Christian Klien throws some light on the problems faced by young drivers trying to get into F1 who don’t have sponsorship behind them.
Links
Klien laments European drivers’ struggles to get into F1 (Crash)
“Nico Hulkenberg’s case shows that there are no guarantees. He had a great debut year with a pole position in Brazil, and he’s out. In my own case, I have some options. The most obvious one of course is HRT, who are on the verge of establishing themselves as a serious competitor, even if there are some setbacks from time-to-time. In February there was not much of a team, and I would not have believed I would contest three grands prix this year.”
Schumacher and Vettel celebrate fourth RoC nations cup win (Race of Champions)
Formula 1 superstars Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher both hailed Team Germany’s incredible fourth successive victory in the ROC Nations Cup after a rollercoaster evening in front of their home crowd.
Chandhok confident to secure F1 future before Christmas (GP Update)
“My goal for next year as I’ve said before is still firmly to be in Formula 1 and negotiations for a drive in the 2011 F1 world championship are progressing in the right way, so hopefully we’ll have a final program in place before the F1 world shuts for Christmas.”
‘Exceptional’ Schumacher had ‘impossible’ task – Prost (ESPN)
“I was not expecting better, because I know it’s difficult to come back after three years stopped. What he has done is already very good – almost exceptional. The target to be world champion in his comeback was really impossible, also because the team and the car was not at the same level as Red Bull, McLaren or Ferrari.”
Comment of the day
A lot of people have drawn the same conclusion as Mike over Daniel Ricciardo’s promotion at Toro Rosso:
I think Buemi is just lucky he hasn’t been kicked out for the start of next season.
I mean, he isn’t bad, But Toro Rosso in effect is just a training ground for Red Bull. So keeping a driver who isn’t particularly likely to set the world on fire for a long time isn’t desirable.
Mike
From the forum
Who will be the first to unlock the Ferrari F10 in Gran Turismo 5?
Happy birthday!
No F1 Fanatic birthdays today. If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.
On this day in F1
The Kyalami circuit in South Africa held its last international race in its original form on this day in 1988. Former F1 driver Jochen Mass won the World Sportscar race for Porsche.
F1 had last raced at the venue three years earlier, but the popular circuit had run into financial trouble and sold off half the land the track was built on to a property developer.
A new section was built and F1 returned to the circuit for two further races in 1992 and 1993.
Read more: 1993 South African Grand Prix flashback
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
28th November 2010, 0:25
I’ve just seen the pics of Bernie, after the mugging he suffered.
Im sorry… but when Jenson suffered that horrible situation at Brazil and people were saying “F1 shouldn’t go to Brazil anymore” I said: “that could happen anywhere”.
Bernie’s situation the other day just proves that. How is it possible one of the richiest man in Britain suffer such thing IN LONDON?.
And then I say again… it could happen anywhere to anyone!. Specially these very famous (and rich) guys.
It happened more than once in Brazil, and maybe the situation is worse over there, with the fabelas near to the racetrack and so on… but the chance of it happening anywhere else it’s not 0.
Don’t stop going to a certain country. Better, work with the organization to guarrante team members and drivers to move from the hotel to the racetrack safely.
(Sorry to go on with this again :P)
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley)
29th November 2010, 3:44
I too found it a bit unusual. Why wouldn’t he have minders and bodyguards?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
28th November 2010, 0:28
BTW, im going to the Buenos Aires racetrack tomorrow.
Turismo Carretera (oldest ever touring car series, Guiness records included… where Fangio and others came from) grand finale :D!. 11 drivers can get the championshop :O
Prisoner Monkeys
28th November 2010, 1:27
I’m not too concerned about this. It is, after all, Christian Klien. He hasn’t exactly set the world ablaze. As for Nico Hulkenberg, aside from that pole in Brazil, he hasn’t been stellar either. He has an aversion to chicanes, plays way too rough with the other kids and has shot himself in the foot on more than one occasion.
