[02/10/05 - 11:05]
2006 grid shaping up
Who goes where next year?
Changes ahead of Sakhir 2006
With just the Japanese and Chinese Grand Prix remaining, the 2006 lineup is fairly complete. There are however some uncertainties in some of the teams and it will undoubtedly be some while before the complete 20 cars line-up is know for next year. Here’s out best guess as to who goes where:
McLaren Mercedes
No changes on the race driver lineup with Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya remaining in the race seats. Test drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Alex Wurz both are keeping an eye on the situation at BMW for next year.
Renault
Again, the race driver line-up will remain the same with World Champion Fernando Alonso partnering Giancarlo Fisichella. The testing role is less certain with Franck Montagny looking to race in 2006. Heikki Kovalainen is tipped by many to be the third driver at Renault next year.
Ferrari
Michael Schumacher will start the final year of his multi-season contract with the out-going Champions. He is joined in the squad by Felipe Massa who replaces the BAR Honda bound Rubens Barrichello. On the testing side, it is not know whether both Luca Badoer and Marc gene will be retained while Valentino Rossi is expected to test more for the team in 2006.
Toyota
No major changes at Toyota, apart from Bridgestone tyres, with Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher remaining in the two race seats. Ricardo Zonta and Olivier Panis are expected to continue as the team’s test drivers.
Williams Cosworth
With Cosworth V8 engines and Bridgestone tyres, Mark Webber is expected to remain with the squad in the second year of his deal with the team while Nick Heidfeld is no longer effectively with the team having joined BMW. Antonio Pizzonia and Nico Rosberg are expected to take the second race seats and testing role although at Williams it is hard to tell for sure who will take the final race seats. Witness the start of 2005.
BAR Honda
Rubens Barrichello joins the squad from Ferrari and will partner Jenson Button. Takuma Sato is expected to leave the squad as he is not too keen on testing for the squad, especially when the race driver’s have such long-term contracts. Anthony Davidson also is expected to leave his testing role at the teams for something new, so in effect, there is one testing role up for grabs at BAR Honda.
Red Bull Ferrari
David Coulthard is confirmed in the race seats while Christian Klien will almost certainly join Coulthard once again on the driving front, even if rumours have linked him to a role at BMW. It is however hard to imagine Klien in anything other than Red Bull colours. The testing role is up for grabs even though the team announced at Monza that Scott Speed would take the role. Speed is expected to race in the Red Bull Junior team.
BMW
Nick Heidfeld will lead the team as the team changes from Sauber Petronas to BMW over the off-season. Jacques Villeneuve seemingly has a water-tight contract to race for the team in 2006 and given his recent performances, would be a solid choice for the squad. It remains to be seen whether Villeneuve will fit in with the new management at the Swiss-based squad. Alex Wurz has also been linked to a drive with the team while the testing role is uncertain.
Midland Toyota
The team will lose its Jordan name over the off-season and there are a number of drivers linked to the two race seats at the team. Current Jordan driver Narain Karthikeyan is expected to leave the team and find a testing role with another outfit, while Tiago Monteiro is one of many looking to race with the squad. Other driver’s linked to the team include Anthony Davidson, Franck Montagny and Takuma Sato. It could well be some time before Midland announces who races for them in 2006.
Red Bull Cosworth
The second Red Bull team, currently dubbed the junior team, is what we currently know as Minardi Cosworth. The team will change hands at the end of the season and are expected to fun the Cosworth V10 engine and Michelin tyres. On the driving front, Scott Speed and Vitantonio Liuzzi are expected to race for the team while an up and coming Red Bull driver will take the testing role.
So there we have it. A very rough and ready view of who will move where for next season. It would be of course very disappointing if all this would prove to be correct as a little last minute shuffle is always rather entertaining.
Earl ALEXANDER
© CAPSIS International
Bookmarks