Sam Bird deserves his F1 break

[ace007]

When it comes to rookies ready to embark on an F1 career, it doesn't come closer to the mature GP2 race winner Sam Bird. I reckon, using Bird in F1 would benefit any team as his racing experience and F1 track time is second to none.

He has been endorsed by many big brands throughout his career (BP amongst others), tested Williams F1 on many occasions (not bringing $ therefore ultimately not signed...) and was finally signed by Mercedes F1 who saw the special talent the kid has. People involved with Sam know what an extraordinary value Sam is today.

He was always special, since the early days. Check his record in Formula Renault UK, in Formula 3 UK before switching to the Euro series where the Kumo tyres didn't allow him to adjust as fast as he would have liked.

Yet, first GP2 qualy: P2 (Abu Dhabi). Was leading the race before a break failure occurred... Well, that great ART team did allow him some great performances in 2010, even if he endured 7 mechanical DNF! yes, seven!! With a few less, he could have been a title contender in his first year!

I know Sam Bird well. I can tell you that behind that helmet, there is a hungry young man with an extraordinary talent which is only asking to be given the chance to prove himself in F1.

When you see what Bianchi can do with a Marussia, it only suggests what Bird could do in a Force India!

[AS1924]

Sam is indeed a great driver and should have the chance in F1. His season in GP 2 this year, 4 wins so far, and for sure more to come, are just the proof that this boy is the real deal. I really hope to see him in 2014 on the grid. F1 should be also about talent not just money. All the best Sam!

[chico]

Couldn't agree more. Russian Time being a new team in GP2 have no right to be winning races already, let alone be the team with the most wins this season. Dillmann is a good driver and probably a good measure of where the team should be in their first year (towards the front of the mid-pack, which is pretty good for a brand new team!). Bird's class and determination are dragging the team to the top of the pile. Mid to lower tier F1 teams: take notice...

[Beryl]

Good driver, but he's been around for a long time and never won any championships. He's won some impressive races this year, but at his age and experience level, it would be poor if he didn't.

I think there's better talents in the pipeline, Bird would be better off going to USA or Japan if he wants to continue single-seaters, otherwise he should make the switch to DTM or sports cars.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by Beryl

Good driver, but he's been around for a long time and never won any championships. He's won some impressive races this year, but at his age and experience level, it would be poor if he didn't.

I think there's better talents in the pipeline, Bird would be better off going to USA or Japan if he wants to continue single-seaters, otherwise he should make the switch to DTM or sports cars.

As good as he is, I agree with this. Bird's time is running out, and being with Merc won't do much with them having F1s best 2 driver line-up both on long contracts, unless they can sort out a seat with a smaller team sometime soon.

[ace007]

Dont forget that not being part of a drivers' scheme, and never coming with a full budget, it is very difficult to win championships if you don't belong to Renault, Red Bull or McLaren. These youngsters have the very best cars in the very best teams at their disposal. Back in 2008, as an independent driver, Sam had 33 opponents in F3 (4 Red Bull cars in the same championship...), not 13. At Manor, where he struggled, even Hamilton finished 10th that first year. Therefore many components to consider in the equation.

In addition, I believe it is better to come in later when you are fully developed rather than too soon at 21 or 22 like the trend seem to show. Nobody will ever remember Gutierrez, Alguersarri or even Buemi and we saw what happened to Grosjean the first time around... He was lucky to be saved a second time by Gravity... And I rate him nonetheless. But he is a typical case of "graduating too soon".

You can have unique talents like Kimi, Alonso and Vettel but you also have great champions who came in their late twenties like Eddie Irvine who came runner-up in 1999 or even world champion Damon Hill who was 33 when he started racing in F1. It didnt prevent him from winning 22 F1 races. Senna himself appeared only at 24 on the F1 grid. So it takes various paths to make it and I can guarantee you that Frinjs (who has impressed until this year...) with 3 championships behind him is far less ready than Bird to deliver at F1 status.

F1 can not be about graduating soon or being the youngest driver to drive an F1 car (Not even referring to the latest non-sense about Sirotkin...) but about a fully developed driver (from speed to spatial awareness, physical and mental race fitness) who has all the qualities required to make a mark in his F1 start and bring something the employer F1 team doesn't have at that time.

