http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/106801 With the number of young pay drivers on the grid certainly the highest I remember it ever being (I'm sure a few people with memories of the great Jean-Denis Delatraz will prove me wrong!) and questions raised over their talents, what do you think? 1. Do you think that the issue lies in rookie drivers not having enough time to acclimatise to F1 or does it just stem in certain cases from a lack of talent? 2. What can F1 do to better identify the rookies who will and won't make it?
Of the current crop, I think it's a case of "More cash, less talent..." so option 1 So far not impressed by the likes of Chilton, VdG and Esteban. Jules is out performing the car and Bottas is hampered by a poor car but at the very least he is keeping and at times bettering his more experienced (and Grind Prix winning) team mate.
Rookies are going to make mistakes. End of. It's not about under preparation, Schumacher did what Gutierrez did twice last season.
I think expectations are set way too high, I would wait until the end of the season to see who has settled in well. Bottas and Bianchi however seem to mould in very well.
I like Crofty's idea in P1 in China... three one-hour sessions on Friday where the first one is just for reserve drivers, they can get used to the cars while getting rid of the dust on the track then the race drivers can have two hours without having to give any up practice on friday and another one on saturday.. It'll give us viewers better coverage too
Did the Crofty one really come up with that idea or did he claim that for himself via his Twitter feed? Either way, that's pretty good! I guess 3 races is bit early to judge someone but those that you know will make it do something right away, the likes of Bottas (last year during FP) and this year so far and Jules have made their mark, I'm not sure the rest of the rookie class of 2013 will cut it long term.
I thought the drivers had to do certain things to qualify for a super licence and peopel had to jump through hoops to get one - I remember there being a big debate when kimi was fast tracked on one. The issue is that gap from GP2 is so vast and the 3rd driver programme no longer exists and thats down to the testing restriction which I dont like. Every team should have an 3rd driver/reserve driver that has to have been racing in or currently racing the highest possible feeder series. The driver must complete every friday practise and should have to complete a certain number of testing miles through out the season. For me that is the only way a rookie driver has the potential to compete in F1, except for the etreme situations like Lewis etc... Alonso is great example for me,
Bianchi, Bottas and van der Garde got several Friday sessions, Chilton and Gutierrez didn't. This is possibly already showing. Hamilton was a rookie of the unlimited testing days, so far he has 35097km of tests to his name, Vettel has 34040km. Someone like Chilton has 3780km, around 10% of the pre 2009 rookies despite being around for more than 10% of the time. Even Bianchi was testing in the free for all days of 2009, doing 200 odd laps of Jerez in a Ferrari in December 2009. F1 has got a lot harder for rookies! For those who care, the test km leader board: [TABLE="width: 30%"] [TR] [TD="bgcolor: #404040, align: center"]Cla [/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #404040, align: left"] Drivers [/TD] [TD="bgcolor: #404040, align: right"] Total [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: center"]1[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Luca Badoer[/TD] [TD="align: right"]131943[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #F0F0F0"] [TD="align: center"]2[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Jenson Button please log in to view this image [/TD] [TD="align: right"]112250[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: center"]3[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Michael Schumacher please log in to view this image [/TD] [TD="align: right"]110675[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #F0F0F0"] [TD="align: center"]4[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Rubens Barrichello please log in to view this image [/TD] [TD="align: right"]109013[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: center"]5[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Jarno Trulli please log in to view this image [/TD] [TD="align: right"]107726[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #F0F0F0"] [TD="align: center"]6[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Alexander Wurz[/TD] [TD="align: right"]107052[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: center"]7[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Nick Heidfeld please log in to view this image [/TD] [TD="align: right"]106044[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #F0F0F0"] [TD="align: center"]8[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Pedro de la Rosa[/TD] [TD="align: right"]104952[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD="align: center"]9[/TD] [TD="align: left"]David Coulthard[/TD] [TD="align: right"]104303[/TD] [/TR] [TR="bgcolor: #F0F0F0"] [TD="align: center"]10[/TD] [TD="align: left"]Felipe Massa please log in to view this image [/TD] [TD="align: right"]102353[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] These include free practice as well as official test days.
This is where the testing ban really hurts F1. But the idea of having a Friday session dedicated to rookies is a good one. By the way, forget Raikkonen or Alonso, the star of the season so far for me has been Bianchi. His performances in that car truly have been terrific. And where did he race last year? Formula Renault 3.5, not GP2 - a series he had already done - again possibly suggesting its ineffectiveness as the official F1 feeder series.
I don't thinks it so much a problem with rookies rather that the quality of those getting the seats. Drivers with bags of talent have walked in to F1 and done very well... Typically, those with bags of cash don't.
This is what I think as well. I think that there needs to be a more stringent superlicence requirement that includes a talent bar.
it's probably more a lack of maturity and experience than anything else, some of these guys will be on the scrap heap, years younger than Senna was on his debut.
Surely the most simple solution is to stop wringing so much cash out of the sport so that teams can afford to employ drivers based on talent not sponsorship packages? If Caterham, Marussia, etc had enough money, Kovalainen and Glock would still be racing. Keeping the poor teams poor does not lend itself to competitive racing. Also, I've drunk too much tonight, so if the above makes little sense I apologise. Thankfully I don't think mod tools needs using, or everything would probably end up deleted.
It would be the most sensible solution and would ensure close competition and a sport that was full of the worlds greatest drivers. However, Bernie would have to slow down his ever increasing bank balance... and that's just not going to happen.
VDG, Bianchi and Chilton havnt done anything embarrasing yet.. where as Gutierrez who should have been ready for a race 3 years ago when perez had his monaco crash has been poor.
Bianchi shows talented youngsters exist, but it shouldn't have been so hard for him to get a seat. VdG and Chilton so far have just been slow, but being at the back we've no idea how mistake-strewn their races are, as we never see them.
Chilton is just on a learning curve and taking his time. The way its planned out he has a 3 year contract (I think) and Daddy owns part of the team so he doesnt need to impress. VDG is also calmly learning and tbh not that far behind his team mate with 1 years experiance.
Actually I think it should have been that hard for him to get a seat, it shouldn't have been that easy for the others. there are 22 positions available and, personally I think it's indicative of how the sport has gone that talented race drivers such as Kobayashi, Heidfeld, Kovaleinen and Glock don't have a seat, and now we have the spectre of a 30 year old womn with a less than mediocre set of results in lower fomulae joining in with the 'young' driver test to the end of the year, and the reason? you'd think with all the money he's got Bernie could at least afford to buy Tamara some cosmetic surgery.
This is a good thread and one I will follow with interest. There is much talent in the sub-soil of the forest, waiting for the day the big trees fall. A driver's 'sunlight' is track time; and when the canopy is artificially supported, the floor will remain perpetually dark, rich in potential with no choice but optimistic pragmatism*. Young shoots need nurturing with light â so give them some air-time! Right now, it seems the gardener is reaping a (final?) harvest, but perhaps not making best use of well-rotted compost. See above. Sea above? â No, that's another contradiction in terms, unless one is a bottom feeder! Then again, the healthy fish keep drinking⦠*Some might say Bernie himself is an oxymoron; but few would argue his skilful contradictions have not paid off !!
