I thought that when I saw the Karthikeyan thread had 250. I bet he never had so much attention. Anyway, Bruno is very popular with me; his team mate too.
I feel the Williams could be an even better car but having Maldonado and Senna driving it? Sorry. They are solid drivers but that's all they are at best. That Williams has more speed but doesn't have the drivers to do that.
If they did not have the paying drivers though, it may not be the car it is. So could a better driver get more from a car that was slower? hmmm I think not.
I'd really like to know how people can be so certain that the Williams has extra speed that somehow a former GP2 champion and the nephew of possibly the greatest driver of all time cannot get out of it.
what a good result for williams at the weekend and more points for Bruno. Also I think this race he bettered Maldonardo who looked stronger in the previous 2 races but didnt get the results he deserved. Are the critics answered yet?
How can you be sure that being someone's nephew is an indication of ability? Genetics may make a contribution; but not necessarily. So far, Bruno has only had one really outstanding race regardless of his car; and Maldonado seems to me to be improving more quickly, despite no illustrious relative!
These people aren't certain, they are just unwilling to acknowledge that both drivers are better than they thought so they switch to suggesting that the car is fantastic and if Pastor and Bruno were any good, they'd be doing better. Hell, if one of them wins a race, the argument will be, 'but if they were any good they'd have won by a greater margin'. Their results are the combined efforts of drivers and team and they're shaping up very nicely; credit where credit's due.
Bruno is fast, and is getting faster because he is getting tidier, I don't think Maldonado is getting faster, he's just not making as many race destroying mistakes, he was fast last season too. I think Bruno deserves to be there name or not, but I think he has the hardest job in convincing people he does. His name is a double edged sword in that it got him there, but it's also the mark by which he is judged, he'll never really be judged against his team-mates, it'll always be his uncle.
I'm not sure where I'd rank Senna out of all the drivers out there. Last season Maldonado was in most peoples bottom 3 drivers but he seems to have improved this year to be some sort of benchmark for Senna. Senna's history in the lower formulae isn't exactly mind blowing with no major championships to his name. His next race will be his 30th in F1, which places him midway between the likes of [Maldonado, Hulk and Perez] and [Kobayashi and Petrov] in pure experience. I think Senna is destined to be a kind of middleman in F1, never really likely to win more than maybe a handful of races, but still good enough to be in the sport. Oh and where are the threads for Maldonado, Hulk and Perez - an evaluation so far I think that can be put down to Senna's name, but thats not his fault
"Oh and where are the threads for Maldonado, Hulk and Perez - an evaluation so far I think that can be put down to Senna's name, but thats not his fault " Lol, But on a fairly serious note, none of the three you've mentioned have been subjected to the same sort of detraction as Bruno (remember the sort of jibes when he replaces Heidfeld. True he might not have the most outstanding CV, but GP2 runner-up counts for something, if not too much). Which can also be put down to his name- but that's also not his fault
Miggins: I hope you did not misunderstand my last comment, which you've quoted. I am very much aware of Senna's speed and general tidying up of his driving. I have even commented on precisely that, earlier in this very thread. Despite appearances, my latest comment was not intended as a Senna put-down. It should be read in context of what I quoted: i.e. it was simply a response to the erroneous comment that having an illustrious uncle improves one's chances of getting the best out of a car. I'm sure you'll agree the simple logic that getting the most out of a car has nothing to do with who one's uncle is; especially when he's not around to share wisdom which is 18 years out of date.
It has nothing to do with that. My point was that more credit should go to the Williams strategists and designers than the drivers. However, I read last night that Senna made his tyres last 27 laps at the end, so Senna deserves for making his tyres last and more importantly, making the strategy work.
Replace "nephew...all time" with "the person who beat him in GP2 to finish runner-up to statistically the best GP2 driver since the series' founding" then if it's such a big deal.
Williams seem to think that genetics have an affect in ability. They had Hill, Villeneuve, Rosberg and now Senna; all with a racing relative.
Naz: I will presume you've read my post, since you have quoted it. In it, I acknowledged that genetics may make a contribution. As an instructor, I can safely say that getting started early has a bigger impact - although of course this itself is very likely hold a family theme. However, it should be immediately apparent that there are countless successful Grand Prix drivers with no significant pedigree. As I said, what matters is getting the right input from mentors and getting on track against quality opposition at an early age.
I think All four got the williams seats on merit. Hill - No money but impressive testing and late rise into the sport. Villenueve - No money but impressive victories in the US Rosberg - good sponsors along with good advance into f1 with GP2 crown Senna - comes with sponsors but not huge ones. Has impressed in GP2, Honda test, Le Mans series, HRT, Renault tests and race seat and impressed williams over other top drivers.
