Comments on: Why Sato deserves to stay in F1 more than Davidson does

By: End-of-season driver rankings: #22-12 « vee8 - a Formula 1 blog

End-of-season driver rankings: #22-12 « vee8 - a Formula 1 blog — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 21:47:11 +0000

[...] Like Davidson, Takuma Sato had little opportunity to show what he is made of this season. However, I place him above the Brit because I maintain that Sato is a better driver than Davidson, a subject I covered in this post. [...]

By: doctorvee

doctorvee — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:26:09 +0000

Neil, I know. I deliberately hunted down a video of the Japanese coverage because it’s so awesome. I love the enthusiasm of the commentators as well. Even though I can hardly understand a word they are saying, it is clear that they are very excited. And I love the fact that they fall into stunned silence as the reality of what they have just seen sinks in.

By: Neil

Neil — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:44:06 +0000

I don’t really mid who gets the seat, but that Japanese coverage is awesome!

The beat em up style graphics were the icing on the cake. Wow, can we have this instead of James Allen, please?

By: F1Wolf

F1Wolf — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:58:30 +0000

oh, I forgot to mention Davidson … If there was more room on the grid he should be there. But with the number of seats so limited these days and with no support behing him I can’t see how can he get himself a drive …

As an Englishman – no offence, but even Button has been forgotten after Hamilton’s arrival – no marketing value there

As a driver – good, but how would any team benefit more from hiring him than hiring Sato or Buemi or Senna to name the few ? He is sort of anonymous driver like Nick Heidfeld. If Nick losses his seat with BMW, his F1 career would likely be over (not unlike Ralf’s to continue with the comparisons).

Marketing value to the team – Sato’s value I tried to analyze in my blog post, Senna has the name (and backers), Buemi has the Red Bull backing and seems to be Berger’s darling. What can Davidson offer ? How would for example Toro Rosso benefit from replacing Bourdais (the only Frenchman on the grid, France being the one major European market where Red Bull needs some push) with Davidson).

By: F1Wolf

F1Wolf — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:46:37 +0000

Anyone remembers Spa 2005 and the knock on the helmet Sato received from Schumi

Joking aside, I do hope we will get to see Sato again in F1. He had his mad moments like the above mentioned Spa 2005 or the spin and crash early on this season while the only thing Aguri Suzuki asked from his drivers was not to damage the cars … But he is one of the drivers who are not afraid to take chances and pull some outrageous maneuvres – and that is what I miss in F1 these days. The new aero rules and slick tyres combined with Sato’s “madness” may be the right cocktail for us, action thirsty F1 fans

By: Pink Peril

Pink Peril — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:11:26 +0000

Davidson is a bit, well, anonymous. There, but not really there if you know what I mean.

Whereas Sato has flair and exuberance, and a real track presence.

I think he has settled down a lot since his kamikaze first days, and I’d really like to see him back in F1. Plus he’s just got such a cheeky grin !

By: Steven Roy

Steven Roy — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:02:40 +0000

Like you I don’t get what people see in Davidson. It was the same in the junior formulae. I never looked at him and thought he was anything special. As Eddie Irvine said of Daamon Hill my enthusiasm for his talent is well under control.

I don’t think Sato is anything special either. He has a certain level of ability but beyond his ability to pull in sponsors I can’t imagine why anyone would sign him. My guess is Berger is looking for Honda to get involved as a replacement for Red Bull.