The '14 driver transfer discussion/speculation thread
- Thread starter NotThePrez
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Still, it has to be the most underwhelming driver choice in a long time. It's not like Formula 1 was crying out for Sutil's presence when he was out of a seat in 2012. This definitely feels like a driver choice for the sake of educating a rookie driver.
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- Wardez
- Wardez
And EJ is pretty much, just need one more, right yet again:
Predicted 20 days ago.
Waiting on the Swede... but I can't believe it's Geido there instead of Pic. Although I have heard Giedo has some rich father-in-law or uncle or something that's writing big checks to keep him in the game. Not that Pic's super talented really, just surprising considering Pic usually stays out of trouble and Giedo had some really strange moments. He did shape up toward the end of the season, and Spa was pretty special getting to Q2, with some luck, but other than that Pic outperformed him convincingly over the season. It's not like Giedo's a fresh faced rookie either, guy's been around.
Predicted 20 days ago.
Waiting on the Swede... but I can't believe it's Geido there instead of Pic. Although I have heard Giedo has some rich father-in-law or uncle or something that's writing big checks to keep him in the game. Not that Pic's super talented really, just surprising considering Pic usually stays out of trouble and Giedo had some really strange moments. He did shape up toward the end of the season, and Spa was pretty special getting to Q2, with some luck, but other than that Pic outperformed him convincingly over the season. It's not like Giedo's a fresh faced rookie either, guy's been around.
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- HamiltonMP427
Sirotkin I think will not be on the 2014 grid, and rather will just be a FP1 runner and test driver for next year probably due to the rule change and need of experience. I think the big foreshadowing Sauber did earlier this year was just a PR move to get noticed for having the youngest driver. The reasons as I've said before are that if he indeed passed the test like Sauber were talking about, then why didn't they come out and inform the media and public, and then make it the first driver announcement rather than the boring Sutil? Simple, they didn't set it up due to PR and he'll probably get it after driver two is announced or possibly before.
To be honest, I would have rather seen Di Resta at Sauber and finally get to watch Sutil leave F1, than the other way around. I'm not a big Di Resta fan, actually I'm not one at all but I think he is a better driver (not by too much) than Sutil. He also has enough experience to teach a young driver what to do at this point. However, I think EJ is right that Esteban might stay, though the Caterham visit he took earlier in the month wasn't a good sign, and heck the American money combined with the Mexican money if he joined would for sure help them beat Marussia.
To be honest, I would have rather seen Di Resta at Sauber and finally get to watch Sutil leave F1, than the other way around. I'm not a big Di Resta fan, actually I'm not one at all but I think he is a better driver (not by too much) than Sutil. He also has enough experience to teach a young driver what to do at this point. However, I think EJ is right that Esteban might stay, though the Caterham visit he took earlier in the month wasn't a good sign, and heck the American money combined with the Mexican money if he joined would for sure help them beat Marussia.
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- NotThePrez
- NotThePrez
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As much as I think Sutil is an uninspiring choice, Paul di Resta would have been worse.
Although you do have to spare a though for him - this time last year, he was complaining that McLaren had taken Perez for the money, and his comments made it pretty clear that he felt the team should have taken a British driver (ie, him), even though no team has ever prioritised a driver's nationality over talent (or even money) before. Fast-forward one year, and he's being replaced by Perez.
His attitude stinks, so I have no qualms saying good riddance.
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- I_powerslide
I disagree, Pic was totally invisible all season long, he never really showed any sign that he deserved to move up the grid. Hell, I almost forgot he was still in Formula 1. I expected Van der Garde to be terrible, but during the season he showed flashes of speed (something Pic never did) and was often far quicker than his more experienced teammate. (IE: Spa qualifying)
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But of the two, Pic out-raced and out-qualified van der Garde all season long. The occasional turn of speed does not excuse his mediocrity.
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- I_powerslide
Erm, Van der Garde out qualified Pic 10-9 over the season... Highlights include 14th in Belgium and 15th at Monaco, while Pic never qualified higher than 18th.
Although Pic did win 8-4 in races they both finished. Hard to judge by finishing positions since that really depends on retirements, but for what it's worth Pic scored two 14ths to VDG's 1. Both had 4 DNFs. Considering that Van der Garde was a rookie, he stacks up pretty good.
http://grandprixrankings.com/compare/2013-f1/pic-versus-van-der-garde/
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- HamiltonMP427
Not seeing it, it seems your animosity stems toward his attitude and out of the many potential good F1 fans that have good insight your bias stops you. You tend to talk toward things unrelated to what takes place on the track as a factor to why a driver should go. Either way I still say Di Resta is the better driver than Sutil, and he would have done much better if he hadn't have made stupid end of the year mistakes it would have been much better. However, that tends to be PDR's issue...
