Yuji Ide

DR_K13 · Post 01 Apr 2006, 18:15

Yuji Ide troubles me. I just do not understand how this guy landed a F1 seat. Sure he has raced other cars, but he is 2-4 seconds a lap slower then Takuma Sato on average. Yuji Ide seems to lack racing ethics, he seems to be getting in the way alot. I have noticed it in past sessions, but him holding up Rubens made me kind of pissed. The guy went off track 3 or 4 times in qualifying alone. ( maybe its the 02 chassis but Takuma keeps it on track most of the time )
I grew up racing shifter karts, small formula cars, and the 1st thing I was taught was to get the hell out of the way if you are slow. I have had a few races where the car was so bad that i just pulled into the pits. I grew up racing against Scott Speed in karts, I know a few of Scott's friends that would blow Yudi out if the water.

Did he " buy - a - ride "?

Maybe he should be a Test/Friday driver.

Sorry, I just had to vent

manchild · Post 01 Apr 2006, 19:01

Wow!

I think you're the biggest "insider" we ever had on this forum when it matters drivers. Are you still competing in some series?

m3_lover · Post 01 Apr 2006, 20:05

I think they needed a Japanese Driver because they are a japanese team and hence a all japanese driver lineup. He is old at 31 being a F1 rookie, the only reason I can think is that he knows this will be his only time driving a F1, mind you he is going to be driving in the backfield but neverless get the oppurtunity to drive a f1 and he took it knowing he is going to drive a crappy team basically and the team centering on Takuma Sato.

fwa2500 · Post 01 Apr 2006, 20:06

does SA even have a 3rd driver, or even a third car? i think part of the problem is that the car is based on an 'ancient' arrows that wasnt competitive to start with, but i think its also that he is just not on par with the F1 diciplines.......sato is also more experianced when it comes to F1.....

i'd say wait a couple more races before final judgement, if he doesnt improve any, then, if i were aguri suzuki, i would look for somone else.....if they want an all Japanese line-up, mayby somone from one of the better Super GT teams?

his record is pretty respectable though as far as result go........

i mean, even if he went to SA just to race in F1 knowing that it is by no means a top team, its still a dream come true for him.....i know if i was offered a seat at SA i would jump for it, purely because its F1, even if its not a top team........Mark Webber started at Minardi after all

(but he was younger too...)

DaveKillens · Post 01 Apr 2006, 20:29

Yea, he was a disaster in qualifying, spinning out a lot and messing up the track. And yea, he did block Reubens when it mattered most. And yea again, he should have got out of the way, any driver with brains knows he's just not going to improve himself, and that a much quicker car was behind him. But it was Reuben's problem he found himself in that situation, be it Ide was wrong or not.
SA is a team in development, in every sense of the meaning. They have an old chassis, and are definitely fighting it to get any kind of speed. And ide is definitely on the steep end of the learning curve. He really should have pulled over and let reubens past, but he didn't, which to me stinks.
But let's see how he conducts himself around mid season. They should have a much better car, and the drivers and team should start to look like professionals.

Tom · Post 01 Apr 2006, 21:31

I like the Tora Takargi-ness about him. He is clearly trying hard and although seems to lack talent, would gladly do a kamakazi to help his position where as Sato would do one to give us a laugh!

dumrick · Post 02 Apr 2006, 00:38

Tom wrote:I like the Tora Takargi-ness

"Tora Takaginess" is a great term! We could also say the "Zsolt Baumgartness " or "Alex Yoongness"(and maybe it would be more fair performance-wise), but being Tora Takagi a japanese driver also, it makes all sense...

West · Post 02 Apr 2006, 02:44

The only thing I like about Yuji Ide is that he drove the Calsonic 350Z in 2004.

f1.redbaron · Post 02 Apr 2006, 06:25

Leave him alone. Look what he did:

What do you have to say to that?

fwa2500 · Post 02 Apr 2006, 08:29

ill second that.........

unless you are an F1 driver, what place have you to judge performance, its like the "paddock drivers" who are sitting on the side of the track telling the driver they are not pushing fast enough..........

Post 02 Apr 2006, 12:43

f1.redbaron wrote:Leave him alone. Look what he did:
What do you have to say to that?

At that time there was a safety car procedure, and maybe he wasn't aware of it yet, or handled it differently than the other drivers.

No offence, but that is no argument in defending his performance

DaveKillens · Post 02 Apr 2006, 15:39

As fans we enjoy instant replay and perfect 20/20 hindsight. The drivers have to make split second decisions all the time, under intense pressure, and each and every one is under the micrscope of intense scrutiny and criticism.
Ide obviously still has a lot to learn in F1. He's brand new to this intensly brutal and unforgiving world of grand Prix driving. And he's wrestling with a team still in it's birth throes, in a car that was a museum piece, and deserves to still be one. And he made a total screw up of qualifying. But in the end, during the race, even though his pace was definitely underperforming, he brought it home in a race that brutalized any mistakes, he brought it home in one piece and without (as far as I know) jeapordizing or messing up the outcome of any other drivers.
The jury is still out, it is much to soon to stamp any label on him as an F1 driver. But somehow, Ide survived a race many did not.

f1.redbaron · Post 02 Apr 2006, 16:04

Tomba wrote: At that time there was a safety car procedure, and maybe he wasn't aware of it yet, or handled it differently than the other drivers.

No offence, but that is no argument in defending his performance

I was just being sarcastic. It's obvious that they were under SC, and the times were way off. But it was funny watching live timing and seeing his name in purple. I couldn't stop laughing.

Non-Ide fans should really watch Speed TV's coverage. They are tearing him apart over there!

Tom · Post 02 Apr 2006, 20:18

Sorry Tomba but I dissagree slightly there. Bear in mind he is a new driver who has been chucked into the seat from very far away (by Japanese supporters) and the fact he finished in a car cobled together in a couple of month, on a circuit that should really challenge SA, where the likes of seven time WC crashed out (completely of his own accord) and title contenders made similar mistakes. I think he is owed more respect.

Also I take back some of my Sato comments. He drove an incredably clean race.

Scuderia_Russ · Post 02 Apr 2006, 20:35

What amazed me was finding out that the chassis of Ide's was rescued from promotional activities in Australia where it was painted in Minardi colours as a display car!!