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[Denthúl]

Judging from GP2, I would rank Lewis Heikki and Nico in this order:

Heikki
Nico
Lewis

But things often work out differently in F1. Heikki hasn't had a fair stab at it imo, he has been unfairly treated by both Renault and McLaren but t the same time he hasn't shown that much race pace when he has been given the opportunity so perhaps his no 2 position at McLaren is fair. We won't know about Nico until he gets a decent car

Mm hmm. But as we've seen countless times in the past, Formula One is very different to the junior formulae.

Yup, look at Buemi... he's doing a good job really, and i think most expected him to be quite dodgy.

Indeed. I thought Bourdais was going to blitz him but that hasn't happened. What I really like about Buemi is that he isn't afraid to have a go at anyone. I really enjoyed watching him battle with the Ferrari of, I think, Raikkonen

[cap-dude]

Yep, Buemi was battling Kimi.

But I still have my doubts about Buemi. In a way I think Bourdais is making him look good at times. That STR is the same as the front running car, as we've said. In china both Red Bull's won by an unbelievable margin. So of course the STR was going to be a brilliant car, worthy of running at the front of the grid in the wet. Buemi's form just seems up and down, and he does make mistakes. At times I just wonder is the STR a better car than we think. I mean, its the same as the racing winning Red Bull, shouldn't it be better than we think. But thats just my theory.


As for Nico. Well you have to ask where has it went wrong this year. In australia the strategy was not great, but at the same time Nico should've managed the tyres a lot better. Maylaysia, he was leading. Then during the wet it all went out the window. His pace was very poor. Again in China, wet pace not good. Then the last 2 weekends the pace has just gone. But next weekend is Monaco, and it's a track that Williams excel at year after year. So big expectations in my opinion, and Nico needs to bring home a points haul that Williams needs.

[Denthúl]

Yep, Buemi was battling Kimi.

But I still have my doubts about Buemi. In a way I think Bourdais is making him look good at times. That STR is the same as the front running car, as we've said. In china both Red Bull's won by an unbelievable margin. So of course the STR was going to be a brilliant car, worthy of running at the front of the grid in the wet. Buemi's form just seems up and down, and he does make mistakes. At times I just wonder is the STR a better car than we think. I mean, its the same as the racing winning Red Bull, shouldn't it be better than we think. But thats just my theory.


As for Nico. Well you have to ask where has it went wrong this year. In australia the strategy was not great, but at the same time Nico should've managed the tyres a lot better. Maylaysia, he was leading. Then during the wet it all went out the window. His pace was very poor. Again in China, wet pace not good. Then the last 2 weekends the pace has just gone. But next weekend is Monaco, and it's a track that Williams excel at year after year. So big expectations in my opinion, and Nico needs to bring home a points haul that Williams needs.

On the subject of the STR4, they only just got the complete Melbourne-spec package, so prior to that it was inferior to the RB5 and is still inferior now because the RB5 has undergone some changes. But you have to look at last year. Once the team actually got to grips with the new car (which was several races after it was rolled out) they started to do a lot more with it.

With Nico and Williams, both parties need to up their game. Last year he did well to bring the car home in the points on several occasions and nearly win the race in Singapore (I had never hated the safety car rules more than on that day!) but at the same time he also threw a couple of good finishes away, most notably Monaco. Meanwhile, Williams have had some terrible strategy calls this season that they really need to work on. In Spain, for example, they gave Nico way too much fuel in Q3. Had they fuelled him lighter, he could have made it in to the top five.

[PeanutHead LFC]

Judging from GP2, I would rank Lewis Heikki and Nico in this order:

Heikki
Nico
Lewis

But things often work out differently in F1. Heikki hasn't had a fair stab at it imo, he has been unfairly treated by both Renault and McLaren but t the same time he hasn't shown that much race pace when he has been given the opportunity so perhaps his no 2 position at McLaren is fair. We won't know about Nico until he gets a decent car

Mm hmm. But as we've seen countless times in the past, Formula One is very different to the junior formulae.

Yup, look at Buemi... he's doing a good job really, and i think most expected him to be quite dodgy.