[Razzzor]

Even so, look at Grosjean he's 27, has plenty of experience and still makes too mistakes.

Sam Bird is worthy of a F1 drive now. He'll probably take the GP2 title. Coletti has only finished in the points once in the last 8 races. How he's still holding onto the lead is amazing, but Nasr and Leimer haven't exactly been consistent either. And everytime Bird sacrifices his race 2 tyres to win race 1, he still usually scores the most points! 120 points up for grabs, Bird only 14 behind the leader, he's going to take it in my opinion.

I don't think you can rave about his performance based on it being a brand new team. They clearly aren't your typical brand new team because Dillman has also been very fast. He's just made more mistakes and seems to qualifying poorly, so has only ended up with 1 podium. But could easily have been more.

I don't think Bird is the best driver in GP2, but he's the most ready. And if he wins the title this year, he's got nowhere left to go. He can't return to WSR, it'll be a step backwards. If he can't get an F1 race drive he'd HAVE to get a test drive.

He'd make a good fit at Williams, replacing Loldonado.

[ace007]

Grosjean and Maldonado have been fast on the day since early in their careers but both too wild at times. They are actually two very bad examples for young F1 graduates actually. Without Boullier, Grosjean would not be there. And no one on the grid wants to hear about him because of his wilderness.

Sam is much more mature and more clever about his racing. Ask Brawn at Merc. In addition, he is bringing a tone of info from the simulator to improve the car since 2011. But of course, Merc being a world brand, it is primarily about big names and world champions, of course. So Sam would have to prove himself elsewhere first.

Indeed, Williams would be a great start since they will be Merc powered. He is enjoying a great relationship with the race team there but without Maldonado's $$, they would be seriously in the red so unless a serious sponsor pops in, it won't happen at Williams. Even if Franck always gave Brit talents a chance and always cared about it, today's economics doesn't allow him to keep that line.

VJ could be the other option if a vacancy was opening. He has shown the willingness of running drivers in the past without a huge sponsor attached. Let's see...

[BSchneiderFan]

The bottom line is surely this: yes, there's a lot of evidence to suggest Sam Bird deserves a shot at F1. But is there any evidence that he's in the running for a seat in 2014, or is it wishful thinking? I could name half a dozen drivers who deserve a chance at the highest level but 99.9% certainly won't be on the grid next year.

[p-matt]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

The bottom line is surely this: yes, there's a lot of evidence to suggest Sam Bird deserves a shot at F1. But is there any evidence that he's in the running for a seat in 2014, or is it wishful thinking? I could name half a dozen drivers who deserve a chance at the highest level but 99.9% certainly won't be on the grid next year.

Agree completely. He needs to win GP2 to even remotely stand a chance, but even then I don't see where he slots in. Williams would make a lot of sense but there's not good reason for him to replace one of the race drivers, and he's a bit old to be a reserve. Force India makes sense too, but they're clearly looking at Calado.

I think he's missed his chance, and DTM beckons next year.

[peebee2]

Hmm, driver has the budget to always have the best of drives on the way through the junior ranks.

Driver never wins a title.

Driver wins a total of 8 races since leaving Formule Renault 7 years ago.

Driver brings budget to make F1 test appearances.

Not exactly F1 written all over it really.

[BSchneiderFan]

p-matt, isn't Bird already reserve for Mercedes?

[miniman]

Originally Posted by peebee2

Hmm, driver has the budget to always have the best of drives on the way through the junior ranks.

Driver never wins a title.

Driver wins a total of 8 races since leaving Formule Renault 7 years ago.

Driver brings budget to make F1 test appearances.

Not exactly F1 written all over it really.

Bird has never paid a penny to test an F1 car. He is the reserve driver for Mercedes

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by miniman

Bird has never paid a penny to test an F1 car. He is the reserve driver for Mercedes

Okay

[ace007]

Not only Bird never brought a penny to be a test driver at Williams or Mercedes but he was in both paid for his duties and he is still today a paid driver which is a very important point in comparaison to all other drivers around.

Count the number of podiums he had please perhaps if the wins are not enough... And Check his Macau record as well. If it wasnt for a Brazilian retard, he would have won Macau too in his 2nd year.

