Embarrassment for Raikkonen? The Reborn Grosjean...

[Red Schneider]

What? Massa was a storming qualifier in 2007/2008, not to mention JPM.

[n smikle]

But there is a strong chance that Grosjean is faster than those two were. Looking at the results of rookies in recent years, there certainly have been rookies that are fast right out of the box. A part of me feels that Grosjean is a "Sebastian Vettel" in his own right and soon enough we might see him as on of the "big boys" in the sport.
Thankfully, I took a sabbatical from watching F1 from 2005 to 2007, only watching a few races and never following the sport as much as I used to, so I did not get to see fully the rise of Alonso into a 2 time champion. I was really a Montoya/Kimi fan moving onto a Heidfeld/BMW fan and because of my sparse viewing I really did not know what to make of Alonso who I only knew as a promising young star, as then a 2XWDC. And I didn't even know he was paired with this new "kid" at Mclaren until near the middle of the season. So when I started following F1 again in late 2007 there was absolutely no expectation on my part for Alonso to "Destroy" this new kid because they were both "new kids" in my eyes. When It comes to RAW SPEED, I really don't separate rookies from experienced drivers is all I am saying. So yeah, Grosjean even though a rookie could very well be the fastest teammate for Kimi.

[raymondu999]

He could be. Grosjean through GP2 has always struck me as similar to the '09/'10 Vettel. Quick - but there are some moments of bludering and brainfades that make you think, "What on earth is this kid doing in such a high level of motorsport?" while at the same time having races where you think "How in hell is this kid not dominating this year's championship?"

[n smikle]

Kimi on Gro-Jo's speed:

Q: Your team mate seems to be a tough cookie. So far he has beaten you 5:2 in qualifying, but in the races you have had the upper hand. Is that down to experience and not panicking if Saturday doesn’t go your way?
KR: I knew that he would be fast, no matter how his first F1 experience was. He’s doing well and that is good for the team. I’m not giving away any secrets when I say that it is the Sunday when you get the points. I was always somebody who likes to focus on the essentials.

P.S... I think I will call him Gro-Jo from now on.. I like it. Reminds me of Flo-Jo (fastest Woman ever).

[Red Schneider]

I still think Grosjean makes too many mistakes. He doesn't care to learn, he basically just says, "There's nothing I can do. They're racing incidents, that or the other guy was just an idiot. I'd rather go for the win than run around in 7th place." He said as much in a recent interview, except for the idiot part.

I know the saying about taming a fast, wild driver versus a slow, safe one, but that only applies if the fast driver is willing to learn. See Hamilton, Lewis.

[Neno]

I still think Grosjean makes too many mistakes. He doesn't care to learn, he basically just says, "There's nothing I can do. They're racing incidents, that or the other guy was just an idiot. I'd rather go for the win than run around in 7th place." He said as much in a recent interview, except for the idiot part.

I know the saying about taming a fast, wild driver versus a slow, safe one, but that only applies if the fast driver is willing to learn. See Hamilton, Lewis.

MOG! He is the king! If he said that, at least is not Massa, who will try take over one Torro Rosso for one point in Barcelona...and i said try... You need to have that spirit if you want be on top. You need to break a few eggs to make omelettes. If I said correctly

[Red Schneider]

No, it's true, I agree. Grosjean is just too far that way. Go for it, but learn from your mistakes.

[Red Schneider]

...and I'll be the first to say well done. Just cut out the stupid stuff.

[nacho]

Fantastic race for Grosjean.

[n smikle]

So at the midway of the season Kimi is ahead on points as expected; mostly due to keeping his nose clean and having better race craft over his Carrot-like team mate.
But what has really surprised me, is not only the speed of Grosjean but he seems to be more reliable in qualifying than Kimi who seems to choke in Q3.

[Ral]

Yeah, today's qualifying in particular was a bit odd, from Kimi's perspective.

As a Kimi fan, I'm hopeful of improved performances from now on though. Like Brundle said in commentary during qualy, he doesn't normally come out saying he's found something he missed setup wise and for me, this is the first weekend where it has really looked like Kimi's been there or thereabouts all weekend.

But awesome performance by Grosjaen for sure. He must feel really comfortable with the team and his engineer to be able to turn around from that horrible start he had to his weekend. I think Ayao Komatsu really deserves quite a bit of praise, I seem to remember him turning around Vitaly Petrov's performances as well.

[zyphro]

I get the feeling Kimi choke's when it is crunch time - this is shown in various overtakes: he seems way too defensive and tentative.

[zyphro]

...Kimi who seems to choke in Q3.

Glad I'm not the only one thinking that .

[zyphro]

...Grosjean also had a break, but GP2 seems to be much more like F1 these days.

Half and half.

Many people have succeeded in GP2 and failed on the big stage. GP2 may have helped him hone his skills somewhat, but, GP2 doesn't really prepare you for the speed that is in F1, along with fighting with an experienced competitor like Kimi.

Whilst Kimi has been out of the sport for 2 years, Grosjean is practically a rookie.

[stefan_]

I don't think a driver with Kimi's experience can choke in quali. I think he can't choke at all (just like I think about Alonso, Webber or Button).

Grosjean is probably just fast and has the guts to throw the car around a little bit more - after all, Kimi has been away from single seaters for 2 years, and the behaviour of a rally car is totally different. I'm really glad that he qualified 2nd today, but if he doesn't get his head together in the race/at the start, this performances are quite useless. If he can get it all together and with the experience gathered along the road, he can become a very good driver.