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Then you obviously move straight to F1. :)
If young Andretti impresses the right people, hell get a seat, but then again, how much does having driven on the wrong side of the pond impress team bosses when they get a much closer look at drivers racing in GP2 for example.
Well, obviously Honda noticed him already, so why giving up his Indy dream? I'm sorry,though, for the argument, I clearly haven't said fluently what I mean. Sorry again.
[quote="trumperZ06"]
i like the way michael has rewritten the history of his ignoble F1 failure...
the truth is that he got smashed by senna and one of the key reasons for it was his refusal to live in europe.
instead, he commuted for every race and test session, barely knew the intimate workings of the team and, if you went up against someone like senna who turned everything he could to focus on him, this strategy was always destined to fail.
:dozey: Micheal Andretti & Senna were there... Most of us were watching from the sidelines!Quote:
Originally Posted by Mickey T
Hhmmm.... Even Senna was quoted as saying, after Micheal Andretti left Formula 1, that Andretti wasn't given a "Fair Chance" !
I have been in the "Marco should go to GP2" camp, but now I'm not so sure. Winning the 500 is a worthwhile goal and having an Andretti around an American open-wheel series may be the only hope we have of keeping one of them alive. The name really is still magic, maybe the only one that can upgrade F1 popularity in the US. Races got covered in the year Mario had a shot at being champion.
But he definitely could use some more experience in road racing than he will get in the IRL. He appears to have talent (he had a solid second a lap on the IPS field at the USGP support race in 2006), but still could stand to polish it in higher powered cars. Maybe he could pull some races in one of dad's ALMS P2 cars. That would even give him experience in coping with adversity, as the Porsches will probably be faster this year.
I know that it has been a few years, but sports cars can be a reasonable prep for F1. Think about Webber, Schumacher, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill, and..........Mario Andretti, who got his early road racing chops in the greatest American driver development program ever, the Ford LeMans program.
So have the kid drive Indy Cars, sports cars and get some serious test time in F1 cars. Maybe it will work out, if he really is good enough. And it may help that the US is Honda's #1 market and they appear to have no interest in NASCAR.
ClarkFan
he needs to get out of indycar ASAP - I would love to see him win indy but I would not wait around. ChampCar would be very good for young andretti
Totally agree! Marco is still young. Too say nothing of the fact that there seems to be a glut of young talent in F1 right now. Although I sort of mocked Michael's comments earlier, what he said makes sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by fousto
You shouldn't mortgage your stature with a loyal fan base in the States, (and all the perks it provides)
to sink into oblivion without a competitive ride! Has he earned one? No!!
But if he were to excel in Champ car, or any substantial form of road racing he may get a shot,
If he does he will really be up against it.
So! What's the rush?
Why Champ Car? Bourdais dominated CCWS and is still there. He might go to STR, that's all.
IMO Indy Car and Indy are more worthwhile goal than either GP 2 or Champ Car. I'm with ClarkFan here.
Not very shameful, really. There aren't many drivers even close to Ayrton Senna.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mickey T
I don't think so, Uncle. Who is in the field? Bourdais, Tracy, Wilson and a bunch of guys named "Who's He?". And Wilson certainly isn't well regarded in F1 circles. Beat them all like a rented mule and what do you get? Free admission to the Queen Mary? A one-way airline ticket to Zhuhai, China? :\Quote:
Originally Posted by fousto
I concede there is more road racing in ChampCar and more road course time in high power cars would do Marco some real good. But the series needs to up its profile to get to a Q-factor of 0.
And the jury is still out on GP2 as a developer of champions. For all his success there Rosberg still made some serious rookie mistakes last year. We'll see how Hamilton and Kovalainen do this year, and if Rosberg gets better (or if the current Williams lets him). In retrospect, dad should have sent Marco to Europe to run F3 two years ago. That is a series with a real track record of developing talent, partly because everyone in Europe gets thrown into F3 to fight it out.
ClarkFan