Rate the inexperienced F1 drivers

[jens]

First a clarification from me, I used term "inexperienced" instead of "rookie", "newcomer", etc, because I would like to cover drivers, who have debuted in F1 during the last three seasons. The names of those drivers currently in F1: Petrov, Senna, di Resta, Kobayashi, Pérez, Alguersuari, Buemi, Maldonado, d'Ambrosio, Ricciardo.

Looking at the Top4 teams, all of them consists of already established drivers, who are at least on their 5th season in F1. The most inexperienced of them being Vettel, who will have done 4,5 seasons by the end of 2011. But looking behind them, midfield consists of huge amount of relative newcomers. From Lotus Renault GP to Williams the only drivers that have been in F1 for more than 3 years are Sutil and Barrichello. That is 2 drivers out of 10 in those teams.

So my question would be... What do you think, how far in their careers this new crop or generation of drivers will reach? Currently most of them are in midfield, some are at the back - who have reached the ceiling of their careers, who could move forward? Who could join the established drivers in top teams and share the glory there? Who is likely to become a perennial midfielder a'la Panis?

[djparky]

Just taking the rookies- Di Resta and Perez are the standouts. Maldo seems to have matched Barichello this year but that's pretty much all he can do in such a poor car

[keysersoze]

Agree: di Resta and Perez
Then Kobayashi, Petrov, Senna, Alguersuari, and Buemi all evenly matched.
Jerome and Daniel, perhaps cars too lousy to assess at this point.

[wedge]

Di Resta and Ricciardo have really stood out and really impressed me.

PDR did Euro F3 & DTM and completely different to GP2 schedule and not a problem at beating Sutil. Some impressive drives as best of the rest team/car, even if he had to take advangtage of tyre regs.

Ricciardo jumped into the deep end and into a s**t car. His quali performance reminds me of Alonso in his Minardi days.

[DexDexter]

Di Resta and Ricciardo have really stood out and really impressed me.

PDR did Euro F3 & DTM and completely different to GP2 schedule and not a problem at beating Sutil. Some impressive drives as best of the rest team/car, even if he had to take advangtage of tyre regs.

Ricciardo jumped into the deep end and into a s**t car. His quali performance reminds me of Alonso in his Minardi days.

First of all, I don't doubt Ricciardo's talent cause of the thing he is driving but how has he impressed you by losing to Vitantonio Liuzzi?

[Ranger]

First of all, I don't doubt Ricciardo's talent cause of the thing he is driving but how has he impressed you by losing to Vitantonio Liuzzi?

Ricciardo has both outqualified and outraced Liuzzi in the most recent 3 races.

Di Resta has been good, but Sutil has also improved his form of late.

There's no clear winner between Kobayashi and Perez - both have their moments. I thought Sergio would be all over Kamui this year, but not so.

I don't know what to think of Alguersuari and Buemi - other than if it came to the crunch, I don't think Buemi would be the one keeping his seat.

Maldonado seems to be matching Barrichello more often than not. Which is decent considering Rubens was the better driver between him and Nico last year.

Jerome d'Ambrosio is doing respectably, usually qualifying within 2 tenths of Glock but nothing spectacular atm.

Best chances of being a future race winner or champion of the above:
- di Resta
- Ricciardo
- d'Ambrosio

[wedge]

Ricciardo has both outqualified and outraced Liuzzi in the most recent 3 races.


Not only can he beat Liuzzi but can make him look silly in the process.

[Robinho]

Ricciardo and Di Resta have the best chances IMO, I think they are the best new talents on the grid and they both have a shot at ending up in a decent car (DI Resta Merc or McLaren, Ricciardo RBR) so they could make some waves sooner rather than later.

Of the rest I think the Sauber boys are very good and have promisiing careers ahead of them, could be race winners in the right car, maybe more if they develop. I'm still unsure about Senna, I like him so i find myself making excuses for him, but the fact is he has been much closer ´to and even beating Petrov on occasion in a limited time jumping in mid season, which in my book is pretty impressive, albeit I don't rate Petrov that much, he has improved this year. I'd take Kubica (even a not 100% one), Senna or Grosjean before I took Petrov, but he's doing ok and Mother Russia will likely keep him around for a while

Alguesari shows glimpses of something special and is stilll very young, he might yet come good, he's one I think could take a very good car and pick up wins in the right circumstances, maybe a new Massa or Rubens type.

Buemi, Maldanado and D'ambrosio do very little for me, although Pastor is doing a lot better than i thought he might. All of them are ok and might make a career out of decent midfielder, with a bit of luck, a following wind and a bit of financial clout (Maldanado most likely), but of them all I see these as the most likely to disappear in a couple of years or less

[longisland]

My money's on a rookie who can match his more experienced team mate and elevate his performance to challenge the big boys. Di Resta for sure is the best among the rookies having tick the two boxes. Maldanado is underrated because of his pay driver label but he has shown his worth against a multiple race winner in Rubens. Perez & Kobayashi are pretty even but I would rate Perez higher for his qualifying pace. The rest is a tossed up. Jaime & Buemi are arguably the most experience among the pack but they are at best solid but nothing spectacular. It's still too early to judge Ricairdo and Senna but I'd expect better results from Senna given the car's speed is supposed to be on the top 6. Petrov to me is a major disappointment for not capitalizing on the machinery in disposal and Dambrosio is comprehensively out qualified & out raced by his more experienced team mate.