On the other side of the coin, the system of feeder series and the demand for a valid Superlicence dictate that even the meanest pay driver needs to have some modicum of talent before a team will even consider him. You might point to Vitaly Petrov’s crashtacular end of season (the less I think about Japan and Korea, the better), but even he shows flashes of promise – how many established drivers (much less rookies) are out there who can withstand pressure from a Fernando Alonso chasing a World Championship for forty laps without folding? Nico Hulkenberg barely lasted four in Brazil before Alonso got through.
The point here is that the days of pay drivers like Jean-Denis Deletraz – rich playboys who fancy themselves as racing drivers and muscle out the talented, but less financially-secure among the Formula 1 fraternity – are gone. Sergio Perez might be a pay driver for Sauber next season, but look at the way he dominated the GP2 field in Abu Dhabi. He’s got a healthy bank balance, but he’s also got a good dose of talent.
If Klien and Pedro de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld are missing out on racing seats because young aspirants are dangling wads of greenbacks about, I’m not too concerned. They’ve had their chance in Formula 1, and there’s obviously a reason why they haven’t been able to advance through the midfield teams. Heidfeld and de la Rosa are getting a little old now and it’s getting to the point where keeping them in a racing seat will do more harm than good. Especailly when you could pick up a promising young talent like Maldonado or Perez.
Pay drivers are only going to be a problem again when the likes of Hamilton and Alonso struggle to secure racing seats.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
28th November 2010, 2:28
I agree. I think it’s actually almost the opposite of what Klien says in the sense that there are more deserving drivers than open seats (the main reason I was disappointed there won’t be a 13th team next year), and even drivers with merit are having to ALSO bring sponsorship, which then makes people instantly label them as pay-drivers and naturally assume they have no talent. That’s not always true. Even Yamamoto didn’t do as terribly as everyone likes to imply he did this year, in an absolutely abysmal car he managed to at least stay close enough to Senna and even outqualified him in his final appearance. As you point out, Perez could be labelled a pay driver as well, but he certainly doesn’t look like a slouch so far. It’s been said before as well, but with the non-existent testing in F1 these days, Friday practices are really the only chance the rookie drivers get to familiarize themselves with the equipment and the setup work and getting to a point where they’re comfortable in F1. All that said I do think it’ll be a shame if Hülkenberg can’t find a race seat. Yes the pole position was his only real shining moment, but what a moment it was! Over a second faster than Vettel, and his previous lap was fast enough for pole as well. If he can learn to calm himself and smooth out the bumps in his driving he certainly has a large amount of potential.
Prisoner Monkeys
28th November 2010, 3:52
And, it should be said, sponsors are attaching themselves to drivers who are showing promise, drivers who – on the basis of their results – could cut it in Formula 1. If I own MonkeyCorp. and I want to sponsor a driver, am I going to throw money at someone like Maldonado or Perez or Bianchi … or someone like Gonzalez or Herck or Arabazhiev? Unless I’m a masochist and/or I have a particular affinity for the Eastern European market, of course I’m going to back the top-tier kids. They’re the ones who have every chance of giving me maximum exposure for my brand.
This is really just a case of Klien complaining that he might not be on the grid next year. But naturally, the question must be asked: does he even deserve to be there in the first place?
US_Peter (@us_peter)
28th November 2010, 6:14
Exactly.
Fixy (@)
28th November 2010, 16:57
Are you saying that Klien complained for Hulkenberg because their situation is the same? I hadn’t thought of that, but it’s true.
Invoke
28th November 2010, 12:38
Let’s hope they go ahead with the idea of young driver testing on a Monday after certain Grand Prix. Extra mileage for young drivers is desperately needed and this extra running time could stop the current trend of drivers missing out on Friday practice, harming their race preparation.
PJA
28th November 2010, 16:28
While I am in favour of Monday testing after certain races, has this ever been officially mentioned or just brought up as an idea by us fans?
OEL
28th November 2010, 21:50
Would’ve been better to ban race drivers from FP1, and let the test drivers drive the car for once!
Ben Curly
29th November 2010, 12:52
I totally agree with Klein’s whining. In the old days it was enough to be Briton, Italian, German, or Austrian and you could race in F1. Nowadays you have the drivers from the whole world, which is clearly unacceptable!
