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- 1st August 2013, 20:43 at 8:43 pm #239690Felipe BomenyParticipant
Best GP2 Driver – Felipe Nasr
Best GP3 Driver – Facundo Regalia
Best FR3.5 Driver – Kevin Magnussen
Best Formula 3 Driver (any F3 series) – Raffaele Marciello
Best Young Driver in another series (DTM, AutoGP, etc.) – Antonio Fuoco
Best Driver In A New Series – Stoffel Vandoorne
Most Overrated Driver – Antonio Felix da Costa
Most Disappointing Driver – Daniel Abt
Most Overlooked Driver – Nico Müller
Most Improved Driver – Stéphane Richelmi
Best Overall F1 Prospect – Felipe Nasr27th July 2013, 20:16 at 8:16 pm #239473Felipe BomenyParticipantIt depends on the pay drivers. If, for example, Nasr or Juncadella wound up at Sauber, nobody would doubt their talent, even if they were technically signing as pay drivers. Sauber’s desperate times called for desperate measures, however. And in the midst of Sauber’s financial woes, a pay driver has been signed to possibly race for them in 2014. Sergey Sirotkin is a pay driver. Obviously, this term carries a negative connotation owing from the wealthy underachievers of the sport. Sergey Sirotkin, however, is no slowpoke. In signing him, the team may have found the next Raikkonen. If Sirotkin can adapt and the team can nurture him into a competitive F1 driver, he’ll be likened to Sergio Perez instead of Vitaly Petrov, for example. Peter Sauber has always had an eye for talent. In Sirtokin, Sauber is taking a gamble: everyone agrees he needs more time in the junior formulae. However, the team isn’t unreasonable; they know that Sirotkin is a far better driver than Ma Qinghua or Ricardo Teixeira. If Sirotkin races for Sauber in 2014, the team will receive the money they need and may even produce a real F1 talent should their gamble pay off.
27th July 2013, 20:02 at 8:02 pm #239415Felipe BomenyParticipantIn terms of pure pace, I believe Frijns, Wickens, Magnussen, da Costa, Nasr, Vietoris, and Bird all deserve to be in F1 one day. Vandoorne and Stevens need more time in an F1 car before they step up, but I think in terms of speed they should be among the 22 (or 26, according to OP) drivers of the future F1 grid. Furthermore, Valsecchi and Razia should receive the opportunity to race in at least one grand prix, although I don’t rate these two as highly as the other drivers I’ve mentioned.
Last year, I was very impressed by James Calado in GP2, although his performance has been mixed this year. I’m still not sold on him, but I think he has the potential. Sirotkin also has a lot of potential, but I have doubts about his readiness for F1. Like Gutierrez, he’s quick, somewhat rough around the edges, and too immature for F1 (at least at the moment) in my opinion.
Glock, Kovalainen, Kobayashi, and Alguersuari are all F1 have-beens. They had their time in F1; now it is time for the next generation of F1 drivers to succeed them.
25th July 2013, 4:33 at 4:33 am #239310Felipe BomenyParticipantThe Spanish press is reporting that Dani Clos will partner Daniel de Jong at MP for Hungary.
Regarding Frijns, talent isn’t the only prerequisite for graduating to F1. Frijns has heaps of talent, but he’s really hurt his own image with his arrogance and poor PR skills. There was an Autosport article published a year ago that stated that Frijns could be really stubborn and difficult to work with, although the talent was there. Frijns famously refused support from the Red Bull junior team, and that has proven to be a mistake, at least at the moment. Sauber probably won’t have any room for a driver with little backing, let alone a rookie. With Sirotkin in one car, the team will ostensibly want a more experienced driver, such as Bianchi, as team leader, effectively excluding Frijns. Meanwhile, Antonio Felix da Costa is almost guaranteed an F1 seat next year while Frijns will probably search for another category. @rjoconnell I think Frijns will end up in DTM, most likely with Merc, considering he’s tested with them before.
21st July 2013, 22:30 at 10:30 pm #229692Felipe BomenyParticipant@formula-1 JEV doesn’t have any formal ties to Total, as far as I know, because Toro Rosso is sponsored by Cepsa. However, Total is known to support French drivers. In fact, the company was instrumental in renewing Grosjean’s contract for 2013, although rumours suggested they were displeased with his frequent crashing. Also, Total sponsors Red Bull Racing. So I think JEV could wind up at Lotus with a situation like this:
1. Grosjean has a messy end to his 2013 season with frequent crashes.
2. Lotus keep Raikkonen but are hesitant to renew Grosjean’s contract because Total fears his image will ruin their safe driving program.
