Sato or Davidson?? - Page 2

BootsOntheSide · 29 May 2004, 11:39 (Ref:987135)

I think you're overstating the significance of Sato's past testing. He didn't do that much before getting the Jordan drive, where eh was admittedly ragged, error-prone and inconsitant, althoguh with hindsight all the seeds of promise where there. Much the same things can be said about Davidson's 2 races with Minardi.

Remember that, when they were team-mates in 2001 UK F3, Sato had experience and wa initially faster, but Ant quickly caught up, to the point that, if you knock off the first few rounds, he would've been champion. So he may well have more inherent pace.

I think needing a while to get onto the pace in F1 is no disgrace. This is the toughest form of racing in the world, with 20 gifted drivers, many of them experienced and well-gelled in tehir teams. There are champions from countless series this year, and most of them never win again. Rememebr that Mansell was outpaced by de Angelis (arguably not as great a driver) for years at Lotus, and Hill got nowhere near Prost or Senna at Williams, yet both proved ot be top drivers.

Sato san · 29 May 2004, 13:41 (Ref:987206)

Sato looked bloody good today in qualifying....front row of the grid alongside Schumacher , out paced Button ....

yep , i think that warrants him drving for BAR !

surely there is going to come a point when people give him a break .

Kicking-back · 29 May 2004, 13:48 (Ref:987211)

Quote:

Originally posted by mike bt
I agree that Sato's pretty good and very brave too, but I don't think he's been as consistent as AD. Sure he beat Ant to the F3 title......

And if my memory serves me correctly Ant won the same number of races,

If TS and AD both won the same number of races, but TS took the title, he must've been MORE consistent.

Both are good drivers.

I don't understand this need of fans to belittle others while talking up their own guy.

If you support AD then it's belittling his achievements if you think TS is rubbish. And vice versa.

Raven · 29 May 2004, 13:59 (Ref:987225)

Both deserve a place in F1 and with BAR being an Anglo-Japanese team it's the right place for Sato IMO. He has shown immense improvement since his Jordan days and is one of the revelations of the 04 season for me. He has outqualified Jenson 40% of the time and would have a lot more points on the board if it weren't for those 3 engine failures.

Tweed · 29 May 2004, 18:09 (Ref:987439)

what people don't mention is Sato's lack of relative experience, so he's getting better by the year. When he started karting, Davidson had been doing it for 10 years more! His driving, I've heard, is still getting more and more accurate, and I don't think we know where his true peak is yet.

Having said that, Davidson obviously deserves a seat. He could go to Jaguar or something, have a year or so's racing experience, then I would love to see him and Sato at BAR, in the same team like their old F3 days

Sato san · 29 May 2004, 18:29 (Ref:987459)

Quote:

Originally posted by Tweed
what people don't mention is Sato's lack of relative experience, so he's getting better by the year. When he started karting, Davidson had been doing it for 10 years more! His driving, I've heard, is still getting more and more accurate, and I don't think we know where his true peak is yet.

Having said that, Davidson obviously deserves a seat. He could go to Jaguar or something, have a year or so's racing experience, then I would love to see him and Sato at BAR, in the same team like their old F3 days

here here !....

Spot on Tweed !....best post of the whole thread ....

they would be great a great line up at BAR in the future ..

darcym · 29 May 2004, 18:39 (Ref:987466)

Impressive form from Sato today no question of that.

1 good session doesn't make a champion though, lets see how he gets on in the race and a few more afterwards, but no taking away from a good performance.

A few more interesting things have come from this thread, it now appears the "dream BAR team" is Sato/AD - have your forgot about Button ??? he's 5th on the grid a quater of a second down on his team mate after going considerably earlier. Very interestingto see how late Sato started...the point that AD had been driving for years before Sato even started.

As said in an earlier post Sato needs to be given a break....but first he has to do something to warrent it, this could be it. Lets see how he gets on from here.

Sato san · 29 May 2004, 19:08 (Ref:987493)

no ones forgotten button....At the moment , Button is on a different level than both Sato and Davidson ....

your right about warrenting it ....but what he doesnt warrent is to having stuff that basically isnt true keep being said about him....

It works both ways in this situation , yet ...for some reason Taku seems to get alot of flak put his way ...which although some is justified , much of it is way over the top of what it warrants...

for instance , in 2002 at Jordan , Taku made a big mistake and took out his team mate Fisichella out by hitting him up the back in Malaysia....and he got totally slagged of for it , and often still does ( which is fair point i suppose ) .....YET , at the Nurburgring the same year , Fisi made more or less exactly the same mistake and took himself and Taku out at the 1st corner...yet , this hardly gets a mention ..

so , yes ...one good qualifyng doesnt make him a champion ( which of course he is not ) , but he has so far acheived alot more than one good quaifying session in his short F1 career so far...yet nothing else seems to get a mention .

At the moment , i think BAR have one of the best line up in the series with Button , Sato and Davidson .

Tye · 29 May 2004, 19:26 (Ref:987506)

Quote:

Originally posted by esorniloc
Why not run them both and sell off Button?

Sounds good to me...maybe the team could have a showdown between Davidson and Button Boy. I think it would be safe to say that Sato is in the team far as long as Honda have their say on the matter. I think that Davidson should continue his valuable work within the team because both Sato and Button are reaping his efforts.

