Max Verstappen to Race for Toro Rosso

[chonok]

andyps said:

chonok said:

Why is it different?

My golfing abilities have improved over time, but I would still get trounced by a talented 17 year old.

Does a 17 year old playing in the premiership undermine the 'pinnacle of football'?

Edited by chonok on Thursday 21st August 13:01

No idea, they are both sports that only require one ball so I have no knowledge or interest!

Well if you have no idea, how can you claim they are different!

[anonymous-user]

Interesting comments during the drivers conference today. Rosberg, Ricciardo and Grosjean all say they wouldn't have been ready for F1 at 17, but that's because the cars today are so much easier to drive than they used to be and the problem would have been the physical aspect.

Massa agreed and went further saying today's cars are so much easier to drive compared with the past, because of much less grip, downforce and the requirement to look after today's tyres more.

[andyps]

chonok said:

Well if you have no idea, how can you claim they are different!

I have no idea if the premier league is the pinnacle of football or what the pinnacle of golf would be.

[andyps]

REALIST123 said:

Interesting comments during the drivers conference today. Rosberg, Ricciardo and Grosjean all say they wouldn't have been ready for F1 at 17, but that's because the cars today are so much easier to drive than they used to be and the problem would have been the physical aspect.

Massa agreed and went further saying today's cars are so much easier to drive compared with the past, because of much less grip, downforce and the requirement to look after today's tyres more.

Which kind of confirm my thoughts as I have not heard LMP1 drivers saying quite that. Can it really be said that F1 is still the pinnacle of motor sport?

[anonymous-user]

andyps said:

REALIST123 said:

Interesting comments during the drivers conference today. Rosberg, Ricciardo and Grosjean all say they wouldn't have been ready for F1 at 17, but that's because the cars today are so much easier to drive than they used to be and the problem would have been the physical aspect.

Massa agreed and went further saying today's cars are so much easier to drive compared with the past, because of much less grip, downforce and the requirement to look after today's tyres more.

Which kind of confirm my thoughts as I have not heard LMP1 drivers saying quite that. Can it really be said that F1 is still the pinnacle of motor sport?

Well, generally, they still have the highest cornering speeds and shortest lap times (just!) so maybe, I guess it depends on the definition of pinnacle.

[chevronb37]

I must be honest, I think all the stuff about Verstappen's promotion undermining F1 is nonsense. I have only one concern about the move and that is simply that if he flounders it could ruin an extremely promising career before it's really started. I remember standing on the inside of Coppice at Donington watching Jaime Alguasari win the British F3 Championship against a pretty strong field and believing he had a strong future ahead of him. Within a couple of years he was a washed-up ex-F1 driver. I will be very disappointed if the same happens to Verstappen as he's clearly an epic talent, though I must confess that I haven't yet seen him race in person. I generally prefer to make my own judgement based on watching from the trackside but it's been apparent from Marcus Simmons' total adulation for the kid this year that he's special.

I'll reserve judgement but if he fails to impress I will be laying the blame at Red Bull / Toro Rosso's door and not at his.

[THX]

andyps said:

Which kind of confirm my thoughts as I have not heard LMP1 drivers saying quite that. Can it really be said that F1 is still the pinnacle of motor sport?

I know it's not the same thing, but it's the only frame of reference I have soooo...

When playing any 'game' that claims to be near a sim and selecting the LMP1 car you're thinking "This is fast but manageable" You absolutely couldn't hop in a real car and drive it the same way, but you flattered into thinking it's not beyond your capabilities.

Hop in an F1 car, using the same sim, and you're thinking "... never in a million years" The world seems to move in fast forward.

I'm not saying the sims are an absolute representation of these machine, they're not, but that the relative speed difference - which shouldnt be far off the mark - is massive.

LMP2 though... I st em.

[andyps]

Interesting that an experienced driver from LMP1 could come into F1 this weekend having not driven an F1 car for 10 years and be quicker than his team mate in the first two practice sessions - admittedly not in FP3 though.

