2011 Silly Season

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 21 Dec 2010, 20:47

tommykl wrote:
JeremyMcClean wrote:Jérôme d'Ambrosio gets the second Virgin seat.

Pass or Fail?

Fail on your part. This story was the page before this one.

GAH! Completly forgot!

I'm usually slow in news since I'm about five hours behind you guys in Britain, so I usually don't bring up something new... :oops:

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 21 Dec 2010, 22:09

F1000X wrote:Am I the only one that thinks Fairuz Fauzy is absolute garbage?

+3 Seriously, he's the Deletraz of the modern era and is only in the team because he's Malaysian.

Captain Hammer · Post by **Captain Hammer** » 21 Dec 2010, 22:37

F1000X wrote:Am I the only one that thinks Fairuz Fauzy is absolute garbage?

No. He's not going to get a racing seat. Unless he can sweet-talk Hispania into one. He was only ever at Lotus Racing because of the Lotus Cars connection, but while Lotus Cars has bought into Renault, Dany Bahar is interested in keepin Petrov around if only because Petrov represents a new market where Fauzy represents an existing one.

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 22 Dec 2010, 08:21

Jeroen Krautmeir wrote:
BigG80 wrote:
BlindCaveSalamander wrote:Similar to F3000, then.

Very true but when GP2 was launched/rebranded, it was trumpeted as being the development ground for F1 drivers and at first, it really was. But now five seasons down the line, the perception is that the field is demonstrably poorer and less competitive.

I would argue that the fact that guys like D'Ambrosio and others are now being signed to F1 suggests that very few of the newer GP2 drivers have been as good as the first few seasons worth of encumbents.

I really do fail to see why that should be the case though beyond the usual argument of some drivers having lots of backing and some truly talented drivers are just not getting the breaks.

Sorry, this is getting a bit off topic now from silly season.

It seems all of the so called junior categories are eroding. GP2 doesn't seem to have anyone young and talented (except perhaps Bianchi), F3 Euroseries is nothing like it's former self, Formula BMW is gone, F2 has nobody really coming close barring Soucek's so-called Virgin test driver position, Alguersuari and Piquet are the only BF3 champions to make it into F1 recently, and we know how they're doing, and well, I don't want to go on ranting, but really, I think it's really clear why team managers aren't going for younger drivers.

Have you heard of Sam Bird??? He overtook more people than anyone else in GP2 this year and Autosport rated him higher than Maldonado in this years top 50. Coming through BF3 we have the likes of Daniel Ricciardo who will no doubt be introduced to Toro Rosso at some point this year, and Jean Eric Vergne, France's next new hope (why did Loic Duval not make it into f1???). Agreed, F2 was pretty poor this year but there was a worthy champ in Dean Stoneman who is, like Bird, another fantastic overtaker. All the above I have mentioned were given a shot in the F1 rookie tests. And anyway, i think d'ambrosio is well worth a shot, at least he'll be faster than the likes of chandhok who in gp2 were spinning off all the time.

Post by **tommykl** » 22 Dec 2010, 09:15

JeremyMcClean wrote:
tommykl wrote:
JeremyMcClean wrote:Jérôme d'Ambrosio gets the second Virgin seat.

Pass or Fail?

Fail on your part. This story was the page before this one.

GAH! Completly forgot!

I'm usually slow in news since I'm about five hours behind you guys in Britain, so I usually don't bring up something new...

I'm Belgian! Don't call me British, that's insulting!

Just kidding, just kidding...

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 22 Dec 2010, 10:29

JeremyMcClean wrote: I'm usually slow in news since I'm about five hours behind you guys in Britain, so I usually don't bring up something new...

Er? Everything happens at the same time, give or take a little bit of time for the sound / light to travel. (Though some parts of Canada are a bit remote I guess) ...

Otherwise, wouldn't you be a millionaire by betting on European sports fixtures before they reached North America a-la Biff from Back to the Future 2(?) :lol:

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 22 Dec 2010, 13:15

Petrov still in, then, which is nice to know... good that at least one of the rookies is being given a second year to improve.

Post by **tommykl** » 22 Dec 2010, 13:39

fjackdaw wrote:Petrov still in, then, which is nice to know... good that at least one of the rookies is being given a second year to improve.

That leaves 6 open spots on the grid...

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 22 Dec 2010, 15:33

I feel like the super link man today!

Autosport confirms Petrov's two year deal

Ed24 · Post by **Ed24** » 22 Dec 2010, 15:46

I'm surprised that its a 2 year deal, but I assume there are some performance targets Petrov has to meet.

