Scott Dixion to F1?

Down F0rce · 19 Jun 2003, 18:33 (Ref:636885)

Just found this article, not sure how trustworthy the source is tho...apparantly Dixon is looking towards F1 in 2004, when his contract with Chip Ganassi expires at the end of the year. His manager has already started talks with some teams, he might be testing with one towards the end of this year.

Full story

marcus · 19 Jun 2003, 23:43 (Ref:637138)

well its where he wants to go for sure and i think he is good enough , but if thats where he wants to be then he needs to get out of the IRL as soon as possible beofre its to late and the F1 teams give up on him.

would be great to see him there though.

**gomick** · 20 Jun 2003, 07:42 (Ref:637309)

hope he gets there next year - webber and dixon in f1

..... bit like the old days of brabham and hulme

Antrodemus · 20 Jun 2003, 08:15 (Ref:637332)

We had an article in the local paper here about it. It left me with the impression that I'd heard it all before.
Stuff like 'we've had offers of a test etc. but we want to make sure it's with a good team'.
As much as I'd like it to happen, I'm not holding my breath.

BootsOntheSide · 20 Jun 2003, 14:00 (Ref:637646)

He was desperate to avoid having to follow Ganassi to the IRL because he knew that racing on ovals wouldn't help his career hopes, F1 is where he wants to be, and I feel that he may be good enough, although he didn't really shine in CART's road courses, ironically he did better on ovals, and has 2 IRL wins already.

racefanatic · 21 Jun 2003, 16:09 (Ref:638544)

It would be really hard for him to go to F1 from IRL, don't you think? He's very talented, but Boots is right, he is better on the ovals! I wish he was in CART right now...

Jay · 21 Jun 2003, 16:22 (Ref:638558)

If he gets out quick enough he might have a shot though... That said, one more season here, and he'll probably never be in an F1 car again. Hope he gets a shot at it. He's got real talent, and to see it go to waste would be a shame.

rush1 · 21 Jun 2003, 23:49 (Ref:638789)

No more using North Americas premier open wheel series as a tune up for F1 like JV, Da Matta, Zanardi and Montoya did in CART. Now all the road racers will have to make the choice of ovals (and usually more cash) or some road formula that prepares you for F1. I laugh at Dixons dilema.

Its the only way to grow a series. You can't continually lose your race winners to another series, right?

Snrub · 26 Jun 2003, 03:10 (Ref:643324)

Always so antagonistic.

Who was Da Matta's primary competition? Was it Dario, Dixon, Brack, Andretti, Kannan? Not really. What did those guys contribute last year? You could argue maybe Dario...
Consider the how close the cars are, throw in Kermit and improved drives from Jourdain, Dominguez, new talent in the form of Manning and Haberfield and a new Tracy and the value of the CART championship isn't substantially diminished.

Anyway, back to Dixon: I don't think Toyota F1 or other teams are going to be especially interested in Dixon right now. He is doing little to advance his road racing skills and IRL cars do not provide a challanging enough oval environment that you can really argue he's getting better. (note I critisize CART in Germany even more) Look at Al Jr, everyone know's he's washed up, but he's still able to be quiet competitive in IRL because he still has skills that translate well to this kind of racing. Temper that with the fact that he didn't do that well in CART on a top team.

Armco Bender · 30 Jun 2003, 10:43 (Ref:647009)

Nothing surer than he will go to F1,Toyota is the obvious connection,but the whisper is a front running team,dont forget his manager is an ex Ferrari driver,wink wink,nudge nudge,say no more.

Testure · 30 Jun 2003, 15:05 (Ref:647282)

Quote:

Originally posted by Armco Bender
Nothing surer than he will go to F1,Toyota is the obvious connection,but the whisper is a front running team,dont forget his manager is an ex Ferrari driver,wink wink,nudge nudge,say no more.

