"Roll up, roll up! There's an HRT seat going for 2012. But please, you must form an orderly queue!"
Or so it would appear anyway...
When Jaime Alguersuari was given his surprise marching orders from Toro Rosso by the bosses at Red Bull, everything pointed towards him turning up at HRT. What better a situation for both parties? To have a young (he's still only 21) Spanish talent alongside the experienced veteran de la Rosa would be perfect you would have thought for HRT. Even more so with Jaime Sr being quite a wealthy and influencial guy in Spanish motorsport.
For these reasons new team principal Luiz Perez-Sala's responses to recent questions about a potential HRT-Jaime linkup are rather hard to fathom out.
When asked by Autosport's resident Spaniard Pablo Elizalde whether the team were considering Alguersuari for the second seat, Perez-Sala replied:
"The thing is that it has taken everybody by surprise. Nobody expected
it. I wouldn't have bet anything on that happening. So we are in pretty
advanced talks with other drivers. Until everything is done I don't want
to say anything, but it's going to be difficult."
So they weren't expecting Alguersuari to be available. That's fair enough - even Jaime himself thought he was safe at STR.
But why is it too late now, just because you're already talking to other drivers? How hard is it to pick up the phone to Jaime and offer him a drive (in exchange for some of his daddy's millions obviously)?
A Jaime (with budget) would be a far better option than anyone else available to HRT - and Jaime would be sure to take up the offer so that he can remain on the F1 grid with the hope of one day returning to the midfield.
Surely it is worth upsetting the driver(s) they are 'in pretty advanced talks with' in order to obtain one of, in my opinion, the most promising drivers around.
But clearly Jaime must join the back of the queue outside of the HRT office behind drivers, presumably, of the calibre of GP2 nearly-men Van der Garde and Clos.
Adrian Sutil: My thoughts
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| Photo: Morio |
However, I find it very hard to see why Sutil deserves a drive in that team over Paul di Resta or Hulkenberg.
Comparing Sutil to di Resta, the German has scored more points this year. However, does that make him better? Let's look at the facts here...
Prior to 2011, di Resta had raced touring cars in the DTM (I don't care what you say about whether the DTM are actually touring cars or not - the truth is they are not single-seaters!) for four years.
In that same period of time, Sutil had been racing in F1 for four years. For the very same Silverstone-based team that we know today as Force India.
I don't know about you, but I feel that based on that, Sutil really ought to have been thrashing di Resta this year. The difference really hasn't been that great at all though.
Sutil only got his original chance in F1 thanks to his sponsorship. Being Japanese F3 champion simply does not earn you an F1 drive.
When he got into F1, he performed very well - and continued to do so to the point that he warranted being retained year-on-year by Force India.
However, I don't think he has done well enough vs di Resta to force the Scot out of a seat, and Hulkenberg is a far greater talent than Sutil ever was. If Schumacher (hopefully) retires again for 2013, expect his replacement at Mercedes to be one of di Resta or Hulkenberg.
Despite this opinion, I do not feel Sutil's days in F1 are over. If I were senior management at Williams I would be signing him up immediately. His combination of experience, pace and sponsorship money makes him a far better option in my opinion for Williams than Valtteri Bottas.
This might sound odd to you, seeing how much I like to champion young talents. But I feel that a Bottas-Maldonado combination would destroy Williams' season before it has even started. It took Hulkenberg, a GP2 champion, half a year to acclimatise to F1. Bottas on the other hand has never raced a high-powered single-seater before in his life.
Bottas could of course just be another Raikkonen, who seamlessly leaped from Formula Renault 2.0 to F1. But I don't see why it is worth the risk for Williams next year. If it was a case of putting Bottas alongside Barrichello - then go for it. But you need someone to lead the team and I can't see Maldonado doing that job.
So yes, I want Sutil out of Force India - but the F1 ride ain't over for him just yet.
Another potential problem with the young driver test
There has been widespread criticism this week of teams who sold their seats at the Young Driver Test to drivers with money, rather than necessarily those with talent. And while I do see this as a problem, I have noticed another trend that threatens the whole purpose of the test.
My fears surround McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, and the drivers they used in the test. McLaren used long-term test driver Gary Paffett as well as Oliver Turvey, who does simulator work for the team as well as driving in their GT programme. Ferrari used their reserve driver Jules Bianchi, while Mercedes used Sam Bird. All three teams used exactly the same lineups as in 2010. And there is where my fears are.
Not only is the Young Driver Test a chance to give young drivers a chance to drive current F1 machinery, but it also gives the teams some vital extra running that they can use to collect data.
With the test being so crucial to the teams for car development, I fear that the aforementioned drivers could become career 'young driver test drivers'. Obviously it is in the interests of the teams to put the most suitable driver available to them in the car. Doing so allows them to make the most of the test in terms of car development. For that reason, should the likes of Turvey, Bianchi and Bird all fail to secure a race seat in F1 in the coming years (which looks very possible with the current requirement of having money), then McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes will continue to use them.
All three are highly accomplished drivers who have been very successful in their careers to date and racked up plenty of experience. I firmly believe that all three would do a good job if given an F1 seat. But for as long as they do not get a race seat, they will continue to be eligible for the Young Driver Test. The more mileage they do for the team, the more valuable they will be for them. Therefore, there is very little motivation for any of these teams to use a different driver each year in the Young Driver Test.
In this way, Turvey, Bianchi and Bird could all be more valuable for their teams then established ex-racers such as Pedro de la Rosa, who are not able to drive in this test. With the race drivers available for pre-season testing, testers with race experience are not really needed at all. De la Rosa himself raised this issue this week. However, he was just looking after his own interests. He has had his chance in F1, and I say that testing should be left for rookies as a way of building up their experience.
Going back to the real issue here, the likes of Turvey, Bianchi and Bird could become so valuable to their teams that they are not even released to other teams to get a race drive. But more importantly they are preventing other young drivers from getting chances in these teams. This therefore defeats the whole object of the Young Driver Test.
Between them the teams really ought to come up with some kind of rule to force teams to run a new driver to the team each year. Otherwise the Young Driver Test becomes completely pointless.
Of course, as I have said many times before, the real solution to giving young drivers some experience is to force teams to run them in Friday practice at each Grand Prix. But then again, you might find we have just the same problems.
My fears surround McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes, and the drivers they used in the test. McLaren used long-term test driver Gary Paffett as well as Oliver Turvey, who does simulator work for the team as well as driving in their GT programme. Ferrari used their reserve driver Jules Bianchi, while Mercedes used Sam Bird. All three teams used exactly the same lineups as in 2010. And there is where my fears are.
