Rumoured/possible driver moves which did not happen?

[Michkov]

Bottom post of the previous page:

Mulsanne Mike has a good summary of the LMP2000 project on his site

[erwin greven]

Mulsanne Mike has a good summary of the LMP2000 project on his site

I know, but i want to prevent that this changes in a slow chat topic.

[DaleJuniorFan]

Reutemann to Patrick? What is this, trying to come up with the wildest, unfounded nonsense? Then I can one better: Lewis Hamilton was rumoured to sign with Bobby Allen's Shark Racing.

@Michael Ferner Just so you know I'm not pulling everyone's leg.... Straight from the pages of Autosport magazine:

10.18.1979
11.08.1979

And the Rosberg to CART rumor from the 09.20.1979 issue, for the sake of completion:

[Michael Ferner]

Okay, I stand corrected - wih apologies!

Although I still think this is rather far-fetched. Maybe the good people at Autosport heard about Patrick having discussions with a Lotus driver, added two and two and got... five?

[Vassago]

I'll have to do a memory reboot on some of the stuff I forgot already.

Not much of a rumour but Jochen Mass thought he was in contention for the Porsche seat in 1988 until he was told on the phone Teo Fabi had been hired instead:

https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/arti ... es-indycar

[DaleJuniorFan]

Okay, I stand corrected - wih apologies!

Although I still think this is rather far-fetched. Maybe the good people at Autosport heard about Patrick having discussions with a Lotus driver, added two and two and got... five?

That's the thing with long-ago pre-Internet rumors: Most of them can potentially come off as a "heard it from my father's brother's friend that works at the lumber yard two blocks from the Lotus factory" deal. (Not that much has changed, mind you).

[DaleJuniorFan]

From Autosport circa 1985: Bernie pestering Roger Penske regarding an F1-CART match race.

[Nononsensecapeesh]

From Autosport circa 1985: Bernie pestering Roger Penske regarding an F1-CART match race.

Bernie Ecclestone can go and get stuffed!

Keke Rosberg was asked to come out of retirement and stand in for Bertrand Gachot at Jordan in 1991.

[John]

I mean, me and my friends would spend our youth (back when internet was young) submitting fake NHL rumors to various websites and forums. My buddy even got one of his posted in the national NHL paper when he whipped up some stories with fake sources and quotes.

[Everso Biggyballies]

I mean, me and my friends would spend our youth (back when internet was young) submitting fake NHL rumors to various websites and forums. My buddy even got one of his posted in the national NHL paper when he whipped up some stories with fake sources and quotes.

Hehehe and it also happened pre internet days....

I well remember running at an RAC Championship event at Prescott when my teamate was running a car that he entered as a Nomad Buick Can Am car. I will dig a photo out of the car ( drove it myself at a couple of events). Anyway the car in reality was a spaceframe car that had started it's life as an Autocross car. It had an Buick V8 behind the driver, Hewland gearbox, big trumpet intakes and looked the part. Sounded brilliant as well. After its days autocrossing someone had taken the car to Bob Curl at Nomad Cars, at the time a highly respected small outfit who made Sports cars for racing.... they converted the car to a Sports racer Can Am looking car by fitting a custom made bodywork on it, big wheels, slicks, rear wing etc. And a Nomad badge. It looked nothing like its origins of being an ex autocross car. It looked and sounded like a Can Am car. It had been modified by Nomad and so became the "Nomad - Buick Can Am car.

After practice one day this person we imagined to be a spectator, notebook and pencil in hand came up and asked after the history of the car and details..... Well, mischievous bunch we were, we told the guy that it was the ex Elliot Forbes-Robinson Can Am car that he had barrel rolled at St Jovite back in whatever year, and we had heard about as now lying in a shed in the US, and we had purchased as was after the crash, shipped it to England and over years had been meticulously restored to its former glory and was now being run in the UK National Hillclimb Championship .

All made up on the spur of the moment, and each of us chipping in more fabricated info to the scribbling awe-struck spectator. Man was suitably impressed, thanked us profusely for our time, wished us all the very best , told us how great it was that people would go to such lengths to restore history etc, and walked off thrilled with his new found information. We had a laugh amongst ourselves and thought nothing more about it.

