2010 Driver Market Is Still Bizarro-Land!

Ravikumar RajagopalSep 27, 2009

Usually by this time of the year, we will more or less know which driver will be racing for which team for the next season, but then this season is no ordinary season as one controversy has led to another.

Every time something gets resolved, something bigger pops up and generally, more or less everything has been focused on what is happening in the paddock rather than on the race track.

We have the possibility of 14 teams taking part in the 2010 season and so we have 28 seats to fill. Although among the four new teams we are still not too sure on how many will actually land up in Formula One, for example, US Formula One who a few months back were a certainty to start the first race, are now the least doubtful among the new teams.

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We have to assume that there are 28 seats available but the worst case scenario for Formula One will be that both Toyota and Renault pull out, while two out of the four new teams fail to turn up, which will make the grid once again with only 10 teams.

Hopefully for the sake of Formula One and also the drivers this does not happen. Red Bull are the only team on the grid which has confirmed both its drivers, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, will be leading its championship charge for 2010.

The engine market is also very crazy and as many as four teams yet to confirm their engine suppliers, and three out of the four are looking for a deal with Mercedes Benz but Mercedes can only supply two other teams that their works team McLaren will allow them to do it.

Red Bull’s Mercedes team was more or less a certainty, until news of Mercedes plans to make Brawn their works team, threw a spanner in Red Bull’s plans. Also their current supplier Renault, after the race fixing scandal, are not too sure if they will continue for the 2010 season.

Red Bull are in a bad state and a worst case scenario is that they may have to run once again with Ferrari engines which is much better than the available Cosworth option.

Ferrari are in a very good position when it comes to drivers, but now it has too many options on its books that it is now becoming a headache to choose their lead pair. If not for Massa’s accident, Alonso and Massa would have started for them for 2010, but now with Massa’s fitness still not a certainty, the team is playing the wait and watch game.

Though it is not officially confirmed if Alonso will join the team for the next season, it is more or less certain that Kimi will not drive for the team, but the only issue is that Kimi has a very expensive contract with Ferrari.

Ferrari also has Fisichella in case there is an emergency but then don’t forget there is always the German Kaiser lurking behind, who may yet make a Formula One comeback. McLaren is the only other team which has a confirmed driver in Lewis Hamilton and he is bound to the team for the next few years.

It is not the first time that Alonso has held the key to the driver’s market, while Rosberg is once again the most wanted driver on the grid. While Kubica, ever since the BMW pull-out, is hot property while the likes of Button, Barrichello and Heidfeld's availability makes the market very interesting.

The last time I looked at the driver’s market which was in July, BMW were still in Formula One while there was no scandal with the Renault team. Now things have been turned upside down and we also have Lotus returning to Formula One.

Fernando Alonso: He is very much a hot property and though his deal for Ferrari for 2010 remains an open secret, it is more or less certain that Alonso will race for the Italian team during the next season.

Although the Italian team’s pursuit of Vettel for 2011 and his decision to turn them down to race for Red Bull does seem strange, I do assume Alonso will be racing for the Ferrari with Massa who is the only confirmed Ferrari driver for 2010 so far.

Nico Rosberg – Two seasons back, everyone was talking about how Rosberg would go to McLaren and once again this talk is back, but the difference now is that Mercedes want a German driver and Rosberg with both German and Finnish credentials would be a perfect fit.

Plus he is good friends of Hamilton but with rumours of Mercedes' interest in making Brawn its works team post-2012, Rosberg has been strongly linked to Brawn which provides both its drivers with equal opportunities, unlike McLaren which has clearly favoured Hamilton over his partners.

Robert Kubica – He has lot of options but he is looking only for a one year contract, as he is looking for a Ferrari seat for the 2011 season while he has been a Renault Young Driver. The team is looking for a longer contract than what he is asking for while Williams could be a good place for him but with the Renault & Williams engine deal which can complicate things, Kubica will end up at either Renault or Williams.

Jenson Button – He is most likely to win the 2009 championship and though he took a pay cut to race for the team this season, an awesome performance this year, has made him hot property once again. Though he has rejected Toyota’s deal, he could either stay in Brawn or even at McLaren. Only money remains an issue, but with Mercedes and its long term plan for Brawn, he could very well stay with the team for the next few years.

Rubens Barrichello – The Brazilian is in a very dicey situation as he does not have an option, apart from Brawn, plus his age is a factor which is working against him. But unless he wins the title, he may not be retained by Brawn while Williams can be a long shot for him. He does have options with the new teams but then I am not too sure if he is motivated enough by running in the back once again.

Nick Heidfeld - He was on his way out of BMW, even before they planned to pull out of Formula One, but he has a few options, and if he does get lucky he could even land up a drive with McLaren.

There was talk of him going to Brawn before the Mercedes talk was there, but if Rosberg does go to McLaren, the Heidfeld pairing with Button will be solid and can be a steady side-kick to Button. But he is most likely to end up with Williams and if it does fail, he always has an option with Sauber if their position on the 2010 grid is confirmed.

Kimi Räikkönen – One of the most shocking options on the grid, many thought he would retire from Formula One and would join the FIAT rallying team, but he has said that he wanted to race next year. Though he does have a contract with Ferrari he has plenty of top quality options, with Brawn, McLaren, Williams and even Renault are all credible options, but don’t be too shocked if Kimi makes a shocking comeback to McLaren.

This is a possible line-up for 2010:

Brawn: Jenson Button/Nico Rosberg

Red Bull: Sebastian Vettel/Mark Webber

Ferrari: Fernando Alonso/Felipe Massa

McLaren: Lewis Hamilton/Kimi Räikkönen

Williams: Nico Hulkenberg/Nick Heidfeld

Toyota: Timo Glock/Heikki Kovalainen

Renault: Romain Grosjean/Robert Kubica

Toro Rosso: Sebastien Buemi/Jaime Alguersuari

Force India: Adrian Sutil/Vitantonio Liuzzi

Sauber: Giancarlo Fisichella/Christian Klien

Campos: Pedro de la Rosa/Vitaly Petrov