There have been reports that Mercedes-Benz would like to place Nick Heidfeld in one of its F1 teams. This does not mean that he has been signed by the new Mercedes Grand Prix. In all likelihood it means that the process of bringing down the financial demands of Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen is continuing. If Mercedes was going to announce a Nico Rosberg/Nick Heidfeld pairing they would have done so this morning.
Thus the likelihood is that Button and Raikkonen will remain the favourites for the two remaining seats at McLaren and Brawn. If they do not give way on the money (or the terms and conditions) then Heidfeld will probably be in with a good chance.
joeblogsf1 
Is Jenson still dyeing his hair blonde? If so, it’s definitely Mercedes…
But Mercedes cannot pretent they cannot aford Jenson’s demands… so now it really is down to how much Mercedes thinks Jenson is worth.
“If Mercedes was going to announce a Nico Rosberg/Nick Heidfeld pairing they would have done so this morning.”
Would they? It could very well be that they’ve signed their 2010 drivers, as well as sponsors, but that they want to spread press interest somewhat over the next few weeks/months.
I would choose Heidfeld over Button whatever the money involved.
Raikonnen is blindingly quick when he wants to be but I’d rather spend £10million less and have Heidfeld who still has a hunger to be as quick as he can be every race.
Jenson should go over to McLaren if an offer is on the table; see if he can go head to head with the team’s incumbent driver as he did with JV at BAR.
It seems very odd that Brawn (Mercedes) may end up with neither of this year’s drivers.
Button at McLaren (dependent upon the interaction of the two personalities involved) seems like a potential Alonso style disaster for McLaren – on another tack Joe – but the same theme – do you have any inside information as to why Rubens did not have more chance to stay at Brawn given how things may pan out – it’s not like Ross Brawn to miss a trick – and on the basis of the current possible lineup of Rosberg and Heidfeld Brawn are not going to have the (historically speaking anyway) strongest driver lineup to go with the car. But then this may all be gamesmanship and only tactics to browbeat Button – but all sides better be very careful – perhaps Kimi will be the wild card at Brawn?
It seems the Beeb feel that Heidfeld is a likely choice with Glock also in the running. However, I think that Dieter and Norbert are keen to ensure the team doesn’t become Kraut heavy. As they state, Mercedes is a global player and coming acrsoss too German is going to alienate a certain part of their customer base. I’m still confident that Button will stick with Ross (it’ll be his decision who drives for the Silver Arrows at the end of the day).
It’s pretty clear that Brawn isn’t desperate to sign Button, which may indicate that he sees Button and Heidfeld as pretty similar in standard. Perhaps Button a fraction better, but Heidfeld has the advantage of being German.
If M-B is keen to have two Germans in the team, Button could find himself out in the cold if Raikkonen does a deal with McLaren.
The trouble is that while in one sense Button deserves a world champion-sized pay packet, on the other hand he isn’t all that highly regarded and his struggles with the similarly medium-rated Barrichello didn’t enhance his standing.
My sense is that judging people by their perceived future rather than by past achievements, Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel are in a leading group on their own and Button is one of a number of drivers behind those three who are all of a similar standard.
Massa and Raikkonen have been the closest to those top three, but there are now question marks against each of their futures, so out of the coming men Rosberg and Kubica may have the most left to give. I doubt whether team managers would differentiate much between Webber, Button, Heidfeld, Glock, Trulli, Barrichello.
If Raikkonen, Heidfeld, Glock and Trulli are all available, Button is playing a risky game. Maybe he over-rates himself.
Button and Kimi are both being childish and making excessive demands, where Heidfeld just goes about quietly and does his job. He has long deserved a top drive after McLaren-Mercedes screwed him over in 2002. He would be a far cheaper, more reliable option, and we know he is still hungry for wins, as his 8 second place results, 4 in 2008 alone suggests.
Rosberg and Heidfeld – an interesting combination, definitely. But I tend to think it lacks a bit of star quality. Heidfeld’s lacked that top level pace. He’s very consistent and quite lucky too (which you need in motorsport) but I don’t think that’s quite enough to be a top competitor in this day and age. Rosberg, I think, is also lacking that extra something – I consider him a bit behind the top few drivers. He’s a bit inconsistent and has a tendency to make the odd mistake
If the rumours are true about Rosberg having a clause in his contract that his team mate can’t be paid more than him:
1) Mercedes are backing the wrong horse. Even considering just Germans, not only is Vettel out there (albeit attached), but there’s also Hulkenberg, who’s a real talent and could prove to be even better than Seb
2) Rosberg’s management has cut Nico a deal Ralf would be proud of
They have 2 drivers that would make solid number 2s. It would be like pairing Berger and Coulthard or Jochen Mass and Patrick Tambay
Joe, what about Mercedes-Benz factory drivers from the DTM such as Gary Paffett and Paul di Resta? Could they be options for Mercedes GP?
I can’t help thinking that, if you’re right, Mclaren and Mercedes are getting it wrong. Heidfeld strikes me as an ideal number 2. to Hamilton – competent, quiet, unfussy and with the experience to contribute to the development of the car. Vaguely remember saying on my blog that he was the ideal candidate to replace Alonso a couple of years back. Still not convinced I’m wrong.
Whereas I’m not certain enough of Rosberg’s ultimate pace to risk putting a number 2 kind of guy like Heidfeld alongside him. If he moderated his financial demands immensely, I’d want Raikkonen, but otherwise, Button has shown he can get the job done. Do Mercedes really want a driver line up consisting of two guys who haven’t won a race in 14 seasons in F1 between them?
Oh, and in the light of some of the nonsense posted in the comments to a certain recent post, I’d just like to take the time to say thanks for what is a consistently interesting and entertaining weblog. Please keep up the good work.
If Jenson is stupid enough to sign for McLaren, and McLaren stupid enough to sign him, then Brawn can be clever and get Kimi.
Is this Ross’s finest hour ?
If I was Mercedes-Benz and I had a choice between Button or Raikkonen to kick off my new Mercedes-Benz-branded team, I would choose Raikkonen, no question, even if it cost a lot more. When you make a big investment and put your reputation on the line, it’s got to make a strong start.
And I just wonder whether Ross Brawn would be comfortable with either a Rosberg/Button or a Rosberg/Heidfeld pairing? Although Ross has such a nice calm manner himself, he’s had some pretty feisty relationships between his drivers in the past. Would he like having two drivers who were both mild-mannered and inoffensive? Or might he prefer somebody a bit feistier to partner nice sweet Nico?
It would at least explain why he isn’t willing to offer Button a very high fee.