BAR Test F3 Stars

[Mekola]

Translated from an article in the Spanish site TheF1.com (http://www.thef1.com)

TheF1.com - News

Lopez surpass physical tests with BAR team
26/11/04 09:15 a.m.

The Argentine driver José MarÃ*a López was convocated by the team BAR last week next with other young motorsport promises to make several eminent physical tests. Alongside López, in the test were Nico Rosberg, Nelson Piquet Jr, James Rossiter, Heikki Kovalainen and Alexandre Prémat.
The test were centered in the parts physical, mental, verbal and a conduction of a touring car and, according to López's commentary, they were a great success for him: "It was an honour for me to be summoned. We worked with other seven colleagues and they did with us a great amount of tests. Luckily, in all of them I was the best (In fact he was one of the two drivers elected for the touring car test. N. of T.). Now it only lasts to test the car, but this matter is in the hands of Renault, because they manage my motorsport career", said López.
Unfortunately for López, Renault have cancelled the test that he Argentinean would be done next month at Jerez de la Frontera.

[Gaz]

Originally posted by DavidStHubbins
I never said they were, I was talking about the one before that!

He drove for Motaworld for two seasons in Formula Renault. Was it Aztec he drove for in Formula Ford before that if thats what your talking about? The same Aztec that in the guise of Murray Racing won the British Formula Ford crown with Robert Dahlgren in 2001!

[N I Tram]

I'd agree with Gaz that Green and Kerr are more promising than guys like Alex Lloyd. Robbie's title win was miraculous, and it seems really unfair that he doesn't have the backing to move up as yet. He's the kind of guy BAR should look to.

[flexible-flyer]

if nico didnt have an f1 champ as a dad he would not be anywhere near as lucky he has been. same to a lesser extent for piquet. anyone who watches f3 would know that the likes of carroll, rossiter and premat are better drivers. much better DRIVERS. i mean i remember for instance in korea last season. carlin have alvaro parente and nico rosberg racing away in macau knowing they were to go to korea soon after with the same team. when korea comes, adam carroll is called up last minute and carroll totatly destroys both of them despite having no time in the car. i mean why do people see that rosberg is a better prospect than some of these other guys?? its beyond me...

[BootsOntheSide]

Too true FF (by the way, are you named after the Husker Du song?). Talent has some influence on your chances of reaching the top, nationality has more, money has more again, and last name can have the most of all.

[GVROK]

I wonder why BAR didn't assess Alex ?

[Rennen]

I had to chuckle when I saw this mass test referred to as "B.A.R'S FAME ACADEMY" in one of the comics. Truth is the best guys to test are the youngest good ones with little or no 'baggage' in tow...these guys can thank Davidson's test (now uncertain) with the Willy team...as B.A.R source a replacement 'IF' Davidson finds a race seat (regretable unlikely now!)

The test date was due to be the days Davidson was to test the Williams!...Funny ole game init!?

[Mr Jinxx]

I don't think it's a secret, and if it is, then don't tell anyone I said so, but the McLaren test is this coming Wednesday 1st Dec, and they will be testing Alex Lloyd, Jamie Green, Lewis Hamilton and a reasonably experienced test driver (Darren Manning or someone who sounds like that!) All in the same car, so not many laps, I guess.

First thoughts have to be that Alex will have an advantage, having jumped into an F3000 and been immediately very quick, Lewis will have an advantage because he has had loads of time on the McLaren F1 simulator (which you have to suspect is going to be a little better than the Playstation games) and Jamie will be at a disadvantage, unless he's been able to get some big car testing in recently (DTM, for example).

We'll probably never know the full story, because it isn't just about lap times, and circuits change from hour to hour, as to driver set-up preferences, but no doubt some inside info will leak out about the drivers' respective abilities, feedback, etc

Can't comment on the BAR "initiative". I'm always very wary of these things - they seem driven by other agendas.

[Mr Jinxx]

P.S. Gaz - messsage me if you want any background on some of the scenarios you mentioned in this thread. Nothing is ever as it seems.

[Mr Jinxx]

P.P.S. Did I say Darren Manning? When I meant to say Darren Turner. I think

[Shunt the Hunt]

Originally posted by flexible-flyer
i mean why do people see that rosberg is a better prospect than some of these other guys?? its beyond me...

IMHO, it's just a question of media exposure. If you make a test with Rosberg or Piquet Jr, people will write something about that in the national newspapers.

If you're testing Carroll or Premat, only Autosport and other specialized magazines would talk about that.

Sad but true.

[Bobie]

Hamilton, Turner, Lloyd and Green, should be an interesting test day for Mclaren, I would guess the order of who woudl be quickest will be Turner, Lloyd, Hamilton and then Green. Time will tell I suppose.

[Gaz]

Originally posted by Mr Jinxx
P.S. Gaz - messsage me if you want any background on some of the scenarios you mentioned in this thread. Nothing is ever as it seems.

At the end of day Jinxxy any F1 team principal will look at results and results alone (providing you aren't a so called pay driver, which I know Alex isn't or have a name such as Rosberg or Piquet!) You might have all the excuses, reasons, whatever in the world but if you haven't got the results there on paper then you haven't got a leg to stand on. An even if you have, in the crazy world of F1 you'll find yourself half the time ignored a la Robbie Kerr!

At this moment in time here are the two CV's -

Alex -

2001 - Third in Formula Renault Winter Series
2002 - Ninth in Formula Renault
2003 - Runner-up Formula Renault
2004 - Quit ADR after poor pre-season sighting "budget problems" then one win from 7 races against a very weak Euro F3000 grid

Jamie -

2002 - Formula Renault runner-up
2003 - British F3 runner-up
2004 - F3 Euroseries champion

If you look at the comparison there you can see I have more than a point. Alex may yet be better than Jamie, I doubt it, but until he proves it with results on paper then in my opinion he won't rate as highly whatever your reasons etc.

