Most Forgettable Drivers

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 09 Feb 2013, 11:21

To be fair neither of them did that many races, Doornbos only ran the second half of 2005 for minardi and Montagny drove in a few races for SOOPAH AGURI. But I remember Montagny for bathplugging up the three letter acronym system by racing at the same time as Montoya and Montiero

FloProAct · Post by **FloProAct** » 09 Feb 2013, 13:08

eurobrun wrote:To be fair neither of them did that many races, Doornbos only ran the second half of 2005 for minardi and Montagny drove in a few races for SOOPAH AGURI. But I remember Montagny for bathplugging up the three letter acronym system by racing at the same time as Montoya and Montiero

Don't forget Doornbos' stint in the Red Bull in 2006! (I did....)

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 09 Feb 2013, 13:14

"Bathplug Montagny". We have a new F1 Rejects hero whose name will be forever praised, alongside his soon-to-be-team-mate, "Bathplug Lagorce". Allegedly the new team is to be sponsored by B&Q and Plumb Center. "Bathplug Williams" offered to run the team as soon as he retires from his day job, which, given that he's still going and 27 of his 71 years have been spent in a wheelchair and that still couldn't slow him down, I don't think that will be any time soon. The biggest fan and major celerity involved with the team - their mascot, maybe - will be "Bathplug Bruno", know what I mean, 'Arry. And no, 'Arry, I don't mean someone who drove for Bathplug Williams last year but has gone to GT racing.

Robert Doornbos, on the other hand, has a very big head. And I'll always remember him for that.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 09 Feb 2013, 13:57

Sadly, I think Mr Williams spells his first name without a C so I think the censor will allow me to write Frank quite frankly without censorship...

Faustus · Post by **Faustus** » 09 Feb 2013, 17:18

dr-baker wrote:Sadly, I think Mr Williams spells his first name without a C so I think the censor will allow me to write Frank quite frankly without censorship...

I thought it was W****r Williams?

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 09 Feb 2013, 22:04

FloProAct wrote:
eurobrun wrote:To be fair neither of them did that many races, Doornbos only ran the second half of 2005 for minardi and Montagny drove in a few races for SOOPAH AGURI. But I remember Montagny for bathplugging up the three letter acronym system by racing at the same time as Montoya and Montiero

Don't forget Doornbos' stint in the Red Bull in 2006! (I did....)

Oh, that's right. Least notable three races ever

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 09 Feb 2013, 23:03

eurobrun wrote:
FloProAct wrote:
eurobrun wrote:To be fair neither of them did that many races, Doornbos only ran the second half of 2005 for minardi and Montagny drove in a few races for SOOPAH AGURI. But I remember Montagny for bathplugging up the three letter acronym system by racing at the same time as Montoya and Montiero

Don't forget Doornbos' stint in the Red Bull in 2006! (I did....)

Oh, that's right. Least notable three races ever

Tomas Enge.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 09 Feb 2013, 23:06

UgncreativeUsergname wrote:
eurobrun wrote:
FloProAct wrote:Don't forget Doornbos' stint in the Red Bull in 2006! (I did....)

Oh, that's right. Least notable three races ever

Tomas Enge.

More memorable due to GP4. And smoking weed

Onxy Wrecked · Post by **Onxy Wrecked** » 10 Feb 2013, 03:47

dinizintheoven wrote:"Bathplug Montagny". We have a new F1 Rejects hero whose name will be forever praised, alongside his soon-to-be-team-mate, "Bathplug Lagorce". Allegedly the new team is to be sponsored by B&Q and Plumb Center. "Bathplug Williams" offered to run the team as soon as he retires from his day job, which, given that he's still going and 27 of his 71 years have been spent in a wheelchair and that still couldn't slow him down, I don't think that will be any time soon. The biggest fan and major celerity involved with the team - their mascot, maybe - will be "Bathplug Bruno", know what I mean, 'Arry. And no, 'Arry, I don't mean someone who drove for Bathplug Williams last year but has gone to GT racing.

Robert Doornbos, on the other hand, has a very big head. And I'll always remember him for that.

Not to mention Doornbos in CART for me. More memorable than Scott Speed or Montagny.

Spectoremg · Post by **Spectoremg** » 15 Jan 2015, 20:33

shinji wrote:I just remembered someone... oh no, wait he was so forgettable that I've forgotten him.

Allan McNish. But for his crash at Suzuka I don't remember one thing he did. And 2002 was the first year that I was properly interested in F1 so I remember a lot about the season. Pity it was such a crap season.

McNish was helped by the anonymous team he drove for; Toyota. What a waste of resources.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 15 Jan 2015, 20:51

I've already nearly forgotten Will Stevens, in spite of that epic moment with Alonso.

