Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

Only 25 days until Austrailia! The F1 season is getting ever closer. Second round of testing got underway today at Catalunya. Williams finally revelaed their car this morning. Even without a stepped nose I find it to be ugly. Force India still doesn't have second driver. The media seems to think it comes down to Sutil and Bianchi. Personally I would like to see Sutil back in F1 but my guess is that Ferrari will throw money at FI and that will swing the seat to Bianchi.

Indycar testing started today at Sebring. AJ Almendinger getting a test with Penske. It will be interesting to see his times.

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

BTW, I always felt that John Andretti was the most talented second generation Andretti. I raced against him in Skip Barber Formula Ford (along with Jeff Andretti). Needless to say, John kicked my, and the rest of the field's, *ss.

I believe that John is still the only driver to get at least one race win in Indycar (CART? or whatever they were calling it then), NASCAR Winston Cup, and a round in NHRA (Top Fuel Dragster, IIRC). That is pretty impressive diversity.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I believe that John is still the only driver to get at least one race win in Indycar (CART? or whatever they were calling it then), NASCAR Winston Cup, and a round in NHRA (Top Fuel Dragster, IIRC). That is pretty impressive diversity.

Yes it is. He actually won two rounds in NHRA Top Fuel before losing in the semifinals. It was CART where he won the Indycar race at Surfers. And he's been fairly successful at sports car racing as well.

I really appreciate drivers who diversify (which is why I like Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon, even though they both can be jerks at times), especially in today's day and age of specialization. It appears John is teaching his son, Jarett, the same thing, as Jarett is involved in all sorts of series.

 

[RaceBoarder]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I believe that John is still the only driver to get at least one race win in Indycar (CART? or whatever they were calling it then), NASCAR Winston Cup, and a round in NHRA (Top Fuel Dragster, IIRC). That is pretty impressive diversity.

To be fair, what other drivers even attempted all 3 disciplines though? I know you had Cruz Pedragon (maybe?) try some IROC, and I know Richard Petty did NHRA for a year because NASCAR peeved off Chrysler... That's all I got though... Can't think of any NHRA/Open Wheel connections...

 

[Russell Jaslow]

To be fair, what other drivers even attempted all 3 disciplines though? I know you had Cruz Pedragon (maybe?) try some IROC, and I know Richard Petty did NHRA for a year because NASCAR peeved off Chrysler... That's all I got though... Can't think of any NHRA/Open Wheel connections...

True. For any of the other disciplines to try NHRA is extremely rare. But still pretty cool.

Nonetheless, diversity can take on many different disciplines. Thus, my comments about Stewart and Robby Gordon.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I believe that John is still the only driver to get at least one race win in Indycar (CART? or whatever they were calling it then), NASCAR Winston Cup, and a round in NHRA (Top Fuel Dragster, IIRC). That is pretty impressive diversity.

Say what you want about his diversity, but he was never really that good of a driver.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

Say what you want about his diversity, but he was never really that good of a driver.

I raced against John Andretti. He was freaking amazing with his car control. He never had the equipment Michael had in Indy cars, and the Petty team was worthless in NASCAR.

True, sometimes athletes never pan out in the majors after showing great promise, but to say he was never really that good of a driver is not knowing all the facts.

On the other hand, Jeff Andretti, whom I also raced against, was never really that good of a driver.

 

[RaceBoarder]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

True. For any of the other disciplines to try NHRA is extremely rare. But still pretty cool.

Nonetheless, diversity can take on many different disciplines. Thus, my comments about Stewart and Robby Gordon.

And I 100% agree with the comments on those two as well... It's actually kinda funny seeing another Robby fan here on USCHO seeing as that I would be lucky to see 2-3 others for an entire NASCAR weekend at races I attended

What I find more interesting about those two is the business sense they show for racing... Both are deeply involved in promoting the racing business... Tony has made several key improvements at Eldora and seems to be doing well there (despite what "old tyme-ers" write about him on the internet in places like 4m )... Robby seems to be doing well on the off-road side of things with his venture with the STADIUM SUPER TRUCK series... Really looking forward to seeing that in person in Chicago this June... In both cases, these guys will be involved in the sport for a long time after their driving days are past them...

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I am excited to read that Sutil is going to get the second seat at Force India! Even though he's probably buying his seat, he's a good driver as he has shown in the past and I think he will quickly outpace di Resta.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I am excited to read that Sutil is going to get the second seat at Force India! Even though he's probably buying his seat, he's a good driver as he has shown in the past and I think he will quickly outpace di Resta.

When did you read this? Because I just read an article which essentially said, "Not so fast."

The whole Force India second seat saga is getting tiring. Almost as bad as the sequestration hullabaloo.

I, too, would like to see Sutil get the ride. I think he's good and has potential. But, I'll believe it when the grid lines up at Melbourne....

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

When did you read this? Because I just read an article which essentially said, "Not so fast."

