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9 Jun 2005, 17:56 (Ref:1324134) | #1 | ||
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Davidson rejecting Newman-Haas
(Rescued from the other Ant thread, edit )
We've now heard that Ant rejected the chance to join top ChampCar team Newman-Haas for the rest of the season. While we don't know the full circumstances (whether BAR would release him, ro still want him for occasional tests, or if he'd be damaging his chances of a 2006 drive), I wonder if this was a wise move. Some very good drivers have proved their worth in ChampCars, not least Wilson who I know Rennen has a relatively low opinion of, and it can be a springboard to F1, not to mention a great career in itself. Last edited by Adam43; 9 Jun 2005 at 18:00. Reason: Let's not start this one in the vein that the other was closed. |
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9 Jun 2005, 18:01 (Ref:1324139) | #2 | ||
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I hope Servia keeps that ride at N/H
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9 Jun 2005, 18:09 (Ref:1324145) | #3 | ||
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Any CC aspects can be discussed here: http://tentenths.com/forum/forumdisp...daysprune=&f=8
However AD's refusal decision is relevant to F1. Does it indicate that he is confident of a BAR drive next year? Does it mean Button is going to Williams. Or does it mean nothing or the sort!? |
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9 Jun 2005, 18:10 (Ref:1324147) | #4 | |
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I think Davidson's decision was common sense.
He has more to gain testing for BAR than racing in the USA. |
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9 Jun 2005, 18:22 (Ref:1324159) | #5 | ||
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Fair point Adam, my apologies.
Ant probably feels that he is first choice for a BAR drive next seaosn if Jenson does leave, but would lose that place (perhaps to Dan Wheldon or Adam Carroll) if he spent most of the season racing in the US. If this is the case, he is probably right not to take the drive, but he must know that he has to do some kind of racing next year to avoid beign forgotten completely. Jumping into ChampCar completely cold would be a challenge for any driver as well, especially as his first race would have been on an oval. |
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9 Jun 2005, 18:38 (Ref:1324181) | #6 | ||
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i actually think ant would do himself alot better racing in america for a while. didnt hurt wheldon at all. he could come back a montoya....if he tried really really hard...
anything to get adam carroll an f1 drive i say! |
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9 Jun 2005, 18:43 (Ref:1324193) | #7 | |
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I think Anthony could have had a great time over in Champcar for this season getting some good, topline racing experience under his belt before returning to BAR for a 2006 race seat. Now wouldn't that be nice?
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9 Jun 2005, 18:53 (Ref:1324205) | #8 | |
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But the driving of a ChampCar is different to driving an F1 car - he's getting lots of miles in an F1 car at the moment - which benefits him, but his input also benefits BAR, who're hardly likely to have allowed him to go.
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9 Jun 2005, 19:15 (Ref:1324237) | #9 | |||
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six eighths of the term f1 racing is what he would benefit from champcar because apart from a lap and half for bar and 2 'let the backmarkers past and spin out' races, i havent seen ant race in yonks. |
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9 Jun 2005, 19:00 (Ref:1324215) | #10 | |
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I appreciate that KB, but driving round Valencia for days on end is hardly going to prepare him 100%. Anthony is fortunate, though, in that he is good enough to be able to adapt pretty quickly anyways I guess.
I just think it would have been nice to see him out there, RACING. |
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9 Jun 2005, 19:10 (Ref:1324231) | #11 | ||
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Well he's already done thousands of miles in that Bar.... would another thousand actually help him?
I think a move to champcars couldve been good.... he couldve got some good racing and just get used to having cars around him and practice a few restarts... however i think Ant will learn quick once he gets into f1 but i'm sure he is itching to do some racing again.... |
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9 Jun 2005, 19:17 (Ref:1324241) | #12 | ||
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I agree with Knowlesy and RF on this - there's not much more Ant can learn from F1 testing, and a stint in ChampCars with the best team could be the start of something big for him - perhaps a steady 2005 with a couple of late-season wins, a push for the 2006 title, and an F1 offer in 2007?
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9 Jun 2005, 19:21 (Ref:1324247) | #13 | ||
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I think it's all about 'stock' price.
Currently AD is part of the F1 scene with a good reputation for setting quick times in testing and doing an all round sensible job - agreed testing is testing - but hear me out. To jump into what is effectively someone else's car - a car he hasn't driven before, on tracks he hasn't driven before is a big risk - to that 'stock' price. Sure, there is always the chance that you stun the opposition and the 'stock' price goes up. But many a young driver has been savaged by the old hands that know the car and tracks like the back of their hand. I'm sure the 'Minardi' experience is upper most in his mind and he won't want a repeat of sitting in a strange car on a strange track again - with little preperation - when an F1 drive with BAR is within touching distance. |
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9 Jun 2005, 19:23 (Ref:1324250) | #14 | ||
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i think you have hit the nail firmly on AD's head there ST. i reckon thats his reasons and i reckon he is thinking clearly there. even if i would like to see him actually racing...
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9 Jun 2005, 19:29 (Ref:1324260) | #15 | ||
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I think he would do fine. Remember that the Newman-Haas car is probably the ebst one out there in terms of set-up, and he'd be teamed with teh reigning champion. Bourdais is one of many European system graduates who've imemdiately started winning races in the series, and seeing Ant do that would've raised his stock price massively. It was a gamble, but I can't help but thinking it's the kind of gamble Button, Wilson or Mansell would have jumped at, and perhaps that sets them apart from Ant.