I know, I know… the sport is called Formula One World Championship. So what? Come on, he’s an Austrian driver! Not particularly amazing driver, but he shouldn’t be forced to compete with all these “foreign” racers.
Pinball
29th November 2010, 20:32
The way you’ve stated that you’ve brought back memories of Paul Tracy complaining that there aren’t enough American drivers in IndyCar.
Who cares where the drivers come from, surely most fans want the most competitive drivers, regardless of their homeland.
Griggs
28th November 2010, 1:38
I found today’s round up to be quite depressing. First you have Klien talking about how difficult it is for a European driver to break into the sport, even someone as promising as Hulkenburg.
Which is then followed up by an article on how Chandhok is confident he will get a drive, essentially because we have an Indian grand prix next year and he is Indian and therefore has financial backing (from Bernie?).
I still can’t get my head around Renault sticking with Petrov either, it’s essentially due to him being Russian with a Russian grand prix coming up and because he has lots of financial backing. Maybe Petrov will come good next year, I feel it’s unlikely for him to move from the most out of his depth driver on the grid to giving performances worthy of the Renault car though.
Sigh. I appreciate this is motorsport and this is the way things work at all levels and has done for years, but this is supposed to be the highest level with the best drivers in the world.
Hamish
28th November 2010, 1:58
You might like this then:
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpass_news_item.php?fes_art_id=42659
One might forget that somewhere in the middle of all this cars race around circuits.
Prisoner Monkeys
28th November 2010, 4:00
I love how Pitpass paint themselves as the pinnacle of investigative journalism, keeping everyone in the Formula 1 paddock honest. They’re a lot like current affairs programming, like “Today Tonight” and “A Current Affair” – hacks who sensationalise news stories, push the boundaries of taste and common decency and treat stories as a vanity platform rather than as actual newscasting. There are no redeeming qualities about Pitpass; they blatantly ignore copyright and licencing arrangements that everyone is obligated to observe and then pat themselves on the back for Sticking It To The Man. Whatever their original intentions, they have become truly lost; they talk about how they sought to avoid hype and PR, and maybe they did to begin with, but now they’re usually the source of it.
There is a reason why Pitpass is known to fans as Spitpass. And a couple of other names that will be picked up by the swear-filter.
Pinball
28th November 2010, 3:49
There are plenty of good drivers outside of Europe. For a long time European drivers have had a much easier path into F1 than drivers from other countries, and they still do. This season there was a total of 19 European drivers, 7 alone from Germany. From all countries there was a total of 27 drivers in 2010. This means that 70% of the drivers were European. If Klein could not find a seat as a regular driver as one of those 19 European drivers, maybe it just means that he isn’t good enough?
Prisoner Monkeys
28th November 2010, 3:54
Were you watching Abu Dhabi? How many drivers can hold off a determined Fernando Alonso for ten laps, much less for forty? What Petrov did at Yas Marina – a circuit he had never experienced – was far more impressive than Hulkenberg getting a pole position in variable conditions.
Magnificent Geoffrey (@magnificent-geoffrey)
28th November 2010, 10:20
I have to say I completely disagree.
Hulkenberg took pole position completely on merit in tricky conditions by a full second. In a Williams. That is a case of driver out-performing car that you very rarely see in this day and age. For sure, Petrov’s drive in Abu Dhabi was his best of the year, more so than Hungary, but I’d have to say that the Reanult is a better car than the Williams and if roles were reversed, I’d imagine Hulkenberg would’ve kept Fernando behind him just as effectively. Added to that the way Lewis couldn’t find a way past Kubica in the sister Renault, I start to wonder whether it was the car that was the difference for Petrov in Abu Dhabi.
Hulkenberg may not be ‘rookie of the forever’, I’ll give you that, but in my view he’s been much more impressive than the Russian whose sponsorship revenue is equalled only by the repair bill Renault have had to foot for him this season.
Marco
28th November 2010, 11:08
But why he wasn t doing a miracle also in race? Because race has 70 laps, not 4… Hulkenberg was only a very good qualifyier, that s all… He had comparable race results with Alguersuari, who drove a worst car almost all the year…
Victor.
