Post by Senninha on Jun 5, 2003 11:18:39 GMT -5
pabs said:
Senn, I had a question. What do you mean when you say certain drivers drive like FFordsters? I've never actually followed FFord (and even if I wanted I couldn't) so I don't know what the difference would be in driving style.
Ok, sorry, I'll try and explain.
FFords most obvious difference with other single seater motorsport categories is the lack of wings:
Note on this pic of Courtney (circa 2000 - van diemen website does not have any more up to date stuff so I apologise - I'm trying to do this without much searching!) - he's had to have some touch ups on end the nose cone - this is a common sight in national FFord.
For comparison (as this is where the main point about FFordsters and Renault driving styles differ), a 2000-spec national Formula Renault (sorry, Manor's pics aren't as high res):
Ok, that's the basic stuff. What this means is that, I can't find a comparable pic for FR to this one, simply because it doesn't really happen like that!:
Or things like this don't happen (sorry, I couldn't resist the temptation to put one of my favourite pictures ever in!!)
The gist being this. In FFord the drivers usually are more agressive. The cars are closer, more competitive, and it gives the young stars of the future the opporunity to hone their pure racing skills in a way that they don't usually acheive in FR. i.e. The drivers who make it to F1 via FR, tend to be less agressive in battle, more smooth, and tend to have dominated FR when they raced there. FFordsters on the other hand, tend to be better in the heat of battle, and tend to be less prone to 'giving up' in a race and settling for second, for example, because in FF if you start to do that, the whole pack will eat you alive and you'll finish 10th.
Example of the difference: Kimi Raikkonen did 2 races(well one was the festival so consisted of three separate races - heat, semi and final) in FF in 1999. He switched back to FR (which he's previously raced) the following year, because he said he didn't like FF. In FF his result in his first FF race (after 4 races in Renaults) was about eighth (I remember it was inside the top 10, which doesn't necessarily look good on paper but was mighty impressive!) but yet his first result in FR (first car race) was 3rd. Different circuits, yes, but very comparable in pure results - i.e. a third in Renault is probably equivalent to an 8th in FF (at least under his circumstances).
So Kimi went to renault and dominated - had he raced in FF for one of the top teams, he may have won the championship, but it wouldn't have been as easy (in 2000 there was a 4 way fight for the title - Courtney, Davidson, Taylor, Dahlgren), also it seems much more difficult to win in FF in your debut season than in Renault because it is much more difficult.
what I'm trying to say is, a) I tend to have more respect for the abilities of drivers who've raced in FF - if you can achieve success there, then you've learnt as much as you probably need to know - and should be able to handle almost anything! and b) Because they aren't used to just racing in front, they learn more skills in racecraft.
This is most evident in F3 - where you can often pick out who's raced what previously. In saying that there's a fine line - JPM kind of drives like a FFordster, but is less controlled than the really successful FFordsters (e.g. Anthony Davidson), but then JPM never did FF - he did Vauxhall (which had similarities - probably half way between FR and FF). Kimi drives like a FFordster sometimes, but only occassionally, and has a tendancy to drive FR style and look at the bigger picture (FFordster more race by race basis). Jenson Button on the other hand is a pure FFordster. Put a whiff of another car in front of him and he'll start attacking like crazy, but at the same time, will (usually) be in perfect control, and still manage to look smooth, not looking that ragged at all.
Anyway, that's how I see it. It's not an exact science, and I'm by no means correct, but when I say Kiesa drives like a true FFordster, I mean he doesn't give up, will always have a go, but at the same time be reasonably methodical with it (JPM doesn't always seem to have this bit) and usually comes out on top.
I see it as much of a mentality as a driving style, because some people are born to drive FR style, some aren't - and you can never get rid of the true natural style, but it's what you learn.