2010 F1 Rookies

[Jungles]

Which of the 2010 F1 rookies (ie. drivers doing their first full season) are getting the most out of their machinery?

My votes go to Alguersuari and Chandhok. The former is the only rookie to bring to car across the finish line in both grands prix (and putting up a fight against Schumacher in the process), while the latter managed to drag his dog of a car home in a wet and chaotic race that claimed much more seasoned veterans, despite having only minimal track experience.

My disappointment is definitely Vitaly Petrov. Kubica has demonstrated that the car is capable, but Petrov is extremely far back in both speed and consistency. He should be at least snapping at the heels of the Force India cars, but is struggling to make even Q2.

[Aused]

I was at the Melbourne F1 and the poor setup/ability of Chandhoks car was evident, it seemed well off the mark even compared to VR and Lotus. He was so late on the power out of the corner, shifting up much earlier and struggling with the car stepping out on pretty much every exit. Given what I saw of the car, I think Chandhok and Senna will both be doing well if they can keep it on the track for a few races. Or maybe driver talent was the issue? the car looked a handful though.

[Mazda Baiter]

My driver of the day for Melbourne was Karun Chandhock. It probably felt like he had driven twice the distance that Button had.

He has outpaced Senna in a few sessions already too.

He seems like the nicest bloke in the pitlane too.

[Jasandjules]

So far they are all doing OK in my book.

[Fire99]

I think all the new teams seem to be driving with 3 wheels in comparison with the 'big boys'.

I knew the gap would be big but would an F2 car be any slower? Nice to have new teams but IMO the plan was rushed too much for 2010

[Mazda Baiter]

Fire99 said:

...would an F2 car be that much slower...

If you mean actual F2, yes. They would be obliterated, even by Senna and Chandhock in the HRT cars.

If you mean GP2, it would be closer, but I think the GP2 cars would still be slower.

[Jungles]

Mazda Baiter said:

Fire99 said:

...would an F2 car be that much slower...

If you mean actual F2, yes. They would be obliterated, even by Senna and Chandhock in the HRT cars.

If you mean GP2, it would be closer, but I think the GP2 cars would still be slower.

GP2 Asia series Bahrain qualifying:
P1. Luca Filippi 2m 07.087s

F1 Bahrain qualifying:
P19. Timo Glock 1m 59.728s
P24. Karun Chandhok 2m 4.904s

So GP2 cars are definitely slower.

[Fire99]

Sorry Yeah I meant GP2.

The back runners are still closer to a GP2 than the front-runners of the F1 grid which isn't great.

They seem great teams with some real dedication and enthusiasm. Just wonder how long it'll take them to get reasonably competetive.

[Holst]

I think Chandhok did very well in Melbourne.
The car is obviously a bit of a pig to drive at the moment but he kept it on the road in difficult conditions and made the finish.

[Fire99]

Holst said:

I think Chandhok did very well in Melbourne.
The car is obviously a bit of a pig to drive at the moment but he kept it on the road in difficult conditions and made the finish.

He seems like an extremely nice grounded chap. Kinda like the kid who gets asked by his favourite band to be their singer - Hugely enthusiastic to be on the grid. Hats off to the chap, and he's keeping young Senna honest.

[plg]

Fire99 said:

Holst said:

I think Chandhok did very well in Melbourne.
The car is obviously a bit of a pig to drive at the moment but he kept it on the road in difficult conditions and made the finish.

He seems like an extremely nice grounded chap. Kinda like the kid who gets asked by his favourite band to be their singer - Hugely enthusiastic to be on the grid. Hats off to the chap, and he's keeping young Senna honest.

Yup - and as Senna is no slouch, would be good to see Chandhok get a better 2nd driver seat - maybe at Force India?

[DiscoColin]

Jungles said:

Which of the 2010 F1 rookies (ie. drivers doing their first full season) are getting the most out of their machinery?

To be perfectly honest I think that it is not entirely fair to draw a conclusion yet. But it isn't Petrov.

In all fairness - I think that it will be mid season before we can determine an answer, however I think that everyone seems to me to be worthy of a shot at an F1 drive. I see competent racing drivers out there and not the B list rent-a-ride brigade that has been seen in the sport in the past.