Davidson Reckons He Has A Shot At Ferrari Seat

Okay, so in my daily wade through the news and rumours I came across this fantastic interview with Anthony Davidson, who must work as a jester in his spare time.

Davidson, speaking to well known British broadsheet newspaper The Daily Telegraph says he is going to put himself forward for a shot at the Ferrari drive after Luca Badoer’s poor performance last weekend.

Badoer was nowhere near as good as expected and rumours have started about his replacement, including Nelson Piquet Jr, Marc Gene and seemingly now Davidson.

“I will be speaking to Ferrari personally this week to put my name forward,” said the 30-year-old Briton, who was BAR/Honda’s long time test driver and raced for Super Aguri as recently as last year.

“Luca was not anywhere near scoring points and that car is capable of doing that,” Davidson is quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph newspaper.

“I’m ready and I think I’m better. That’s not being arrogant. It’s just what I believe. I’ve got the necessary experience that I’ll get my chance in Formula One – so why not at Ferrari?”

Im sorry, but I find this rather funny.  Davidson mate, you’ve got about as much chance as me at getting the drive.  If he gets it, I will be the first to congratulate him but honestly, I think I just saw a pig fly past the window, or maybe just Yuji Ide hitting Christijan Albers…

Ed note: I find it humourous to thought that Davidson reckons he has a chance, only because of Ferrari’s general “internal” driver policy.  If Badoer is dropped, and Schumacher cannot race then the drive will almost certainly go to Marc Gene, or one of those Italian F3 drivers who tested last year.  I am not disputing Davidson’s driving ability, but he has the same traits and credentials as Badoer – great tester, no F1 points…  Thus, I can’t see it happening. In truth, I can’t see Nelson Piquet heading to Ferrari either but his name has been banded around the grapevines.  Davidson’s not a bad driver, in F1 and sportscars but he just isn’t Ferrari potential in my opinion.

Honda Stopped Super Aguri Being Sold On

the PKF Insolvency company have revealed that the Honda Motor Company stopped them selling the Super Aguri Formula One Team as a going concern as they looked to re-coup their losses immediately.

Super Aguri was formed in 2006 by Aguri Suzuki, and had a lot of backing from Honda.  Despite good results in the 2007 season, during 2008 the Leafield based team went into administration and PKF were called in.

They formed a model which showed the sale, and indeed had someone ready to purchase.  Smaller level investors of the team were happy to see the sale go through, but Honda, who were thought to have many millions invested said no.

PKF are now looking to recoup losses of $400,000 in fees, which Honda refuse to pay.

“Any insolvency practitioner will say that (administration) was the only route for Super Aguri as there were buyers for it,” said PKF partner Philip Long.

“Honda didn’t want Super Aguri exposed to the marketplace,” he added. “Smaller unsecured creditors voted for our proposals and fees”

Wurz Claims He Is Brawn 3rd Driver NOT Davidson

Alexander Wurz, the well spoken Austrian driver, has told German motorsport presses that he is indeed the 3rd driver (i.e. backup) for the Brawn GP team continuing his role from Honda.

Wurz has been the subject of some rumour with newspapers and magazines claiming that Super Aguri refugee, and former Honda test driver Anthony Davidson was racing for the team, and would deputise.

Davidson has been seen at both races so far, but claims it is only within his role as a commentator for BBC 5Live radio.

Wurz is sure his position is stll valid.

“I am the third driver.” He told Sport Bild “If one of the drivers cannot for any reason drive, I will substitute him,”

“In addition I am a sort of connection between the drivers and the team,” said Wurz.

Davidson Wants Friday Testers Return

Anthony Davidson has told Autosport that he wants to see the return of Friday test drivers to Formula One in the wake of in-season testing bans.

The British driver shot to the forefront of people’s attentions performing very well in the Friday practice sessions.  These sessions also brought us great drivers including Sebastian Vettel.

The scheme was introduced in 2003 to allow teams who opted for less in-season test opportunities to test at a circuit in a private Friday morning session outside of the normal practices.  Renault were one of the big teams to “opt-in” and with Allan McNish driving these for them, good results followed.

In 2004 the scheme was adopted allowing all teams who finished outside the top 4 in the constructors title to have a 3rd car in Friday practice.  This continued until the end of 2006.

