Comments on: Anthony Davidson: the driver debates

By: Chas

Chas — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:50:03 +0000

agreed. davidson has a lot of potential. perhaps or alas his greatest achievements in F1 will probably be like Wurtz, as a test driver. credit to sato in as much as at least he is not the laughable crash test dummy who loves to take out as many drivers as possible in an accident of his own making.

By: Denis

Denis — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 18:34:19 +0000

Ant is a career driver like many others he started aged 8 and won championship galore in karting, beating Button to the top British junior title in 94. Then in 96 in European karting was a rookie sensation winning more championship races than any of the top 120 international drivers, which included Button and Raikennon. As a rookie in FFord he won the Winter championship and the FFord Festival in the Kent class then the World Cup in 2000. He won the McLaren/BRDC/Autosport Young Driver. Got signed by B.A.R. as a tester on the spot that night! In 2001 he took the seat noone dared fill alongside championship favourite coming 2nd in Brit F3, & winning the European F3 championship over all the European F3 champions with 2 wins a 2nd and a 3rd.
The Minardi opportunity was because Alex Yoong failed to qualify his car 3 times! Minardi needed 2 cars on the grid to claim their sponsorship monies, Anthony obliged and qualified both times, that was all that was expected of him! He’s had very few shunts or off’s and in Malaysia and Bahrain he totally outperformed Sato. He’s a driver who uses his head and is loved by all the engineers that he has worked closely with as he brings inteligence not brawn to the team. It’s a crying shame he’s never had the opportunity to drive a competitive car, which would be far easier to drive which is ironic is it not! Other teams have only bypassed him as it was assumed he was totally contracted to Honda. But with the demise of Aguri? He is now a free agent!

By: Lady Snowcat

Lady Snowcat — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:41:21 +0000

All that time testing didn’t do him many favours…he was very race rusty when he finally got his chance….

He’s good but we may never find out just how good he is….

Poor Ant….

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:03:39 +0000

oops, sorry for the verbs… "needs" and "shines", they should have been "need" and "shine"

By: Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:02:34 +0000

There are two kinds of race winners… those who shines instantly, whether in a fast (Hamilton at McLaren, 2007) or slow(Alonso at Minardi, 2001) car, and those who needs time to get themselves together (Massa at Sauber, 2002, Rosberg and Mansell three decades ago)… the thing is… when you don’t shine instantly, even if your value can be seen by those who analyze in-depth race data, you’re seriously in risk of losing your seat for the next "promise"…

And for me Davidson is a potential race winner of the second type…

By: Rohan

Rohan — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:07:58 +0000

I have yet to see anything in Davidson that warrants a place in F1 – he is regularly outpaced by Sato, who himself isn’t good enough in the first place.

By: Douglas Revill

Douglas Revill — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:41:44 +0000

I agree that Anthony Davidson is a great tallent. He is very quick, and given the right car, I am sure he would be equal to many of the front runners. He has had a few accidents, but when you are in the thinck of it at the rear of the grid, you are much more likely to have an accident.
I think he has done enough to earn a drive in a top team. I hope someone picks him up soon. Personally, I think he would be a better choice than Rubens Barrichello.

By: Gman

Gman — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:35:37 +0000

I think it would be great to see Davidson at Red Bull once DC honorably sets off into retirement. However, don’t you all think that everyone’s favorite golden boy-Sebiastain Vettel- will be snapped up by Red Bull if he hasen’t already gone to a top team by that time?

Davidson is a solid driver in my opinion, someone who deserves a shot with a team higher up the grid. However, as well all know, sometimes politics/glitz/glamor can be the determining factors in who gets the seats first, and that may leave a good lad like Anthony on the outside. Best wishes to him for this season and beyond.

By: Number 38

Number 38 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:10:32 +0000

"Davidson replacing Coulthard" is a good move however unlikely.
"Youth over experience", the downfall of F1.
"Davidson deserves a better car"……… absolutely.
My two pence worth ……… Renault ought to consider him to replace Alonso next year. (or maybe replace Piquet !!!)

By: DanielPT

DanielPT — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 10:45:10 +0000

Anthony Davidson is a driver that fits in one type of drivers:
Those of "What could have been?". I believe he wasn’t very lucky in his career so far, and he risks being dumped (as he is not that young and there is an option today for "the younger the better" in F1), without showing the promising stuff he displayed at Honda. Anyway i believe he will go out with Super Aguri…