FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[Hexagram]

It was an excellent race, again though it is ruined by Setanta's crappy coverage.

Ever watch their F1 coverage? Its desperate aswell.

[EwanM]

It was an excellent race, again though it is ruined by Setanta's crappy coverage.

Ever watch their F1 coverage? Its desperate aswell.

Oh yes. Fooking terrible.

[Jamie]

Gary to replace Heikki? Com' On!

[Gilles 27]

nah Paffet isn't as fast as Heikki. I mean Paffet would have got the drive over Hamilton in 2007 if Michelin had stayed so i think his McLaren ship has sailed.

[Gaz]

nah Paffet isn't as fast as Heikki. I mean Paffet would have got the drive over Hamilton in 2007 if Michelin had stayed so i think his McLaren ship has sailed.

yeah but theres a rumor about him going to pro drive, also i heard that Merc are looking at Nico next year

Which means Hekki will prob end up in a new team.

[Gilles 27]

Paffet will end up at Pro-Drive if he's going anywhere. I deeply hope Nico ends up in a decent car soon and Heikki needs a chance to lead a team, i think he needs a confidence boost after what Renault and McLaren have done to him

[cap-dude]

True. I think Kovy is fantastic. But I can't see McLaren being the team to bring him forward. Renault though did just fine with him. He had some brilliant races in 2007. But McLaren will champion Lewis for years to come, and that McLaren car is built just to Lewis's liking. You have to think, is there a driver who could beat Lewis by joining McLaren right now. They just wouldn't have as much support I think.

But if anyone is going from DTM to F1, it shouldn't be Paffet. I think F1 teams need to really start looking Di Reista. Being a McLaren supported driver is an awful thing. If you don't manage to get an F1 seat, your dumped into DTM and never looked at again. Imagine, if McLaren had decided not to give Lewis a seat in 2007, would he have gone to DTM and would we never hear of him again.

[Gilles 27]

yup and it literally all hinged on the performance of Lewis vs the other McLaren drivers on the Bridgestones. Renault treated Heikki very badly imo and McLaren have just done their usual trick of pretending to have an equal status driver lineup when in fact it is a clear one and two

[Hexagram]

Has any driver ever come directly out of DTM into F1? And i mean that in the sense that they get a race seat not a once off testing role?

[Denthúl]

Renault though did just fine with him. He had some brilliant races in 2007.

Whilst he might have had some great races (Fuji was spectacular!), Renault and Briatore psychologically destroyed him.

[bud]

Paffet will end up at Pro-Drive if he's going anywhere. I deeply hope Nico ends up in a decent car soon and Heikki needs a chance to lead a team, i think he needs a confidence boost after what Renault and McLaren have done to him

what have McLaren and Renault done to him?

I think Kov would be the first one to admit there is no excuses for his career thus far! its had its ups and downs but no one has held him back what so ever. unless youre a conspiracy theorist where Lewis can only beat his team mates in Fernando and Heikki by having team orders his way.

[racechick]

Renault though did just fine with him. He had some brilliant races in 2007.

Whilst he might have had some great races (Fuji was spectacular!), Renault and Briatore psychologically destroyed him.

I think this is why McLaren have been so patient. They recognised they were getting damaged goods but they also recognised his potential. I just hope he starts to show it soon otherwise patience will run out.

[Gilles 27]

Paffet will end up at Pro-Drive if he's going anywhere. I deeply hope Nico ends up in a decent car soon and Heikki needs a chance to lead a team, i think he needs a confidence boost after what Renault and McLaren have done to him

what have McLaren and Renault done to him?

I think Kov would be the first one to admit there is no excuses for his career thus far! its had its ups and downs but no one has held him back what so ever. unless youre a conspiracy theorist where Lewis can only beat his team mates in Fernando and Heikki by having team orders his way.

Lewis is rightly the number 1 driver at McLaren, let's just establish that to start with.

My grievances with Renault is that they gave Heikki an uncompetitive car and then criticised him publicly after just one race. He is evidently a confidence driver and Renault made it their business to undermine him the whole way through 2007, even when he was responsible for their only stand-out performances in that season. The compare that to Piquet's treatment, he has been nothing but rubbish and it took them until past the halfway point of last season before they started publicly criticising him.

As for McLaren, the damage was already done to Heikki's confidence at Renault but operating a blatant 1 and 2 driver policy on race day while saying to the press that it is not so is extremely damaging to a driver's confidence. Putting Heikki on a set of tires purely to see if they would work for Hamilton and then claiming he has equal treatment is just not on.

Heikki's form in previous series suggested that he would be a potential top 4 driver in F1 but it hasn't worked out that way. PArtly down to him i think but the impact his teams have had can't be ignored

[EwanM]

Well that's Setanta going under... so much for DTM and Gp2 coverage.

... and my subscription...

[Jamie]

Well that's Setanta going under... so much for DTM and Gp2 coverage.

... and my subscription...

Bring it all to BBC
That's were the best racing is