The kid is very special. Maybe older than your average graduate but the point is to stay in F1 as a real asset, not come in and leave F1 as fast as you entered!

Regarding Calado, the only reason Force India is looking into him is Todt's son who is now managing him and the rest of the $$ from Bianchi turns out to be very useful for now. But without a proper budget, Calado faces even a higher budget to raise than Bianchi did last year...

The average graduation budget is 7 to 8M Euros so it leaves it to the very fortunate only. Winning GP2 might help that indeed. TBC.

[Peat]

6 months ago, i would have dismissed him very quickly. He's certainly shown well this year.

But he has spent much of the last 5-6 years in the best machinery and has very little to show for it.

As for 'Russian Time' being a new team - It's iSport rebadged. It was a turn-key operation. Not taking anything away from them, i just get narked when people refer to them as 'new'.

[ace007]

I am really surprised you can say that about him.

His 2012 WSR campaign last year was outstanding (Spa in the wet from last to five (disqualified in qualies for fuel level in car), Monaco, Silverstone to mention a few) in a mediocre car (see what Riccardo did with them...) fighting a Fortec, Carlin and Caterham set-up directly by Red Bull during the summer break to help da Costa look invicible. And he was then 2 sec quicker in each race, which raised a few eyesbrows.

Another outstanding year was 2010 with ART where he could have finished 3rd if Perez didnt drive into him in Abu Dhabi. Finished 5th overall which is more than decent for a rookie. 7 mechanical DNF with engine blow when on Silverstone pole, water pomp when on Hungaroring pole, break failure when p2 in Abu dhabi and leading the race before parking the car (first gp2 race for him). Mercedes did see that and got him on board, you see.

The same happened back in F3 UK where Williams spotted him. The F3 Euro series following year was more difficult and I remember the Kuhmo issue being at the heart of his problem. Williams were surprised indeed. Hulkenberg got the priority, deservedly so I must say.

But Sam has that extra special something. He is very driven and rather intelligent in his racing. Takes calculated risks which is what F1 wants to see. No loose canon with straightforward speed. But he is mega fast. And he has big balls, the ones required in street courses like Monaco and Macau. I am very eager to see him in the streets of Singapore actually. Cant wait!

[Beryl]

Originally Posted by Razzzor

but Nasr and Leimer haven't exactly been consistent either.

If Nasr hasn't been consistent, what counts as consistent? Nasr has been quick at every race except for Nurburgring Race 1 and scored points in every race except the two in which he retired.

Originally Posted by Razzzor

He'd make a good fit at Williams, replacing Loldonado.

Why would Williams replace Pastor with a driver that's slower and brings far less money?

[Razzzor]

Originally Posted by Beryl

If Nasr hasn't been consistent, what counts as consistent? Nasr has been quick at every race except for Nurburgring Race 1 and scored points in every race except the two in which he retired.
Why would Williams replace Pastor with a driver that's slower and brings far less money?

Yeah I suppose he has when I look over his results. I guess it is only his 2nd year and he's scored double the points of Palmer.

Re replacing Pastor with Sam Bird, well, because no one likes Maldonado? Rookie Bottas, who should actually be a bit unexperienced for F1, has made him look pretty average this year.

[Beryl]

Bottas has done well and has pretty much matched Maldonado in qualifying, but Pastor has done better in races. No need to get rid of him when guys like Van der Garde, Di Resta, Sutil, Gutierrez and Chilton are still in F1.

[ace007]

Agreed! Finally someone speaks the truth!

[321Go]

Originally Posted by ace007

Agreed! Finally someone speaks the truth!

You still on it Sam??
Give it up Sam, it ain't - gonna - happen. This is not the right way to try and get yourself a seat mate. Why not the Kobayashi and ask for donations? It's probably the only way you'll get on the F1 grid.

[Aysedasi]

Your evidence 321Go?

[ace007]

Sorry, not following...

[Razzzor]

Originally Posted by 321Go

You still on it Sam??
Give it up Sam, it ain't - gonna - happen. This is not the right way to try and get yourself a seat mate. Why not the Kobayashi and ask for donations? It's probably the only way you'll get on the F1 grid.

Half of ace's posts are about Sam, but he's probably just a big supporter. What makes you think it is Sam?