“Speaking from experience, it did myself, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel no end of good,” said Davidson

“It put us on the map, it got us into Formula One. Running cars on the Friday, in my mind, was great for the fans that were there anyway, the cars were there anyway, the staff were there to run the cars, and the drivers are there.

“So it made perfect sense, and it still makes perfect sense to run those drivers on the Fridays to give you the experience of learning the circuit. Then you become a more valuable commodity to the teams themselves in that given the chance, you can just then step in on the Saturday and qualify or do the last practice session with the experience of having driven on the Friday.”

“With them trying to limit testing, which they are going to do this season, I think it makes even more sense to run cars on the Friday for the young drivers and give the teams a chance to see what the young drivers can do,” he added.

I reckon allowing ALL teams a 3rd car on Friday’s for the 2 practice sessions now that testing has been banned would be a fantastic idea.

Anthony Davidson at Monaco 2004

Buemi In Frame For Toro Rosso 2009 Seat

Sebastien Buemi is in the running for a seat at Scuderia Toro Rosso for 2009, team owner Gerhard Berger said at last weekend’s European Grand Prix.

Buemi, a GP2 race winner, is part of the Red Bull junior driver programme and is quite a talent in his current field, a risk taking on such a youngster but Berger reckons it is an educated risk.

He will get a test at Jerez next month.

“We are going to test him at Jerez,” Berger informed Autosport

“It is an evaluation for next year.”

“The ideal situation would be a young driver and an experienced one,” explained Berger. “We are putting everyone on the list who is free, but there is no clear opinion at this stage. We will take our time.”

Bruno Senna, another GP2 talent and Anthony Davidson along with Takuma Sato have been touted for seats at the team, but it is as yet unknown if current driver Sebastien Bourdais has done enough to secure a seat for 2009.

Davidson Rips Massa Apart Claiming ‘He’s Useless’

Anthony Davidson has not held back in his criticism of Ferrari driver Felipe Massa for his performance at the British Grand Prix, moreover his blatent disregard for Blue flags.

The former Super Aguri driver understands these blue flags well from spending a lot of time at the back, and since the team went bankrupt he has been an occassional pundit.

He told the Daily Record that Massa’s driving with the Blue flags was a disgrace, and that he is normally the one complaining about drivers not getting out of the way but this time he just wouldn’t budge for some drivers.

Massa was lapped 2 times by race winner Lewis Hamilton, a highly embarrassing feat. Matching that to more spins than most, once again the critics return to saying he isn’t good enough.

“He’s always the first to stand up in a drivers’ meeting and complain about what people like me are doing when we get lapped,” Davidson quoted as having said by the Daily Record.

“That’s what you get, mate – there’s a bit of blue flag action for you.

“You’re rubbish. You are useless at it.”

Badoer Fastest On Day 1 Barcelona Testing

Luca Badoer put Ferrari back in a commanding position in the first day of testing at Barcelona this week.

The test driver set a fastest time of

This was enough to push maiden GP winner in Canada Robert Kubica down into 2nd position on the sheets.

Coulthard and Buemi, who were sharing the same car for Red Bull were 3rd and 4th.

Gary Paffett joined the barrage of test drivers at the event coming 5th, just ahead of Anthony Davidson who returns to F1 as Honda’s test driver.

Nico Hulkenberg was 7th in the Williams completing 112 laps, the most of anyone; with Romain Grosjean, who had problems with his engine in 8th.

“It was a great day and I’m grateful for this opportunity to test the R28 and work with the team,” Grosjean commented.

Kamui Kobayashi was last for Toyota.

Time-Sheet:

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	L. Badoer	Ferrari	1.22.412	82
2	R. Kubica	BMW Sauber	1.22.682	69
3	D. Coulthard	Red Bull	1.22.724	21
4	S. Buemi	Red Bull	1.22.764	79
5	G. Paffett	McLaren	1.22.938	36
6	A. Davidson	Honda	1.23.208	81
7	N. Hulkenberg	Williams	1.23.619	112
8	R. Grosjean	Renault	1.23.899	60
9	K. Kobayashi	Toyota	1.24.442	84

 

Davidson Confident Within Ability

Anthony Davidson has admitted that depite the Super Aguri F1 Team going bankrupt underneath him, he is fully confident within his ability as a driver, and sees no issues in getting another race drive.