28th November 2010, 22:42
I agree. The reason Petrov kept Alonso behind him was due to the Renault being faster on the straight. It was a great drive, no-one is doubting that, but Hulkenberg’s pole was much more impressive.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
28th November 2010, 2:36
In response to Mike’s COTD, I agree. It just gave me the thought also that unless a driver comes along and impresses like Vettel did at Torro Rosso (which is unlikely to happen now as there’s a much bigger performance gap between the RBR and STR cars than when Vettel won at Monza), timing may be everything for which driver gets the next promotion to Red Bull Racing. If Webber does retire for 2012 and Buemi has already gotten the axe and replaced by Ricciardo, Alguersuari could end up with Webber’s seat simply because he’s the more experienced of the two STR drivers in line. Of course they may change their whole approach now that they’re world champions, and actually sign a Kubica or someone outside of their driver development program, and of our speculations about who gets promoted from Torro Rosso could be for naught. That would certainly be the prudent thing for them to do if they want to stay on top. Maybe Alguersuari will live up to Tost’s predictions and have a standout season next year. I kind of doubt it though.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
28th November 2010, 2:38
Nico have a tough job so it will be hard for him to find a better seat in 2011.
sato113 (@sato113)
28th November 2010, 3:17
replacing Liuzzi at Force India seems sensible.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
28th November 2010, 11:50
I think a fundamental lack of talent harms Klien’s claim to be on the F1 grid more than any inherent difficulty that may exist when it comes to European drivers getting race seats.
colin grayson
28th November 2010, 11:59
hulkenberg got his pole for purely technical reasons
I doubt that there was a driver in the field who couldn’t have done the same in that car
Steph
28th November 2010, 12:25
Rubens didn’t do it…
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn)
28th November 2010, 13:06
Neither could any of the other drivers who changed to slicks. They couldnt even beat Hulkenberg’s second fastest lap in more favourable conditions.
Ads21 (@ads21)
28th November 2010, 14:22
I agree, but only if you count being completely awesome as a technical reason
Neusalz (@dpod)
28th November 2010, 14:25
@Magnificent Geoffrey
Correct me if I am wrong but I believe Williams received an update which really improved the performance of the vehicle so I think its tough to say Renault was faster.
But I believe Petrov had a faster car than the Ferrari and Abu Dhabi. He was faster on the straights and Alonso never really mad an attempt to overtake because he always had quite a distance from him. Sure it was a test of mental strength and consistency but he is not breath taking. If he can gain consistency for the next season than I will be impressed because he does has talent. On the other side The Hulk cracked big time from Alonso’s pressure and he left no problem for Alonso to overtake him, but of course I cant guarantee that I am correct because conditions, and car performance are never the same but its just my opinion.
jose arellano
28th November 2010, 15:07
i think a good pairing for force india could be hulkenberg and di resta.
Marco
28th November 2010, 15:31
Sutil is better then Hulkenberg… Adrian was battling all the year even with Schumacher and Rubens in the standings… Nico has not a consistency in results or performances… One day he can shine (Brasil quali) and on another day he is totally mediocre (Abu Dhabi weekend)…
PJA
28th November 2010, 16:22
I don’t think Force India will be changing both race drivers if they can help it. I think they will let Luizzi go but keep Sutil, after driving in some practice sessions for them this season I would have thought di Resta would get the other seat, but this is F1 so you never know.
At the moment Sutil is better than Hulkenberg and would be a better choice for 2011, but 2010 was Sutil’s fourth full season while it was only Hulkenberg’s first season in F1 and if Hulkenberg manages to get a race seat for 2011 his overall performance should improve due to the experience.
djdaveyp85
28th November 2010, 17:11
I think there is a chance Chandock could be at Force India next season, with Di Resta as his team mate. Sutil and Liuzzi have both both been amateur at best this season.
Marco
28th November 2010, 19:28
“Amateur”, who ends the season with 7th best car in 11th position… Respect, because he should be somewhere in 13th-14th place…
MondoL
30th November 2010, 17:09
The list of drivers and numbers is already out:
http://www.lavanguardia.es/deportes/noticias/20101130/54078436339/fernando-alonso-llevara-el-numero-5-en-2011.html