Later in the day while the car was on its next run, we were watching our mate flying up the hill when we heard the commentator relaying word for word to the quite large assembled crowd the fact this car was the ex Elliot Forbes-Robinson car written off at St Jovite etc etc.

Turns out the man who had approached us for info and who we had spilled the fabricated fantasy to, was, unknown to us, the main event commentator!!

We never told him the truth.....

[erwin greven]

Brilliant story!

[MonteCristo]

I mean, me and my friends would spend our youth (back when internet was young) submitting fake NHL rumors to various websites and forums. My buddy even got one of his posted in the national NHL paper when he whipped up some stories with fake sources and quotes.

I know folks who submitted fake Champcar/EARL rumours to AutoRacing1.com. Plenty got published!

[Everso Biggyballies]

Brilliant story!

Also @John @MonteCristo
I must apologise, I got a couple of details wrong in my story. I have amended /corrected the original. I was looking back for a photo of the car and realised that I had referred to it as a Huron. Well, we did have a Huron briefly although never raced it, but that was not this car... Im going back to the mid 70's here, but this particular car all happened exactly as told but it was taken to Bob Curl at Nomad Cars (another Sports Racing Car UK manufacturer) and updated from its autocross origins, not Huron, and it was also a Buick engine not Olds. It was always entered as a "Nomad Buick (Can Am)" car. To verify the story it was told on TNF a long time ago and others there knew of the car. A search for Nomad Buick there will find it. It might also have been at Shelsley Walsh not Prescott although I think Prescott. We did run the car at Shelsley though.
Many apologies for any misleading I caused. My excuse is it was well over 40 years ago. A senior moment.
Somewhere I have photos but not in digital format. I have several large boxes of photos. I will look for them


Edit: Some pics found.

[DaleJuniorFan]

Various rumors gathered from AutoRacing1.com
(Much of their rumor archive prior to 2004 has been deleted, but can still be found on the Internet Archive.)

2001

Mika Hakkinen moving to the Jaguar Team 5/21/00 - Rumor has it that Ford has made a lucrative offer to 2-time defending World F-1 Champion Mika Hakkinen to drive for its Jaguar team for 2001.

Jacques Villeneuve talking to Williams & Renault 5/28/00 - More recent rumors have Villeneuve already signing with Benetton next year to replace Wurz. It looks like Villeneuve will be the center of the F-1 Silly Season this year. 5/23/00 - In the wake of another poor weekend, friends of Jacques Villeneuve are reporting that he is now ready to move on. The BAR team has failed to provide him with a competitive car, and it is becoming more and more frustrating for the French Canadian. Will he stay in F-1 or possibly return to CART? 5/14/00 - According to reports out of Europe, Jacques Villeneuve has expressed interest in returning to the Williams F-1 team next year. His contract with BAR expires at the end of this year. Where this would leave Montoya and Button remains to be seen. Maybe in CART.

Jaguar wants Frentzen 6/15/00 - Rumors out of Europe suggest that Heinz-Harald Frentzen may switch to the Jaguar team next year. The two sides are said to be close to a deal that will pay Frentzen over $10 million per year, and amount we doubt his current employer, Jordan, would be willing to match.

Franchitti-Herbert swap? 7/5/00 - Johnny Herbert has once again stated in the European press that his F1 career may be over and his first choice is to race in CART, with the IRL being a second choice. He likely would move to the USA in the process. 6/30/00 - Rumors at the French GP this weekend say Jaguar is getting very interested in Dario Franchitti to replace Johnny Herbert next year. Johnny Herbert has expressed a desire to race Champ Cars. Might we see a possible Franchitti-Herbert sway? Herbert is getting up in age, but has a lot of experience and is still pretty racy in F-1. Dario Franchitti refused to make any official comments on the rumors of him moving to F-1. Does Dario want to leave a front running team in CART to possible race mid-field in F-1?

Alesi to Jaguar to replace Herbert 8/9/00 - According to this ITV-F1 article, Jean Alesi has been in talks with Jaguar about a possible surprise move to the team for 2001. The 36-year-old French-Sicilian is contracted to the Prost team for next year, but Alesi's friend and former team-mate Alain Prost is looking to sell the outfit that bears his name.

