Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to The Pit Lane. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
What do you make of Heikki so far?
Topic Started: Aug 18 2007, 09:49 AM (152 Views)
dcoulthard19
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
I think Heikki has done an ok job for Renault so far and has been mentally very strong despite who he has had to replace and the very tough start he had to the season but ultimately he has been a bit disapointing in my opinion, I expected alot more and I think other people expected alot more i.e totally destroying Fisi which hasn't happened. Its been fairly close between the pair, Fisi still leads on points I believe, people probably wouldn't have given a chance of that happening at this stage.

I am not sure whether he is a future world champion or not? He hasn't done anything special to suggest he might be like other champions have done in their first season in the past(see my thread about champions and their first seasons).

He just lacks that spark like someone like Kubica gave when he went from being fast in testing to giving a huge impression when he made his debut in Hungary.


So I would say that so far I am very unsure about him and different but I just can't see the potential for him to be a future champion at the moment and I don't think he is Renault's next Alonso like the team were hoping for, there will be too many drivers better than him in the future I think. Maybe he will be a late bloomer like Mika Hakkinen.

However he is a very nice chap and I wish him luck in his F1 career.

Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
safc_fan89
Member Avatar
safc_fan89
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
You can look at what he is doing against his teammate, and has beaten him in 5 of the last 6 races. He doesn't have a car to show that he can win races, if he does I wouls back him to show that he is a very talented driver.

When Hill drove for Brabham did you think he was a future champion? When Hakkinen drove for Lotus? And so on...
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Monty
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
dcoulthard19,Aug 18 2007
09:49 AM
I I expected alot more and I think other people expected alot more i.e totally destroying Fisi which hasn't happened.

So you expected him to be as good as Alonso in a shitbox renault in his first year? i think he has done a pretty good job. He couldnt have scored many more points
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
dcoulthard19
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
If Heikki gets a car thats over half a second faster than everyone else's then he's got a chance but it depends who his team mate is.

However will the top teams give him that chance, for teams like Mclaren and Ferrari I very much doubt he tops their list, there is alot of talent on the grid, his best chance is that Renault produce a very fast car which I have backed them to do in a previous thread but if Alonso comes back to Renault then Heikki has no chance, against Nelson Piquet Jnr I am not sure. However I think the drivers from Ferrari and Mclaren would be able to make up a half second gap to the Renault drivers if thats what the case was next season.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
dcoulthard19
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Quote:
 
So you expected him to be as good as Alonso in a shitbox renault in his first year? i think he has done a pretty good job. He couldnt have scored many more points


I didn't say that, but I expected him to be beating Fisi by a bigger margin.

Also the Renault isn't a shitbox, they are 4th fastest.

I rate Rosberg and Kubica as better prospects for the future and I am sure they are the 2 names in alot of team bosses minds as to who they want in their team.


I am not ruling out Heikki getting much better in the future but you can only go on current evidence, we don't have crystal ball.

His second season will be very important.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Monty
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
dcoulthard19,Aug 18 2007
10:11 AM
Quote:
 
So you expected him to be as good as Alonso in a shitbox renault in his first year? i think he has done a pretty good job. He couldnt have scored many more points


I didn't say that, but I expected him to be beating Fisi by a bigger margin.

Also the Renault isn't a shitbox, they are 4th fastest.

I rate Rosberg and Kubica as better prospects for the future and I am sure they are the 2 names in alot of team bosses minds as to who they want in their team.


I am not ruling out Heikki getting much better in the future but you can only go on current evidence, we don't have crystal ball.

His second season will be very important.

So after Hungary and Europe do you still think it is the 4th best car? behind Williams and toyota in the last race and beaten by redbull and williams the race before. I think Fisi is going better than last season and Heikki is doing a good job to edge it, also you said "destroy" which does give the impression of a pretty big margin.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
dcoulthard19
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
I am still pretty sure the Renault is 4th fastest but the teams behind are pretty close so the drivers from those other teams you mention can make up the gap and get ahead.

Webber and Rosberg for example are very talented, Webber particularly in qualifying.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
RJHSaints
Member Avatar
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Incidentally he isn't actually beating Fisi-he has 16 points compared to Fisi's 17.

Personally I think he has recovered well after a shaky start and he does seem to have more raw pace than Fisi. Whether that is enough to make him a future WDC, time will tell.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Rams
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Yeah I think he's shown good potential for the future. You can dispute individual grand prix but overall Renault have been 4th, so the car is a lot worse than last years but it's not that bad really.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
safc_fan89
Member Avatar
safc_fan89
[ *  *  *  *  *  *  * ]
It's worse than the BMW was last season.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Rams
Chief Engineer
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Yes it is, although the top 2 teams are very consistent and reliable so the podium is always locked out unless there is a "crazy race". Last year particularly towards the end it wasn't unusual to see Renault or Ferrari struggling with their tyres or having problems in general.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · Formula 1 · Next Topic »
Add Reply