Indeed. I thought Bourdais was going to blitz him but that hasn't happened. What I really like about Buemi is that he isn't afraid to have a go at anyone. I really enjoyed watching him battle with the Ferrari of, I think, Raikkonen

Yes, that was brilliant. And i think Buemi has scored 3 points and Bourdais 1. And when Torro Rosso gets all the updates from Red Bull, which has proved to be fast even without a diffuser, then Buemi will be one to look out for.

[7UpJordan]

I'm not convinced about Buemi, I think he had to thank the STR4's good handling in the wet for his performance in China, Bourdais though has never got to grips with it and is sadly making stupid excuses.

I still think Senna would have been a far better candidate than Buemi, he only got a seat because of his Red Bull connections.

[cap-dude]

I agree. Senna looked to be a much better candidate for the seat. But unfortunately it seems connections get you everywhere nowadays. I'd bet a whole lot of money that recently promoted test driver, Bredon Hartely will be in F1 within the next few years. Simply because he's now got those connections with Red Bull. The same might even be said for toyota TD, Kobayshi.

[f1ea]

Yup, look at Buemi... he's doing a good job really, and i think most expected him to be quite dodgy.

actually... both. He has done a really good job, and also has been a bit dodgy. But definitely understandable, unlike Piquet and Naka. I think Buemi has been a decent surprise.

That's true although it's hard to say how fast either car really is because you have in both teams, a very talented driver and someone who shouldn't be in f1. The one thing i would say is that Nakajima has been very quick on occasion, he's just a liability in a race whereas Piquet is just rubbish in every way.

but the thing is, Rosberg has not been really outdoing his car, nor putting it where it shouldnt be like he was doing last yr (and Lewis has done wonders with the MP this yr)... seems to me this season either Nico is tired of Williams or there is something definitely difficult about setting up his FW...

On the driver front.. Lewis is better driving than Heikki, regardless of the benefits he gets from Macca. Nico and Lewis may be somewhere around the same abilities, but really difficult to say... more data needed

[7UpJordan]

I agree. Senna looked to be a much better candidate for the seat. But unfortunately it seems connections get you everywhere nowadays. I'd bet a whole lot of money that recently promoted test driver, Bredon Hartely will be in F1 within the next few years. Simply because he's now got those connections with Red Bull. The same might even be said for toyota TD, Kobayshi.

Hopefully Kobayashi will never find his way into a Williams seat, but he will be lying in wait for any team who dares take on Toyota customer engines.

[Gilles 27]

That's true although it's hard to say how fast either car really is because you have in both teams, a very talented driver and someone who shouldn't be in f1. The one thing i would say is that Nakajima has been very quick on occasion, he's just a liability in a race whereas Piquet is just rubbish in every way.

but the thing is, Rosberg has not been really outdoing his car, nor putting it where it shouldnt be like he was doing last yr (and Lewis has done wonders with the MP this yr)... seems to me this season either Nico is tired of Williams or there is something definitely difficult about setting up his FW...

On the driver front.. Lewis is better driving than Heikki, regardless of the benefits he gets from Macca. Nico and Lewis may be somewhere around the same abilities, but really difficult to say... more data needed

That's what I mean, it's hard to know if he is or ins't out-driving the car. The only guy we have to compare to is Crashajima. The Williams this season might be as slow as Nakajima has been making it look. It's hard to say and personally, I don't know.

[Jamie]

Nakajima is sponsored and funded by Toyota. If they get rid of the Toyota brought up star then Toyota could scrap there deal. Hence why Takuma would always drive a Honda powered engine because they paid for it all. In his country it's about Loyalty, Franky will be getting half priced engines because he's got Nakajima.

[Denthúl]

Cosworth next year.

[cap-dude]

Nakajima is sponsored and funded by Toyota. If they get rid of the Toyota brought up star then Toyota could scrap there deal. Hence why Takuma would always drive a Honda powered engine because they paid for it all. In his country it's about Loyalty, Franky will be getting half priced engines because he's got Nakajima.

Already explained. Nakajima came out and said that toyota only helped him get that seat, nothing more. If Williams want to drop Nakajima, they will. Toyota aren't keeping Nakajima there.

