A Glimpse At the '08 Driver Market

At the end of last week the split between two time world champion Fernando Alonso and legendary British performance race team McLaren came to an early conclusion. News is thus far limited as to where Alonso is heading next season and that spells an uncertain future for many of the other drivers in the field.

Here's a list of the confirmed drivers and a list of the possible driver/team matchups for 2008:

Confirmed:
Ferrari
Kimi Raikkonen
Felipe Massa

McLaren
Lewis Hamilton
???

BMW
Nick Heidfeld
Robert Kubica

Renault
???
???

Williams
Nico Rosberg
???

Red Bull
David Coulthard
Mark Webber

Toyota
Jarno Trulli
???

Toro Rosso
Sebastien Vettle
Sebastian Bourdais

Honda
Jenson Button
Rubens Barichello

Super Aguri
Takuma Sato
Anthony Davidson

Spyker - Force India F1
Adrian Sutil
???

Potential Drivers/Teams:

Renault is the biggest wonderment in the field. With Fernando Alonso's availability now...available, the French team are one of the front runners. Rookie Heikki Kovalainen is contracted for 08 but not guaranteed to race. Veteran Giancarlo Fisichella's job for 08 is up in the air after being outraced by Kovalainen for the majority of the season. Test driver Nelson Piquet hopes to capatilize on Fisichella's closure with the team.

McLaren have a seat to be filled after parting ways with Alonso. Team boss Ron Dennis made it clear that he is in no rush to fill that seat and will the make the proper decision in due time. Front runners appear to be Heikki Kovalainen, Nico Rosberg and even Adrian Sutil.

Williams have a seat to fill next to Nico Rosberg. Though Rosberg is favored for a McLaren ride, the Grove based outfit insist that he is contracted for '08 and not for sale. Next to Rosberg, test driver Kazuki Nakajima may have a chance. Other rumored drivers are Vitantonio Liuzzi, Nelson Piquet Jr, Giancarlo Fisichella and even Fernando Alonso - though unlikely.

Following Ralf Schumacher's departure from the Toyota factory team a seat is available and likely to go to GP2 Champion Timo Glock pending contractual release from his duties as test driver for BMW Sauber.

Finally, Adrian Sutil is confirmed to driver at Spyker again in 2008. Force India F1 will be the new moniker for the team who was purchased recently by Indian billionaire, Vijay Mallya. Malya has close ties to Ralf Schumacher and potentially could save his friend from early retirement with a race seat. Roldan Rodriquez, no relation to Bender, has a contract with Team Force India F1 for '08 but the capacity of that contract is unknown.

Kovalainen Completes ING NYC Marathon

Congratulations to Renault driver Heikki Kovalainen on his completion of the ING New York City Marathon.

The Finnish driver/runner finished the race in 3:36:56 which was good enough for 5370th place. Kovalainen's pace is testament to the necessity of fitness in modern F1 racing as he finished ahead of approx 34,000 other runners.

The NYC Marathon was sponsored this year by Kovalainen's team sponsor, ING.

Kovalainen's future in F1 is cloudy for the 2008 season as several drivers await the news of where former double world champion Fernando Alonso will race in '08.

The Finn outpaced his older and more experienced teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella, this season and looks set for a race drive somewhere in the field as a desired young talent.