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[LewEngBridewell]

Btw, I wrote before about Kubica's health, but it looks that doesn't matter here...

A chance of a return is sadly looking less and less likely as time drags on

[vaptin]

Her career results seem fairly mediocre at levels a few rungs below f1. There are better drivers out there of course, although to be fair its not like she's the only driver to get a position due to talents other than driving ability.

Maybe the FIA should tighten up super licenses and take other measures to ensure f1 drivers are selected on the basis of driving ability primarily, it is after all supposed to be a professional sport. Maybe this will be too financially harsh on the smaller teams though, if they can't take on marketable/ sponsor heavy/ fee-paying drivers. Perhaps the owness is on the consumer, to judge drivers primarily by driving ability and use their finical weight (brand attachment/ merchandising etc.) to engineer change. Anyone want to start a campaign against pay drivers?

[LewEngBridewell]

The annoying things is, teams like Williams and the ones near the back would probably buckle under the financial pressure of competing if it weren't for pay drivers. It's a sad situation, but that's how it is.

Campaigns should probably be directed towards better funding of the best talent.

[vaptin]

The annoying things is, teams like Williams and the ones near the back would probably buckle under the financial pressure of competing if it weren't for pay drivers. It's a sad situation, but that's how it is.

Campaigns should probably be directed towards better funding of the best talent.

Yeah there are two issues here, one is drivers at "grass roots" level not being able to continue with their career or have a good shot at being successful because of financial constraints. The second is teams choosing less talented drivers because they have private backing due to nationality or whatever (Maldonaldo for example). I guess the key is to improve the smaller teams' finances, or a general shift in the balance of having a pay driver v having a better driver who is more likely to produce good results. I wonder how much money Bernie takes proportionally, I bet he gets a far greater proportion than say the premier league versus premier league clubs.

[LewEngBridewell]

The annoying things is, teams like Williams and the ones near the back would probably buckle under the financial pressure of competing if it weren't for pay drivers. It's a sad situation, but that's how it is.

Campaigns should probably be directed towards better funding of the best talent.

Yeah there are two issues here, one is drivers at "grass roots" level not being able to continue with their career or have a good shot at being successful because of financial constraints. The second is teams choosing less talented drivers because they have private backing due to nationality or whatever (Maldonaldo for example). I guess the key is to improve the smaller teams' finances, or a general shift in the balance of having a pay driver v having a better driver who is more likely to produce good results. I wonder how much money Bernie takes proportionally, I bet he gets a far greater proportion than say the premier league versus premier league clubs.

Pastor Maldonado and the situation with Williams is an intriguing one. He has earned the plaudits from GP2, having won the title in 2010 (albeit in his fourth year partaking in the series). But I still think the removal of Nico Hulkenberg, who I rate highly, to make way for Pastor Maldonado was unfairly down to cash. And that's what Maldonado has plenty of, what with the backing from Venezuela. And here is your classic example of a team in financial straits opting for the man who's going to fill the coffers over anyone else.

[scotty]

I don't know if you read Alguersuari's interview where he says that Kubica is not good at all...

Can you link me mate?

Her career results seem fairly mediocre at levels a few rungs below f1. There are better drivers out there of course, although to be fair its not like she's the only driver to get a position due to talents other than driving ability.

This isn't just like a GP2 driver with backing though. This is someone who's never even driven in that. Lower level 'highlights' are basically a small number of WTCC races with a best result of something like... 18th? And then some Superleague Formula races, without even one top 6 finish or something.

[killem2]

Why can't F1 have a draft? Like the NFL? or the NBA.

Maybe buy out all the lower rank formulas turn them into a true stepping stone to F1, and draft from it.

[Denthúl]

This isn't just like a GP2 driver with backing though. This is someone who's never even driven in that. Lower level 'highlights' are basically a small number of WTCC races with a best result of something like... 18th? And then some Superleague Formula races, without even one top 6 finish or something.

Indeed. Not to mention the fact that she is just downright dangerous at times...

[LRW]

LRW. Im going off you

[zurich_allan]

The annoying things is, teams like Williams and the ones near the back would probably buckle under the financial pressure of competing if it weren't for pay drivers. It's a sad situation, but that's how it is.

Campaigns should probably be directed towards better funding of the best talent.

Yeah there are two issues here, one is drivers at "grass roots" level not being able to continue with their career or have a good shot at being successful because of financial constraints. The second is teams choosing less talented drivers because they have private backing due to nationality or whatever (Maldonaldo for example). I guess the key is to improve the smaller teams' finances, or a general shift in the balance of having a pay driver v having a better driver who is more likely to produce good results. I wonder how much money Bernie takes proportionally, I bet he gets a far greater proportion than say the premier league versus premier league clubs.

Pastor Maldonado and the situation with Williams is an intriguing one. He has earned the plaudits from GP2, having won the title in 2010 (albeit in his fourth year partaking in the series). But I still think the removal of Nico Hulkenberg, who I rate highly, to make way for Pastor Maldonado was unfairly down to cash. And that's what Maldonado has plenty of, what with the backing from Venezuela. And here is your classic example of a team in financial straits opting for the man who's going to fill the coffers over anyone else.

