Is this the saving grace of the off-season? Instead of talking about rumours in regard to vacant seats we are now faced by the departure of Timo Glock from Marussia "by mutual consent" - by mutual consent read "Marussia wants money driver".
Marussia are the only team on the grid in 2013 that haven't given this Blog access to their media centre so I don't have any direct access to their news stories or pictures. This may well be due to the fact that I have spent quite a lot of time criticising the team's performance; it may be down to the fact that I was of the opinion that one shock result over the course of a 20 race season should not entitle you to leapfrog in the WCC over a team who has consistently beaten you throughout the rest of the season and it certainly doesn't entitle you to get too upset when that position is taken away from you.
The fact is that over the course of the season the Marussia team were just not strong enough to challenge Caterham in any serious way. Towards the end of the season the battle was closer as Caterham slipped backwards and the Marussia team worked harder to exploit their rivals failings, but, any sane assessment of 2012 would accept that the team just weren't good enough to deserve 10th.
It would have required a points finish to change my mind on that one.
As for Timo Glock I would feel that he is an F1 driver that has failed to achieve his potential (as have so many before him).
His two seasons with Toyota in 2008/2009 showed that he was capable of achieving great results in a not so great car. He finished 4th in Canada and Singapore and 2nd in Hungary in 2008 but then finished the season by giving away Felipe Massa's WDC, with family already celebrating, to Lewis Hamilton. But his 2009 season showed just as much promise with some great qualifying performances, two podiums and some strong drives in a car that, once again, did not live up to Toyota's hopes.
Toyota's departure left him vying for seats down the grid and, unfortunately for him, he ended up with Virgin Racing and from there to it's later incarnation as Marussia.
From the back of the grid, racing against HRT F1 it was always unlikely that his ability behind the wheel would shine and, without the backing of sponsorship, in a team with little in the way of a bankroll, it was only a matter of time before the dollar signs dictated that he would lose his seat. Much like Heikki Kovalainen, his mate, his years at the blunt end of the grid, with a team that gives little opportunity to showcase his abilities, has meant that he is overlooked by the potential paying teams ahead.
Once again his career is moving him away from Formula One, as it did after his very brief deputising spell at Jordan in 2004, lets hope that he once again impresses outside the fold, as he did in Champcar in 2005 and GP2 in 2006/2007 and returns to F1 in a strong car that allows him to realise his F1 potential.
Until then, there's a new seat available in F1 for 2013 if you can bring enough money to the table!
