Williams hopes for big things from Bottas

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In the round-up: Frank Williams hopes Valtteri Bottas turns out to be an F1 great.

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Williams have ‘highest hopes’ for Bottas (Reuters)

“Every team principal dreams of finding a young driver who has just come down from heaven specially to drive racing cars. Ayrton (Senna) was such a driver, (Emerson) Fittipaldi was like that and (Sebastian) Vettel is probably like that too. We very, very much hope that Valtteri is another one like that.”

Shocked Razia vows to get back into F1 (Autosport)

“I did everything right in what I could do, but it was really just a circumstantial thing that happened, and that was it.”

Romain Grosjean can become F1 champion, says Lotus team principal (The Guardian)

“I believe Romain can become world champion. That’s why we kept him. Because we believe he’s got the talent. He’s definitely got the speed.”

Hamilton ‘prayed’ for Sutil’s F1 return (The Telegraph)

“I contacted him a while ago because I heard there was a chance he could get the seat and just said that I had said a prayer for him, that I really hoped he got the seat because he deserved it and that I really hoped to see him back in Formula One.”

Q&A with Caterham’s Cyril Abiteboul (F1)

“I’d rather not look back and talk about either Vitaly [Petrov] or Heikki [Kovalainen]. I know there’s a lot of support for both drivers out there, and in the paddock, but we have two new race drivers, two exciting talents, and while Heikki, Vitaly and Jarno (Trulli) are all very important parts of our history – who we remain good friends with – we need to look forwards.”

‘I know it will be very, very hard’ (ESPN)

“I think there are two targets: The first one is as I said to see where we are in Melbourne, progress through the year and see if we’re in position to score the team’s first point. Then the second objective is to prepare the team and prepare for 2014 because it will be a new car, new engine so a lot of things will change and I think it’s an opportunity for us to make an improvement.”

Bob Fernley says Adrian Sutil’s experience won him the second seat at Force India (Sky)

“We just felt Adrian has that bit more experience which will help us do what we need to do this year.”

Dino Zamparelli: Bristol driver sets sights on Formula 1 career (BBC)

“Having impressed during his first year in the FIA Formula Two Championship, Zamparelli has been signed to British-based Marussia and will be a part of the Formula 1 team’s young driver programme.”

BBC axe 2012 opening titles (F1 Broadcasting)

“I assume (and hope) that the new titles still contain The Chain, but the magazine makes no mention of this.”

Tweets

(“Hello everybody, it may seem cliche, but I’m doing absolutely everything possible to resolve the situation that they are all knowing. Thank you.”)

https://twitter.com/f1spannerman/status/307395027963895808

Comment of the day

@Randy on yesterday’s 3D versus Ultra HD debate:

I have been lucky enough to test top-of-the-line TV’s from Samsung, LG and Panasonic as a part of my job (training employees in our store chains to sell consumer electronics), therefore i was able to watch both passive and active 3D footage in both CCFL (cold-cathode fluorescent lamp) and LED LCDs and Plasma screens.

Honestly, all of them suck. All of them. For a person that don’t wear glasses yet saying that passive 3D glasses are more comfortable than active 3D glasses is like saying that malaria is the more comfortable disease than ebola (for those not in on the subject – passive glasses use Anaglyph film to distribute different images to both eyes, while active glasses use batteries to dim the shutters that block both your eyes 30 times a second each).

There are glasses-free TVs, but today their sweet spot is so narrow that even one person struggles to maintain position to reach any kind of visible effect, at the expense of having blurry, dreary image anywhere bar the center of the screen. […]

In my opinion Ultra HD is the way to go. Some say that you won’t even see the difference (since 40-inch HD TVs today reach 300 ppi – the maximum discernible by the human eye – when watched from 1.6 meters), but you will. Simply having more pixels mean more details can be reproduced, like the fabric of clothes or glittering of damp asphalt.

