Worst Racing Driver
Discussion
Jungles said:
Worst? That's a difficult question, even more difficult than "best".
Comparatively speaking, at F1 level, I'd say Yuji Ide would have to take the cake as the worst. You've got to be bad to lose your Super Licence, considering the number of other questionable drivers who managed to retain it.
Comparatively speaking, at F1 level, I'd say Yuji Ide would have to take the cake as the worst. You've got to be bad to lose your Super Licence, considering the number of other questionable drivers who managed to retain it.
I suppose in a way, even the very crap F1 drivers still may be "drivng gods", which doesn't half make you wonder where that puts us. I say this because, over on ten-tenths a bit back, someone posted a thread along the lines of "Thankyou for showing us what its like when an ordinary person gets in an F1 car" and posted a picture of Ide. Someone then replied with Ide's cv, and I have to say, it was really quite impressive, including a host of karting and F3 championships.
The fact is, an ordinary person couldn't win a competitive karting championship, never mind F3 and the like.
Anyway - Andrea de Cesaris. I remember him when he first drove at McLaren, courtesy of the fact that his dad was european importer of Marlboro fags. He crashed just about every time he sat in the car. Nigel Roebuck wrote that a mechanic had told him "imagine how you'd feel if every time you typed out a report, you did so knowing that someone is going to screw it up and chuck it in the bin afterwards. That's how we feel working on Andrea's car right now".
Maybe not the worst driver but the biggest disappointment that I've seen, Juan Pablo Montoya. I remember watching the Indycars when he was racing and it went to the wire with him and franchitti, he seemed to have an ability to pull an amazing lap from nowhere and I was very excited when he made it F1 and made that pass on M. Schumacher ant interlagos but then he left for Mclaren and for whatever reason it just didnt work out and now he's gone to race in a boring series for Chip Gannasis side project. Maybe a season dominating Cart or IRL would have fired him up for a return to F1, maybe with williams again? but who knows, looks like we'll never hear of him again.
deadslow said:
deevlash said:
Maybe a season dominating Cart or IRL would have fired him up for a return to F1
God, hope not
Why not? Montoya ontop of his game was fantastic and at least he had personality without being an ego monster, trouble is he seemed to have lost his passion towards the end of his last stint.
deevlash said:
deadslow said:
deevlash said:
Maybe a season dominating Cart or IRL would have fired him up for a return to F1
God, hope not
Why not? Montoya ontop of his game was fantastic and at least he had personality without being an ego monster, trouble is he seemed to have lost his passion towards the end of his last stint.
Actually agreed. The guy is good, and good box-office. But he has not performed. Possibly wrong time for him or anyone. None of them have shone in the Michael era - why is that?
stockhatcher said:
like most Italian racing drivers, is weak in the head...
It's funny how Italians have this reputation in F1 and yet in todays MotoGP the top three were all Italian and I might be wrong but I think those three are all in the top five of the championship.
Incedentally, anyone know who was the last Italian to win in a Ferarri, before I started watching I think?
Mr_Thyroid said:
stockhatcher said:
like most Italian racing drivers, is weak in the head...
It's funny how Italians have this reputation in F1 and yet in todays MotoGP the top three were all Italian and I might be wrong but I think those three are all in the top five of the championship.
Incedentally, anyone know who was the last Italian to win in a Ferarri, before I started watching I think?
Alboreto?
Alesi is half Sicilian.
Mr_Thyroid said:
stockhatcher said:
like most Italian racing drivers, is weak in the head...
It's funny how Italians have this reputation in F1 and yet in todays MotoGP the top three were all Italian and I might be wrong but I think those three are all in the top five of the championship.
Incedentally, anyone know who was the last Italian to win in a Ferarri, before I started watching I think?
that comment is based on monaco '97, when fisico was running second for much of the race, only for his head to cave in, and let three cars past in as many laps. really he needn't have driven in any more gp's after that, as i think that race sums him up as a driver perfectly...
GarrettMacD said:
IMO, the worst driver is someone who, when given a clearly superior car, still manages to make him/herself look ordinary.
To that end, I give you...
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
To that end, I give you...
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
I remember Le Mans in 1992, chucking it down and a crapulent EuroMotorsport Lola being 20 seconds a lap faster than anyone for an hour. The driver - H-HF.
He was fast.
