The future of Scott Speed

zenvision · Post 23 Nov 2006, 19:04

Well, if memory serves me right, Liuzzi got a point in his first race and also a point in the US grand prix this year.

Ray · Post 23 Nov 2006, 20:34

After five people retired and Button and Sato were DQed. So I was wrong he did get a point in his first race. But he didn't finish there, he was promoted due to other circumstances, not like speed who legitimately raced his way up there. I don't believe he passed Coulthard under yellow, I think he was whining. At any rate, I think they should keep Scott. He's a good driver.

Tom · Post 23 Nov 2006, 21:14

Scott Speed obviously did not legitimately race in the Australian GP, BECAUSE HE WAS PENALISED!!! He quite clearly passed under yellow flags when DC braked to let Liuzzi slide away (as did the car behind him) and that would not have been a problem if he had let the cars straight back through at turn 3, but he didn't.

Another thing is it shows you what kind of person Coulthard is, I like the guy mind you, if he holds what attitude Mario may have had, against Scott just because he's American.

Do you honestly believe that DC only complained because Speed was American? You're probably right, it has nothing to do with the fact that DC had had valuable points taken away from him when said American cheated?

Nice avatar btw

Ray · Post 24 Nov 2006, 00:42

I still think it was a legitimate move. There is too much talk about when someone shouldn't pass, how many moves you get on the start, and so on. Racing is not about moving only once to defend your position, if you think that makes good racing, than you can see how many good passes there are a year in F1. Like 10, maybe. If we are going to talk about legitimate racing, same thing could be said about Alonso or Scumacher in Hungary. I think Scott saw an opportunity and took it. If he did so then fine, if not give him a decent penalty. You and I both know that a 25 second penalty is dumb. If he let DC by it wouldn't have affected his race by 25 seconds. Just say he was demoted a spot and quit trying to make it sound different that what they wanted, him not finishing ahead of DC. Who by the way is one of my favorite of all time! I think we can all agree that the penalties have been rather stupid this year. No rhyme or reason at all.

I didn't mean to insuate that he didn't like him and complained jsut because he was american. I worded that completely wrong I guess. I meant it in reply to what Dave said. Sorry about that. Thanks for the compliment on the avatar. Glad you like it.

BreezyRacer · Post 24 Nov 2006, 05:31

I would say that if Speed loses his F1 ride, F1 will have a hard time making more headway in America. F1 is gaining respect here in the US these days and being recognized for it's technology by all the major forms of racing here. Just a few years ago it would have been blasflamy to hear F1 mentioned by NASCAR commentators. Now a days they openly talk about F1 and how much they like to watch it.

But American fans are a fickle bunch and losing aan American F1 driver for non performance reasons won't (and shouldn't) sit well.

Speed has learned a lot this year and is fully worthy of another season to prove himself. Cocky??? They're all cocky and wouldn't hire one that was wasn't. Whether he displayed that to the press is another matter though and Speed has learned that lesson well.

ketanpaul · Post 24 Nov 2006, 07:28

Maybe you guys are right. Not scoring a point in your first season doesnt really matter. But what worries me is that he has been very inconsistent. Sometimes he could match Tonio in pace but sometimes he would end up even slower than the spykers. Inconsistency is generally due to immaturity so I do think he should get another season to give stable results because he has undoubtedly shown blistering pace in some races

Ray · Post 24 Nov 2006, 11:10

As far as I know, he passed more cars on the opening lap of all the GPs than anybody this year. That alone is enough to say that he is good enough to stay around. I think, I may be wrong, that next to Kimi, Scott was the closest to him last year in not being passed on the first lap of any GP. But I might be wrong.

Saribro · Post 24 Nov 2006, 16:26

Ray wrote:As far as I know, he passed more cars on the opening lap of all the GPs than anybody this year.

Well that's a fun statistic, but there are no 1-lap GPs :/.

Ray · Post 24 Nov 2006, 21:21

No s*** Saribro. I'm just saying that he has obvious talent. Is that not evident in the fact he passed more cars on the first lap than ANYBODY? To include Schumacher, Raikkonen, Alonso, or anybody else? Is that not good enough for you Saribro?

Tom · Post 24 Nov 2006, 21:51

Saddly it's not good enough, is Speed was consistantly passing people throughout the race he could be promoted to a bigger team, but I agree North America needs an American to keep their interest in F1. Have you anyone better though?

mech_coen · Post 24 Nov 2006, 22:11

i guess lots of guys in US got enough talent like in champcars for instance..

Ray · Post 24 Nov 2006, 22:14

How is that not good enough? He outqualified Liuzzi who is more experienced, maybe not more times but he did outqulify him. He outqualified DC a number of times, who is vastly more experienced than him. He raced very well, didn't cause any accidents like Yamamoto, and did very well for a rookie. I think he did a great job, he's a good interview because of his attitude, and he's a great guy. I think he should stay, did a great job as a rookie and they shouldn't boot him because he didn't make a measley point. Big deal.

zenvision · Post 24 Nov 2006, 22:34

Well first of all regarding the overtaking at the start is a petty point to be honest, its no big deal, and of course he overtook more people than Kimi and Nando as he had more cars in front of him. This is not a bash, but certainly it isn't a way to measure talent. Heck, he should think about qualifying in better spots than overtaking at the start if thats the point. Still next year he deserves a seat because he's showing that he's learning. Ok, he didn't match Liuzzi which is very highly regarded but he's getting closer and for that he deserves another year to show if he's really got it, but I get the feeling that the team refer to Liuzzi as the leader. Also, next year it will be a straight fight with the other teams as all of them will have a great V8 and we could at least get an idea of where he is in terms of other cars.

Ray · Post 24 Nov 2006, 23:15

It is a very good point. If he can't match the quali pace of the other guys, then pass them at the best time. The start. Kimi did it alot last year. For a different reason of course. But to pass that many cars in what is the most dangerous time in a GP, without causing a huge pile up, is a great skill.

zenvision · Post 25 Nov 2006, 00:12

Yes of course its a skill and I am not diminishing as its a really handy asset like you said with Kimi, since it's very difficult in some tracks to overtake. Still he has many question marks hanging over his head. He didnt set GP2 alive last season against future stars like Kovalainen and Rosberg. Still I believe in him and really like his personality, at least he has one! Give him another chance I'd say, then there is always a certain Vettel for Red Bull, whom they might lose to BMW if they don't act fast.