Not only is the Young Driver Test a chance to give young drivers a chance to drive current F1 machinery, but it also gives the teams some vital extra running that they can use to collect data.
With the test being so crucial to the teams for car development, I fear that the aforementioned drivers could become career 'young driver test drivers'. Obviously it is in the interests of the teams to put the most suitable driver available to them in the car. Doing so allows them to make the most of the test in terms of car development. For that reason, should the likes of Turvey, Bianchi and Bird all fail to secure a race seat in F1 in the coming years (which looks very possible with the current requirement of having money), then McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes will continue to use them.
All three are highly accomplished drivers who have been very successful in their careers to date and racked up plenty of experience. I firmly believe that all three would do a good job if given an F1 seat. But for as long as they do not get a race seat, they will continue to be eligible for the Young Driver Test. The more mileage they do for the team, the more valuable they will be for them. Therefore, there is very little motivation for any of these teams to use a different driver each year in the Young Driver Test.
In this way, Turvey, Bianchi and Bird could all be more valuable for their teams then established ex-racers such as Pedro de la Rosa, who are not able to drive in this test. With the race drivers available for pre-season testing, testers with race experience are not really needed at all. De la Rosa himself raised this issue this week. However, he was just looking after his own interests. He has had his chance in F1, and I say that testing should be left for rookies as a way of building up their experience.
Going back to the real issue here, the likes of Turvey, Bianchi and Bird could become so valuable to their teams that they are not even released to other teams to get a race drive. But more importantly they are preventing other young drivers from getting chances in these teams. This therefore defeats the whole object of the Young Driver Test.
Between them the teams really ought to come up with some kind of rule to force teams to run a new driver to the team each year. Otherwise the Young Driver Test becomes completely pointless.
Of course, as I have said many times before, the real solution to giving young drivers some experience is to force teams to run them in Friday practice at each Grand Prix. But then again, you might find we have just the same problems.
Silly season finally comes to life...
It seems that, finally, everyone is talking about next year's F1 driver lineup. And quite right too - it's fairly exciting! Here's what I would like to/think will happen.
Renault
With Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes locked down for 2012, the first talking point is Renault (who should be Lotus next year!). They have four drivers on their books already, and as such the fight for those two seats is an internal one. However, what does or doesn't happen here could have an impact elsewhere.
Much depends on whether Robert Kubica, and whether he is able to return for the start of 2012. If he is declared ready to race, he will get one seat, for sure.
The battle for the other seat would be between current driver Vitaly Petrov, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean. I believe that all three are good drivers and all deserve a place on the grid at Melbourne next March.
I believe that Petrov's contract does extend into 2012, but we've seen in recent years with Raikkonen and Liuzzi that that means nothing. Commerical opportunities, for both Group Lotus and Genii, are his main playing card.
Senna seems to be doing a good job versus Petrov after coming in mid-season. Like Petrov, he has huge commerical potential, particularly for Group Lotus.
Those who doubted Grosjean after his first attempt at F1 need proving wrong. Going up against Fernando Alonso with no experience of F1 or the car was never going to be easy. He did what was expected of him this year when Boullier and Gravity placed him in GP2, so he really does deserve another crack at F1. He too has commerical potential, mainly in France, where the government are keen on Renault as well as Boullier reintroducing a French influence in F1.
Verdict: Should Kubica return, I think that Senna will be retained alongside him by Group Lotus. I would be happy with this, providing Grosjean gets a chance somewhere else.
If Kubica is not ready to return for Melbourne, is is tough to say who will get a chance alongside Senna. With Petrov having had two years in the car, I would hope Grosjean gets the chance.
Force India
The next team to focus on is Force India, who again have an internal battle over their seats. Paul di Resta looks likely to remain after an impressive rookie season, with the second seat an-all German battle between Adrian Sutil and the reserve driver Nico Hulkenburg.
Sutil has been racing with the Silverstone-based team for five seasons, and has certainly proven himself to be capable. However, while he looked good against Fisichella and Liuzzi, he has been made to look fairly average against di Resta this year. He doesn't have the potential to be one of the sport's best drivers, something that is hardly surprising considering he got his F1 chance thanks to his personal sponsorship and relationship with Colin Kolles rather than showing any future-world-champion promise in the lower ranks.
Talent was something that Hulkenburg certainly showed on his way up. Although he had a slow start with Williams in 2010, his pole position in Brazil demonstrated his skills. Forced out of Grove when the team needed some Venezuelan dollars, he found refuge at Force India. He may not have the experience of Sutil, but if improved performances are what the team's new shareholder Sahara wants, Hulkenburg is their man.
Verdict: Mallya has said this weekend that sponsorship is not important. This makes it even more likely that Hulkenburg will get the prize. My opinion is that Sutil has certainly had his chance, and that Hulkenberg really deserves a seat somewhere.
Toro Rosso
With Sauber all sorted for next year, we move onto Toro Rosso. The contenders for the two seats here would seem to be incumbents Jaimie Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, as well as Red Bull Juniors Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
While Vergne could well be the most talented of the quartet, I'm going to rule him out of a Toro Rosso drive for now. Ricciardo was ready for it 12 months ago after his Formula Renault 3.5 season, but there wasn't the opportunity for him to make the move. I feel that Vergne needs to wait for his chance as well, getting some Friday practice in between now and the middle of next year perhaps.
Alguersuari struggled in the first races of 2011, and seemed very close to getting dropped for Ricciardo. However, he has since turned it round and has outscored Buemi 22 points to 15. The Spaniard showed greater potential than Buemi pre-F1, and seems to just about have the upper hand right now. Add in the fact that Alguersuari is only in his second full season compared to Buemi's third, and you have to say that Buemi's time is coming to an end. The influence of the team's new Spanish sponsor Cepsa could also play a part here in siding with Alguersuari.
Ricciardo deserves his chance with Toro Rosso after a solid start with HRT. Therefore one of the current drivers has to go, and for the reasons given above that will have to be Buemi.
Verdict: Ricciardo will get his promotion to Red Bull's B-team. Buemi, like Sutil, has shown himself to be capable at this level but doesn't quite have what it takes against the potential of drivers like Ricciardo and Vergne. Alguersuari gets another six months to show what he can do.
Williams
It is sad that we have to talk about Williams so far down this post. Of their current drivers, Pastor Maldonado seems likely to remain thanks to his sponsorship after a first season where he has shown good pace in qualifying if not in the races. A number of incidents, particularly in practice haven't helped his cause. He would have outscored teammate Rubens Barrichello had he not been knocked out of sixth place in Monaco by Hamilton.
