kinda like the earth just moved...
Posted on 10/02/2014 6:47:36 PM PDT by Chode
WOW!!! Alonso was blasting these rumors two weeks ago....Vettel leaving?? WOW!!!
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel will leave Red Bull to join Ferrari, replacing Fernando Alonso, who is set for McLaren.
Red Bull announced on Saturday that 27-year-old Vettel had “advised them” he would be leaving.
Team principal Christian Horner said Ferrari had made Vettel “a very attractive offer.”
Alonso, 33, still had two more years to run on his contract but he and Ferrari have agreed to separate.
Horner also revealed that Vettel only told him of his decision to leave on Friday night - in the middle of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend - hours before the official announcement was made.
“All I can do is wish him the very best for the future,” he said.
Vettel will be replaced at Red Bull by Russian Toro Rosso driver Daniil Kvyat.
Neither Vettel’s move to Ferrari nor Alonso’s switch to McLaren have yet been officially announced, but both are expected to be in the coming days.
Aside from McLaren, Alonso’s only other options are to retire or to take a sabbatical year, neither of which are considered likely.
Vettel, who has been out-shone by new team-mate Daniel Ricciardo this year, has been backed by Red Bull since he was 12 years old, but said he wanted to “do something else, something new”.
Sebastian Vettel celebrating
Sebastian Vettel won four World Championship titles with Red Bull
“It is not the first time I have been approached but it felt like the right time,” added the German.
“I’m not leaving because I don’t like the team or individuals, I’m not running away from anything. The voice inside me, the hunger to do something new was bigger. It was not the easiest decision but you have to listen to your heart.”
He refused to admit he was joining Ferrari, saying: “I don’t have anything I can confirm now. For now, I can’t say much.”
Ferrari have had a long-standing agreement with Vettel that he would join them when he leaves Red Bull.
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Vettel will hope to benefit from the major restructuring that is taking place at Maranello under new team principal Marco Mattiacci.
Alonso, six years older than Vettel, feels the passage of time in his career more keenly and, after five frustrating seasons, he has lost faith that Ferrari can return to competitiveness in time for him to win a third world title. He believes McLaren and new engine partner Honda are a better bet.
“Today was a surprise, with the announcement of Vettel leaving Red Bull,” said Alonso.
“Everyone was waiting for some kind of announcement on my side and the first one to move was Sebastian.
“The priority is to help Ferrari. We are in the middle of a (race) weekend. I have had my mind set for two or three months; everything was moving in that direction. I can go more or less where I want.”
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/29487911
Crazy that Lotus was fighting for the win and on the podium last year but can barely qualify ahead of Caterham now.
Vettel to Ferrari is a big surprise, but I’ve thought all season long that Alonso would go back to McLaren. Who can blame him? Chances are that Ferrari will still be in disarray next season, and the pull of Honda commitment and money is strong.
kinda like the earth just moved...
i hate the thought we might goto 8 3 car teams next year
i Dennis keeps the little sh!t on a short leash, he may come to regret this move
I think Ferrari is more likely to have regrets than McLaren, especially if Sebbie brings Uncle Helmut along.....
that's OK with me... Ferrari lost all it's appeal to me when the 12cyl went away, that and i've been behind McLaren since 67 so i'm a little bias 8^)
Kind of hurts Alonso negotiating position......
Fernando is a race car driver
Ferrari has been a mess since they short sheeted Michael. The GP version of the curse of the bambino
.
not really...i think he’s had something in place for a while plus Alonso can pretty much dictate where he wants to go...
How about 3 8 car Teams?
Silly Season in full swing
that'd be ugly3
Mercedes
Ferrari
John Deere
JD prolly has better reliability
Marussia driver Jules Bianchi has suffered a "severe" head injury in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix.
The FIA said the Frenchman would undergo surgery and then be moved to intensive care.
Bianchi, 25, was unconscious as he was taken to hospital following the incident which brought the rain-affected race to an early conclusion.
He lost control at the same spot on the Suzuka circuit where recovery vehicles were attending a previous crash.
In wet conditions, Sauber driver Adrian Sutil firstly spun and hit the tyre barrier as rain intensified in the latter stages of the race.
While recovery vehicles were lifting Sutil's car, Bianchi "lost control of his car, travelled across the run-off area and hit the back of the tractor".
The race was red-flagged and then declared over after 44 laps.
"The driver was removed from the car, taken to the circuit medical centre and then by ambulance to Mie General Hospital," the FIA said in a statement.
"The CT scan shows that he has suffered a severe head injury and he is currently undergoing surgery. Following this he will be moved to intensive care where he will be monitored."
How the incident unfolded |
|---|
| Adrian Sutil aquaplanes and crashes into the tyre barriers on lap 43 |
| Jules Bianchi hits the recovery vehicle attending Sutil's crash |
| The medical car and ambulance are deployed on lap 45 |
| The race is red-flagged and declared over, with the race result counted back to after 44 laps |
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton won the race ahead of team-mate Nico Rosberg, but said: "It is obviously a real anti-climax to hear one of our colleagues is seriously injured. That is the main worry."
Sutil said: "I had aquaplaning in Turn Eight. The rain was increasing and the tyres were going down, the light was going down. It was hard to see.
"I was following Jules very close and had a spin and hit the wall. I was OK and then one lap later, under waved yellows, Jules was in the same trouble."
The race had earlier started under safety car conditions after a heavy downpour on Sunday morning as storms that preceded the approaching typhoon Phanfone hit Suzuka.
It was red-flagged after only two laps because of the weather, before resuming around 20 minutes later under the safety car. After a further eight laps, conditions were deemed suitable enough for racing to get under way.
Despite the conditions three-time world champion Niki Lauda, who was seriously injured in a crash at the German Grand Prix in 1976, felt they were not bad enough to warrant the race being called off.
"The rain was not the real issue," the Mercedes non-executive chairman said.
"There were safety cars put in and the race was run safe more or less to the end, so it could have been run to the end without the accident.
"I don't think the darkness was an issue here. Motor racing is dangerous. We get used to it if nothing happens and then suddenly we are all surprised.
"We always have to be aware that motor racing is very dangerous and this accident is a coming together of various difficult things. One car goes off, the truck comes out and the next car goes off. This was very unfortunate."
Jules Bianchi |
|---|
| Born: 3 August 1989 |
| Team: Marussia |
| Races: 34 |
Williams driver Felipe Massa, who was involved in a serious crash during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian Grand Prix, said: "We need to understand what has happened with Jules. I'm very worried.
"I was already screaming on the radio five laps before the safety car that there was too much water on the track, but they took a bit too long and it was dangerous. So we saw that there were some crashes at the end."
Bianchi, a member of Ferrari's young driver programme, is in his second season in F1.
He scored a memorable ninth place in Monaco this year, giving the back-of-the grid Marussia team their first points since their debut in 2010.
Thank You for the info. Just finished watching the DVR of the Race.
Prayers Up
damn... i fell asleep around lap3? Prayers up
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