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Webber Not racing for Williams in 2007

Autosport.com has just announced that Alex Wurz will race alongside Mini Keke next season. So where has Webber gone to.

Has he gone to Renault?

or has he gone to Red Bull?

Any thoughts
«1

Comments

  • If the rumors that Kimi is off to Ferrari are true, then I reckon it is highly likely that he will end up at Renault.
  • I wonder what the odds are of him ending up in NACSAR ;)
  • He's never been the same since he left Minardi.
  • you gotta give it to the guy, he got a lot of bad luck. just look at last sunday.

    wow, the comeback of wurz!

    here come the wurz jokes :D
  • No, he's been better. ;)

    F*ck, I hope him & Briatore know what they're doing, they're playing a dangerous game knocking back a seat like a Williams, even if they were down on form this year.

    My money is that Kimi is signed sealed and delivered to the Reds, and Webber is a Renault boy next year.

    If not, he's in McLaren grey.

    I can't imagine him leaving Williams for RBR.
  • I presume he's going to renault. More pressure here though. Fisi ain't exactly slow. And we all know how mistake prone MW is when the pressure's really on.
  • So if he hammers Fisi next year Petrol you'll finally give the man some credit?

    And stop fishing, i'm not biting.
  • I was one of the biggest critics of Webber last year but now I have to say he's driving just brilliantly.
    He's matured and improved his racecraft giving the overrated Rosberg a good run for his money.
    I wish him a top seat either at McLaren or at Renault.
  • Originally posted by Petroltorque
    And we all know how mistake prone MW is when the pressure's really on.
    Yes, like in Australia back in 2002.. Oh, I remember that well, who was it, Salo? In a faster car, closing in on Webber. And Webber put it into the sands, IIRC. Or at least someone did. I'm a bit confused when I forget my medicine..

    BTW, good call on Rosberg, Fox. What is Williams thinking? Drop Webbo for Wurz and Rosberg? Right.
  • Webber is highly overrated. But if I remember correctly, I've already had this argument.

    Personally, I hope he gets screwed and gets no ride, but that obviously won't happen. I sure as hell hope he doesn't go to Renault, or I'll have to burn that Renault hat I own.

    [Edited on 2-8-06 by Rekart]
  • Everybody' gotta hate something. My mum hated rum drinkers and supporters of a particular football (sorry, non-beautiful game pretender that involves a ball of sorts) team.

    On a slightly less polarising note though - and one hesitates to detract from such incisive, exciting verbage - where is Frank's head.

    Nico and Alex are competent, reasonably reliable drivers, but they are not the guys that are gonna revive the team's fortunes unless the factory puts out a supercar.

    This all looks more like an exercise in battening down the hatches in a fiscal sense. Neither of these guys would be on any kind of real money. Frank has shown in the past that he is quite happy to let a driver go if he thought the ask was too high, but conversely he has never shied from paying the talent when he thinks he has a shot at the title either.

    It all makes me think that Williams are looking at at least another year in the doldrums.

    And what about the wiz kid - Michels? How many chances does he get?

    It all seems so reminiscent of the days when Williams screwed Heinz-Harald's potential future.
  • I guess this is the first domino to fall. I guess we may have to wait till Monza before the rest fall. Feel sorry for Mark, goes to Williams during a divorce, overdrives a pig of a car and gets critisized, then in an interim year the once mighty Williams team just cannot seem to build a car that can last 72 laps without it falling to bits.

    Yes its about Money and politics and sometimes racing. My bet is that he is off to Renault, Kimi will stay grey and schummi will go another year.

    Good luck Frank, the slippery slope is getting close to the bottom. Only Aguri have completed less laps this year.
  • I guess this is a useless fight, since it's a Minardi forum and there seem to be many Australians here, which means most here would like to sleep with Webber and have his children.

    The fact is, Webber will never be a championship driver unless he falls ass-first into a great car with an incompetent teammate. He can win some GPs and be a consistent point-scorer, but his reliability will always be less than, say, Coulthard, because Webber drives much more aggresively. He's a #1 driver with #1.5 driver speed and a massive ego (but what F1 driver doesn't have a massive ego.)

    For the record, Coulthard is a #2 driver in speed, but he's almost guaranteed to finish.

    [Edited on 3-8-06 by Rekart]
  • Give up Rekart, honestly. You've made your point several times and no one cares but you.

    Could you please define 'incompetant teammate' btw? I'd like to know who Webber has to race beside and beat (in your opinion) to get respect as a real #1.

    And fyi, Mark Webber would have to be the most ego-less and genuine driver in F1. I think viges will testify to that.
  • Based on all personal accounts I've seen, most of them seem pretty nice when you meet them in real life, even if they seem likes asses on TV. I doubt Webber is any different. He just seems overly cocky about his abilities outwardly.

    Who has he beaten? Yoong, Pizzonia, Wilson, Klien, and Rosberg? And about even last season with Heidfeld? These guys aren't exactly top-tier guys. The only true #1 drivers in F1 are Raikkonen, Alonso, and Schumacher, and Webber will never reach their level. Ever. He's not as consistent, safe, or quick. He's not bad, he's just overrated.

    [Edited on 3-8-06 by Rekart]
  • Rekart presumably you don't put much faith in Alonso's opinion either.

    Try this quote from Alonso on for size, "Indeed the reigning world champion himself recently told ITV Sport’s Louise Goodman that he rates Webber as one of his key rivals in years to come.
    “I think he is a good driver as well, fantastic person and quite honest with us, professional and again, one of the drivers that in the next five or six years we will fight with him for championships and respect on the track,” Alonso said.

