It's that time of year again. The F1 circus is off sunning itself on its mid-summer break, drivers and teams alike are taking a much-needed and well-deserved breather from the frenetic nature of one grand prix after another – and everybody seems to be talking about who will be driving where in 2010.
Here at
Crash.net there is no exception, so we have put together a list of likely options and moves between this season and next, who is in favour and who is likely heading out of the door. The drivers have been listed in order of present championship position.
Jenson Button:
Almost certain to stay at
Brawn GP whether he wins the title or not. He and the team have been through too much together – both good and bad – to go their separate ways now, and CEO Nick Fry has hinted on a number of occasions that the preference is to tie the world championship leader into a long-term contract.
Mark Webber:
Recently re-signed to
Red Bull Racing for 2010.
Sebastian Vettel:
Confirmed at
Red Bull Racing for 2010.
Rubens Barrichello:
If Rubinho's extraordinary post-race outburst against his team at the Nürburgring is anything to go by, he will be out of
Brawn GP come the end of the year. The resurgent
Williams has been mentioned as a possible alternative, but the Brazilian – the most experienced driver in F1 history – has also confessed that for the first time he is seriously considering calling it a day and hanging up his helmet.
Nico Rosberg:
Williams want him to stay, and with good reason – the young German has tallied all 25.5 points of the Grove-based outfit's total this season to-date, comfortably the best year of his fledgling career at the highest level. Fast and consistent, the son of 1982 F1 World Champion Keke Rosberg is also seemingly in McLaren's sights, but then they similarly tried to poach him at the end of 2007, when both he and his father made clear he was going nowhere, least of all into Lewis Hamilton's den. Nationality would doubtless go down well with Mercedes, however.
Jarno Trulli:
Toyota seemingly want to hang onto the veteran Italian – whose sheer speed and performances show no signs of dimming with age – for a sixth consecutive season, but is the newly out-of-work
Robert Kubica now in the Japanese manufacturer's sights too?
Felipe Massa:
Subject to a full recovery from his Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session injuries, the São Paulista will once again be at
Ferrari in 2010.
Lewis Hamilton:
McLaren through-and-through, the reigning world champion may have briefly fallen out with his team over the Melbourne 'lies' scandal, but he will be going nowhere for the foreseeable future.
Kimi Raikkonen:
The 2007 world champion looks to be sprinting towards the exit door. He may have woken up a touch in Hungary and seemed marginally more interested than he did in 2008, but still Raikkonen's only hope of retaining his
Ferrari seat in 2010 is if the rumours linking
Fernando Alonso to the
Scuderia turn out to be groundless. Has been linked to
Renault in a possible swap, but rallying – aided by a handsome €25 million pay-off for early termination of his contract – is the more likely outcome.
Timo Glock:
Much like with Trulli,
Toyota want the young German to stay – unless Kubica gets there first.
Fernando Alonso: