996 replies to this topic

[Louis Mr. F1]

Is anyone excited about this young kid? anyone know how old is he now? i think he was the youngest person to drive an F1 car, wasn't he only 17 when he tested for Williams a couple years ago?

I was a big fan of his father Keke 20 years ago, now, I hope he'll be as good as his old man (or even better) and I've my sight set on his arrival in F1.

If he can get a F1 race seat next year, that would be fantastic. He is the next great FINN arriving on the F1 grid. (he's a Flying Finn with German support!!!)

am I the only one excited about him? what chance does he have for next year?

[jokuvaan]

He was youngest ever person to test F1. Because he was able to clock ok times after few laps, test raised concerns from some people that F1 car is too easy to drive.

He has test driver contract with Williams, but his lately GP2 speed has raised his stock value. So next season is open, but as his dad always say, there's pecking order in F1 when moves are made, starting from MS and ending to drivers like Nico. So at the moment Nico has to wait.

He most likely will be 3rd driver or race driver next year on Williams/BMW axle.

[John_T]

He will be 3rd driver for Williams or BMW. I doubt he will get a racing seat next year but hey anything can happen in F1.
He is very talented there is no doubt about it. If there is no racing seat for him at Williams or BMW, maybe they can loan him at Minardi for a year? Same thing for Kovalainen...its either 3rd driver at Renault or Flavio sends him to Minardi. (just like he did with Alonso)

I can't wait to see both Rosberg and Kovalainen in Formula 1.

[Marsh]

from what i can tell (and hope)... if Williams let BAR keep Jenson, they may take a risk with Rosberg to partner Webber.

OR, Flavio may let Fisichella leave Renault, replace him with Kovalainen, therefore Fisi maybe to Williams with Rosberg as 3rd driver.

Of course, this thinking relies on Button staying at BAR...

[Jackman]

Originally posted by Louis Mr. F1
He is the next great FINN arriving on the F1 grid. (he's a Flying Finn with German support!!!)

If this were true then surely he should be able to speak Finnish, rather than being interviewed by Heikki Kulta in English?

[SkorbiF1]

Originally posted by Jackman
If this were true then surely he should be able to speak Finnish, rather than being interviewed by Heikki Kulta in English?

roughly 5% of Finnish people (who actually live in Finland) can't speak finnish.

[Jackman]

Roughly 100% of people who don't live in Finland don't speak Finnish.

[SkorbiF1]

roughly 510 million people speak english, however most of them are not english.

language != nationality

[Oho]

Well, Nico is, despite switching over to German license a couple of years back, hell of a lot more Finn than his old man is a Swede.....

[speedy]

Originally posted by Jackman
If this were true then surely he should be able to speak Finnish, rather than being interviewed by Heikki Kulta in English?

I wonder what would you say about a person living in say Switzerland or Belgium - they speak more than one language in both countries and not everyone can master all the languages spoken in their respective homecountries. A Belgian speaking French is still a Belgian and Italian speaking Swiss is Swiss.

[Uwe]

Originally posted by Oho
Well, Nico is, despite switching over to German license a couple of years back, hell of a lot more Finn than his old man is a Swede.....

I always wondered what the reason was for his german nationality. At least he speaks german like a German - no foreign accent at all.

[Jackman]

And a German who speaks German is a German. Nico considers himself German, races as a German, and grew up in Germany.

[Oho]

Originally posted by Jackman
If this were true then surely he should be able to speak Finnish, rather than being interviewed by Heikki Kulta in English?

Perhaps you should approach his parents on that. Why they chose not to teach him Finnish? The language of course is of little practical value as Nico can interact with his Finnish relatives in English, but one would think he would have been thaght some of it for sentimental reasons, after all it his fathers native language.

[HSJ]

Originally posted by Oho
Well, Nico is, despite switching over to German license a couple of years back, hell of a lot more Finn than his old man is a Swede.....

Treu!

For me it is quite irrelevant whether Nico is considered a Finn or a German. I like him in any case. Both because he is Keke's son (Keke being my first F1 idol, and still a cool guy ) and for his speed on track.

