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Who do you think has what it takes to make it into Formula 1?
- Thread starter prisonermonkeys
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- Bye_Ya
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Chinese driver Qinghua Ma has joined HRT, with a view to getting him into the young driver tests. Whether or not he has what it takes to make it into Formula 1 is open to debate - most of his career has been made up of guest appearances in national competition.
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- Pune
- gorsad
- gorsadamad
I think Scott Malvern has the potential, he won 26 out of the 33 races in last years Formula Ford championship. He's currently in Formula Renault BARC and has already won a race. It's true that he's not the youngest guy but I still think he can go the full distance.
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- Ardius_
Williams are 99% confirmed going to give Bottas the seat next year. Why else give him 15 practice sessions this year?
The only question with Williams is whether they go for Pastor or Bruno in the other seat and as long as the Venezuelan money keeps flowing, you can only assume its going to be a Pastor/Valterri line-up. So far the results don't really count that much against Pastor either, even if Bruno beats him on points and every race..he'd probably have to dominate Pastor and come up with a good deal more money before Williams considers him again for next year.
I'm pretty sure this year is basically a testing year for Bottas to get him ready for his seat and a year for Bruno to try and convince other teams that he is good enough by beating Pastor regularly. I don't think there is any question of what the 2013 Williams line-up will be.
The only question with Williams is whether they go for Pastor or Bruno in the other seat and as long as the Venezuelan money keeps flowing, you can only assume its going to be a Pastor/Valterri line-up. So far the results don't really count that much against Pastor either, even if Bruno beats him on points and every race..he'd probably have to dominate Pastor and come up with a good deal more money before Williams considers him again for next year.
I'm pretty sure this year is basically a testing year for Bottas to get him ready for his seat and a year for Bruno to try and convince other teams that he is good enough by beating Pastor regularly. I don't think there is any question of what the 2013 Williams line-up will be.
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They're not just giving him fifteen practice sessions. They're giving him fifteen practice sessions in Senna's car.
What on earth does Frank Williams owe Bruno Senna? He's got a history of dropping drivers with little regard for their pedigree; he's ditched World Champions before. For him to give Senna a season where he can audition for another team is completely out of character.
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- astrosdude91
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astrosdude91
So does Nico.....oh wait..
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- Ardius_
No, because quite obviously thats not why he gave Senna the seat - and thats assuming Frank really has much say anyway these days.
Quite obviously Williams didn't "hire Senna so he can get another seat" but its clear that he is serving as stop-gap so they can train Bottas up. Certainly there seems little question that his seat is not secure at all and he only has a 1-year contract.
They hired Senna for his money and because he is a decent driver. But you wouldn't give only a 1-year contract if you planned on keeping him and then took away 15 practice sessions.
I don't really know why I have to spell this out for you, why is it you read it as Williams somehow owe Senna? I don't think I suggested that at all, I was merely referring to how I look at Senna's year...I never said thats why Williams hired him.
Raikkonen and Hakkinen can speak great English as well, they're just not so talkative to the media.
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SUfan21
I'm sad to say this as an American, but I doubt that Rossi will be good. He didn't do so well In testing. Maybe it was conditions and such that day? I really hope so though. It would be bad to see another American make their way all the way to the top, and then it doesnt work out.
Im a bit biased in favor of Rossi since I'm American, but all the truly F1 worthy young American drivers either go up the NASCAR or Indy ladder since those 2 series carry more prestige in America. Thus, Rossi is our best hope for the forseeable future. The top open wheel American drivers (Marco, Rahal, RHR, etc.) are too far ingrained in the IndyCar skill set to really transfer to F1 with any appreciable success, thus Rossi is the closest thing America has to an F1 hopeful :s
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We'll find out soon enough, SUfan21 - Rossi is racing with Caterham Arden in Formula Renault 3.5 this year, and the grid looks very competitive. If he can cut it there, a Formula 1 seat is a real possibility for 2013.
I think that is just a function of MotoGP being sufficiently removed enough from 4-wheel racing that it attracts a different set of people/drivers. I think aspiring Moto riders in America really do aspire to reach MotoGP. Aspiring 4-wheel racers in America, on the other hand, aspire towards NASCAR or Indy, and thus there is a dearth of American F1 Prospects. If Indy and NASCAR ceased to exist tomorrow, I guarantee you that F1 would gain rapid popularity in the States and 2-3 American drivers would pop up and be successful. Theres just too much competition among "big-time" racing series in America. (not that thats a bad thing
)
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- astrosdude91
Who know who had a name made for F1? Scott Speed. Too bad he didn't live up to his name.
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Earth
Mario Andretti won the last F1 race as an American, and the great ol Peter Revson was the last American BORN F1 driver to win a GP.
Also, does anyone thing Rossi will do well in GP2? And don't count out Michael Lewis. He's American and he tested for Ferrari. Be isn't bad either.
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Well seeing as he's not competing in GP2, not very well at all
. He should fight for the championship in FR3.5 but we shall see.Needs to be close to Blomqvist and Sainz Jr in F3 Euroseries if he wants to impress.
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- IceMan PJN
Wait a few more decades. From the articles I've read over the past couple years, NASCAR viewership is still more or less consistent (sometimes higher, sometimes lower, but over the big picture remain essentially the same) over the past decades, but they're basically steady with their older demographics. Amongst younger audiences, NASCAR is way down. I have theories as to why they've lost interest amongst younger viewers, but they aren't relevant here.
Now, those older fans won't live forever. Over the coming years they'll gradually die off, eventually at a rate that far exceeds the new younger viewers that are coming onboard. So, given enough time, NASCAR should find itself a dim shadow of its former self. That just leaves us with IndyCar, which has but a small fraction of NASCAR's popularity, and it isn't increasing. In fact, while it did temporarily improve with the arrival of "Danica Mania" some time back, that gradually petered back out.
If the current trends continue over the next couple decades, NASCAR should have far more limited presence than it does now, and IndyCar is just barely here anyway, so the time may come that F1 is a more realistic prospect for American racers.
Yeah, I always thought it was an awesome driver name wasted. It's made for racing, like "Gale Weathers" would be perfect for a meteorologist.
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Robin Frijns is looking pretty nifty - he's topped every session of every test day in Formula Renault 3.5 this year.
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Felipe Nasr got punted out of yesterday's GP2 feature race by Johnny Cecotto Jnr., and was then hit with a silly grid penalty for it, which meant he started the race last. He then made up 20 places (in just 23 laps) in today's sprint race to finish sixth overall.
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