The whole Force India second seat saga is getting tiring. Almost as bad as the sequestration hullabaloo.

I, too, would like to see Sutil get the ride. I think he's good and has potential. But, I'll believe it when the grid lines up at Melbourne....

Sutil to get Force India Seat

Seems pretty official to me.

 

[Timothy A]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I raced against John Andretti. He was freaking amazing with his car control. He never had the equipment Michael had in Indy cars, and the Petty team was worthless in NASCAR.

My point is solely based on my observations on the tele and a few races I saw in person.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

Sutil to get Force India Seat

Seems pretty official to me.

Having denied it was a done deal mere hours ago, Adrian Sutil's manager now sounds certain the 30-year-old has secured a Force India race seat for 2013.

"It looks like it has worked out," Manfred Zimmermann told the Kolner Express newspaper.

"I've heard that Nicolas Todt told French reporters that Jules Bianchi is out of the race," 30-year-old Sutil's manager added.

"We still have to wait for the official confirmation of the team," Zimmermann said.

See how it can make your head spin?

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I'm not sure if this is really a step forward, but Alexander Rossi has been named again as a Caterham reserve driver along with Ma Qing Hua. Supposedly Rossi is going to get "significant" FP1 time this season and be traveling to all of the GP's. For those who don't know, Rossi was one of the reserve drivers for Caterham last season but was rarely at any of the GP's and only drove in one FP thos whole season. I think it was mostly due to scheduling conflict with Renault F3.5 which he was driving in.

Also, rumor is Rossi is going to be named as the second Caterham GP2 driver. This would be a good step for him. Although I am not positive the conpetition is any better than F3.5.

Maybe we will get to see another American in Formula One in the next year or two if Rossi continues to progress.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

I'm not sure if this is really a step forward, but Alexander Rossi has been named again as a Caterham reserve driver along with Ma Qing Hua. Supposedly Rossi is going to get "significant" FP1 time this season and be traveling to all of the GP's. For those who don't know, Rossi was one of the reserve drivers for Caterham last season but was rarely at any of the GP's and only drove in one FP thos whole season. I think it was mostly due to scheduling conflict with Renault F3.5 which he was driving in.

Also, rumor is Rossi is going to be named as the second Caterham GP2 driver. This would be a good step for him. Although I am not positive the conpetition is any better than F3.5.

Maybe we will get to see another American in Formula One in the next year or two if Rossi continues to progress.

If he is named as a GP2 driver, that will be great. Otherwise, I fear his career is stalling. And being named as a reserve driver for Caterham is essentially useless no matter how much he gets to drive.

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

If he is named as a GP2 driver, that will be great. Otherwise, I fear his career is stalling. And being named as a reserve driver for Caterham is essentially useless no matter how much he gets to drive.

I'm not quite sure how you can call his career as stalling quite yet even if he does not run GP2. Being a full time reserve driver for Caterham isn't a bad move. Being at every GP, running FP1, and showing good pace would serve him well. History is full of reserve drivers replacing race drivers mid-season or getting a race seat the next season. It's much better than being relagated to running some obsecure series or running F3.5 again. Caterham isn't a good team, but who do you expect an American to break in with? Ferrari? McLaren? Let's face it, getting any American in any race seat is a step forward.


On another note...there is an article at BBC which states that basically Honda is returning to F1 to supply engines to McLaren in 2015. It will be interesting to see if it does happen and if that combination can repeat past success of the 1980's.

 

[solovsfett]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I'm not quite sure how you can call his career as stalling quite yet even if he does not run GP2. Being a full time reserve driver for Caterham isn't a bad move. Being at every GP, running FP1, and showing good pace would serve him well. History is full of reserve drivers replacing race drivers mid-season or getting a race seat the next season. It's much better than being relagated to running some obsecure series or running F3.5 again. Caterham isn't a good team, but who do you expect an American to break in with? Ferrari? McLaren? Let's face it, getting any American in any race seat is a step forward.


On another note...there is an article at BBC which states that basically Honda is returning to F1 to supply engines to McLaren in 2015. It will be interesting to see if it does happen and if that combination can repeat past success of the 1980's.

totally agree on Rossi, any seat time is good seat time for an American.

Re: Honda and Mclaren. Honda are far to proud an organization to accept anything less than WDC's again. This news may have Hamilton a bit envious, though if the Barcelona tests are an indicator, Mercedes may have a decent shot this season of some wins

 

[alfablue]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

totally agree on Rossi, any seat time is good seat time for an American.

Re: Honda and Mclaren. Honda are far to proud an organization to accept anything less than WDC's again. This news may have Hamilton a bit envious, though if the Barcelona tests are an indicator, Mercedes may have a decent shot this season of some wins

Having seen his interview on Top Gear, I kind of doubt that. Honda may come up with a brilliant solution, sure (but they may not as well- this engine isn't like what they have done in the past), but Hamilton did need a change in view. He'd been with McLaren since he was 14, and you could see his attitude change over the last few years. Whether it be issues with personel or just being the same for so long, I don't think it matters. Just making a change like that will be a big deal.

