Verstappen Looks For Champ Car Ride

[GBoehm]

Déj�* Vu: Verstappen (Again) Seeks Champ Car Ride
Written by: Cassio Cortes
Amsterdam, the Netherlands – 11/18/2004 Verstappen spent his last season in F1 as a backmarker for Minardi.

It’s that time of the year again: As his F1 hopes dwindle more and more, Dutch Jos Verstappen considers a move stateside to Champ Car.

At least that’s what his manager Huub Rothengatter told the European press this week. According to Rothengatter, Verstappen has narrowed his 2005 options to two: the German DTM touring car series and Champ Car.

“I know Jos’ fans want to know where will he drive next year,” says Rothengatter, before making clear nothing is signed yet. “I’ll reveal it as soon as I know it myself!”

Closing in on 33 years of age, Verstappen must act soon if he wants to start his open-wheel career over again in Champ Car. Even so, his manager refuses to rush things, seeming confident that an old dog can learn
new tricks.

“We’re still amidst negotiations, and if I don’t say anything else,
nobody will be disappointed later.”

I got this off of SPEED anybody see it likely?

[Snrub]

We talked about this a bit in another thread. I think it would be a fine idea to get Jos in CC. He's at least a solid F1 mid-fielder. He also seems unusually able to get sponsors. Also, Jos had a similar margin to Wilson as Webber did later in the 2003 season. That has to say something. There are several drivers who's careers in F1 aren't as impressive as their abilities. F1 is a crappy environment for a driver. I think it would be great to get them over in CC and see them achieve something worthwhile.

[mountainstar]

JOS THE BOSS JOS THE BOSS JOS THE BOSS

I think it would be great to see him in champcars. Just get ready for the big repair bills.

[marcus]

well he has never lived up to his full potential in f1 beit cars , experience or lack of wheels on his canoe so I'd like to see him have a crack at champcars , he can be blindingly quick and is a quality driver at times.

I wish him well

[mountainstar]

Originally posted by marcus
well he has never lived up to his full potential in f1 beit cars , experience or lack of wheels on his canoe so I'd like to see him have a crack at champcars , he can be blindingly quick and is a quality driver at times.

I wish him well

I think he jumped into F1 too quick and paid the price for it. With all the hopping from team to team after benetton, I don't think he ever really got it into gear.

I'll never forget after his bad year at Tyrrell in 1997, F1 magazine did up a hilarious piece called "Jos Verstappen and the World of Gravel", a pictorial visit of all the gravel traps Jos had planted his tyrrell in that year.

Maybe Champcar with similar cars and engines is just the formula he needs. I think the DTM has all it's seats filled, but he is still flirting with Minardi from the looks of his homepage.

[macdaddy]

Definitely a "recognizable name" if ever there was one.
Kind of a catch-22, in that I'd like to see some new up-and-comers, but it would also be nice to get some established drivers as well.

[Amar7605]

Does anyone think that Jos would be happy in Champ Cars? I mean, he may still be longing to be in F1 and may think that Champ Cars is a way to bide his time until he gets a ride.

[marcus]

I think Jos would be happy just to be racing competitively again.

i mean yes he may think do a year of champcar ,blitz the field and the go back to F1 when a good team come knocking.


well its not gonna happen like that is it ?

I think IF he got a champcar ride he would soon realize that it isnt easy and he has to try harder than he thought to impress anyone let alone an F1 team.

But yes I'd love to see him at least have a shot in a good car in champcars

[f1manoz]

It's a recognisable name, so that would be a plus, and he'd bring sponsors.

However, his name is mentioned nearly every year lately in relation to a seat in ChampCars and it's yet to happen.

[luke]

Originally posted by macdaddy
Definitely a "recognizable name" if ever there was one.
Kind of a catch-22, in that I'd like to see some new up-and-comers, but it would also be nice to get some established drivers as well.

In Champ Car we need young promising talent which we have and on the increase in '05.
We also need more experienced established stars to keep the young guns on their toes, Jos would be good for Champ Car.

[BootsOntheSide]

Jos wouldn't add anything to the ChampCar grid. He's been around for a long time in F1, and drove for a lot of teams without any real success - only once did a team even retain him for a second season - a fairly illustriuous list of drivers have replaced him at various teams, including Johnny Herbert twice, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Damon Hill. And Holland isn't even a target market, or a particularly large one, and for every obsessive Dutch fan of his, there are 10 people in the rest of Europe who don't regard him highly.

Guys who challenged for wins in F1 would be a reasonable addition, but right now I'd be far happier to see promising youngsters coming throuhg. Guys like Tracy, Vasser and Tagliani all make a reasonable benchmark for young drivers,a dn peopel should know that the series has a strong field, based on the large number of F3000 champions featured.

