Who are the new faces that will be stepping up soon?

**chunterer** · 24 Jun 2005, 10:29 (Ref:1339086)

Who is most likely to step up either this year or in the near future into F1?

There are some obvious candidates but who is really quick and standing out in such a strong series? There;s loads in my view... and based on liklely connections who will they drive for?

I know it's not just about who is the quickest, it's about who has the management and connections, and money!? but with F1 perhaps having a major reshuffle either this year or next we could be about to get several new faces on the gid and good ones at that.

Kovalainen - he's better hurry up cos he's been around for a while and could end up like Montagny or Zonta.

Carroll, Speed, Piquet, Rosberg, Lopez?? all have fairly obvious F1 links

Or how about, Almendinger or Bourdais or even Ranger as some have suggested from CART?

Who stands out (and don't limit it to GP2 necessarily)

cos · 24 Jun 2005, 10:43 (Ref:1339095)

I'd expect Lewis Hamilton over in F1 in the next two years - McLaren/Mercedes connections, and he's proving that he's no slouch on the racetrack either this year.

Gerben24 · 24 Jun 2005, 10:48 (Ref:1339097)

Kovalainen, most definitely! He hasn't been around that long has he? I thought I saw him racing in a kart back in 2000! He really impressed me last year with that race of champion thing in Paris. I saw him race at the Nurburgring on the Saturday where he started back in 17th I believe and he won it! It would not surprise me seeing him race next to Fernando next year...

That Hamilton guy in F3 looks good. He won the Marlboro Masters. Most winners end up in F1, so that's a fair bet!

Dani Filth · 24 Jun 2005, 10:55 (Ref:1339102)

i hope Bourdais gets his chance in a good team

Mathias · 24 Jun 2005, 10:56 (Ref:1339104)

Dan Wheldon?

**GTRMagic** · 24 Jun 2005, 11:08 (Ref:1339114)

Tony Kanaan??

esorniloc · 24 Jun 2005, 12:06 (Ref:1339147)

Heikki Kovalainen raced in British Formula Renault in 2001, British Formula 3 in 2002, then spent two seasons in the Formula Nissan World series, winning it last year and is now in GP2 with two wins and is currently leading the series.

I don't think he will end up like Montagny or Zonta (what ever that means).

climb · 24 Jun 2005, 12:14 (Ref:1339156)

My money wouldbe on Lewis, completely agree with cos

flexible-flyer · 24 Jun 2005, 12:46 (Ref:1339178)

kovalainen surely. he has done formula renaults and f3s to good effect then did 2 seasons worth of f3000 level racing. is doing a top job in gp2 this year and has BUCKETLOADS of f1 mileage in testing already, no less witha top team. flavio briatore as manager...you name it. he has everything going for him. only hamilton can compete on a 'connections' level with kova.

other than kova and lewis, adam carroll looks to be BAR's top choice out of their 10 driver strong (and im in no way understating the word 'strong') young driver program and despite being 4 seconds off the pace at jerez the other day (easily explainable- first time in the 2005 car, first time at a dry jerez, and only 27 laps on a blisteringly hot day at the end of the day compared to everyone elses 40, 50, 60, 70 lap sessions.) is very highly rated by people in f1 circles.

i would personally say in no particular order that hamilton, carroll and kovalainen, if they get the right breaks will be f1's new wonderkid brigade before long. but their are loads more. i think the standard of driving talent these days is excellent. better than ever imo. on a purely british level, just look at the letter of the week in autosport the week before this!

and i actually think the best is to be found in europes racing scene too. i rate the likes of castroneves, kannan, wheldon, bourdais etc very highly but i dont think they would set the world alight in f1.

sonic · 24 Jun 2005, 13:59 (Ref:1339227)

given his last outing in the BAR on wednesday I doubt caroll will be going anywhere near F1 for a while. was 4 seconds off the pace and then crashed. whichever way you explain it, wasn't much kop. and teams HATE it when you crash - even when you were going quick.

I reckon kovelienan and Hamilton will be 100% there soon. extremely talented and right conections. Less talented but almost equally likely to make it are (If he fares well testing for williams) Rosberg, and Piquet (if he manages to keep his cool and his dad doesn't annoy anyone.)

That Argentine kid Lopez could be a good shot too.

