Maldonado must be operating at a decent level to dominate the GP2 championship, even if it has taken him a long time to get there. Rubens would probably blow his doors off, but I would hope he could at least put in a competent solid effort.
Im not sure where Nico would go if he were dropped. This is a critical time for him in his career- or at least, this is what SFW should be saying to Weber
I also think this is a ploy . . . and there's also some misreporting on this issue - one article reports that the team blames Hulk for the loss of sponsors. (Rubbish.)
Hulk's career to date is very, very impressive. Nico won a major series every year from 2005 to 2009.
Hulk's career to date is very, very impressive. Nico won a major series every year from 2005 to 2009.
Well, we clearly don't know the details of the team's financial situation but from a purely sporting perspective it would be unfortunate to let Hulk go. He's clearly improving over the course of the year and I still think he'll be a star and be very strong in 2011 if we kept him. Not to mention providing continuity.
Like I said though, if we're in a sticky situation with regards to finances next year then we might not have any other choice than to look for a pay-driver. In that scenario, we could do alot worse than Maldonado (although his record in the sprint races this year hasn't been great and as team-mates at ART Nico H gave him a pasting last year).
I just hope that some major and welcome surprises are going to be presented to us from the commercial side of the team in the coming months...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:10:07:15:07:43 by MansellsMoustache.
Like I said though, if we're in a sticky situation with regards to finances next year then we might not have any other choice than to look for a pay-driver. In that scenario, we could do alot worse than Maldonado (although his record in the sprint races this year hasn't been great and as team-mates at ART Nico H gave him a pasting last year).
I just hope that some major and welcome surprises are going to be presented to us from the commercial side of the team in the coming months...
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010:10:07:15:07:43 by MansellsMoustache.
Quote:MansellsMoustache
Like I said though, if we're in a sticky situation with regards to finances . . . we could do a lot worse than Maldonado
If it's about money, maybe we could do better and forget about talent
I read that Petrov has attracted yet another Russian brand to Renault, some vodka company, along with Lada and the Vyborg Shipyard that joined the other week , , ,
Let's find another Russian!
Maybe we could just take Petrov and his money then if Renault dump him? 
I think Maldonado can bring as much or more money than Petrov, and I rate Pastor as the quicker of the two.
I heard an unverified rumour that RBS are withdrawing due to an old lady visited her local branch and complained about the antics of "that violent young man on the telly wearing RBS logos kicking and throwing things"...
I am reading that RBS and Phillips are out of williams next year and that is why we are looking at maldonado.
If it is Maldonado, then some interesting consequences:
The Venezuelan oil company's logo is red! Will SFW insist it is printed white out of blue????
[www.pdvsa.com]
In passing, I see a US Study reports that Venezuela has more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. So perhaps Francesc is correct that Maldonado would have more cash than Petrov.
Hmmmmmm
The Venezuelan oil company's logo is red! Will SFW insist it is printed white out of blue????
[www.pdvsa.com]
In passing, I see a US Study reports that Venezuela has more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. So perhaps Francesc is correct that Maldonado would have more cash than Petrov.
Hmmmmmm
Quote:crusty_bread
I heard an unverified rumour that RBS are withdrawing due to an old lady visited her local branch and complained about the antics of "that violent young man on the telly wearing RBS logos kicking and throwing things"...
Hey, she doesn't know what the tyre barrier said to him
Quote:mayhemfunksterQuote:crusty_bread
I heard an unverified rumour that RBS are withdrawing due to an old lady visited her local branch and complained about the antics of "that violent young man on the telly wearing RBS logos kicking and throwing things"...
Hey, she doesn't know what the tyre barrier said to him
Was it "there goes your pay-rise"?
@ Gunk, what SFW needs to do is wear a PDVSA cap around the garage. That ought to put the willies up Weber...
Looks like we are im a really bad situation...really sad to read
GO TEAM WILLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO TEAM WILLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Reading the Press conference I get the impression that Adam is not optimistic of the Hulk situation either. It isn't helping that Weber is being a greedy pr$ck as usual
Well... with Willi Weber you can expect anything...and after the season that the old german is making...you can understand that Weber is putting his faith in Nico...BTW I think , as I said before, Nico is having a decent season...but come on!!!...nobody can see him as a amazing star for the future for what has been doing this season...I mean at the end of the day Kobayashi has scored more points than him.
GO TEAM WILLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO TEAM WILLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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