This all contributes to breaking the visible glass barrier that your eyes see so that you know you’re watching TV footage instead of the real thing. Immersible, detailed image with real (I mean real, more or less 100% of the sRGB palette, more than that distorts the colours) eye-popping colours watched in a right conditions will provide a more natural 3D effect than a retina-destroying glasses.
@Randy

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Kaushal!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

And happy birthday to former F1 driver Gabriele Tarquini, who is 51 today.

Tarquini was lumbered with some uncompetitive F1 cars at Osella, Coloni, AGS and Fondmetal in the late eighties and early nineties. He managed a single points finish with sixth place in the 1989 Mexican Grand Prix for AGS.

He continues to race in the World Touring Car Championship.

Image © Williams/LAT

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Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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43 comments on “Williams hopes for big things from Bottas”

  1. Heikki, Vitaly and Jarno are all very important parts of our history -who we remain good friends with

    And I tell you more, we’re still developing Jarno’s power steering !

    1. Ha ha. I had forgotten about that sorry saga.

    2. :)))) a good one :))

  2. …but the magazine makes no mention of this.

    Well, pick up the phone and find out, then! Surely this load of horsesh…meat isn’t among the day’s best reporting on F1. Glad to see the back of those titles though, they looked about 20 years old.

  3. What Cyril Abiteboul said:

    “I’d rather not look back and talk about either Vitaly [Petrov] or Heikki [Kovalainen]. I know there’s a lot of support for both drivers out there, and in the paddock, but we have two new race drivers, two exciting talents, and while Heikki, Vitaly and Jarno (Trulli) are all very important parts of our history – who we remain good friends with – we need to look forwards.”

    What I heard:

    “I’d rather not look back and talk about either Vitaly Petrov or Heikki Kovalainen, because we have two new drivers, and if they don’t live up to expectations, I’d rather not be reminded of the drivers we gave up for their sake and be constantly reminded of the mistake.”

    Weird, huh?

    1. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
      2nd March 2013, 13:36

      Actually I heard:

      I’d rather not look back and talk about either Vitaly Petrov, the man who rescued our 10th placed WCC ranking, or Heikki Kovalainen, the race winner that qualified us ahead of both Toro Rossos in Valencia last year, because we have two new drivers, and comparing the two line-ups may give me a nose-bleed. I’d rather not be reminded of Heikki’s majestic qualifying pace or Vitaly’s wet weather skill, because looking at our current line-up I may be too busy talking to the FIA. Please put that Russian ruble away, and put a hat over your blonde hair; you’re making me feel sick.

      Wow, the power of interpretation.

  4. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    2nd March 2013, 0:33

    I wouldn’t like being in Razias’s shoes. In what way could he attract more investors if a team like Marussia (I mean, we can think they were desperately needing some money leaking) has already dismissed him.
    Probably he can call Kamui to borrow some of his fundraising money.

    1. In what way could he attract more investors if a team like Marussia (I mean, we can think they were desperately needing some money leaking) has already dismissed him.

      Razia was let go because his sponsors could not or would not pay what they had agreed to pay. There’s a big difference between that and not being able to find enough sponsors to hold onto a seat.

  5. I hope Bottas beats Maldonado..

    What if it turns out the Williams wasn’t quick last year it was just Maldonado is the next Senna in qualifying trim..

    God forbid

    1. Why would that be a bad thing? If he stops crashing, talent is talent. I doubt he’s a Senna (Senna was an absolutely incredible qualifier) but I have no doubts he is very, very good when he’s not crashing into someone!

    2. Personally I would go as far as saying, at an educated guess, Maldonado is probably the top 5 in terms of raw (at least qualifying) pace. A lot would think that’s a bold claim, but I would put it out there for debate.

      Rather than believing that last year’s car was great, flattering their drivers, – I would look at how bad the FW33 was, and even against his vastly experienced teammate, he dragged it into Q3 on more than one occasion.