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It's representative of his attitude. Read his post-qualifying or post-race comments and see how often he blames the weather or the tyres or another driver or an untimely mechanical fault or any one of half a dozen excuses he offers up as to why his performances were so weak. And then tell me how often he admits that he was responsible. The correct answer is "almost never".
But the thing that really turned me against him was the way he refused to give the team feedback on his car during a free practice session because he thought it might be broadcast over an open channel (which it was, though ironically it probably wouldn't have been if he had just given the feedback) and it might be interpreted as criticising the car at a time when he was lobbying for a seat with a front-running team.
And then there was the way he told Force India to find a replacement for Nick Hulkenberg who had the team's long-term interests in mind ... whilst shopping around for drives elsewhere.
It's one thing to pick drivers based on their talent, but attitude goes a long way.
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- HamiltonMP427
I don't need to, read my post again, attitudes and actions off the track aren't what should be questioned when it comes to quality of race craft that promotes a team up the grid. If I were to use your rhetoric and reasoning for drivers just because they run their mouth off or do stupid things, I'd being say "how could sauber higher a attempted killer to drive their cars." There was blame to go around on the FI cars this year after the summer break and the tire change obviously destroyed the cars first year success while turning it around for Sauber.
This is more understandable reason to dislike the guy and I can agree with.
I don't agree attitude goes a long way and perhaps it's due to me liking a multitude of drivers with highly opposite attitudes through out all of motorsports. That's your criteria, but at the end of the day I care about performance, I'm glad FI cleaned the slate and said they need top class drivers to take the team somewhere, and really I think Sauber should do the same but money is obviously a priority.
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- spyrrari
Yes VDG did very well last half of the season,and this didnt go unnoticed!!
He is still in for the 2nd Sauber seat at the moment...nor Gutierrez and Sirotkin are confirmed!
I would like to see VDG get a chance in a midfield car instead of 1 of the 2 by far slowest ones.
He has shown in the past he does have a lot of talent(he beat Vettel several times during f3 seasons...wins several times in GP2 etc etc)
ofcourse i am a bit biased because he is Dutch,but i do think he has more in his pocket then he was able to show this year in a car wich failed several times when he was leading the back 2 teams!!!
Time will tell,i just hope that if he stays at Catheram,they have closed the gap to the midfield!
Spy.
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There is also other avenues. There is places available at Mercedes back in the DTM and I think he could do a job in the LMP2 class of the WEC. But with Juan Pablo Montoya there I can think of worst places to go. An experienced ex-F1 driver I am sure would give him much needed advice. I think personally IndyCar would suit him better.
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Are you sure? I mean, if a driver blames everyone and everything for his mistakes except for himself, makes it known that he thinks his team is nothing more than a stepping stone to a bigger and better team, and refuses to give his engineers feedback because he thinks it will reflect poorly on him, how can he motivate the team around him to do their best? There are (possibly apocryphal) stories about di Resta not getting along with his engineers because of his attitude. Assuming for the moment than these stories are true, don't you think that a driver with a better relationship with his team could produce better performances?
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- HamiltonMP427
If I wasn't sure would I be defending my position, it seems I quite static about what I think on this. Also did you read my last post are just stop at what you quoted? Cause you wouldn't have continued with the final question, and actually saw that I'm glad he is out of FI since I think the team needs better drivers than what they had.
As for the other parts though it could go either way, this sport has seen egotistical fools succeed and fail, and vice versa nice guys that try to help in every way and not finish well at all.
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I guess my joking of Vettel getting #1 isn't such a joke.
http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/304508/fia-s-permanent-number-process-begins/
http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/304508/fia-s-permanent-number-process-begins/
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I think you're misreading that. The system will be the same as the one used by MotoGP. The drivers are free to pick any number between 2 and 99. The number 1 will be put aside for the champion to use if they want it. Vettel will still submit his three numbers, but then he will be given the choice of using number 1 or his new number. If he chooses the number 1, his new number will be put in reserve so that no-one else can take it.
So far, it's known that Bottas wants 77 so he can use it as "BO77AS". Rosberg wants 6 because his father used it when he won the 1982 title. Perez wants 11 because he used it in karting and GP2. Vergne wants 25, but hasn't said why. Likewise Massa, who wants 19, but has not given a reason. Reserve drivers also get individual numbers, but will probably be the last to pick. Antonio Felix da Costa wants 13, of all numbers, while Sainz Jnr. wants 19, but might have to settle for his second choice, 5.