The team seem to have had enough of Barrichello, for whatever reason. He thinks he deserves to stay with the team, but he should think himself lucky that he wasn't left on the sidelines at the end of 2008 when Honda were due to replace him with Senna before they withdrew. The car may well have been terrible, but it could well be worth trying someone else.
Rumours suggest that Kimi Raikkonen is in the frame, and may well have signed. This deal most likely depends on the team gaining investement, most likely from Qatar. I can't really see Kimi being interested in a car that can't make it into Q3, but there you go.
Should the Raikkonen deal not happen, that man Sutil would be in pole position. Not only does he have some experience of driving for a team trying to drag itself up the grid, but he also has some personal sponsorship, which could be all important.
There are some other options for the team though, including whichever driver(s) loses out at Renault. Their Renault engine deal for next year could make signing Senna or Grosjean possible. Ferrari reserve Jules Bianchi has also been mentioned, and deserves his crack at F1 despite a disappoitning couple of years in GP2.
Verdict: If the Raikkonen deal doesn't go through then anyone could turn up alongside Maldonado, but Sutil would have to be favourite thanks to his sponsorship.
Lotus
And now we're onto the new teams, starting with Lotus, who will actually be Caterham or something. Heikki Kovalainen has consistently outperformed Jarno Trulli over the past two years and as such is likely to remain unless he is tempted away by someone like Williams.
Trulli was announced earlier in the year as having signed a contract with the team for next year, though there does seem to be some uncertainty about this in the paddock.
Verdict: We'll assume that both are staying on, but personally I think Trulli is well past his best and his seat would be best going to someone like a Grosjean, a Sutil or a Buemi. Or even a complete rookie like Bianchi or Charles Pic.
HRT
Aah, HRT. Good old HRT. Just like 12 months ago, who knows what will happen here? Ricciardo will likely have moved on up to Toro Rosso, and if the Red Bull link continues then Vergne could well come in at HRT.
Liuzzi could remain, but that likely depends on who comes under threat of becoming extinct in F1 terms, just as Tonio was before singing for HRT. Sutil and Buemi are possible options here.
The team's new owners, Thesan Capital, seem to want a Spanish driver, with WTCC's Javier Villa linked. A better option may be to take dominant European F3 champion Roberto Merhi on as a third driver for future seasons.
Verdict: I'll hope for a combination of Liuzzi and Buemi here, but taking on the well-backed Charles Pic from GP2 could be a more realistic option here.
Virgin
Surprisingly, Timo Glock is happy to stay with the team for next year and beyond. His teammate is less certain though. Jerome D'Ambrosio has surprised, but there may be better options around.
Robert Wickens has been sponsored by Marussia in Formula Renault 3.5 this year, where he won the title. He is deserving of a place in the team, but relies on a shareholder dipping into its own pockets to replace the lost funds brought by D'Ambrosio. However, having invested in Wickens, the only way Marussia will get a return would be for Wickens to race for the team. Going by his junior career, Wickens would be able to match Glock more often than the Belgian.
If the team needs a driver with sponsorship money, it should look no further than Charles Pic. Media reports have suggested that the Frenchman is in talks with the team. Another option would be Pic's GP2 teammate Giedo van der Garde, who is also well backed and was snubbed last year in favour of D'Ambrosio.
Verdict: I would most certainly like Wickens to get a drive alongside Glock, but I would also be happy to see Pic get his chance, which looks more likely.
Renault
With Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari and Mercedes locked down for 2012, the first talking point is Renault (who should be Lotus next year!). They have four drivers on their books already, and as such the fight for those two seats is an internal one. However, what does or doesn't happen here could have an impact elsewhere.
Much depends on whether Robert Kubica, and whether he is able to return for the start of 2012. If he is declared ready to race, he will get one seat, for sure.
The battle for the other seat would be between current driver Vitaly Petrov, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean. I believe that all three are good drivers and all deserve a place on the grid at Melbourne next March.
I believe that Petrov's contract does extend into 2012, but we've seen in recent years with Raikkonen and Liuzzi that that means nothing. Commerical opportunities, for both Group Lotus and Genii, are his main playing card.
Senna seems to be doing a good job versus Petrov after coming in mid-season. Like Petrov, he has huge commerical potential, particularly for Group Lotus.
Those who doubted Grosjean after his first attempt at F1 need proving wrong. Going up against Fernando Alonso with no experience of F1 or the car was never going to be easy. He did what was expected of him this year when Boullier and Gravity placed him in GP2, so he really does deserve another crack at F1. He too has commerical potential, mainly in France, where the government are keen on Renault as well as Boullier reintroducing a French influence in F1.
Verdict: Should Kubica return, I think that Senna will be retained alongside him by Group Lotus. I would be happy with this, providing Grosjean gets a chance somewhere else.
If Kubica is not ready to return for Melbourne, is is tough to say who will get a chance alongside Senna. With Petrov having had two years in the car, I would hope Grosjean gets the chance.
Force India
The next team to focus on is Force India, who again have an internal battle over their seats. Paul di Resta looks likely to remain after an impressive rookie season, with the second seat an-all German battle between Adrian Sutil and the reserve driver Nico Hulkenburg.
Sutil has been racing with the Silverstone-based team for five seasons, and has certainly proven himself to be capable. However, while he looked good against Fisichella and Liuzzi, he has been made to look fairly average against di Resta this year. He doesn't have the potential to be one of the sport's best drivers, something that is hardly surprising considering he got his F1 chance thanks to his personal sponsorship and relationship with Colin Kolles rather than showing any future-world-champion promise in the lower ranks.
Talent was something that Hulkenburg certainly showed on his way up. Although he had a slow start with Williams in 2010, his pole position in Brazil demonstrated his skills. Forced out of Grove when the team needed some Venezuelan dollars, he found refuge at Force India. He may not have the experience of Sutil, but if improved performances are what the team's new shareholder Sahara wants, Hulkenburg is their man.
Verdict: Mallya has said this weekend that sponsorship is not important. This makes it even more likely that Hulkenburg will get the prize. My opinion is that Sutil has certainly had his chance, and that Hulkenberg really deserves a seat somewhere.
Toro Rosso
With Sauber all sorted for next year, we move onto Toro Rosso. The contenders for the two seats here would seem to be incumbents Jaimie Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, as well as Red Bull Juniors Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
While Vergne could well be the most talented of the quartet, I'm going to rule him out of a Toro Rosso drive for now. Ricciardo was ready for it 12 months ago after his Formula Renault 3.5 season, but there wasn't the opportunity for him to make the move. I feel that Vergne needs to wait for his chance as well, getting some Friday practice in between now and the middle of next year perhaps.
