Between Grojean and Fittipaldi I believe the latter deserves the seat. Grojean was very inconsistent throughout his career.
Yeah I totally agree- Just wanted to throw it out there to see what others thought. Not to mention the late-season, unceremonious dumping just to get Mazepin and his daddy's Uralkali money (typical minimal talent/maximum funding F1 scenario thus wasting a seat) I'm sure there is no love loss there. That said, Roman was pretty inconsistent throughout his F1 career- A lot of that got forgotten between him being dumped and then the horrific crash. The dream scenario would be an American team with an American driver but short of Rossi I don't think that is ever a remote possibility. There are plenty of Indycar guys that could probably succeed in F1 but nobody has the ridiculous money behind them to "buy" a seat- Which is one of the FEW thing I dislike about F1- Probably for another thread
That's the attraction of Indycar for many; you win on your own merit. Some who never got a chance in F1 managed to win in the USA: Cheever, Rossi, Sato, etc ...
True Rossi's moment in F1 has come and gone. There is a lot of young talent in Indycar presently. One or more of these drivers should make it to F1 but not necessarily an American driver.
He also got beat in the standings by a guy with two races. He was dead last and went backwards from there.
[QUOTE…There is a lot of young talent in Indycar presently. One or more of these drivers should make it to F1 but not necessarily an American driver.[/QUOTE] I disagree. Colton Herta certainly has shown he has the natural talent necessary to develop into a competitive F1 driver.
I disagree. Colton Herta certainly has shown he has the natural talent necessary to develop into a competitive F1 driver.[/QUOTE]
Romain was(is ?) a very quick driver with a hugely respectable palmares. He just needed to be mentally supervised. Comparing him with Fittipaldi is unfair to my opinion.
The above remark about Colton's ability was MY response to your post. You then reposted my remark about Colton as if it was yours. Very confusing.
Theodore (remember them?), Osella (?), Tyrrell, Ligier, Renault, Benetton Alfa, Beatrice (Carl Haas), and Arrows; those were the cars he drove for. I don't think he was highly talented, but it looks to me that Eddie Cheever never had a winning car under him. He got 9 podiums for 143 starts though ...
Apparently not yet a done deal: https://www.planetf1.com/news/haas-nikita-mazepin-replacement-shortlist/
Just to look at it another way, even a quick driver wouldn't have done a lot better in the Haas car last year!
He had the Renault that in 83 in Prost hands won several races and fouhgt until the last race for the title.
As much as I like Gio as a person, he unfortunately didn't show signs of huge talent in F1. Let's be honest, being beaten by a retiree like Raikkonen three years in a row is reason enough to give a another driver a chance.
Based on the evidence we’ve seen, any driver is an improvement on Mazespin - even Gio. The key will be the cash. He who ponies up the most dollars will likely get the job.
Plus he moved his family from Nyon near Geneva Switzerland to Miami this winter; wife and three kids, he is fully committed to Indycar. FYI he was fastest in the rookie test at the Texas speedway last week, was way up there in times at the Sebring test before the first race, fastest in first practice at St Pete and finished fifth, all looking very good for a first win soon. Testing at barber in Alabama tomorrow. FYI he has worked with mental coaching more than almost any driver out there to overcome his flaws and I don't recal him doing anything silly in his first Indycar season last year. Even Verstappen was called crashtappen before he matured. Not aiming these comments at you but at those who keep criticizing him like its' 2018.
Great info- Yeah I was always pulling for Grosjean- I hope he is finding happiness and respect in Indycar. * Ha- I recall the "Number of days since Max crashed" website- Was funny
