Anthony Davidson was, for many years, F1's 'nearly-man'. He became test driver for BAR-Honda (later just Honda) in 2001, and held that position for the best part of six years. He made his Grand Prix debut in 2002, standing in for Minardi's Alex Yoong at the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix.
Throughout his time testing for Honda, he was regarded as a someone who sorely deserved a race drive. Indeed, Williams tried to sign him for 2005 but BAR refused to release him unless they could be assured of getting him back for 2006.
Apart from his short-lived 2005 Malaysian Grand Prix, where he stood in for Takuma Sato, Davidson went without a race drive until 2007, when his close relationship with Honda put him in prime position for a drive at the fledgling Super Aguri team.
Only eighteen months later, however, Super Aguri has folded. So where does this leave Anthony Davidson? Does he deserve to be in prime position for a seat in a midfield team in 2009? I think not.
- B/R Ticket Guide
It seems to me that Davidson's performances in F1 have failed to show that he deserves to be signed up by another team. Though we only have one-and-a-half full seasons of F1 racing to judge him by - and those in a Super Aguri, of all cars - many drivers have in the past managed to make a much greater impact in such substandard equipment than Davidson has managed.
Indeed, Davidson has not shown that he can consistently match Sato, his teammate - and let's not forget that Sato was summarily outclassed by Jenson Button when the two were together at Honda. This is a good indication that, while Davidson may have some talent, he is far from being up there with the best. While we can't be sure, since Davidson has never had a fast car to prove himself in, he seems to be far from special when compared to most other drivers on the grid.
Let me put the point another way. Can you think of any current F1 driver who deserves his seat less than Davidson, in terms of quick they are? F1 in 2008 is blessed with an incredibly rich crop of talent, especially amongst the youngsters. Among the recent rookies, Nakajima hasn't been far off the pace of Rosberg - and while Piquet is yet to impress, when he's been on the pace he's not much slower than multiple-champion Alonso.
Davidson, unfortunately, doesn't quitecut the mustard when compared to the new generation of F1 drivers. And with several GP2 stars knocking on the door of F1 - think Chandhok, Senna, Grosjean - it's hard to see how Davidson can be a serious contender for one of F1's twenty 2009 seats.
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8 months ago
I think that if Barrichello chose to retire at the end of this season, Davidson could get the seat. He is so well associated with Honda already, he could be a breath of fresh air for a team that is now on the rise again.
Good article mate.
8 months ago
Sato will be more missed than Davidson, Sato brings some excitement and passion to his racing, where Davidson just wants to be like the rest of the crowd and be a boring whiner. Sato will be back at the Honda team in 2009 (and possible in at Japan as to please the Japanese fans) mark my words. Sato is a much more level headed driver than he was in 2005 but he has not lost that edge that lets him make moves like he did at Spain and Canada in 2007.
8 months ago
I think the drivers will be glad that Sato is gone. He was so erratic, it was ridiculous. He was unpopular in the paddock because of his driving style. Davidson was extremely popular, and will be sorely missed.
from 8 months ago
Sato has come a long way since those days, and is still a very real contender. Also, it was that very driving style that garnered him so much attention in 2002.
8 months ago
Like I said in my Sato and Davidson arcticle I have predicted drives for both of them in the near future, In fact I predicted that Sutil would get sacked and Davidson will take his place.
Answering the actual question of the arcticle, will he be missed?
Since he isn't really a key player in F1(certainly not this year) people will get over his abscence pretty quickly unlike if Hamilton or Button annouced they were leaving or someone like Raikkonen for example.
A driver from the back end of the grid leaving F1 never has a huge impact.
8 months ago
That's not really true - remember Webber and Alonso when they were at Minardi? We all noticed them...
8 months ago
why say multiple champion for alonso ? it makes him sound like hes won loads of titles hes won two . and i think davidson deserves a race seat more than anyone if not just for his commitment alone , plus you saying all these gp 2 drivers coming through , timo glock has crashed out a few times this year as has nakajima so what makes you think the new rookies will do a better job than davidson ???
8 months ago
The strict definition of 'multiple' is surely 'more than one', But yes, 'double' probably would have been a better choice of word.
6 months ago
Love the fact your image is of Takuma Sato... I personally liked Davidson and it took him ages before he got a drive which was sad, i used to love seeing him do well in Friday practice. Shame it didn't really materialise! He's better than Jenson Button i believe, obviously proven in a Super Aguri...!
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