Will Heiki be a Hakkinen or Wendlinger

[OZ_HCR32]

It was a big accident and they are looking to have him back in the seat for Turkey!

Surely he would still be in some discomfort for the race in Turkey, the pain whislt racing woudl only serve as a reminder of an accident where he played no part.

For me i would sit him out for the race and let him get physically and mentally 100%. Driving these cars at the limit is surely a confidence thing, which if you are injured your confidence will be down. If you just had a healthy crash your confidence will be down.

LOL, i suppose he could be as brave (gung-ho) as the mad Pol Kubica....

[olly83]

Hamilton had a similar accident last year when his wheel failed in a fast corner, that didnt seem to bother him. I doubt Heikki will spend too much time dwelling on the accident. When you fall off a horse the best thing to do is to get back on again. I'm sure that's the way GP drivers view accidents.

[Mr V]

If the team doc's ok it, then i see no reason why he shouldn't race, after all, they have his interests at heart.

As for your Hakkinen or Wendlinger analogy, difference was, both their accidents were potentially life threatening, and indeed, both ended up in coma's.

Heikki's accident was no worse than Robert's last season. Difference for Kubica was that there wasn't a 2 week break as Heikki has got this season.

[Ralf's Girl]

Exactly right, V - Heikki's was a big shunt, no doubt about it, but the consequences were nowhere near as serious as they were for Hakkinen and Wendlinger.

I think as long as the medical staff are satisfied that he's fit to race, he'll be back in Turkey and probably no worse off for it. I'm sure F1 drivers accept that there's a risk they're going to have a big accident sometime.

[Super Hans]

There's little point in armchair speculation. Like Kubica last year, Kovalainen will undergo official tests pre-race to assess whether his mental and physical fitness have been adversely affected by the accident. If they have, then like Kubica last year, he won't be allowed to drive.

[mjstallard]

Heikki will be a Heikki

[Bononi]

Hopefully he'll be Ok, but there are times when it affects badly the driver that he loses his confidence.

[ECW Dan Selby]

Yeh I'm struggling to see the similarities in the incidents. It was back in a time where safety simply wasn't as thorough and both the incidents were life threatening. Kubica and Heikki come out with a concussion. That's not a coma, fortunately.

Selby

[kipper]

As with previous posts, I really can't see the similarities between the accidents of Hakkinen, Wendlinger and Kovaleinen. Ultimately, the progress in safety has meant that Kovaleinen avoided serious injuries. That said, it is not possible to speculate on how accidents may affect a driver psycologcially.

[strider]

Originally Posted by mjstallard

Heikki will be a Heikki

Exactly.

[BootsOntheSide]

Heikki's crash was nowhere near as bad as Mika's or Karl's - they were both in a critical condition afterwards, Karl was in a coma for 2 weeks, and Mika nearly missed the start of 1996, four months after the crash. Heikki should be back at Turkey, probably physically as good as ever. The crash was little more serious than Lewis', and he also had to cope with a tough race the next day, but still returned to full form at the next meeting.

[rcarr]

Like the rest of you, I don't think Heikki's accident was half as bad as Mika's or Karl's, for a start Heikki is OK and looking forward to Turkey.

What do you think the difference is between Karl's and Mika's crashes are?

I don't think there is a difference. Just because Mika was taken under McLaren's wing and it just so happened that McLaren started improving, that he won 2 WDC after THE accident.

Karl had his accident in his Sauber as we know but he is still a very good racing driver. He is winning GT races with his very talented Scottish team mate Ryan Sharp, it doesn't mean that Karl's accident was not as bad as Mika's, its just because Mika continued in F1 and Karl didn't return to his best.

[OZ_HCR32]

Interesting, it seems i am the only one who thinks this accident will knock his future performances around.

Noted the accident isnt as big as some others, and the physical injuries sustained is only part of it. The mental side of the equation (in my opinion) has not to date been Heiki's strongest suit. I think he may struggle to continue to build upon his solid start to the season with McLaren.

Maybe my thoughts reveal my own cowardice in light of how i would react to such an accident

[Ralf's Girl]

On what do you base the assumption that Heikki isn't mentally tough enough to just bounce back from this accident? Martin Whitmarsh described him as being "jolly" in hospital afterwards, so he doesn't exactly strike me as being traumatised.

On this subject, Mark Webber's column on the BBC website is quite interesting this week - he's talking about the effect of a big accident on a driver, it's worth a read: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/7371456.stm

[OZ_HCR32]

Ok, my thinking...which is all speculation.

Whilst i love Heiki as a personality and how he goes about his racing and conducts himself...the following weighs on my thinking. My understanding was for most of his career he has driven Renault powered cars and at stages been supported by Renault. He had a tough GP2 season and was narrowly beaten by Rosberg. He has won series in classes and no doubt had good turns of speed, evidenced in particular races in his debut F1 season.

So Renault would have to know him better then anyone. They have direct first hand experience with him from testing 2003-2006 and his debut year in 2007. Yet they had no problem handing him over to McLaren at the end of last year. With Fisi gone, and chasing Alonso, you would think that if they thought they were on a good thing they would have ensured Heiki a seat and Alonso could have taken Piquet Jr's seat if it he was released by McLaren.

