Which A1GP drivers would be competitive in F1?

Kiwi3 · 8 Mar 2009, 06:47 (Ref:2411382)

Which A1GP drivers do you guys think would be competitive in F1?

For me it would be Adam Carroll, Neel Jani and Filipe Albuquerque.

Graz · 8 Mar 2009, 09:05 (Ref:2411428)

Adam Carroll definitely.

kipper · 8 Mar 2009, 09:34 (Ref:2411444)

In my view it would be Adam Carroll and Neel Jani. On a slighty different note, I'd like to see Danny Watts being given a chance in a F1 car, but I am unsure as to what his potential would be.

RichardRenes · 8 Mar 2009, 22:53 (Ref:2411701)

Don't rule out Robert Doornbos ( he was quicker than David Coulthard in the Red Bull car

).

It's hard to say really... Sutil for instance.. I was not impressed with him while he drove for Germany in season 1, but everybody still sees him as a bigger talent than, say, Nelson Piquet jr.

Likewise: Premat or Lapierre were never even considdered for F1 eventhough they dominated season 1.

As for giving a go: I'd say let Jeroen B have a go... he may not be the fastest in raw speed, but he's consistant and makes very vew errors. He has a decent finishing record if you ask me

(his only DNF of his own fault is Beijing 2006)

Kiwi3 · 9 Mar 2009, 02:39 (Ref:2411783)

I agree with Doornbos, I'd forgotten about him.

Do other people agree, disagree are neutral or undecided about Albuquerque?

jackschmidt · 9 Mar 2009, 04:07 (Ref:2411805)

I think it'll be interesting to see how he does in F1. I think he'll be competitive.

I think most A1 drivers will have it tough, I think. Nico Huelkenberg for instance is way off the pace compared to the Williams lead driver, although it's not a fair comparison.

Neel Jani... maybe... just maybe. Adam Carroll has more chance, IMO. Doornbos, maybe... but IMO... that's more of a remote chance than anything. He wasn't exactly stellar in F1.

nic.v814 · 9 Mar 2009, 05:05 (Ref:2411824)

earl bamber

Armco Bender · 9 Mar 2009, 07:46 (Ref:2411893)

Don't think any of them would set F1 on fire if they got a drive tomorrow.

RichardRenes · 9 Mar 2009, 08:45 (Ref:2411931)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackschmidt

I think most A1 drivers will have it tough, I think. Nico Huelkenberg for instance is way off the pace compared to the Williams lead driver, although it's not a fair comparison.

As in judging A1 rookies.. we don't know the full details.. perhaps Nico H was testing racepace and the other quali pace.. we don't know..

Unless it starts to become a habit off course.

jackschmidt · 9 Mar 2009, 09:46 (Ref:2411977)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardRenes

As in judging A1 rookies.. we don't know the full details.. perhaps Nico H was testing racepace and the other quali pace.. we don't know..

That is certainly the grounds why I think it's probably not a fair comparison. We will see how it goes because Nico H reckons he *should* have a full-time F1 seat by 2010.

Generally, I don't know any driver that will surely make a huge splash in the F1 scene. For me, I can name my favourite drivers that might make some sort of impact from A1GP to F1.

1. Nico Huelkenberg (just a maybe)
2. Rob Wickens (another maybe)
3. Adam Carroll (his chances look good)
4. Neel Jani (maybe)
5. Felipe Albuquerque (also someone I like)
6. Loic Duval (remote chance)
7. Robert Doornbos (remote chance)
8. Jeroen Bleekemolen (maaaybe)
9. Clivio Piccione (I like his chances)

RichardRenes · 10 Mar 2009, 10:02 (Ref:2412835)

I do have to add that Jeroen B is not trying to get into F1. His name is established and apart from F1 and/ or Indy, he can pretty much chose his drives for the season.

Mystery · 10 Mar 2009, 13:22 (Ref:2412949)

Adam Carroll would be ok. Bobby D certainly would do alright. Bleekemolen is capable enough around the sort of Timo Glock sort of level - maybe Jani too

courageous · 12 Mar 2009, 18:15 (Ref:2414425)

Alex Yoong (ducks for cover)

RichardRenes · 12 Mar 2009, 19:03 (Ref:2414454)

Quote:

Originally Posted by courageous

Alex Yoong (ducks for cover)

Why make those poor ducks suffer

That's animal cruelty you know

Since Yoong hasn't been in the new car (yet) I am not thinking of him as an A1 driver anymore. But he was more competative than most of us bargained for.

When he was faster than Jos Verstappen in F1, we said 'the Minardi runs with an empty tank etc'

In A1, he definately showed to everyone that he was capable of being faster, and not just occasionally.

So yes, Yoong for me too.

fredd1 · 12 Mar 2009, 21:15 (Ref:2414525)

Thought all the traffic went the other way.........failed as driver in F1, surfaced in A1 and gradually faded away............

Kiwi3 · 13 Mar 2009, 02:31 (Ref:2414679)

Was Yoong ever faster than Verstappen? I don't think F1 was a good reflection on his ability, he lost confidence quickly and that was that.

He was good in the first two seasons of A1GP (especially the second one) but seemed to fade last season. I wonder if it's because he now has other interests, he did recently pull out of GP2 because he said he cannot focus on it due to the other things he is doing.

But anyway I would not rate Yoong as being able to be competitive in F1, he would be well off the pace in my opinion.