[The Kanisteri]

Originally posted by Jackman
If this were true then surely he should be able to speak Finnish, rather than being interviewed by Heikki Kulta in English?

Language doesn't made him finnish. He got his nationality from father (FIN) AND mom (GER).

Keke felt Nico's ability to speak finnish is not necessary so he never teached Nico to speak finnish. I've remember reading Keke did so because bad experience about jealous and backstabbing finns and finnish press in 70's and 80's. It was his way to revenge 'us'.

I also remember Nico racing at smaller classes under finnish flag, but late few years with german one. Most likely doors got more open when driving german license.

[HSJ]

Originally posted by Jackman
Nico considers himself German

I think you should ask Nico about that. You might be surprised.

Anyway, is that you Todd? You sure like 'em Germans, just like Todd.

[Oho]

Originally posted by Jackman
And a German who speaks German is a German. Nico considers himself German, races as a German, and grew up in Germany.

How do you know what he considers himself? At least publically he alluded pragmatic rather than sentimental reasons behind switching over to German license, he even noted that he would rather have continued racing under Finnish license as his Father but the commercial advantages made German license a lot more tempting. Whether that's true or not is one thing.

Incidentally how long has he lived in Germany, I thought he was born in Monaco and spent his early years there and if I am not entirely mistaken he attended school in France rather than in Germany and so on. He really hardly is much more German than he is a Finn but he probably is more or less a cosmopolitan from birth.

[Jackman]

Originally posted by HSJ
I think you should ask Nico about that. You might be surprised.

Anyway, is that you Todd? You sure like 'em Germans, just like Todd.

I have - I think you'd be surprised.

And I didn't say anything about liking him or not - I'm just pointing out that, despite everyone in Finland claiming him as their own, he doesn't necessarily play that card unless it suits him to do so.

[Oho]

Originally posted by Uwe
I always wondered what the reason was for his german nationality. At least he speaks german like a German - no foreign accent at all.

His mother is native German.

[MajorTom]

It does not matter, where he lives, what language he speaks, under what flag he drives.
He's driving attitude comes from his Finnish father and he ll be loved in Finland and his fans ll be carrying Finnish flags to GPs.
If somebody want to see him as a German driver its really not a problem.

[Oho]

Originally posted by Jackman
I have - I think you'd be surprised.

And I didn't say anything about liking him or not - I'm just pointing out that, despite everyone in Finland claiming him as their own, he doesn't necessarily play that card unless it suits him to do so.

Indeed but then again that token is valid in both directions, maybe he plays the German card when he feels it suits him, maybe he does not identify with either nationality very strongly and can therefore cherry pick.. Well Finns claiming Nico has hell of lot more credentials than Swedes claiming Keke on account of his birth place...

[Jackman]

Originally posted by speedy
I wonder what would you say about a person living in say Switzerland or Belgium - they speak more than one language in both countries and not everyone can master all the languages spoken in their respective homecountries. A Belgian speaking French is still a Belgian and Italian speaking Swiss is Swiss.

Nico speaks six languages - none of them are Finnish. Seems a pretty glaring oversight for someone who is supposedly a Finn.

[MajorTom]

Jackman, why is this subject so important to you?
You dont want to see another "Finnish" driver in the F1?
And why is that?

[MajorTom]

Actually he is "world citizen" who ll gather a fan base from Finland and Germany because of his background.

So there ll be 3 very talented *Finnish* drivers in F1 in two years.

or

4 German

or

1 talented "world citizen".

Take your pick and enjoy the race!

[Jackman]

I've got one constructive comment to make - I think Nico is astonishly fast, and he's quite a fun guy. I admit that I thought he was going to be pretty rubbish this year - his record didn't really show much in the way of speed - but I have certainly reappraised that idea since the beginning of the year. He's showing that he is a good driver on track in GP2.

[V10 Fireworks]

Well Rosberg is there and quick, but if you ignore the name...

Kovalinen, or at least a handful of others are ahead/equal in the queue... So we must ignore the name!

[Chubby_Deuce]

Really? Heikki hasn't impressed at all in the second half of the season..

[Ross Stonefeld]

The funny thing is the German fans dont really seem to consider Nico one of their own.

