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- WFG9
'02 Season
- Thread starter Talentless
- 51 comments
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I guess it depends how the 02 McLaren will go. If it is a good car I think he will be able to push DC very hard but if it is a bad car, his lack of experiance will certainly show. Sato does look very good. I have been watching him in F3 this season and he will do well in F1. Another one to look out for is Saubers new boy Felipe Massa who in a recent test went faster round Mugello that Schumacher had been this season.
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- WFG9
Aguri Suzuki Interview
August 8: Bob Constanduros talks to former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki
08/08/01
Last weekend in Zandvoort, Takuma Sato scored Japan's first ever international Formula Three win. He was backed up in Holland by two other leading compatriots. For while Sato leads the British Formula Three championship, Ryo Fukuda leads the French Formula Three championship, and Toshihiro Kaneishi leads the German series.
Also present in Zandvoort was Kaneishi's manager, Aguri Suzuki, who finished second in the 1983 Japanese Formula Three championship. He won the 1988 Formula 3000 championship, before coming to Europe to race F3000, then making his debut in Grand Prix racing by completely failing to qualify the hopeless Zakspeed-Yamaha in 1989.
Things improved, however, and Aguri raced three years with Larrousse, during which time he became the only Japanese driver to date to stand on the rostrum with third in the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, then two years with Footwork/Arrows, one race with Jordan and half a season with Ligier.
Aguri is perhaps one of the most European of Japanese drivers, still maintaining a home in Monaco. He commentates on Japanese television and not only looks after Kaneishi's career, but that of Kousuka Matsuura, who scored his first German Formula Three victory the weekend before at Hockenheim.
So we asked him how things had changed for Japanese Formula Three drivers, why they can now race so easily in Europe when it used to be so difficult, and how far the current crop is going.
Q: What has changed in the last ten years for Japanese drivers? It was always said that they used to have a problem with European culture, being so far from home, which would upset their performance.
Aguri Suzuki: Ten years ago, I came to Europe for the first time and found things completely different. It was completely different from Japanese young people's thinking.
But it's different again now, in that the cultures of Japan and Europe are much closer. Ten years ago, I remember that my image of Europe was that it was very far away, difficult to get there, there wasn't much information about it. But now there's the internet, it's easy to fly to Europe.
And the Japanese yen is quite strong now as well. Ten years ago I felt it was very expensive to come to Europe. Kazuyoshi Hoshino, for instance, was a very good driver, but it was hard for him to come to Europe because it was so expensive to live, but now it's much more different.
Q: They used to say it was just the culture, though
AS: Ten or thirteen years ago, there was no information about Europe. But now it's easy to find information about Europe in Japan. It was a mental thing, although it depended on the person. At 19, some people are already quite adult, and it was easy to see whether a driver could handle the changes or not. Now there are young Europeans coming on too, like Raikkonen and Alonso. They are good racers and clever racers. Character is very important. I don't think our drivers at the time were strong enough characters; there was a difference between the Europeans and the Japanese. At 18 or 19, we weren't so mature, more children.
Q: Were the drivers as good then as they are now?
AS: I don't think there's such a big difference, comparing the drivers 13 years ago to those now, but their character was different. Five or six years ago, the motorcycle racers started to be very competitive on the world stage. Maybe in the future racing drivers will be the same.
Q: What about these guys like Kaneishi, Sato, Fukuda; can they make it to the top?
AS: I don't know, but this is halfway. They are halfway there and maybe the next generation in the near future will be even better. I hope so.
Q: How important will it be for Honda or Toyota to have a Japanese driver?
AS: I don't know; you have to ask the Honda or Toyota people. I'm sure that both companies would like to find a good Japanese driver. But Formula One is a little bit different. It's much more worldwide, it isn't only important for Honda to have Japanese drivers, or Jaguar to have English drivers, or Mercedes to have German drivers. I don't think it matters. Honda sell more cars in Europe or the United States than in Japan. Formula One is now more a global project. Sure, Japanese companies would like to have Japanese drivers.
Q: But in your day, or Nakajima's time, Japanese companies wanted Japanese drivers, so is it harder for these guys now.
AS: No, I don't think so. Nakajima and I aren't such good examples. Immediately there are good Japanese drivers, Honda and Toyota will pick them up.
Q: What are you trying to do with Kaneishi, for instance?
AS: It depends on this year's results. He is leading the Formula Three championship in Germany. Fukuda is doing well and Sato too. So we will see at the end of this year and we will hold discussions with Formula One teams perhaps to find them a job as a test driver. But Formula One isn't only driver technique, there's politics and money. It's very very complicated. It's very exciting.