Now, on the Honda side of things- IMHO, that's what the new rules should see in terms of change- the new rules should make F1 engines more relvant to OEM's, so that they could take some of the data and tech and put it on their road cars. As it stands, F1 engines are completely irrelevant, which is why you see so few willing to invest the money to have their name on the valve covers. If the engines are both cheaper and relevant, perhaps we will see a trend of companies coming back.

At one time, you saw derivatives of F1 engines in endurance car racing (Alfa, Ferrari, Cosworth all had derivatives running at LeMans- or more correctly, the Alfa F1 motor came from the endurance car). Now, F1 engines are totally single purpose. It would be nice to see them "sharing" again.

 

[Russell Jaslow]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

I'm not quite sure how you can call his career as stalling quite yet even if he does not run GP2. Being a full time reserve driver for Caterham isn't a bad move. Being at every GP, running FP1, and showing good pace would serve him well. History is full of reserve drivers replacing race drivers mid-season or getting a race seat the next season. It's much better than being relagated to running some obsecure series or running F3.5 again. Caterham isn't a good team, but who do you expect an American to break in with? Ferrari? McLaren? Let's face it, getting any American in any race seat is a step forward.

Rossi has already run two years in the World Series of Renault. And that second year, he actuallly did "worse" in the sense that he got beat by his teammate more so than in the first year. Not good for somone returning to a series. If he does run GP2, he would be running in a top rung development series for three years in a row. That's call stalling. These days, drivers can't hang around in development series that long to be taken seriously. Haven't you ever heard David Hobbs...

There is nothing wrong with being a reserve driver. Unless you are a reserve driver on Caterham coupled with possibly approaching your third year in a development series. What opportunity can he possibly have at Caterham even if he does get to run a GP for an injured driver? The car is so bad, no matter how good you are, you are never going to be able to strut your stuff.

Don't get me wrong. I would like nothing else than to see Rossi succeed, and I concur with your statement about American drivers. However, as you know, F1 is a cruel, cruel buisness. And unless you are an obvious mega-talent (like Vettel) or have the backing of someone who really wants to see you succeed (like the Mexican drivers curently have from Slim or Susie Wolff has from Bernie, and she isn't half the driver Rossi is), than you are usually sh*t out of luck.

 

[MattS]

Re: Open Wheel Racing 2013...year of the driver swap!

Rossi has already run two years in the World Series of Renault. And that second year, he actuallly did "worse" in the sense that he got beat by his teammate more so than in the first year. Not good for somone returning to a series. If he does run GP2, he would be running in a top rung development series for three years in a row. That's call stalling. These days, drivers can't hang around in development series that long to be taken seriously. Haven't you ever heard David Hobbs...

There is nothing wrong with being a reserve driver. Unless you are a reserve driver on Caterham coupled with possibly approaching your third year in a development series. What opportunity can he possibly have at Caterham even if he does get to run a GP for an injured driver? The car is so bad, no matter how good you are, you are never going to be able to strut your stuff.

Don't get me wrong. I would like nothing else than to see Rossi succeed, and I concur with your statement about American drivers. However, as you know, F1 is a cruel, cruel buisness. And unless you are an obvious mega-talent (like Vettel) or have the backing of someone who really wants to see you succeed (like the Mexican drivers curently have from Slim or Susie Wolff has from Bernie, and she isn't half the driver Rossi is), than you are usually sh*t out of luck.

I think your being overly critical of Rossi's progression. History, and even current history is full of drivers who have had, according to what I am getting from your post, careers which have stalled or even regressed, and yet made a good/decent F1 career (ref. Massa, Grojean). I agree that this past season was not a good one for him as far as results but I think his overall pace and driving skills were better. However, I do not agree at all with you about stalling, at least in the sense that his talent is hindering him. I think it has much more to do with him being an American and not having the money or political backing that European or South American drivers do. He just does not have the available avenues to obtain money that European or South American drivers do. Unless a Bill Gates, T. Boone Pickens, or Warren Buffett suddenly decide to start backing him he's always going to have an uphill battle finding money to run a European series.

As far as reserve driving, I really do not think it matters at all how good the car is. Beat your teammate first and foremost. Then if opportunity arises, provide a unexpected good result (for the car). That is all one could ask for in being a reserve driver for most teams (non Ferrari, RB, McLaren).

I have no delusions about Rossi. He might never drive in F1 GP, and might never win a GP, and most certainly will not ever win a WDC. But I think it's a bit too early to totally write him off, which is kind of what I am gathering from your posts.



On an semi-related note....I am wondering now that Chavez has decided to depart the Earth, if Maldonado will be in jeopardy of losing his seat. I would stake a ton of money that he's at least partially buying his ride at Williams. Heck, even EJ Viso might not have the funding for his team now in Indycar. Best of all I am certain this will kill the "career" of Milka Duno!