SuzukiSwift · Post by **SuzukiSwift** » 16 Jan 2015, 04:33

JC Boullion
Erik Comas
Emmanuel Pirro
Wilson Fittpaldi
Nicola Larini
Alex Caffi

Basically drivers that can't be profiled on this site, essentially mid-packers who were decent enough but invisible. Although he is not forgettable, it's pretty amazing Alliot's career spanned a decade, and some of the cars he drove were pretty decent too.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 16 Jan 2015, 09:32

Something tells me Emanuele Pirro isn't easily forgotten, after all his Le Mans wins and that he keeps turning up on the stewards' panel these days to the inevitable shrieks of "AAAAAARGH! THE STEWARDS GOT IT WRONG AGAIN!"

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 16 Jan 2015, 14:25

SuzukiSwift wrote:JC Boullion
Erik Comas
Emmanuel Pirro
Wilson Fittpaldi
Nicola Larini
Alex Caffi

Basically drivers that can't be profiled on this site, essentially mid-packers who were decent enough but invisible. Although he is not forgettable, it's pretty amazing Alliot's career spanned a decade, and some of the cars he drove were pretty decent too.

I was watching some qualifying session from lateish 1990 when they were speculating on who would take Mansell's Ferrari seat. Prost reportedly wanted Alex Caffi as his teammate. Could not have worked out any worse for him in the end.

SuzukiSwift · Post by **SuzukiSwift** » 16 Jan 2015, 20:49

Larini and Caffi did have the talent but never the breaks.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 16 Jan 2015, 21:44

There is one fact about Nicola Larini that seems to make him unforgettable to me: having his best race result (2nd) on 1st May 1994, the San Marino GP...

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 16 Jan 2015, 22:02

dr-baker wrote:There is one fact about Nicola Larini that seems to make him unforgettable to me: having his best race result (2nd) on 1st May 1994, the San Marino GP...

It also took him nearly seven years to unrejectify himself at that very race, longer than any other driver.

MartinJS81 · Post by **MartinJS81** » 17 Jan 2015, 23:01

Isn't the timing of Larini's one great result precisely what makes him forgettable? Anyone who saw the podium interviews just remembers a deeply saddened and philosophical Schumacher, and oblivious and seemingly delighted (at his own result) Hakkinen, but not the guy in between.

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 18 Jan 2015, 02:00

MartinJS81 wrote:Isn't the timing of Larini's one great result precisely what makes him forgettable? Anyone who saw the podium interviews just remembers a deeply saddened and philosophical Schumacher, and oblivious and seemingly delighted (at his own result) Hakkinen, but not the guy in between.

And the sad truth is that many casual fans don't know who Roland Ratzengerger was for the very same reason.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 18 Jan 2015, 03:35

Rob Dylan wrote:
MartinJS81 wrote:Isn't the timing of Larini's one great result precisely what makes him forgettable? Anyone who saw the podium interviews just remembers a deeply saddened and philosophical Schumacher, and oblivious and seemingly delighted (at his own result) Hakkinen, but not the guy in between.

And the sad truth is that many casual fans don't know who Roland Ratzengerger was for the very same reason.

Even sadder is that lot of non F1 fans know Ratzenberge exactly because of the other thing that happened in that race. They don't know anything else about him, but they know he died. They just assume it was a famous driver, because they don't really care if he was or not. Same thing is that lot of people know Lauda only because of his accident. But those same people have never heared about Piquet or Mansell.
Here in Northern Belgium, Leindersis more known with average joe than Ickx. People are just weird :roll:

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 18 Jan 2015, 03:54

This wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:
MartinJS81 wrote:Isn't the timing of Larini's one great result precisely what makes him forgettable? Anyone who saw the podium interviews just remembers a deeply saddened and philosophical Schumacher, and oblivious and seemingly delighted (at his own result) Hakkinen, but not the guy in between.

And the sad truth is that many casual fans don't know who Roland Ratzengerger was for the very same reason.

Even sadder is that lot of non F1 fans know Ratzenberge exactly because of the other thing that happened in that race. They don't know anything else about him, but they know he died. They just assume it was a famous driver, because they don't really care if he was or not. Same thing is that lot of people know Lauda only because of his accident. But those same people have never heared about Piquet or Mansell.
Here in Northern Belgium, Leindersis more known with average joe than Ickx. People are just weird

I'm sad to say the same thing is happening with Bianchi. The non-F1 fans around me (or to rephrase, just about everyone I know except for me and my brother) have only heard of him because of his accident. Most of them don't even remember his name. :roll:

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 18 Jan 2015, 04:57

Sometimes I wish everyone knew basic F1 rules and history, but if it wasn't all so niche, I wouldn't get as much out of knowing it....

leywso · Post by **leywso** » 22 Jan 2015, 21:43

SuzukiSwift wrote:JC Boullion
Erik Comas
Emmanuel Pirro
Wilson Fittpaldi
Nicola Larini
Alex Caffi

Basically drivers that can't be profiled on this site, essentially mid-packers who were decent enough but invisible. Although he is not forgettable, it's pretty amazing Alliot's career spanned a decade, and some of the cars he drove were pretty decent too.

