Alexander Rossi

I couldn't find a thread on him so apologies of there is one already.


Alexander Rossi (21) is a racing driver from Auburn, California USA currently competing in GP2 and reserve driver for Caterham F1.

Regular readers of Clip The Apex discussions may have noticed that I rarely get involved in discussions about new or relatively new drivers until they do something stupid. One of the reasons for this is that few of the newcomers have really grabbed my attention in their pre-F1 careers. However, having had a little look at Rossi's statistics, I have a feeling that at the very least he is one of the best young American talents that we have seen for a while. Not only that, he has clocked up a couple of championship wins, third place finishes in a few more in his host of season finishes in the top ten.

In 143 lower formula races, he has clocked up 53 podiums including 36 wins, 31 pole positions and 21 fastest laps.

Granted the most recent championship under his belt was the 2008 Formula BMW Americas but he drove in both GP3 and GP2 in 2010 ending up in 4th and 9th in the respective championships, which is okay I guess. However, out of the twelve open wheeler championships in which he has competed he has finished in the top 10 in ten of them and currently runs 10th in this years' GP2.

Rossi missed the season opener in Malaysia and so far this season has finished 3rd in the feature race and 20th in the sprint in Bahrain, 6th in both races in Spain,. He DNF'd in the Monaco crash-fest and came 19th in the sprint. Maybe after the events of the day before it's quite a good show that he was in the Monaco sprint race at all.

Taking all of the above into account, is Alexander Rossi going to make it in F1? Well having heard him in the Beeb commentary box during the P2 coverage I have to say that I was quite impressed. A bit like Karun Chandhok, he sounds older than his years and I was surprised to find out that he was just 21 since he came across as having been in the sport for more years than he has been alive!

Well, although his career stat's fall short of what I, personally, would like to see in an F1 prospect, I must confess that I think Ross could just be the Yank to break the Yankee duck. I have yet to pay any real attention to how he drives. Methinks that from now on, I'll be keeping more of a watching brief on his progress in GP2 and his forays in Friday F1 practice.
 
Amazing drive from Rossi in the 500. Really happy for him, but I will always maintain he should have never even had the chance to be in Indy this month. Haas should have signed him without a doubt.
 
Congrats to Rossi on his Indy500 win.

How odd it must feel to him that he's spent his entire career trying to break into the top flight in European single seated racing , and then he stumbles into racing over the Atlantic almost by accident and wins the big one at first time of asking!

In Feb he was still hopeful of being in a Manor at the rear of the F1 field.
 
Rossi was in Austria doing stuff with the Manor team. I do wonder if he'll get a race this year at somepoint.

When was the last time someone won the Indy 500 and raced in F1 in the sane year?
 
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I would guess it would have been Graham Hill. A number of drivers have competed in Indy racing and F1 in the same year but not many have actually won Indy.
 
I'm going to look it up but I've just had a memory that Mario Andretti stood in at Ferrari when a driver past away(can't remember who). Might have been same year he won Indy.
 
82 Italian GP I think he stood in for Pironi after his huge shunt. I think Andretti put the car on pole and his team mate Patrick Tambay went on to win. Not sure if Mario won Indy in 82 though.
 
Further to my last, Mario won Indy in 69. He made a handful of appearances for Lotus in the same season so that would have been later than Hill who won Indy in 66.
 
You are correct. The Indy 500 winner in 82 was Gavin Johncock(I've not heard of him either). So I think you are right in Graham Hill. He might actually be the only one if you Don't count when it was an F1 race (which most people Don't).

Anyways my prediction is Rossi will make it 2 in the US Grand Prix.
 
Do you think that Rossi driving in a Manor, might be a death knell on any serious hope of getting back into top flight F1 ?
 
. So I think you are right in Graham Hill. He might actually be the only one if you Don't count when it was an F1 race (which most people Don't).

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Blasphemy! The Indy 500 was never an "F1 race", even when it counted for the WDC. The cars taking part in the event pre-1960 were just as different to the technical specs regulating F1 cars back then as they are today.
 
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How did he get on in the race?:whistle:

I guess you are a firm believer in the phrase 'a man is only as good as his last result'.

As Wherlain's rep is sky high due to his points in the Manor (so was Rossi's after his short spell last year) I'm not sure how getting to drive for Manor again would be a death knoll on his hopes of Rossi getting into F1.
 
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