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From the top:
Bourdais: Looks like he could make ti to F1 in eyars to come, judging by his early apce in CART
Wilson: Certainly has the potential, but needs the right hardware
Junquiera: Ha sbeen hit&miss in CART but certainly could still find his way to F1
Heidfeld: So far jsut a midfield talent, but his chance hasn't compeltely gone yet, he's an outside candidate to join Williams in 2004.
Montoya: Should be many more wins to come, but we said that about Alesi
Zonta: Didn't get a fair chance at BAR but might find his way back through testing for Toyota, although it's unlikely
Muller: Now in Touring Car racing, sngle seater hopes in oblivion - 1996 was quite a poor field, with guys liek Kenny Brack at the front
Sospiri: Had no hope of doing anything in the Lola
JCB: Another whio never got a regualr chance, did okay while at Sauber but enver caught anyone's eye for a full-season. Would've been upper midfield at best
Panis: Steady but not ultra-fast, got one undeserved win but won't repeat barring a fluke
Badoer: Perhaps the ultimate unsung hero of modern F1. Did superbly when racing, and has been crucial to Ferrari's success
Fitipaldi: Not good enough, quite frankly, and hogged that Newman-Haas seat in CART for far too long.
Comas: Not good enough, showed little at either Ligier or Larrousse
Alesi: Perhaps the best of the bunch, but made poor career decisions and was unlucky on numerous occasions
Moreno: Saddled with a succession of useless cars, his form in CART suggests that he lacks the spark to be a winner but could've been a regualr point-scorer
Modena: Had a couple of good runs, but fell apart at Jordan. Hard to rate objectively
Capelli: Adrian Newey's cars made him look better than he was. The spell at Ferrari well and truly shwoed him up
Danner: I think we can only assume that the first season didn't have too many future stars on the grid. Useless in F1, useless in CART.
Quite a mixed bag, as you can see, reinforcing the notion that the best drivers don't need F3000, and that it doesn't really show driver skill especially well. You can't place Badoer and Panis ahead of Coulthard and Barrichello on ability, even though they beat them.
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