De La Rosa to drive for HRT...
Discussion
Crafty_ said:
weyland yutani said:
So who's out at HRT? Ricciardo to STR then?
Possibly, there has been talk of him replacing Trulli...team underdog said:
Crafty_ said:
weyland yutani said:
So who's out at HRT? Ricciardo to STR then?
Possibly, there has been talk of him replacing Trulli...Especially as regards Trulli. Move on sir.
Only a day or so back, PdlR was in the press complaining that the current no-testing regime was no way for a reserve driver to be (un)employed - not even any practice to get to know a bit about the car that he might be expected to drive if called-upon.
Now, a day or so later, an announcement of a drive. Looks like a well-choreographed set of releases to me. There's no doubt that, back when testing was actually done, PdlR had a good rep as a development driver; I agree that this bodes well for HRT.
Now, a day or so later, an announcement of a drive. Looks like a well-choreographed set of releases to me. There's no doubt that, back when testing was actually done, PdlR had a good rep as a development driver; I agree that this bodes well for HRT.
Marc W said:
This thread is quite amusing, one minute people saying it's a good thing for a team to employ an experienced older driver for development etc (DLR at HRT) and the net saying teams should get rid of older drivers to make way for young ones! (Trulli at Lotus.)
Can't see anyone in the posts prior to yours saying it's a good thing. A couple saying it's understandable. Personally I think the current regs make it very difficult for younger drivers. It's hard for teams to assess them prior to signing (other than the test at Yas Marina), and it's hard for the driver to learn the car and tyres away from the pressure of a gp weekend.
Odd decision. Potentially two of Sutil / Petrov / Senna without drives for next year, who bring more money with them than PDlR. Plus Red Bull might be willing to send cash HRT's way to put a young driver in there again.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe HRT have a decent simulator to unleash him onto to develop the car.
Unfortunately it looks like "being Spanish" was the key criteria for their selection process.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe HRT have a decent simulator to unleash him onto to develop the car.
Unfortunately it looks like "being Spanish" was the key criteria for their selection process.
JxT said:
Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't believe HRT have a decent simulator to unleash him onto to develop the car.
Exactly, so the only testing they can do is during the race weekend.Also, there's an interesting insight into the politics of it all by Joe Saward: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/de-la-ro...
team underdog said:
I've not heard of the Ricciardo replacing Trulli rumour, but frankly I hope it's true. I'm tired of these old drivers clinging onto drives and depriving us of seeing fresh talent. The likes of Barrichello and Trulli need to make way. It's a shame that teams are so reluctant to take on rookies, but with the lack of testing it's no wonder.
Woah woah woah! Don't lump Barrichello in with Trulli!hornet said:
His neck in debts, possibly?
No doubt about that...so why get De La Rosa on board? He brings no money, will never drag a result out of a car that's beyond the car's capacity...is it 'cos he's Spanish?...I really can't understand Kolles's strategy at all. What theories does anyone have?
Pedro is a fantastic development driver, probably the best that there is and McLaren really really missed him when he went to Sauber. Initially this looks a bit daft from HRT, when there are drivers who are both quicker, and have cash to bring, likely to be on the market too. However, they are a new team with limited resources and big ambitions, and Pedro has a huge amount of experience 'behind the scenes' at top teams which he can bring to HRT. When resources are limited you need to know exactly where to focus your development budget for the best performance gains and I think PDLR will deliver more performance improvement using these skills than a young gun will by dragging an inferior car up above where it should be.
Given HRT are using what is effectively a hybrid of their 2010 car, and a 2010 Williams their performance has actually not been that bad, the team now seems to be fairly well run and I wouldn't be surprised to see them fighting with STR, Williams and Sauber next year.
Of course being Spanish also helps and will bring in cash from Spanish companies which their previous drivers haven't managed but I'm sure the 2 year driving contract isn't the end of it and we will see him taking on more responsibility within the team in the future.
Given HRT are using what is effectively a hybrid of their 2010 car, and a 2010 Williams their performance has actually not been that bad, the team now seems to be fairly well run and I wouldn't be surprised to see them fighting with STR, Williams and Sauber next year.
Of course being Spanish also helps and will bring in cash from Spanish companies which their previous drivers haven't managed but I'm sure the 2 year driving contract isn't the end of it and we will see him taking on more responsibility within the team in the future.
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