It's just too bad that Sato hasn't had the relaibilty that his team mate has enjoyed this year, wait a minute...that sounds all too familiar. If Sato can tone down his erratic driving style he just may prove many of the racing world wrong.

It must be nice for Button to come into someone's home and have dinner.

Tye

**Adam43** · 29 May 2004, 21:20 (Ref:987594)

Are you saying that Button has in no way contributed to the four podiums this year? That he has done nothing? That it is all down to Sato, Davidson and, of course, Villeneuve?

1 Lotus · 29 May 2004, 21:45 (Ref:987611)

Quote:

Originally posted by esorniloc
Why not run them both and sell off Button?

I personally rather like that.
I like Jense, but he does seem to be developing somewhat of an ego lately. He is a fantastic driver, but a bit of humility would serve him well.

Kicking-back · 29 May 2004, 21:46 (Ref:987614)

Jenson's always seemed relatively humble in interviews I've seen

Sato san · 30 May 2004, 09:40 (Ref:987950)

Jenson was extremely confident back in his formula ford days .....

I like Jense , and will be shouting for him today !

But if he ever moves teams , then Taku and Davidson would be great indeed .

golem · 30 May 2004, 12:26 (Ref:988101)

I'd go for Taku if I was going to be building a team, and I had to have one. There's plenty of fast guys. RSchu can be quick when he wants. But Taku looks like a guy who wants to (and can) RACE. And that's something else.

But I would like to see Davidson get a ride, and personally I think Toyota might look his way to replace Panis, though I doubt they'll drop DaMatta unless he really wants to go back to America.. He won't be expensive, and can drive fast. (If Toyota gets Ralf, I'd be surprised. It'd just be wasted money for them at this stage.)

darcym · 30 May 2004, 13:18 (Ref:988143)

yes he certainly looked like a guy who WANTS to race when he made a dubious push move on Truli at the start and a silly move on Rubens, Sato's certainly proved his got some pace in F1...but unforuanatly has added more fuel to his recklessness tag....oooh and now his engines just blown ! unlucky.

Rennen · 30 May 2004, 22:59 (Ref:988709)

The fairest and best comparison is in their season as teammates in F3 with the Carlin team...

Kicking-back · 30 May 2004, 23:15 (Ref:988714)

When they were evenly matched.

Davidson = Sato.

Rennen · 30 May 2004, 23:21 (Ref:988719)

You cant sleep either?

Nizmo32_josh · 30 May 2004, 23:32 (Ref:988722)

Its a shame what sato did yesterday... As a sato fan i was going to enjoy his podium antics.... then 'that' move... needless to say i am bitterly dissapointed!!

gringottsdirect · 31 May 2004, 01:07 (Ref:988775)

Sato is a racer, OK he didn't pass Rubinho today, but if he had it would have been awesome. He uses his superior Honda engine to good effect, for the moment they are imploding but when they crack it, Sato will shine.
Jenson doesn't have the same " leading edge " engine specification but so far this is good, he's benefiting from better reliability.

BAR will win soon !

( OK..... maybe the engines are really same spec, but I love conspiracy theories. )

Flaming_Wuzzle · 31 May 2004, 01:34 (Ref:988787)

Well this is an interesting dilemma..3 good drivers, only two spots, and one of the drivers needs race experience..

I see two situations happening:
- Davidson goes to Jaguar/Sauber/Jordan until a spot opens up in BAR so he can get a race seat there
OR
- Button leaves for a higher-up team (Williams?), Sato and Davidson become BAR race drivers

neilap · 31 May 2004, 01:44 (Ref:988790)

Since when is Williams a higher team? Would you leave BAR for Williams now? I would not. I dont think BAR wants two British drivers. IMO that is one of the things keeping Ant out of a race seat. PR is such a big part of F1.

Williams may be a good place for him. Webber and him should make a good team. We all know Ant is fast. With experience I am sure he could do at least as well as anyone else in F1.

Mike_Wooshy · 31 May 2004, 07:20 (Ref:988882)

Quote:

Originally posted by darcym
Honda appear to help keep the doors open for him.

i think they are doing it as they and toyota are the only car manufactures from japan, to boost car sales in japan wouldnt it be good to say from a head office point of veiw, as honda is a japanese driver, driving for the company at the peak of motorsport, and they are building good cars on & off the track, think might "help" sell cars. same with BMW & williams they seem to want a german driver (ralf but obviously not after this seasons) & some people say hiedfeld is eying up his replacement as a driver, in a top team.

Dixie Flatline · 31 May 2004, 07:37 (Ref:988896)

I think Honda wants a Japanese driver in its Formula One team. Sato fits the bill nicely, so while BAR wants to keep Honda engines, Sato will have an edge on the other competitors for his seat, Davidson included. Richards will be determined to hang onto Button after his current good season, so I think Davidson's future will be battling for a seat in a lower team with the likes of Ryan Briscoe for next season.

BTW, I think I've read elsewhere that BMW are over their desire to always have a German driver in their team. That's perhaps why Nick Heidfeld isn't being mentioned all that much (relative to other drivers vying for a seat at Williams) as a contender for Williams next season.

F3lollipops · 31 May 2004, 09:22 (Ref:988993)

I would have no problem with BAR dumping Button and reuniting the 2001 British F3 Carlin Dream Team

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