What is it with these new guys in F1? Ignoring the astonishing talent of Lewis Hamilton, who grabbed pole position yesterday for the Indy GP, there are so many others putting in surprising performances.
Sebastian Vettel added his name to the list in practice and qualifying, always in the top ten quickest and pushing Heidfeld hard. His grid position, seventh, may not sound that great but consider who he is competing against. Naturally the first four slots are occupied by McLarens and Ferraris and Quick Nick claimed fifth; Heikki Kovalainen renewed his sagging reputation with sixth, probably with a very light car, but then comes Vettel. Even if he was light too, that is evidence of serious talent in one experiencing his first Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel at work
Vettel may be Mario Theissen's protege but the rookie has given him a big headache with this showing. What does the BMW team boss do now? In the past, he has shown that he is quite prepared to unplug one driver midseason and slot in another; but the choice between Kubica and Vettel becomes even more difficult in these circumstances. Heidfeld is safe for this year at least - he is still beating his team mates and leading the BMW charge for honors.
The obvious reaction would be to keep Kubica in the car for the remaining races and somehow get Vettel in for next year but it is possible that Theissen will allow the young German a couple of races this season to confirm his promise. Of course, if Vettel does as well as he has in Indianapolis, that will make the decision even more difficult...
But it's the kind of problem every team manager would love to have: too many very talented drivers and only two race seats. Toyota would give anything to be in the same situation, I expect.
Elsewhere, Kovalainen seems to have made some sort of breakthrough at Renault. He looked very quick throughout Friday and Saturday and then helped his team leader, Fisichella, to make it through to the top ten in qualifying - amazing what a bit of a tow can do.
Davidson, too, had the upper hand over his team mate this time around and may be over his bad luck spell at last. And Sutil continues to outperform Albers, reinforcing the impression that this year's crop of rookies is something very special. Has there ever been a season when so many newbies entered the sport and immediately shone? I think not, especially when remembering that Gary Paffett, Timo Glock and Sebastien Bourdais wait in the wings.
There is no doubt about it, the times they are a-changing. Expect more well known names to disappear next year and a new era to be ushered in. And the new names will stay a while too; there are no obvious talents in GP2 and other formulae at the moment and it is unlikely that serious challengers will arise from them in the near future. Truly, this has been a bumper year for rookies.
Sebastian Vettel added his name to the list in practice and qualifying, always in the top ten quickest and pushing Heidfeld hard. His grid position, seventh, may not sound that great but consider who he is competing against. Naturally the first four slots are occupied by McLarens and Ferraris and Quick Nick claimed fifth; Heikki Kovalainen renewed his sagging reputation with sixth, probably with a very light car, but then comes Vettel. Even if he was light too, that is evidence of serious talent in one experiencing his first Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel at work
Vettel may be Mario Theissen's protege but the rookie has given him a big headache with this showing. What does the BMW team boss do now? In the past, he has shown that he is quite prepared to unplug one driver midseason and slot in another; but the choice between Kubica and Vettel becomes even more difficult in these circumstances. Heidfeld is safe for this year at least - he is still beating his team mates and leading the BMW charge for honors.
The obvious reaction would be to keep Kubica in the car for the remaining races and somehow get Vettel in for next year but it is possible that Theissen will allow the young German a couple of races this season to confirm his promise. Of course, if Vettel does as well as he has in Indianapolis, that will make the decision even more difficult...
But it's the kind of problem every team manager would love to have: too many very talented drivers and only two race seats. Toyota would give anything to be in the same situation, I expect.
Elsewhere, Kovalainen seems to have made some sort of breakthrough at Renault. He looked very quick throughout Friday and Saturday and then helped his team leader, Fisichella, to make it through to the top ten in qualifying - amazing what a bit of a tow can do.
Davidson, too, had the upper hand over his team mate this time around and may be over his bad luck spell at last. And Sutil continues to outperform Albers, reinforcing the impression that this year's crop of rookies is something very special. Has there ever been a season when so many newbies entered the sport and immediately shone? I think not, especially when remembering that Gary Paffett, Timo Glock and Sebastien Bourdais wait in the wings.
There is no doubt about it, the times they are a-changing. Expect more well known names to disappear next year and a new era to be ushered in. And the new names will stay a while too; there are no obvious talents in GP2 and other formulae at the moment and it is unlikely that serious challengers will arise from them in the near future. Truly, this has been a bumper year for rookies.