Tom Kristensen being considered by Jaguar 8/12/00 - Today Danish newspaper, BT, reports that Tom is indeed among the candidates for the Jaguar seat. Neil Ressler is quoted as saying that Tom is among the candidates, although not no.1. Ressler says that Tom has impressed the team during his Michelin-tests, and that the engineers simply love Tom because he's fantastic at giving feedback to the team. 8/11/00 - With Johnny Herbert moving to CART next year, Tom Kristensen is one driver Jaguar is looking at as a replacement. Tom has tested well for Williams and Jaguar with the new Michelin tires.

Formula One Silly Season stuff 8/15/00 - Pedro Diniz is said to be certain to quit Sauber at the end of the season, with Zonta set to join the Swiss team, despite also talking to Arrows. "We are speaking with many teams, and Sauber is giving out a good opportunity for negotiations for next year. They are a very good team and are fighting in a good position in the championship. But it also depends on my results - I just need to show my potential." Should Mika Salo leave Sauber to take up a testing role with Toyota's new-for-2002 F1 project, Zonta could be joined by fellow Brazilian and Formula 3000 points leader Bruno Junqueira. He is said to have a firm offer from Champ Car squad Chip Ganassi Racing, but is holding out for an F1 seat.

Toyota prepared to offer Montoya $40 million 8/25/00 - According to a recent London Times article, Toyota is prepared to offer Juan Montoya 25 million pounds (about $40 million) over 3-years if he would join their new F1 team. It looks like Juan's asking price to Frank Williams just went through the roof. If Toyota were to buy Montoya out of his contract with Williams, he likely would race in CART in 2001 as Toyota's F1 effort won't be ready until 2002.

Marc Gene to partner Alesi at Prost 10/12/00 - Speculation in recent weeks since the announcement of Prost's engine supply by Ferrari in 2001, has been that Minardi driver Marc Gene is in line to partner Jean Alesi in the 2001 season. Sources have indicated that the deal is done and that Gene signed with the team two weeks ago at the US GP in spite of no formal announcement by the team. Gene's sponsor Telefonica's extra cash is said to be the decisive factor in the signing of Gene to help pay for the team's Ferrari engine supply for 2001.

Morbidelli linked to 2nd Minardi seat 2/9/01 - The Italian daily Gazetto della Sport reports former F1 driver Gianni Morbidelli is in line for the vacant opening with Minardi. New owner Paul Stoddart has stated he would like a veteran driver to pair with rookie Fernando Alonso in 2001. The Australian businessman also says his decision will not be based on whether or not a driver brings extra sponsorship with him to the team. That is a departure from the past, when most of Minardi's drivers paid for the opportunity to drive in F1. Morbidelli has not raced since a stint with Sauber back in 1997. He was part of the Minardi team back in 1991 and 1992.

2003

Ferrari after Montoya 1/15/02 - Montoya's management has come out and said they are not talking to Ferrari......yet. With Montoya's contract up after 2002, one can bet the bidding war for his services will begin by June. 1/15/02 - Talk in Europe is that Williams driver Juan Montoya, whose contract with Williams expires after 2002, is being courted by Ferrari to drive for the team alongside Michael Schumacher. This will make an interesting pairing. What will Ferrari do when their #2 driver (former CART champ Juan Montoya) is faster than their #1 driver Michael Schumacher? Will team orders still come into play?

Barrichello to CART 4/8/02 - Rubens Barrichello has been told he must take a pay cut if he wants to stay at Ferrari in 2003, according to a story in Autosprint magazine. Barrichello must accept a cut on his $5.5million a year salary. Sauber’s youngster Felipe Massa is favorite to take over from Barrichello if he refuses to accept the terms of the new deal. Massa’s team boss Peter Sauber recently admitted that Ferrari had first option on the 20-year-old. Ferrari’s demands on Barrichello could be seen as a way of forcing the 29-year-old out of the team. He is already aware that he is very much the second class citizen at Ferrari. 4/3/02 - Our sources in Brazil say that if Ferrari dumps Rubens Barrichello in favor of Juan Montoya or Felipe Massa after this season, that Rubens would give serious consideration to running in CART where he has a lot of friends. However, our sources think that CART would have to have a race in Brazil again for Rubens to make that leap. MC

