Silly Season 2011 Thread

[Shrieker]

It's Bruno.

Link:

I will more than happily take the bait if it is indeed one

[Shrieker]

This was what Boullier said just over a week ago:

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/01/31/s ... t-renault/

Come on Eric, be a MAN and stand by your word !!!

[marcush.]

without a doubt Heidfeld is the one guy to be able to jump in and get the job done .
We should not forget that Heidfeld would have won on the day when Kubica bagged that sole win he has to his name....
He was NOT the lesser of the two BMW drivers even if he had that one year when he struggled badly with the tyres but still bagged loads of points....
Can Renault afford to rely on Petrov and Senna only? Senna was axed by Brawn for a reason ..Barrichello was more experienced and they needed a driver who is going to deliver.Bruno Senna is not Ayrton ,that´s already obvious so in reality the marketing dream will turn into nothing in a few races as Petrov will be more than a match for him.He was not beating chandhok ,he was not beating klien,and Yamamoto was also not hopeless ....Not to talk these down ...but none of them has shown race winning potential period.Renault has claimed to have race winning aspirations.So they need a driver who has shown exactly this sort of speed.Heidfelds big advantage compared to liuzzi or Dela rosa is his racecraft ,his ability to overtake and bring home the car in the points ,finishing more races than anyone else on the grid for a long long time.
Raikkonen,Montoya unavailable..Villeneuve not really what they want...What else?
Glock prying out of the Virgin? Hülkenberg?

[Shrieker]

@ marcush

You must be joking about Senna vs. Petrov. Judging anyone by their race performances (ok, quali to some extent but not race) in the HRT wouldn't make any sense. Remember Senna racing with a damaged car ??

Heidfeld. Yes, technically the stuff posted about him is right. But Bruno has star potential. Heidfeld had many chances, and he'll more or less perform the same. But what about Senna ? I can speak on my behalf and I don't want to deal with 'what ifs'.

[Jakkals]

Heidfeld has an undeniably solid reputation for strong, consistent racing. He is current, he have more miles than anybody else out there on Pirrellis and he is quick. His quiet and understated way of working sometimes made him "invisible" on a very glittery stage. But, he always got the job done, played a tremendous part in development of the car throughout his career (according to Sauber) and brought the car home - every time. If a team needs a driver in a hurry, he is a fast and safe pair of hands. I have no doubt that Renault will make a mistake if they don't employ Nick to stand-in for Robert.

On the issue of Bruno's performance vs his teammates last year, this makes some interesting reading:

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/statistics/b ... mate-2010/

[marcush.]

Klien was dropped by RedBull after a lot of unconclusive years with Coulthard who then was put into retirement by Webber with ease...Chandhok ,although a very nice bloke and competent host on TV did not set the world on fire in his racing career but Senna was not able to outperform him convincingly.I don´t say he is not any good but no ways he can step into Kubicas shoes and win for Renault this year.Petrov showed outright speed ,he beat Robert two times last year in qualy,Sennas speed in F1 is still a big questionmark.With 100+ mill € budget you just cannot afford to say lets give it a try.
They have decided to gamble with Petrov already ..really they did not gamble but said :lets take the money he is a quick driver and hopefully he will crash less this year...but to gamble on the second seat ....without getting a truckload of money to ease the pain....you cannot be serious.They need a driver who can bag in excess of 100 points in 2011,that´s around 5-6 points per race or the equivalent of P7 each race.Would you bet on this performance from Senna? Boullier cannot afford this.Liuzzi has not really showed much compared to Sutil ...and he has not shown much at toro rosso as well..for whatever reason...in that context Vettel won in a TR...another gamble this time without even money to ease the pain....Heidfeld and dlr are logic and strategic decisions sauber dropped dlr for Heidfeld...so..
Klien sat in the car and was performing on a par with him...without having driven a single lap in the car before ,no tests nothing for how long? Please don´t get me wrong Senna is a good driver...I have competed against him and he was a full second quicker than the best of the rest the whole weekend in spec material...

[Jakkals]

In the interview the journalist asked Boullier with giving those names, and Boullier said yes and that there are other names too. It wasn't like he made a specific point that those three names are at the top of his list. Bad journalism on the behalf of who started that story as the video interview gives a totally different emphasis.

As usual...... journalists write what others say, without checking the facts, and then it becomes a "statement". Boullier NEVER mentioned a single name to replace Kubica. During the interview with Boullier, the journalist was the one giving the names, and now it is attributed to Boullier - sad reporting, really sad.

The video of the interview is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlUhcpFSKeU

[godlameroso]

They will probably sort it out through testing, let's see which of the reserve drivers wants it more.

[mx_tifoso]

I don't think Raikkonen will drive for Renault. He has already enlisted for about 10 events in the WRC, so if everything is ready for that I doubt he will just dump it. Although I don't know about his options in case he would want to withdraw last minute. But if he wants to be taken seriously he can't back out of the WRC just to take someones place in F1.

[terribleone]

I believe Kimi has too much time/money invested in Ice1 Racing to just scrap the whole season at this point. And I would think his sponsors would not be too happy with someone else taking his place.

[vall]

I also have the feeling it will be Senna. This could be his best chance to show what he is made of in a decent car.

I don't really see the fuzz about Heidfeld. He had his chances and indeed nothing special came out

Just like Button until he got the Brawn. Renault need a driver quick with experiance to carry the team. If Heidfeld gets the drive it'll be his last chance to prove himself.

Ok. Let's have things straight. Button is an average F1 driver. He was very lucky to get a Brawn that was by far the fastest car. I still he was pushed by Rubens to the very end, and remember that some misfortunes happened to Rubens as well.

The same can be said about Nick. He will do well in a good car and maybe would have won the WDC in that Brawn (but then, who would not?)

[FW17]

Ok. Let's have things straight. Button is an average F1 driver. He was very lucky to get a Brawn that was by far the fastest car. I still he was pushed by Rubens to the very end, and remember that some misfortunes happened to Rubens as well.

And the preferential treatment from Brawn whenever Rubens was directly in front of him

[Donuts]

I don't think Raikkonen will drive for Renault. He has already enlisted for about 10 events in the WRC, so if everything is ready for that I doubt he will just dump it. Although I don't know about his options in case he would want to withdraw last minute. But if he wants to be taken seriously he can't back out of the WRC just to take someones place in F1.

http://en.espnf1.com/renault/motorsport ... 40342.html

[Jakkals]

Haha.... I think the photograph says it all! I still think he is one of a handful of real warriors left in F1, but I guess that belongs to the past - sadly.

[Jakkals]

Boullier clarifies the press's interpretation of the interview where he purportedly named the possible stand-in for Kubica.

http://www.formula1onlive.com/2011/02/l ... a-and.html