Anyway, I think he did enough (just) to show that he deserves a top-line seat, so I hope he can improve his consistency next year.

AndreaModa · Post by **AndreaModa** » 22 Dec 2010, 15:50

Ed24 wrote:I'm surprised that its a 2 year deal, but I assume there are some performance targets Petrov has to meet.

Anyway, I think he did enough (just) to show that he deserves a top-line seat, so I hope he can improve his consistency next year.

I agree, I think he did enough, and it is good to see some of the 2010 rookies actually given another shot at it in 2011. I worry that eventually rookies will have to amaze the team principals in the first year otherwise they'll get kicked out.

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 22 Dec 2010, 16:14

AndreaModa wrote:I feel like the super link man today!

Autosport confirms Petrov's two year deal

Hooray!

Peter · Post by **Peter** » 22 Dec 2010, 17:56

JeremyMcClean wrote:
AndreaModa wrote:I feel like the super link man today!

Autosport confirms Petrov's two year deal

Hooray!

Boo!

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 22 Dec 2010, 19:05

AndreaModa wrote:I feel like the super link man today!

Autosport confirms Petrov's two year deal

A two-year deal? That's got to be a huge sigh of relief for Petrov. Hopefully, now that his immediate future is secure, he can start focusing on being consistant, and showing more of the pace we saw in Hungary and Abu Dhabi.

Post by **mario** » 22 Dec 2010, 21:34

AndreaModa wrote:
Ed24 wrote:I'm surprised that its a 2 year deal, but I assume there are some performance targets Petrov has to meet.

Anyway, I think he did enough (just) to show that he deserves a top-line seat, so I hope he can improve his consistency next year.

I agree, I think he did enough, and it is good to see some of the 2010 rookies actually given another shot at it in 2011. I worry that eventually rookies will have to amaze the team principals in the first year otherwise they'll get kicked out.

Whilst it is hardly surprising that Petrov is staying put (and clearly they must have some faith in him if they are signing him for two years), in some ways it is pleasing to see a rookie driver actually stay for more than one season. After all, we have seen Petrov, Chandhok, Di Grassi, Bruno Senna, Hulkenberg and Kobayashi come in (OK, Kobayashi had those two races for Toyota, but this was his first full season), and of those drivers, only two are definitely staying for 2011.
In fact, driver turnover amongst the rookies has been fairly high in the past few years, and I think that it is in part because of the expectations of drivers coming in from GP2. After all, Nico Rosberg won the 2005 GP2 title, and is generally rated as a pretty decent Formula 1 driver (especially this year at Mercedes), whilst Hamilton won the 2006 GP2 title and was able to take the 2008 Formula 1 title, albeit after walking into one of the biggest teams on the grid. Glock, meanwhile managed to put in some decent performances at Toyota after winning the title in 2007, although it probably helped that he had already driven in Formula 1 for Jordan, albeit a few years before.

So, based on their success, the bar has been raised for those following on behind, and so have the expectations. However, those who have followed on haven't always matched their predecessors; Kovalainen was OK at Renault, but was steamrollered at Mclaren (although recovering his reputation at Lotus Racing), whilst the less said about Piquet Jr., the better. Scott Speed didn't cut the mustard (yet he was 3rd in the 2005 GP2 series), Nakajima mainly stayed in Williams because of his Toyota backing, Pantano has already had a crack at F1 and was thrown out, Grosjean was fairly anonymous in what was admittedly a poor Renault car and Maldonado has benefited from his substantial personal sponsorship.

However, Formula 1 seems to have moved from from a position where teams were willing to nurture a driver over a few years - with the field so tight, the teams need a driver to perform to his full potential immediately. That, in effect, forces him to have to outperform their team mate from the start, or at least match them, but with restrictions on testing, that favours the incumbent drivers over the rookies, making it harder to break into the sport.

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 22 Dec 2010, 21:47

jpm wrote:Have you heard of Sam Bird??? He overtook more people than anyone else in GP2 this year.

In other words, JV was fantastic in the early 2000's? Because he overtook more than anyone else?

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 22 Dec 2010, 22:01

Myrvold wrote:
jpm wrote:Have you heard of Sam Bird??? He overtook more people than anyone else in GP2 this year.

In other words, JV was fantastic in the early 2000's? Because he overtook more than anyone else?

Quote from Autosport who rated him #27 in their top 50 drivers (Maldonado was #30 and Perez #38); "the ART rookie's pace was obvious from early on , with overtaking his forte. The season opener in Catalunya was a particular stand-out." Yes indeed thats at the track where no-one can overtake in F1, especially since that namby-pamby chicane was installed before the final corner.

