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23 Apr 2005, 18:32 (Ref:1285256) | #1 | |
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Olivier Panis
Olivier is well known for his testing skills from his Mclaren days, and clearly Toyota value him in this capacity too by choosing to take him on as test driver. But was he offered any race seats for this year? When was it he knew he wasn't being retained as race driver?
And do you believe he would be make a more formidable team-mate to Jarno Trulli than Ralf Schumacher? |
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23 Apr 2005, 18:35 (Ref:1285259) | #2 | ||
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don't think there was a seat for him .. and no . dont think he would have done better than ralf .
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23 Apr 2005, 18:48 (Ref:1285266) | #3 | ||
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Olivier chose to retire but continue as a test driver...
No i dont think he wouldve done better than RS (at least not at this age)... for all his inconsistancies RS's technical input and setup work over a GP weekend is still rated... Also for sake of continuity.... RS would be a better option... Toyota are trying to build a championship team and at 37 i doubt Olivier would be able to see the whole process through.... |
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23 Apr 2005, 19:01 (Ref:1285273) | #4 | ||
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Too bad he did retire from racing as I think he would have made a much more useful partner for Massa at Sauber due in large part to his testing skills.
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23 Apr 2005, 20:32 (Ref:1285318) | #5 | ||
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I always liked the pairing of Panis and Trulli. They really work well together and neither of them tend towards being sulky. Real team players.
Mike |
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23 Apr 2005, 21:11 (Ref:1285331) | #6 | ||
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Toyota have made a lot of progress this year, but the choice of Ralf seems like a mistake. Like JV he's been blown away consistantly so far, and it's hard not to be frustrated at how much money he gets for being an average driver with a nice surname. I'm not sure Panis could match him, but his testing and development skill is jsut as respected as Ralf's, and he's worked well with Trulli in the past, so he might've been jsut as good a choice, and they could've found another use for whatever Ralf's salary is.
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23 Apr 2005, 22:01 (Ref:1285358) | #7 | |||
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