Which new F1 driver do you think will impress you the most in 2007?

I think it will be Heikki Kovalainen. I just have a feeling he is the next F1 Superstar. I am hoping he will even win a race or two this year. Renault has a history of doing well with young drivers. I could be wrong though - I thought Rosberg was the next great thing after his first few races last year. I still think he his huge upside though.

 

I think Hamilton will turn a few heads.

 

Kubica for me... i won't be surprised if he beats Nick on a regular basis.

 

Kubica actually raced last year and did quite well.
I am a Rossberg supporter but with Williams dont think he/they are favorites ( hope I am wrong ).
That said HK has the best shot at Renault and will astound.
PS; Rosberg owned him in GP2.

 

Kubica

 

Kubica because of the Bimmer.

 

Kubica, didn't he podium his first race before that crazy underweight issue?

 

Crazy? I would imagine that to be a huge advantage.

 

Lewis Hamilton

 

+1

 

From what I recall it was a 2kilo underweight issue which was caused by his fire surpression system going off either in the pits or when he went off track. But you are right it would cause an advantage, but the weight equivalent was less than the weight of a gallon of fuel. Either way even with a slight (2kilo) weight advantage, to make podium on your first GP start is impressive.

 

Hey Brian I'm definitely in agreement with you! I mentioned to John this morning that I sure hope that Hamilton does well and beats his teammate but I really think the sleeper is Kubica. In today's mail was my February F1 Magazine (not cheap to begin with but add the airmail cost and thanks, but I'll take the delay!). Lo and behold on the cover is: . . ."Move over Button, Alonso & Raikkonen . . . Here Comes Kubica. This boy is the real deal. For sure."

As far as the newbies this year there's a short but interesting article in said magazine which states "a highly placed Maranello insider reckons Heikki Kovalainen could offer Raikkonen the strongest challenge of all". I think he'll definitely take the upper hand over Fisichella (I think this is his last year.)

In any case any of three new guys could potentially break Baghetti's record set in 1961 of being the only F1 driver to win his maiden WC. It's not totally out in left field that one of these guys could eclipse MS win record too.

Carol

Forza Risi #62

 

hi Carol, how u doin.

well, actually, if Kubica can keep his head down, i'm actually starting to think if he'll deliver BMW's maiden win, and not Nick. after all, i think Kubica did wonders in the same car the JV drove.

i would like to see HK, Lewis doin well too, as Rosberg. but i think Kubica has a slight phsycological advantage, where he did very well in his 1st few races last yr.

 

It was actually his third race, but yes. He pulled it off at Monza, alongside Schumacher and his now known replacement, shortly before 'the announcement'. If that wasn't an example of being in the right place at the right time (in more ways than one), I don't know what is!

Between him and Kovalainen, I'm still 50/50: He's fast (and Polish!), but I still think Heikki may have a slight edge. Kovalainen seemed awfully smooth in the ROC competition, and the track was quite wet...

As for Hamilton, I still have yet to see him drive, so I'm keeping my mouth shut.


For now...

1.) Kovalainen
2.) Kubica

 

Doing fine Brian - thanks for asking. I'd like to see Hamilton do well also - Ron's been grooming him for quite some time now. JV's been yacking again this time about the hype of Kimi - which I truly believe is true. I wouldn't be surprised if a good portion of the attention about drivers in F1 will be focused on Kubica, Lewis and Kovalainen (you know the Peter Windor interviews, the questions David, Bob and Steve come up with prior to the race) and Speed not cutting for the year even though he just got his contract renewed.

Carol

 

Doing fine Brian - thanks for asking. I'd like to see Hamilton do well also - Ron's been grooming him for quite some time now. JV's been yacking again this time about the hype of Kimi - which I truly believe is true. I wouldn't be surprised if a good portion of the attention about drivers in F1 will be focused on Kubica, Lewis and Kovalainen (you know the Peter Windor interviews, the questions David, Bob and Steve come up with prior to the race) and Speed not cutting for the year even though he just got his contract renewed.

Carol

 

well, Carol, i agree with ur post. i think this year is a make or break year for Scott Speed. he's delay in signing the contract never helped his situation to get used to the new car.

 

I think Hamilton will be good this year. Isnt he Ron Dennis's nephew? His sisters son? Or just another rumour.

 

Not sure I'd call Kubica a new driver since he raced last year. He is darn fast, but still makes stupid mistakes (like putting on dry tires against his crew's recommendation only to spin off at the next corner). I still think it will take him a year to catch up on F1.

The real sensation is going to be Heikki. To me that is such a given, that I couldn't barely answer the question of this thread: If he beats the living crap out of Fisico (I'm sure he will), it won't impress me really because he just did what I expected him to do.

So the real answer would be Hamilton. I never heard of the guy and have no expectations whatsoever. OTOH he doesn't stand a chance against the currently best driver in F1. But then again it hardly matters: The Mercs will continue to self implode. Hahaha.

Why not put some of the test drivers on this list? All it takes is one bad accident for them to become the real deal. In which case my money is on Vettel.

 

Hamilton drove circles around the entire field in Euro F3 and GP2. He seems to have no problem adapting to a new racingseries. He will be the rookie of the year if you ask me. Kovalainen is good, but he didn't impress me as much in the lower formulae as Hamilton did.

Sutil could be a dark horse. Hamilton was partnered by Sutil in Euro F3 and he says Adrian could learn Albers a thing or two. It will be interesting to see how Sutil faires against Albers.

Kubica made us forget all about Jacques Villeneuve, and that is saying something. Took podium at Monza, only his second race if I am not mistaken. He will be up there for sure.

 

Well, in that respect, Anthony Davidson drove a couple of races for Minardi back in 2002.

 

I had the pleasure of meeting Lewis Hamilton a couple of years back at a trackday session. He tutored a few of us round the track in Caterhams. He was massively impressive. I thought there and then that I was in the presence of a future world champion. Much as I dislike Ron Dennis and the McLaren team in general, I do wish Lewis the greatest success.

 

Kubica definetely, he made the points in his first race before being DQ'ed for an underweight car and then podiumed 2 races later. In many races last year, he put himself in contention for podium despite being in an inferior car. The amount of speed he has is amazing, but still needs to get smarter. I'm sure the underweight problem was partly attributed to him, and putting on drys too early wasnt very wise either.