Ferrari eyeing up Button 4/21/02 - First it was Montoya, now it's Button According to a report on F1Live, reports in the British Press, Renault driver Jenson Button could be the next in line at Ferrari, the young English driver impressing team bosses with his superb performances this year. Jenson has finished the last three races. According to the Sunday Mirror, insiders at Williams are convinced the team will continue with their current driver pairing of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya as they fight to win the championship from Ferrari in the next few seasons. This still leaves them with Button's services next year and Sir Frank will be forced to make a decision soon on which direction they will finally take.

Toyota eyeing up Button and Heidfeld 5/4/02 - Autosport magazine reports that Toyota president Ove Andersson has identified Nick Heidfeld and Renault’s Jenson Button as two drivers on their radar screen as possible future drivers.

Alonso Off To Jaguar? 5/30/02 - With the news that Renault-tester Fernando Alonso was to take part in a one-off test for Jaguar Racing this week, tongues began to wag that the Spaniard may be off to the Leaping Cat for 2003. As 20-year-old Alonso quietly accepted his 2002-role as official test-driver, most expected the bright star would be promoted to the Renault race-drive at the earliest possibility; seemingly to replace Jenson Button whose contract is up for renewal. On the back of stunning performances in the R202, however, Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli look like the logical choice for Renault's '03 line-up. Alonso, wasted on the sidelines, could well be 'loaned' to another team. Head of Renault Motorsport, Patrick Faure, admits that Alonso will more than likely grace a racing seat next year. 'His future is very brilliant and he won't stay a test driver for all eternity,' Faure revealed. 'We haven't decided our team for next year and obviously Fernando is part of the equation. 'But it is conceivable that we could loan him out to another team while we retain a long-term contract with him.' Flavio Briatore's curious announcement that Fernando would be 'loaned' to Jaguar for this week's Silverstone test must comprise more than meets the eye. Similarly, Jag boss Niki Lauda's assertion that Alonso will be used to evaluate his two young test-drivers is clearly a half-truth. More likely, we believe, that Lauda will use the opportunity to evaluate which of the three young gunners - James Courtney, Andre Lotterer or Alonso - will line-up alongside Pedro de la Rosa next year.

Irvine back to Jordan 6/6/02 - According to an ITV-F1 article, Eddie Irvine may return to his first Formula 1 team Jordan. He is in the final year of a lucrative three-year deal with the Jaguar team but the partnership has not been a success as Jaguar have failed to provide Irvine with a competitive car. Jaguar tested young Spanish charger Fernando Alonso at Silverstone last week. It’s likely that the highly-rated Renault test driver will be brought in to replace either Irvine or his team-mate Pedro De la Rosa at the end of the year. It’s unlikely Irvine will be retained by the Ford-owned team on his current £6million a year salary. Unless he is willing to take a pay cut Jaguar will release the 36-year-old.

Button to Jaguar, Irvine to retire? 7/3/02 - Jaguar Racing boss Niki Lauda has hinted that Jenson Button could replace Eddie Irvine next year, but insists that no decision has yet been taken. Irvine's contract with Jaguar expires at the end of the season, and Button is known to have had talks with Jaguar concerning next year. Jenson's current team, Renault, is understood to be considering test driver Fernando Alonso or Minardi's Mark Webber for 2003, as they are both managed by team boss Flavio Briatore, although either of those could otherwise join Jaguar, according to Lauda. "We have looked at Alonso and Webber and we talked to Button because we are evaluating what drivers are available next year," Lauda told reporters. "Pedro [de la Rosa] has a contract next year really so he will stay for sure. So the question is Eddie." 6/22/02 - Jaguar boss Niki Lauda has told reporters at the Nurburgring that Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa will line up at the team next year. Throwing off speculation that Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber are lining up for Irvine's vacated seat, the Austrian said that 'We simply want different information. In 2003 it will be Eddie and Pedro again. They're doing a good job for us.' 6/21/02 - Whispers in the Nurburgring paddock insist that English charger Jenson Button visited Jaguar Racing's Milton-Keynes factory en route to Germany. According to the rumor, the Renault driver indulged in 'secret talks' with Niki Lauda regarding a possible move to the team. Button's Williams and Renault deals expire at the end of the season. Mark Webber will test a Jag next Friday, while Fernando Alonso tried his hand at the R3 with impressive results. Will Irvine hang it up this year?

