Grid Crasher’s tells you who’s staying, and who’s going…

Now is the time of the season when the F1 rumour mill goes crazy. Will Alonso leave Renault at the end of the year? Will Kimi actually retire? Is Nelson Piquet Jnr history? What is the point of Timo Glock? So many questions, no concrete answers.

Here is our take on what the 2009 driver line-ups will look like…

FERRARI: Kimi Raikkonen / Felipe Massa (no change from 2008)
The Scuderia will keep its current duo for 2009. Kimi won’t retire at the end of this season, whatever happens - either if he wins a second successive title or if he’s foiled by Massa or a driver from another team (that would be Lewis Hamilton, then). And Massa, who is contracted to Ferrari until 2010, is driving better than ever. As you were.

McLAREN: Lewis Hamilton / Heikki Kovalainen (no change)
There’s no way that Ron Dennis is letting Lewis out of his sight - and where would he go anyway? Critics of Kovalainen should remember that he has less than half a season at McLaren under his belt; at times he has been faster than Hamilton, and we’re sure that McLaren will keep him - it would be premature to dump the luckless Finn after just one year.

BMW SAUBER: Robert Kubica /  Nick Heidfeld (no change)
Hmm, see a pattern here? BMW will manage to hang on to Bobby Kubica for one more season, before he goes off to Ferrari. Heidfeld has clearly struggled to match his team-mate’s searing pace, but he is very highly regarded within his team, and it’s not as if he’s struggled to score points. Rumours that BMW will ditch Quick Nick are just that.

RED BULL: Mark Webber / Sebastian Vettel (Vettel replaces David Coulthard)
Webber is getting the job done and will deservedly keep his seat. DC is not getting the job done, and is almost certainly enjoying (perhaps not quite the right word) his swansong as an F1 driver. Vettel, who is improving fast, will then make the step up from Red Bull’s feeder team, Toro Rosso.

WILLIAMS: Nico Rosberg / Kazuki Nakajima (no change)
That’s right people - nothing to see here, move along. Both Williams drivers are doing a respectable job this year, in an average car, and they will keep their seat for 2009. Paddock talk that Rosberg might replace Heidfeld at BMW is just that - it won’t happen.

TOYOTA: Jarno Trulli / Timo Glock (no change)
Trulli will surely want to stick around for another year or two, especially as he’s in the form of his life. Glock has disappointed in his first season, but he’s probably shown just enough to hang on to his seat for at least the first half of 2009.

RENAULT: Fernando Alonso / Nelson Piquet Jnr (no change)
The subject of almost every paddock rumour, Alonso will – ironically - stay put in 2009. Where would he go anyway? Not back to McLaren, nor to Ferrari, whose line-up is locked down. BMW might like to replace Heidfeld with Alonso, but we don’t see that the Spaniard would fit in at a team run by Mario Thiessen - unless Alonso decided to take a big pay cut. Honda has a load of cash they might wave in Nando’s general direction, but there is no guarantee that Honda will be quick in 2009. At least Renault has improved its car throughout this season, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Alonso had to stay with Flavio Briatore for one more year, before possibly forming a new line-up with Kubica at Ferrari in 2010. Piquet Jnr scored points in France and if he can do so in a few more grands prix in 2008, he will get one more year to prove himself.

HONDA: Jenson Button / Rubens Barrichello (no change)
Button gets on well with Ross Brawn and will want to stay for 2009, when the team looks like being much more competitive. Barrichello’s seat is definitely under threat, but he has driven well in the last couple of races, and will probably decide to stick around for one more season. If we’re wrong, and Rubens does go, perhaps that could open the door for the return of Takuma Sato? As we said above, Honda may decide to wave a lot of money in the direction of Fernando Alonso, but we don’t think the Spaniard would be tempted.

TORO ROSSO: Sebastien Bourdais / Bruno Senna (Senna replaces Vettel)
Bourdais will probably get one more year to adapt to F1, before New Zealand prodigy Brendon Hartley replaces him. Vettel is going to Red Bull, which leaves a free spot for… hard to say really. We’d love to see Ayrton Senna’s nephew break into F1 next year - if he doesn’t arrive in 2009, he certainly will in 2010 - and there’s a real chance he could be offered a seat with Toro Rosso. The team is part-owned by Gerhard Berger, who was a great friend of Ayrton’s and therefore is also close to Bruno. Senna Jnr has said he’s not quite ready to graduate to F1, but he may yet change his mind. If Senna says no, that could clear the way for Sebastien Buemi, Red Bull’s Swiss test driver. Buemi, 19, is highly rated and like Senna, he will end up in F1.

FORCE INDIA: Giancarlo Fisichella / Adrian Sutil (no change)
Fisi will hang around for at least one more year. Sutil’s stunning performance in Monaco raised his stock enough for him to also get one more crack at the whip. Even if he does run like a girl.

So, not much change for 2009, we predict. The big driver changes will happen in 2010.

Do you agree with our predictions? We won’t be offended if you don’t (you’ll just be wrong, that’s all). Leave a comment with your thoughts…