I'm not for one minute slagging him, getting on his back or anything like that I'm just responding to bobie's comment that he beleives Alex to be a better driver than Jamie, in my opinion he isn't and I believe this will be proved next week.

[Mr Jinxx]

Actually, I have no opinion on whether Alex or Jamie is quicker or better, Gaz - leaving aside any partisan thoughts, it is simply not possible to make a direct comparison, as they have never been like-with-like.

Nor will a few laps in an unfamiliar car on a very changeable circuit prove anything definitive one way or the other, unfortunately. You can only beat your team mate, but probably not in these circumstances!

There are no such thing as excuses (although every driver is known to have a book full of them). There can be reasons, but you're dead right about the piece of paper being of prime if not sole important to those who don't know or don't care about the details.

Luckily, this tends to be a forum where people do like to try and delve beyond the simple results sheet, which is why it's great to get informed feedback on here, the better to refine our own judgements. I doubt we'll get any from the McLaren test, but it would be great to know how each of them performed both in and out of the car. They're all still pitifully young and learning ! <envy>

[Gaz]

Jinxxy - did they not both race rookie seasons in British Formula Renault in 2002? Where Alex came 9th and Jamie runner-up?

Fully agree, that these tests won't go any further in finding out which ones better but the results sheets don't lie do they? I mean you can't say MS doesn't deserve all the world title he currently has can you? Whatever happens, your in this game to get results, if you don't get them for whatever the reason then harsh as it is, that is that!

I know you try and remain neutral about Alex but your hardly going to criticise your own son are you? I'm not saying you should, your only human, I'd expect any dad to back their son to the nail but to be fair sometimes yourself and many members on here that suck up to you blinker the actual facts just for the sole reason of saying the right thing to make everyone happy.

I wish Alex the best and if he proves me wrong and gets an F1 ride somewhere ahead of Jamie or whoever then I'll back him all the way.

[Tom Horley]

Not that I don't think Jamie is a good driver, but has he ever been in a bad car? No, don't think he has. Fortec were obviously the top team in 2002 until Manor sorted their set-up half way through the season and Lewis started winning races. I have heard alot about Motaworld lately and none of it has been good. Carlin and ASM go without saying.

If you put Alex with Fortec, Carlin and ASM he would have done exactly the same is Green, If not better.

[Russfeld]

Fortunately we're all familiar with Hamilton's exploits in inferior machinery

[bella]

i fully expected them to weed out adam carroll fairly quickly, because i don't think he's that good. however, i'd be surprised if they decided against testing james rossiter, he's a clever kid and i rate him higher than adam carroll (2004 f3 shenanigans aside). he didn't stack up well against piquet this year, but that's going to happen when you're racing against someone who does more testing miles in a season than most do in their entire career. i'm still not at all convinced about nico rosberg.

i think while shunt's talking about carroll possibly being mature enough, you have to remember that minardi put will power in a f1 car a couple of days ago. if will power can do it...

[Knowlesy]

Originally posted by bella
i'm still not at all convinced about nico rosberg.

Ditto.

He has just had the most bizarre 2004 season.....started very well and then, err, what happened after that?

His fathers name won't carry him to F1 on its own.....

[bella]

he did have a massive accident at the f3euroseries round at zandvoort though, so that might have knocked the stuffing out of him a bit. i don't think his driving deserves a potential f1 test, but it's the name that counts...

[Knowlesy]

No doubt he'll get to F1 before Mr Green....

[Mr Jinxx]

Gaz - Jamie has had the best equipment, best budget, all this time. He's a really good driver, I think. Naturally quick.

Alex, on less than 1/3rd his budget in Formula Renault, didn't beat him, you;re right, nor, for the same budget deficit, did he beat Lewis, and you could argue that maybe he should have done, who knows.

But you simply cannot compare drivers on results alone until they are in similar equipment. I'm increasingly of the opinion that the experienced teams - managers/engineers/mechanics - know when they've got a special driver. Over a beer, they may tell you.

I'm not saying Alex is better or worse than any of the top drivers - I have no way of telling, and nor do any of us. What I WOULD say is that Alex is one of those top drivers, beyond doubt, and that (partisanship aside) he really does have something extra. I know him very well. Sort of. If I'm right, and he has, he'll shine by his own light, notwithstanding being **** poor!!

[Shunt the Hunt]

Originally posted by bella
he did have a massive accident at the f3euroseries round at zandvoort though, so that might have knocked the stuffing out of him a bit. i don't think his driving deserves a potential f1 test, but it's the name that counts...

Nico Rosberg is fast... sometimes. But he's not a reliable driver. He's making too much mistakes. Concerning his crash at Zandvoort, it was in september, so quite late in the season. He just missed one race (Zandvoort leg 2 actually) and I don't think he could beat Premat to finish as Green's runner-up.

[Mr Jinxx]

Hunt the Shunt earned his name at first! Hakinnen was a crasher, as was Fogarty, as was Sato, as indeed was the legendary Doohan, and to an extent even Senna. They toned down.

[Shunt the Hunt]

Originally posted by Mr Jinxx
Hunt the Shunt earned his name at first! Hakinnen was a crasher, as was Fogarty, as was Sato, as indeed was the legendary Doohan, and to an extent even Senna. They toned down.

Hakkinen wasn't a so big crasher... remember his 1992 season with Lotus. He was young but he made no mistakes.

That's true that Rosberg and Piquet are very young budies, they're both 18, so they can calm down. It's just look strange that drivers like them, who have much more mileage than the other drivers, are still making too beginner's mistakes, like Rosberg in the last Macau GP for instance.