Comments on: Embarrassment for Red Bull as drivers collide (updated)

By: Ian

Ian — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:42:36 +0000

I fear Mark is going to be another “Chris Amon”, outstanding talent who can’t get the good luck.

By: Craig

Craig — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 09:11:41 +0000

I was looking forward to the restart as Webber seemed to be closing on Hamilton, but whether he could’ve passed him I’m not so sure.

I feel sorry for Vettel as all the cars yo-yo back and forth between wild acceleration and heavy braking which could catch anyone out to be honest.

A 10-place grid penalty is harsh in the extreme though, way over the top in my opinion.

By: john

john — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:56:28 +0000

I assume that the stewards felt that the “wrath” of Webber would not be a good enough penalty. One must choose the proper time to gaze down at the steering wheel. An arguement for HUD display? Of all the incidents this weekend, this was the most upsetting. I honestly thought that Webber would have something for Hamilton. Also, a top ten would have been great for young Vettel’s resume. I wonder if the penalty would have been 10 spots for one of the top drivers. I cannot say if Vettel deserves this ride or not. This is because in the USA I am only been able to see him during the race and ITV has a problem with showing the middle of the pack. I think the total time that Vettel has been shown driving before Fuji was about 1 minute total. Almost all that time in the race when he replaced Speed. I can say that what he did was a “rookie” mistake.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:17:26 +0000

Number 38, thanks for that, and Andy, let me just make clear that I’m very pleased when I see rookies achieving great results, like Hamilton is doing, but Vettel is far from having a great season… let’s compare Vettel’s and Liuzzi’s performances so far:

Vettel Liuzzi
GP |Grid |Race GP |Grid |Race
HUN 20 16 HUN 16 Ret
TUR 18 19 TUR 15 15
ITA 16 18 ITA 19 17
BEL 16 Ret BEL 13 12
JPN 8 Ret JPN 22 9

Translating…
Grid Positions:
Liuzzi 3 x 2 Vettel

Race Finishes
Liuzzi 4 x 1 Vettel

Race Finishes, only when both completed:

Liuzzi 2 x 0 Vettel

Concluding… Yes, Andy, Vettel deserves an F1 seat, but not yet…
Lets hope he’ll improve his driving skills in time…

By: Number 38

Number 38 — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:46:06 +0000

Sorry Andy, Daniel got it right: “Giving Vettel a full race seat was premature” esspecially at the expense of Scot Speed. Speed was no star racer but it takes 3 to 5 years for an F1 driver to “mature” and Toro Rosso threw away a lot of training time and elected to start over from zero with Vettel and look what they’ve got…..he looks no better than the driver they dumped, Speed!
And Luizzi is on his way out the door yet he’s topped Vettel by all standards. It’s TIME that makes a good driver, not a cabinet full of junior thropies.

By: AndyJ

AndyJ — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:02:15 +0000

Daniel, I’m sorry, thats nonsense. Vittel is in that seat on merit. Up to that point he was having a great race & season. What happened in the SC period was simply just a mistake (albeit an embarrasing one!). What Webber said was out of understandable frustration. If this season has proved anything, it’s that pure talent can succeed with minimal experience (Hamilton v Alonso).

By: Daniel

Daniel — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 01:11:58 +0000

Giving Vettel a full race seat was a premature move. He was doing a fine job as a test driver, he showed his value on the wet, but also showed that, in fact, “he’s a kid with no experience”, just as Webber said… Liuzzi was confortably outpacing him everywhere, except Fuji.

Maybe he needed one or two more years as a test driver, or a season in GP2 (wasn’t he leading Renault World Series 2007 Season? Coming directly into Formula 1 was far too risky).

Yes, he’s good, he’s a great driver, but he can end up ruining his reputation before his maturity comes…

By: Julian

Julian — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 19:21:00 +0000

Heh I thought Mark’s comment on ITV summed things up nicely A real pity though as both of them could have had a real go at Hamilton at the restart, he would have had to drive a bit defensively at that stage.

By: chunter

chunter — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 15:54:53 +0000

For Vettel, I think wrecking out is its own punishment. In Webber’s place, I’d be just as angry; I think they’re both professional enough to make up in good time.

By: Vertigo

Vertigo — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:30:41 +0000

Regarding what Jian said about TC, I think Webber will shine when TC is gone, while people like Alonso and Fisico will struggle. Silly mistake by Vettel, but he will be champion one day if he gets a decent drive.