FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[headless]

PDR has had it.
Time is up.

[Denthúl]

2009 is very much a 'make or break' season for Adrian Sutil. If he performs poorly again, then almost all interest in him will be lost as the new guys (Senna, Di Grassi, Di Resta etc.) are snapped up to replace outgoing drivers. In which case, Adrian would be a backmarker for the rest of his career and it probably wouldn't be very long before he was out as even Mr. Mallya lost patience with him. Being out-classed by Fisichella, when you're supposed to be a very talented star in-the-making, isn't exactly going to do your career any favours (that's not a dig at Fisi, but most people seem not to rate him, so it would have a negative effect on Sutil's reputation).

I agree. In terms of Fisichella, I think most people see him as somebody who is out of his depth in a top team but who is also a solid pair of hands in less competitive cars. That said, Sutil who was being talked up as the next best thing really should have been able to noticeably outperform a mere Steady Eddie.

I agree. Monaco (albeit questionable) was his only moment this year and, to be honest, it isn't really up there with Fisichella's performances:

Running third for a considerable time at Singapore
Qualifying twelfth ahead of a number of faster cars, including a McLaren and a Ferrari at Monza
Running third (I think? maybe fourth - high up anyway) at Brazil for a while
Finishing tenth in Spain

In fact, the fact that Fisichella finished twelve races to Sutil's seven, and was able to finish twelfth twice and tenth once, as well as running up near the front in the worst car, tells me that Sutil may not have much of a future anyway. Not to mention the fact that, had he finished just one place lower in the Belgian Grand Prix, he would have finished below Sato (who only competed in four races) in the championship!

[racechick]

I wouldnt give him a race seat, not at McLaren, Force India maybe but not McLaren. It would be like giving a seat to Coulthard, or Wurz, or Button, not bad drivers at all but not good enough. Why give De la Rosa a drive when there are drivers like Kubica, Vettel, even Rosberg. Or take a gamble on the next generation De Rista(have i spelt it right?)or Senna. With Hamilton in the car McLarwen can afford to gamble on the next generation, they dont need a has been.

[scotty]

Hmm, i'm not sure about him, he didn't do anything spectacular when he got a semi-decent car in 2006, much like Kovalainen hasn't done anything to set him apart from the rest this year.

So in conclusion, forget both of them and get someone quite good like Rosberg!

[7UpJordan]

Hmm, i'm not sure about him, he didn't do anything spectacular when he got a semi-decent car in 2006, much like Kovalainen hasn't done anything to set him apart from the rest this year.

So in conclusion, forget both of them and get someone quite good like Rosberg!

Nico will only leave Williams if the FW31 is another flop, if it's a good car and allows Nico to get podiums and big points regularly he'll stay on. His father Keke is reluctant to pair up with Lewis, hence he's tried to keep Nico away from direct competition with him because he knows as well as Ron that Lewis is the number 1 driver no matter what. Even if Bruno Senna turns out to be as good as his uncle said and happens to land a McLaren drive, Lewis will come first.

I hope Nico stays on unless Nakajima really steps up his game next year, especially in qualifying because he's been almost as bad as Piquet at that.

[cap-dude]

I'd rather see PDR in the 2nd FI seat. True, hes not got much potenial, but hes got the right motivation, and I think hes going around things right.
But, I guess he still has a contract with McLaren as test driver and Fisi is still confirmed at FI. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing PDR in a car.

[scotty]

Slightly OT, but i really think Liuzzi should get another shot in F1, he put in some great drives towards the end of 2007 and was sacked pretty harshly - thus is probably more deserving of the chance over DLR or someone.

[7UpJordan]

Slightly OT, but i really think Liuzzi should get another shot in F1, he put in some great drives towards the end of 2007 and was sacked pretty harshly - thus is probably more deserving of the chance over DLR or someone.

I thought Liuzzi was ok, had a messy looking crash helmet livery but he was a hell of a lot better than Scott Speed.

[scotty]

Scott Speed.

The turds that fall out of my bottom and into the bog move faster than he did in F1.

[Denthúl]

Slightly OT, but i really think Liuzzi should get another shot in F1, he put in some great drives towards the end of 2007 and was sacked pretty harshly - thus is probably more deserving of the chance over DLR or someone.

Indeed. De la Rosa-Liuzzi pairing for 2010?

[scotty]

Slightly OT, but i really think Liuzzi should get another shot in F1, he put in some great drives towards the end of 2007 and was sacked pretty harshly - thus is probably more deserving of the chance over DLR or someone.

Indeed. De la Rosa-Liuzzi pairing for 2010?

Liuzzi and Barrichello at Force India!

[Centauri]

What are people's views on this? Whilst I don't think de la Rosa is championship-winning material, he is a safe pair of hands. Had I been in charge of McLaren last season, once it became clear Kovalainen was out of his depth, I'd have given de la Rosa a chance to show what he could do. He certainly couldn't do any worse than Kovalainen's nothings. If Kovalainen still isn't up to scratch next season, I'd still like to see de la Rosa given a chance.

Does anyone remember the buzz around de la Rosa after Hungary 2006 where he forced his way past Michael Schumacher in the wet to take 2nd place behind Jenson Button? If I remember correctly he was going faster than Button too, and Martin Brundle actually labelled him 'driver of the day'.

I think if Heikki doesn't come up with the goods, then de la Rosa should replace him mid-season and have a shot himself. The guy has given solid above-average performances when he's had a chance to race the McLaren before, and being a test driver, is still in good form. He's certainly much better than Fisichella, one of the most useless drivers on the grid in recent years. So had I been in Mallya's shoes, I'd have ditched the Italian for de la Rosa in a heartbeat. Sadly Formula One is a cut-throat sport and the fact that a driver has been doing it for a long time doesn't mean they have a good case for being in a top team. That said, were I a team boss, I think I'd give de la Rosa a chance because I feel he deserved one as much as anyone.

[8-ball]

Drop Fisi, put Gary Paffett in the seat. Kovi can have one more chance to prove himself but if he doesn't step up then its back to racing karts in Finland!!

[headless]

Hmm, i'm not sure about him, he didn't do anything spectacular when he got a semi-decent car in 2006, much like Kovalainen hasn't done anything to set him apart from the rest this year.

So in conclusion, forget both of them and get someone quite good like Rosberg!

Nico will only leave Williams if the FW31 is another flop, if it's a good car and allows Nico to get podiums and big points regularly he'll stay on. His father Keke is reluctant to pair up with Lewis, hence he's tried to keep Nico away from direct competition with him because he knows as well as Ron that Lewis is the number 1 driver no matter what. Even if Bruno Senna turns out to be as good as his uncle said and happens to land a McLaren drive, Lewis will come first.

I hope Nico stays on unless Nakajima really steps up his game next year, especially in qualifying because he's been almost as bad as Piquet at that.

Nobody is going to want to be a team mate to LH, nobody who can become a brilliant driver.

[headless]

Drop Fisi, put Gary Paffett in the seat. Kovi can have one more chance to prove himself but if he doesn't step up then its back to racing karts in Finland!!

Drop Hammy