Comments on: Buemi: another GP2 prodigy fit for F1?

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:34:25 +0000

Well, looks like Buemi just might be better than y’all give him credit for. 7th place finish and points aside, Buemi drove a very mature rookie race in Australia – unlike a certain Robert Kubica, for example. Buemi may not be the next Vettel but he looks to be better than anybody else that’s ever sat in a Red Bull/Toro Rosso car.

By: C4

C4 — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 09:48:12 +0000

I’ll take Scott Speed over Nelson Piquet Jr. That old Toro Rosso was a waste of track time. You can’t compare that to the newer Renault. Especially since Alonso won races in it. Luizzi never did anything special in the Toro Rosso either. I’m not saying Speed is great but I don’t see how you can rank him under Piquet Jr.

By: StrFerrari4Ever

StrFerrari4Ever — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:32:04 +0000

Interesting article Keith I have to agree with the others Buemi hasnt really showed enough to deserve a seat this year in GP2 he barely stood out from the crowd Pete made a good point Anthony Davidson was a quick guy And Tonio Liuzzi i mean in 2005 when he was at red bull Liuzzi used to trouble D.C i just wish Toro Rosso snipped one of them instead of Buemi and I have to say if Hulkenberg comes to F1 next season then its going to be absolutely brilliant all the young drivers fighting to prove they are the best this could be the start of something special mark my words oh yeah keith do you think ferrari’s KERS will come good i read on F1.com that they are pleased with it

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:44:23 +0000

I guess a lot of the top drivers in F1 today were fast-forwarded through the junior ranks. Raikkonen was plucked from Formula Renault, Alonso did one season of F3000… Hamilton was quite unusual in that respect.

By: Steven Roy

Steven Roy — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:06:48 +0000

I am far from convinced that Buemi is anything special. I know Red Bull are desperate to prove their young driver program is producing drivers but with the exception of Vettel it is not. In factthe Red Bull program proves that the silver spoon treatment that supposedly made Lewis Hamilton is no gurantee of anything.

I cannot see why a team would want to get Adrian Newey to design a car and then not sign the best drivers available. Senna is better than Buemi and despite being older has a fraction of his experience and therefore more room to improve. Paul di Resta is the stand out driver who doesn’t have an F1 seat but I guess Red Bull don’t want to give him a couple of years experience just for McLaren to take him away.

Hulkenberg is a far better driver than Buemi and is ready for F1.

I also agree with Clare that Heidfeld has as much chance of winning the championship as Kubica. The difference is that I think they both have no chance whatever of winning a championship. Bear in mind BMW have not won a race when the top guys were on the track yet. They did a great job in Canada but Lewis and Kimi were parked at the end of the pits. You cannot seriously talk about drivers or their team winning a championship until they have at least won a straight race with the big boys. They may have been impressive last season but they are not under the pressure that Ferrari and McLaren are. Lets see how they react to real pressure before making forecasts like that.

By: Ross

Ross — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:58:26 +0000

Like Clare I think heideld bears watching. He was one of the most successfull if not the most successfull at getting ahead in races last year with opportunism and maybe a bit of treachery his forte. More successfull moving forward than Raikkonen, Massa, Kubica and even Hamilton in any case where they got shunted back. It might just be all about whether he can improve qualifying.

By: Eric M.

Eric M. — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:38:37 +0000

“By winning the F1 title last year, Hamilton became the first world champion to have also won a title in the ‘feeder series’ – whether GP2 or its predecessors F3000 (1985-2004) and F2 (pre-1985).”

That’s pretty shocking, when you think about it.

By: Smitty

Smitty — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:39:30 +0000

I wouldn’t rate Kovalinen as a “hit”. He was impressive in the later stages of his Renault stint, but he was mostly disappointing last year.

By: Damon

Damon — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:03:15 +0000

“Adrian Newey designed car and Ferrari engine.”
- OMG I just realized how lethal a combination that is.
How can this not be successful?

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 20:15:33 +0000

Thing is, with in-season testing banned this year today’s drivers wouldn’t get the same benefit if they did what Alonso or Massa did.