The Silly Season thread!!!

[Born Racer]

The points are definitely not telling the story here.

[Pro Racer]

Originally Posted by Mr V

1 solitary point separates them, Nico has 8 , Nakajima 7, who would have thought that.....

A) He'd be this close to Nico

B) Have more points than Piquet/Glock/Coulthard (hell, he has more than all 3 combined ) who are his "equivilents" in the teams that Williams are racing.

All in all, the boy's doing good imo.

he is pulling a Wurz of 07, he is nowhere normally but always turns up for a good points haul on a weird raceday.

[Ralf's Girl]

Nakajima is doing better than I expected, considering that his F1 debut was defined by him knocking his mechanics over in the pitlane... Although I do think that over the season Rosberg will be very comfortably ahead of him - Nakajima has benefited from other drivers retiring to get his points, but we can't really criticise him for that. I think he's doing okay.

Heidfeld's form is disappointing - from what I can gather, BMW have options on both of their drivers that they're likely to make decisions on in the summer. Right now, it would be madness to let Kubica go, but Heidfeld is less clear-cut. If he doesn't up his game in the next few races, they might start looking elsewhere.

Here's a rumour I'm trying to start: Raikkonen to be sacked for his incompetence and replaced by Sutil. What do you think?

[Hendrik]

Originally Posted by Ralf's Girl

Here's a rumour I'm trying to start: Raikkonen to be sacked for his incompetence and replaced by Sutil. What do you think?

At least, Sutil would be pleased.

[Icebaby]

[quote=Ralf's GirlHere's a rumour I'm trying to start: Raikkonen to be sacked for his incompetence and replaced by Sutil. What do you think? [/quote]

I think your onto something here and "Incompetence" a good word to use for Kimis display in Monoco.

[koper]

Originally Posted by OZ_HCR32

Well, in the space of two weeks and one race weekend it seems that Heidfeld is no longer being publicly supported by Thiessen. (...)

I wouldn't agree...

It seems that today Thiessen backs him even more...link

...and I agree with him...give Heidfeld more time...he is a great driver...just having minor problems, it was same with Robert a year ago.

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by Pro Racer

he is pulling a Wurz of 07, he is nowhere normally but always turns up for a good points haul on a weird raceday.

Errr, as opposed to someone who doesn't turn up for a good points haul on a weird race day?

Whether it's to keep Toyota happy or not, ask Sir Frank who he'd rather have driving his second car right now? Nakajima, Piquet, Glock or Coulthard?

I'm not saying that the lad is as good as Nico, the point i was making is that he is doing better than alot of people thought he was going to and whether he luck's into points or not, he's there in the right place at the right time and thats alot more than can be said for the 3 others i mentioned above.

[Teretonga]

Regarding Heidfeld
A couple of bad weekends do not undo consistent months of good performamces. Mario will give him time and will not make rash decisions. If you get T boned by someone else it is not going to phase out the good Dr.

Nakajima.

He was impressively close to Nico in testing and late last year in spite of his inexperience. What we are seeing that he doesn't cope well with the qualifying process. He actually races quite well but in cars that can't pass what do you expect.
When we get 'out of the box' races he is there and he scores...
Which tends to tell me that he is capable, quite capable, and worthy of his present seat.
The fact that his scores are nearly at Nico's level may be an indication that Nico's approach and driving are at 11/10ths on occasions, trying to carry the car too much. Is Nico overdriving on occasions? I think in the damage stakes Nico's repairs have cost the team more than Nakajima's.

[Bononi]

About Heidfeld... like always people read too much than actually it means... and the press love it.

[deeks6]

Nick - bad patch, good teammate ... he'll recover (always does), get off his back

Nakajima - is the epitome of a good No.2 ... he has been outqualified by Rosberg 5-1, finished behind him 4 times out of 5 but the point is that he keeps finishing, drives sensibly most of the time and averages the most positions made up in races compared to qualifying. I think Renault, Toyota and Red Bull would be ecstatic if their No 2 men could do what he is doing.

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by Mr V

Errr, as opposed to someone who doesn't turn up for a good points haul on a weird race day?

