We're a kingdom I'll have you know

Nationality
By virtue of being born in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom, Irvine was a British citizen throughout his career. He also held a racing license issued by the National Sporting Authority of the Republic of Ireland.[10] (Drivers are not compelled to obtain their license from their home country.) The FIA's International Sporting Regulations state that drivers competing in FIA World Championships shall compete under the nationality of their passport, rather than that of the National Sporting Authority that issued their racing license, as is the case in other racing series.[11]

This situation created some confusion as to Irvine's nationality when he appeared at podium ceremonies in the Formula One World Championship. At his first podium, a third place for Jordan at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, the British Union Flag was flown. However, at his third podium, a second place for Ferrari at the 1997 Argentine Grand Prix, an Irish Tricolour was mistakenly flown by the race organisers.[12] This led to his family receiving threatening phone calls. Irvine then requested that at subsequent races, a politically neutral shamrock flag be flown, and the non-sectarian Londonderry Air be played to mark a victory.[10] An FIA spokesman said:

“ As far as we understand, Irvine has a British passport so the Union Jack should be raised. ... I understand he has a special flag, but our regulations do not allow this. ”
—FIA spokesman Francesco Longanesi.[12]


Irvine has self-identified as being Irish:

“ But at the end of the day, I’m Irish. I mean, I’ve got a British passport, but if you’re from Ireland, north or south, you’re Irish. And ‘British’ is. . . such a nondescript thing, isn’t it? ”
—1995 interview.[13]

http://www.paddocktalk.com/news/html/modul...c=1&catid=1

Hulkenberg has signed a 2010 contract for Williams according to Bild

If I were FW I would put both Hulkenberg and Soucek in race seat

1. They are both defending champs
2. They are cheap
3.. They will be extramotivated to prove that they are better than his teammate

Soucek isn't all that impressive in my opinion. They'll probably go for a top-line driver alongside Hulkenberg. Kubica or Barrichello would be perfect. It'd be their strongest line-up for years.

they would still need some sort of engine after suzuka so i doubt it

This year, there are 5 Germans in a 20 driver grid (= a quarter). Next year, we might have 6 out of 26 or 28. So actually less than a quarter of all drivers will be German in this case. Honestly, with all the new teams and drivers in F1, this probably won't be a big problem. (Unless you watch RTL in Germany.)

There have often been countries 'over represented' in F1.

Right now it is Germany.

In the 80ies there were a LOT of Italians, think 8 or 9 in a season (albeit there were more seats at the time).

I doubt Toyota would refuse to let them use their engines because of that. Besides I'd bet that they have all this seasons stock of engines at the the Williams HQ in Grove. It makes sense though if Toyota aren't gonna cause a fuss about it.

The Republic of Ireland is NOT part of Great Britain

But Irvine isn't from the Republic.

He's from Country Down, Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Hülkenberg is from Emmerich am Rhein.

Is that in Saar (seppling?)

Saar? Saar is a river
if you're talking about Saarland nope, Emmerich am Rhein is Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhine-Westphalia).

Yes was talking about Saarland.

He looks disconcertingly like a childhood friend of mine.

I met him at the Festival of Speed this year.

Very nice chap, posed for photos and stood about chatting for a bit.

Hulkenberg is a future world champion. Next year he will fill the void left by Schumacher. Alonso is the best driver in F1 right now and he was a worthy rival to Schumacher, but I still miss Schumi. He had something special that Senna also had. Alonso's biggest rival in the next few years will not be Lewis Hamilton. It will be Nico Hulkenberg. Hulkenberg is the first driver in GP2 history to win the title with a round to spare. I look forward to the duels between Alonso and Hulkenberg in the next few years. I also hope Raikkonen gets back to his 2005 form and establishes himself as the best driver at Mclaren.

It could be the best era ever:


Alonso at Ferrari
Raikkonen at Mclaren
Kubica at Renault
Rosberg at Brawn
Vettel at Red Bull
Hulkenberg at Williams


What makes it even better is that some of these great drivers will have tough teammates to push them hard - Massa, Hamilton, Button and Webber

Too hard to say at this stage, but Hulkenberg is clearly very strong.