[enemy-ace]

While I think Jos would be competitive in Champ Car, I have to agree with Boots in that he really doesn't bring anything to the series. I would rather see some young chargers make their way onto the grid. Wirdheim, Enge, Valiente for example.

[KRONOSJL]

Dont forget the show....Jos is perhaps not a ace , but he is a hard fighter , and i think that some "first corners" between him and TRACY would be funny....

[BootsOntheSide]

Is it a recognisable name, or a positive one, to the main target audience though?

[StickShift]

He's like a dutch Robby Gordon.

[codename_47]

I'm pretty ambivilant when it comes to Jos...yes, he didn't cover himself in glory while in F1, but I also remember a few great performances from him when he dragged uncompettitive machinery up to places in the grid where it didn't deserve to be, particularly in the wet...

But for a series that has the majority of it's races in North America, how many wet races do you get a year??

Hmmm....oh well, either way I'm not too fussed!

[Snrub]

I can't remember who's signature has a PG quote "the pedal doesn't care what your nationality is. That's my feeling on him being dutch.

F1 is not the fairest of environments and also I don't think it necessarly brings out people's best. Look how long it's taken Fisi to get to a decent ride and he did everything right! HHF deserved a WDC in that Jordan, certainly a lot more than a certain "highly rated" Fin, but most don't rate him that highly because he didn't succeed at Williams. I agree that the series needs to start pulling in more from the ladder series and younger drivers, but realistically what ever number we get for '05 is not going to be just. I don't think of Jos as a gamble, I think he'd do quiet well, just like Salo did (to quote one of the speed TV guys "...and who's ever heard of Salo?"). The best case is if Jos brings sponsorship then he may not be taking anyone's seat, simply adding one. I can't see anyone having a problem with that. It's pure speculation, but I think that's the most likely case.

[GTRMagic]

Originally posted by StickShift
He's like a dutch Robby Gordon.

Yes I have never understood Robby Gordon's approach to motorsport either... although Jos has never started his own team after jumping from one of the best in the business

[gttouring]

he would be a great addition to the ranks...if champcar could only get more guys like him
of course DC is free so it can happen

[BootsOntheSide]

Originally posted by Snrub
The best case is if Jos brings sponsorship then he may not be taking anyone's seat, simply adding one. I can't see anyone having a problem with that. It's pure speculation, but I think that's the most likely case.

This is very true - Jos does have good backing, and he might be the ideal man to keep a team like Conquest or Walker going. He's certainly more capable than most of the 2004 paydrivers.

[Roninho]

Since i'm from the netherlands (not a fan of Jos though), it would be in my interest if Jos joined the series, because it would massively increase the interest in the series over here.

As for him landing a ride:
A) imo he should only get a drive if brings the $
B) i don't think any of the countries cc currently is racing in are targetmarkets of any of the sponsors he had in the last 2 years.

Imo if CC could get 5 drivers from europe with the same impact on ratings as verstappen has had on dutch ratings (like 50% more viewers when verstappen is racing), CC would have good ratings in europe.

[JohnSSC]

While I can see some of the points made here regarding his home market, Jos is a good guy who would bring positive attention to CC. He is not "old" - simply looking for a competitive ride. He brings good sponsors with him typically and so his appearance for one team or another may free up $$ within the team to hire a "young gun" to partner with him.

Salo (who I rate as more of a journeyman than Jos) was received well last season and did pretty well in the limited time he was in the seat. He most likely is way better than Mazzacane or Tarso - not that Tarso is horrible - and would, I think improve the quality of the field. It would be certainly interesting to see him go wheel-to-wheel with Captain Furious (PT) or Bourdais. It would be real interesting if Shorty came back as well. I would like to see how CDM and Jos compared to each other should a ride materialize for Jos.

[macdaddy]

I would like to see how CDM and Jos compared to each other should a ride materialize for Jos.

But they wouldn't be on 100% equal-footing, given not only the difference in teams involved, but also Cristiano is familiar with the tracks.

[N I Tram]

I'd rate Salo above Jos - he did a much better job when teamed at Tyrrell in 1997, being the only one of the two to score poitns and generally running in front. Being better than msot of the existing pay-drivers wouldn't be hard, and to be honest Philippe and Sperafico may well have mroe potential long-term, consdiering that they are much younger and less experienced than Jos.

[mcurtis26]

It would nice to see Jos get a ride. True he would be a pay driver to some degree, but he is certainly better than many of the pay drivers, and tbh most drivers are paying for the ride to an exent these days.