Glock ‘100 per cent’ likely to be on 2010 grid?
11/12/09 (GMM) Manor has moved into the frame to sign Timo Glock for 2010. In the Abu Dhabi paddock earlier this month, it seemed the Toyota driver would almost certainly be switching to Renault to become Robert Kubica's teammate.
But with Renault now considering its future, which has held up announcements regarding 27-year-old Glock as well as the identity of Red Bull's engine supplier, German Glock is eying his other options for the 2010 season.
Manor will almost certainly be strongly backed by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson and even renamed 'Virgin F1' for 2010, and Auto Motor und Sport reports that Glock is at the top of the list to be in the cockpit.
"We are still in serious negotiations with three teams," his manager Hans Bernd Kamps said, "and Manor is one of them.
"We are approaching the finish and expect a decision at the beginning of next week," he added.
The German magazine said Glock's teammate would likely be a pay-driver, such as the Brazilian Lucas di Grassi or Irishman Adam Carroll.
09/30/09 (GMM) Even after Toyota decided against automatically retaining Timo Glock for 2010, the German driver's manager is confident the 27-year-old will be on next year's starting grid.
Hans Bernd Kamps told the SID news agency that "three teams" have expressed "big interest" in Glock, and he is "100 per cent" confident the Singapore podium-sitter is not about to leave F1.
It is likely that Cologne based Toyota, not in a position to sign drivers because its 2010 budget has not been approved, is one of the teams alluded to by Kamps.
He confirmed that two of the teams interested in Glock are already on the grid, with the third believed to be the new Lotus outfit.
Also interested may be the Qadbak-owned BMW-Sauber team, after Glock was a test driver with the Hinwil outfit while he won the GP2 title in 2007.
There may be an opening at Renault, the French team which is expected to sign Robert Kubica to replace the Ferrari-bound Fernando Alonso. Now that Flavio Briatore is departed, it has been rumored that the newcomer Romain Grosjean's seat may no longer be guaranteed.
Williams has also been touted as a possibility for Glock, even though Rubens Barrichello is a more likely choice, after the veteran Brazilian reportedly visited the team's Grove headquarters recently.
Glock's manager Kamps added: "We do not need to accept the first offer. We are not panicking.