Australian Drivers

[NAC]

Originally Posted by Pro Racer

i agree about Ricciardo, he is a Red Bull driver so i think he is a good hope for Australia in F1.

But not before Mr Hartley

[N.A-D.R]

Originally Posted by NAC

But not before Mr Hartley

Hartley and Riccardo are 2 future drivers in F1 Imo. They have both have raced against eachother in 2007. hartley was in a top team and Ricciardo was in a mid-field team. Ricciardo did really well and was able to challenge hartley. it would be cool to see them both race together in the same cars!

[Stocky]

So what has Riccardo won then ?

[mac]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Did Mr Martin put the Australian A1GP car on pole and win both races at Taupo? No? But wasnt he the "great white hope" for the franchise? Wasnt he "leaps and bounds" better than Ian Dyk?

So.. are we pointing back to he real problem, of car prep and engineering?

No one said Martin was going to come in and waltz away with race wins. You would have to be a complete fool to not recognise the problems within the team - I know from speaking with a driver the team has used (or rather not used) in the last couple of years.

The fact is that, without Briscoe or Power available, Martin is by far the best, and most highly credentialled person for the job at the moment.

... And he did make a significant step forward over where the car had previously been.

I'll be very interested to see how he does on his home circuit...

[Kiwi3]

I would have liked to have seen how he would have done in the feature at Taupo had he not been harpooned by Narain on the first lap. Can't really judge him yet as a result of that.

[Pro Racer]

Originally Posted by Kiwi3

I would have liked to have seen how he would have done in the feature at Taupo had he not been harpooned by Narain on the first lap. Can't really judge him yet as a result of that.

and the guy wonders why he isn't in F1.

[N.A-D.R]

Originally Posted by Stocky

So what has Riccardo won then ?

Hasn't won a championship YET. But he is becoming a seriously quick driver and making his way up the ranks very quickly. He started open wheel racing in 2006. got 5th in the FBMW world finals. Got 7th in the formula renault italy championship (out of around 45 drivers) with a team which has never won a Frenault race before, RP motorsports. In 2008 he is going to go for the FRenault EC championship with SG formula (one of the top teams). So i think a top 3 in the championship is cabale for him, or he might clinch the championship.

More info: http://www.driverdb.com/racingdriver7273.html

[Kiwi3]

got 5th in the FBMW world finals. Got 7th in the formula renault italy championship (out of around 45 drivers)

That is a very under-whelming CV. Nothing impressive yet at all.

[Pro Racer]

correct me if i'm wrong but isn't he a Red Bull driver, they sponser a few young guys so they must see something.

[Kiwi3]

Yes he is, but Red Bull have made funny decisions before. I suspect he'll have to put a more decent result on the board in '08 if he is to remain one.

I just don't think anything on his CV suggests he has the credentials to provide decent technical feedback in a rookie session let alone get a race drive any time in the foreseeable future. He may be a good young peddler for all I know but not worth any hype yet.

[N.A-D.R]

Originally Posted by Kiwi3

That is a very under-whelming CV. Nothing impressive yet at all.

you will see in 2008. I think if he proforms in the 08 season, you could possibly see him in F3 or GP2 in 09...

[strider]

After today's performance (fastest in the rookie sessions, then 7th in the first full session), I'd say John Martin has well and truly staked his claim.

Mind you, if he doesn't deliver at his home circuit, then he probably never will, but the team has to perform as well, and that means more than turning out a nice looking car and doing the pit stops right.

[Sheep Stations]

And Dyk wouldn't have done any better?...I don't think so.

15th qualifying for the feature tells me once and for all that Dyk was a scape goat and the rot lies further up the chain...and Alan Jones will sooner rather than later get it back in spades for the disgraceful way he has blamed Dyk for the teams poor form.

I hope John Martin doesn't have to endure the same rubbish.

[NAC]

In his second outing Martin 6th in the sprint and 5th in feature.

What was this thread about again????

[mac]

I'm sorry, but it is pretty clear that Martin is as good as Australia have at the moment.

He was really impressive today. The team clearly has its shortcomings, but so did Dyk. We'll never know, but I just couldn't see Dyk doing the same lap times as the leaders in the wet today.

[Pro Racer]

well i think John done great today in the races except for his off on the second last lap, thats only his 2nd outing he did pretty well in Taupo too, if he gets qualifying sorted abit he could really challenge the front guys. yes the team has problems further up the tree but still John is a handy steerer and i think he earned a bit of praise with his performance today.

[deeks6]

Lets not get tooooo carried away. Martin was better than Dyk for sure but a lot of things went his way today and he got a good result - not a great one but a good one. Will still need to do better as the support team is doing a great job from what I have seen (setup, pitstops etc).

[strider]

A 6th and 5th makes two decent results in my book, and that was only Martin's second meeting in the car.

He'll have to start testing for British F3 soon, but I'm not sure how much that will get in the way of the remaining A1GP races. I think it's do-able, but he may be clocking up the air miles.

[mac]

Originally Posted by deeks6

Lets not get tooooo carried away. Martin was better than Dyk for sure but a lot of things went his way today and he got a good result - not a great one but a good one.

It was a very good result coming from 11th to 6th in the sprint race, and an even better result coming from 12th to 5th in the feature.

Granted a few things went his way, but he was seriously quick. Everytime he was in clean air in both races he made up ground to whoever was in front at a rapid rate.

Certainly needs to improve qualifying though...

[Sheep Stations]

Both Martin and Dyk have expressed their affection for Eastern Creek having raced there many times in open wheelers...and in the wet.

So with all the planets aligned we get a 5th and a 6th and the applause is rapturous? Please!... Martin is no better a driver than Dyk and we'll see in the next couple of unfamiliar overseas rounds a slow but acidic blame assign against the driver. And another good racing talent ruined.

[Kiwi3]

Gee honestly I think Martin has looked much better than Dyk did for two weekends in a row. Anyway we will get another chance to see in Durban...

[mac]

Originally Posted by Kiwi3

Gee honestly I think Martin has looked much better than Dyk did for two weekends in a row.

I thought it was pretty obvious too...

[NAC]

Mods I think we can change the title of the thread now, someting like A1GP Team Australia drivers.

I dont think it is worth closing it down as the debate is still relivant, we have moved on from said title.

[David Towe]

I think that Martin has shown more speed than any of the previous drivers in the Aussie car and gets my vote.

[N.A-D.R]

Will Power comes into my mind straight away.

I think Martin is doing quite well. But he aint a top driver, I think hes a mid-field driver. Still im waiting to see if Daniel Ricciardo will get the chance in Mexico! I think he will be faster then John Martin just quietly...