60 replies to this topic

[automovelbrilhante]

Shaky argument there. Vandoorne has minimal experience but has more than given Ant more than a run for his money this year, its difficult to compare different situations. Ant had zero pressure on him in FR3.5 last year, the Arden was a struggling like crazy and he was a rookie, since the pressure has been on this year he's been far less impressive, clearly he's a fast driver but i'm not convinced, yet.

I think general opinion is, maybe the new Arden Caterham team felt even more the pressure of being up against championship caliber teams like Fortec and Dams. Look where da Costa's teammate has been. Nowhere, all of the season.

[luispaulob]

I bet you're a (Brasilian) fanboy of Felipe Nasr, and there's nothing wrong with that, but your mission here is simply mud slinging in hopes that Helmut Marko might hear you.

The problem is, you should make a case for your guy instead.

Da Costa has beaten Nasr in Macau last year, for instance. Nasr is not bad at all, rich kid and all, but I very very seriously doubt he's any better than da Costa.  

Two years in GP2 and how many wins, poles and fastest laps does he have?  Less than half the points of his teammate in his first year. 9 podiums in 42 starts.

Yes I'm brazillian, and not a fan (at least, not yet) of Felipe Nasr.. By the way, this topic is not to discuss Nasr, but to discuss the previous achievements of da Costa, there aren't many by the way..

 

Another thing, Nasr is not a "rich boy".. He earned all the financial support he has now after winning F-BMW on his rookie year with more than 100 points over the second place, and the British F3 with 81 points over the second place, who was, by the way, Kevin Magnussen..

 

About GP2 victories, if you research a little bit, you will see that DAMS didnt really care about their second car last year, and that Carlin NEVER fought for the title in GP2, still, he is the most regular front runner in the series and is still fighting for the championship..

 

Now tell me.. Appart from Macau (one race) and F-renault NEC, what else did da Costa do in terms of titles?? bet you wont spend a lot of time righting it down for me.. 

 

And no, Im not trying to put da Costa down because of the Toro Rosso seat. I also know Nasr doesnt have a chance there cause he is not a Red Bull driver.. In my oppinion, Marko should choose Kvyat or even Sainz Jr, cause da Costa still needs some time to be ready for F1

[gluon]

And no, Im not trying to put da Costa down because of the Toro Rosso seat. I also know Nasr doesnt have a chance there cause he is not a Red Bull driver.. In my oppinion, Marko should choose Kvyat or even Sainz Jr, cause da Costa still needs some time to be ready for F1

 

Why would Sainz Jr be a better choice? Here's a direct comparison of the major achievements of both where you can clearly see Da Costa has a better pedigree (and I'm not even showing the superior number of wins by Da Costa):

 

Da Costa

 

2009 - Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup - 1st

2012 - GP3 series - 3rd

2013 - Formula Renault 3.5 Series - 3th (currently)

 

Sainz Jr

 

2011 - Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup - 1st

2013 - GP3 series - 9th (currently)

2013 - Formula Renault 3.5 Series - 20th (currently)

 

On top of that, Da Costa is a Red Bull test driver alongside Buemi and has considerable simulator experience for a rookie.

[automovelbrilhante]

Status didn't care for da Costa either in his first season in GP3, It was a close call the second year and most will agree he'd have been a worthy champion last year. It didn't happen for no fault of his own. Gearbox problem IIRC.

And Motorpark were newbies in the F3 euroseries field.

He's always been up there one way or the other and recent form (which is the most important), since he joined the Red Bull program, says he's got the potential.

They know internally just how good he is, and his adversaries know too. Bad judgement from the team at times, regarding setup, several glitches and mech problems, etc., have offset him in the championship run. 

[kurosawa]

Shaky argument there. Vandoorne has minimal experience but has more than given Ant more than a run for his money this year, its difficult to compare different situations. Ant had zero pressure on him in FR3.5 last year, the Arden was a struggling like crazy and he was a rookie, since the pressure has been on this year he's been far less impressive, clearly he's a fast driver but i'm not convinced, yet.

