Piquet replacing Wurz at Williams?

Alienman_69 · 5 Jul 2007, 09:51 (Ref:1954989)

Ive read in a Brazilian site Piquet could be replacing Wurz in Germany.
They also say its a complex operation financed in part by Petrobras, a Williams sponsor and a Brazilian company. They say the main problem that is being negotiated its that Piquet is promised a Renault drive in 2008 and Williams is not very keen to give a chance to Piquet now, and lose him to Renault in the end of the year. Considering Frank Williams has been seen talking a lot with Flavio Briatore lately, and that Wurz has been destroyed in qualifying by Rosberg, Im wondering if this is true or just speculation.
What do you think?

Doc Hollywood · 5 Jul 2007, 09:54 (Ref:1954992)

Unlikley, especially given that Wurz has had some good runs in recent races. 3rd in Canada is not to be sniffed at!

Alan Raine · 5 Jul 2007, 11:07 (Ref:1955058)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Hollywood

Unlikley, especially given that Wurz has had some good runs in recent races. 3rd in Canada is not to be sniffed at!

The 3rd at Canada was partly due to the others misfortune, although he drove a good race. The rest of his season has been a bit dissapointing especially qualifying. I can't see Piquet getting his seat unless Dad has some influence!

maximus · 5 Jul 2007, 11:25 (Ref:1955068)

His race in Monaco was pretty good too, his qualifiying has been very poor, but he has raced just as well (if not better in some rounds) as Rosberg has.

MrTTraces · 5 Jul 2007, 12:17 (Ref:1955103)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alienman_69

Piquet could be replacing Wurz in Germany.

I doubt it.

Wurz has done a good job so far this season with the car / equipment available.

Why would they replace him with someone who hasn't much F1 experience (If any??...Couple of tests at the most).

Replacing a driver mid season is pointless as in effect your starting again, with the driver having to get to know the team, learn the circuits, adapt their driving style to the car etc...

They'd be taking a hell of a gamble putting him in the car as I doubt the results would be as good as what Wurz could achieve.

davyboy · 5 Jul 2007, 12:53 (Ref:1955142)

I think there's some mileage in this story and wouldn't be surprised to see Piquet in a Renault towards the end of the year... Williams may even have Renault engines for 2008.

**Bononi** · 5 Jul 2007, 13:02 (Ref:1955151)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alienman_69

Ive read in a Brazilian site Piquet could be replacing Wurz in Germany.
They also say its a complex operation financed in part by Petrobras, a Williams sponsor and a Brazilian company. They say the main problem that is being negotiated its that Piquet is promised a Renault drive in 2008 and Williams is not very keen to give a chance to Piquet now, and lose him to Renault in the end of the year. Considering Frank Williams has been seen talking a lot with Flavio Briatore lately, and that Wurz has been destroyed in qualifying by Rosberg, Im wondering if this is true or just speculation.
What do you think?

Alienman_69, please can you give us the link ?

Sodemo · 5 Jul 2007, 13:03 (Ref:1955153)

Wurz has really suffered in qualifying, Rosberg has really destroyed him in that area.

I remember Sam Micheal stating before the season started that Wurz had found them up to half a second over previous drivers just from driver feedback.

He praised Wurz heavily during pre-season testing, therefore it would seem rather fickle to oust him from his seat so soon.

Alienman_69 · 5 Jul 2007, 13:09 (Ref:1955161)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bononi

Alienman_69, please can you give us the link ?

Its in portuguese, but it says its based on a Autosprint article, but here is the link...

http://esportes.terra.com.br/automob...EI8276,00.html

**Bononi** · 5 Jul 2007, 13:22 (Ref:1955170)

Thanks

Well, that's not a F1 site and it's only based on an italian article, BUT the TV showed Briatore and Williams talking at the last GP... it could be anything ranging from girls to F1 drivers, though commentators said it was about Jrn...

andy_b · 5 Jul 2007, 13:44 (Ref:1955188)

i was told paddock talk in France was rife with talk that Wurz could be out, but I havent seen that reported anywhere. Would be a shame, he is great techically and with their test driver Nakajima, being quite young, I would have thought it would be quite a risk having three young drivers in the team.

