Wurz expected to announce his retirement/Not racing in Brazil - Page 3

alonso11 · 9 Oct 2007, 01:25 (Ref:2035449)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davhut

You don't have any of those in England!
We do, however, have more than a few here!

yea Glock might be the ultimate weapon Williams need

pottiella · 9 Oct 2007, 01:29 (Ref:2035450)

I haven't had time to read the posts here, so apologies for any repetition...but I reckon its a shame. Ok, I think its probably right he retires while he's got one foot in racing - like the fact he got one last shot, took it, enjoyed it, and let it be...rather than wait to be kicked out, hanging on by a thread. I just think its a shame he couldn't hang about for just that final race. I know he's had a new kid and everything, but really...would 1 last race hurt?

I dunno the internal issues within the team (not like other teams hang their dirty laundry out for the media like some other teams...), but I can't see anything so drastic to disallow him from racing a final race.

Ah well...one of the best test drivers in F1 history I would say (every where he went, he contributed a lot to rising success of his team), lovely guy too...just not the best racer - but then again, how many of them really are?

**Bononi** · 9 Oct 2007, 01:47 (Ref:2035456)

Quote:

Originally Posted by alonso11

what you actually said was:

i really dont see anything to suggest that it is just a speculation of yours, do you? using words such as "might" (like i did) or "perhaps" or "i reckon" might make it a speculation, in this form it didnt sound like a speculation. then again, it might be because of linguistic barriers that i have to deal with as english is not my first language, nor is it the second. in that case i do appologize, it was in no way my intention to make you feel offended.

Apologies accepted

I did not put "might" or "I reckon" but it was in the flow of the idea of what could have happened, so I apologize for that too.

**Bononi** · 9 Oct 2007, 01:50 (Ref:2035458)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pottiella

Ah well...one of the best test drivers in F1 history I would say (every where he went, he contributed a lot to rising success of his team), lovely guy too...just not the best racer - but then again, how many of them really are?

Uhn... lovely guy, pottiella...

pottiella · 9 Oct 2007, 02:20 (Ref:2035467)

haha, trust you to see it that way bononi!!

alonso11 · 9 Oct 2007, 04:04 (Ref:2035500)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bononi

I did not put "might" or "I reckon" but it was in the flow of the idea of what could have happened, so I apologize for that too.

wow, i thought i was getting banned , glad there are no hard feelings, coolness

I promise its my last speculation regarding car number 17 but just came to think Kartikeyan is also a testdriver at Williams, maybe Tata can buy him an anti-clockwise ride around Sao Paolo

Ralf's Girl · 9 Oct 2007, 08:50 (Ref:2035645)

Not Karthikeyan - all I can remember about his brief time in F1 was the amount of time he spent going off the track. Seeing him back would be quite disappointing, I'm sure there must be better available.

Down F0rce · 9 Oct 2007, 09:17 (Ref:2035661)

Nakajima is in.

http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2007/...-replace-wurz/

JohnSSC · 9 Oct 2007, 09:55 (Ref:2035691)

In re: Wurz leaving immediately. I remember a story of a driver who, while practicing for the Indy 500, found himself thinking about an appointment he had later that day.

He pulled into the pits, got out of the car and retired on the spot. Can't remember his name, but that seems to be where Wurz is coming from.

Mekola · 9 Oct 2007, 10:42 (Ref:2035739)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

In re: Wurz leaving immediately. I remember a story of a driver who, while practicing for the Indy 500, found himself thinking about an appointment he had later that day.

He pulled into the pits, got out of the car and retired on the spot. Can't remember his name, but that seems to be where Wurz is coming from.

Niki Lauda, Canadian GP practice, 1979???

Mekola · 9 Oct 2007, 10:43 (Ref:2035741)

Nelsinho is the favourite, but it's an excellent chance to put José Mar�*a López on the Williams in Brazil. Petrobras backs him in TC2000 and could be an one-off "a la Winkelhock" for a driver who have few possibilities to get the grips on the series. A bunch of Argies will want something like this.
At last, López drove the Williams at Buenos Aires last weekend!

Piquet, Naka Jr. and Glock could wait for next year.

Down F0rce · 9 Oct 2007, 10:56 (Ref:2035758)

Except that Nakajima has already been confirmed.

Ralf's Girl · 9 Oct 2007, 11:02 (Ref:2035767)

Not really a surprise, but it'll be interesting to see how he copes with the transition from testing to racing. Will he be quick, or will he prove to be another Japanese driver who gets in on the act to appease the engine supplier?

