The announcement of Kimi Rakkionen signing for Group Lotus in 2012 caught many including myself by surprise. He had been widely expected to join Williams but his appointment at Lotus has thrown a spanner in the works for many drivers desperately competing in a crowded market place. Whilst like most I am delighted Kimi is back, It is one less slot available for young drivers whom are seemingly out of fashion in F1 at the moment. Here are my thoughts on those who maybe lining up as Kimi’s team mate next year.
Vitaly Petrov
Is surely the front runner since he has a contract with the team next year, but as Kimi himself found out at Ferrari that is not always enough. His performances this year have mirrored that off the team after what was a disappointing rookie year. Failing to outshine a seasoned veteran Nick Heidfeld and rookie Bruno Senna it is very hard to gauge just how good he is. His outburst against the team before the Brazilan Grand Prix suggest he is not a happy camper and the writing maybe on the wall. It is well known he comes with a host of Russian sponcers which at one time seemed key to Group Lotus’s long term plan, Rakkionen would not have come cheap and they have to pay for it somehow but it also may suggest a aggressive push towards the front of the grid which maybe backed with a new sponsor so Petrovs backing may no longer be required.
Bruno Senna
After a tough rookie season at HRT and claiming a drive half way through a season at a increasingly slow Group Lotus car Senna is another one who has done little wrong but is hard to gauge just how good he is. Over one qualifying lap he was just as good as Petrov during his stint in 2011 but due to bad luck and a poor car rarely converted his qualifying performance into points. The Senna name and the Lotus connection carries a lot of weight as does the strength Brazilian economy, Unlike many drivers without a seat for next year Senna did not look overly concerned about his future in F1 at the last Grand Prix even telling the BBC with a smirk on his face that he would ‘see them next year’.
Robert Kubica
F1 and Group Lotus were denied the talents of one of the finest drivers on the grid this season after a horrible rallying accident. Mixed messages regarding his fitness and increasing rumors of a switch to Ferrari in 2013 probably mean that he will likely not race for Group Lotus in 2012. As good as a Rakkionen/Kubica partnership looks on paper, Kubica needs to prove he is up to driving an F1 car again and would be best spending a year testing or competing in GP2 to prove his fitness. Sadly F1 is not littered with injured drivers who make successful come backs.
Romain Grojsean
Drove nine races for the team in 2009 when the team was in utter disaray caos. Having Fernando Alonso as his team mate probably did not help matters. Grojsean convincingly won GP2 in 2011 and hopefully will be given another chance somewhere on F1. Team principal Eric Boullier is part of management team but is hard to guess just how long Boullier will stay part of the team after a disastrous 2011. He certainly has all the ingredients to be a top driver but top teams do not tend to put rookies in their car.
Adrian Sutil
Despite a fantastic 2011 for Force India, Sutil looks likely to replaced by Nico Hulkenburg. Heavily linked with Williams he would probably fancy his chances of regular points scoring at Team Lotus and would make an excellent number two. Sadly he maybe the new Nick Heidfeld and find himself to the wrong guy at the wrong time.
Rubens Barrichello.
After nineteen amazing seasons in F1 it looks like it will be curtain for Rubens F1 career. Given a dog of a car from Williams in the past two years he has beaten two young highly rated GP2 champions and rarely crashes so there may still be life in the old dog yet. Whilst he would be a solid appointment it would be an uninspiring choice blocking another seat for a young driver.
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