I think alot of people would expect something like that from the Coulthard/Wurz/Barrichello type. Sir Frank is probably pretty happy with himself to have the hotshot rookie keeping cool and someone like Coulthard who sould be the more level headed type, being caught up in several incidents.

[Clunk or Zilly]

Originally Posted by FPV GTHO

I think alot of people would expect something like that from the Coulthard/Wurz/Barrichello type. Sir Frank is probably pretty happy with himself to have the hotshot rookie keeping cool and someone like Coulthard who sould be the more level headed type, being caught up in several incidents.

Would Coulthard be caught up in so many incidents if he was able to qualify the car on the same level as Webber???
Best way not to be caught in a midfield melee is not to be in the midfield

[OZ_HCR32]

I will clarify and say that i dont think Heidfelds form is enough of a reason to be sacked. As others have said he has always been pretty consistant, doesnt bin cars and most importantly always picks up spots in a race. If he has a qualifying problem and a recent GP of someone hitting him then so be it. But not the end of the world. If he can get tyres and qualifying sorted he will be at the pointier end of things and able to capitalise on his ability to race.

Now that all said, i think BMW are too cut throat and have high expectations of not only this season but next. If the ability is there to get a better driver then they will. In my eyes i would have backed Heidfeld all day a few years back, but his performances alongside Webber at Williams and Kubica at BMW mean there will likely be better drivers wanting a BMW seat, and i suspect BMW wont be patient. Though i suspect the team woudl perform better with their current known quantities and stability from same drivers and engineers

[JohnSSC]

I think that BMW will have no compunction in cutting Heidfeld IF they have someone else in the frame who can help raise their game. However cut throat that may be, it is the reason they will likely win a race before Toyota does. I think Thiessen & Co are willing to make the hard decisions necessary to gain the top step of the podium.

Bottom line is that Heidfeld has had his chance and while he has shown himself to be a quality driver he has not been able to rise to the top within his team.

[OZ_HCR32]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

Bottom line is that Heidfeld has had his chance and while he has shown himself to be a quality driver he has not been able to rise to the top within his team.

Thats a very good point. He has been there since the start of the BMW-Sauber team and has failed to really take charge and get the team working for him on the back of results and showing leadership. Well thats my perception anyway

[Satorian]

Originally Posted by OZ_HCR32

Thats a very good point. He has been there since the start of the BMW-Sauber team and has failed to really take charge and get the team working for him on the back of results and showing leadership. Well thats my perception anyway

And your perception is based on what?


Heidfeld's having a bit of a rough time at the moment, but I'm convinced he'll pull through. He still is quick, consistent and an adept car developer, so I'd be surprised if BMW let him go before 2010. Just wait for him to bounce back and put in another handful of strong performances.

[Yannick]

Renault is reportedly going to test at Silverstone with Robert Dornboos in preparation for a demonstration run at a motor show type event, sponsored by the main sponsor of Renault, in the man's hometown of Rotterdam. To me, it seems like they are on the way of adding some additional "experience" to their driver lineup. At the beginning of the season, the lineup was announced as follows: #1 Alonso, #2 Nelsinho, #3 Grosjean, #4 Yamamoto. Alonso is clearly the most experienced man out of these by a long stretch. But how much time in the car have #3 and #4 actually had so far?

[Yannick]

Regarding the driver lineup situation at BMW, Kubica clearly has the upper hands over Heidfeld at the time. But Heidfeld did most of the testing mileage of the car during the winter, as there was no test driver back then. Now they have Christian Klien in that capacity, who was the test driver of the Honda Earth car last year. If they would really want to replace Heidfeld at BMW for next year, they surely would look at the driver market and try to get back Vettel again. But I think it's rather likely that Nick will get back on track before season's end.

[OZ_HCR32]

Originally Posted by Satorian

And your perception is based on what?

Well you look at what happened when Kimi joined McLaren. What happened when MS joined Benetton and Ferrari. What Webber has done at Jaguar and Red Bull, Alonso at Renault, what Jensen did at Honda. They all seized the upper hand and whilst Heidfeld looks to have enjoyed a small advantage over Kubica last year, considering Kubica's accident, retirements and first season in F1, the gap wasnt that dramatic that the trend this year can be quickly dismissed.