The British driver has been with Aguri since the start of 2007, after many successful seasons as a test driver to BAR then Honda, becoming one of the best “Friday Testers” ever.

Davidson also claimed that at the start of the season he had offers to race with other teams, but declined to stick with Aguri.

“I think I did myself proud,” he told Autosport.

“I really showed what I could do. In the two races I finished I beat my team-mate and I set the 14th fastest lap in Bahrain. That’s pretty incredible given the car we had.

“I definitely feel I’ve done enough to show people that I’m quick, can race, give excellent feedback, always do a solid and professional job, and when it’s under my control, bring the car home.

“I remain confident of my ability. If I could still put in good performances amid all this year’s pressure and uncertainty, just imagine what I could do with a good car and a stable team. F1 is definitely unfinished business for me.”

Super Aguri Withdraw From Formula One

Super Aguri F1 Team have officially withdrawn from Formula One after a series of financial problems and failed attempts to save the team.

The team, which joined F1 in 2006 have withdrawn with immediate effect.

Magma Group looked set to help the ailing team, who were lacking finances after the 2007 title sponsor did not pay their advertising fees.  Their attempt fell through at the last hurdle, and after Honda claimed they could not support two teams, Weigl Group tried to buy Aguri but it was not a good enough offer.

Official Statement From Aguri Suzuki himself:

“In order to realise my dream to become an owner of a Formula One team, I applied for a grid position in the FIA Formula One World Championship in November 2005,” 

“Since then, I have participated in the championship for two years and four months as the Super Aguri F1 Team, but regretfully I must inform you that the team will cease their racing activities as of today.”

“The team competed against the many car manufacturer-backed teams and have succeeded in obtaining the first points after only the 22nd race finishing in ninth place overall in the 2007 constructors’ championship.

“However, the breach of contract by the promised partner SS United Oil & Gas Company resulted in the loss of financial backing and immediately put the team into financial difficulties. Also, the change in direction of the environment surrounding the team, in terms of the use of customer chassis, has affected our ability to find partners.

“Meanwhile, with the help of Honda, we have somehow managed to keep the team going, but we find it difficult to establish a way to continue the activities in the future within the environment surrounding F1 and as a result, I have concluded to withdraw from the championship.

“I would like to express my deepest thanks to Honda, Bridgestone, the sponsors, all the people who have given us advise during various situations over the past couple of years all the Team Staff who have kept their motivations high and always done their best, Anthony Davidson who has always pushed to the limit despite the very difficult conditions, Takuma Sato who has been with us from the very start and has always fought hard and led the team and lastly our fans from all over the world who have loyally supported the Super Aguri F1 Team.”

Honda’s Statement read:

“Honda has continued to support the team as much as possible but Aguri Suzuki, Team Principal has come to Honda and expressed his decision to withdraw from Formula One as he is not capable of establishing a foundation for independent operation of the team,”

“The Super Aguri F1 Team’s withdrawal is indeed very disappointing for us but we understand that it was inevitable unless the team could find a way to stand alone by itself in the future.

“We would like to express our thankfulness to the Super Aguri F1 Team and all the fans who have supported them for sharing the dreams and fighting together with Honda.”

What a terrible shame to see another team leave.  Only last week, i commented to a friend that i felt Aguri had become like Prost, a former racer who looked to be on the right track losing out because of a lack of sponsorship.  The biggest question now is, who is going to fill the extra place?  Prodrive didn’t start, so F1 has 2 empty spots.

Look Out for a special article on SUPER AGURI – coming soon!

Weigl Make Last Minute Aguri Offer

Weigl have made a last minute offer of £6.5million to save the Super Aguri team, bankrolling them until the end of the season.

The cash strapped minnows are heavily supported by Honda, and it looked like the fate of Aguri was in the hands of Japanese bosses.

There will be a meeting tomorrow, and it is likely that Weigl’s offer will be considered, and at this time it is suspected it will be accepted.

Dubai International Capital’s offer through Magma Group fell through, and Aguri have been in dismay ever since.

“It’s very important in the next week,” Aguri Suzuki said in the paddock of Barcelona last weekend.

“I have a meeting with Honda next Wednesday and it’s a key point to the future of our team.

“Now, we don’t have any development of the car and this is very serious. Anyway, we try to find some solutions to help us continue.”