Q: Japan must be very excited at the thought of having, potentially, anyway, three champions here in Europe, and the possibility of Formula One. What does that mean to Honda, to Bridgestone, to Toyota, to all the Japanese companies?
AS: Yes, I think it means a lot, but the problem is this: if we have a very good driver, it shouldn't only be Honda or Toyota who are interested, but McLaren and Jaguar should want him too. If he's good enough, then Ferrari or Jaguar should be interested in him too. This is a very important point and that's what we should be aiming at.
planet f1
August 8: Bob Constanduros talks to former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki
08/08/01
Last weekend in Zandvoort, Takuma Sato scored Japan's first ever international Formula Three win. He was backed up in Holland by two other leading compatriots. For while Sato leads the British Formula Three championship, Ryo Fukuda leads the French Formula Three championship, and Toshihiro Kaneishi leads the German series.
Also present in Zandvoort was Kaneishi's manager, Aguri Suzuki, who finished second in the 1983 Japanese Formula Three championship. He won the 1988 Formula 3000 championship, before coming to Europe to race F3000, then making his debut in Grand Prix racing by completely failing to qualify the hopeless Zakspeed-Yamaha in 1989.
Things improved, however, and Aguri raced three years with Larrousse, during which time he became the only Japanese driver to date to stand on the rostrum with third in the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix, then two years with Footwork/Arrows, one race with Jordan and half a season with Ligier.
Aguri is perhaps one of the most European of Japanese drivers, still maintaining a home in Monaco. He commentates on Japanese television and not only looks after Kaneishi's career, but that of Kousuka Matsuura, who scored his first German Formula Three victory the weekend before at Hockenheim.
So we asked him how things had changed for Japanese Formula Three drivers, why they can now race so easily in Europe when it used to be so difficult, and how far the current crop is going.
Q: What has changed in the last ten years for Japanese drivers? It was always said that they used to have a problem with European culture, being so far from home, which would upset their performance.
Aguri Suzuki: Ten years ago, I came to Europe for the first time and found things completely different. It was completely different from Japanese young people's thinking.
But it's different again now, in that the cultures of Japan and Europe are much closer. Ten years ago, I remember that my image of Europe was that it was very far away, difficult to get there, there wasn't much information about it. But now there's the internet, it's easy to fly to Europe.
And the Japanese yen is quite strong now as well. Ten years ago I felt it was very expensive to come to Europe. Kazuyoshi Hoshino, for instance, was a very good driver, but it was hard for him to come to Europe because it was so expensive to live, but now it's much more different.
Q: They used to say it was just the culture, though
AS: Ten or thirteen years ago, there was no information about Europe. But now it's easy to find information about Europe in Japan. It was a mental thing, although it depended on the person. At 19, some people are already quite adult, and it was easy to see whether a driver could handle the changes or not. Now there are young Europeans coming on too, like Raikkonen and Alonso. They are good racers and clever racers. Character is very important. I don't think our drivers at the time were strong enough characters; there was a difference between the Europeans and the Japanese. At 18 or 19, we weren't so mature, more children.
Q: Were the drivers as good then as they are now?
AS: I don't think there's such a big difference, comparing the drivers 13 years ago to those now, but their character was different. Five or six years ago, the motorcycle racers started to be very competitive on the world stage. Maybe in the future racing drivers will be the same.
Q: What about these guys like Kaneishi, Sato, Fukuda; can they make it to the top?
AS: I don't know, but this is halfway. They are halfway there and maybe the next generation in the near future will be even better. I hope so.
Q: How important will it be for Honda or Toyota to have a Japanese driver?
AS: I don't know; you have to ask the Honda or Toyota people. I'm sure that both companies would like to find a good Japanese driver. But Formula One is a little bit different. It's much more worldwide, it isn't only important for Honda to have Japanese drivers, or Jaguar to have English drivers, or Mercedes to have German drivers. I don't think it matters. Honda sell more cars in Europe or the United States than in Japan. Formula One is now more a global project. Sure, Japanese companies would like to have Japanese drivers.
Q: But in your day, or Nakajima's time, Japanese companies wanted Japanese drivers, so is it harder for these guys now.
AS: No, I don't think so. Nakajima and I aren't such good examples. Immediately there are good Japanese drivers, Honda and Toyota will pick them up.
Q: What are you trying to do with Kaneishi, for instance?