[Henrik B]

Originally posted by Chubby_Deuce
Really? Heikki hasn't impressed at all in the second half of the season..

For a one-make series the cars seems to be mightily uneven (and there SHOULD be some difference between teams). Lapierre does not seem much closer to Heikki now, and ART has been very much the car to have - but I don't get to see the races here in Sweden so feel free to correct me.

[Visionz]

Nico is half Finnish and half German - end of discussion.
Both the German and the Finnish people can cheer for him, isnt that nice?

And he would be driving with a Finnish licence if it wouldnt matter commercial wise, but who cares.

[BRG]

Originally posted by Chubby_Deuce
Really? Heikki hasn't impressed at all in the second half of the season..

Surely you're not suggesting that he is showing any Lack of Pace? That would be anathema and you would be cast into the outer darkness.

Nico Rosberg - whatever his ethnicity, his chosen or actual nationality or his mother tongue, and irrespective of his Legacy Driver status - has been the revelation of the GP2 season. Whereas fellow Legatee Piquet jr's has showed up rather badly and may have done terminal damage to his reputation by his inconsistent driving.

[Chubby_Deuce]

Ooops. Forgot he was a Finn. Sorry guys!

[Oho]

Originally posted by Chubby_Deuce
Ooops. Forgot he was a Finn. Sorry guys!

I thought Nicola Lapierre, (I apologize for butchering his name) was French, oh well, you learn something every day.

[Jackman]

Originally posted by Henrik Brodin
Lapierre does not seem much closer to Heikki now...

I think there are a couple of ways of looking at that - Lapierre has certainly improved over the season, but he's got a hell of a benchmark with Kovalainen in the other car. Nicolas was certainly faster than Heikki in Hockenheim, and possibly in Magny Cours as well, but not so much in Istanbul.

Experience tells, and there's no question that Kovalainen is very much the lead driver of the two - in a way Lapierre has had the standard Arden first year - couple of podiums and gain a lot of experience, and take over the lead role in his second year with the team.

[Dudley]

He's the only one in GP2 that's really impressed me. I expected him to be on Piquet's level but he's won that battle convincingly.

(To clairfy, Speed and Heikki amoungst others have been impressive too but only to the extent I expected)

[N3NP]

Comparing Rosberg with Piquet can only be done with similar material,
track experience and in the same team.

( Hitech ) Piquet Sports is a brand new team, with none or little track experience
( Sudam/ UK ) and with zero F3000 experience.
Their car and data experience isn't simply as good as Art or Arden.

They have had a lot of engine, mechanical and electronics trouble so far,
for example Negrao stalling two times at pole on Sunday,
Nelsinho stalling on the front row of Silverstone, just to name a few.

Very recently the split between Hitech and Piquet Sports has been announced,
David Hayle of Hitech has left the team, Piquet Sports was/is of course not satisfied
with the pace of their car compared with other teams, a Formula One experienced
team manager has replaced Hayle ( Harris ).

I am convinced that Nelsinho Piquet is an outstanding talented racing driver,
more talented than Rosberg, every time outside GP2 they have raced each other,
Nelsinho did beat Nico.

They have both tested for BMW-Williams, they both have a bright future
in motor racing ahead of them.

I can only hope for both Nelsinho and Nico that in 2007 they will be racing
in Formula One, perhaps for the same team, so we can really compare them
with eachother.

[Ross Stonefeld]

ART is a brand new team too, what past-experience there is via ASM, is only F3.

[N3NP]

" ART is a brand new team too, what past-experience there is via ASM, is only F3 "

How about track experience ( team and driver ), data advantage
reliability and development of speed during the season.

Another point is the speed from Art compared to other teams,
after testing in Paul Ricard in June 2005 they have become faster than any other
GP2 team, and to be more precise the progress of becoming faster than any other team
is remarkable.

They have already been found illegal on one occasion, and therefore
ART had to start at the back of the grid with both cars in Hungary,
they can use a windtunnel ( Jean Todt ) etc, etc etc.

My intention is to point at the difference between the teams in Gp2,
when you compare these and other subjects.