[jens]

I agree with the general sentiment that di Resta and Ricciardo have perhaps the biggest potential. The other driver, who - at least according to rumours - could end up in a top team (Ferrari that is), is Pérez, but I don't think he is a top driver in the making, so he would become a #2 driver there.

Petrov, Senna, Maldonado are all solid, but I think at best they'll have a midfield career and the current teams they are driving for, are as good as they will ever find themselves in (in Pastor's case, Williams may improve in next seasons though). Senna (also recalling GP2 performances) seems to have the strengths of his uncle - qualifying and wet racing, but other aspects have been a bit underwhelming. Petrov has got rid of his rookie year's crashing and is consistently bringing the car to the finish, but hasn't shown particularly impressive pace except P3 in Oz. Maldonado has actually been beating Barrichello recently, but I suspect this has been more down to Rubens dropping the ball rather than Pastor doing anything extraordinary. Monaco and some qualis were great though.

I think the same about Alguersuari, STR is as good as he can get his hands on during his F1 career. Sometimes he can impress, but his qualifyings are woeful most of the time and even his race performances - where he is stronger - are a bit inconsistent. Buemi is pretty much in the same class, but unlike Jamie he is never able to truly impress. He reminds me of Christian Klien - when his career is over, it will be difficult to remember anything from it at all. Sometimes gets some minor points, but those are mainly unnoticable and with the help of attrition. And Buemi's F1 career is probably over after 2011 anyway.

I'm afraid Kobayashi is also on his way to becoming a perennial midfielder. Pérez is outqualifying him and even in races Kobayashi doesn't seem to have an advantage any more.

D'Ambrosio? Well, he seems a tad bit better than di Grassi, but unless he stays in the team and beats Glock next year, he doesn't have a chance of moving up anywhere.

[Malbec]

Di Resta has potential.

The hype around Ricciardo has cooled down somewhat now he has been seen in action at HRT, I gather that Red Bull no longer see him as the second coming of Vettel but are still trying to gauge how talented he is.

Petrov is nowhere near solid, he still makes too many errors and wasn't close to Heidfeld in terms of race pace. At this point in his second season I'd expect more. Same goes for Senna although he has the excuse of not being at home in the Renault yet.

Maldonaldo is better than hoped for but talented enough to stay in F1 if his cheques stop coming through the post? I'm not sure.

Buemi and Alguersuari are as good as each other. The problem is we don't know how good they are compared to other drivers. I don't see them being talented enough to replace Webber and I think Red Bull's attitude could be summed up by what they said earlier this season, that if they didn't perform well enough one of them would be replaced. Neither had impressed them well enough to have a completely secure seat.

Perez is difficult to rate. He is quick in qualifying and has started to outperform his teammate in that session but frequently goes backwards during the races. In terms of racecraft he is lacking and gets outshone by Kobayashi. His best points scoring finishes have frequently benefited from well timed safety car periods for example.

Kobayashi had a great start to the season but hasn't done so well in the second half, but having said that he's been incredibly unlucky too. Poor strategy has frequently contributed to his dropping out of points scoring positions but he was on track to win points at Silverstone, Spa and Suzuka until collisions or safety car periods (or both at Spa) took him out. I still think he's the most talented of the lot but his lack of backing will hurt him.

[AndyL]

The hype around Ricciardo has cooled down somewhat now he has been seen in action at HRT, I gather that Red Bull no longer see him as the second coming of Vettel but are still trying to gauge how talented he is.

Petrov is nowhere near solid, he still makes too many errors and wasn't close to Heidfeld in terms of race pace. At this point in his second season I'd expect more. Same goes for Senna although he has the excuse of not being at home in the Renault yet.

I think Ricciardo still has potential. Almost from the start he's consistently out-qualified his experienced team-mate, which is probably the best he can do to showcase his abilities in that car.

And to be fair to Petrov, he has now managed to get ahead of his ex-team-mate in the drivers' standings :)

[steveaki13]

Petrov: I can't see Vitaly moving much above the situation he is in now, I think a midfield driver scoring a couple of podiums and some points
Senna: Similar I can seem him hanging around a few years but only scoring points and the odd podium
di Resta: I can see Paul winning races and could well be a future champion
Kobayashi: I like Kamui he is a very exciting driver and in a decent car he may score a few podiums, maybe he will get a freaky win somewhere to become the first Japanese winner
Pérez: Like Di Resta I think Perez could well be a future race winner and maybe challeneger for a title.
Alguersuari: Don't see him moving on in F1 really
Buemi: Similar to his current team mate above.
Maldonado: Hard to tell in this poor Williams but I don't feel he is a champion or winner but may hang around a while and score points.
d'Ambrosio: A future midfield runner at best and no more for me, although hard to judge in that Virgin
Ricciardo: Early days but definately could have a solid career like Webber and win races but could also take the next step and win a title.

