Some have dubbed it the "silly season." No matter its name, the question of where drivers will be next season has been raised. Who do you think will pilot next season's cars and with which teams?

-David Coulthard's contract with Red Bull Racing expires at the end of the 2005 season. RBR say they are keen to sign him for another year. There is also word going 'round that BAR are also in talks with DC.

-Speaking of BAR, where will Jenson Button end up next year? Do you think he'll move to Williams? If so, will Anthony Davidson take his move up from test driver to GP pilot or will DC take the drive...or somebody else? If DC gets the BAR nod, do you think Ant D. would move to the vacant Red Bull drive or do you think RBR would fill their seats with their current members Christian Klien, Vitantonio Liuzzi, and Scott Speed? Who would get the drives and who would get the test seat?

-If Jenson Button moves to Williams, who gets the axe, Mark Webber or Nick Heidfeld? I am under the impression that Webber has a long-term contract with Williams. If BMW joins forces with Sauber next season, do you think Quick Nick, the driver whom BMW supposedly wanted for the second Williams seat this year, will move to BMW-Sauber?

-If Heidfeld moves to BMW-Sauber, who gets cut from Sauber's current line-up, Felipe Massa or Jaques Villeneuve...or both? I dunno. Maybe BMW-Sauber want Ant D.? Peter Sauber recently said he would do everything to honor JV's contract which runs through the 2006 season. I do not know Massa's contractual obligations.

-Do you think Michael Schumacher will call it quits next season? Who would take his spot if he retires? There is also speculation that Rubens Barrichello might leave Ferrari. Could the Scuderia find themselves with two empty race seats? Could Rubens conceivably move to BAR in 2006?

I realize I am asking a bunch of "what ifs" and some of the points I bring up are based upon speculation. Nonetheless, I also listed some highly probable driver moves which might happen next year. I don't mean to annoy anybody with hypotheticals, but I am curious what my fellow Subie mates think the 2006 F1 grid will look like. :)

I certainly hope Webber gets the bump if someone has to at Williams. I was a big fan of his at Minardi and Jag, but man he's shown his primadonna side this season, while Nick seems to be performing quite well.

Anyway, seems like a lock that Kimi will go to Ferrari if MS or Rubino leaves. If MS is leaving I wouldn't be surprised if Rubino stayed on. But, if he leaves too, I'm thinking someone like Fisi would step in.

I hope both Massa and JV are out at sauber.

Kimi and Fisi at Ferrari would be a team i might actually root for :lol:

And Fisi = italian, so it may be logical for him to replace rubens when the time comes.

And Fisi? Will Fabrio get rid of him like he did with Trulli?
Will JPM take more crap from Ron Dennis?
Can Ralf last in Toyota?
Peter Sauber may say he'll honor JV's contract, but once BMW takes over, it'll all be in BMW's hands.

My guess is JV is one of the first ones out. He commands a premium, but there are more productive drivers out there that are more affordable. It'll be interesting to see if MS retires or not; I'm wondering if he'll still have the desire to continue after how this season has gone so far.

My thoughts:

I think it would be interesting to see Barrichello playing #1 at another team.

I do NOT want to see Kimi at Ferrari.

Anthony Davidson should definitely be given the slot at BAR if Button leaves, during practice it always seems like he manages to be near the top of the charts. I bet he comes inexpensively as well.

I hope Villeneuve is done.

does kimi even want to go to Ferrari at the moment?

i'm sure fisi does...

does kimi even want to go to Ferrari at the moment?

i'm sure fisi does...

Supposedly Kimi's management was meeting with Jean Todt in Montreal.

Say Ferrari gets an opening and Kimi actually wants to go there, does anybody know what his contract looks like? Could he get out of McLaren even if he wanted to?