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Going by the numbers, Sato and Schumacher are tied in driver's standings at one point each...............while Ralf's partner Trulli is at 10th with 4 points.
other than the awful 2005 season, Sato has been a decent F1 driver. He did score points at Jordan and Honda at his home race(which just adds to his allure in Japan), he has regularly shown pace over many of his much touted teammates. And I still believe you don't win F3 championship with a record number of wins(I believe a record was just beaten by Hamilton when he was in F3) by being a useless racer who is only there because he is Japanese....
that is exactly my point. You can crunch the numbers in any way you want...and yet, you still will not be able to paint a clear picture.
Racing Maniac,
I never said that he was not worthy of F1. Clearly, he had been there for 5 years now (if I'm not mistaken), and has done extremely well during his 2004 season. What I did say is that, in my opinion, he is not a logical choice for Toyota. Toyota needs to improve everything on their team if they want to think about the championships (or wins for that matter), and getting a driver who had some success in the past, in the lower series, in my opinion, will not get them anywhere.
They tried that with Da Matta. It turns out that, despite his championship in CART he clearly wasn't the right choice...not just for Toyota, for any team. There are other, numerous examples of drivers performing well in their series, but struggling in F1.
But, ultimately, it boils down to the simple fact that, despite his 2004 success, despite being Japanese and having a strong backing from Honda, he was still unable to retain his seat with Honda's A team. Honda came to their senses in 2005...I hope that Toyota will, too!
modbaraban wrote:I suppose Toyota is more likely to rely on their youth programme (?Nakajima?) rather that take a 'ready made' Japanese driver from Honda.
Isnt nakajima with Williams-Toyota these days?
“Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary...that’s what gets you.” - JC
ya as a test driver.. I think part of the deal with toyota was that williams had to except some of there drivers as test drivers..poor Narain
Simon: Nils? You can close in now. Nils?
John McClane: [on the guard's phone] Attention! Attention! Nils is dead! I repeat, Nils is dead, ----head. So's his pal, and those four guys from the East German All-Stars, your boys at the bank? They're gonna be a little late.
Simon: [on the phone] John... in the back of the truck you're driving, there's $13 billon dollars worth in gold bullion. I wonder would a deal be out of the question?
John McClane: [on the phone] Yeah, I got a deal for you. Come out from that rock you're hiding under, and I'll drive this truck up your ass.
m3_lover wrote:ya as a test driver.. I think part of the deal with toyota was that williams had to except some of there drivers as test drivers..poor Narain
Yeah..poor narain. Atleast got some points for Team India at Brands Hatch in the A1 GP, by finishing just-off-the-podium 4th position.
“Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary...that’s what gets you.” - JC
I think Williams took him because he has a lot of sponsorship money
Simon: Nils? You can close in now. Nils?
John McClane: [on the guard's phone] Attention! Attention! Nils is dead! I repeat, Nils is dead, ----head. So's his pal, and those four guys from the East German All-Stars, your boys at the bank? They're gonna be a little late.
Simon: [on the phone] John... in the back of the truck you're driving, there's $13 billon dollars worth in gold bullion. I wonder would a deal be out of the question?
John McClane: [on the phone] Yeah, I got a deal for you. Come out from that rock you're hiding under, and I'll drive this truck up your ass.
Most of this topic covers Sato, but there's also the other side of the coin. Just what is the true status of the drivers currently in Toyota. For reasons I still cannot fathom, Trulli signed a three year deal with Toyota end of last season. But Ralf...? I doubt there's very few that can argue that he was worth the money, despite the actual car. Personally, I believe that Ralf will be fortunate to even survive to the end of this year. One rumor is that he will be sacked after the USGP.
So maybe what's worth thinking about is who will replace Ralf, and will it be mid season, or in '08?
But Sato? Hardly.
Ralf is getting 2nd highest pay in F1. about $35million each year, and after his performance in 2007, team Toyota must be frustrated, so no surprises if hes sacked after the US GP, bcoz he shud be!
“Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary...that’s what gets you.” - JC
Panasonic Toyota Racing Chairman and Team Principal Tsutomu Tomita will become the new Chairman of Fuji Speedway, it was announced today. As announced on 26 April, Tomita will stand down from his role at Toyota Motorsport at the end of June to be replaced by current Vice Chairman Tadashi Yamashina. http://www.f1technical.net/news/5878
Hmm, is this when the axe falls and Ralf get's his walking papers?
Roll on the day Ralph S leaves F1...........IMHO one of the most pointless drivers in the entire field (note: I don't say slow........).
For the sake of adding fuel to the fire: Copied from Mark Hughes column in today's Autosport:
"Jarno Trulli's affinity with the place is deep. Soon he is hustling the Toyota through the left-right of the swimming pool section, fast enough that the car's (sic) already on it's tippy-toes, alive, neurotic, ready to dart off, requiring his firm hand. When Ralf Schumacher comes through in the sister car a few laps later it looks inert by comparison, merely following it's front wheels"
I suspect Dave was spot on about Honda not wanting to let go of Sato (I quite like the fellow.........BTW).
Perhaps Toyota should now be looking to retain Trulli and shoe in a young charger full of promise (boy will they need it in a couple of years when Hamilton, Rosberg & Kovalainen really get on stream)
RH1300S wrote:Perhaps Toyota should now be looking to retain Trulli and shoe in a young charger full of promise (boy will they need it in a couple of years when Hamilton, Rosberg & Kovalainen really get on stream)
www.f1-live.com wrote:Speculation about the flagging career of Toyota's Ralf Schumacher has continued to worsen.
Newspaper reports on Tuesday suggested that the six-time Grand Prix winner, who qualified a dreary 20th in Monaco last weekend, could be dropped by the team if he does not close up on the pace of team-mate Jarno Trulli over the next two races.
Now, the German tabloid Bild is linking impressive Spyker rookie Adrian Sutil - who sensationally topped a wet practice time sheet in Monaco Carlo last weekend - with 31-year-old Schumacher's race seat.
Sutil's manager Karl-Heinz Zimmermann said: "After (Adrian's) recent performances, one or two team managers have enquired about his situation, but up to now there have been no negotiations.
"We are basically very happy with Spyker." Former Grand Prix driver Christian Danner, however, doubts that Cologne based Toyota is about to fire Schumacher, who joined the team in 2005 on an annual retainer of an estimated (US) $20m.
The German is quoted as saying by Sport-Informations-Dienst: "For Toyota, there is no alternative to Ralf, so I think he still has a future there."
