Which past F1 driver do you think should have been given more chances to prove himself?

Question

Something rosbif wrote about Corrado Fabi last week got me thinking about drivers who didn't get a fair go in F1.

Right, a lot of people don't have the same idea of "a fair go" as I do...

If you had the best car at any time, you had a fair go...so no Moss, Barrichello or Irvine! Also, I think Coulthard is a very good driver, but with 220-odd GPs, I think he's had a fair chance, as did Brundle with his 150-something starts. Chances don't come any fairer than Hamilton's either.
Sato, Karthikeyan...ok, I can make a case for them. Salo and Firman are both good answers - they were the kinds of people I was thinking of when I asked the question.
BTW what were you thinking haggismoffat? Peterson had some very good cars during his career, he should have won the title at least once and he finished second in the championship twice...he should have made more of the chances he was given in my opinion.
Frentzen comes in the Peterson category, he should have done better with what he was given.

Answer 1

Poor Tarso Marques of Minardi.

In 2001 he finished 9th once, which is better than the current WDC's best in that season. Underfunded Tarso was taken on the condition that he will be replaced instantly if someone with more financial backing (not driving skills) signs up. (This happend as Alex Yoong showed up, taking the last three rides of the 2001 season). That was not fair go IMO, or rather a cruel sign up. Imagine driving with the thought that the next rich boy walking through the door means you are fired.

Answer 2

Great question and some very good answers so far. Personally I think that Eddie Irvine should have landed a top drive after finishing second in the World Championship behind Mika Häkkinen in 1999, proving that he was champion material. Heniz-Harald Frentzen was overshadowed by Jacques Villeneuve during his time at Williams, but was still a fantastic driver who was well capable of winning races - it's a terrible pity that the Jordan wasn't as competitive a car as he deserved during his last F1 years. But if I had to pick one driver, I'd say Mika Salo. When Michael Schumacher broke his leg at Silverstone in 1999, Ferrari recognised Salo's talent and hired him as a temporary replacement. He drove surprisingly well for someone who had little to no experience driving the F399, and should have been able to secure a drive with a more competitive team than Sauber the following year.

Hope this answers your question!

Answer 3

Martin Brundle, he won the world sports car championship in the late 1980's, he should have been in a decent car in F1, same goes for Johnny Herbert!!

Heinz Harald Frentzen, had the best car on the grid in 97 and did nothing with it, Jarno trulli i think is one of the current crop of drivers who should've done better than he has, and Ralf Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella, Rubens Barrichello should've been F1 WC by now and DC (anyone remember the brit GP 98???) where Mclaren left DC out on the wrong tyres and bought Mika in to the pits i think DC ended up crashing out of the race in the end.

Lunchbox,Stirling moss was second in the WC something like four times, he also drove some of the best cars of the time, he just had two small probs to deal with

1. Juan Manuel Fangio
and
2. Alberto Ascari

dont forget that Moss still holds the record for the Mille Miliga, and was WC in sports cars (Aston DBR1, i believe)

Im a huge Moss fan, and regard him as British Motorsport royalty

Derek Smith:

It a little known fact that Alesi had agreed terms with Williams in 1991 he would have been WC in that car i have no doubt it, but received a last minute offer from Ferrari and signed for them (it was the scilian in him which led him to make that choice)