[wedge]

I think Ricciardo still has potential. Almost from the start he's consistently out-qualified his experienced team-mate, which is probably the best he can do to showcase his abilities in that car.

And to be fair to Petrov, he has now managed to get ahead of his ex-team-mate in the drivers' standings :)

Not that I'm saying that he is/going to be the next Vettel but there appears to be a comparison:

Ricciardo has shown at times a flash of genius in dismantling Liuzzi and Vettel's debut with STR in 2007 looked ordinary and at times in 2008.

I like their rookies Di Resta and Perez.. these guys are still in learning process.. watch out on them on 2 to 3 years.. they will dominate on their events!

[keysersoze]

Petrov is nowhere near solid, he still makes too many errors and wasn't close to Heidfeld in terms of race pace. At this point in his second season I'd expect more.

I don't see this as the case. When were his "many errors?"

The last time Petrov was matched against Kubica, he beat him (Abu Dhabi), and he also, whether anyone wants to see it this way or not, helped Heidfeld get the sack. He hasn't beaten Senna like I thought he would, but right now I'd say Vitaly is a bit quicker than Bruno. I really don't see much reason to heavily criticize Petrov.

Having said that, I was expecting a bit more pace from him in a couple of races, but other than that he's done extremely well.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Alguersuari and Buemi are impossible to guage how good they are. They seem about as good as each other, but we need to know how good they are against a known driver. Putting them up against someone like Heidfeld or Barrichello would help us know. That Torro Rosso could be a race winner for all we know!!

Give them both a test in a Red Bull to see how close they are to Vettel.

[Knock-on]

The only one that has stood out is PdR. It's about time Schumy got his ass out of the Merc so we can get a real idea of how good the "highly rated" Rosberg is.

[Malbec]

I don't see this as the case. When were his "many errors?"

The last time Petrov was matched against Kubica, he beat him (Abu Dhabi), and he also, whether anyone wants to see it this way or not, helped Heidfeld get the sack. He hasn't beaten Senna like I thought he would, but right now I'd say Vitaly is a bit quicker than Bruno. I really don't see much reason to heavily criticize Petrov.

Having said that, I was expecting a bit more pace from him in a couple of races, but other than that he's done extremely well.

Petrov only helped Heidfeld get the sack because Heidfeld didn't have a double digit points lead over him as was expected. That isn't exactly a ringing endorsement IMO. Heidfeld had a narrow points lead over Petrov despite being punted off in Germany and running into Kobayashi in a good points scoring position.

There is a reason LRGP are taking time choosing their 2012 partner for Petrov carefully, he has to be someone who can get the most out of the car. The insinuation is that Petrov isn't capable of being their lead driver around whom they can base a campaign.

I do accept that he's getting better though.

[keysersoze]

Petrov only helped Heidfeld get the sack because Heidfeld didn't have a double digit points lead over him as was expected. That isn't exactly a ringing endorsement IMO. Heidfeld had a narrow points lead over Petrov despite being punted off in Germany and running into Kobayashi in a good points scoring position.

There is a reason LRGP are taking time choosing their 2012 partner for Petrov carefully, he has to be someone who can get the most out of the car. The insinuation is that Petrov isn't capable of being their lead driver around whom they can base a campaign.

I do accept that he's getting better though.

So . . . there hasn't been many mistakes on Vitaly's part?

I completely agree about the teammate. If Robert isn't fit enough, Renault needs to do some fancy footwork to get a driver with legitimate No.1 pace, like Webber, Rosberg, Massa, or Raikonnen. They can't take a chance on a Grosjean or a Senna, if Vitaly stays.

[jens]

So . . . there hasn't been many mistakes on Vitaly's part?

I completely agree about the teammate. If Robert isn't fit enough, Renault needs to do some fancy footwork to get a driver with legitimate No.1 pace, like Webber, Rosberg, Massa, or Raikonnen. They can't take a chance on a Grosjean or a Senna, if Vitaly stays.

It sounds funny, because Heidfeld was hired largely because he was expected to deliver that "no1 driver pace". Looking at the recent pace of some of the drivers you have mentioned (especially Webber and Massa this season), it can be asked critically whether they would be able to bring anything that Heidfeld didn't. I have heard Barrichello is trying to get that Lotus Renault GP seat, but I suspect he would be another "Heidfeld case".

The driver situation at Lotus Renault GP is a bit open, but I think they certainly should give Grosjean at least a test (in comparison with VP and BS) to find out whether he can be a potential improvement. If GeniiProtonRenaultLotusLada genuinely finds all their "own drivers" disappointing, they can also try to loan someone like Hülkenberg or Ricciardo. But I think currently it is obvious they are going to choose between Senna and Grosjean.

[steveaki13]

Alguersuari and Buemi are impossible to guage how good they are. They seem about as good as each other, but we need to know how good they are against a known driver. Putting them up against someone like Heidfeld or Barrichello would help us know. That Torro Rosso could be a race winner for all we know!!

Give them both a test in a Red Bull to see how close they are to Vettel.

Have to agree.

They do seem very evenly matched and it would be interesting to see them against a rated team mate. A good point well made