Not going to help your technical devlopment is it

Edited:- Now I think about it a podcast did also mention Wurz might be on the way out. I think it was Radio 5's Chequered Flag. No mention of Piquet

Pro Racer · 5 Jul 2007, 13:46 (Ref:1955190)

i doubt Piquet will be there or Wurz out mid-season but i could see Wurz gone from Williams at seasons end if he dosn't lift his game in quali, maybe he could end up at Prodrive DR loves him, and from what has been rumoured is that Piquet is promissed a seat in a Renault in 08 ala the Wurz being promised a seat at Williams this year.

Schummy · 5 Jul 2007, 14:21 (Ref:1955231)

Wurz has been "slow" (comparing to Rosberg) not only in qualification but races as well.

Here are the gaps counting the 25% of best laps in each GP so far:

+1.04 +0.37 +0.41 +++ -0.02 +1.33 +0.60 +0.45

(+++ means Rosberg "won" because Wurz crashed early)

As can be seen, the gaps have been typically around half a second (or more). In fact this pair has the bigger gap among all the teams. Apparently, in qualifying or in fast race laps, Wurz don't have the speed to match Rosberg.

davyboy · 5 Jul 2007, 14:26 (Ref:1955235)

Rosberg's a very talented driver and now that he's settled down somewhat, is making that Williams do things it shouldn't. The question is how good somebody would need to be to match Rosberg for speed. Only Frank knows !

BootsOntheSide · 5 Jul 2007, 14:34 (Ref:1955242)

It's a shame people are letting a fluke in Canada cloud the true comparison between these two drivers. Nico has deserved points in the last 4 races but got none due to being stuck behind a heavier Heidfeld at Monaco, a late failure inthe USA, the randomness of Canada, and being close in France.

Alex was never a promising driver, his previous podiums were in high-attrition races, and his development skill is not matched by his racing ability. As a safe pair of hands Wurz with team experience Alex was ideal for a transitional year, but he can't make the most of a good car.

**Born Racer** · 5 Jul 2007, 14:37 (Ref:1955245)

Would Renault then drop Fisichella? Does Kovalainen have a contract beyond this year? He's already fairly level on pace with Fisi, and I think is the better long-term bet.

Pro Racer · 5 Jul 2007, 14:38 (Ref:1955247)

i think thats why he has been a tester for so long more so than racer, he is very good with development but not the quickest guy.

**Born Racer** · 5 Jul 2007, 15:01 (Ref:1955258)

I don't agree. There was no space at Renault in the race seats until Alonso left and they probably wanted to keep him in the same team rather than having him race elsewhere for a bit.

TWRv12 · 5 Jul 2007, 15:16 (Ref:1955270)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sodemo

Wurz has really suffered in qualifying, Rosberg has really destroyed him in that area.

I remember Sam Micheal stating before the season started that Wurz had found them up to half a second over previous drivers just from driver feedback.

He praised Wurz heavily during pre-season testing, therefore it would seem rather fickle to oust him from his seat so soon.

Would Rosberg be as fast if they ditch Wurz's setup ability?

Frankie Francis · 5 Jul 2007, 15:48 (Ref:1955294)

no

Schummy · 5 Jul 2007, 16:02 (Ref:1955312)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWRv12

Would Rosberg be as fast if they ditch Wurz's setup ability?

According to Sodemo's post, maybe they prefer to have Alex in race duties to provide Rosberg with better setups. In fact it would be an extreme case of No1 and No2 drivers! Ironically if they seat another, faster driver maybe Nico began to go slower.

Anyway, it is is right, Rosberg sooner or later would need to get the proper setups by himself, if he want to be really in the top tier (as he seems called to be).

**Born Racer** · 5 Jul 2007, 16:12 (Ref:1955325)

Well, I read that Rosberg is technically very astute, so I don't forsee any long-term issues in that area.

Yannick · 5 Jul 2007, 20:20 (Ref:1955555)

It appears that Nelsinho is doing everything he can at the time to talk himself into a race seat. There don't seem to be any, though.

Sultan · 6 Jul 2007, 02:23 (Ref:1955727)

Don't mean to sound negative, but frankly if he was as quick a he keeps telling us, a position would've been made for him, regardless the team...

Schummy · 6 Jul 2007, 06:50 (Ref:1955786)

Definitively he is the son of Nelson Piquet: not very shy about himself

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