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9 Jun 2005, 19:31 (Ref:1324262) | #16 | |
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I really don't think that racing in ChampCar in its current state would raise his stock in F1 - it's done nothing for Bourdais.
Anthony is under contract to BAR Honda, so to imagine they would allow him to go and race Ford powered cars and risk being injured doing so is somewhat fanciful, I believe. |
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10 Jun 2005, 03:22 (Ref:1324491) | #17 | ||
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Juggling Act
I think the Ant has to be doing some sort of juggling act by staying where he is. He is impressing the right people by remaining at BAR, where " he set the fastest time (not on low fuel either!) just 8/100ths of a second off the fastest time set at Monza so far this year by anyone! ". The news of this must have surprised his current team mates.
However, he is not automatically going to get the ride if the Bunsen leaves for Williams (or any other team) because strong rumours suggest that Rubens is looking to escape from being SchM's #2 by going to BAR. However, going to race in CART will take him away from the F1 scene, and as many working people know, if you go away from your job on long leave or away for a temporary post elsewhere, somebody else can get the jump on you in a promotion. I think the Ant's best hope is if Sato gets sick again. I wonder if my Melacca hex still works!! |
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10 Jun 2005, 03:42 (Ref:1324500) | #18 | |
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Personally I think Ant is making a wrong decision. IMHO, the best ride available is what a driver should strive for, the Champ Series is a great competitive series that would help Ant improve. There is no substitute for racing. Test driving and doing low fuel meaningless qualifying laps is a poor substitute for actual racing.
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10 Jun 2005, 05:21 (Ref:1324514) | #19 | |||
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9 Jun 2005, 19:36 (Ref:1324267) | #20 | ||
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I think it's a calculated gamble to take if you don't currently have a drive and therefore have little to lose.
Ant already has a contract and possibly more opportunties with BAR to come. To leap into a car alongside Bourdais, with no CART experience would be a risk, the rewards of which will be few and the downside greater. IMO. That doesn't mean that AD is not up to the task, but simply that jumping into a new car and series after the season has started, nearly always puts you on the back foot. |
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9 Jun 2005, 20:34 (Ref:1324323) | #21 | ||
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I think Davidson made the right choice. Presumably Button will attempt to leave BAR and Davidson will get the seat. If he doesn't get Button's seat, then he would have been better off in Champ Car.
Drivers seem to adapt to CC faster than F1, it's more of a driver's series. Being at Newman-Hass would give him a legitimate shot to impress. A question he'd have to ask himself is could he beat Bourdais, particularly without any experience? I don't think he could, even with experience. Bourdais has virtually no weakness, he's fast over one lap, many laps, he's good at saving fuel and tires, quick on restarts, he's very technical, smart, very agressive and is adept at passing. Finally he has managed to make the very talented Junquiera look slow. The current state of Champ Car is the highest level of driver ability in a long time... |
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9 Jun 2005, 21:44 (Ref:1324379) | #22 | ||
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I don't know whether or not he made the right choice. There are benefits/disadvantages to staying on in F1 and going to Champ Car. I think it is very clear that he is well capable of becoming a top-line F1 driver, and so it is a sensible decision to stay in F1 because a drive will probably appear for him in 2006. But then again there's loads of good drivers in CART, so if he had gone there and gone well, it may have raised his reputation more as a RACING driver. So i don't know which one would be better! He did Le Mans recently for Ferrari didn't he (not in the prototype class)?
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10 Jun 2005, 03:55 (Ref:1324502) | #23 | ||
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I also think that there sometimes is a need to step down a level, impress the people who need impressing by beating the people at that level and then stepping back up again.
He is clearly showing that he is good in a F1 Car, but this shows nothing of how he goes in a Race. However, if he steps down, doesn't win, he won't come back... DKGandBH |
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10 Jun 2005, 17:16 (Ref:1324921) | #24 | ||
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Some good sensible balanced debate above...I think you've covered all the main reasons.
I'm quite impressed that Newman-Haas thought of him with so many qualified CC drivers available. I can only assume that they needed him to back up Bourdais not beat him, they couldn't have expected that straight away! Especially as the first race was an oval! AD is known for his adaptability, but everyone needs a bit of accliamatisation. It's most likely that they have people who witnessed his outing at Elk Hart Lake in 2002 when he stunned the Green Team by lapping Franchitti's car on an unknown track just 6ths off the then CC championship leader testing there on the same day!? Yes of course AD misses his racing like crazy...or as he laments "Racing" finished with Formula Ford" But being chucked in the deep end...'is sink or swim stuff' as he found out in those Minardi outings, other than Minardi crew few realise actually what a good job he actually did in that PS002 Asiatech...14th fastest race lap...never drove the car before first practice...never seen the track before, never had even done a racing pit stop before...all disapeared into just "Gravel" in peoples memory! It's all about being in the right place at the right time!...seems to me he always seems to be in the right place at the wrong time and 3 differant team bosses hasn't helped him really. So if JB stays or if Nick Fry feels a more experienced driver like Barrichello is a 'safer bet'...Honda will no doubt have to sort him something else out. If not in F1 it would be a heck of a waste of a lot F1 training...I mean whats the point of having a 'Young driver programme' if you don't use them!? Remember Craig Pollock originally grabbed AD on the night of Autosport 'young Driver of the Year' announcement. (cost him the McLaren test prize!) |
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10 Jun 2005, 17:49 (Ref:1324949) | #25 | |||
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That's so frickin uncool man! |
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