3. Meanwhile at Toro Rosso, JEV and Ricciardo vie for the second Red Bull seat.
4. JEV receives support from Total but Ricciardo is ultimately chosen as Webber’s successor.
5. Total draft JEV to replace countryman Grosjean at Lotus.Toro Rosso would now have to vacant seats. Antonio Felix da Costa would be the natural favourite for a Toro Rosso drive. His teammate, however, would not be Sainz Jnr nor Kvyat. Sainz still needs a full year of Formula Renault 3.5, as does Kvyat. Helmut Marko wants the next two Vettels, not the next two Alguersuaris. Therefore, I think the second Toro Rosso seat will go to a well-financed driver, be it Coletti, Nasr, or Maldonado.
21st July 2013, 16:43 at 4:43 pm #229683Felipe BomenyParticipantRed Bull: Vettel/Ricciardo
Mercedes: Hamilton/Rosberg
Lotus: Raikkonen/Vergne
Ferrari: Alonso/Hulkenberg
Force India: di Resta/Magnussen
McLaren: Button/Perez
Toro Rosso: da Costa/Nasr
Sauber: Sirotkin/Bianchi
Williams: Bottas/Juncadella
Caterham: Pic/Rossi
Marussia: Chilton/Coletti21st July 2013, 16:30 at 4:30 pm #239211Felipe BomenyParticipantItaliaracing is reporting that Magnussen has been penalized in race 2 for exceeding track limits. Magnussen drops to third, behind Melker.
10th July 2013, 15:49 at 3:49 pm #229652Felipe BomenyParticipantI’ll take a shot at it again.
Red Bull:
1. Vettel
2. Raikkonen
(Buemi)Mercedes:
3. Hamilton
4. Rosberg
(Jaafar, Bird)Ferrari:
5. Alonso
6. Hülkenberg
(Marciello)PDVSA Lotus:
7. Maldonado
8. Magnussen
(Valsecchi, Prost)Force India:
9. di Resta
10. Sutil
(Calado)McLaren:
11. Button
12. Perez
(Gutierrez, Vandoorne)Toro Rosso
14. Ricciardo
15. Felix da Costa
(Sainz, Kvyat)SMP Sauber
16. Bianchi
17. Aleshin
(Frijns, Orudzhev)OGX Williams
18. Bottas
19. Nasr
(Juncadella)Caterham
20. Pic
21. Vergne
(Stevens)Marussia
22. Chilton
23. Coletti
(Ellinas)13th June 2013, 5:14 at 5:14 am #168216Felipe BomenyParticipantAlongside Cevert and Pryce, I’d add Bellof and Rindt to the list of drivers who could have achieved more had they not lost their lives to soon.
As for poor career choices, Emmo could have won more titles had he stuck with McLaren as opposed to Copersucar. His IndyCar successes proves that he could have become a triple or quadruple champion with McLaren. Timo Glock made a similar poor decision, turning down a drive with Renault in favor of Virgin/Marussia.
Karl Wendlinger was once regarded as a bright prospect from his Mercedes days with Michael Schumacher. His crash in Monaco virtually ended his Formula 1 career and shook his confidence. The Brazilian duo of Ricardo Zonta and Antonio Pizzonia were also highly-rated in the junior formulae but never really succeeded in F1. Likewise, the infamous duo of Vincenzo Sospiri and Ricardo Rosset were successful in F3000.
Ukyo Katayama was very quick in 1994 but was let down by reliability. It was rumored he was offered a drive at Benetton but turned it down due to his cancer, marking another wasted talent. In a similar and more recent scenario, Dean Stoneman looked set for a bright future in open-wheel racing until his diagnosis of testicular cancer.
There are plenty of talented drivers in the junior categories who couldn’t or can’t graduate to F1 or IndyCar due to budget constraints. The most obvious examples in my mind right now are Albert Costa and Luca Filippi.
But I think a really obvious example of a wasted talent is Derek Warwick, who was snubbed from Lotus by Ayrton Senna. After impressing at Renault, Warwick could have won races in the Lotus 98t but is now regarded as a what-if.
28th May 2013, 18:42 at 6:42 pm #229627Felipe BomenyParticipantI’ll try as well:
RED BULL-INFINITI:
1. Vettel, 2. RicciardoAfter a close duel between Red Bull juniors Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, the former is promoted, in part due to his marketable image. The ousted Romain Grosjean signs on as the reserve.
FERRARI
3. Alonso, 4. HulkenbergNico Hulkeneberg finally receives his big break after his tough year with Sauber.
LOTUS-FERRARI
5. Raikkonen, 6. BianchiKimi Raikkonen remains at Lotus, where he has built the team around him. Unable to afford Renault engines, Lotus sign for Ferrari engines and along with them, Jules Bianchi.