      1. I don’t think you’re wrong at all. Maldonado, whatever about his deficiencies in a race, is a fantastic qualifier. He put his car on the front row at Singapore last year. Any driver who does that at such a technical track is a great talent in my book.

      2. @vettel1 I’m just not a fan of Maldonado due to his actions on track and then, the comments denying responsabilityor saying he’d do the same thing again. Also running over a marshall isn’t cool

        I think he probably is a great qualifier, and can wring an extra tenth or 2 out an F1 car than most of the other drivers.

        However Bottas could show him up. The Williams couldv’e been better than the Ferrari but Bruno Senna was just not as quick in quali that year.

        This is probably the team mate battle that I’m most interested in

        1. This is probably the team mate battle that I’m most interested in

          Same here; I also want to see how Hamilton really compares to Rosberg and the Force India battle will be intriguing, but that I think will be the closest and most exciting!

      3. @electrolite I didn’t know Maldonado have taken the fw33 to q3, that’s quite impressive. If Bottas is even quicker and Maldonado has matured then Williams will probably have the best lineup below the top 5 teams

        1. Maldonado is a very dangerous driver. I don’t mean that the wrong way, I mean that he can be the dark horse at every circuit, because he really is talented.

          if he manages to spend a whole season driving like at Abu Dhabi, then he’s one of the stars of the grid. I hope he irons out mistakes, because it’s very exciting to see him drive..

      4. Maldonado really does look fast, but I don’t think that Senna can be used as a yardstick. This is the driver that got outqualified by Christian Klien by about a second after being away from F1 for a couple of years. It ought to be a good fight this year

        1. @hxcas – very true; Senna is easily one of the greatest (most probably the greatest) qualifiers in Formula 1 history. I wouldn’t go as far to say as Maldonado is at that stage, but I genuinely think given equal machinery he could perhaps even give the top two qualifiers (Vettel & Hamilton) a run for their money. I’m not standing by that with ultimate faith, but some of his performances in qualifying last year are the hallmark of a great talent.

          1. I should say I was only talking about the first part, of course Ayrton wasn’t outqualified by Klein by a second!

        2. Fernando Cruz
          2nd March 2013, 12:55

          HxCas, they were talking about Ayrton Senna , not Bruno, and getting outqualified by Christian Klien with an undriveable HRT is no yardstick. 7th at Spa in 2011 or putting the Lotus in Q3 four times in eight is a more accurate yardstick.

          The real yardstick for Maldonado is outqualifying Raikkonen at Spa or Vettel at Abu Dhabi with an inferior Williams, mainly due to a poor DRS. It is not outqualifying someone that didn’t have the same amount of track time of him and also had less experience with Williams.

      5. I have to say I’m wondering about the sheer speed of the fw34, because whilst it clearly wasn’t slow, Williams have been pretty much grinning from ear to ear about their new car, and it hasn’t shown any spectacular pace in preseason testing. Maybe it was just Maldonado getting absolutely everything out of the car? Or maybe they’ve just not shown their full hand yet on the fw35.

        He really is difficult to judge since he’s only had one year against an actual known driver and that was his rookie year, but he stood his own pretty well, better than Hulkenburg in fact (though obviously lacking that rather special Brazil pole!).

        I am of the opinion though that you could be right, his sheer aggresiveness may make him a bit of a liability in a crowd, but in terms of speed I’d say he is definitely there. The way I see it he has the potential to drive like Vettel does, we know he can soak up the pressure from behind.

        1. @skett – I think the Vettel comparison is a very good one: Vettel is a very quick qualifier also and, given the space in front, can soak up the pressure from behind and put in great results. Vettel however has also now learned how to drive in a pack, and has turned in to a very decent overtaker.

          Maldonado is still at Vettel’s junior stage: a very quick driver, but still prone to too many mistakes. Once he irons that out (and clams down!) he can be a very formidable driver I’m sure.

          1. Maldonado’s qualifying lap in Singapore was really one of “those” laps. The reason I’m saying that is because Singapore is such a technical track, where the barriers are so close, and the curbs are both bumpy yet provide grip. It is one of the few circuits today where drivers can actually make a legit circuit.

            That, on top of the fact that it was clear that Williams had a lot less downforce that McLaren.

  6. I didn’t know that IMG managed anybody at all, let alone Kovalainen.

    Also, I can’t believe how tiny an F1 driver looks in his car without a helmet and the cockpit insert.

    1. Abdurahman (@)
      2nd March 2013, 4:51

      “Also, I can’t believe how tiny an F1 driver looks in his car without a helmet and the cockpit insert.”

      that was my exact same thought, incredibly odd looking.

  7. Is it just my eyes – which sometimes play tricks on me when it comes to colours – or has the Marussia livery changed? Where ocne it was red and black with white, it now appears to be red, black and yellow-orange with white..

    1. It’s phone camera limitations and artificial light.

    2. nope, that’s just an overexposed picture, I guess because it was taken by Marussia and not a pro photographer, in a way is cool that you noticed, it means you’ve been spoiled with so many good F1 pictures :)

  8. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    2nd March 2013, 2:01

    Does anyone actually know why Razia was dropped from Marussia?

    He mentioned that he had some conflicts earlier, but i wasnt sure if that was personal, or with the team. I also heard that money was an issue, but they wouldn’t have recruited him in the first place if he didn’t have enough money right?

    1. Apparently the money due from Razia’s backers was payable in instalments. The first payment was made, and Razia was announced as the second 2013 driver. However, the second payment which was due before the Barcelona test wasn’t made, hence he didn’t drive in the second test. Despite being given a little more time, the money for the second instalment didn’t turn up and Marussia ran out of patience.

      1. Which they are well within their rights to do.

        1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
          2nd March 2013, 6:39

          Agreed

          1. The only reason why I say this is because I’ve noticed that people are trying to make out that the situation with Razia is similar to or the same as the situation with Glock. And while it ultimately does come down to money, how the team arrived at the point where they had to let those drivers go is very different in each case.

        2. I agree with that as well, there was a payment plan, and when it did not arrive, that is the end of it. From what Razia says about it himself, Marussia did a lot to try and save the situation and keep him in the car, but it seems to no avail:

          “I understand the position of Marussia and I like the team. They treated me very nicely there and, to be honest, they were trying to sort out the situation for me.
          “They chose me because they wanted me there in the first place, so there are no hard feelings.
          “It is also fair to say that Bianchi had a difficult situation and, to be honest, he deserved the drive.”

          Also nice to see he sees its great for Bianchi to get his shot at it, after first losing out on the FI drive.

  9. So now Hamilton apologizes in twitter and contacts via email. But when will he top this all up by breaking up with GF over the phone by leaving a message to the answering machine?

    1. He won’t because he will asking him to forgive him and take him back first!

  10. Has everyone seen Sauber’s top effort with a Harlem Shake Attempt!
    Esteban and the mechanics played their parts perfectly.
    Please tell me Keith was around to see this live :P

  11. Personally I don’t understand the fuss about Bottas being such a great talent at all, I mean really what has he achieved? He’s won a GP3 title and that’s all. Now of course he never raced in GP2 or F3.5 so he never got the chance to prove his worth there but Gutierrez was a GP3 champion as well and yet people seem to rate him as a pay-driver only…

    1. Because Bottas has been putting pressure on the race drivers with his FP performacnes as a reserve, a la Hulkenberg.

      1. Also I believe he’s finished top 3 in every full junior championship he’s done.

        1. @david-a

          Also I believe he’s finished top 3 in every full junior championship he’s done.

          Indeed he has. The same cannot be said of Gutierrez however, and I think he may not be rated as highly because he largely disappointed in GP2. We’ll see how he fares against Hulkenberg though, who I think everyone agrees is a very good driver.

  12. Ben (@scuderia29)
    2nd March 2013, 18:05

    i dont know why…but i DO think Bottas will be the next big thing

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