Castroneves to drive for McLaren 7/7/02 - Ron Dennis, the boss of McLaren, has laughed off suggestions that appeared in Italian media that Penske IRL star Helio Castroneves would join the team next year. Some publications reported the rumor last week, and that the Brazilian, who drove a Toyota F1 car in May, would replace David Coulthard, who is thought to be competing in his final season for McLaren in 2002. ‘There are quite a few humorous things I could say in response,’ Dennis told the “Autosport” journal, ‘but the truth is I can't even spell his name. ‘There is absolutely no foundation in that at all.’

Fisichella to Sauber 7/21/02 - The Magny-Cours paddock is abuzz with even more rumors. This one says that Giancarlo Fisichella's management was talking to Sauber's Luca Montezemolo yesterday. Fisichella is rated as one of the top 5 drivers in F1, though he's never been given the chance in a top team. With both seats taken at Ferrari until 2004 and with Peter Sauber not necessarily 100% happy with his driver line-up for next year, there could be a chance of Fisi moving to the Ferrari-engined Sauber team.

Kerr linked to Massa seat 7/29/02 - British Formula 3 series leader, Robbie Kerr, has been linked to Felipe Massa's 2003 Sauber seat. According to a source close to the Briton's management, Sauber have flown Kerr to 'several meetings' at the team's Hinwil base since the British Grand Prix. The source, who wish to remain anonymous for now, cite a '95% certainty' that Robbie will grace the Sauber's wheel before long.

Who will fill 2nd Toyota seat? 8/31/02 - Rated BMW-Williams tester Antonio Pizzonia has revealed holding provisional talks with the fledgling Toyota F1 team. In Spa for the Formula 3000 race, the young Brazilian confirmed yesterday that 'We are talking to a few teams,' regarding a 2003 Grand Prix drive. 'And we are talking to Toyota,' he added. 'We are trying to get a test sorted out fairly soon.' Olivier Panis is the only confirmed Toyota driver for next year. 8/29/02 - Rumor has it that Toyota will announce that Jos Verstappen will team with Olivier Panis next year in the 2nd vacant Toyota F1 seat. Verstappen and manager Huub Rothengatter will be present for the Belgian Grand Prix this weekend, and current plans are to confirm the deal on Friday. If true, this rules out both Helio Castroneves and Cristiano da Matta for Toyota in 2003.

Toyota interested in Villeneuve 9/2/02 - We heard from Spa on Sunday that word around the paddock is that Toyota might be willing to take Jacques Villeneuve off of David Richards hands. If so, Villeneuve and Panis can resume their relationship behind the wheel of a Toyota instead of a BAR Honda. If so, arch-rival Toyota would have stolen arguably Honda's two best drivers. These two companies are bitter rivals in both CART and F1, so nothing would surprise us.

Massa to fill 2nd Toyota seat? 9/9/02 - According to this F1.ON.Net article, the latest reports from within the Toyota camp, Felipe Massa is in line to partner Olivier Panis in 2003. Cristiano Da Matta was tipped for the second seat, but turned it down late in the deal and will stay in CART next year, leaving a seat free for Massa. Toyota dropped both Mika Salo and Allan McNish from their 2003 line-up, much to people's surprise and have stated that they are looking for a young charger to partner the more experienced Olivier Panis. It is still believed that Jos Verstappen is in talks with the team concerning a test drive. Toyota wants a Brazilian driver in the team following a $300 million factory investment in Sao Paulo. Massa [or da Matta] fits the bill perfectly.

Rumors from Monza 9/13/02 - According to a Planet F1 article the vacant Toyota seat is thought to be a straight fight between Takuma Sato and Felipe Massa. If it goes to Sato, then Anthony Davidson stands a much better chance of landing the Jordan drive. Panasonic Toyota Racing have confirmed that there will not be an announcement with regards their second driver for 2003 until the Japanese Grand Prix next month.

