Who's going to be British F3 champion now?

[Mathias]

Seeing as Bella hasn't got a round to putting up one of her regular British F3 polls, and we've got AGES to the next event, here's another chance for us all to get all hot under the collar about who we think is going to win this year's championship.

For a laugh, I've used the current top 8, though I do understand that mathematically speaking, anyone is still capable of winning the series!

[Mathias]

I've gone for Adam (assuming he can afford it) as he is, in my opinion, The Most Naturally Talented Driver In F3™.

Don't forget this is who do you think is going to win, not who do you want to win!

PS Obviously, Andrew Thompson will be finishing second...,

[Kicking-back]

Piquet

[Mathias]

K-B, you seem to say Piquet, but vote Parente...?

[Kicking-back]

No. I hadn't clicked vote when I posted that.

I've now cast my vote - and it's for Nelson.

[Mathias]

Oh, OK, we seem to have an anonymous Parente fan!

[Gaz]

I'm going for Adam Carroll (budget provided of course).

I think like Mathias he is the most naturally talented driver in the field. Others have moaned about not being able to focus on their job because of money factors etc, etc whilst despite being in the same boat as these Adam has produced excellent performance after excellent performance. To put together the consistent run he has recently to get himself back in the title hunt after a dreadful start has shown true character and he seems to have the legs on Piquet.

I think Piquet has lost it completely. There is something very wrong somewhere. Despite the fact I have never rated him as highly as many he still has more pace than he's actually showing. His only real decent effort has been at Snett, a circuit him and the team know like the back of their hands anyway. Unless he jumps over to Hitech I really don't see him winning unless AC hits a disaster either on the track or off it.

I think James Rossiter could still be a dark horse. He's had a couple of bad rounds but if he can just get his head together and get back to his early season form he's still right in there with a shout!

[superMINI]

Gaz for someone who runs a website giving race reports you have some very extreme likes and dislikes. What did Nelson Piquet the 2nd ever do to you? The way you talk he killed your granny's budgie right in front of you...


I'd like to see Adam Carroll win (for P1 as much as for Adam – shows hard work and head down pays off). I think however that Piquet will eak out a bigger lead over the coming months, though it may still be a close race to the end, he has (usually) got a patient, cool head and quietly chips away during races.

I'd call Danny as the dark horse. Just a couple more wins and consistent finishes and he could do it. That would require some committment from Lola, and I hope they're behind this campaign 100%.

Parente is a long shot, Dirani has more chance than him. Other than that possibly Piccione could steal it from under everyones noses if they;re not careful.

[Gaz]

Supermini -

1. I no longer run a website giving reports and even if I still did surely I'm entitled to my opinion just as much as you? Its not as though what I was running was an official website!

2. Piquet hasn't done anything to me. Its just I don't like drivers who hype themselves up as the next best thing since Senna and then can't deliver on their promise. They just set themselves up to be shot down if they fail! And here is a guy who currently isn't fulfilling his promise! If he wins then fair play I won't have a leg to stand on but currently his performances, particulary in qualifying are very poor! His drive in race 1 on Saturday up to his moment of madness was more like what I'd expect from someone as hyped as him though I will say!

[Mathias]

Shame about britishsingleseaters, Gaz, but I can sympathise!

[Gaz]

Cheers mate! It might be back, theres a few people who are trying to encourage me back into it and willing to give me a hand but we'll see! As you well know running a website is hard work and sometimes people just don't appreciate it!

Anyway back to the topic.....

[superMINI]

Speaking of hyped up: James Rossiter. No chance.


Go Adam!

[Jonny Apex]

Originally posted by Gaz
2. Piquet hasn't done anything to me. Its just I don't like drivers who hype themselves up as

To be fair, I don't think Piquet has hyped himself up at all. Nor Rossiter (in fact, as I recall, it was quite rare for Rossiter's name even to be mentioned pre-season. Unlike others who have yet to deliver ...)

[Gaz]

Well perhaps not totally the man himself Jonny but certainly the press and the people close to him. Some of the comments he made at the end of last season also were over the line from just being confident and into the arrogant court! He just comes across as a bit of a spoilt, daddies boy who throws his teddy when he can't win!

As for Rossiter, absolutely agree! Certainly he has been a surprise package and no one expected it. It just seems that he's rattled a few people on here though with his confidence! Whats Rossiter ever done to you SuperMini? The way you talk he killed your granny's budgie right in front of you...

