Ricciardo 2 tenth slower then redbull this kid should be given the drive

[TheFamousEccles]

All of the above cautionary posts are right to point out the variables of the winter testing regimes, etc, but to give the boy his due - it's still a fast time in good company, don't ya think?

[UltimateDanGTR]

To m,e Ricciardo is a future F1 star. Does that mean he deserves to go straight into a Red BUll seat? No. I suggest he is given this season to develop enough, and then he may be ready for a Toro Rosso seat in 2012.

As for the current Toro Rosso drivers, both were put in too early in their careers, hence why neither have shined much. However, this is a vital season for them, and If they don't show themselves to be special this year they both could be out at the end of the year, maybe before. Either way, I think Ricciardo will be the replacement.

[CaptainRaiden]

All of the above cautionary posts are right to point out the variables of the winter testing regimes, etc, but to give the boy his due - it's still a fast time in good company, don't ya think?

So is Sergio Perez's second fastest time in a Sauber, a tenth faster than Mark Webber in a Red Bull and 3 tenths faster than Ricciardo in a Torro Rosso, both cars presumably much better than the Sauber. Then why is only Ricciardo getting all the hype train behind him? Nico Hulkenberg in a Force India was almost as fast as Vettel at Valencia, placing second, beating all the other heavy hitters. Paul di Resta was faster than Alonso, Karthikeyan was faster than Nico Rosberg. Hell, Schumacher's chart topping time yesterday was 3.7 seconds faster than Rosberg's time on day 1 at Jerez. Does that mean Schumacher pulled 3.7 seconds out of his ass with some magic or the geniuses at Mercedes found 3.7 seconds out of nowhere in 24 hours?

Bottom line: Testing times are pointless! Do you seriously think this is how they'll look in proper dry Q3 qualifying at Bahrain??

1. Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:20.709 101
2. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:21.483 94
3. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:21.522 94
4. Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso 01:21.755 31
5. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:21.914 58
6. Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 01:22.689 42
7. Adrian Sutil Force India F1 01:23.472 28
8. Vitaly Petrov Renault 01:23.504 57
9. Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix 01:23.963 67
10. Jarno Trulli Lotus F1 01:24.458 54
11. Timo Glock Virgin Racing 01:25.086 42
12. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:34.968 14

Honestly, it was nothing more than a random lap time. He may be good, but he's not superman. The kid posts a semi-decent lap time and the Australian fox sports website blows it out of proportion. This nut-hugging will do him a world of favor though. More patriotic Australians are going to buy this, he's going to get some more sponsors and he might even get a race seat by mid-2011. I'll be interested to see what he can really do.

[Mr. Mister]

There's so much more to being an F1 driver than setting a quick time in some tests. He won't get any worse doing the extra year in WSR. He couldn't put the title away last year, and that alone is reason enough not to put him in F1 yet. You rush these guys up, their confidence gets killed, and then they're never the same. If Red Bull have learned anything from their development exploits in all forms of motor racing, there's no harm in doing extra time in the juniors. More often than not, they'll be Liuzzi/Speed/Buemi/Alguersuari "what ifs" and not Vettel.

[gloomyDAY]

There's so much more to being an F1 driver than setting a quick time in some tests. He won't get any worse doing the extra year in WSR. He couldn't put the title away last year, and that alone is reason enough not to put him in F1 yet. You rush these guys up, their confidence gets killed, and then they're never the same. If Red Bull have learned anything from their development exploits in all forms of motor racing, there's no harm in doing extra time in the juniors. More often than not, they'll be Liuzzi/Speed/Buemi/Alguersuari "what ifs" and not Vettel.

I'll drink to that, but I can't help and think that Ricciardo is being groomed to take over the duties at the sister team.

[TheFamousEccles]

ok, so don't agree. Whatever, the Ricciardo lad is doing his job well and has the Torro Rosso name at the part of the charts where most people bother to look, and isn't that the point?

Oh, and before anyone says it again, I agree (as I stated in my previous post) that watching testing performance and equating it to outright performance is misleading and often evinces responses like those above.

And when I say "most people", i mean the not so fanatical observer, as opposed to the dour, humourless bunch of nerds that seem to inhabit this board (I'm looking at you, X)

[JackSparrow]

When I read the thread title I thought I had been sleeping for a month and the qualis in Bahrain had started!!!!! thank god

[CaptainRaiden]

ok, so don't agree. Whatever, the Ricciardo lad is doing his job well and has the Torro Rosso name at the part of the charts where most people bother to look, and isn't that the point?

Oh, and before anyone says it again, I agree (as I stated in my previous post) that watching testing performance and equating it to outright performance is misleading and often evinces responses like those above.

Contradiction, much??

And when I say "most people", i mean the not so fanatical observer, as opposed to the dour, humourless bunch of nerds that seem to inhabit this board (I'm looking at you, X)

Thanks for the honor. Riddle me this sherlock, what has this kid done apart from winning British F3 that warrants so much hype? Maldonado won GP2, and is riding on MUCH lesser hype. Pantano won GP2 and was thrown to the sidelines. Here we have threads on a guy who hasn't even turned a wheel in proper F1 qualifying, and people are getting off on a fourth fastest time in winter testing. What's also interesting is that you manage to conveniently ignore Sergio Perez's second fastest time in a Sauber, which IMO is much more impressive. This reminds me of another hyped up motorcycle rider called Ant West, who has been nothing but lackluster in the last 3 years, yet all are aboard the hype train. Ridiculous.

[ArrowsFA1]

maybe i should have worded it like this :are toro rosso mad not to be thinking about changing one of the drivers

No. STR may think about such a change later this year but they have no reason to consider doing so now. It's actually refreshing that they are sticking with their '10 lineup.

[Ari]

To m,e Ricciardo is a future F1 star. Does that mean he deserves to go straight into a Red BUll seat? No. I suggest he is given this season to develop enough, and then he may be ready for a Toro Rosso seat in 2012.

As for the current Toro Rosso drivers, both were put in too early in their careers, hence why neither have shined much. However, this is a vital season for them, and If they don't show themselves to be special this year they both could be out at the end of the year, maybe before. Either way, I think Ricciardo will be the replacement.

Spot on!

Dan WILL get his drive, but the last thing he needs at the moment is to be running around in 2010's Championship winning car. Imagine the pressure!!

He should get a run this year or next in a Toro.... and that's fine. Kid will be a star, but it's all about managing his entry.