Just one race into 2015, the first driver moves are already shaping up. Spotted in the Melbourne paddock last weekend was Chikara Funada, who is the popular driver Kamui Kobayashi's manager. Kobayashi, 28, lost his Caterham seat at the end of last season and for this year has signed up with Toyota in the top Japanese series Super Formula.
But Italy's Autosprint claims he is now in talks with Manor. Manor, the resurrected Marussia team, travelled to Australia last weekend with Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi, but only Briton Stevens is signed up for the whole season.
Spaniard Merhi is hoping to stay with the team next weekend in Malaysia. "The team is relying heavily on me," he is quoted by the EFE news agency, "and they tell me that they prefer me over someone with ten million euros." Nonetheless, Merhi has declined to break his existing contract with the Formula Renault 3.5 series team Pons, even though there are some calendar clashes with F1 this year.
Finally, Williams is thinking hard about its options in the wake of Valtteri Bottas' back injury, having ruled out promoting female test driver Susie Wolff in Malaysia. "Susie Wolff is our test driver," said deputy boss Claire Williams, "not our reserve driver. I don't want to think about what we will do (for Malaysia) if he (Bottas) is not fit. But clearly we'd have reserve drivers," she told the BBC. (GMM)
Kamui Kobayashi in talks for seat at Manor
- Published on 18 Mar 2015 11:19
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- By: Rob Veenstra
F1 News
Valtteri Bottas
Will Stevens
Roberto Merhi
Susie Wolff
Williams
Renault
Manor Motorsport
Marussia
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Driver profile
- Team Cadillac F1
- Points 1,608
- Podiums 61
- Grand Prix 222
- Country FI
- Date of b. Aug 28 1989 (37)
- Place of b. Nastola, FI
- Weight 70 kg
- Length 1.73 m
- 135,081 comments on Cadillac F1
2 members have this team as their favourite
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Team profile
- Team name Williams
- Base Grove, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
- Jacques Villeneuve 1
- Logan Sargeant 2
- Ayrton Senna 2
- Jacques Villeneuve 3
- Nicholas Latifi 6
- Jacques Villeneuve 6
- Nico Rosberg 7
- Nico Hülkenberg 10
- Nico Rosberg 10
- Jenson Button 10
- Pastor Maldonado 12
- Pastor Maldonado 16
- Nico Rosberg 16
- Nico Rosberg 16
- Valtteri Bottas 17
- Lance Stroll 18
- Pastor Maldonado 18
- Felipe Massa 19
- Alexander Albon 23
- Sergey Sirotkin 35
- Nyck de Vries 45
- Carlos Sainz jr 55
- George Russell 63
- Valtteri Bottas 77
- Robert Kubica 88
- 161,885 comments on Williams
- 39 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Williams
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