Robert Wickens clinched the Formula Renault 3.5 (World Series by Renault) title this weekend in Barcelona.
The last race was quite dramatic as both Wickens and Red Bull Junior Jean-Eric Vergne could win it.
(watch the onboards for a little surprise as well)
Happy he won the title! I'm hoping he'll be in F1 next year.
Originally Posted by Bezzen
Robert Wickens is probably the most accomplished Canadian junior series driver in a long long time. I'm glad he has finally won a series because he's played best man many times in his career. Some people question the strength of today's European ladder series but personally I felt that Formula Renault might have had a stronger field then even GP2.
Not to take the spotlight from Carlin and Robert Wickens but Alex Rossi of the United States also finished 3rd which was largely due to a good run at the end of the season. Rossi was basically the best of the rest because it seemed the Carlin cars had the upper hand all year. Hopefully we'll find both of them in F1 soon but probably Wickens sooner then Rossi.
"The only good horsepower is usable horsepower.."
I think Rossi might end up at Catherham Air Asia Team Lotus as a test driver next year, and hopefully a full time ride in 2014. Fernandez might be interested in expanding his Catherham brand to the US, so Rossi might be a good fit for that.
Those were some nervous laps after Wickens crashed out. I was hoping he'd win, but Vergne was still out there. Didn't cheer when Vergne crashed out though, he would've been just as much a deserving champion as Wickens.
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Great to see Wickens do so well, especially after being dropped from Red Bull's cut-throat junior driver development programme. It's especially pleasing when you consider the guy he beat is considered Red Bull's next big thing. I hope it proves to be a real turning point in Wickens' career.
I hope so too, but with these modern day cars, it's hard for young drivers to show their potential. Wickens has Marussia support, so he will probably be with Virgin for 1 year or 2.
There's many talented drivers on the sidelines (Hulkenberg, Grosjean) waiting for seats to open, so it's going to be tough. At least he will get a test with Renault by winning the championship, so hopefully he will be able to show some speed there, even if Renault is full for the next few years.
Good points. I hope Hulk does get another shot at a seat since I do rank him as one of the best drivers to come out of the junior series in a while. I know some might say I'm premature when I say this but I think Hulk has the ability to be a great driver if given a chance.
That should draw the attention of many F1 teams, because many of them were/are very high on Vergne, saying he could be the best find since Vettel.
Hopefully one day we see a US F1 team of Alex Rossi and Conor Daly!
A) while Vergne is no slouch, no.
B) No. I'd rather see them get to F1 on their own merit than be given a seat just because they're American.
'
Well its seems like STR is using Vergne as their test driver for a few weeks. If Vergne does go to F1 it'll be interesting who gets the boot - Jamie or Sebastian.
http://formula-one.speedtv.com/artic...rean-practice/
Probably Buemi, been there the longest and Jamie is a DJ outside of F1, which is good marketing for Red Bull.
I think STR got a new big Spanish sponsor not so long ago which also might help the decision making process.
Red Bull will have little to do with The Team Currently Known as Toro Rosso next year, so what will it matter, anyway. Besides, that team has Spanish and Middle Eastern backing in it for next year, so neither one of them will be leaving. Vergne will probably drive in GP2 next year.
Awesome. Got to meet him when A1GP raced here. Fast driver with talent to burn.
2003 IRL Champion
2008 IRL Champion
2008 Indianapolis 500 Champion
24 Wins
70 Top Fives
98 Top Tens
17 Poles
Wrong post
Robert Wickens might be heading for Mercedes in the DTM together with 2011 F3 Euroseries champion Roberto Merhi. I don't think that would be a bad gig as Mercedes doesn't seem to think that DTM to F1 is an unlikely route.
Wickens and Merhi likely for remaining Mercedes seats
I thought Wickens was Marussia's test driver.
I hope Wickens isn't stuck in DTM like Paul Di Resta was for so many years.
Since testing is very limited in F1, I'm pretty sure it'll be no problem for him. I don't think he was scheduled to do Friday running on GPs, was he?I thought Wickens was Marussia's test driver.
I hope Wickens isn't stuck in DTM like Paul Di Resta was for so many years.
Anyway I'm sure DTM is the best choice for him. There are no more seats in both F1 and IndyCar. GP2 costs fortunes(around $2 millions a season), most of the good seats are taken. The car is so tough you need tons of experience to fully understand it, which rules out a title in your first season(see how much the 2010 WSR champ Aleshin struggled in 2011 GP2). And even a title doesn't garantee you a F1 race seat(see Pantano) - surely even more nowadays than before, since most of the bright talents migrated to the (much cheaper) WSR.
At least in DTM he'll be paid to drive. Plus, it doesn't necessary mean the end of your F1 chances. Sure, it took a while for Di Resta, but he eventaully ended up in a cool F1 race seat, didn't he?
Hi,
I'm pretty sure people making the choices in F1 understand circumstance. I think both Rossi and Whickens have an advantage of being competitive drivers in in all series. Google, RIM or apple just need to get involved.
I think one of the reasons they kept Di Resta for so long in DTM was that he came straight from Formula 3. If he had a year or two in GP2 before moving to DTM I think they would have moved him along quicker.I thought Wickens was Marussia's test driver.
I hope Wickens isn't stuck in DTM like Paul Di Resta was for so many years.
No announcement yet has me a little worried. Anybody heard anything?
Still nothing, but Mercedes has only announced something like 2 drivers so far, while they have 7 or 8 seats in total... Let's just wait and see IMO.
Wickens has been confirmed by Mercedes: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/98556
Good for Wickens getting a factory sponsored ride in DTM but unfortunately I bet you wishes he was at least a test driver in F1 instead. Hopefully Wickens is either going to be like fellow Canadian Bruno Spengler who has had a healthy DTM career despite not winning the champions outright itself or he's going to be like Paul Di Resta who won the DTM title and went on to F1. I hope him good luck.
IMO being a test driver in F1 is a waste of money, because of the strict testing regulations. Unless maybe you get to drive on Fridays, and you feel there might be an opportunity for a race seat for the following year(ie Bottas at Williams).
At the moment DTM is a pretty cool place to be for a young gun like Robert, as you said you can make a good living out of it if you get decent results, and it doesn't necessary means the end of your single seaters dreams.
That is Mercedes way of keeping drivers in the fold that they like. What better could happen? A factory drive for any of the German manufactures is one of the best things that could ever happen. And it usuallly leads to a long term relationship doing many different jobs with the manufacture.
Yep. Still leads into more opportunities if DTM doesn't go well. A bit like Maro Engel leaving DTM but staying with Mercedes in GTs.
In my opinion being a test driver in F1 means being connected to a team, familiarizing yourself with the team, and of course get some experience with the cars. If you looked in the past some test drivers had their shot in F1 and that began as a test driver even with minimal testing. I think Robert has proved enough in the various junior series to prove his worth. Then again....I guess you have to offered a test driver job before you can accept it huh? :P
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