Edited by phatgixer on Sunday 24th September 23:35
GarrettMacD said:
IMO, the worst driver is someone who, when given a clearly superior car, still manages to make him/herself look ordinary
Giampiero Simoni had just that driving the Alfa Romeo 155 in the 1994 BTCC. The car had a big technical advantage over its competitors owing to its 'Silverstone' homoligation. Endowed with a large front splitter and high rear wing, significant downforce was generated at speed.
Rather than winning races, the pint-sized Simoni would instead morse code the rear bumpers of all the other cars.
phatgixer said:
GarrettMacD said:
IMO, the worst driver is someone who, when given a clearly superior car, still manages to make him/herself look ordinary.
To that end, I give you...
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
To that end, I give you...
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
I remember Le Mans in 1992, chucking it down and a crapulent EuroMotorsport Lola being 20 seconds a lap faster than anyone for an hour. The driver - H-HF.
He was fast.
Edited by phatgixer on Sunday 24th September 23:35
Thats the thing about F1. If the driver is not "in tune" with the car, then he is a nobody, despte what his previous history is. I can remember Autospot saying "Why Zonta will Rock F1". Of course it didnt happen. And after he won Le Mans in 96, I have always looked out for Wurz. Not a good F1 driver, of course...
The truth is, all F1 drivers are very quick- even the slow ones, to qoute Dennis Jenkinson. If we, as normal people went around a circuit with en ex-Minardi driver, we would all be very impressed. F1 drivers, however would not be. What I'm trying to say is that everyone in F1, hell, even F3 is very quick. But it's that special something what makes them f1 drivers- and not necessarially good in other formulas...
unhappily, that "something" these days is money. We can all list situations hwre the best drier in their class does not get an F1 drive, yet the 3rd/4th place does. Jenson Button is a good example.
But then, would a great British driver like Dan Wheldon want to race in F1? I doubt if he'd lower himself to race in F1, but I'd love to watch him race in something- Le mans, for example? I think he's one of the most exciting drivers of the last few years...
Saied said:
GarrettMacD said:
IMO, the worst driver is someone who, when given a clearly superior car, still manages to make him/herself look ordinary
Giampiero Simoni had just that driving the Alfa Romeo 155 in the 1994 BTCC. The car had a big technical advantage over its competitors owing to its 'Silverstone' homoligation. Endowed with a large front splitter and high rear wing, significant downforce was generated at speed.
Rather than winning races, the pint-sized Simoni would instead morse code the rear bumpers of all the other cars.
The alfa's advantage was nothing to do with the spoilers, that was a red herring, it was all down to there trick diff.
williamp said:
unhappily, that "something" these days is money. We can all list situations hwre the best drier in their class does not get an F1 drive, yet the 3rd/4th place does. Jenson Button is a good example.
Jenson Button and his family never had any money, not proper money. Could be wrong, but I don't think he was ever able to buy a drive.
I was karting (as a fat old git) when JB was winning everything, and his dad always looked grubby 'cos he was doing all the work.
Button's rise was hardly due to money. A lot of it was by merit alone. His father was a former rallycross driver, so that would have helped also.
Button was the dominant kart racer in his days, and also the youngest winner of the European Super A championship. He won the British Formula Ford championship in his debut year, and also was third in the British F3 only the year after that. These are impressive results, considering that other drivers need to spend years in a category to become competitive - Button was competitive from the word "go".
Button was the dominant kart racer in his days, and also the youngest winner of the European Super A championship. He won the British Formula Ford championship in his debut year, and also was third in the British F3 only the year after that. These are impressive results, considering that other drivers need to spend years in a category to become competitive - Button was competitive from the word "go".
Jungles said:
Button's rise was hardly due to money. A lot of it was by merit alone. His father was a former rallycross driver, so that would have helped also.
Button was the dominant kart racer in his days, and also the youngest winner of the European Super A championship. He won the British Formula Ford championship in his debut year, and also was third in the British F3 only the year after that. These are impressive results, considering that other drivers need to spend years in a category to become competitive - Button was competitive from the word "go".
Button was the dominant kart racer in his days, and also the youngest winner of the European Super A championship. He won the British Formula Ford championship in his debut year, and also was third in the British F3 only the year after that. These are impressive results, considering that other drivers need to spend years in a category to become competitive - Button was competitive from the word "go".
The fact that Marlboro latched onto him early in that F3 season and gave him rather a large sum has nothing to do with his subsequent progression of course. It's interesting to note that the champion that year, Marc Hynes, was sponsored by Lyon's Maid icecream, and never progressed beyond F3. He's now racing for Team LNT in a Panoz in the LMS championship. Money has everything to do with success in racing. If you can't buy your way up after F3, you go nowhere
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