Stars Of The Future: Who do you think will be lining up on the F1 grid by 2014/15?

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Fortunately, money isn't everything and fortunately, there are better pay(ing) drivers out there that actually offer some ability. Latest example - Perez.
 
To work out who is going to come into Formula 1, we have to work out which seats will be available in the future.

First of all, I think Paul di Resta will go to Mercedes (Schumacher will either re-retire or Rosberg will get fed up with a lack of progress), which will open up a Force India seat. If di Resta continues to out-pace Sutil, then two Force India seats might be available. And I don't think Nico Hulkenberg will join them, because Willi Weber is clearly trying to set him up as Schumacher's heir apparent, which necessitates a move to Mercedes.

Mark Webber's future is limited; if he can't compete this season, I think he'll call it quits and end on a high note rather than debase himself by moving to a smaller team. And while Toro Rosso might be the Red bull satellite team, they are under no obligations to take Alguersuari or Buemi to replace Webber simply because they're from Toro Rosso. Rather, Red bull will take the best driver available to them. I suspect that driver might come from Sauber.

Speaking of, both Sauber drivers have made heads turn. Kobayashi seems destined for bigger and brighter things, and will no doubt become Japan's first race winner. Perez is a little harder to judge; it's easy to get caught up in his Melbourne performance, but he retired in Malaysia before he could do anything special, and his race in Shanghai was very messy. I suspect Ferrari will try and slip Jules Bianchi into the team at some point.

Jarno Trulli is another man whose time in the sport is coming to a close. He's only got, at most, one more season in him, and I suspect he's staying around to help with Fernandes' development. He'll likely be replaced by someone from Team AirAisa, or a Toro Rosso refugee.

Likewise Rubens Barrichello: the time will come for him to retire, and if Williams continue to make him look as silly as they have so far this season, retirement might be sooners than we think. I can't see Pastor Maldonado lasting longer than a season, either, but so long as Williams are in trouble finacially, he'll probably have to stick around. Especially if the share price continues to take a beating.

Finally, there's Hispania. It's impossible to predict their immediate future, much less what will happen in a few years' time, but if they keep moving up as they have been this season, then I can see a serious investment coming in. Possibly from China, since the sport is growing in popularity (and they've had exciting and unpredictable races two years running now).
Nicolas Hamilton is a joke... oh yeah my brothers an F1 driver so it suddenly gives me the talent and ability to race in a proper decent series, or was it that limitless amount of cash and a word from his brother. :yuck:
Could be worse - Andy Soucek's attitude was "I'm Spanish and Fernando Alonso is Spanish; therefore, I have the talent to succeed in Formula 1 and you should totally give me a championship-worthy car without asking me to bring any sponsors to the team".
 
Stars Of The Future: Who do you think will be lining up on the F1 grid by 2014/15?

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Alright, alright. There was no way I could say that with a straight face. Seriously, she's alright to look at and does okay, but okay isn't good enough for F1. Had she been a man, we'd never have heard of her anyway, as there normally isn't a whole lot of interest given to the middle-of-the-road drivers.
 
If a woman is going to make it into Formula 1 in the immediate future, it will likely be Ana Beatriz or Simona de Silvestro.
 
If a woman is going to make it into Formula 1 in the immediate future, it will likely be Ana Beatriz or Simona de Silvestro.

Agreed. Lets just be glad the the requirements for a superlicence mean that this person will not be the next woman in F1.
 
If a woman is going to make it into Formula 1 in the immediate future, it will likely be Ana Beatriz or Simona de Silvestro.

Forgot about her. I've always thought she could use a spot in F1. The sport needs chicks. And not just ones who look good, I want to see a woman win in F1.
 
Esteban Guttierez, Jules Bianchi, Carlos Sainz Jr.
 
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I see Paul Di Resta out there.
Edit* my dad and I have been watching Moto GP and reading about Valentino Rossi test driving for Ferrari and setting some lap records. Also you know Ferrari wants Rossi because they want to get a 3rd car on the grid.
 
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Yes, we all know Milka Duno is hopeless. There's no need to say it out loud.

I know. And I know you (and many others on GTPlanet) were aware of her, but when the conversation took a turn towards pay drivers and female F1 drivers, it reminded me how thankful I am that she could never met the requirements for a superlicence. If she actually made it to F1, it would just make it harder for the genuine female talents out there. There hasn't been a female f1 driver since Giovanna Amati so I think the time is right, providing someone gets the chance on merit, rather than just because they're a woman.

If someone like Danica (or even worse, Milka) was given the chance, it could hurt the chances of other woman trying to get into F1.

astrosdude91
Forgot about her. I've always thought she could use a spot in F1. The sport needs chicks. And not just ones who look good, I want to see a woman win in F1.

Little steps at a time. It's important to make sure that they would be there on merit. But I'm all for it.

Player7996
my dad and I have been watching Moto GP and reading about Valentino Rossi test driving for Ferrari and setting some lap records. Also you know Ferrari wants Rossi because they want to get a 3rd car on the grid.

This could be interesting, but I'm not sure how it would work out. He hasn't been setting lap records though. I think he lapped within a few tenths of Schumacher which is extraordinary given his lack of experience racing cars. I wouldn't mind seeing Rossi in F1, but again, I'd hope he could be there and be competitive enough to justify it. There's no point in having the star of modern grand prix motorcycle racing switching to f1 if he's going to be uncompetitive. A lot of people would like to see if he could emulate Big John.
 
