Journalist tips Bianchi for Williams debut
GMM
A veteran journalist has linked GP2 driver Jules Bianchi with the Williams seat currently occupied by Rubens Barrichello for the 2012 season.
Brazilian Barrichello, the most experienced driver in Formula One history, is waiting to have his contract renewed by the famous British team.
But his countryman Livio Oricchio, who writes for the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper, has said this week that the 39-year-old's seat is in doubt because "Frank Williams needs money".
He said Williams' main revenue streams are Pastor Maldonado's sponsor PDVSA, F1 television income, and minor backers like Randstad, Reuters, ATT and Oris.
Altogether, struggling Williams' budget is about $100 million, with Barrichello costing the team about $5m.
"And there are young drivers on the market with a similar amount of money ($5m) to spend to make their Formula One debut, like the Monegasque Stefano Coletti, Italian Davide Valsecchi, Briton Sam Bird and Frenchman Jules Bianchi", said Oricchio.
Williams would be a good entry point
"Bianchi is in the Ferrari school but he needs to show what he can do before he can dream to compete for the Maranello team. Williams would be a good entry point," he added.
Bianchi, 22 and handled by Felipe Massa's manager Nicholas Todt, has had a difficult GP2 season but is still highly regarded by Ferrari.
Meanwhile, Germany's Speed Week reports that Force India driver Adrian Sutil's key sponsor Medion has suffered a sharp decline in revenue in the first half of 2011.
Share Or Save This Story
On this day: Michael Schumacher wins… and stuns tifosi with F1 retirement
Defendant ordered to pay £250,000 legal fees in Felipe Massa F1 title case
Felipe Massa’s F1 2008 lawsuit will proceed to trial
Fred Vasseur shuts down claims Ferrari split Spanish GP strategy to separate drivers
Lewis Hamilton denies claims he is pushing Ferrari to replace key staff
Lewis Hamilton and Fred Vasseur recall GP2 title and 'most impressive race ever', 20 years on
Guenther Steiner fires back at Mohammed Ben Sulayem over Fernando Alonso remarks
MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix: Pedro Acosta tops Practice as KTM chases home win
Italy’s next F1 world champion?
Max Verstappen jokes about Kimi Antonelli’s F1 lead: “I’m definitely not having a comeback!”
Italy’s next F1 world champion?
What's behind the talks between the FIA president and Fernando Alonso over ADUO?
Fernando Alonso is right to sound the alarm about F1 - but history seems to be repeating itself
F1 doesn't need to change its VSC rules despite Lando Norris' Spain loss
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments