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Rookies of 2013 (26 posts)

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Prisoner Monkeys said 8 months ago:

As for Ma, there is an interesting article on him and the FIA Super Licences on Autosport Plus. Edd Straw argues that Ma clearly doesn’t meet the requirements to be granted a Super Licence. He should have to ‘have consistently demonstrated outstanding ability in single-seater formula cars’ but he clearly hasn’t done that. Neither does he fulfil any of the other conditions.

A driver only needs to complete 300km of testing in a Formula 1 car to be elegible for a superlicence.

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Girts said 8 months ago:

@prisoner-monkeys This is what the article 5.1.2 of Appendix L says:

f) be judged by the FIA to have consistently demonstrated outstanding ability in single-seater formula cars, but with no opportunity to qualify under any of c) to e) above. In this case the F1 team concerned must show that the applicant has driven at least 300 km in a current Formula One car consistently at racing speeds, over a maximum period of 2 days, completed not more than 90 days prior to the application and certified by the ASN of the country in which the test took place.

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Prisoner Monkeys said 8 months ago:

You do realise that’s written in such a way that it gives the FIA the power to grant a superlicence to anyone they see fit, right? It’s a loophole they’ve written for themselves. You can tell because it is a qualitative, rather than quantitative, criteria, and so is open to interpretation. There is probably no defintiion of what “consistently demonstrated outstanding ability in single-seater formula cars” actually means.

It remains to be verified, of course, but it appears fairly obvious that HRT approached the FIA and told them they had the chance to secure funding that would guarantee their immediate future, but in order to get it, Ma needed to get some track time at Grands Prix. Given the weight of this situation, the FIA probably agreed that they could issue a superlicence for the time being. I believe they gave Ho-Pin Tung a superlicence that was valid for four races late in 2010, though he never used it. They’ve probably done the same thing here, and if HRT want to promote Ma to a full-time race seat, then they will probably examine him a little bit more critically.

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Ral said 8 months ago:

On the topic of Ma’s superlicence, does anyone know if the rules on that were changed relatiely recently and if so, when? Because I seem to remember Loeb was expressly denied a superlicence and he wasn’t in contention for a race seat, he was merely trying to arrange a test day for himself. Unless I am mis-remembering that bit :)

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Prisoner Monkeys said 8 months ago:

The rules have not been changed for years. You don’t need a superlicence to test a car. You don’t even need one to drive down pit lane. You just cannot leave pit lane without one.

If memory serves, Sebastien Loeb wanted to drive one of the Toro Rossos at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. he applied to the FIA to receive one, but they rejected it because the World Rally Championship is not recognised as a series that a driver can earn a superlicence from. He actually did test a GP2 car at one point, but he was horrendously off the pace, and the idea of racing in Formula 1 was quietly dropped.

Anyway, I would not be surprised to see Max Chilton racing for Marussia next year. He’s had some very strong outings in GP2 – he’s currently beating the highly-rated James Calado, and is just three points behind third-placed Esteban Gutiérrez. Add to that two race wins, a handful of podiums and some very consistent points-scoring – aided in no small part by Carlin’s massive improvement this year – and I’d say he’s certainly done enough to justify a chance at a Formula 1 seat, but he’s going to have to work very hard to shake the mantle of pay driver.

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Fixy said 8 months ago:

@Girts It’s difficult to judge Chilton. His first season was with ORT, who have never been very competitive. Then he went on to a new team with Carlin, and was the only one of their four drivers to score points, on three occasions. Definitely Carlin had no experience and found themselves in a difficult position, but after all GP2 cars are all the same and this should help driver talent to show itself more than the car’s speed. This year however he has impressed me like Cecotto, because these two drivers which I thought were no good were capable of achieving great results. Chilton has consistently scored points and finished 4th this year, like Pic last season, although I think the Brit has been better than the Frenchman. Still it’s GP2, which should have the best drivers out of F1. If you can finish 4th out of 26 starters, winning races, taking podiums and pole positions, you are good enough for F1. But currently I think probably 23 out of 24 F1 drivers are better than Chilton. He could replace Pic at Marussia but nothing better unless he proves himself.
Of course if we continue on saying that GP2 drivers win only because of their experience we’ll never see them in F1. Did Alonso win the title in his first season with Minardi? Or even in his second for Renault? GP2 cars are the same to start with, but some teams are better than others in setting the car up, planning strategies etc. Chilton was amongst the fastest this year, although I wouldn’t credit him as the 4th best. Based on talent I think if some F1 drivers left the series he could jump in, but there are plenty I’d rather choose.

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Girts said 8 months ago:

@Fixy Many thanks for the good analysis!

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mojopixel said 8 months ago:

So who should be given a chance of a race seat in F1 next year?

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Prisoner Monkeys said 8 months ago:

Haven’t you been reading this thread?

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Keith Collantine said 8 months ago:

Frijns increased his championship lead in Hungary with another win and a good drive after a poor start in the second race to pull out more of a gap over Bianchi. He’s up against some very tough competition and beating them. Really hope he gets a proper F1 shot. Sauber would be a good destination for him.

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Enigma said 5 months, 3 weeks ago:

So it’s Gutierrez and Bottas so far, with Chilton looking a sure thing at Marussia. Someone like Bianchi or van der Garde might get the chance as well.

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