[Satorian]

Originally Posted by OZ_HCR32

Well you look at what happened when Kimi joined McLaren. What happened when MS joined Benetton and Ferrari. What Webber has done at Jaguar and Red Bull, Alonso at Renault, what Jensen did at Honda. They all seized the upper hand and whilst Heidfeld looks to have enjoyed a small advantage over Kubica last year, considering Kubica's accident, retirements and first season in F1, the gap wasnt that dramatic that the trend this year can be quickly dismissed.

But what's the point of this observation? What does this say about his qualification as a driver? Do you want a politician/motivational speaker in the car or a driver? Do you think he should try to align the team behind himself in a way detrimental to Kubica's efforts and the overall team efforts?

I don't quite get what you are trying to say about Heidfeld.

[Clunk or Zilly]

Might I suggest that BMW's current developments in search of performance, driveability etc etc are aiming purely at the speed of the car. Whichever driver gains the most from the gains in performance is irrelevant to BMW as long as they improve their position in the championship and search for a win. In an ideal world then both drivers would benefit equally but it is more likely that one will gain more than the other. IMHO they have two good drivers who are being treated equally by the team and given the same chances to perform well.

[OZ_HCR32]

Originally Posted by Satorian

But what's the point of this observation? What does this say about his qualification as a driver? Do you want a politician/motivational speaker in the car or a driver? Do you think he should try to align the team behind himself in a way detrimental to Kubica's efforts and the overall team efforts?

I don't quite get what you are trying to say about Heidfeld.

You want a driver. Typically in most teams one driver is proven to be better then the other, after a season or two of being bettered they are normally shown the door, or chose to leave. Heidfeld may fall mercy to this trend

The fact is this is his 3rd seasons with BMW and if some of the more favoured drivers are on the market i think BMW will give him the chop, especially if he isnt able to get the results of Kubica.

Its not to say i think they should. He is a great racer that always picks up places in a race, he isnt an ego of F1 so not disruptive to a team, and sometimes change for changes sake is not good. I think they should keep him. Up until start of 2006 he was my favourite driver, still is one of my favourite. I just dont think BMW will show him any mercy.

[rocketracer]

i think the kubica / heidfeld driver lineup is one of, if not THE most balanced on the grid. It gives BMW everything they need to keep the team moving forward. The drivers do not make unnecessary and pointless mistakes, which means they generally maximise the points available for the car.

I expected Heidfeld to show really strongly in monaco, and he did make many places off the start. It's unfortunate we didnt really see what might have been with his race, had he not been punted, because i think that it would've been the sort of race where he quietly positions himself very strongly, and would've ended up withy a stab at the kubica / massa podium battle.

The only driver i can see replacing heidfeld in the longer term (note: i see this as being at least 2010 or later) would be Rosberg. If kubica proves himself to be the clear no.1 then heikki maybe a good option for no.2, as he's very consistent (something i think bmw values highly) but i personally think nobody would be doing a better job in heidfeld's seat and it would be madness to even think of change.

[TilkeWannabe]

I've just skimmed through this thread and now I'm going to say something COMPLETELY different, Brendon Hartley at Toro Rosso in 2009! How 'bout that!

My line-up for '09

Ferrari: Raikkonen, Massa
BMW-Sauber: Heidfeld, Vettel/Rosberg
Renault: Grosjean, Piquet Jnr
Williams-Toyota: Nakajima, Kubica
Red Bull-Renault: Webber, Vettel/Bourdais
Toyota: Trulli, Alonso (again)
Honda: Button, Sato (again)
Scuderia Toro Rosso: Hartley, Bourdais
Force India: Fisichella, Chandhok/Karthikeyan
McLaren-Mercedes: Hanilton(obviously), Kovalainen

I originally wrote quite a bit more but when I went to post it, it said YOU'RE NOT LOGGED IN!!!!! AARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!! Pain in the a**, seriously. I also want some people to pick up the pieces of what's left of the old Super Aguri team before the 1st round in '09. 10 teams in F1 is just not enough!

[Ralf's Girl]

Brendon Hartley? Now that is silly. Isn't he only about 12?