This is true. You can't just compare Da Costa with Frijns like this. Vandoorne is now in the exact same circumstances of Da Costa last year: no pressure on him, he's a rookie with a promising backgtound in one of the best teams of the championship.

I have to say This post title is misleading and it showed. Don't need to put question marks. There are no doubts in Op's mind Antonio F da Costa is overated and he blatantly says Carlos Sains Jr. is better than him to take the toro rosso seat at this moment, when there's general consensus that he needs one more year before being ready for F1.

[luispaulob]

I just said Carlos Sainz because he is also in the Red Bull academy, because that seems to be the only thing needed to be a Toro Rosso driver..

 

Because from that program, TODAY, there is no one capable of stepping up to F1..

 

Instead of taking a few words of mine to defend da Costa, why dont you argue by showing what he has done in his career to deserver a F1 seat?

 

If 5 victories in the WSR, a third place in GP3 and a victory in Macau is enough, so I should recheck my oppinion that F1 has the best singleseat drivers in the world.

[automovelbrilhante]

First time in a F1, in 2010.

http://www.autosport...rt.php/id/88327

 

Don't worry about him, he'll be more than OK next year in the Toro Rosso. He's an aggressive driver and a character. F1 needs guys like him, with a real passion for the sport. In time you'll learn to like him. I know many Brazilian folks will be pulling for him.

[gluon]

I must agree with automovelbrilhante when he says the OP has no doubts Da Costa is overrated and keeps throwing blatantly shaky arguments against him.

 

If you question Da Costa's worthiness of an F1 seat based on his racing pedigree and then point out a driver like Carlos Sainz Jr (with a clearly inferior pedigree) as more worthy then I'm afraid you're not making any sense. Seems like you either have something personal against him or whimsically want to see a driver of your liking getting the seat at Toro Rosso.

 

Either way, that doesn't seem like a very plausible reason to start a post IMHO. Therefore, unless I see some solid arguments from you I'll take the liberty of disregarding whatever you say next.

 

Moreover, it seems obvious to me - based on solid arguments from other posters - that there are good reasons to either consider Da Costa overrated or worthy of an F1 seat. The same can be said for other contenders, therefore he's at least someone to take into consideration by F1 bosses. Being already a Red Bull test driver arguably gives him a little edge over some of the other rookies regarding communication and procedures within an F1 environment.

[tormave]

And no, Im not trying to put da Costa down because of the Toro Rosso seat. I also know Nasr doesnt have a chance there cause he is not a Red Bull driver.. In my oppinion, Marko should choose Kvyat or even Sainz Jr, cause da Costa still needs some time to be ready for F1

 

Sainz hasn't really done anything extraordinary in GP3 this year and neither has Kvyat despite clearly having premier equipment. Bottas made the leap from GP3 to Williams, but he only landed a testing role in his first year. Da Costa had a rocky start to the season, but after this was consistently and clearly the fastest driver of his last GP3 season. I think he's still the only guy to have won both races in one weekend in GP3 history.

[Kyo]

AFdC, Sainz and Kvyat had pretty much the same results while progressing in the junior formulas, and between the drivers of the program anyone would give the STR seat to da Costa since he is the most experienced and they all showed similar level of talent.

 

1st year:

AFdC: 2nd in FR2.0 NEC

Sainz: 4th FBMW Euro

Kvyat: 10th FBMW Euro

 

2nd year:

AFdC: 3rd in FR2.0 Euro

Sainz: 2nd in FR2.0 Euro

Kvyat: 3rd in FR2.0 Euro

 

3rd year:

AFdC: 7th in F3 Euro

Sainz: 9th in F3 Euro

Kvyat: 2nd in FR2.0 Euro

 

4th year:

AFdC: 13th in GP3

Sainz: 9th* in GP3

Kvyat: 2nd* in GP3

 

*Championship not finished yet. 1 weekend (2 races) to go.

 

Obviously looking at stats alone is not perfect since many times they do not tell the hole story, but it is a good place to begin.

[Sanman59]

Over rated or not, he will be in the Toro Rosso next season!