It's not all going in one direction, there are ex A1GP drivers in F1, e.g. Piquet and Buemi. Possibly Hulkenberg in 2010, who established his reputation in A1GP.

diabloA1 · 13 Mar 2009, 02:40 (Ref:2414681)

Save the ducks

I think Yoong is a good 'race day' driver. He showed a lot of confidence dicing with other drivers without too many silly mistakes. In fact I can only recall maybe 1 or 2 mistakes which didn't harm anyone anyway.

If F1 is such that drivers only arriving at the circuit on Sunday, jump in and drive I think Yoong would do ok (I'm ducking too)

But F1 (and other series) is a lot more about the race on Sunday. He seemed to have struggled with the team right from the beginning of each race weekend, hence inconsistent, sometimes downright poor qualifying( in season 3), requiring hard driving on Sunday.

Because of that, his results in F1 may not be consistent either. May even end up a lot worse than his team mate. He was outclassed by his team mate Bamber in GP2 Asia recently, which did not do him any favours at all. Certainly did not reflect his capability. I actually feel for the guy. But F1 is a tough world and he won't do well if he can't rid of his 'demons'

RichardRenes · 13 Mar 2009, 18:12 (Ref:2415059)

I still have the idea that something else was going on in season 3 with team Malaysia.

I can't simply believe that a team that was very competative in season 2 suddenly lost it in season 3, while a team that struggled in season 2 suddenly started to become competative in season 3, up to even winning a race.

Therefore I have the feeling some chassis were swapped somewhere

, probably without the knowledge of the teams.

dave not neil · 13 Mar 2009, 22:50 (Ref:2415229)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardRenes

...Therefore I have the feeling some chassis were swapped somewhere

, probably without the knowledge of the teams.

That is possibly the most ludicrous thing I have ever read on this forum.

diabloA1 · 15 Mar 2009, 04:40 (Ref:2415813)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardRenes

I still have the idea that something else was going on in season 3 with team Malaysia.

I can't simply believe that a team that was very competative in season 2 suddenly lost it in season 3, while a team that struggled in season 2 suddenly started to become competative in season 3, up to even winning a race.

Therefore I have the feeling some chassis were swapped somewhere

, probably without the knowledge of the teams.

If my memory serves me correctly, Ireland replaced their chassis(tub) in early season 2 while Malaysia replaced theirs in time for Brands that same season. Both complained the loss of stiffness.

It's not a problem that would go unnoticed as teams can compare data with 'sister' teams and spot the problem right away. There was a lot of speculation in season 3 on team Malaysia with regards to this but the team prinicipal himself ruled that out. They did check and the tub stiffness was within limits.

There were no major changes within the malaysian team in seasons 1 through 3 except for change of race engineers mid season, though in season 3 they had Greg Wheeler do the whole season. Many unlucky factors conributed to the poor performance in season 3 but the heart of it was the Wheeler-Yoong combo no working out.

Right from Donington this season it was clear that the Mugglestone-Fauzy combo was very good. Fauzy also matured as a driver in the last 1-2 years beating Bruno Senna in the wet in GP2 Asia at Sentul, podium finish at Monaco at WSbR plus a few other highlights. Mugglestone never engineered an A1GP car before but his track record is impressive.

Kiwi3 · 15 Mar 2009, 04:55 (Ref:2415815)

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloA1

Mugglestone

Is that a nickname or seriously is the guy's name?

diabloA1 · 15 Mar 2009, 15:20 (Ref:2416015)

Alan Mugglestone is his real name. Not something derived out of Harry Potter!

Mak · 15 Mar 2009, 18:47 (Ref:2416114)

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloA1

If my memory serves me correctly, Ireland replaced their chassis(tub) in early season 2 while Malaysia replaced theirs in time for Brands that same season. Both complained the loss of stiffness.

It's not a problem that would go unnoticed as teams can compare data with 'sister' teams and spot the problem right away. There was a lot of speculation in season 3 on team Malaysia with regards to this but the team prinicipal himself ruled that out. They did check and the tub stiffness was within limits.

There were no major changes within the malaysian team in seasons 1 through 3 except for change of race engineers mid season, though in season 3 they had Greg Wheeler do the whole season. Many unlucky factors conributed to the poor performance in season 3 but the heart of it was the Wheeler-Yoong combo no working out.

Right from Donington this season it was clear that the Mugglestone-Fauzy combo was very good. Fauzy also matured as a driver in the last 1-2 years beating Bruno Senna in the wet in GP2 Asia at Sentul, podium finish at Monaco at WSbR plus a few other highlights. Mugglestone never engineered an A1GP car before but his track record is impressive.

Isn't wheeler now with India??

RichardRenes · 15 Mar 2009, 18:48 (Ref:2416116)

Quote:

Originally Posted by diabloA1

There were no major changes within the malaysian team in seasons 1 through 3 except for change of race engineers mid season, though in season 3 they had Greg Wheeler do the whole season. Many unlucky factors conributed to the poor performance in season 3 but the heart of it was the Wheeler-Yoong combo no working out.

If my memory serves me correctly, Greg Wheeler was team Malaysia's engineer in season 1 too... so what happened overthere that it suddenly wasn't working out anymore?

diabloA1 · 16 Mar 2009, 02:06 (Ref:2416367)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RichardRenes

If my memory serves me correctly, Greg Wheeler was team Malaysia's engineer in season 1 too... so what happened overthere that it suddenly wasn't working out anymore?

The relationship between the two changed. Made worse by the unlucky results early in that season.

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