Who should stay and who should go?

Two races into the new season and this is already one of the biggest questions for me. It seems that this season Formula one is more competitive than ever with not much keeping the teams apart. But is the distance between the drivers growing? New FIA rules for this season mean that testing between Grand Prix is more or less non-existent, a worry not only for the teams and their main drivers who would usually look to use gap weekends, such as this one, to develop the car, but a bigger concern for the list of young test drivers waiting in the wings who would be wanting to stake a claim for a drive next season.

The 2009 season already looks wide open, because of this rumours are flying that some teams with drivers who are already under preforming will be looking to give their reserves a shot at some grand prix racing time sooner rather than later. I therefore pose this question to everyone, who do you think should stay and who should go? Who might be about to watch from the sidelines?

Under preforming Ferrari's:
They were pitched during the pre-season as the dream team, but I bet that dream didn't envisage Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa pointless after two races when wins were expected at both Australia and Malaysia. Controversial I know and it's never going to happen but for me these are two drivers who should most certainly be on the chopping block. Raikkonen's care free attitude hit new low during the rained off Malaysian GP, he's already won the world title and doesn't seem too concerned about competing for another. With the expected arrival of Alonso to the Ferrari team next season, I am expecting the Fin to take early retirement away from the sport as he is not the sort of personality you could see going to a lesser team in order to keep his place on the grid.

His team mate Massa has been dubbed as one of the most talented drivers in the last decade. This is something I continually argue with as I believe to be the best you should be able to preform in all conditions thrown at you. Undoubtedly Massa is a talent but when his talents are washed away so easily by a wet race, as proved last season when he could barley keep his car on the track let alone a straight line during the British and Monaco GP's, you do start to question whether this talent is all round or can only shine when the conditions suit. Ferrari now see Massa as their number one driver, he came very close to taking his first world title last season, there are still plenty of races left in 2009 but I can't see Massa as the main challenger this season.

Nelson Piquet Jnr:
What a name to live up to. His father (Nelson Piquet Souto Maior) was one of the most dominant racers in the 80's taking three world titles. Unfortunately it looks likes Piquet Jnr won't be given the chance to emulate even half of his fathers achievements. After just twenty starts for the Renault team, Piquet has only crossed the finish line on ten of those occasions. Five of these were in points scoring positions, with only one being a podium finish (Second place - German GP - 2008). This season has held one retirement and a last place position before Malaysia was halted last weekend. It's not the performances Renault team principle Flavio Briatore envisaged when giving Piquet his drive at the beginning of 2008 and with frustrations running high in the French teams camp and with a signs of a huge grid shake up this season, I wonder how much longer Piquet jnr will be able to hang on to his seat. The next two races I believe could prove crucial to the young Brazilians future in formula one. Two drivers that will certainly be watching on with interest are test drivers Romain Grosjean from France and Brit Adam Khan.

Heikki Kovalainen:
A huge disappointment for me since his arrival with the Mclaren team at the beginning of 2008. Even when the Mclaren was on form and with fast car under him the Fin could only manage three podium finishes last season (3rd Malaysia, 1st Hungary, 2nd Italy). Some could argue first season jitters with a huge team whilst in the shadow of Lewis Hamilton, but so far this season things have gone from bad to worse for Kovalainen. Two races into 2009 and the Fin has not been able to complete a single lap in the poor preforming Mclaren Mercedes. Is the clock ticking for Heikki? For me he is another driver on the cusp of an early season exit in 2009 if performances don't change soon, and due to the fact one of the Mclaren test drivers is former Arrows and Jaguar driver Pedro de la Rosa who is no stranger to formula one, Martin Whitmarsh could be tempted to make a swap sooner rather than latter. However the saving grace for Kovalainen this season is that he is in the shadow of Lewis Hamilton, and due to the difficulties both he and Mclaren have experienced in the early stages of 2009, Kovalainen might be able to get to the end of the season unscathed. However lets hope he manages to complete a lap in that time.

Sebastien Bourdias:
Another driver who was in the shadow of this team mate last season in the Torro Rosso. It wasn't hard for the Frenchman's achievements, or lack of, to be overshadowed by Sebastian Vettel in 2008. While the German secured himself 9 points scoring finishes, one being a win at the Italian GP, Bourdais could only manage two, picking up 7th place in Australia and Belgium. Things might be looking up for Bourdias though, he is already scored his first points this season, despite rookie team mate Sebastien Buemi leading the way in Australia 2009. I do think that Bourdias is one of the poorer drivers on this years grid, but with Vettels move to the parent Red Bull team, he does now lead the way in the number one seat which adds more pressure onto a young mans shoulders. It would be harsh for the Frenchman to be replaced in only his second season. But this is Formula one and stranger things have happened. If the Torro Rosso's are struggling at the half way point and expectations have not been met, I would expect Bourdias seat to be questioned and a new driver considered if one were available.