Three vie for Jordan seat 11/29/02 - Rumor has it that Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi, Briton Eddie Irvine, released by Jaguar, and Brazilian Felipe Massa who was dropped by Sauber at the end of the season, are all maneuvering to grab the last remaining seat at Jordan for 2003. Jordan currently have Giancarlo Fisichella of Italy under contract.

Minardi to announce driver this week 12/16/02 - Team boss Paul Stoddart said a few weeks ago that he hoped to announce at least one of the men that will be piloting his car in the very near future and after announcing backing from HMG recently, it is highly likely that Verstappen will be revealed. However, there is still a lot of speculation regarding the teams intended line-up with strong reports in Holland linking Christijan Albers to a seat as well as several other serious contenders, including British driver Justin Wilson, Americans Bryan Herta and Townsend Bell, Italian Giorgio Pantano, Belgium's David Saelens, Verstappen, Pedro de la Rosa, Felipe Massa, Enrique Bernoldi or Tomas Enge. At least one part of the puzzle will be revealed. 12/8/02 - Dutch driver Christijan Albers is said to be close to a seat with Minardi, the youngster appearing to have put together the budget needed for 2003. Albers visited Stuttgart earlier this week to tell Mercedes-Benz racing chief Norbert Haug that he will not be racing for the company in the German Touring Car Championship next year - because he has landed a drive in F1 with Minardi. Albers, who has test driven for Minardi before and participated in its two-seater open days, has reached a verbal agreement with Team Principal Paul Stoddart having secured sponsorship worth $5 million, the Dutch newspaper De Limburger reported. Albers was not thought to be the Dutch driver likely to take one of the two buy-a-ride seats at Minardi, Jos Verstappen was. However, should Verstappen raise enough money as well, the team could possibly be all-Dutch in 2003. Rumors suggest that Felipe Massa has found $4 million, $1 million short of what Stoddart wants, but it may turn out to be close enough.

Massa's name now in the Jordan mix 12/27/02 - According to Pitpass.com, there are whispers in Brazil that Felipe Massa is edging closer and closer towards the vacant seat at Jordan. In recent weeks, since Takuma Sato revealed that he was heading back to BAR as test driver, Eddie Irvine has appeared to have the edge in the fight for the seat alongside Giancarlo Fisichella, though several other drivers are also in the frame. The story in South America is that Ford Brazil is putting together a deal that will see the former Sauber star Felipe Massa take the second seat. Team boss Eddie Jordan has been playing his cards very close to his chest but insists that contrary to media reports his team's future is healthy.

Verstappen to Jordan, Massa to Minardi 1/3/03 - According to reports in the Australian press, former Sauber driver Felipe Massa has been linked to a drive alongside Justin Wilson at Minardi. The young Brazilian was dropped by Sauber in favor of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and has been actively seeking a seat elsewhere for 2003. When Peter Sauber announced the departure of his newest protégé, he stated that there was a testing role with the Swiss based squad available to the 21 year old role if he so desired, however a full time drive for the new championship was the top priority. Only two full time seats remain for the upcoming season, one at Minardi and one at Jordan (which Verstappen appears to have the inside track on), however it appears as if Massa doesn't have enough financial backing behind him to secure the Jordan role, leaving Minardi as the only viable alternative. He has also been linked with Luciano Burti's testing role with Ferrari.

Davidson has outside chance at Jordan 1/12/03 - Anthony Davidson has an outside chance at the 2nd Jordan seat if Benson and Hedges back him. Speaking at Autosport International Davidson was still upbeat about his chances of landing the second Jordan seat - the reason being that British tobacco firm Benson and Hedges look to be the sponsor putting most money into the team in 2003. "I actually stand in quite a good position. Benson and Hedges are obviously looking for a British driver, and there's not many around at the moment," said Davidson. "We haven't got any money, but Eddie Jordan has got his back to the wall. That puts us in a good position. At the moment it does need a little bit of money to get the drive, but Eddie's in a situation where he also needs a British driver. Since no British driver has any money to throw around he's in a difficult position."

