Ricciardo to Caterham, Raikkonen to Lotus?

Now that the dust has settled on the 2011 F1 season we can start dealing in rumour and innuendo; Formula One excels in such matters after all. First cab off the rank, then, is the emerging rumour that young Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo will join Caterham after Jarno Trulli has been thanked for his services.

That would increase the chances of Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari remaining at Toro Rosso. Or could French GP2 driver Jean-Eric Vergne leapfrog Ricciardo into a Toro Rosso seat? Like Ricciardo last year, Vergne impressed when given the chance to drive the lead Red Bull car at the recent young driver test sessions in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s a luxury problem, and I’m sure we’ll find a solution,” Helmut Marko told Adam Cooper.

When asked what he thought of his Toro Rosso drivers in season 2011 Marko didn’t exactly lavish them with high praise, “I would say they both improved from mid-season onwards, unfortunately Buemi had more technical issues. But still, we are not looking for a good F1 driver, we are looking for a top F1 driver.”

Moving on to Kimi Raikonnen’s expected comeback to F1, we hear the rumoured deal with Williams is now off due to the wage demands of the 2007 world champion. It’s now being suggested Kimi could get a gig with Lotus (the Lotus that used to be Renault) after Team Principal Eric Boullier admitted it was a possibility.

The chances of seeing Kubica in a Renault/Lotus again are diminishing. Not because he may never race again, but because it’s being suggested he will sign with Ferrari for the 2013 season. That still leaves up to three drivers fighting for one seats at Lotus in 2012; Bruno Senna, Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen. It’s believed Vitaly Petrov is secure.

We’ll keep you posted as these stories develop.