[flexible-flyer]

unlike most people on the forum i have been saying adam carroll from the moment he signed for p1. i think we had this same poll around the silverstone and croft and knockhill rounds and despite carroll being at the front and putting in a neat senna like first lap at silverstone i think carroll only got 2 or 3 votes. one of which was mine.
aslong as he is able to show up at the races and doesnt have bad luck such as some of his early season races he can do it. that croft weekend and knockhill hit hard on his points total despite being as racey as ever, overtaking, getting his head down and such and the fact that after a few more races he has clawed back (obviously with the help of poor results from rossi and piquet) into contention, and as we speak, the title lead, shows that he can go all the way. we are just past the halfway point in the season and im sure we will be seeing alot more of the guys behind him, but i think in the perfect world it would be adam carroll that comes out on top.

rossiter and piquet will have more great races im sure. even if i do have the opinion of rossiter as being a bit too cocky for my liking...! the carlin guys and danny watts are also doing well and yep even will power and the hitech drivers could come good later on so it will go to the wire probably!

[Kicking-back]

Originally posted by flexible-flyer
i do have the opinion of rossiter as being a bit too cocky for my liking...!

Sportsmen need to be confident.

[flexible-flyer]

not THAT confident.

[Kicking-back]

Why not?

If you don't believe in yourself, no-one else is going to do it for you.

[Gaz]

I think personally considering he has no real karting background he has every right to be ultra confident as he must be shocked at just how far he's come and just how well he's showing compared to guys such as Piquet and co. who have been at this game for years!

I admire flexible-flyers undying confidence in AC though. I was one of the few pre-season who had Carroll as my hot tip and argued many a good case for him and P1 against the doubters but after his start I thought that was it! To put together such a run like he has is all credit to the man and his undoubted talents!

[flexible-flyer]

thanks gaz.

make no mistake, though rossi has done superb this year he was always a talent. i just think though sometimes this year he has been involved in incidents or something and some things he says bugs me. nothing wrong with promoting yourself but just the odd things he would say. like will power said in the snet show, he isnt very complimentary to anyone, except himself!

[Kicking-back]

He's not there to be complimentary about the other drivers.

They are his rivals.

The fact that Will Power got rattled about it shows it works!

[Mr Jinxx]

No judgement from me, but in terms of terminology, there is confidence and there is cocky.

Confidence I like, especially when it is just. Someone confident in their own ability is someone strong.

Cocky I dislike, as it smacks of immaturity, and someone who is cocky tends to have foundations built on sand. If you are confident and secure in yourself, you don't tend to be cocky, in my experience.

Sure, Cassius Clay as he was then, and several others have proven otherwise, so perhaps it's a guide rather than a rule!

[prefabsprout]

Originally posted by Gaz
I think personally considering he has no real karting

Gaz

I think you will find he was karting in 1999 possibly even earlier.

He was excluded from a Shennington club meeting for having a massively illegal cylinder head volume on his engine which is my first memory of his karting experience. I even asked rather more subtly last year on this forun if it was the same James Rossiter and had it confirmed that it was.

It's unfortunate what reminds me of my first memory of seeing him in a kart, it may well not of been down to him or his team, however, it does mean that he has a lot more background in karting than some of the PR I have seen about would suggest. Shennington often had a B or C final for Junior TKM and to be excluded from the top 5 of the A final for a technical infringement would suggest that it possibly wasn't his first meeting. Either that or he drove amazingly to be that high up (He wasn't on his novice plates either which also suggests he had a few races behind him at that point in time)


Regardless of the official or unofficial story of his experience in the past it doesn't take away his performances either this year or last year in Renaults.
He is doing fairly well. Last year he tailed off towards the end of season, he has to reverse that trend this season as it seems to have started earlier. By the end of the year we will know if he can keep his driving and mental outlook at the same level for an entire championship, if he does there may well be a young British F3 champion if not ..... well it's still a long way to go and there are lots of drivers racing.

[Gaz]

Hey, we've gotta first of all remember this is his first year of F3! He has gone far beyond everybodies expectations and if he finishes out the season in the top 5 overall that has got to be seen as a positive return from a rookie year in the category.

Well I'm not too well up on James' past but I always remember having a conversation with our mod on this forum and her telling me he had little or no karting experience! If he was racing in 99 that might mean he has had 2-3 years but thats not really the same as the Piquet etc of this world that might have been karting for 8-10, but I might be wrong!

[prefabsprout]

99-03 makes 3-4 years minimum at possibly the biggest kart club in the country, and just around the corner from home.

I totally agree he is doing very well in his rookie F3 year, just as he showed very well last year until the last rounds.

Pumping any driver up as if they were fresh out of diapers and behind a wheel isn't good. If he beats Piquet in the championship good on him, everyone knows Piquet has driven for years already. You shouldn't have to hide part of your driving experience to make yourself look better in the eyes of the race going public. Just think how many people say - Hey I drove against Jenson Button, or their parents telling others that their sons/daughters did. Does he lose years off his racing? He has no need to, nor should anyone that is successfull. Rossiter is/has been succesfull so far, he needs a championship to his name to really put himself on the map. Ultimately there is only one championship winner.
A famous person once said coming second is just being the first loser, in a single race that is one thing, to do so over a year is far worse. He expects to win and that is a being a competitive attitude. I doubt he will be happy to be the first loser. Then again who would be at that level in sport.