Answer 4

I'm amazed that some people have picked drivers who had every chance to prove their worth....Coulthard not only drove for Mclaren when they had the best car, he also drove for Williams when they were making consistently excellent cars. Let's face it, he had 2 really big chances to prove himself and never did.
Irvine had a Ferrari when they had a genuine championship car for gods sake! He was even a contender for the title until the last race in 1999 when all he had to do was beat Mika to win. He had a very big chance handed to him on a silver platter.
Jensen Button had a tougher time with things and for me has proved himself on track. He raced well for Honda during 2005 and 2006 but sadly their car is now total cóck.
Val had a good one here. Ralph Firman. He didn't really get a big opportunity to prove himself. 1 season seems criminal when you consider how bad Massa used to be. Ralph could certainly have improved and become an excellent driver.
Another driver I thought could have had a bigger push was Justin Wilson. I thought he did a great job with Minardi. I believe he races in America now and is doing really well for himself. Hopefully we'll see him back in F1 one day.
Mark Webber seems to have become the new Johnny Herbert. He seems to have the skill but things never go to plan for him. I'd like to see him get another chance.
Although I will disagree with you one one thing. I don't think Barrichello really got the chance to prove himself at Ferrari. How many times did we see him being told to let Schumacher past? I think he could have been a champion if he'd gone to a fairer team. His biggest mistake was staying with Ferrari for so long and effectively ruining his own career.
Jean Alesi never seemed to have the best of luck. It would have been nice to see him in one of the top cars. It seemed as though every time he signed for a new team they never fully hit top form.
It's a shame when you think of questions like this as it's always so easy to forget those who never quite hit their stride.
It seems even more criminal when usually it's those drivers in the mid field who provide the most entertainment and passionate racing.
It seems quite sad to see someone like Alonso accept second place and 8 points when a mid field driver would drive through hell and back just for the chance to get 1.
Those listed above are the ones i think have shone over the past few years while driving poorer cars and I apologise for not remembering more.
The likes of Mika Salo, Jos "The Boss" Verstappen, Pedro De La Rosa, Luca Badoer and more all get honourable mentions.
My pick of the recent past drivers however is Justin Wilson.

Great question by the way. It's always nice to look into past seasons and remeber some of the older stuff. (even if for me that is only the early 90s!) Thanks!

Answer 5

There are a lot of possible answers to this.

One could argue that Rueben's Barrichello did not get a sufficient chance to prove himself while he drove for Ferrari. Lets face it, the man was paid to let Schumacher beat him if necessary (for Schumacher's Championships!). I think given the chance to compete equally with Schumacher in the years Schumacher won his five straight for Ferrari, Barrichello could have won more often, and been a serious threat for the title.

Jenson Button. Has bad timing ever got this guy. He left Williams for BAR right when Williams was getting back on the winning track with Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. I think when you look at the Williams car in 2003, had Button still been there (and remember he WANTED to go back and there was that dreadful court bit to settle it) he would have won sooner and perhaps more often.

HH Frentzen could have been at the top more often. Look at what he did with Jordan in 1999! He won two races that year, and was third in the championship. He drove for some serious "also ran" teams after that. In fact Jordan wasn't really a team to threaten for wins, but 1999 was perhaps their best year and Frentzen made the most of it for sure.

But I write of more recent drivers.

I can think of some who might have been greats. Certainly in some cases death cheated some drivers out of glory in F1. Francois Cevert comes to mind. Peter Revson could maybe have won more. Gilles Villeneuve might have been a champion. Might the late Elio de Angelis have been a winning driver more often had the car been under him to do it? I think so for him as well.

Now call me nuts, but had he been able to secure a ride in a top team at the right moments, even good old Andrea de Cesaris could have won races!

The Fabi brothers were indeed good drivers. When I knew of them, at Brabham in the early 1980s, the car was not that great. Piquet was what made the difference I think.

RP

(P.S. I know, some of my mentioned drivers are current...)

Answer 6

to be honest, they go through years of driving be it Karts, F3000, F3... they get the honour of driving in an F1 car, then really they should show there talent and skill straight away, if you want to win in F1, you have to be ruthless, determined, and selfish, so how much time do they need! After all, if they haven't done it within the first 6months of getting into Formula 1 car, they will very rarely do it afterwards, point in case M Shumacher drove for Jordan, then Benetton and the rest is history!

No one, show it straight away

Answer 7

Jean Pierre Jarier.
Just look how he went when he got his hands on a Lotus in 1977.
He was cursed by the 'wrong place wrong time' syndrome.
Brilliant in a frail Shadow in 1975 but thereafter, Lotus apart,cursed by rubbish cars.
You can argue he was in Fi for a long time but as now if you have not got the car you have problems.
Same could be said of Pierluigi Martini.

Answer 8

Stefan Bellof, Chris Amon, Johnny Herbert..

Answer 9

Heinz -Harold Frentsen, Jean Alesi, Alex Zanardi seem to me to be let go before they really had a chance to prove themselves in F1. I agree about the idea of "fair", as there are talented drivers who are not recognized for their skills because lack of team resources.

Answer 10

Not the perfect answer but have you considered Thierry Boutsen, he drove for some top teams(forget Arrows) but never seemed to be in the right place at the right time.