Silly season: 2014 F1 driver market
- This topic has 850 replies, 118 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 6 months ago by
.
- Posts
My point is, is that there are a whole lot off drivers outthere that are good enough for F1. Let’s not give them names for now!
When you are a young driver who becomes European or World Champion karting or in the top off the standings throughout the years, after that becomes the best rookie at your launch in single seater racing. After that you go to F3 the drive for a few midfield teams, but you manage to be a competitor in the top off the rankings. You land a podium in Macau or Zandvoort in F3. You move to WSR 3.5 or GP2 and again you’re a competitor in the top of the rankings.
Everywhere you went you won your races, scored some podiums and won a one or more championships.Why could you not achieve that in F1? There is no reason to believe that such a driver is not competitive in F1 under the wright surcomstances, is it?
And if it’s name is Pic, Maldonado, Petrov, d’Ambrossio, di Grassi, di Resta, Sutil, Kobayashi, Bianchi, Ericsson or van der Garde doesn’t matter at all!
I think those drivers do not get the respect they deserve and it’s (in my upinion) unbelievable that some people think otherwise. In my upinion they are short sighted and live in a fantasy world to believe that everybody is capable to win everything and everywhere. There is a lot that has to come in place to be able to win championships. And even then it’s no garantee you will succeed in F1!
What Hulkenberg and Frijns achieved is a remarcable achievment and still both off them are strugling to stay in F1 or become part off it. As Vettel did far less then both drivers and was taken care off by RedBull and is now 4 times world champion!
Results in the lower ranks tells just a little part off the complete story! When you are a top 5 competitor in all lower ranks, you deserve your chance in F1 is my believe. You can’t win them all!!!
As for van der Garde; He was a McLaren and Renault junior driver, thats why he was part of ASM in 2006 (his worst year in autosport). He isn’t as good as Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Raikkonen, Rosberg and Hulkenberg, but everybody else is all the same in my upionion!
The situation is getting bleaker for the Dutchman Giedo van der Garde with McGregor reportedly disappearing from the partners list of Caterham F1 Team.
@lars75 Did you register here just to defend Giedo?
Giedo’s fate is no worse than of a driver like Liuzzi, Pantano, Wilson, Junqueira, Bourdais. Some drivers show good form in the lower series and just don’t cut it in F1 or are in the sport at the wrong time. Giedo was kicked out of the McLaren and Renault junior driver programs. That’s hardly a good thing, as teams like McLaren and Enstone pay a lot of attention to technical feedback and growth as well.
He did fine in F1, but hardly enough to warrant another season. If he wasn’t Dutch, I honestly would be as struck by the end of his F1 career as I was about Chandok’s, D’Ambrosio’s or Di Grassi’s.
http://www.f1zone.net/news/abiteboul-confirms-pic-departure/21669/
It seems like Pic and van der Garde will not be driving Caterhams next season. That basically leaves just Kobayashi and Ericsson with Kovalainen having very slight chances. I hope Kovalainen gets the seat but its most likely going to Ericsson and Kobayashi
An announcement (confirmation for us) on the line-up will be made tomorrow morning according to Sky Sports.
Anyone want to make picks on what numbers they’ll use?
Kobayashi’s first F1 number was 10, Ericsson could use the 36 that’s synonymous with the TOM’s squad he raced for when he won the Japanese F3 championship, and Frijns (assuming third drivers get their own numbers too) would probably go with his old karting number, 23.
9 for Kobayashi is my guess. Found a few pics of him in a number-9 kart, he used it last year in Felipe Massa’s Desafio das Estrelas race, and karting numbers are a popular choice.
No idea about Ericsson, but he’ll avoid number 2 like all the rest of them…I don’t get the fear of #2. Number 2 driver? Really? 2 is such a strong number that could be made legendary by a good driver. If I’m correct Prost won 3 of his 4 WDCs driving car 2. That’s a start!
And apparently Pic is out of the team:
http://motorsportstalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/20/report-charles-pic-not-returning-to-caterham/
Well if Giedo is out we can assume a Japanese-Swedish duo for next year at Caterham, I think Frijns will be happy if he gets the test driver gig.
It’s looking that way. Those are the names that have been most consistently linked to the seat. I cannot see anyone pulling a surprise coup.
Can’t say that i will miss any of them. Koboyashi and Ericsson looks a much more interesting lineup than Pic and Van der Garde.
Going back to the Dutch attitude towards Dutch drivers in the sport, am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that the media goes out of their way to defend underperforming drivers like van der Garde and scream blue murder when there are no Dutch drivers, and yet no-one has bothered to help Robin Frijns?
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.