Erik Comas was my idol in my formative years watching F1 in the early 1990s. No idea why! With hindsight, his career stalled after a relatively successful 1992 with his move from Ligier to Larrousse. Had he stuck around or been given a break with a higher-ranked team, things may have been different. The '93 Ligier was far more competitive after all. As it was, the '93 Larrousse saw Comas move from upper midfield to lower midfield obscurity. And eventually, the ultimate shame of losing his seat to Jean Denis Deletraz at the end of 1994!

FantometteBR · Post by **FantometteBR** » 23 Jan 2015, 00:05

leywso wrote:
SuzukiSwift wrote:JC Boullion
Erik Comas
Emmanuel Pirro
Wilson Fittpaldi
Nicola Larini
Alex Caffi

Basically drivers that can't be profiled on this site, essentially mid-packers who were decent enough but invisible. Although he is not forgettable, it's pretty amazing Alliot's career spanned a decade, and some of the cars he drove were pretty decent too.

Erik Comas was my idol in my formative years watching F1 in the early 1990s. No idea why! With hindsight, his career stalled after a relatively successful 1992 with his move from Ligier to Larrousse. Had he stuck around or been given a break with a higher-ranked team, things may have been different. The '93 Ligier was far more competitive after all. As it was, the '93 Larrousse saw Comas move from upper midfield to lower midfield obscurity. And eventually, the ultimate shame of losing his seat to Jean Denis Deletraz at the end of 1994!

But wasn't that accident (the one where Senna helped him to escape) that kinda made him lose some of his 'speed'? (and then Senna's death adding in his decision to not pursue F1 after 94)

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 23 Jan 2015, 08:42

FantometteBR wrote:
leywso wrote:
SuzukiSwift wrote:JC Boullion
Erik Comas
Emmanuel Pirro
Wilson Fittpaldi
Nicola Larini
Alex Caffi

Basically drivers that can't be profiled on this site, essentially mid-packers who were decent enough but invisible. Although he is not forgettable, it's pretty amazing Alliot's career spanned a decade, and some of the cars he drove were pretty decent too.

Erik Comas was my idol in my formative years watching F1 in the early 1990s. No idea why! With hindsight, his career stalled after a relatively successful 1992 with his move from Ligier to Larrousse. Had he stuck around or been given a break with a higher-ranked team, things may have been different. The '93 Ligier was far more competitive after all. As it was, the '93 Larrousse saw Comas move from upper midfield to lower midfield obscurity. And eventually, the ultimate shame of losing his seat to Jean Denis Deletraz at the end of 1994!

But wasn't that accident (the one where Senna helped him to escape) that kinda made him lose some of his 'speed'? (and then Senna's death adding in his decision to not pursue F1 after 94)

Didn't Comas have a contract with Larrousse for 1995 though?

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 23 Jan 2015, 11:09

Simtek wrote:
FantometteBR wrote:But wasn't that accident (the one where Senna helped him to escape) that kinda made him lose some of his 'speed'? (and then Senna's death adding in his decision to not pursue F1 after 94)

Didn't Comas have a contract with Larrousse for 1995 though?

I'm not sure about that, but I think the two accidents ended his passion for F1, and he would've been in a similar situation to James Hunt, where he didn't want to race F1 after Ronnie Peterson's death, but still had a contract with Wolf for the following season.

Julien · Post by **Julien** » 23 Jan 2015, 19:47

No, Comas teamed up with DAMS once he was dropped by Larrousse. In fact, he was the only confirmed driver of the team before the project was abandoned.

leywso · Post by **leywso** » 25 Jan 2015, 22:08

Maybe Comas suffered through sticking with the French teams throughout his F1 stint. Possible lack of horizons...

WeirdKerr · Post by **WeirdKerr** » 26 Jan 2015, 20:51

IIRC Comas was in the pits when the race was stopped following Senna's crash and was inexplicably waved out the pitlane and drove past the the Aftermath

Post by **tommykl** » 26 Jan 2015, 20:58

I really like the guy for some reason I can't quite explain, and I seem to think he's underrated despite no evidence to support it. And yet, I often forget about Marc Surer.

Barbazza · Post by **Barbazza** » 26 Jan 2015, 21:00

He was indeed. The story is related in a very moving way by the man himself in the 'Echoes of Imola' book - I had much more respect for Erik after reading it.

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 26 Jan 2015, 21:42

Briefly discussed on the forum previously a few years ago here.