Further down the line, In terms of natural talent, I personally think Di Resta could go far if he learns to keep his confidence high as his talent.

In karting the world champion a new zealand kid called wade cunningham beat all the factory teams a short while back. dunno if he has the £500k - 600K budget to do the Frenault and F3 well, but would be worth a punt.

N I Tram · 24 Jun 2005, 13:59 (Ref:1339228)

COnsidering that Bourdais won the F3000 title, I think he would do very well in F1, especially as ChampCars has a strong field and a largely road/street racing schedule these days. Dan Wheldon has potential as well - it was lack of money, not of talent, which led him into the US racing scene, which is comparatively cheap at the low levels.

A lot of drivers planned their careers around reaching GP2 this year, and of those Kovalainen and Carroll have been particularly outstanding, but Speed and the 3 sons-of-champions have better connections, and unfortuntely that could prove decisive (please don't take this as a dig at those guys - Rosberg and Speed in particularly are clearly very good).

flexible-flyer · 24 Jun 2005, 18:09 (Ref:1339385)

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonic

given his last outing in the BAR on wednesday I doubt caroll will be going anywhere near F1 for a while. was 4 seconds off the pace and then crashed. whichever way you explain it, wasn't much kop. and teams HATE it when you crash - even when you were going quick.

wait until adam gets in the car again and actually gets some track time. his token 20 something laps at the end of the day when the track had gone off were nothing but for letting him get to know the new car. he was moving over as cars came behind him. and his 'crash' was a spin in one of his few clear laps which is part and parcel of learning new machinery and new tracks.

Kicking-back · 24 Jun 2005, 18:25 (Ref:1339394)

A few years down the line - but Marco Andretti could become F1's first third generation driver

flexible-flyer · 24 Jun 2005, 18:30 (Ref:1339401)

and keeping in the racing family side of things. apart from andretti, piquet and rosberg, im hearing good things about bobby rahals son.

Dixie Flatline · 25 Jun 2005, 02:27 (Ref:1339621)

What? I've got this far down the thread and nobody has mentioned Danica Patrick's name?

As an Aussie, I wouldn't mind seeing Ryan Briscoe get a gig in Formula One, but he's now hitched his wagon to IRL and has probably dropped off the radar in that respect, even with Toyota.

Raglanparade · 25 Jun 2005, 04:15 (Ref:1339642)

Briscoe didnt set the world on fire last year when he was a friday tester.. plus he destoyed a chassis at Spa. I dont think we will see Briscoe in F1 again, i think he will stay in the states for 5-10 years racing, and them come home and do v8's

Dixie Flatline · 25 Jun 2005, 04:45 (Ref:1339647)

To be fair to Ryan, he was thrust somewhat into the fire last year when asked to do Friday testing for Toyota. I don't think they'll knock him back because of it. He was certainly sniffing around Jordan in the off-season to see if there was a seat for him, but with Toyota not prepared to put extra cash in for him, and because he couldn't find the funding, he went to IRL and a Toyota-supplied team.

BootsOntheSide · 25 Jun 2005, 11:24 (Ref:1339774)

Ryan never really looked like a potential Formula 1 driver, an he's only showing sporadfic pace in the IRL (although he's done well in qualifying at Richmond, a track where Toyota's relative lack of power is less of a handicap). If anyone currently in the IRL will make it to F1 I'd look to Dan Wheldon, as he's been the rising star for years.

Kovalainen and Carroll are perhaps the best prospects in GP2 right now, with Lewis hamilton possibly a little bhind them on raw talent.

**chunterer** · 25 Jun 2005, 15:27 (Ref:1339893)

Pretty much similar thinking from everyone who's posted so far...

The favourites seem to be

Kovalainen
Hamilton
Carroll
Speed
Piquet
Wheldon
Rosberg
Bourdais
Di Resta etc...

Someone mentioned Lopez, he's slightly reminiscent of Gonzo in my mind (basically 'a balls out and see what i end up with' sort of guy) so that means quick!

Are there any guys that are pedalling very well that are off the radar around the world for whatever reason?
ie, lurking untapped in F3 or Renault?

I used to deliberatley look beyond the obvious pace setters in the lower categories and look for the tryers and guys who put in the odd spectacular performance because they favoured certain conditions or they were hampered by equipment?

Are there any drivers out there like that that anyone has an eye on?

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