Alguersuari struggled in the first races of 2011, and seemed very close to getting dropped for Ricciardo. However, he has since turned it round and has outscored Buemi 22 points to 15. The Spaniard showed greater potential than Buemi pre-F1, and seems to just about have the upper hand right now. Add in the fact that Alguersuari is only in his second full season compared to Buemi's third, and you have to say that Buemi's time is coming to an end. The influence of the team's new Spanish sponsor Cepsa could also play a part here in siding with Alguersuari.
Ricciardo deserves his chance with Toro Rosso after a solid start with HRT. Therefore one of the current drivers has to go, and for the reasons given above that will have to be Buemi.
Verdict: Ricciardo will get his promotion to Red Bull's B-team. Buemi, like Sutil, has shown himself to be capable at this level but doesn't quite have what it takes against the potential of drivers like Ricciardo and Vergne. Alguersuari gets another six months to show what he can do.
Williams
It is sad that we have to talk about Williams so far down this post. Of their current drivers, Pastor Maldonado seems likely to remain thanks to his sponsorship after a first season where he has shown good pace in qualifying if not in the races. A number of incidents, particularly in practice haven't helped his cause. He would have outscored teammate Rubens Barrichello had he not been knocked out of sixth place in Monaco by Hamilton.
The team seem to have had enough of Barrichello, for whatever reason. He thinks he deserves to stay with the team, but he should think himself lucky that he wasn't left on the sidelines at the end of 2008 when Honda were due to replace him with Senna before they withdrew. The car may well have been terrible, but it could well be worth trying someone else.
Rumours suggest that Kimi Raikkonen is in the frame, and may well have signed. This deal most likely depends on the team gaining investement, most likely from Qatar. I can't really see Kimi being interested in a car that can't make it into Q3, but there you go.
Should the Raikkonen deal not happen, that man Sutil would be in pole position. Not only does he have some experience of driving for a team trying to drag itself up the grid, but he also has some personal sponsorship, which could be all important.
There are some other options for the team though, including whichever driver(s) loses out at Renault. Their Renault engine deal for next year could make signing Senna or Grosjean possible. Ferrari reserve Jules Bianchi has also been mentioned, and deserves his crack at F1 despite a disappoitning couple of years in GP2.
Verdict: If the Raikkonen deal doesn't go through then anyone could turn up alongside Maldonado, but Sutil would have to be favourite thanks to his sponsorship.
Lotus
And now we're onto the new teams, starting with Lotus, who will actually be Caterham or something. Heikki Kovalainen has consistently outperformed Jarno Trulli over the past two years and as such is likely to remain unless he is tempted away by someone like Williams.
Trulli was announced earlier in the year as having signed a contract with the team for next year, though there does seem to be some uncertainty about this in the paddock.
Verdict: We'll assume that both are staying on, but personally I think Trulli is well past his best and his seat would be best going to someone like a Grosjean, a Sutil or a Buemi. Or even a complete rookie like Bianchi or Charles Pic.
HRT
Aah, HRT. Good old HRT. Just like 12 months ago, who knows what will happen here? Ricciardo will likely have moved on up to Toro Rosso, and if the Red Bull link continues then Vergne could well come in at HRT.
Liuzzi could remain, but that likely depends on who comes under threat of becoming extinct in F1 terms, just as Tonio was before singing for HRT. Sutil and Buemi are possible options here.
The team's new owners, Thesan Capital, seem to want a Spanish driver, with WTCC's Javier Villa linked. A better option may be to take dominant European F3 champion Roberto Merhi on as a third driver for future seasons.
Verdict: I'll hope for a combination of Liuzzi and Buemi here, but taking on the well-backed Charles Pic from GP2 could be a more realistic option here.
Virgin
Surprisingly, Timo Glock is happy to stay with the team for next year and beyond. His teammate is less certain though. Jerome D'Ambrosio has surprised, but there may be better options around.
Robert Wickens has been sponsored by Marussia in Formula Renault 3.5 this year, where he won the title. He is deserving of a place in the team, but relies on a shareholder dipping into its own pockets to replace the lost funds brought by D'Ambrosio. However, having invested in Wickens, the only way Marussia will get a return would be for Wickens to race for the team. Going by his junior career, Wickens would be able to match Glock more often than the Belgian.
If the team needs a driver with sponsorship money, it should look no further than Charles Pic. Media reports have suggested that the Frenchman is in talks with the team. Another option would be Pic's GP2 teammate Giedo van der Garde, who is also well backed and was snubbed last year in favour of D'Ambrosio.
Verdict: I would most certainly like Wickens to get a drive alongside Glock, but I would also be happy to see Pic get his chance, which looks more likely.
Prohibative costs and experienced drivers: My frustrations with GP2
For the 2010 season the organisers behind the highly-successful GP2 Series created a feeder series of its own, the GP3 Series. Esteban Gutierrez was the dominant first champion, and his ART team duly promoted him to its GP2 squad for 2011. However, only one other driver joined him in making the step up from GP3 to GP2. That was Norwegian Pal Varhaug, who had finished a lowly 13th overall in GP3. Rather unsurprisingly Pal stuggled in his debut GP2 season. Despite being teammate to eventual champion Romain Grosjean at DAMS, he failed to score any points.
So what happened to everybody else who finished between positions 1 and 13 in GP3 last year? Why did they not make the move? Okay, one driver did, Stefano Coletti, but he had raced in GP2 in 2009 and his main campaign last year was in Formula Renault 3.5 and not GP3, so I'm not counting him.
Nico Muller, who was third overall, and Rio Haryanto, fifth overall, had both had surprisingly strong seasons fresh out of Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula BMW Pacific respectively. With their relative lack of experience they quite rightly decided another year in GP3 wouldn't go amiss.
Runner-up Robert Wickens didn't have the budget to do GP2, so moved to FR3.5 instead where he is leading the championship with two rounds to go. He was joined there by fellow North American Alexander Rossi, who was fourth in GP3. He didn't have the budget to do GP2 either.
And there is where GP2 is failing some of the world's most promising drivers. I don't know the exact figure but a season of GP2 is said to cost up to €1.9 million. A season of GP3 on the other hand costs only a quarter of that figure, at €500k.
This year GP3 benefited from a stronger grid for its second season, with the likes of Valtteri Bottas, Alexander Sims, Antonio Felix da Costa and James Calado joining from Formula 3. Muller and Haryanto may have expected to fight for the title in their second seasons, but the increased level of competition made that impossible, and both failed to match their championship positions from last year.