Down F0rce · 9 Oct 2007, 11:12 (Ref:2035779)

This has already been mentioned here before I'm sure, but it's funny in that Williams had an uncompetitive season in 1988 after they lost thier Honda engine deal - because they were unwilling to put Nakajima sr. in one of thier race seats at Honda's request.

I'm sure Naka jr has the talent to make it to this level, but still... Toyota would have nudged Williams towards this decision.

**Bononi** · 9 Oct 2007, 11:57 (Ref:2035812)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mekola

Nelsinho is the favourite, but it's an excellent chance to put José Mar�*a López on the Williams in Brazil. Petrobras backs him in TC2000 and could be an one-off "a la Winkelhock" for a driver who have few possibilities to get the grips on the series. A bunch of Argies will want something like this.
At last, López drove the Williams at Buenos Aires last weekend!

Piquet, Naka Jr. and Glock could wait for next year.

Mekola, I was about to say that Petrobras sponsors some argentinians drivers, and that would be more logical to arrange them a seat rather than Piquet...

jab · 9 Oct 2007, 17:38 (Ref:2036074)

Does anyone else think there's more to this than Wurz retiring on the spot and Nakajima replacing him? I'm sure there were a few nudges and agreements - it doesn't seem normal to retire a race from the end. If he wanted to end early he would've done it before the Asian races because 1) he wouldn't have had to have travelled and 2) his wife was expecting and has now had the baby

It's no surprise that Toyota are involved, knowing their past ruthlessness with Salo, McNish, da Matta and Panis

Knowlesy · 9 Oct 2007, 17:51 (Ref:2036085)

Nakajima is a talent, so I look forward to this. He is a bit raw at this stage though.

alonso11 · 9 Oct 2007, 18:18 (Ref:2036118)

Quote:

Originally Posted by jab

Does anyone else think there's more to this than Wurz retiring on the spot and Nakajima replacing him? I'm sure there were a few nudges and agreements - it doesn't seem normal to retire a race from the end. If he wanted to end early he would've done it before the Asian races because 1) he wouldn't have had to have travelled and 2) his wife was expecting and has now had the baby

It's no surprise that Toyota are involved, knowing their past ruthlessness with Salo, McNish, da Matta and Panis

German site, F1total reckon Toyota did probably pay Wurz to vacate his seat as they are evaluating Nakajima for a race seat. They also seem to recall that Panis got non-less than 300k USD for steping down and letting Zonta drive the last race in 2004 (which is a bit odd because Zonta did race for Toyota more than once before this very race, so spending 300k on evaluating him once again.... dunno... at Toyota can happen...nevertheless the site claims their sources are "serious")

jab · 9 Oct 2007, 18:26 (Ref:2036126)

I thought Panis left for Trulli to come in...

alonso11 · 9 Oct 2007, 18:40 (Ref:2036147)

no, Panis and Trulli did suzuka together a race earlier. it was probably that, before singing Ralf they wanted to know wether they have a more convinient and cheaper option within the Toyota camp. But Zonta's been always rubbish driving for them.

Mr V · 9 Oct 2007, 19:07 (Ref:2036169)

Quote:

Originally Posted by alonso11

But Zonta's been always rubbish driving for them.

As has Ralf, so maybe they should have gone for the cheaper option

Tweed · 9 Oct 2007, 19:15 (Ref:2036176)

I'm not expecting much from Nakajima, his GP2 season started a bit slowly, but he gained some consistency from mid-season onwards. Sadly for Toyota he's the best of an average bunch of young drivers they have on their books.

mac · 10 Oct 2007, 00:23 (Ref:2036388)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

Nakajima is a talent, so I look forward to this. He is a bit raw at this stage though.

What's going on!? I agree with you again Knowlesy.

A really nice chap too, by all reports... Kazuki, not Knowlesy.

Kai · 10 Oct 2007, 07:40 (Ref:2036566)

Nakajima has a lot of potential indeed, but as was pointed out he's still a little ragged in his racing. He has a lot of raw pace but lacks refinement in a sense. I think if he can get a drive with a competitive GP2 team next year he will be a serious championship contender, but next season's plans all depend on what Williams wants to do with him.

Either way I look forward to seeing how Kazuki adapts from a test seat to a grand prix drive.

strider · 10 Oct 2007, 09:37 (Ref:2036672)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Down F0rce

I don't believe Senna is with Adren anymore, so perhaps the Red Bull link isn't there.

It's academic now but Senna's Red Bull link is through Gerhard Berger now, not Arden.

I don't think Williams had any choice on common sense grounds other than to put Nakajima in the car for this one race, because he has driven it a fair amount already.

But I hope they will look elsewhere for next season. Maybe Glock, maybe Nelsinho, although the latter depends on what happens at Renault.

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