Eh... It's great that you have a fellow New Zealander to support and all, but Scott Dixon doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of even test driving a Ferrari F1 car. There's simply far too much talent readily available elsewhere. Additionally, Toyota confirmed over the weekend that they'd be using the same drivers in 2004. The only talk about him running in F1 is coming from his own manager.

If he wants to be in a road-racing series he needs to get out of the IRL. I don't understand all these drivers supposedly trying to get into F1 but going about it the wrong way. He should be thinking about F3, F3000, FNippon, CART or even FNissan.

But who's to say he's not happy where he is? The IRL is one of the few open-wheel series where a driver can make a decent living. He's running pretty well isn't he?

Jay · 30 Jun 2003, 15:46 (Ref:647327)

From his Cart days, I always thought Scott showed more promise on the ovals. He was alright, but was clearly slower than Junqueira at Ganassi. Maybe that had to do with engineers or something though, I wasn't to aware of how that team ran. He's a nice chap though, and I'd love to see him road racing again, but another year away from road courses and I think it may be too late.

Armco Bender · 1 Jul 2003, 00:01 (Ref:647890)

Quote:

Scott Dixon doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of even test driving a Ferrari F1 car.

Todays latest hot of the press rumour,Hes not interested in Toyota or the back of the grid teams,Its Williams,McLaren or Ferrari,and They are chasing him.Start rolling that snow............

tanalised · 1 Jul 2003, 05:52 (Ref:647990)

Forza Scotty!

Testure · 1 Jul 2003, 09:30 (Ref:648116)

OK, I'm assuming you're having a laugh now

"Hot off the press" - from his own manager! Since when is Peter Johnston an "ex Ferrari driver"? I just can't see this happening... And what do Ganassi think of this?

tanalised · 1 Jul 2003, 10:15 (Ref:648144)

Armco might be referring to Stefan Johannsen.
Care to elaborate Mr bender?

BootsOntheSide · 1 Jul 2003, 10:35 (Ref:648167)

It';s not Scott's fault that he's in the IRl. When the PacWest CART team he drove for in 2001 hit money problems, Toyota bought out his contrct, and when PacWest collapsed in early 2002 they hurriedly put together a third Ganassi entry, so the crew may not hve been as well-moulded as Bruno's or Kenny's. CART contributed towards keeping him in CART when all this happened, and Chip stabbed them in the back. The man's scum.

He won't get into F1 anytime soon. He might be wise to consider stepping across to F3000 as Townsend Bell has done with some success.

marcus · 2 Jul 2003, 01:31 (Ref:649128)

how did Chip stab him in the back ???

he gave him a ride in Cart (mainly thanks to Toyota) and yes this was rushed together and would probably contribute to him not being as quick as he would have liked.

but then Chip said he was going to the IRL and had Scott on contract , so he was gainfully employed in that series.

maybe Im missing something , but I dont think Chip did anything wrong with regards to Scott and his contract did he?

Jay · 2 Jul 2003, 02:53 (Ref:649159)

Ganassi didn't give Dixon a ride, Cart payed Ganassi to give to him a ride, then he promptly jumped ship with Dixon after he had his contract signed and sealed from Pac-West - I'd call that back stabbing. May something hit him.

marcus · 2 Jul 2003, 02:59 (Ref:649162)

Dixon would have well known that Chip was considering moving , he may not have wanted it to happen but he would have had a fairly good idea.

and yes i know Cart and toyota pushed Chip to give him the ride I did say that above.

I still dont think it was backstabbing , but then again im not bitter and twisted about things either

Armco Bender · 2 Jul 2003, 04:00 (Ref:649177)

His company manager is Peter Johnston,his personal manager is Stefan Johansson - a former F1 racer with Ferrari.
A guy with so many managers must be going places.Dont forget he has been racing open wheel cars since the age of 13,Lets hope they put him in an F1 car soon so we can see if he's got what it takes.My money says he has.

Tim Northcutt · 2 Jul 2003, 19:33 (Ref:650014)

I think Dixon would benefit from going back to CART before heading to F-1 and possibly getting stukc in a bad ride that will move him from the headlines to oblivion...

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