Looking to next year, many of the top GP3 drivers look ready to step up to GP2. Bottas, Calado, Nigel Melker, Muller, Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, Sims and Haryanto have all proven themselves at this level with good seasons. All of them will look to GP2, but how many will actually make it? Put yourself in the shoes of one of their backers for a minute. The driver has just asked you to increase your funding from €500k to €1.9 million for 2012. Why on earth should you?
GP2 boss Bruno Michel said this week they would control costs as the series looks to race out of Europe next year. How about cutting the cost of running the car? Surely it doesn't need to be that expensive? Formula Renault 3.5 manages with a cost of €850k a year, for a car that isn't much slower.
Furthermore, not only do these drivers need to secure the budget, they also need to secure a seat up against a number of drivers with experience in the category...
GP2 this year had a number of drivers who have not shown much potential down the years yet continue to get seats year-upon-year in the championship. That is thanks to having both secure funding in place and plenty of experience at this level.
Experience was an important factor for the 13 GP2 squads this year, with the introduction of a new chassis. Many teams felt that rather than go with a talented rookie, an experienced driver would be a better option to help them get to grips with the new car. This allowed well-backed drivers like Johnny Cecotto, Michael Herck and Rodolfo Gonzalez to get seats. Combined that trio scored a total of one solitary point this year. Their respective teams weren't to blame for the non-scoring either. Herck's teammate at Coloni from mid-season onwards, Luca Filippi, ended up second overall. Gonzalez's teammate at Trident Stefano Coletti scored two sprint race wins. Cecotto was joined at Ocean by Brendon Hartley from Spa onwards, and the Kiwi promptly scored the team's first points of 2011.
I worry that the talented crop of drivers racing at the front in GP3 this year will miss out on seats in GP2 for 2012, losing out to drivers like Cecotto, Herck and Gonzalez. There are a number of other drivers too who have had their time in GP2 and need to give up their seat to someone new. Dani Clos, Davide Valsecchi, Luiz Razia, Fairuz Fauzy have all had several years at his level but haven't shown the ability levels of second-year drivers like Jules Bianchi, Charles Pic, Sam Bird and Christian Vietoris. Those four are all ready for F1, but the lack of seats mean they could well return for third years in GP2. But the difference with them is they have shown they deserve a chance at this level and higher. Clos, Valsecchi and Razia have all had long enough to show they deserve an F1 chance but haven't impressed enough. It's time for them to give up and try something else.
With a year's experience with the GP2/11 car under their belt, the teams really do not need to go for experience over talent this year. Just give some rookies a chance, will you?
So what happened to everybody else who finished between positions 1 and 13 in GP3 last year? Why did they not make the move? Okay, one driver did, Stefano Coletti, but he had raced in GP2 in 2009 and his main campaign last year was in Formula Renault 3.5 and not GP3, so I'm not counting him.
Nico Muller, who was third overall, and Rio Haryanto, fifth overall, had both had surprisingly strong seasons fresh out of Swiss Formula Renault 2.0 and Formula BMW Pacific respectively. With their relative lack of experience they quite rightly decided another year in GP3 wouldn't go amiss.
Runner-up Robert Wickens didn't have the budget to do GP2, so moved to FR3.5 instead where he is leading the championship with two rounds to go. He was joined there by fellow North American Alexander Rossi, who was fourth in GP3. He didn't have the budget to do GP2 either.
And there is where GP2 is failing some of the world's most promising drivers. I don't know the exact figure but a season of GP2 is said to cost up to €1.9 million. A season of GP3 on the other hand costs only a quarter of that figure, at €500k.
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| Wickens tested for iSport last November, but couldn't afford a race drive. Photo: GP2 Media Service |
Looking to next year, many of the top GP3 drivers look ready to step up to GP2. Bottas, Calado, Nigel Melker, Muller, Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, Sims and Haryanto have all proven themselves at this level with good seasons. All of them will look to GP2, but how many will actually make it? Put yourself in the shoes of one of their backers for a minute. The driver has just asked you to increase your funding from €500k to €1.9 million for 2012. Why on earth should you?
GP2 boss Bruno Michel said this week they would control costs as the series looks to race out of Europe next year. How about cutting the cost of running the car? Surely it doesn't need to be that expensive? Formula Renault 3.5 manages with a cost of €850k a year, for a car that isn't much slower.
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| Many of GP3's leading contenders are ready for GP2. But how many will make it next year? Photo: GP3 Media Service |
GP2 this year had a number of drivers who have not shown much potential down the years yet continue to get seats year-upon-year in the championship. That is thanks to having both secure funding in place and plenty of experience at this level.
Experience was an important factor for the 13 GP2 squads this year, with the introduction of a new chassis. Many teams felt that rather than go with a talented rookie, an experienced driver would be a better option to help them get to grips with the new car. This allowed well-backed drivers like Johnny Cecotto, Michael Herck and Rodolfo Gonzalez to get seats. Combined that trio scored a total of one solitary point this year. Their respective teams weren't to blame for the non-scoring either. Herck's teammate at Coloni from mid-season onwards, Luca Filippi, ended up second overall. Gonzalez's teammate at Trident Stefano Coletti scored two sprint race wins. Cecotto was joined at Ocean by Brendon Hartley from Spa onwards, and the Kiwi promptly scored the team's first points of 2011.
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| Cecotto and Gonzalez. Both have Venezuelan dollars, but unlike Maldonado they haven't shown much talent. Photo: GP2 Media Service |
With a year's experience with the GP2/11 car under their belt, the teams really do not need to go for experience over talent this year. Just give some rookies a chance, will you?
Team Orders: Why Red Bull were wrong when Ferrari were right
I feel that Christian Horner's call for Mark Webber to not try to overtake Sebastian Vettel at Silverstone was wrong.
"Now hang on...." you might be thinking, as I supported Ferrari's decision to order Felipe Massa to allow Fernando Alonso past at Hockenheim last year.
The thing is, these are two different situations and should therefore be treated differently.
I support the decision to allow team orders in the regulations. This is because there are some scenarios where team orders are the correct thing for a team to use, so trying to ban them is unrealistic.
However, this does not mean that I think team orders are acceptable in every situation. Let's go back to Hockenheim first.
(Before I do that, before anybody accuses me of bias, I would like to point out that I am certainly not a Ferrari fan. Nor do I support Webber over Vettel. If anything, it would be the other way around.)
At that point in the season, Fernando Alonso was (just about) still in contention for the title, whereas teammate Felipe Massa was not. There was no way that Ferrari could allow Massa to win over Alonso, so using team orders was correct in that situation to allow Alonso to take the lead in a way that ensured Ferrari would still get a 1-2 finish.