Who could be joining F1?

There are a number of drivers waiting in the wings and competing in other motorsports championships who are more than capable of stepping up to the challenge of F1. Some names have tried their hands at it before, others would be new and raring for a fresh challenge if a drivers seat should open up. So who should we be looking at if an F1 team does decide to ditch a driver halfway through the season?

Giorgio Pantano:

The name might ring a bell to hardcore motorsports fans. The Italian is the current GP2 champion with Racing Engineering and has had an uneventful brief stint in Formula one back in 2004 with Jordan. However Pantano failed to impress only finishing 6 grand prix that season, all at the tail end. Despite his failure at the top end of the sport Pantano is one of the most successful drivers in GP2. He is also no stranger to F1 having tested for Williams, Mclaren and Benetton back in the early 2000's. Despite his advancing years at 30, some F1 teams might be willing to give the Italian one last shot at F1.

Takuma Sato:

A veteran of F1 who's 2008 season was cut short in 2008 after just four races when the Japanese Super Aguri team was pulled off the grid due to financial difficulties. Sato has had 90 starts in F1, racing with Jordan, BAR and Super Aguri. The man from Tokyo never set the world on fire in F1 with only one podium finish to his name (3rd - USA - 2004), this was Sato's best season in F1 whilst driving for BAR, finishing 8th with 34 pts. He ironically narrowly missed out on a drive this season with the Torro Rosso team, where he competed during pre-season with Sebastains Bourdais and Buemi. The later of the two was preferred for 2009 leaving Sato out in the cold for another season. Takuma is another driver who is in his twilight years of the sport, despite this his experience would hold him in good stead should a team want a replacement driver.

Anthony Davidson:

The other driver left without a seat after the withdrawal of the Super Aguri team in 2008. The Briton has 24 races under his belt but has never scored a championship point. Since his motorsport career has been put on hold, Davidson has tried his hand at journalism and currently holds a contract with the BBC to co-commentate alongside David Croft on Radio Five Live. He has however made it clear during some of these broadcasts he would like one more chance at a season in Formula one.

Bruno Senna:

The name is legendary throughout the motorsport world. Nephew of the late three times Formula one world champion Ayrton Senna who famously said when racing for Mclaren "If you think I'm good, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno" We have yet to see Bruno on the F1 circuit in any competitive form, he did however test for the now former Honda team in 2008. Bruno was meant to have a seat and begin his F1 career this season, however due to the sport suffering financially and no new teams entering the grid no seat ever materialised. Currently racing in the endurance LeMans series, Senna has competed in British F3 and GP2. He finished 2nd in the 2008 GP2 championship, losing out to Giorgio Pantano. Some people in the sport believe Bruno's entrance into F1 is long overdue, if the driver doesn't make his entrance to F1 this season it's thought Senna will be first in line to replace veteran Rubens Barrichello in the Brawn GP car for 2010.

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Kamui Kobayashi:

The current leader in the GP2 Asia series, Kobayashi also test drives for the Toyota F1 team this season. Toyota have shown strength this season with drivers Trulli and Glock, so it's unlikely we will see the young Japanese driver take a seat for the team this season. However he is another possible star to watch for.

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Gary Paffett:
Mclaren test driver alongside Pedro de la Rosa, the Briton from Bromley has been on the perifery of F1 for the past few seasons. His strongest challenge to getting a drive was just before the 2007 season but was beaten to the seat by Lewis Hamilton. A lack of competitive experince might stop Paffett's chances of a drive if a seat did open up this season.

Alaxander Wurz:
Another veteran of Formula one, the Austrian has entered and re-entered the sport three times, could he make it a forth? Having experienced four full seasons in F1 and two where he filled in for injured drivers, Wurz would be one of the best bets to come off the bench part way through a season if a driver needed replacing. Wurz has three podiums under his belt (3rd British GP 1997, 3rd San Marino GP 2005, 3rd Canadian GP 2007) The Austrian currently test drives for Brawn GP.

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