All the rumours of who'll be where in 2011...

Confirmed positions:

No.	Team	Engine	Driver 1	Driver 2	Reserve Driver
1-2	Red Bull Racing	Renault	Sebastian Vettel	Mark Webber
3-4	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	Mercedes	Lewis Hamilton	Jenson Button
5-6	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari	Fernando Alonso	Felipe Massa	Jules Bianchi
7-8	Mercedes GP Petronas	Mercedes	Michael Schumacher	Nico Rosberg
9-10	Lotus Renault GP	Renault	Robert Kubica	Vitaly Petrov
11-12	AT&T Williams	Cosworth	Rubens Barrichello	Pastor Maldonado	Valtteri Bottas
14-15	Force India F1 Team	Mercedes
16-17	Sauber F1 Team	Ferrari	Kamui Kobayashi	Sergio Perez	Esteban Gutiérrez
18-19	Scuderia Toro Rosso	Ferrari			Daniel Ricciardo
20-21	Team Lotus	Renault	Jarno Trulli	Heikki Kovalainen
22-23	HRT F1 Team	Cosworth
24-25	Marussia Virgin Racing	Cosworth	Timo Glock	Jerome D'Ambrosio

Are these names fixed in stone though? I know the fIA steadfastly refused to change BMW Sauber to Sauber last year but what if Group Lotus get the team name, surely then the FIA can't enforce Fernandes outfit being called Team Lotus?

Joe Saward had an interesting post yesterday on why he thinks that Renault will be Lotus next year, all based around a "thank you Lotus fans" livery at the new driver test .

Fairly fixed although you can have a name change with all the teams' agreement BUT the FIA would have to bow to any external legal decision.

The FIA did not steadfastly refuse to change Sauber's name - it was Sauber's decision not to apply for a name change. As they could only realistically change it once, they could have been holding out for a title sponsor. However, I think it was actually part of the "on-the-cheap" deal that BMW struck with Peter Sauber. An extra year of advertising for the company?



"...but if the team was staying as Lotus no-one would bothered saying “Thank You Lotus Fans”."
WTF?!? Why the heck not???
It's called being in touch with the fans! Other teams have done it and it is common in football to do this at the end of the season - it's worth remembering that Fernandes is a West Ham fan.
It may have been because of a name change or it could simply be because of the legal arguments and the support the fans have shown by indicating disgust at Group Lotus' moves or it could be a political message making a claim on the Lotus fans or as I've already said it could just be an example of the team being in touch with the fans. What it isn't is evidence of any of them.

The problem for JS is that a few hours later, the FIA released their list which kind of trampled all over his theory - as he admits in the comments.

_________________
Yossarian Lives

http://www.attwilliams.com/news/view/1668

Pastor Maldonado confirmed at Williams.

I call him Pasta Bake Maldonado.

_________________
"Kimi is one of the greatest" - Martin Whitmarsh 14/05/13

He's probably got a nickname like the vicar!

I think Lotus have been excellent in how they treat their fans this season and maybe this is just another step in maintaining their fan base, regardless of what they are called next year.

From free factory tours to Mike Gascoyne's tweets and pitwall comments on the BBC, Lotus have been really approachable and I admire them for it.

Williams had 'thankyou' messages on their cars in pre-season testing a few years ago when they hit 500 races, 30 years, that kind of thing. Maybe Lotus are doing something similar, after a succesful debut season (relative to the other new teams, and when you consider where they started from i.e. 3 months late).

_________________
"He's a pain in the arse, but he's a quick pain in the arse." - Williams on Mansell

Glock is all but confirmed as staying at Virgin
http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/2488 ... ia-virgin/

I suppose the only surprise is that he's not somewhere better.

_________________
Yossarian Lives

Up one place this week to number 3 is Lewis Hamilton which means last week's number 4, Jenson Button slips down to number 4.

Yes, the FIA have updated the list to add Pasta Maldonado but at the same time, the two British drivers have swapped numbers.

_________________
Yossarian Lives

Hulkenberg eyeing a seat at Force India... who finished just 1 pt behind Williams in the 2010 Constructors title
http://bit.ly/dMhvax

_________________
"He's a pain in the arse, but he's a quick pain in the arse." - Williams on Mansell

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro

Is that allowed?

Because advertising tobacco is forbidden if I remember correctly.
Or is that only for races in certain countries where it is not allowed? If that is the case, does it mean that they will have to change the name depending on where the race is taking place?

It's long been an oddity, they don't have much longer left on their contract though. Wouldn't be surprised if that became Santander in 2012.

_________________
Yossarian Lives

Liuzzi says his Force India seat is 'safe' for next year
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88694

_________________
"He's a pain in the arse, but he's a quick pain in the arse." - Williams on Mansell

Another seat confirmed. Out goes Lucas di Grassi and in comes Virgin's test driver Jerome D'Ambrosio

Autosport's report : http://bit.ly/fEH4gw

10 points to Eddie if he calls him "Jeremy Custard" on TV

_________________
"He's a pain in the arse, but he's a quick pain in the arse." - Williams on Mansell

Petrov signs a 2 year contract with Renault. OFFICIAL.

_________________
"Kimi is one of the greatest" - Martin Whitmarsh 14/05/13

linky

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88745

_________________
"Kimi is one of the greatest" - Martin Whitmarsh 14/05/13

Does anyone else think it's funny that he's reported as having signed a contract with RENAULT?

_________________
Yossarian Lives