Now let's look at what happened at Silverstone.
Red Bull entered Silverstone with a big lead in the constructors' standings, while Sebastian Vettel had a huge lead in the drivers' standings.
Christian Horner said afterwards that he wanted to preserve the team's 2-3 finish. But why? A 2-3 finish for Red Bull was not essential. By their recent standards, it would not be a particularly strong result, would it?
If Ferrari were in that situation, with a 2-3 finish on the cards, I would understand if they wanted to hold station. Similarly with McLaren, a 2-3 finish at home would have been an important result so it would have been the right thing to hold positions and ensure the double podium finish.
With Vettel's huge lead in the drivers' standings it is not like Red Bull need to help him to score as many points as possible. With their comfortable position in both standings, Red Bull should be allowing Webber to challenge and pass Vettel in order to try and score more points than him in a GP, which he hasn't yet managed this year.
So that is basically why the decision yesterday was the wrong one. I haven't touched on how it robbed the fans etc... That is because all team orders prevent proper racing anyway, so there's no argument to be had there. Unlike many, I feel there is a time and a place for team orders, and this wasn't it. Hockenheim last year was, however.
Here's a bit of further analysis on the whole situation...
In his post-race interviews Horner seemed to suggest that his drivers 'were going to crash'. Can he not trust the drivers of the best team on the grid not to crash into each other? How bad must that make Webber feel, if his team boss cannot trust him not to crash into his teammate?
The reasons given by Horner post-race may all have been a cover up for the team simply favouring Vettel and wanting him to finish ahead of Webber.
I cannot blame Horner for favouring Vettel slightly. We all have our favourites, and Vettel is a very likable chap. However, I do not believe, if the true reason for yesterday's move was simply favouring Vettel, that Horner would favour Vettel sufficiently to make such a call.
Horner is a good guy, who cares for the sport. I do not feel that he would make a decision to favour one driver over another in a race at the detriment of the racing.
I think that, if driver favouritism was the reason for the move, it would have not been Horner's call. The call could have come directly from Helmut Marko, or Horner could have made the call under pressure from the bosses.
However, I cannot blame the Red Bull bosses (i.e. not Horner) for favouring Vettel over Webber. They've backed him throughout his career and he is of much higher value to them than Webber. They must do everything they can to keep Vettel happy.
"Now hang on...." you might be thinking, as I supported Ferrari's decision to order Felipe Massa to allow Fernando Alonso past at Hockenheim last year.
The thing is, these are two different situations and should therefore be treated differently.
I support the decision to allow team orders in the regulations. This is because there are some scenarios where team orders are the correct thing for a team to use, so trying to ban them is unrealistic.
However, this does not mean that I think team orders are acceptable in every situation. Let's go back to Hockenheim first.
(Before I do that, before anybody accuses me of bias, I would like to point out that I am certainly not a Ferrari fan. Nor do I support Webber over Vettel. If anything, it would be the other way around.)
At that point in the season, Fernando Alonso was (just about) still in contention for the title, whereas teammate Felipe Massa was not. There was no way that Ferrari could allow Massa to win over Alonso, so using team orders was correct in that situation to allow Alonso to take the lead in a way that ensured Ferrari would still get a 1-2 finish.
Now let's look at what happened at Silverstone.
Red Bull entered Silverstone with a big lead in the constructors' standings, while Sebastian Vettel had a huge lead in the drivers' standings.
Christian Horner said afterwards that he wanted to preserve the team's 2-3 finish. But why? A 2-3 finish for Red Bull was not essential. By their recent standards, it would not be a particularly strong result, would it?
If Ferrari were in that situation, with a 2-3 finish on the cards, I would understand if they wanted to hold station. Similarly with McLaren, a 2-3 finish at home would have been an important result so it would have been the right thing to hold positions and ensure the double podium finish.
With Vettel's huge lead in the drivers' standings it is not like Red Bull need to help him to score as many points as possible. With their comfortable position in both standings, Red Bull should be allowing Webber to challenge and pass Vettel in order to try and score more points than him in a GP, which he hasn't yet managed this year.
So that is basically why the decision yesterday was the wrong one. I haven't touched on how it robbed the fans etc... That is because all team orders prevent proper racing anyway, so there's no argument to be had there. Unlike many, I feel there is a time and a place for team orders, and this wasn't it. Hockenheim last year was, however.
Here's a bit of further analysis on the whole situation...
In his post-race interviews Horner seemed to suggest that his drivers 'were going to crash'. Can he not trust the drivers of the best team on the grid not to crash into each other? How bad must that make Webber feel, if his team boss cannot trust him not to crash into his teammate?
The reasons given by Horner post-race may all have been a cover up for the team simply favouring Vettel and wanting him to finish ahead of Webber.
I cannot blame Horner for favouring Vettel slightly. We all have our favourites, and Vettel is a very likable chap. However, I do not believe, if the true reason for yesterday's move was simply favouring Vettel, that Horner would favour Vettel sufficiently to make such a call.
Horner is a good guy, who cares for the sport. I do not feel that he would make a decision to favour one driver over another in a race at the detriment of the racing.
I think that, if driver favouritism was the reason for the move, it would have not been Horner's call. The call could have come directly from Helmut Marko, or Horner could have made the call under pressure from the bosses.
However, I cannot blame the Red Bull bosses (i.e. not Horner) for favouring Vettel over Webber. They've backed him throughout his career and he is of much higher value to them than Webber. They must do everything they can to keep Vettel happy.
Possibilities for some late-season driver changes?
It is quite common for teams to make some driver changes towards the end of a season. Sometimes they may part company early with a driver who was set to leave at the end of the year. Or it may be time to give a new driver a try-out with a view to making them a full-time driver for the following season.
I've had some ideas of some moves that could well happen later this year.
Daniel Ricciardo makes his racing debut this weekend in place of Narain Karthikeyan, but the Indian is still listed as an 'official driver' of the team. With his long-term sponsors Tata having got him into the seat into the first place, the chances are they will want him racing at his home race on 30 October.
With Ricciardo out of his seat for that race, Red Bull could well take the opportunity to place him at Toro Rosso for a one-off race, to compare him to their existing drivers. Though they didn't want to drop either Sebastien Buemi or Jaime Alguersuari permanantly to allow Ricciardo to race there, I'm sure they could do it for just the one race.
While we're on the subject of the Indian Grand Prix, there's a lot of talk that Karun Chandhok, another Indian, could also get a chance for his home race. He's a reserve driver at Lotus, whose Malaysian team boss Tony Fernandes could be keen to give an Asian driver a ride.
