Charles Pic at Marussia for F1 2012

[ajprice]

Just been twittered by Jon Noble (@NobleF1). Charles Pic, alongside Timo Glock.

Jerome D'Amobrosio is indeed covered in custard.

[cuprabob]

It was made pretty clear on the F1 Forum that this was going to be the case, without actually coming out and saying it

[Streps]

Just hope virgin does not plow through rookies.
they need stability imo

[ajprice]

Just tried to google image search 'Charles Pic'... Prince Charles, Charles Darwin, Charles Bronson, Charlie Chaplin, Ray Charles. They're all there, no racing drivers though

[Redlake27]

For a Virgin, they are pretty promiscuous. Maybe they've had to change the team team under the trade description act?

[weyland yutani]

If Virgin had disappeared half way through this season would anyone have noticed? They've been totally off my radar, at least HRT have a "Minardi-esque" underdog appeal.

I feel sorry for Glock, a decent driver but destined for obscurity in that team.

[Jungles]

weyland yutani said:

at least HRT have a "Minardi-esque" underdog appeal.

I think Lotus/Caterham better fits that description. The team has a boss who is genuinely passionate about racing, unlike HRT (which is just a toy project by a rich Hispanic businessman) or Marussia (purely a marketing ploy by an almost unheard Russian car maker).

As for Charles Pic, he seems pretty decent, but doesn't have a much better CV than Jerome. If Virgin was a team that was serious about fielding good drivers, they would have kept Lucas di Grassi, who kicked Paul di Resta's ass as teammates in F3 Euroseries, duelled Kubica at Macau (winning it in his second attempt), and smashed all teammates in his three seasons in GP2 (including Petrov).

Edited by Jungles on Monday 28th November 09:42

[Cyder]

Jungles said:

weyland yutani said:

at least HRT have a "Minardi-esque" underdog appeal.

I think Lotus/Caterham better fits that description. The team has a boss who is genuinely passionate about racing, unlike HRT (which is just a toy project by a rich Hispanic businessman) or Marussia (purely a marketing ploy by an almost unheard Russian car maker).

But Marussia isn't though is it? It's Manor racing formed and founded here in good ol' Blighty by John Booth.

They should be getting the underdog British support I reckon but for some reason (maybe it's because Beardy plastered the car in stickers) I and many others don't seem to be able to warm to them as a team.

I reckon if ther'd still been called Manor they'd have plenty of fans by now.

[Jungles]

The thing about Minardi was that Paul Stoddart was visibly dedicated to his own team. It wasn't just a toy. While they did need money, Stoddart gave many promising drivers their first go in F1, including Alonso. He was a good talent spotter and a respectable presence in the F1 paddock.

Marussia has none of that. When they were operating as Virgin with Wirth as technical director, you might have forgiven them as perhaps an over-enthusiastic outfit with a naive design philosophy (CFD-only). But with Marussia controlling the purse strings, I think it will just be used as a corporate - perhaps even political - marketing toy.

[chevronb37]

weyland yutani said:

If Virgin had disappeared half way through this season would anyone have noticed? They've been totally off my radar, at least HRT have a "Minardi-esque" underdog appeal.

I feel sorry for Glock, a decent driver but destined for obscurity in that team.

When we were in Canada this year I went out to the third chicane to watch FP2. Nobody in the field was hanging it out like Glock - every lap he was wringing that car's neck. Absolutely on it with a smaller margin for error than anyone else. It's so easy to forget someone who's tooling around near the back of the grid. He's completely wasted there in my opinion.

As for Charles Pic, well he seems half-decent but I'd have prefered to see Robert Wickens get the drive. Maybe he'll be 2013's team rookie.