Justin Wilson question......
Discussion
I was just reading the thread on here about what DC will do next year and it got me thinking, why doesn't someone just hire Justin Wilson to drive their F1 car?
I am biased towards Justin by the way, he went to my school!
He won the World F3000 championship by the biggest margin ever. When he was in a Minardi, his opening laps were legendary. He could pass 10 cars on the opening lap in a really crap car. It takes talent to do that. DC couldn't do that.
Then he went to Jaguar and was dropped before he could prove himself, the car failed a few times, but his performances were OK, certainly no worse than the crap drivers they have had since (Webber excluded who is very good). Jaguar basically went for drivers who brought sponsorship. Crazy.
So what do you all think?
I am biased towards Justin by the way, he went to my school!
He won the World F3000 championship by the biggest margin ever. When he was in a Minardi, his opening laps were legendary. He could pass 10 cars on the opening lap in a really crap car. It takes talent to do that. DC couldn't do that.
Then he went to Jaguar and was dropped before he could prove himself, the car failed a few times, but his performances were OK, certainly no worse than the crap drivers they have had since (Webber excluded who is very good). Jaguar basically went for drivers who brought sponsorship. Crazy.
So what do you all think?
Wilson only has two hurdles stopping him from making it in F1: his bank balance and his height.
Yes, he is very talented, especially when you consider that the man he comfortably beat to the F3000 title was the highly rated Mark Webber.
He has just signed a new Champ Car deal with the RuSport team, having impressed in his first year in the series with the under-financed Conquest team, so I doubt he'll be in F1 soon.
His height issue could be the one thing that stops him from ever really making it in F1. He's so tall that he'd have to sign for a team before they even started designing the car he was to drive, if that makes sense. He looked absolutely huge in the Jag, with his head nearly blocking the air inlet...
Talented bloke, no cash, as is so often the case.
As an aside, at least Wilson still has a career. Marc Hynes, the man who very comprehensively beat Jensen Button to the 1999 British F3 Championship, has driven in barely a handful of races in the last five years and his career is completely over - because he didn't have any cash behind him or a pushy management team. It's a harsh game.
Yes, he is very talented, especially when you consider that the man he comfortably beat to the F3000 title was the highly rated Mark Webber.
He has just signed a new Champ Car deal with the RuSport team, having impressed in his first year in the series with the under-financed Conquest team, so I doubt he'll be in F1 soon.
His height issue could be the one thing that stops him from ever really making it in F1. He's so tall that he'd have to sign for a team before they even started designing the car he was to drive, if that makes sense. He looked absolutely huge in the Jag, with his head nearly blocking the air inlet...
Talented bloke, no cash, as is so often the case.
As an aside, at least Wilson still has a career. Marc Hynes, the man who very comprehensively beat Jensen Button to the 1999 British F3 Championship, has driven in barely a handful of races in the last five years and his career is completely over - because he didn't have any cash behind him or a pushy management team. It's a harsh game.
same old story, has happened before and will happen again...
Wilson was a good driver but his fast starts were possibly due to Minardi running light fuel loads to achieve this purpose and have a car running high at the early point of the race.
A lot of the smaller F1 teams rely on drivers stumping up the cash to race. Isnt this how Wilson got the Minardi drive (the share scheme and his fathers business) Jaguar had to drop him really when Klien and Co turned up, its sadly a case of who has the biggest chequebook....
I have no doubt he will be competitive in ALMS/ELMS cars should he choose that option.
Full credit to Paul Stoddard though for testing F3 drivers (and Aussies!) Will Power and Will Davidson in the Minardi this winter.
Wilson was a good driver but his fast starts were possibly due to Minardi running light fuel loads to achieve this purpose and have a car running high at the early point of the race.
A lot of the smaller F1 teams rely on drivers stumping up the cash to race. Isnt this how Wilson got the Minardi drive (the share scheme and his fathers business) Jaguar had to drop him really when Klien and Co turned up, its sadly a case of who has the biggest chequebook....
I have no doubt he will be competitive in ALMS/ELMS cars should he choose that option.
Full credit to Paul Stoddard though for testing F3 drivers (and Aussies!) Will Power and Will Davidson in the Minardi this winter.
He is driving for a better (well, better funded) team in Champ Cars next year http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/4038389.stm
when he was head to head with Mark Webber in F3000 he beat him easily, he deserved a better chance at Jaguar.
when he was head to head with Mark Webber in F3000 he beat him easily, he deserved a better chance at Jaguar.
Whilst agreeing with the lack of cash and his height (though only an inch taller than Webber), I have one other observation. Justin does not appear to be able to jump into a new car and show his best straight away.
In F3000 his career went:
Year 1: Very average
Year 2: Worth watching out for
Year 3: Superb, beaing Webber, Enge and Bourdais (all very good drivers)
Similarly, in F1, he was relatively slow to start, then improved. When he joined Jaguar, he was noticeably slower than Webber (something I predicted), then got closer. What people forget is that in the week it was confirmed Klein would join Jaguar, Justin was testing the car. Now comfortable with the car, he was nearly a second quicker than Webber...
I reckon this was repeated again in ChampCars. I fully expect that he will be worth watching very closely in 2005.
He's also a bloody good racer, something well suited to ChampCars.
In F3000 his career went:
Year 1: Very average
Year 2: Worth watching out for
Year 3: Superb, beaing Webber, Enge and Bourdais (all very good drivers)
Similarly, in F1, he was relatively slow to start, then improved. When he joined Jaguar, he was noticeably slower than Webber (something I predicted), then got closer. What people forget is that in the week it was confirmed Klein would join Jaguar, Justin was testing the car. Now comfortable with the car, he was nearly a second quicker than Webber...
I reckon this was repeated again in ChampCars. I fully expect that he will be worth watching very closely in 2005.
He's also a bloody good racer, something well suited to ChampCars.
Agreed he is very good- and was very quick in this years Le Mans in the Dome.
I went to the Gp when he and Ralph were racing. i tried to buy one of their caps/ t0-chirts to lend them my support, but all I could find was the same stalls selling the same clothes at the same prices (all for the same 4-5 teams)
I went to the Gp when he and Ralph were racing. i tried to buy one of their caps/ t0-chirts to lend them my support, but all I could find was the same stalls selling the same clothes at the same prices (all for the same 4-5 teams)
Just thought, I wonder what his time in ChampCars has done for his investors, you know the over-subscribed Justin Wilson PLC? Will they make their money back whilst he is racing over there? Or will he have to win ChampCar and make a glorious return to F1 in a top team to make the investors their cash?
There has been no dividend yet. But a recent newsletter to investors intimated that we should expect some in 2005, as the new drive is paid (even if it is relatively token). There is money in the States for JW to make a decent living and repay investors (if not the great riches some assumed).
I stuck a monkey in, mainly because I felt he deserved a decent bite at the cherry, and because it gave a reason to follow his career. I always assumed that I'd never see my money again, and any repayment would be a bonus.
I stuck a monkey in, mainly because I felt he deserved a decent bite at the cherry, and because it gave a reason to follow his career. I always assumed that I'd never see my money again, and any repayment would be a bonus.
HiRich said:
There has been no dividend yet. But a recent newsletter to investors intimated that we should expect some in 2005, as the new drive is paid (even if it is relatively token). There is money in the States for JW to make a decent living and repay investors (if not the great riches some assumed).
I stuck a monkey in, mainly because I felt he deserved a decent bite at the cherry, and because it gave a reason to follow his career. I always assumed that I'd never see my money again, and any repayment would be a bonus.
Thanks for that, very interesting.
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