What's more, it seems that the team's current race driver Jarno Trulli could retire at the end of the year, and even if he doesn't it's not certain that Lotus will retain him, as he's been constantly beaten by Heikki Kovalainen.
So my idea is to let Trulli go with three races remaining. Chandhok would then race in India, and perhaps in the final two rounds at Brazil and Abu Dhabi. However, these final two races could also be an opportunity for another of the drivers on the team's roster - Davide Valsecchi. The Italian is currently in contention for the GP2 title with the sister AirAsia squad, and this would provide a good opportunity for even stronger links between the two. Valsecchi tested for Hispania at the end of last year, impressing, and also has personal sponsorship, so could be a strong option for the team for 2012.
Valsecchi is fighting for the GP2 title against Romain Grosjean, amongst others. Remember him? He replaced Nelson Piquet at Renault in 2009 but was cast away at the end of the season. While many were disappointed by his performance, a few others (including myself) felt that he hadn't been given enough of a chance.
With Renault team boss Eric Boullier wanting a French driver in his team he signed Grosjean to his Gravity management firm as well as to Renault's reserve lineup. Boullier is also believed to be a little disappointed at Nick Heidfeld as Robert Kubica's replacement. (You can probably tell where I'm going with this...) If Grosjean wins his GP2 title, he could replace Heidfeld from Singapore onwards, when the GP2 season has finished.
However, a further little complication is caused by Bruno Senna. He was also signed as a reserve at Renault at the beginning of the year, and Boullier told that Senna was 'first in line' of the team's large roster of test drivers, due to his recent experience in F1. However, when Kubica was injured Senna was ignored in favour of Heidfeld, despite likely pressures from the marketing folks at Group Lotus, keen to reignite the Senna-Lotus-Renault combination. For this reason, if Heidfeld is going to be dropped, Senna has to be given his chance to shine at Interlagos, with Grosjean then taking over for Abu Dhabi if not before.
I've had some ideas of some moves that could well happen later this year.
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| Karthikeyan's Tata sponsorship should see him back in the driving seat at Hispania for the Indian Grand Prix. Photo: Morio |
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| Could Ricciardo race a Toro Rosso this year? Photo: Morio |
While we're on the subject of the Indian Grand Prix, there's a lot of talk that Karun Chandhok, another Indian, could also get a chance for his home race. He's a reserve driver at Lotus, whose Malaysian team boss Tony Fernandes could be keen to give an Asian driver a ride.
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| Chandhok enjoyed his Goodwood outing with Lotus, but would no doubt enjoy racing at home even more. Photo: Supermac |
What's more, it seems that the team's current race driver Jarno Trulli could retire at the end of the year, and even if he doesn't it's not certain that Lotus will retain him, as he's been constantly beaten by Heikki Kovalainen.
So my idea is to let Trulli go with three races remaining. Chandhok would then race in India, and perhaps in the final two rounds at Brazil and Abu Dhabi. However, these final two races could also be an opportunity for another of the drivers on the team's roster - Davide Valsecchi. The Italian is currently in contention for the GP2 title with the sister AirAsia squad, and this would provide a good opportunity for even stronger links between the two. Valsecchi tested for Hispania at the end of last year, impressing, and also has personal sponsorship, so could be a strong option for the team for 2012.
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| Dropping Trulli would give an opportunity to his compatriot Valsecchi. Photo: Morio |
With Renault team boss Eric Boullier wanting a French driver in his team he signed Grosjean to his Gravity management firm as well as to Renault's reserve lineup. Boullier is also believed to be a little disappointed at Nick Heidfeld as Robert Kubica's replacement. (You can probably tell where I'm going with this...) If Grosjean wins his GP2 title, he could replace Heidfeld from Singapore onwards, when the GP2 season has finished.
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| Could Grosjean get another chance at Renault? Photo: Morio |
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| Senna. Lotus. Renault. Black. Gold. Interlagos. Marketing man's dream. Photo: Morio |
Schumacher: Time to let the kids have a chance
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| Were Schumacher to retire we could see Paul di Resta in one of the Silver Arrows. Credit: Morio |
It is often said that Schumacher has ruined his legacy with his return, as he may now not be remembered for his dominance from the Ferrari days. While I agree with this feeling, this is not the reason that he should retire.
The reason that I would like Schumacher to retire is to allow young drivers the chance. Race seats for promising young drivers are at a premium these days. I was pondering over the potential driver lineup for 2012 (which I will blog about soon) when I realised that if either Romain Grosjean or Jules Bianchi win the GP2 title, they will both be hard pushed to find a seat in Formula 1, despite being on the books of Renault and Ferrari respectively.
The lack of sponsorship money floating around in the aftermath of the financial crisis saw Nico Hulkenberg ousted at Williams in favour of the well-backed Pastor Maldonado. Unable to find a seat anywhere, Nico is sitting out this year as reserve at Force India.
Meanwhile, with 7 world championships to his name and, what appears to be no chance of adding to that tally, Schumacher continues to struggle in a car built by the 2009 world champions and capable of a podium in the right hands.
Were Schumacher to retire at the end of the season, Hulkenberg could well be top of the list to replace his fellow German at Mercedes, together with former Merc DTM star Paul di Resta. If Di Resta were to get Schumacher's seat, Hulkenberg would get the Scot's Force India berth.
That would see at least one more potential future world champion in Formula 1, which can only be a good thing, right?
Do you agree? Do you think Schumacher should stay on to take the fight to the young guns? Drop me a comment below.
Sonangol Caterham Team Lotus
Having done a bit of digging I can reveal that the following domains were registered on the 19th April:
sonangolcaterham.com
sonangolcaterhamf1.com
sonangolcaterhamf1racing.com
sonangolcaterhamf1team.com
sonangolcaterhamteamlotus.com
There may be more, but that's what I've found so far. Follow me on Twitter @Pete93Allen for more. Sonangol, for those of you who didn't know, are the Angolan oil company that sponsor the team's reserve Ricardo Teixeira.
sonangolcaterham.com
sonangolcaterhamf1.com
sonangolcaterhamf1racing.com
sonangolcaterhamf1team.com
sonangolcaterhamteamlotus.com
There may be more, but that's what I've found so far. Follow me on Twitter @Pete93Allen for more. Sonangol, for those of you who didn't know, are the Angolan oil company that sponsor the team's reserve Ricardo Teixeira.
Feeder series congestion?
22 of the 26 drivers for the upcoming GP2 Asia season have been announced. If the two Team AirAsia drivers (and Team Lotus reserves) are confirmed to be Davide Valsecchi and Luiz Razia as speculated, that means that nine of the 24 are drivers who did not race at Abu Dhabi at the end of the 2010 season. Now that doesn't really seem like enough of a turnover for the leading feeder series for Formula 1.