Craig Dolby, Davide Rigon, maybe Max Wissel or Chris van der Drift.

Craig makes Kobayashi's overtaking look tame in comparison.
 
I think Craig is a good driver but may have made a bad carrer move going into Superleague.

Then again Karthikean is back in F1 now after time in Superleague so I guess you never know.
 
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I think Craig is a good driver but may have made a bad carrer move going into Superleague.

Like many underfunded drivers, Superleague is the only realistic option for drivers wanting an adult single seater seat. Even with the costs per season for Superleague getting higher for this season, they're still half what it costs for a season of GP2.

Eurosport have picked up the rights to broadcast it this year, so it will also reach a broader TV audience than previously.
 
Then agasin Karthikean is back in F1 now after time in Superleague so I guess you never know.
But Stupid Football Thing wasn't part of a planned route back into Formula 1. Karthikeyan is there because he worked with Colin Kolles in the past. Superleague has nothing to do with it.
 
Is that outside of the UK becuase I keep seeing adverts for it on Motors?

Oops, my mistake!

It is being shown on Motors not Eurosport.

I knew it was on one of the few sports channels that i get.
 
Then again Karthikean is back in F1 now after time in Superleague so I guess you never know.

Karthikeyan being back in F1 is 99.9% to do with his sponsorship and having an Indian on the grid for the inaugural Indian grand prix. I'm not saying that Karun Chandok was the first choice (although it seems logical), but he publicly stated he wouldn't like to drive for HRT again... Who knows, we may see a one race deal. Purely speculation of course, I haven't seen anything that would lead me to believe that this will happen, but you never know.

Tankuroded
I see. Yuji IDE.

Why a terrible reject driver like him?

Was clearly meant as a joke.

As for Lucas Ordonez. He constantly impresses given his inexperience, but I seriously doubt he'll make it to F1... If it's ever going to happen, he's going to have to do it through LMP1 or even GP2. If he can do really well in either series, he may have a (slim) shot. I wonder how his mechanical knowledge is, because that'll be important, and he doesn't have the years of karting setups and single seater setup knowledge that even the most mechanically stupid f1 driver has.
 
He can always come to GTPlanet tuning forum for some tuning advice. hehe!
 
Pretty much nowadays if you don't win every series you enter in the first season, you ain't making it to F1 unless you have a lot of financial backing. Even if you do win it all you're not guaranteed, just look at the Hulk.
 
^I don't agree with that, you don't have to win series, but you do have to come close. It obviously helps if you win each championship, but you don't necessarily have to win it all, just show that you can.
For example, if you choose to spend 5 years trying to win F3, you've wasted your time. If you finished 4th or 5th in your first or second season, you've done enough to warrant interest from FR3.5 or GP2/GP3 teams. As long as you have won a few races in those 1 or 2 seasons and you've shown some impressive form (like taking a pole, regularly running with top guys, winning wet races, etc).

While money is important too, its not an instant-pass to an F1 seat, there are drivers with a lot of money that are also pretty good. Maldanado did win GP2, even if it wasn't in such impressive form as Hulkenburg. This is nothing like the days of Johnny Dumfries (although even he was a decent driver..considering he won at Le Mans).
 
I don't agree with that, you don't have to win series, but you do have to come close. It obviously helps if you win each championship, but you don't necessarily have to win it all, just show that you can.

Case in point...Heikki Kovalainen. Didn't win the first series of GP2 (just) but became test driver at Renault the next year and was with them the year after. ...and beat Fisi in his first season there too, I think (if anything because of the podium at Japan that year)
 
I can see Sam Bird getting a test drive somewhere next season, the chap is in his second GP2 season this year and has been at the sharp end during winter testing and GP2 Asia. Otherwise, just Daniel Ricciardo stands out as an F1-bound talent right now, already a Toro Rosso test driver, he'll be partnering Vettel at Red Bull sometime down the line.
 
While money is important too, its not an instant-pass to an F1 seat, there are drivers with a lot of money that are also pretty good. Maldanado did win GP2, even if it wasn't in such impressive form as Hulkenburg. This is nothing like the days of Johnny Dumfries (although even he was a decent driver..considering he won at Le Mans).

Money may not be an instant pass to an F1 seat, but it's most certainly needed for the steps between FF > F3 > FR3.5 > GP2. Without it talent alone isn't going to promote you between the series. The teams who run in these higher series are only funded by the money a driver brings with him/her.
 
Of course, but that applies to everyone. What we are talking here is whether teams take on the driver with no money or the driver with bags of money. I don't consider it to be as simple as this, its more like this:
-Driver with skill, and lots of money
-Driver with no skill, and lots of money
-Driver with skill and no money
-Driver with no skill and no money

Teams ideally want to pick the driver who has both skill and money, and these do exist, drivers without the money but with skills also secure drives still. So therefore you are not guaranteed a seat simply because you have money. Otherwise Sauber wouldn't have Perez in the seat, they would have promoted Max Chilton.
The only seats you can buy are Hispania's, and even they have gone with two reasonably experienced and skilled drivers.
 
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