So i dont get why Renault let him go, he is quick so what did he lack that allowed Renault to give him to Dennis of all people. If its not the pace aspect is it the mental?

So there is that, the fact that he lost the GP2 series with 3 bad results out of the last 4 races (Does anyone know the circumstances of the 3 bad results?) I could be wrong but i have always assumed (making an ass of me) that it was poor form and lacked hte ability to tough out the season.

Actually thinking this through, lol its pretty paper thin Seems its just more a gut feel founded on very little Maybe its because i really like him and want to see him make a fist of it. And that is the ultimate curse, if i like you then its a life sentence

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by OZ_HCR32

Yet they had no problem handing him over to McLaren at the end of last year. With Fisi gone, and chasing Alonso, you would think that if they thought they were on a good thing they would have ensured Heiki a seat and Alonso could have taken Piquet Jr's seat if it he was released by McLaren.

Whilst i don't see what this has to do with sunday's accident, with referance to Renault letting him go, i'd say that, Alonso is a 2 times WDC, a proven quantity, Heikki isn't there yet, albeit, one for the future, but if i was Heikki i'd feel "honoured" that Fernando didn't want me as a team mate, because he's worried about how quick Heikki is (as was reported for the reason Renault let him go), it would be Piquet that should be worried, because basically Renault and Fernando are saying that he isn't fast enough to cause a threat. (as has been shown so far the first 4 races).

Anyway, back on topic................

[Ralf's Girl]

Agreed - I think it was the 'Alonso factor' that influenced Renault's decision to let Heikki go rather than any concerns about his mental toughness.

[Taprobane]

Yup, Fernando said he wanted to be number one wherever he went and Heikki said he was only willing to drive in a team that gave equal opportunities. Fernando obviously didn't feel it would be easy to beat Heikki anyway so they released him and brought Piquet in who presumably agreed to be Fernando's number two.

On the issue at hand I think Heikki will bounce back, he'll know it wasn't his fault and he seems like the kinda guy who wont be troubled.

[thejester]

Webber's column linked by Ralf's Girl on the previous page is great insight into the thinking of drivers, or, at least one driver, around big accidents. I particularly liked his mentioning the FIA steward (or medical officer, don't think he specified) who gave the drivers a thumbs up re Heikki's condition as they trundled past, all obviously very concerned. A lovely glimpse of humanity and cameraderie within a sport that soemtimes seems all about the dollars.

[Chiefy]

I don't see why the accident should adversely affect Kovalainen's performance. I don't think he's been particularly stunning so far this season but you can't say he hasn't been picking up the points - and he has some fastest laps to his credit, too.

On the subject of concussion: is it right that a driver would have to sit the next ten days out, before competing again? I'm just trying to work out why Kubica was replaced by Vettel for a race yet de la Rosa won't be called up by McMerc. Presumably the "recovery window" is big enough between this race and the next one, this time?

We don't see many accidents of that nature these days. Kubica and Kovalainen have had big shunts but I think it's fair to say that safety standards in F1 have proven themselves yet again.

[Chiefy]

PS - Great read from Webber.

The only disappointment is that he wants yet more run off.

[Ralf's Girl]

Unfortunately, Kovalainen's accident does rather make the case for a larger run-off area by itself - there was no sign of anything slowing his car down before it went into the tyres, so it's not too surprising that it's going to be next on the 'to do' list for the GPDA.

[Chatters]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/moto...ne/7370003.stm

Originally Posted by Ron Dennis

We are 99.9% sure that a wheel failed...

Which means he's 0.01% sure aliens abducting Heikki caused him to crash... *conspiracy music*

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by thejester

I particularly liked his mentioning the FIA steward (or medical officer, don't think he specified) who gave the drivers a thumbs up re Heikki's condition as they trundled past, all obviously very concerned. A lovely glimpse of humanity and cameraderie within a sport that soemtimes seems all about the dollars.

Agreed. Whilst these driver's are each others rival's, i'm sure no-one wants to see another driver injured, as Mark say's, Heikki's a mate. And fair play to the official who had the forethought to let the other driver's know.

[Bleu]

Originally Posted by OZ_HCR32

So there is that, the fact that he lost the GP2 series with 3 bad results out of the last 4 races (Does anyone know the circumstances of the 3 bad results?) I could be wrong but i have always assumed (making an ass of me) that it was poor form and lacked hte ability to tough out the season.

Heikki led in Spa before pit stop dropped him out of the points. There was rain expected and Heikki didn't want to do early pit stop, so he could change to wet tyres on his mandatory stop. However, rain never came and he lost time, as multiple safety car periods had cut his lead. Then he was 9th on the last lap, tried risky move for 8th (which would have given him pole for sprint), failed and retired. Couldn't improve much in sprint race, which was then stopped halfway due to big accident of Neel Jani, half points awarded.

Rosberg won bonus points against Kovalainen 18-6. They had 15-point gap at the end of the season.