Posted: July 26 2003 at 7:06am | IP Logged

In ALMS Allan got to kick ass and take names with Audi; winning the ALMS series, Petit Le Mans and Adelaide and taking 2nd in Sebring and Le Mans. He set several fastest laps, including fastest lap in the 2000 Le Mans (where he was 2nd). He made the fatefull decision to join up with Toyota in F1, did a year testing for them, drove for them in 2002, and now he's a test driver for the Renault F1 team. Good move, or step backwards?

Would you rather be a test driver for a soon-to-be great F1 team, and never drive a race, or kicking ass in an ALMS prototype? I can't help but think if he knew he'd end up as a test driver, he'd have stayed in the LMP, but then he hasn't gone back...

http://www.allanmcnish.com/biography.cfm

Posted: July 26 2003 at 7:28am | IP Logged

If I had the choice to be a test driver or a racer... I would be the racer! Screw being a test driver!!

vetterdstr

Posted: July 26 2003 at 9:26am | IP Logged

Good move or not, being associated with F1 is about the best there is.    Commercially, a driver's value is exponentially higher being a test driver in F1 than any race driver bar CART/IRL.

Besides receiving increased media exposure, being a part of an F1 team will make you learn and develop much faster.

IMHO of course.......

After your testing stint, you can always go "back" to being a race driver in Speedventures

Posted: July 26 2003 at 10:27am | IP Logged

Good point, maybe I should invite Mcnish to SOWS with us next weekend, if he doesn't have any testing to do (well, he could always bring the Renault)

Posted: July 26 2003 at 5:51pm | IP Logged

No, the Renault won't work.

The new wide angle V10 is so wide, it would hit the curbs

Posted: July 27 2003 at 10:37am | IP Logged

Well, as exponentially more influential as F1 is than any other racing...I think I'd rather be in the R8 driving races than just testing for Renault. Remember, Mcnish has been a test driver for 3 different F1 teams for a total of something like 6 years (don't remember). Obviously he choose Le Mans over F1 testing a few years ago, and I doubt he would have choosen it again had he known he would end up testing. When he left LM he left to be a race driver for Toyota, not a tester (well, yes, a tester for 1 year, but with a guaranteed race seat).

Posted: July 27 2003 at 11:34am | IP Logged

Well, obviously racing is always gonna be better than testing.   But, I was talking from the commercial perspective.   Besides, Allan McDouche is a special case.    He is not a very good driver in my opinion.

Anyway, if you look at F1 teams: Who are they gonna call if something happens to their regular drivers?   They are gonna call up their reserve/test drivers.   So that must mean that they think a little more highly about F1 test drivers than they do about driver in different series.   BTW, feeder series (F3, F3000) are not part of this discussion.

So, wouldn't you rather be part of the same equation?   That's all I was saying.    I'd rather be a test driver in F1 and I would use that clout to get me a ride in whatever I wanted.   McDouche could'nt get back in an Audi because he looked like crap in F1.

Posted: July 27 2003 at 9:20pm | IP Logged

They don't necessarily call up their test drivers, as Jaguar/Minardi showed. Those teams brought in other racing drivers (Wilson and Kiesa) rather than their testers.

An F1 test driver has two proven routes these days: get a race seat at the back of the F1 grid, or hope for a good seat in CART. In the former case they need to be outperform their new teammate to raise their stock with the bigger teams. In the latter case they need to win the CART title within a year or two or they'll never drive an F1 car again.

Posted: July 28 2003 at 8:47am | IP Logged

Comments in bold cause I'm lazy...

COCKYASIAN wrote: Well, obviously racing is always gonna be better than testing.   But, I was talking from the commercial perspective.   Besides, Allan McDouche is a special case.    He is not a very good driver in my opinion. Well, I can't agree with this at all. He may not be F1 front-runner material, but obviously he's a very good driver...in my book, anyone who sets fastest lap at Le Mans is no hack. Anyway, if you look at F1 teams: Who are they gonna call if something happens to their regular drivers?   They are gonna call up their reserve/test drivers.   So that must mean that they think a little more highly about F1 test drivers than they do about driver in different series. Well, of course they think their test drivers are good, but a *big* part of it is they know the car. If you have to call someone in to drive an F1 car at a moment's notice, the guy least likely to stack it in the first turn is the test driver. BTW, feeder series (F3, F3000) are not part of this discussion. So, wouldn't you rather be part of the same equation?   That's all I was saying.    I'd rather be a test driver in F1 and I would use that clout to get me a ride in whatever I wanted.   McDouche could'nt get back in an Audi because he looked like crap in F1. I think he couldn't get back in an Audi because he left them for Toyota, not because he was weak in F1. If the guy was the quickest guy in an R8 on several occasions, and he was, and you're managing a team driving R8's, who cares what he did in F1?

__________________
2002 T5 Champ - Thanks, Dearing!
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Posted: July 28 2003 at 1:10pm | IP Logged

Just like I think Zanardi should have stayed in CART, McDuche should have stayed with the R8.   There are other notables too.   Look at Magnussen a few years back.   He was phenominal in touring cars and when he went to Stewart, he sucked.  Look at Michael Andretti.

F1 is a lot harder than people think.   Not only is the car so much more difficult to drive, you also have to think 300mph and under a lot of pressure.   Most people can't handle it, period.

Just my $.02, that's all.

Posted: August 08 2003 at 10:11am | IP Logged

I have no doubt about the last part of your post, but I don't think F1 is an exponential level above the turbo CART's of last year. It's more demanding, but it's not as though a great CART driver would step into an F1 and be like a deer in headlights, we've seen that with Montoya. I guess my point is sure, most people can't handle F1, but most people can't handle CART either, it's just another step up.

As to Magnussen, clearly there's a huge difference between touring cars and F1 or LMP's for that matter. Now that is an exponential step.