MERCEDES
7. Rosberg, 8. Hamilton
With Sam Bird being promoted to Force India, Jazeman Jaafar fills his role.FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES
9. Sutil, 10. Bird
It’s an all-Mercedes affair for the Indian team. Di Resta becomes a Mercedes reserve after being beaten by Sutil at the end of 2013. Robert Wickens signs as a reserve.McLAREN-MERCEDES
11. Button, 12. PerezTORO ROSSO-RENAULT
14. Vergne, 15. Felix da Costa
(Sainz Jr. as the reserve)SAUBER-FERRARI
16. Gutierrez, 17. Frijns
(Nico Müller signs as the reserve)Williams-Mercedes
18. Bottas, 19. NasrAfter being outperformed by his rookie teammate, Pastor Maldonado is overlooked in favor of Felipe Nasr. Valterri Bottas remains as his teammate as he looks toward a future Mercedes F1 switch. Meanwhile, Maldonado joins EJ Viso’s Team Venezuela effort in IndyCar. Daniel Juncadella signs as the reserve.
MARUSSIA-FERRARI
20. Chilton, 21. ColettiGP2 frontrunner Coletti partners Max Chilton at Marussia. Raffaele Maricelo, the F3 Euro champ, signs on as the third driver in anticipation of a future Ferrari switch.
CATERHAM-RENAULT
22. Pic, 23. RossiAlexander Rossi’s GE backing is instrumental in his signing to the F1 team. Renault man Charles Pic remains with the Anglo-Malaysian squad.
27th May 2013, 20:48 at 8:48 pm #229612Felipe BomenyParticipantThe focus of the silly season is now Romain Grosjean after an erratic weekend in Monaco. The Frenchman seems to have lost some confidence and is looking weaker alongside a resurgent Kimi Raikkonen. While many rumours suggest Red Bull will sign the Finn, it is still too early in the season to know for certain.
A major variable in Red Bull’s selection of Vettel’s teammate is that of the Toro Rosso duel. As of Monaco, Ricciardo holds the upper hand by two points. Helmut Marko himself has said Ricciardo is currently the better driver because Vergne is “too impulsive”. However, Vergne put in a fine performance at Monaco. It is still too early to determine who will emerge victorious within the teammate battle, and if Ricciardo or Vergne deliver enough, they might be promoted to RBR.
Grosjean carries significant sponsorship from Total, which keeps him tied to the Lotus team. Should he continue his crashing antics, Total could drop him because his image would not correspond with the brand’s safe driving program. Jean-Eric Vergne, a fellow Frenchman, could be an interesting option should both Grosjean and Raikkonen leave. Felipe Nasr is an attractive candidate due to his hefty Brazilian sponsorship and strong GP2 record this year. Considering Lotus’ financial woes, the Enstone team might have to resort to well-funded drivers.
Williams is close to announcing Mercedes power. This follows after the team’s new partnership with Kazakh consortium TAK. Interestingly enough, Daniel Juncadella is a Mercedes Junior driver and carries Kazakh sponsorship. While he needs another year in DTM, could we see the Spaniard in a Williams-Mercedes car in 2015?
5th May 2013, 0:04 at 12:04 am #236274Felipe BomenyParticipant@rjoconnell Bottas is considered a Zandvoort specialist, having won the F3 Masters twice. He also has a strong track record at the German circuits due to his F3 Euroseries and Formula Renault experience. Therefore, one can expect him to be strong in Germany, Budapest (where he took a pole in GP3), and Silverstone. He’s won at both the Nurburgring and Hockenheim in different categories, so I’m excited to see what he can achieve at those circuits.
26th April 2013, 10:47 at 10:47 am #213193Felipe BomenyParticipant18th April 2013, 2:00 at 2:00 am #195482Felipe BomenyParticipantF1: Sebastian Vettel
WSR: Antonio Felix da Costa
Euro FR2.0: Oscar Tunjo
FR2.0 NEC: Matt Parry
FR2.0 Alps: Bruno BonifacioGP2: Felipe Nasr
GP3: Conor Daly OR Tio Ellinas- depends whether or not Daly signs up.AutoGP: Kimiya Sato
FIA Euro F3: Raffaele Maricello
European (Spanish) F3 Open: Nelson Mason
F3 Sudamericana: Felipe Guimaraes
German F3: Marvin KirchhoferADAC Formel Masters: Callan O’Keeffe
Formula Abarth: Simone IaquintaIndyCar: Will Power
Indy Lights: Carlos Munoz
Formula Mazda: Matthew Brabham
US F2000: Scott HargroveDTM: Edoardo Mortara
WTCC: Yvan MullerWRC: Sebastien Ogier
14th April 2013, 20:53 at 8:53 pm #213177Felipe BomenyParticipant@fixy I’m also surprised Tio Ellinas has yet to be confirmed. I think ART are hesitant to sign Daly because they’re not sure about his GP2 programme. He also has his Indy 500 commitment so he’ll definitely be very busy this year. As for the other drivers that have tested for ART, Ghirelli might focus on AutoGP whereas Siddiqi does not deserve a drive on merit. Siddiqi is easily one of the worst drivers in professional open-wheel racing right now. If they don’t sign Daly, I suspect they might chase after Williamson should Bamboo confirm McKee and Guimaraes.
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