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 26 Jan 2015, 22:58

tommykl wrote:I really like the guy for some reason I can't quite explain, and I seem to think he's underrated despite no evidence to support it. And yet, I often forget about Marc Surer.

You should dislike him! Comas is the sworn nemesis of Boutsen!

Apparently, if we believe Thierry, he was a nightmare to work with.

Post by **tommykl** » 27 Jan 2015, 07:25

This wrote:
tommykl wrote:I really like the guy for some reason I can't quite explain, and I seem to think he's underrated despite no evidence to support it. And yet, I often forget about Marc Surer.

You should dislike him! Comas is the sworn nemesis of Boutsen! Apparently, if we believe Thierry, he was a nightmare to work with.

But I was talking about Surer, not Comas

SuzukiSwift · Post by **SuzukiSwift** » 27 Jan 2015, 16:35

tommykl wrote:I really like the guy for some reason I can't quite explain, and I seem to think he's underrated despite no evidence to support it. And yet, I often forget about Marc Surer.

I was also going to say Surer. I think he's the perfect example of an invisible driver. Simply competent and nothing more.

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 27 Jan 2015, 20:51

Would you say that "for sure he was the most invisible driver"?

Nessafox · Post by **Nessafox** » 27 Jan 2015, 21:08

Rob Dylan wrote:Would you say that "for sure he was the most invisible driver"?

That post is right on the mark.

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 28 Jan 2015, 13:21

This wrote:
Rob Dylan wrote:Would you say that "for sure he was the most invisible driver"?

That post is right on the mark.

We should be pun-ished for this terrible humour

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 31 Jan 2015, 00:18

Mike Spence. Just remembered him, which I guess... never mind.

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 31 Jan 2015, 11:58

I didn't know if this should go in "Rantbox" or "Most Anonymous Stints", because it kind of incorporates them all

Just finished re-watching the 2009 season. Wow, what a dull season. But I think one of the main problems that led to it being so ridiculously dull was the lack of decent drives by most people throughout the year. So many drivers were just really poor all year round, and were then scrapped and most of their stints belong on this thread or the "Most Anonymous Stints" one. The overwhelming mediocrity of the drivers, and therefore the races, was what made the season so pathetic. I mean:

- Nakajima: drove around for an entire 17 (16 and a half) races and collected no points, while doing nothing worthy of note other than bring in money. His only point in the spotlight during all of 2009 was when he lost his front wing and hit the barrier, after being chopped by his Japanese successor Kobayashi at Brazil on the latter's debut race!
- Luca Badoer/Fisichella in the Ferrari: Massa had a big improvement towards the end of 2007 and he only got better in the lead-up to his accident. The potential of the Ferrari in his hands towards the Summer break in 2009 was one of the big talking points. But his horrific accident led to two useless replacements throughout the year. Say what you want about Badoer's bad luck and Fisichella's Force India stint that year, but both of them were wasting a seat in a Ferrari that actually got beaten by the McLaren that year. People throw Luca under the bus, but Giancarlo also qualified last twice during that year in the same car. So forgettable.
- Alguersuari: While the guy improved a lot and I think it was terrible that his career was snatched away from him like so many other Toro Rosso drivers, his first year was just terrible. He made so many mistakes and accidents, and was anonymous otherwise. At Abu Dhabi he was the only thing interesting about that race when he stopped his car in the Red Bull pit crew area and then blamed his own team for not coming out fast enough!
- Piquet Jr./Grosjean in the Renault: Piquet crashed a lot. Then he got fired. Grosjean crashed a lot. Then he got fired. Inspiring stuff, guys...
- Bourdais: so under-performing that he made Buemi - the only rookie at the start of the year - look like an experienced racer at the helm. Then he got fired.
- Sutil and Kovalainen: I'm putting these two together because they had the same problem. They had plenty of opportunities throughout the year to cause some ruckus, bring home some points for their team and add some variation to the season. But no, they mostly failed big-time. Neither got on the podium even though both were in cars that had given them good chances.
- Kubica: A very talented guy and I'm definitely a big fan, but 2009 was his worst season in Formula 1. He was super-impressive with Heidfeld in the BMW the two previous years, but when the car wasn't up for it, he didn't put in very much spark at all with the exception of a few results. His team-mate on the other hand, just got on with the job and collected as many points as he could when he could. An uninspiring drive from the guy.

Of the 25 entries in the year, I've named ten as uninspiring stints and drives. That's a big proportion!. But there was another problem with other drivers:
- Good drivers stuck in bad cars: Heidfeld/Kubica/Massa/Alonso were some of the most impressive drivers that season in my opinion. But their moments in the sun where they actually got credit for their achievements were so few and far between that it made the season really painful to watch for me.

And the moral of the story is don't rewatch the 2009 season. Watch the season review or something!