AS: It depends on this year's results. He is leading the Formula Three championship in Germany. Fukuda is doing well and Sato too. So we will see at the end of this year and we will hold discussions with Formula One teams perhaps to find them a job as a test driver. But Formula One isn't only driver technique, there's politics and money. It's very very complicated. It's very exciting.
Q: Japan must be very excited at the thought of having, potentially, anyway, three champions here in Europe, and the possibility of Formula One. What does that mean to Honda, to Bridgestone, to Toyota, to all the Japanese companies?
AS: Yes, I think it means a lot, but the problem is this: if we have a very good driver, it shouldn't only be Honda or Toyota who are interested, but McLaren and Jaguar should want him too. If he's good enough, then Ferrari or Jaguar should be interested in him too. This is a very important point and that's what we should be aiming at.
planet f1
- 1,034
- Athens,Ga
Man, those F3 cars are some great looking cars, are they not?
- 10,081
- WFG9
- 10,081
- WFG9
burti is a test driver for ferrari for '02
Originally posted by Schumy
watch out for Villeneuve!
In that Bloody Awful Racecar?!? No chance!
I can't see anyone beating Ferrari this year.
The interesting thing is whether McLaren will improve. They had an absoluter shocker this year - the talk was Ilmor were really knocked around by the beryllium ban, so the motor was pretty ordinary.
I would really like to see Kimi go well - show Coulthard up for the over-rated driver he is.
- 1,190
BAR did not anticipate the amazing levels of durability of the Bridgestones (which came into play from the new tire war) last season and designed their car to be friendly on tires......they were finding that the car was so good on tires that at the end of each stint that the tires were practically still new.....as a result they were losing alot of grip b/c of the way that the car was designed.....they said that they could do an entire race on one set of tires .......in that sense they got screwed badly but they still had the problem of chassis flex which Jacques always complained of ......maybe for this season they should encorporate an oversized fuel tank so they can skip the pits alltogether (lol)
- 16
Originally posted by Schumy
BAR did not anticipate the amazing levels of durability of the Bridgestones (which came into play from the new tire war) last season and designed their car to be friendly on tires......they were finding that the car was so good on tires that at the end of each stint that the tires were practically still new.....as a result they were losing alot of grip b/c of the way that the car was designed.....they said that they could do an entire race on one set of tires .......in that sense they got screwed badly but they still had the problem of chassis flex which Jacques always complained of ......maybe for this season they should encorporate an oversized fuel tank so they can skip the pits alltogether (lol)
Point being that Bar won't being challenging for the championship next year but they are learning from their mistakes and they are learning at a very fast pace. Those hundreds of millions of sponsorship dollars must be going somewhere. This year they realized that all the money in the world can't beat experience. So they just bought some (Geoff Willis). Next year there are no regulation changes to catch the team off guard in the designing of the car. Things are looking in the right direction for Bar to move up the grid next year. If it doesn't happen then it probably never will and Villeneuve is waisting his time and BAT should stick to making cigarettes. 02 is a due or die year.
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
If McLaren design a car with inherent understeer, DC will beat Kimi. If it's an oversteerer, Kimi will beat DC. Same as with DC/Hakkinen over the last few years.
- 10,081
- WFG9
Because of Kimi's more cautious style he might tame the oversteer, right? I guess caution in understeer won't always get good times.
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
No, Kimi's not cautious, he's just an oversteer-dancer. He loves it. He'll chuck the car into the corner on the brakes, which will unsettle the tail, then drive the car round the corner with the throttle. And if there's one thing DC hates, it's turn-in oversteer.
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
Well having watched him at Barcelona and Silverstone, he has something of last year's Button about him, in that he'll chuck the car in, and drive it with throttle movements, whereas certainly Michael keeps a relatively constant throttle position and controls the attitude of the car with the brakes. Certainly Ralfie is a big last-gasp braker, and that sets up his oversteer entry, so your right in the comparison with Ralf, but probably not with Michael.
I also noticed that Heidfeld is so much smoother than Raikkonen, and in slow corners at least, is visibly quicker, earlier turn in, on the gas before the apex, nice, smooth steering movements, a bit in the Trulli mould.
GilesGuthrie
Staff Emeritus
- 11,038
- Edinburgh, UK
- CMDRTheDarkLord
I did Montreal & Silverstone 2000, then Barcelona and Silverstone 2001. Planning Silverstone (again) this year, plus perhaps Hungary. Additionally maybe Le Mans, but not sure if that's on.
I've got family in Melbourne, and am planning on using this to get free accomodation for the race in 2003!
I've got family in Melbourne, and am planning on using this to get free accomodation for the race in 2003!
- 10,081
- WFG9
It's a giant peppermint candy.
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