GPWizard F1 Forum
F1 News & Discussions => General F1 Discussion => Topic started by: F1fanaticBD on July 15, 2013, 06:34:23 PM
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Sauber was facing a uphill battle against steep economic struggle, and this may look like a life-line for the team for the time being, but I do have some sort of question about the drivers line they have to deal with. Now with this agreement, they will be slotting two pay-drivers to achieve results to sustain themselves in the F1 world. How much of success these two will bring, I have genuine doubt about that. Surely Nico Hulkenberg is on the exit route to where we don't know it yet, but my money is in Lotus, though are talks about being in the Ferrari as well.
http://en.espnf1.com/sauber/motorsport/story/116371.html
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Glad Sauber has got some funding that it badly needs, :good: it was always going to come with stings attached so a Russian rookie is no real surprise. In fact Sauber has a reputation for taking drivers with next to no experience, Kimi is a fine example, so giving a young Russian a seat is probably no hardship for Peter or his team.
I seem to recall first Perez and then Gutiérrez have come to Sauber as pay drivers courtesy of Multi million dollar Mexican backing from Carlos slim, so it's just a new set of backers calling the shots.
This kinda sets the question rolling of where the Hulk or Gutiérrez may find seats next season? Could we see Esteban slot into the Marussia alongside Max, after all the tail end outfit is becoming more like a Macca B team than FIF1 ever was? Oh and could Marussia take up Honda power for 2015 as well with some Mexican sponsorship money????
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Oh and could Marussia take up Honda power for 2015 as well with some Mexican sponsorship money????
They could change their name to M'Arriba.
I'd like to see the Hulk go to Red Bull if Kimi stays put.
Good news for Sauber. I wonder if Abramovich had anything to do with the Russian deal, seeing as his Chelsea is already a Sauber sponsor. Either way a good thing.
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I'm glad to see that Sauber has received this additional boost. They really needed it, especially since this year is turning into a bit of a struggle.
I'm concerned about the prospect of this driver making his debut next year though. He'll only be eighteen, and I think that this is too young to make a race debut. Surely running him in a few Friday sessions to start with next year would be more sensible?
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I have noticed that the pay drivers the last few seasons have been, generally, quality drivers.
There might be better non pay drivers available, but I don't think drivers like Petrov, Perez or Gutierez have been embarassments. Even Maldonado and Grosjean have shown they have the skills to be in F1, if not the patience.
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Agreed on all counts Jeri.
My only concern is the guy's age. Drivers in their very early 20s is alright by me, but 18 just strikes me as too young. We'll have to see though.
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Yeah, I think the pay drivers these days aren't like the rich kids of the old days who raced with Daddy's (or Mommy's) money. Most have come about the sponsorship on merit, although Nationality is key to a major sponsor.
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I'm just glad to see Sauber get a life line. From what I'd been reading for the past week, I was afraid they were done for.
Jeri's quite right about most of the recent pay drivers. I'll keep my fingers crossed about this one. I know he's quite young, but so was Vettel when he got his first start.
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Agreed on all counts Jeri.
My only concern is the guy's age. Drivers in their very early 20s is alright by me, but 18 just strikes me as too young. We'll have to see though.
Well, Alonso, Vettel and Kimi all had success at young ages. Alguesuari did not.
I'd rather the drivers get some experience in the lower formulae under their belt. I think part of what's missing from the current grid is a sense of paying dues. The drivers seem to feel entitled, that they're on the grid because of their skill, not their hard work.
I think the odd flip side of this is that the motorsport world is going to fill up with very young 'washed up' F1 drivers. It used to be full of 'old' washed up F1 drivers.
For example, Mario Andretti can race at LeMans if he wants. He's Mario Andretti. But what about Alguasauri or Kobyashi? Much younger men, and while not F1 winners, they are F1 veterans. Can they show up and just expect a ride at LeMans?
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I'm more than aware of that Jeri ;).
None of them were eighteen when they made their F1 debuts though. That's my point.
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I think the odd flip side of this is that the motorsport world is going to fill up with very young 'washed up' F1 drivers. It used to be full of 'old' washed up F1 drivers.
For example, Mario Andretti can race at LeMans if he wants. He's Mario Andretti. But what about Alguasauri or Kobyashi? Much younger men, and while not F1 winners, they are F1 veterans. Can they show up and just expect a ride at LeMans?
Kobayashi did show up, expected a ride at Le Mans and got it. Alguersuari probably could if he'd wanted to. (Grosjean and Maldonado couldn't though - they have the wrong skillset for that discipline). Sportscars has a huge number of seats, so all the "washouts" would have plenty of space. It's already reached the point where some joke that F1 is WEC's (the series that includes Le Mans as a points-scoring round) feeder series, due to the amount of improvement drivers appear to make when they switch to WEC.
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Along those lines, Rubens Barrichello will be driving a Grand Am Daytona "Prototype" for Doran Racing at Indy Friday, 26 July.
http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130724/grand_am/130729932#ixzz2a3YylkmF
I'm still surprised that Trulli isn't racing sports cars.