RC Raceway

Hi,

Someone in another thread mentioned something very interesting, he was hoping and praying Perez did good this season in order for top teams to "open" their eyes and finally start looking at young drivers for their seats.

Obviously it's been a bit static at the top, Hamilton/Button had been together for 3 years, Alonso/Massa for 4 years counting this season and Webber/Vettel for 5 years now. And while I don't know if Perez will do good this season (Brand Video) I'm glad the top got shaken up a little as I was getting tired of watching the same top team/driver combinations.

Now next year becomes even a "sillier" season with all the potential seats available.

McLaren: Buttons contract runs out
Ferrari : 1 year deal for Massa
Red Bull: 1 year deal for Webber
Lotus: 1 year deal for Grosjean

Of those 4 the only one that seems very unlikely to leave is Button, he'll probably do good and get a new contract with Mclaren, but the other 3 are in my opinion seats that teams will be actively seeking a replacement for in 2014.

Now talking about Perez, obviously it's a big "if" that he does good this season, but I don't think a top 4 finish in the championship is unrealistic, after all, McLaren could be the best car in 2013. If he does good I could see a whole new shake up in drivers for 2014, there's the strong rumor of Hulkenberg already having a 2014 seat at Ferrari, maybe one of the Toro Rosso drivers steps it up this season, teams could be interested in one of this year rookies (Bottas, Gutierrez, Bianchi (?) ), Di Resta and Maldonado could be options as well.

It just seems that the top teams are playing it safe every year with their drivers (yes, that could just say "we already have the top drivers possible, why the heck should we change") but if Perez succeeds teams might start looking at some young guns and look for more speed instead of reliability (like Grosjean! wooo!) Again, if Perez does well teams could "wake up" and start looking for WDC talent instead of drivers that just "do their job" like Webber and Massa (sorry to fans of them but its true!)

Anyways, what do you guys think? Is the 2014 grid going to have a ton of young drivers?


Thanks