It's been speculated that Alonso wants 14 because it's his lucky number, and he used it at Massa's karting event. Raikkonen is a big James Hunt fan, so it has been suggested that he will apply for 11 as it was the number Hunt carried in 1976. On that note, he might also take 76. Hamilton has been linked to a lot of Senna-related numbers, but also 22, as it was his number in 2008. Button has also been tipped for 22, and 12 as it was his in 2006.
My personal favourite is the suggestion that Vettel should pick 8 or 92. It's tacky, yes, but it's totally in line with his love of statistics.
So far, it's known that Bottas wants 77 so he can use it as "BO77AS". Rosberg wants 6 because his father used it when he won the 1982 title. Perez wants 11 because he used it in karting and GP2. Vergne wants 25, but hasn't said why. Likewise Massa, who wants 19, but has not given a reason. Reserve drivers also get individual numbers, but will probably be the last to pick. Antonio Felix da Costa wants 13, of all numbers, while Sainz Jnr. wants 19, but might have to settle for his second choice, 5.
It's been speculated that Alonso wants 14 because it's his lucky number, and he used it at Massa's karting event. Raikkonen is a big James Hunt fan, so it has been suggested that he will apply for 11 as it was the number Hunt carried in 1976. On that note, he might also take 76. Hamilton has been linked to a lot of Senna-related numbers, but also 22, as it was his number in 2008. Button has also been tipped for 22, and 12 as it was his in 2006.
My personal favourite is the suggestion that Vettel should pick 8 or 92. It's tacky, yes, but it's totally in line with his love of statistics.
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- GTP_ZippyCat
In PM's defense, there have been many media reports that Di Resta's attitude was in fact a major reason Force India decided to cut him loose. PM isn't showing bias or making stuff up there.
Di Resta may at one point have been able to make a case for staying but his run of mistake-caused DNFs after the break ruined his rep as being a safe pair of hands.
Di Resta may at one point have been able to make a case for staying but his run of mistake-caused DNFs after the break ruined his rep as being a safe pair of hands.
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More on the numbers: Romain Grosjean has submitted his choices to the FIA, but isn't telling what they are. He did comment on Twitter that some of his followers are good at guessing. My guess is that he has picked 29, his son's birthday.
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- HamiltonMP427
I agree with the later portion, and I only give PM a hard time due to what he's said about many drivers in the past and giving them a hard time based on situation and not skill. Though I do this too, I also do it along with skill as well. I'd give Magnussen crap about potential nepotism with his seat, but that'd be stupid since he should be judged by his on track skill.
BHRxRacer
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You need to make up your minds whether racing is a sport or not, before you can give people **** for judging driver's personalities. If it's not a sport, that's fine. Judge them by success/skill alone. If you consider it a sport then you'll have to judge them by personalities as well.
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It looks like the number 27 will be coming back to Formula 1 next year. Jules Bianchi has requested the numbers 7, 27 and 77. Valtteri Bottas has already requested #77 as his first choice, whilst it's believed Kimi Raikkonen wants #7. Jean-Eric Vergne listed #27 as one of his three choices, but will probably get #25 or #21 first.
I know some people are opposed to the #27 returning unless it is with Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel or Raikkonen. Personally, it doesn't bother me. It might bother me if Maldonado, di Resta or van der Garde picked it for the historical connotations, but Bianchi has been pretty exciting in the junior categories and put in some excellent performances this year, so I think the people who care about the exclusivity of the number should be okay with it.
I know some people are opposed to the #27 returning unless it is with Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel or Raikkonen. Personally, it doesn't bother me. It might bother me if Maldonado, di Resta or van der Garde picked it for the historical connotations, but Bianchi has been pretty exciting in the junior categories and put in some excellent performances this year, so I think the people who care about the exclusivity of the number should be okay with it.
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There is no guarantee Ferrari will get him, though. They have been slow on the uptake in the past - they missed the boat on young driver programmes when they shouldhave set the standard. I'm surprised Force India and Lotus didn't bid for him.
Tired Tyres
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Probably because apart from the first couple of races, he hasn't shown anything to make him worth hiring.
Beating Chilton does not make you a superstar.
What is it exactly that Di Resta has personally done to you or a member of your family to attract this attitude of yours? I hope it not that he has a high opinion of his ability because if it is, then you must hate all race drivers.
