Courtney's F1 chance

[Old Hairpin]

If James Courtney wins the F3 title in style this year winning Pau, Masters, Macau, Korea and whatever then I reckon he has a big chance of F1 seat 2003! i mean Irvine is ancient and de la Rosa is gettin on and hasnt set the world alight either so there has to be a chance...?
About time there was an aussie in F1. I reckon its worth a bet. No pressure this year Courtney...

[Old Hairpin]

sorry, win the title NEXT year.

[Wiki]

Originally posted by Old Hairpin
If James Courtney wins the F3 title in style this year winning Pau, Masters, Macau, Korea

As much as I love James, that's a pretty big ask. He'd have to pull digit most completely next season and be in possesion of a car without mechanical ineptitude ... then again he would race cheap which would be very necessary considering how much the Jag budget is going to be pruned now that Jac Nasser (an Aussie who used to have a say in the team hehe) is out

[racer69]

Apparently he has been signed as Jags test driver next year. He should have a competitive car & Carlin preparation won't hurt.

So for 2003, how about Courtney, Webber and Briscoe on the grid in Melbourne, i'd definatly come down from Sydney to see that.

[Old Hairpin]

When is the Aus GP? i forget, I should be in the area hopefully by then.. and how much is a ticket for raceday?

[Alan Jones]

Early march Mr hairpin.
As for james in F1, my fingers are crossed and I am considering praying at the moment as well.

[Number Juan]

Originally posted by Old Hairpin
i mean Irvine is ancient and de la Rosa is gettin on and hasnt set the world alight either

Irvine (i hate to say) is one of the best drivers in F1 at the moment...De La Rosa is better!!!

[f1manoz]

It would be nice to see Courtney in F1, but I'm still putting all my hopes on Webber. He's gone through hell and back to get to where he is, with next to no sponsorship except from a few loyal sources, and for him to fail now would be shattering for him and all his Australian supporters.

There are still realistically 3 seats available that Mark could fill for 2003 - the one at Minardi and two at Prost. But both would require sponsorship money, in the region most likely of $5-10 million, if not more for Prost. And Mark doesn't have that sort of cash......yet.

As for James, he might be in with a chance for an F1 drive with Jaguar in 2003, but he'll have to impress the big-wigs at Ford next year to have even a sniff of a seat. And considering Ford now wavering on their F1 commitments for the future, who knows what will become of the team......

[Old Hairpin]

As much as I hate to say it, I think Mark blew it this year... He was expected to win but screwed up a few times, spinning off etc. I remember him doing the same in GTs a few years ago. I hope I am wrong but even if he did get in, what chance does he have in Prost or Minardi? How well does he do in the bennetton in testing? I never really hear about that. How did he compare to Button and Fisichella?

[Old Hairpin]

If australia really wanted a Formula One driver, to help Webber in then everyone in the country could donate one dollar to the cause, that would be about 17 million dollars which i think would be about 6/7 million squid which would get him in to Prost or Minardi no probs!!! There you go, problem solved...

[Alan Jones]

I'll pledge $5 to both james and mark, where do I send it

[Old Hairpin]

maybe i should look after it! all donations to me...Seriously though, its possible in theory, maybe someone should try it, get some media interest but then again its team sports that Australians are interested in, not really Formula One hero drivers

[Wiki]

I'm a New Zealander, but since I don't want Scott Dixon in F1 until after he's won the CART title and the milk-pint, I'll chip in a fiver for James!

[mac]

Originally posted by Old Hairpin
As much as I hate to say it, I think Mark blew it this year... He was expected to win but screwed up a few times, spinning off etc. I remember him doing the same in GTs a few years ago. I hope I am wrong but even if he did get in, what chance does he have in Prost or Minardi? How well does he do in the bennetton in testing? I never really hear about that. How did he compare to Button and Fisichella?

Mark didn't put a scratch on the Benetton all year in testing. For most of the year he was quicker than Button in testing, and on or slightly behind Fisi's pace. He was also quicker than Gene in the Williams at a wet Barcelona test. If you want exact times, try www.f1-live.com's 2001 F1 tests section.