    But hey who the hell does Alonso think he is, and deserve to have such an opinion. He obviously needs to speak to you to get the real truth.
  • Alonso is a class act, and that quote is out of context. If they asked him something like "What do you think of Mark Webber," that's what he'd say. If he just said out of the blue that Webber will be one of his key rivals, he's apparently forgetting Raikkonen. When Schumacher leaves, Webber may develop into one of the top 5 drivers and he may get a shot at the championship in a good car, but he's still not as good as Alonso OR Raikkonen. I've said in the past Webber has never gotten a chance in a top car, and is very much like Fisichella in that way.

    And I rate Kovalainen highly, and think Renault should stick with him instead of going for Webber. I would put Webber 3rd on my wish list if I were Renault, behind Raikkonen and Kovalainen.

    [Edited on 3-8-06 by Rekart]
  • A polarized opinion then.

    I personally think Webber would edge Alonso in equal machinery. Alonso is a prat who is incredibly flattered by his car. The German GP proved that, and also showed me that Fisichella is at least his match when the equipment equation is levelled to a point where Alonso has to actually rely on talent rather than engineering.
  • Wherever Webber ends up, getting out of Williams is the best thing that can happen for him - they are going nowhere, unless there is some sort of miracle turnaround in their technical department.

    Renault would be better off with Webber alongside Fisico, and putting Kovalainen into RBR or Toro Rosso for a year. If that happened, I'm sure Webber would shine - his qualifying prowess would crush Fisichella's spirit.

    If Webber ends up at Red Bull, that will be a better opportunity than staying at Williams. Newey won't transform the team overnight, but they've hired a lot of talented people, and will be going places.

    McLaren? Can't see it myself, I think they'll promote Hamilton, but Mark'd do fine there too.

    I don't think Webber was dropped, I think he walked. If he had options, why would he stay?
  • I was thinking of Interlagos 2003 or more recently Monaco 2006 all pretty costly mistakes to name a few.
  • BTW P1 you really need to take a reality check. No-one seriusly believes Webber would beat Alonso in equal machinery.
    The guy is a solid driver but not top notch. As Lease said if Webber was considered a match for Schumacher, Raikkonen and Alonso FW would have paid the money to keep him!
  • Originally posted by silverghost
    I don't think Webber was dropped, I think he walked. If he had options, why would he stay?
    Exactly. An announcement will follow soon. He already has a seat at another team.

    [bewerken aan 3-8-0606 door vuurmuur]
  • Monaco 2006? he drove a perfect race, his car brokedown.

    Wasn't it here that JetSetJim said a few years ago that there was nothing it between Webber and Alonso (when testing with Renault i think). In fact he added that Webber's cornering speed was a little better.

    So I think they would be awesome to see as team mates.

    We shall see, last year Mark was not impressive due to many factors including his own mindset and frustration. This year he has been good when the car would keep going.

    I hope it's Macca or Renault. Matching up against Alonso or Fisi will be entertaining to watch.
  • Just breaking Webber to renault in 2007-

    French sports magazine L'équip has confirmed that Mark Webber will partner Giancarlo Fisichella for the 2007 season. Webber's manager Flavio Briatore persuaded the Australian to join Renault after failing to sign Kimi Raikkonen for a 1 year deal."
  • Well if that becomes a reality, it will be exciting. French car, Minardi drivers :)
  • If that's the case, I wonder how long Webber's deal is?
  • Speaking of things Frenchy - why won't anybody test ol' Bourdais? Who the hell did he piss off?

    I would think the cheese eatin' surrender minkey's would be 'appy to have a countryman behind the wheel.
  • I don't see why no one will at least test him. His Champ Car wins and championships don't mean much because it's been such a weak series lately, but he's still obviously talented and deserves at least a test. Wheldon too, for that matter, but that's easier to understand, since IRL races on a lot of ovals.

    As for where Williams is going, their engine has failed more than their car. Their car started off the season great, but it's just been downhill since then. It's a lack of development, and it's not hard to see why. Look at the sides of the cars, there's no major sponsorship. The Toyotas should help them, and next season will be better either way, even with Rosberg and Wurz. They need to find sponsorship, though.

    I think it was bit of Webber leaving himself and a bit of Williams dropping him. I don't think either him or the team really wanted to stay with the other. If he goes to Renault, which is obviously likely (no official announcement yet, sure, but he's going there,) I think him and Fisichella will be close.
  • Is Renault really the place to be?

    The FIA have ruined their season by outlawing the principle around which their whole '06 car is built, and Flav is gone next year.

    Whatever the opinion of him as a technical man, he certainly seems to have been rather successful at Benetton and Renault. I will always back a good manager who knows how to spot good talent and give them a good plan and the room they need to achieve, over a top notch engineer who thinks that engieneering talent equals management talent. Michels being an example that comes to mind.

    Renault will have to build another car in a disrupted environment for '07. Yes, a lot of it is underway now, but as has been demonstrated so many times before, new management in a team either takes a dog and makes it bark a little (Toyota); or takes a rocket and turns it into a garbage bin (Honda).

    One more thing. If Renault keep getting the results that they are getting now for the reast of the season, and TOIT get the results that they are getting, they could win the championship. Not only that, it will have happened in the eyes of Renault by the offices of low dealings by the FIA. How will that play at budget time when the Renault board meets?
  • I assume you mean FIA banned mass dampers, which they've already taken back. The FIA makes it really hard to trust their fairness when they do things like that.

    Ferrari is losing Brawn, and possibly Schumacher, and who knows how many others if Schumacher does leave. They could be less stable next season as well. McLaren is the team I would worry about. Picking up Alonso, getting their massive Vodafone sponsorship, and having a competent second driver in either Raikkonen (more than competent, obviously) or de la Rosa. I can't see them going with either Hamilton or Paffett, really. De la Rosa is a better choice.
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