Webber to Ferrari in 2013! EDIT : Or is it Vettel?

[speedmiester]

Mark Webber could be moving to Ferrari for the 2013 Season for a one year deal.
I think this will be a good move considering the lack of support Mark is getting at Red Bull. Hopefully Ferrari could bring out a championship winning car.

Webber to Ferrari as Perez stop gap

[punto_]

Interesting. I would definitely like to see Massa out of Ferrari ASAP. And Ferrari really needs to get the upgrades right for the next race!

[SchumiFan]

Massa has been performing quite well for the past couple of races. Everyone can't be an Alonso and out perform the car.

Ferrari have been building crappy cars for the past three years. It is time someone takes responsibility and gets things right.

Give the car, Massa will perform. I don't think Webber is required at Ferrari. He is number 2 at RedBull and it will be no different in Ferrari. Atleast he is guaranteed a good car in RB, not the case with Ferrari based on current scenario.

I am a Ferrari fan btw who is sick of seeing Alonso's prime years wasted with these incompetent team.

[deetjohn]

This has been going on for a while now. And why I think this could happen.

1. Mark is sick and tired of the treatment at RBR and will be eager to get away, especially from Mr. Helmut Marko.
2. Mark and Alonso are very good friends. Alonso would be instrumental in getting Mark aboard the Ferrari. But it won't be easy sharing a team.
3. Mark could bring substantial intel from RBR which can help SF. And I am sure SF will be paying Mark a lot of money to jump ship.

[asr245]

Wow! This has started already... just after 4 races.

There's no doubt Massa will be out unless he cant find another 0.5 secs per lap or at least half of that. Earlier in the year, there were rumors of Ferrari planning to help Kubica out with his recovery - testing him with the 2010 car to be precise.

Too early to believe anything.

[GTO]

I'm honestly surprised that Ferrari let Massa stick around for so long! He's been average at best, especially in a team as glorious as the Prancing Horse.

If the rumour is true, Webber must have tried real hard & failed to regain his seat at Red Bull, before agreeing to a Ferrari move. After all, the Red Bull is a far superior car today, and has been for the last couple of years. Still, I'm not sure if the development is positive for Webber. He is the unofficial No.2 at Red Bull and he will become an official No.2 at Ferrari (Alonso clearly has the team around him).

[StarrySky]

RB fired their two young drivers from STR at the end of last season - so those two aren't going to RB. I doubt any of the two guys in STR now will also be going to RB next season - atleast, no one's talking about that as a done deal. I don't think any of the other top drivers will be moving there next season either. So I guess there isn't much competition to Webber's seat at RB.

Of course, Ferrari may want Webber to replace Massa and maybe offering him lot of money to come over.

I don't think Ferrari is going to gain much by way of intel by hiring Webber. For that, they need to hire some RB engineers.

[sgiitk]

The basic point is that Ferrari in its current form is uncompetitive. Alonso is a driver supreme and so is able to overcome some of it. I wonder if Ferrari were to be competitive he will dominate like Schumi until he got bored of it.

Webber or Massa hardly matters.

[PuntoMania]

Webber has rejected all speculations about the deal :
Mark Webber rejects Ferrari speculation | Red Bull | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1

Originally Posted by GTO

I'm honestly surprised that Ferrari let Massa stick around for so long! He's been average at best, especially in a team as glorious as the Prancing Horse.

I think thats a bit harsh. Massa did a very good job in 2006/07/08/09 till his accident. I think the accident has had an effect on his performance from 2010 onwards. Its been 2 seasons of below par performances from Massa, but I think the guy deserved a bit of slack and some loyalty from Ferrari after what he went through in 2008 and 2009.

However, I agree with the assessment that there may be better drivers to take his place at Ferrari now. He seems to have lost his mojo after the 2009 accident

[amrisharm]

To leave RBR because Webber is not being treated fairly there and then going to Ferrari serves very little purpose IMHO. Ferrari is a one driver team be it Schumacher, Kimi or now Alonso. Things might be a little better than RBR considering the history involved with the two drivers crashing during races. But Webber should look elsewhere if equal treatment is what he craves.

[vikram_d]

Originally Posted by SchumiFan

Massa has been performing quite well for the past couple of races. Everyone can't be an Alonso and out perform the car.

That's the basic requirement of an F1 driver, to be able to out drive the car however inferior it may be. Every team needs a pair of Alonso's.

[PAVAN KADAM]

Originally Posted by PuntoMania

Webber has rejected all speculations about the deal :
Mark Webber rejects Ferrari speculation | Red Bull | Formula 1 news, live F1 | ESPN F1



I think thats a bit harsh. Massa did a very good job in 2006/07/08/09 till his accident. I think the accident has had an effect on his performance from 2010 onwards. Its been 2 seasons of below par performances from Massa, but I think the guy deserved a bit of slack and some loyalty from Ferrari after what he went through in 2008 and 2009.

However, I agree with the assessment that there may be better drivers to take his place at Ferrari now. He seems to have lost his mojo after the 2009 accident

Originally Posted by vikram_d

That's the basic requirement of an F1 driver, to be able to out drive the car however inferior it may be. Every team needs a pair of Alonso's.

Ferrari needs something Better than Massa or Webber.

Why are we ruling out Robert Kubica

BTW.. anyone has any clue whats with Kubica these days, He was in so much news during the season starter, but his news has faded. Are there any chances of his return to F1 in the near future, if YES, he would be the perfect choice for the Ferrari Seat.

Massa's days are Over and there is no real reason he deserves to be in Ferrari.

[SchumiFan]

Originally Posted by vikram_d

That's the basic requirement of an F1 driver, to be able to out drive the car however inferior it may be. Every team needs a pair of Alonso's.

Sorry, not true. Button who is reputed to be a smooth, logical driver etc etc has to have the car setup to his complete satisfaction. Else he complains about understeer/oversteer etc. But if everything is right, he delivers.

F1 cars are a complex machine and we know that each driver has his own driving style. This year's Ferrari might have been based around Alonso's driving style and Massa may need to get used to it.

Give him the car, Massa performs. If the drivers are to work around the cars flaws, I don't think we would need these many engineers in each F1 team.

Same case with Vettel able to exploit the off throttle blowing in RBR better than Webber.

[SilentEngine]

If RBR let Webber go then they should have found someone to replace him. It's too early to judge either STR drivers, so they can't be going to RBR for next year based on what we have seen so far.
Only possibility is if they are trying to get Kimi for next year. Kimi and Seb are good friends and have been spending time together in paddock last few races, so this can be a reason.

[Sandeep_K_Ram]

Planetf1.com - I would take their news with a large pinch of salt.

There are only 4 teams now which are able to challenge for wins - RBR,McLaren,Lotus and Mercedes.

McLaren look a closed house to me. As do Lotus. If Mark leaves RBR it ought to be for another winning team unless he wants to do a "Jacques Villeneuve" - so assuming that Michael the great is outgunned AGAIN by Nico Rosberg, there is a chance,albeit minor one that Webber might try the Mercedes. I wonder if Ross Brawn and Norbert Haug rate him highly enough though ?