Ide's future is...test driver only

I don't dislike Ide, I just hope he gets some decent experience/seat/testing time and is able to come back, faster of course.

 

What bothers me is the thinking behind a team with drivers of one nationality, just because they are from a certain country. It makes their race the deciding factor over ability.
Good to see someone of a different nationality as the replacement. It takes Aguri out of the poser status and gives Sato a chance to EARN respect.

 

No he'll be back. If the car even get's fastest enough to get in the middle or front of the grid they will put him back in the car so he can take out half the field and Sato can then actually earn some points.

 

Unfortunately, I think F1 racing is one of those things where you either 'have it', or you don't. The FAST guys in F1 have been fast in any car they have driven, and that's what makes them stand out so the 'top' teams can hire them away from the less financially fortunate teams.
The only one I have seen lately that didn't fit that bill is a guy in a red car, but I will reserve judgement until the end of the season and see if he progresses.

Anyway, there have been guys in F1 that didn't quite cut it, and they ended up being blindingly fast in Gruppe C cars, for whatever reason.

 

I think Super Aguri will realise that they can be a Japanese team with whatever driver they choose from whatever country....much like Ferrari is an Italian team that chooses whoever is best fit for the job...I thought that would have been obvious but I guess you live and learn...

 

There's a push for japanese drivers in F1 for the same reason there's a push to get an american driver in F1: These are nations that buy a lot of cars.

These are also nations that have a lot of racing at home, so their best drivers don't need to put up with all the international travel. Both are a long way from where the F1 teams are based.

But if Toyota starts spanking the Hondas, you might see Toyota pushing for japanese drivers. Right now, it's Honda that wants the buyers to tune in to see the Hondas at the front of the grid. (Just don't watch too long. )

 

i'm actually quite surprised they replaced him at this stage of the season. i was expecting mid point, but still, i do believe it's a good call. ide maybe a good driver in some way or another, but he's just too dangerous at the moment. lots of testing won;t hurt him, so i think it's a good call from the super aguri. what puzzles me is why even offer him the seat the 1st place? given the fact that they know how inexperienced he is.

 

The FIA just revoked Ide's super license. His career is over.

http://www.formula1.com/news/4345.html

I cannot think of any other driver this ever happened to.

 

No loss to the sport.

 

Group C was driven a different way... (being it was my favorite era, and style of racing... i try to know a few things about it)

First off... even getting to drive in F1 usually means you are among the greatest drivers in the world at that time... but because of that; you are among some of the greatest of all time.

Often, those guys wont leave F1 until they are older... or they will just do occasional drives here, or there.
The great F1 drivers of the 80's had sometimes met with reliability issues with thier cars. Driving a car for 1000 km, or 6, 12, and 24 hours are far different then driving flat out in a 1.5 hour sprint race. Group C was first an endurance race; so often drivers had to "take care" of the car.

those with the smoothest application of brake, throttle, and steering lasted; and were also fastest. Jacky Ickx,Hans Stuck were this way... Stefan Bellof was blindingly fast; and still holds the world record run on the Nordschlife (w/out running on the 84+ F1 circuit) of 6:11; and Ickx was still 6 seconds slower.

Normal great drivers of the era include Derek Bell, Al Holbert; who both were excellent at taking care of the car... but rarely pushed the car to its limit as to save it for the entire race... yet often ended up winning... even setting fastest lap under terrible conditinos (no brakes at Lemans for instance).

sometimes, there were even Team secrets that helped the no.1 driver be faster then the no. 2 driver... such as ways to manage additional boost for a short time.

(in case you cant tell, the Porkers were my favorite of the bunch)

the sad thing is this.... Today in F1 we see teams backing off visibly towared the end of the race to save the car all in the name of "making things cheaper" and having a race engine for two full race weekends... what utter crap.

 

Well... Ide was a really bad driver but actually having his license revoked reflects a lot worse on the team. What the hell was A. Suzuki thinking when he put Ide in the car.

If a driver is given the opportunity to race an F1 car, he (or she?) will go for it regardless of how bad a driver he is. It's a once in a life time opportunity, even more so if the driver is bad.

There's been other terrible drivers in F1 but some of them didn't eve qualified for the races.

 

True, but what really shocks me is the fact that they revoked the license. I have seen many lame drivers, but they all kept their license.

In the past you also needed a valid driver's license to be able to race F1 (this rule doesn't exist anymore) and I remember there were always discussions when one of the hot shots like Regazzoni or Alesi got caught speeding and were about to loose their drivers license.

And Kimi was on a provisional super license in his first year at Sauber due to his lack of racing experience. Yet I have never seen anybody loose their super license. The FIA must think Ide is absolute crap.

PS: Does a test driver need a super license? It obviously wouldn't matter for private tests like Fiorano, but when all the teams gather and test e.g. in Barcelona a driver obviously uncapable of driving is posing just as much of a risk. So is Ide out of a job altogether now?

 

Fellows, Suzuki's sponsorship stipulates the team make "best effort" to have two Japanese drivers in the cars. Honda's support is also contingent on this (long-term now) goal.

Follow the money!

-Peter

 

Per planet-f1...

Yuji Ide will not race in Formula One again this season after world governing body, the FIA, revoked his license.

http://www.planet-f1.com/News/Story_Page/0,15909,3210_3213_1216380,00.html

 

I never read anywhere where Rossi had to get his to test. Does he have one? I doubt his bike racing time would count towards the req'd seat time needed for an F1SL. My guess is he doesn't have one and he tested on a multiple team day. So I'd say Ide can still test. But you may need one to be a team official tester or Fri driver. Good question though.

 

Good point.

 

I think Rossi's driving around Florano qualified him for the license.

 

A story on the CNN international web site has also reported that the FIA has withdrawn Ide's super license.
John

 

I dont think a Super License is required for testing independantly.
FIA sanctioned events would be different.This probably means Ide cant test drive on race weekends.

I think the FIA pulling Ides licence is bad for all. Aquri was going to replace him immediatly any way.
Now Aguri looks stupid for having Ide on the team.
Ide must feel awful.
And the FIA looks bad for issueing it in the first place.

 

And just maybe Ide is being made the focus to keep people from wondering how Super Aguri got on track in the first place. F1 is for car makers. How do you go buy a bad chassis from a museum, dust it off, and run it in F1?

 

I think allowing them in was purely a political decision to have a fuller field against the GPMA thread.

Basically they told the manufacturers, that if they want to split away, it won't hurt F1 as much because they can backfill the ranks with museum cars.