So no I'm not saying that just because he can overtake makes him an F1 certainty, I was mereley pointing out that there is some talent in GP2 whose name is not Bianchi.

dhruvkaicker90 · Post by **dhruvkaicker90** » 24 Dec 2010, 06:03

Today there was some news regarding Force India in Mail Today (Indian newspaper). Apparently both Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan were invited for simulation tests around the same time. After intensive evaluation by the engineers and Vijay Mallya it looked like Chandhok was around 1 second faster than Karthikeyan.

Karthikeyan has backing worth 10 million$ but it looks like FI are interested in having Chandhok for 2011 either as a main driver or a test driver who would be then put in the seat for the IndianGp

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 24 Dec 2010, 06:14

dhruvkaicker90 wrote:Today there was some news regarding Force India in Mail Today (Indian newspaper). Apparently both Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan were invited for simulation tests around the same time. After intensive evaluation by the engineers and Vijay Mallya it looked like Chandhok was around 1 second faster than Karthikeyan. Karthikeyan has backing worth 10 million$ but it looks like FI are interested in having Chandhok for 2011 either as a main driver or a test driver who would be then put in the seat for the IndianGp

I'ld give an arm and a leg to find out what Nico Hulkenberg is thinking right now... he might as well go to Mercedes right now.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 24 Dec 2010, 06:45

Chandhok/Hulkenberg combo driving for The Force?

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 24 Dec 2010, 06:48

Cynon wrote:Chandhok/Hulkenberg combo driving for The Force?

Not unless Sutil finds a seat elsewhere.

thehemogoblin · Post by **thehemogoblin** » 24 Dec 2010, 07:06

F1000X wrote:
Cynon wrote:Chandhok/Hulkenberg combo driving for The Force?

Not unless Sutil finds a seat elsewhere.

Massa shock retirement, please.

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 24 Dec 2010, 07:36

thehemogoblin wrote:
F1000X wrote:
Cynon wrote:Chandhok/Hulkenberg combo driving for The Force?

Not unless Sutil finds a seat elsewhere.

Massa shock retirement, please.

I've kinda felt empathetic towards Massa since Hungary last year. I think he should hang out at Ferrari for one more season and try to stick it to Alonso, then its off to Redbull to replace Webber.

thehemogoblin · Post by **thehemogoblin** » 24 Dec 2010, 07:44

F1000X wrote:
thehemogoblin wrote:
F1000X wrote:Not unless Sutil finds a seat elsewhere.

Massa shock retirement, please.

I've kinda felt empathetic towards Massa since Hungary last year. I think he should hang out at Ferrari for one more season and try to stick it to Alonso, then its off to Redbull to replace Webber.

I'm definitely empathetic toward Massa, but I think he's going to get outclassed by Alonso again and I don't really want to watch that happen again. Plus, I could again root for Ferrari unashamedly if this were to happen.

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 24 Dec 2010, 09:00

thehemogoblin wrote: I could again root for Ferrari unashamedly if this were to happen.

Now why would you want to do that....

thehemogoblin · Post by **thehemogoblin** » 24 Dec 2010, 09:40

F1000X wrote:
thehemogoblin wrote: I could again root for Ferrari unashamedly if this were to happen.

Now why would you want to do that....

Because I came into the sport as a Ferrari/Michael Schumacher fan. That was the initial allure for me with the sport.

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 24 Dec 2010, 10:06

Cynon wrote:Chandhok/Hulkenberg combo driving for The Force?

Chandhok is unlikely for Force India because he is from a different caste to Mallya and his investors.

madmark1974 · Post by **madmark1974** » 24 Dec 2010, 10:37

F1000X wrote: I've kinda felt empathetic towards Massa since Hungary last year. I think he should hang out at Ferrari for one more season and try to stick it to Alonso, then its off to Redbull to replace Webber.

Can't see Massa going further up the grid, or even sideways, I'm afraid ...

BigG80 · Post by **BigG80** » 24 Dec 2010, 11:19

Faustus wrote:
Cynon wrote:Chandhok/Hulkenberg combo driving for The Force?

Chandhok is unlikely for Force India because he is from a different caste to Mallya and his investors.

That is possibly one of the most horrendous reasons for not signing a driver I've ever heard and I'm now feeling kinda sad.