He'll be the best prepared driver to enter F1 since Lewis Hamilton.

Unlike Lewis he'll have slightly less pressure at Williams.

Hopefully he'll thrive like Lewis did.



Not until Hulkenberg learns to ropes and moves to a top team....

Is the strength of the field the same as in other years? No.

Let us examine Formula 3000. Tonio Liuzzi, Bjorn Wirdheim, Justin Wilson and Nick Heidfeld all won the title with more than one race to spare. So Hulkenburg is hardly unique. I'd also like to point out that Luca Badoer won the Formula 3000 title with more than one race to spare.

I have no doubt that he will thrive. Also it will be interesting to see what his technical weaknesses are. Will he be a complete driver like Alonso who thrives on high speed and low speed tracks and manages his tyres well and is great at developing the car? Or will he be a flawed driver like Hamilton who struggles on high speed tracks in dry conditions, destroys his tyres and is not great at car development. Time will tell, but I think he will be like Alonso.

Hamilton's competition was Nelson Piquet Jnr and Hamilton barely beat him. There is nothing to suggest that Hulkenberg's competition was weaker than Hamilton's. Both Hulkenberg and Hamilton established themselves as the best in GP2, but Hulkenberg was more impressive.

Alonso himself has said his key is being consistently good rather than awesome.



What are you basing this on?

Hamilton patently does not struggle on high speed tracks, but that's OT here anyway.

Take up those Lewis issues in his thread: http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?show...&start=1760



If anything he'll be like a mix of Michael Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld.

He has the same management as Schumacher but has a very economical and no-fuss driving style, much like Heidfeld.

Except his main opponent left the series before the end of the year.

I think Hulkenberg would have beaten Romain Grosjean, but for sure his task was made a bit easier when Grosjean went to Renault F1.

This is true, but I agree that Hulkenberg's championship season in GP2 was (marginally) more impressive than was Hamilton's. The reason I say this is that Hulkenberg seemed to mature throughout the year and develop and progress in a far more consistent manner. On the first weekend in Spain he failed to score and just seemed to be bedding himself in, and by race 2 in Monaco he was already on pole and taking podiums. Then he started winning, and then he learned to race for a championship and not make moves for victories he didn't need... he learned to take pole, grab the fastest lap and then even finishing second meant he scored more than the guy in first.

I think Hulkenberg's driving style was also very impressive: smooth but agressive. While he was nowhere near as exciting to watch as Hamilton, I think much of that has to do with the GP2/08 car as opposed to the GP2/05. Although both were in their second year of their life cycle, the car Hulkenberg drove was much more aero reliant, while Hamilton's had the benefit of better ground effect. Different machines, and I think the racing in GP2 has suffered for it. But that's by the by.

Hulkenberg impressed me big time this year. I can't wait to see him in F1.

Hulkenberg will dominate F1 Schumi style. Right now the best driver in F1 is Alonso, but what makes him better than the rest isn't so much his speed, but his racing intelligence, car development skills and lack of mistakes. Hulkenberg will bring a awhole new meaning to raw pace when he gets into F1. Also he won't make the mistakes that Vettel and Hamilton make, and he will be quicker than Alonso.

You guys should relax a bit with your over-optimistic predictions. The boy hasn't even been confirmed as a driver for next year yet and you're already comparing him to real men like Schumacher and Alonso. Just take it easy and watch him being himself. It's more fun this way in the long run.

Hulkenberg lack talent on each groud, high speed corners, passing, concentrating, he just doesnt have the spirit to survive in F1, IMO he serously is to foolish / egocentrish ... Giving Hulkenberg a F1 seat would be a wasted one, seriously. The only steps he can take are in Schumachers shadow. The kid has had some great sponsoring.

Hulkenberg just doesnt have the talent, keep him out off F1 please!!!

Exactly, the guy is still running around in a:

HulkenbergRules is the one comparing him to Hamilton and Alonso