So, fact remains you can only compare drivers in similar conditions,
with similar (track)experience, is for example Schumacher not a good driver, or is his team
( tyres ? ) not so fast as other teams this year ?

[Ivan]

After watching Nico in the wet, I have become a fan.

[jondon]

How can he be Finnish? There isn`t even one letter K in his name!!!!!
Seriously, though, what matter if he is even from Mars, if he is as good a driver as he has proven to be so far he will get the race seat/win(s)/championship(s) through ability rather than his nationality!

[ivanalesi]

I think we have discussed about his nationality in another thread and he has something finnish for sure.
Anyway, if I have to choose between Heikki and Nico - I choose Nico, he has less experience and is doing good job... But out of all GP2 drivers probably Speed is the hottest, I was soooo impressed with his times, shame he hasnt such a good car, but he's damn consistent. Nelsihno was so fast in F3 and now he's sometimes super quick and sometimes average, also Carroll is good, always the underfunded but they lost momentum with his chassis.
Btw, are you sure that ART's advantage is only down to aero testing?

[V10 Fireworks]

If the various "big name young driver" supporter groups are indeed bi-partisan, why don't we support Lapierre for F1 drive instead to be unbiased?

I mean Massa & Klien were so much more ordinary (i.e. their junior series win & 2nd place were in majorly second-rate series compared to Gp2) yet we consider them "competant" F1 driver now! It's amazing really the improvement that a bundle of F1 miles makes! Lapierre for 2009 WDC Why not it's quite plausible.

[lustigson]

Originally posted by The Kanisteri
He got his nationality from father (FIN) AND mom (GER).

Interesting to see that both Rosberg junior and Piquet junior have two passports. Nelsinho's mother is Dutch.

[metz]

Originally posted by Visionz
Nico is half Finnish and half German - end of discussion.
Both the German and the Finnish people can cheer for him, isnt that nice?

And he would be driving with a Finnish licence if it wouldnt matter commercial wise, but who cares.

Agree

It will not matter until he wins his first F1 race and they play his national anthem.
Which will be..
What do they play for world citizens?

[Oachkatzlschwoaf]

Originally posted by V10 Fireworks
If the various "big name young driver" supporter groups are indeed bi-partisan, why don't we support Lapierre for F1 drive instead to be unbiased?

I mean Massa & Klien were so much more ordinary (i.e. their junior series win & 2nd place were in majorly second-rate series compared to Gp2) yet we consider them "competant" F1 driver now! It's amazing really the improvement that a bundle of F1 miles makes! Lapierre for 2009 WDC Why not it's quite plausible.

it's called experience !;)
that said, klien beat like half of the current gp2 field in the f3 euro series or at the marlboro masters, back then f3000 was second rate
lapierre is ok, but what about carroll, not ordinary enough ?

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by lustigson

Interesting to see that both Rosberg junior and Piquet junior have two passports. Nelsinho's mother is Dutch.

It's kinda funny how Dutch commentators always tell us that it's a "half-Dutch win" or a "half-Dutch podium spot" when Nelsinho succeeds, but I've never heard them spreak about his 'Dutchness' when he makes a mistake or two ;)

[squidbreath]

I rate Nico as the best gp2 guy: he's fast, aggressive and a good passer.
I put Heikki and Adam Carroll a notch lower. I can't think of anything wrong with Heikki it's just that I think Rosberg is better. Carroll has had many great drives this year. Is he as good as Heikki? I think I'm downgrading Heiki a bit because some of his Saturday wins I put down to his strategy of pitting earliest. Rosberg and Carroll won by grabbing the race by the scruff of the neck.

[squidbreath]

Originally posted by SkorbiF1

roughly 5% of Finnish people (who actually live in Finland) can't speak finnish.

I don't speak Finnish either. But I went to Germany a couple of times. So Nico must be German.

[squidbreath]

Since we can't decide whether he is Finnish or German let's call him Lithuanian. That is about half way between the two.

[scheivlak]

Originally posted by squidbreath
Since we can't decide whether he is Finnish or German let's call him Lithuanian. That is about half way between the two.

Think you need a geography lesson or two....