It certainly isn't when you bear in mind the amount of series that drivers could be recruited from. The most obvious are:
Let's take a look at where the nine 'new' GP2 drivers have come from:
The introduction of a new chassis has seen GP2 budgets rise to around the £2million mark. With money now even more important some of the top drivers in the lower formula are missing out on the step up to GP2.
Money also looks like it is meaning that some drivers are staying on in GP2 over both new recruits and people who beat them last year. Fabio Leimer, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Max Chilton were the bottom three drivers in the final standings out of those who competed in every race weekend last year. They have all found drives for 2011, thanks to the size of their wallets, which are inflated by personal sponsors Bautro, PDVSA and Aon respectively.
Meanwhile Oliver Turvey is forced onto the sidelines after finishing sixth in the 2010 standings in his maiden season, thanks to a lack of funds. I will blog on this separately.
A lack of seats in the lower end of F1 for drivers without sponsorship money has meant that the likes of Jules Bianchi have had to remain in GP2 rather than vacate their seat for new promising drivers.
It certainly isn't when you bear in mind the amount of series that drivers could be recruited from. The most obvious are:
- GP3
- Formula 2
- Formula Renault 3.5
- Auto GP
- Formula 3 Euro Series
- British Formula Three
Let's take a look at where the nine 'new' GP2 drivers have come from:
- Jolyon Palmer (Arden) - 2010: Runner-up F2
- Esteban Gutierrez (ART) - 2010: GP3 champion
- Fairuz Fauzy (Super Nova) - 2010: Lotus F1 tester, 2009: Runner-up in FR3.5
- Johnny Cecotto Jr. (Super Nova) - 2010: First 8 rounds of GP2 with Trident, 3 points scored, 23rd in standings
- Pal Varhaug (DAMS) - 2010: 13th in GP3, won opening round but failed to score after that
- Stefano Coletti (Trident) - 2010: 6th in FR3.5 / 9th in GP3 (missed opening round)
- Julian Leal (Rapax) - 2010: 20th in FR3.5 / 9th in Auto GP
- Nathanael Berthon (Racing Engineering) - 2010: 7th in FR3.5
- Mikhail Aleshin (Carlin) - 2010: FR3.5 champion.
The introduction of a new chassis has seen GP2 budgets rise to around the £2million mark. With money now even more important some of the top drivers in the lower formula are missing out on the step up to GP2.
Money also looks like it is meaning that some drivers are staying on in GP2 over both new recruits and people who beat them last year. Fabio Leimer, Rodolfo Gonzalez and Max Chilton were the bottom three drivers in the final standings out of those who competed in every race weekend last year. They have all found drives for 2011, thanks to the size of their wallets, which are inflated by personal sponsors Bautro, PDVSA and Aon respectively.
Meanwhile Oliver Turvey is forced onto the sidelines after finishing sixth in the 2010 standings in his maiden season, thanks to a lack of funds. I will blog on this separately.
A lack of seats in the lower end of F1 for drivers without sponsorship money has meant that the likes of Jules Bianchi have had to remain in GP2 rather than vacate their seat for new promising drivers.
The Return of the Pay Driver
The grid for Formula One in 2011 is quickly filling, with drivers who bring significant financial backing. Williams have signed Pastor Maldonado, backed by Venezualan oil company PDVSA. Sauber have signed Sergio Perez, supported by Mexican telecommunications giant Telmex. Virgin have signed Jerome D'Ambrosio, who brings sponsorship to the team from Belgium, while Renault have retained Vitaly Petrov, who enjoys strong backing from Russia. Now HRT have brought Narain Karthikeyan back to F1 after six years away, thanks to Indian company Tata. It is likely that HRT's second seat, the only one remaining, will also be filled by a driver who can pay for it.
Now cast your minds back to 2008, where there appeared to be absolutely no 'pay drivers', who had previously been a staple component of the F1 grid, allowing low-budget privateer teams to remain on the grid. Adrian Sutil had used his sponsorship from German tech company Medion to secure his seat with Spyker for 2007, but impressed the F1 field, remaining with the team for 2008 as it was renamed Force India. Williams took on Kazuki Nakajima, a product of engine supplier Toyota's development programme. But no drivers had their seat in F1 entirely thanks to money.
The reduction in big-budget manufacturer teams as a result of the financial crisis that hit the world later that year has lead to an increase in the number of private teams needing to run to strict budgets, even though spending has been significantly cut anyway thanks to cost-cutting measures. Many companies, such as RBS and Phillips have seen out the remainder of their long-term sponsorship contracts with teams, and left the sport as a a knock-on of the crisis. They have not been replaced, which is why even established teams like Renault, Williams and Sauber have had to go looking for drivers with a budget.
Some of them, such as Petrov, Maldonado and Perez have done a reasonable job in the lower formula, and therefore deserve to be in F1, although whether they deserve to keep big talents like Nico Hulkenberg or drivers with known speed like Nick Heidfeld out of those seats with decent teams is questionable. Ideally they would drive for the lower teams such as Virgin and HRT, while the likes of Hulkenberg and Heidfeld kept their seats at teams like Williams and Sauber.
Now cast your minds back to 2008, where there appeared to be absolutely no 'pay drivers', who had previously been a staple component of the F1 grid, allowing low-budget privateer teams to remain on the grid. Adrian Sutil had used his sponsorship from German tech company Medion to secure his seat with Spyker for 2007, but impressed the F1 field, remaining with the team for 2008 as it was renamed Force India. Williams took on Kazuki Nakajima, a product of engine supplier Toyota's development programme. But no drivers had their seat in F1 entirely thanks to money.
The reduction in big-budget manufacturer teams as a result of the financial crisis that hit the world later that year has lead to an increase in the number of private teams needing to run to strict budgets, even though spending has been significantly cut anyway thanks to cost-cutting measures. Many companies, such as RBS and Phillips have seen out the remainder of their long-term sponsorship contracts with teams, and left the sport as a a knock-on of the crisis. They have not been replaced, which is why even established teams like Renault, Williams and Sauber have had to go looking for drivers with a budget.
Some of them, such as Petrov, Maldonado and Perez have done a reasonable job in the lower formula, and therefore deserve to be in F1, although whether they deserve to keep big talents like Nico Hulkenberg or drivers with known speed like Nick Heidfeld out of those seats with decent teams is questionable. Ideally they would drive for the lower teams such as Virgin and HRT, while the likes of Hulkenberg and Heidfeld kept their seats at teams like Williams and Sauber.
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