I'd go even further than that - I'm sick of people referring to Maldonado as a pay driver when they're using it as a derogatory term (99% of the time). As said, he won the GP2 title, and with 6 feature race wins including Silverstone and Spa - two real 'racers' circuits. He's hardly been in a position to demonstrate his talents in F1 yet. It IS possible for somebody to be both a talented driver AND have strong financial backing! He was fairly even with Rubens last year, so considering it was only his first year in F1 I think a lot of people are being WAY overly harsh on him. I'm certainly not saying he's a future WDC or anything, but it seems to me that he could well be perfectly capable and obviously does have a decent amount of talent.

EDIT: Quick glance at his stats, and they're actually even more impressive than what I had thought:

2004 : Italian Formula Renault - Won title - 17 races - 8 wins - 6 poles
2005 : Italian F3000 - 4 races - 1 win
2006 : Formula Renault 3.5 - 3 wins - 5 poles - another 6 podiums - would have won the title but for a technical infringment resulting in 15 points lost
2007 : GP2 - Won at Monaco, broken collar bone mid-season meant he missed four rounds (8 races) effectively ruining his season
2008 : GP2 - 1 win - another 5 podiums
2009 : Euroseries 3000 - competed in one round (2 races) and won one of the races
2009 : GP2 - 2 wins in first half of the season with 8 consecutive points finishes followed by a horrendous second half of the season
2010 : GP2 - Won title with 6 wins

I'm sorry, but those are NOT the stats of a traditional pay driver - 2 titles (could have been three), 23 wins and many more podiums and pole positions in various highly respectable series between 2004 and 2010.

[andrew]

The annoying things is, teams like Williams and the ones near the back would probably buckle under the financial pressure of competing if it weren't for pay drivers. It's a sad situation, but that's how it is.

Campaigns should probably be directed towards better funding of the best talent.

Yeah there are two issues here, one is drivers at "grass roots" level not being able to continue with their career or have a good shot at being successful because of financial constraints. The second is teams choosing less talented drivers because they have private backing due to nationality or whatever (Maldonaldo for example). I guess the key is to improve the smaller teams' finances, or a general shift in the balance of having a pay driver v having a better driver who is more likely to produce good results. I wonder how much money Bernie takes proportionally, I bet he gets a far greater proportion than say the premier league versus premier league clubs.

Pastor Maldonado and the situation with Williams is an intriguing one. He has earned the plaudits from GP2, having won the title in 2010 (albeit in his fourth year partaking in the series). But I still think the removal of Nico Hulkenberg, who I rate highly, to make way for Pastor Maldonado was unfairly down to cash. And that's what Maldonado has plenty of, what with the backing from Venezuela. And here is your classic example of a team in financial straits opting for the man who's going to fill the coffers over anyone else.

I'd go even further than that - I'm sick of people referring to Maldonado as a pay driver when they're using it as a derogatory term (99% of the time). As said, he won the GP2 title, and with 6 feature race wins including Silverstone and Spa - two real 'racers' circuits. He's hardly been in a position to demonstrate his talents in F1 yet. It IS possible for somebody to be both a talented driver AND have strong financial backing! He was fairly even with Rubens last year, so considering it was only his first year in F1 I think a lot of people are being WAY overly harsh on him. I'm certainly not saying he's a future WDC or anything, but it seems to me that he could well be perfectly capable and obviously does have a decent amount of talent.

To an extent all drivers are pay drivers seeing as they all have to have a certain amount of personal sponsorship.

[racechick]

LRW. Im going off you

Dont be sad. It's redeemable!!

[zurich_allan]

To an extent all drivers are pay drivers seeing as they all have to have a certain amount of personal sponsorship.

Absolutely right. Yet for some reason Maldonado is often singled out, and having had a quick glance at his stats from past series and editing my last post, it annoys me even more that he's often referred to in that light.

[kerc]

There's definitely potential in Maldonado.

Has there ever been a driver who's been relatively sucky in lower categories, but then gone and kicked butt in F1?

[vlad]

Here's the full story:

'It doesn't look good for Kubica' - Alguersuari

Jaime Alguersuari has given a damning view of Robert Kubica's current condition, claiming the Pole is unable to pick up and drink from a glass of water.
Kubica suffered a horrific injury to his hand, arm and leg in February 2011 when his rally car impacted with a safety guard rail which penetrated the car. He then suffered a further setback when he slipped on ice and fractured his leg earlier this year.
Whilst his doctors and friends have given improving assessments of his health, claiming he could soon be able to return to competitive motorsports, former Toro Rosso driver Alguersuari gave a different view.
"I think Robert is and was a fantastic driver, fast and complete," he told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I am sure that if he had been with a top team he would have been World Champion, without a doubt.
"But at the moment the latest information I have about him is not very good. He cannot drink using his hand - I mean, he cannot take a glass and drink, so it doesn't look very good. I think his injuries are more than expected.
"Of course, I would like him to come back, because he really deserves to be in F1, absolutely."

Source:
http://thef1times.com/news/display/05501#page_top