2004

Rubens out, Massa in? 6/27/03 - Rumors in the Nurburgring paddock suggest that Ferrari test driver Felipe Massa might take over Rubens Barrichello's seat next year, with Rubens being moved over to Sauber where he would be their number one driver. Barrichello has raced in Michael Schumacher's shadow for a number of years and this might be his chance to make a mark for himself. Sauber of course uses customer Ferrari engines.

Heidfeld to replace Pizzonia 7/7/03 - Rumor has it that the Jaguar F1 team is courting Nick Heidfeld to replace Antonio Pizzonia next year. Heidfeld's contract with Sauber is not up until the end of next year, but it's believed Jaguar may be willing to buy out the remaining year.

Silly-Season revs up 7/18/03 - Silverstone has once again proved an ideal stage for an intense round of 'silly season' Formula One talks. While Minardi rookie Justin Wilson has been linked with a move to Jaguar next year, some say his manager Jonathan Palmer is also talking to BAR. That would boot Jacques Villeneuve, a former world champion, into the cold and sources say his own agent Craig Pollock is looking at NASCAR options in the US. Sources also say Ferrari tester Felipe Massa will re-join the Swiss team next year, nudging Nick Heidfeld to Jaguar and Heinz-Harald Frentzen into retirement. Renault are also thought to have had discussions with Palmer over 24-year-old Justin Wilson, possibly about a test-drive.

Wurz to Jaguar in 2004 7/19/03 - According to Grandprix.com, the latest word in Formula 1 circles is that McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz will be moving to Jaguar Racing next year, with backing from the Austrian investment company Superfund. It is not clear at the moment whether a contract has actually been signed, but our sources say that a deal which will see Wurz returning to racing is close. If the deal is confirmed it is bad news for Justin Wilson, who has been tipped as a possible Jaguar driver. Wilson's name has also been linked to British American Racing but team boss David Richards says these stories are wide of the mark.

Villeneuve to replace Barrichello? 7/21/03 - According to RDS.ca, F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone is working hard behind the scenes to get Jacques Villeneuve a ride at Ferrari in 2004. He is said to be personally working on it. However, Jacques has always said he would never be a 2nd driver to Michael Schumacher, and would only accept equal number ones. Another report in the Toronto Star says, Attributed to anonymous sources within his BAR Honda team, the reports claimed that because of Villeneuve's high salary and recent poor performances, under no circumstances did the team want him back next year and that for the same reasons he is unlikely to ever again be employed by any other worthwhile F1 team. "If this is the team playing stupid games it makes me sick," said a grim-faced Villeneuve. "After five years of busting my (butt) here I never expected such negative talk. The worst part of it is that it is screwing up my image in the paddock." BAR boss David Richards disowned the reports and said he will start negotiations for Villeneuve's services after this race. "The whole thing is a silly media fabrication," Richards said. "We had an internal inquiry and everybody in the team denies having said anything about Jacques' future with us."

Villeneuve to replace Montoya at Williams 9/2/03 - According to German magazine AutoBild's official website, Jacques Villeneuve is being touted as a possible replacement for Juan Montoya, should the Colombian manage to achieve his aim of leaving Williams for McLaren at the end of the year. Villeneuve won the World Driving Championship driving for Williams before leaving for the big money at BAR.

Verstappen to Jaguar 9/19/03 - UPDATE This rumor is upgraded to 'strong' today. Minardi driver Nicolas Kiesa has hinted that teammate Jos Verstappen is close to securing a move to Jaguar for 2004. The Danish youngster, who also works as a race commentator for Danish TV, has revealed that the move looks highly likely. 9/16/03 - Reports out of Holland have their racing hero Jos Verstappen possibly moving to the Jaguar F1 team in 2004. Jaguar is reported to be looking for a 2nd driver who brings a suitcase full of money and Jos does have some financial backing. We suspect the decision on a 2nd driver won't be made right away.

[Microsprinter18]

Scott Speed, Kasey Kahne, Travis Pastrana, Kimi Raikkonen, Alex Zanardi, and Joey Hand were all supposed to fill Dan Wheldon's seat at Las Vegas in 2011, but all withdrew due to various reasons.

I remember hearing Petter Solberg and Ken Block were candidates as well

[Nononsensecapeesh]

Emerson Fittipaldi tried to revive his Champ Car team for 2006.
https://www.autoracing1.com/pl/177496