Altough I would like to see a team Di Resta and Chandhok with The Hulk off to Mercedes to be groomed for Schumacher's seat.

dhruvkaicker90 · Post by **dhruvkaicker90** » 24 Dec 2010, 11:57

This was the article i was talking about earlier. I finally found it on the net

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story ... -test.html

fjackdaw · Post by **fjackdaw** » 24 Dec 2010, 12:32

Faustus wrote:Chandhok is unlikely for Force India because he is from a different caste to Mallya and his investors.

Hopefully that won't be the case. I have Indian friends (Indian Indian, rather than British Indian) who are modern and liberal enough not to adhere to the caste system, so they're not all like that; and one would hope that F1 is no place for that kind of discrimination.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 24 Dec 2010, 13:45

Faustus wrote:
Cynon wrote:Chandhok/Hulkenberg combo driving for The Force?

Chandhok is unlikely for Force India because he is from a different caste to Mallya and his investors.

That doesn't entirely surprise me as a reason for Mallya to have not signed Chandhok. Remember when Mallya said that there was no Indian driver that fit the bill for his team... and wasn't it after Chandhok had won a race in GP2?

Aerospeed · Post by **Aerospeed** » 24 Dec 2010, 19:36

thehemogoblin wrote:
F1000X wrote:
thehemogoblin wrote: I could again root for Ferrari unashamedly if this were to happen.

Now why would you want to do that....

Because I came into the sport as a Ferrari/Michael Schumacher fan. That was the initial allure for me with the sport.

I came in as a McLaren fan... mainly the likes of Mika Hakkinen...

Post by **mario** » 24 Dec 2010, 20:13

Cynon wrote:
Faustus wrote:
Cynon wrote:Chandhok/Hulkenberg combo driving for The Force?

Chandhok is unlikely for Force India because he is from a different caste to Mallya and his investors.

That doesn't entirely surprise me as a reason for Mallya to have not signed Chandhok. Remember when Mallya said that there was no Indian driver that fit the bill for his team... and wasn't it after Chandhok had won a race in GP2?

It isn't entirely clear cut, though, because in three years in the European GP2 series, Chandhok's best results are two wins and three 3rd places - and with his highest championship position in GP2 was 10th, in 2008, on paper Chandhok's resume is not that impressive.
OK, so GP2 isn't the most reliable of guides - after all, we have seen quite a few drivers, like Piquet Jr., do well in GP2 only to struggle in Formula 1, whilst others, like Kobayashi, have been relatively quiet in junior series yet thrive when they enter F1. Still, even allowing for that, you can see why, based on his records, Mallya might be justified in reserving some doubt over Chandhok's performance.

I am still pondering, though, if it is possible that there will be at least one team, probably in the midfield, who signs him up as a reserve driver, and gets him to drive for them in the upcoming Indian GP. The potential for generating headlines would be considerable, and if he was to do reasonably well - say, scoring points - that would be even better.

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 24 Dec 2010, 23:13

JeremyMcClean wrote:
thehemogoblin wrote:
F1000X wrote:
Now why would you want to do that....

Because I came into the sport as a Ferrari/Michael Schumacher fan. That was the initial allure for me with the sport.

I came in as a McLaren fan... mainly the likes of Mika Hakkinen...

Continuing the off-topicness I came in as a Renault fan back in 2005 because of a certain Fernando Alonso...

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 25 Dec 2010, 04:02

Wizzie wrote: Continuing the off-topicness I came in as a Renault fan back in 2005 because of a certain Fernando Alonso...

No 2002 Mark madness?

Post by **tommykl** » 25 Dec 2010, 08:44

I came in because my dad randomly put the 2004 Brazilian GP on the TV. Then, I became a Ferrari fan (my dad works for Shell, so I didn't have a choice) before finding out what happened the years before and switching to McLaren while keeping an eye on Mark Webber and Super Aguri's progress, before finding this site and completely letting go of McLaren.

Phoenix · Post by **Phoenix** » 25 Dec 2010, 17:27

When I came in, I was a fan of...no-one :lol:

jpm · Post by **jpm** » 26 Dec 2010, 10:38

The 2001 malaysian grand prix began my fixation...possibly it was due to the allure of both Ferrari's spinning at the same corner...

patrick · Post by **patrick** » 26 Dec 2010, 12:57

The first race I clearly remember watching was the 2000 German GP, which of course made me a rubens fan. I didn't really twig at the time, (because I was 9) but it was a stroke of luck to jump into such a good race.
Strangely, the first and only GP I have attended was silverstone 2003, so it seems I am destined for rubens fandom.
On topic, who remains to confirm their drivers? I make it just force india and hrt.