[London424]

Ant Davidson made a good point during FP3 that he will be able to use the simulator day in, day out to get used to the car and the buttons etc as much as he wants. This wasn't the case even 10 years ago when he was coming through so actually driving a car was how you got experience.

[andyps]

Seems Jacques Villeneuve views match mine - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115490

[Vaud]

andyps said:

Seems Jacques Villeneuve views match mine - http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115490

But the thing is, rent a mouth will say anything.

[NRS]

andyps said:

chonok said:

Don't understand the negativity.

Kids start off in other sports at 17 - what's the difference in F1?

Because driving a car isn't the same as kicking a ball around or running fast? I know that my driving capabilities have improved with time, and most race drivers say that they keep improving, therefore having the chance to improve in a lower formula would appear logical. It has already been pointed out that with TR if Max doesn't perform he will be out and that is likely to be the end of his F1 career (based on previous evidence) so it is a risk he is taking - I'm sure he knows that and I wish him well, but as already said, feel it undermines the "pinnacle of motorsport" image of F1.

No, it's much easier than them. I mean running you have to move your arms and legs, in car racing you only really have to move your arms and feet. You're even sitting on a seat for goodness sake!

You're basically being ageist. Yes, there are others who have put in lots of money and time - but that has always been the case in F1 when there are so few seats. It's got nothing to do with time and effort, rather skill, luck and money. Practice does help, but it's not like your driving where you do a few hours a day since you're 17 perhaps. This guy will have been driving lots since he was very young, with the extra benefit of kids learning quicker. My only concern would be racecraft, but Maldonado is a prime example age and practice doesn't mean it gets better.

[Z3MCJez]

andyps said:

Interesting that an experienced driver from LMP1 could come into F1 this weekend having not driven an F1 car for 10 years and be quicker than his team mate in the first two practice sessions - admittedly not in FP3 though.

I fear that says more about Ericsson than Lotterer. Albeit that he's clearly no slouch as a multi-LM winner. But he didn't get pole duties in the Audi ...

Jez

[Bradgate]

Coulthard has commented on Verstappen in his Torygraph column. He agrees with Massa that the physical demands of driving an F1 car have reduced so much that a 17 year old could now drive one.

Is this what we really want our heroes to be?

[Vaud]

Bradgate said:

Coulthard has commented on Verstappen in his Torygraph column. He agrees with Massa that the physical demands of driving an F1 car have reduced so much that a 17 year old could now drive one.

Is this what we really want our heroes to be?

Personally I don't care.

I just want to see great racing and engineering. F1 has done amazing things with the new rules.

Vettel was only 19 when he first drove (when they were 3.0 V10s) , I don't see an issue with someone 18 months younger driving the current breed of cars...

[0000]

It's probably just progress, I don't want them artificially making it physically more difficult (though relaxing some rules might be preferable). I think the youngest Red Bull Air Racing pilot was 25; perhaps that's where the next similar challenge is.

[Vaud]

I'm glad the almost mandatory progression system through series is being challenged, it doesn't exist in many other sports. If you are good at the sport, you are good and don't have artificial structures in place to impede you. Full marks to RB of taking risks.

F1 used to be about risks, right?

[AreOut]

it's a good PR move, many teens will start cheering for him just because of his age, they'll identify with him

[Ahonen]

Z3MCJez said:

I fear that says more about Ericsson than Lotterer. Albeit that he's clearly no slouch as a multi-LM winner. But he didn't get pole duties in the Audi ...

Jez

Although in the race he set the fastest lap, which was 2 seconds faster than the car went in qualifying and only 0.8s off the pole time. On used tyres.

As for Verstappen, I worry that he's going to go the same way as people like Jan Magnussen and, let's face it, his own father Jos. Prodigious talents who went to F1 too early and were spat out. Magnussen was incredible in F3, but fell apart in F1.

[Allyc85]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=293uG4Nr3KQ&fe...

Doh