Red Bull names reserve drivers

[CNR]

anzac
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12433_5885930,00.html

Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso have announced Daniel Ricciardo and Brendon Hartley as their reserve drivers for the 2010 Formula One season.
The pair, who are both backed by Red Bull in junior formulae, will alternate the reserve driver duties on a race-by-race basis.

[maximilian]

Thumbs up on Ricciardo! He has great potential!

Hartley? Why exactly are RedBull holding on to him for better or for worse? He hasn't really shown anything lately, was slow at the test sessions AND crashed - and he's not even from a large market country for RedBull - so why? :confused: They drop Bortolotti, but keep him.

I get the impression the RedBull driver pool is getting awfully shallow these days - what other RedBull Junior drivers are out there at the moment? Is it that young drivers are finally wisening up and NOT signing with RedBull, knowing that it could very well be a dead end?

[Sonic]

I doubt its drivers not taking a punt on Redbull - I know plenty who would chew their own legs off even if there was only a 1% chance of ending up in F1, as its a hell of a lot better than a 0% chance.

[RJL25]

If your a driver from Australia or New Zealand (Ricciardo and Hartley) then you have little other choice but to sign up for Red Bull because their is stuff all sponsorship available to you otherwise.

European sponsors aren't going to sign you because your not european, and Australian and New Zealand sponsors aren't interersted because your racing half a world away and therefore their brand is only getting exposure in markets they aren't involved in.

Take Will Davison for example, the guy went punch for punch with Lewis Hamilton in formula 3, beating him a number of times too, but while Lewis went on to be a F1 superstar thanks to his entire career being funded by McLaren and other big name sponsors, Will's career ended as soon as his parent's ran out of money supporting it, they wheren't millionaires, and there was nothing in the way of corporate support for an Aussie in europe.

so, in short, if your an aussie and red bull comes knocking, its your ONLY chance....

[Saint Devote]

Ricciardo is a cert. He should do extremely well in R3.5 this year and perhaps in 2011 will join Vettel - depends I guess how Mark does this year - I think he could have an even BETTER year than in 2009.

Hartley - I think he is just a stand in - Marko has his eye on others and I doubt the Kiwi will get to race in f1. He is no Chris Amon!

[CNR]

http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/wa-youngster-wins-euro-openwheeler-title-20081020-54i3.html


Ricciardo, clinched the West European Cup in Formula Renault open-wheeler racing at the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona early today.

[macksrallye]

http://www.watoday.com.au/sport/wa-youngster-wins-euro-openwheeler-title-20081020-54i3.html

I think this is a little out of date, Daniel turns 21 in July so...

Moving on, I understand that before Christmas/New Year he was told he wouldn't get a job within the F1 team this year however at the Christmas party for Red Bull F1 Mark Webber said out loud that he would never win an F1 title but he would make sure Dan has the best chance possible. He has talent & support, this is looking good.

[maximilian]

I still don't understand "why Hartley"...?

Sooooo... what are some of the other RedBull signed drivers in the lower formulae now?

[45 Below]

Hartley? Why exactly are RedBull holding on to him for better or for worse? He hasn't really shown anything lately, was slow at the test sessions AND crashed - and he's not even from a large market country for RedBull - so why? :confused: They drop Bortolotti, but keep him.



There have been times over the past year when I have wondered if Hartley would stay in the programme this year. Last year was a nightmare. He was thrown into the World Series by Renault with no pre-season practice - his first drive of the car was at the first round. In Euro F3 Carlin was not up to pace and seemed to struggle with adapting to the different tyres and set-up requirements of that series.

Clearly there is something Red Bull see in him. A couple of weeks ago they even went to the trouble of whisking him all the way back from New Zealand to to work in the Red Bull simulator because Vettel had been snowed in somewhere. Surely it would have made more sense to get one of their other European based drivers?!

Apparently Hartley has been one of their main development drivers in both team simulators in preparation for this season which suggests they must find him effective in that role - a role which requires a driver to consistently turn quick laps and able to give good feedback.

At Jerez Torro Rosso ran the whole test with heavy ballast to simulate heavy fuel loads - there were no glory runs with light fuel and sticky tyres for either driver. It's perhaps relevant to point out that Hartley was faster than Bortolotti right the way through. From what I have read Bortolotti decided to sever ties with Red Bull himself because he didn't want to live in the UK but I guess there could well be more to it than that.

It could be that he never progresses past a test role but it seems crazy to be writing him off when he is only 20. I wonder if teams are trying too hard to find the next big thing in F1 driver-wise and some of these young guys are being thrown on the heap before they have had a chance to mature and be a bit more calculating and level-headed in their driving. Yes you get the Hamiltons and the Vettels who seem mature beyond their years, but they are the exceptions.

[jens]

I get the impression the RedBull driver pool is getting awfully shallow these days - what other RedBull Junior drivers are out there at the moment?

I wonder whether the recession has hit RB's driver programme, but there are only two more guys left in the Junior team besides those two from Southern hemisphere - Carlos Sainz junior and Daniil Kyvat. :p :

[maximilian]

I wonder whether the recession has hit RB's driver programme, but there are only two more guys left in the Junior team besides those two from Southern hemisphere - Carlos Sainz junior and Daniil Kyvat. :p :
Ah! No wonder I couldn't think of any others.
I guess we'll see one of these two in a Toro Rosso midseason next year! :p