And Now... No More American Driver in Formula 1
Following fast on the announcement that there would be no U.S. Grand Prix next season, another U.S. related announcement was made today by the Toro Rosso team. They have dropped Scott Speed, the only American driver in Formula 1. He will be replaced by Sebastian Vettel.
"Scuderia Toro Rosso announces that as from the Hungarian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel will replace Scott Speed as the driver of car number 19," the team announced in a statement. "Vettel will drive for the team in all the remaining rounds of the 2007 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
"Having joined the Red Bull Junior Team in his early karting years at the age of 12 and been guided by us and BMW through his Formula BMW and Formula 3 career, we now welcome Sebastian back to the Red Bull family."
There are arguments to suggest the two bits of U.S.-related news are unrelated. There are other arguments to suggest that there are related. Anyone opinions?
Comments
I wonder what Scott Speed was supposed to do to on the track, to keep his ride at Scuderia Toro Rosso? He had a better over-all record this year, than his teammate, Vitantonio Liuzzi , and ran as well as could be expected, considering that the Toro Rosso cars are at best, 16-20th place finishers, regardless of who is driving them, (to include Lewis Hamilton.) Lewis should say a prayer every day, thanking the Lords of F1 that he got his start with Team McLaren, not some career-killing, back-marking team, like Toro Rosso. I hope Scott gets signed by a top-rank Champ Car team, and is given competitive equipment, so he can better display his true driving talent. If this should turn out to be a team swap between Scott Speed and Sebastian Bourdais, I’d say Scott got the better part of the deal…by far!
Dave, I agree with everything you say except one thing. For Bourdais, I think that it’s not really comparable. Bourdais has achieved everything he could possibly want to achieve in Champ Car, so a shift to an F1 team, any F1 team, would presumably be an experience worth trying.
As I’m a fan of Bourdais, I would even so remain a little worried about how he might be able to graduate from a team like Toro Rosso to something else. When Toro Rosso used to be known as Minardi, it happened all the time that drivers would start there and move up. It looks less clear with Toro Rosso that that sort of thing can happen.
On the other hand, teams and their personnel talk between themselves, and a driver’s reputation can grow – or fade – through that, I think.
Brad, I agree with you, Sebastian Bourdais has certainly done it all in Champ Cars, and a move up to Formula One is both a logical step…and one he deserves. What I meant by Scott Speed getting the “better part of the deal”, initially anyway is, *if* Scott should move into the Newman-Haas car, while Sebastian drives the Toro Rosso, Scott has a much better chance of doing well in his series (Champ Car) then has Sebastian (in Formula One.) Maybe Bourdais will be able to show enough of his talent at Toro Rosso, so that another, better-funded and more-professionally run team (Toyota, Honda, or perhaps even Renault) might sign him, down the line, but unless Toro Rosso puts more into their cars, he has a tough job on his hands. Scott Speed I believe, in a top-shelf Champ Car, could run in the top 10 in his first few races, and have a reasonable shot at a podium or two, his first year.
Actually, I think Speed could do even better than that. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win immediately in a top-shelf Champ Car team. Even if there is not as big a difference between the teams there, I think he’s an excellent driver. If he fails anyhere I think it’s in the peripheral stuff that separates the best F1 drivers from the rest – the human skills, technical input, etc.