[Jamie]

Nakajima is sponsored and funded by Toyota. If they get rid of the Toyota brought up star then Toyota could scrap there deal. Hence why Takuma would always drive a Honda powered engine because they paid for it all. In his country it's about Loyalty, Franky will be getting half priced engines because he's got Nakajima.

Already explained. Nakajima came out and said that toyota only helped him get that seat, nothing more. If Williams want to drop Nakajima, they will. Toyota aren't keeping Nakajima there.

It is bi in Japan, like H.Mutoh who is sponsored by Honda, trust me they are strict and Nakajima could not drive for Honda or Ferrari. He will be restricted to Toyota.

Nakajima's Career - Early Years-
After some impressive performances, Nakajima was picked up by Japanese car manufacturer Toyota as part of the corporation's Young Drivers Program.
His father had been backed by Toyota's arch-rivals Honda through his career. Nakajima hoped that by joining Toyota he would shield himself against any accusations that his father had promoted his career.[3]
In 2002, Nakajima won a scholarship in Formula Toyota, which he became champion in a year later. He progressed onto Japanese Formula Three in 2004, winning two of the 20 races and finishing fifth in the Drivers' Championship.
Nakajima stayed in Japanese Formula Three for 2005, finishing second. He dovetailed that championship with appearances in the Japanese GT300 sports car series, where he ended the year eighth.

In my own personal opinion, he has not really had a good racing CV. As you can tell,
Career summary
Season Series Team Name Races Poles Wins Points Final Placing
2003 Formula Toyota ? ? ? ? ? 1st
2004 All-Japan Formula Three TOM'S 20 2 2 138 5th
Macau Grand Prix TOM'S 1 0 0 N/A 13th
Bahrain F3 Superprix TOM'S 1 0 0 N/A 7th
2005 All-Japan Formula Three TOM'S 20 3 2 209 2nd
Macau Grand Prix TOM'S 1 0 0 0 5th
Super GT (GT300) Kicchouhouzan with apr 7 0 1 52 8th
2006 Formula Three Euroseries Manor Motorsport 20 0 1 36 7th
Macau Grand Prix Manor Motorsport 1 0 0 N/A NC
Masters of Formula Three Manor Motorsport 1 0 0 N/A 26th
2007 Formula One Williams 1 0 0 0 22nd
GP2 Series DAMS 21 1 0 44 6th
2008 Formula One Williams 18 0 0 9 15th
2009 Formula One Williams 5 0 0 0 20th*

So obviously cash comes into it!!

[cap-dude]

^^Yes, and as I clearly said. Toyota did help Nakajima earn that seat in F1, his performances in the lower categories did not get him there. But they are NOT keeping him there.

Also, I brought this up a while ago. I believe Williams is struggling with a lack of experienced drivers for developing the car, and this pretty much confirms it
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75427" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Williams apparently want established drivers. So this is what I'm taking from this. They are looking to replace Nakajima, but not with another rookie. So Hulkenburg will not being getting Nakajima's seat next year. Because they want an experienced driver who can collect the points consistently, something both Williams drivers have failed at this year. However if Nico leaves a vacant seat, they can have a rookie and experience hand.

But the real question is, what drivers will make the switch to Williams. Ralf? j/k
Really, the experienced drivers on the field are all set to stay were they are next year. The only ones I can see moving are Barrichello and Heidfeld. But Heidfeld has been out-preforming Kubica lately. So, Barrichello, that depends entirely on whether or not Brawn choose to retain him. But what about Fisichella, wasn't great at renault, but he's been doing well at FI. Or even DeLa Rosa. It's an odd situation, but Williams don't look to have many great options for next year.

[7UpJordan]

I've just read that article on a Williams forum. I'd forgotten that Hulkenberg binned both the FW30 and 31 in a shakedown test. I think Williams will be looking to use their flywheel KERS system as a way of attracting drivers. I think Barrichello would feel quite tempted if he does leave Brawn at the end of the year, he could still do a great job for Williams. Also Heidfeld might fancy a return to Williams as he got on very well with the engineers and was given a warm farewell when Dr Theissen dragged him across to BMW.