2810 replies to this topic

[brambilla]

Haha, if only Nico spent as much time racing as he obviously does on looking pretty

http://wtf1.co.uk/ma...ony-characters/

[Rainmaster]

Is it true that Kimi did not come to the circuit yesterday because he was hungover? Or got stuck in LA or something like this?

Lewis Hamilton's final Mclaren helmet:

 A8Yl3LwCUAMzzeM.jpg-large (1024×768).jpg   52.55K   2 downloads

[BradSpeedMan]

Rainmaster, on 23 November 2012 - 03:20 PM, said:

Is it true that Kimi did not come to the circuit yesterday because he was hungover? Or got stuck in LA or something like this?

my gosh, so he really stayed there an partied...thought he was joking

[Rainmaster]

Seems like it!

I say final of course.. but Lewis already made some noises about going back to Mclaren

I wish I could watch the Thursday press conferences. I don't understand why FOM don't make that possible. Yesterday:

"Vettel and Alonso sat in the front row, flanking Schumacher. While Vettel was as relaxed as he always is, grinning and joking with Schumacher in much the manner you might expect from a man who has a 13-point lead over his rival, and a car advantage. Alonso spent most of the conference staring intently ahead, his intensity only momentarily broken by a smile in response to some private quip from Schumacher."

[Ikyrotz]

Gerard Lopez gives answers concerning rumors that Lotus has not been able to pay Kimi:  http://www.auto-moto...en-6180428.html

Freely translated, based on google translate: "We didn't expect him to be so successful, so he became more expensive to us than we though. We have agreed to a new payment plan so it's all resolved."

I guess the Robertsons still know how to get a good deal for Kimi .

Edited by Ikyrotz, 24 November 2012 - 08:30 AM.

[BradSpeedMan]

Ikyrotz, on 23 November 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:

Gerard Lopez gives answers concerning rumors that Lotus has not been able to pay Kimi:  http://www.auto-moto...en-6180428.html

Freely translated, based on google translate: "We didn't expect him to be so successful, so he became more expansive to us than we though. We have agreed to a new payment plan so it's all resolved."

I guess the Robertsons still know how to get a good deal for Kimi .

Thanks for the update and translation

[Ikyrotz]

Bottas to Williams confirmed, no big surprise there, but nice to see that it's not all just about money when choosing drivers.


http://www.williamsf.../news/view/2315

[Rainmaster]

Ecclestone called the Ferrari request for clarification on the flag controversy a "joke". Luca Di Montezemolo responded in his usual calm, measured and professional way...

It's all in the following along with Bernie's reply: http://www.bbc.co.uk...rmula1/20579360

Edited by Rainmaster, 03 December 2012 - 08:12 PM.

[dribbler]

HandyNZL, on 21 November 2012 - 10:07 AM, said:

SV: "....and then, Lewis said he signed for Mercedes"

Funny.

Edited by dribbler, 03 December 2012 - 07:49 PM.

[Peeweev]

Rainmaster, on 03 December 2012 - 07:46 PM, said:

Ecclestone called the Ferrari request for clarification on the flag controversy a "joke". Luca Di Montezemolo responded in his usual calm, measured and professional way...

It's all in the following along with Bernie's reply: http://www.bbc.co.uk...rmula1/20579360

Surely he can understand why they would want clarification if its a championship at stake and all the images have the flag obscured when they saw it. A joke is rather harsh! I can think of stewarding decisions that were a joke, Grosjeans driving and even Alonso's "tash" but this not so much

[dribbler]

^ Like.

[Rainmaster]

[Rainmaster]

Adam Parr has written a book called the Art of War, about paddock politics in Formula 1. In it, he claims he left the Williams team this year because he believed Ecclestone wanted him out.

http://uk.reuters.co...N09H2E720121207

I certainly remember the two were involved in a war of words last year when Parr openly questioned the way Ecclestone ran the sport, so this doesn't seem that surprising.

Edit: There are rumours now that Adam Parr might be the next in line to take legal action against Bernie.

Edited by Rainmaster, 08 December 2012 - 12:19 AM.

[AleHop]

Today (in F1) I came across a quote.

"Every year there is a champion, but not always there is a great champion", Ayrton Senna.

[BradSpeedMan]

AleHop, on 08 December 2012 - 01:24 AM, said:

Today (in F1) I came across a quote.

"Every year there is a champion, but not always there is a great champion", Ayrton Senna.

And this is in relation to what? Vettel?

[Rainmaster]

BradSpeedMan, on 08 December 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

And this is in relation to what? Vettel?

Come on, Brad, I don't think Ayrton was talking about Vettel there...

The other day I was thinking about how long ago 2006 was, Alonso's last title. As it turns out, very few drivers have ever gone so long between winning their last title and their next one. Brabham, for example, went without the title for five years after winning his 2nd. Graham Hill also lost the title 5 times before winning his 2nd. Alonso has gone 6 years without the title. The only other driver who managed to win the title after missing it for 6 years, was one Niki Lauda. Though he was not active during all those years, as he was running his airline for two of them (1980 & 1981), so effectively he lost the title 4 times before winning it back.

So, statistically at least, Alonso winning another title would be quite an anomaly, especially in the modern era, given no other driver has ever been able to do it after missing it for more than 5 years.

[BradSpeedMan]

Rainmaster, on 08 December 2012 - 02:15 PM, said:

Come on, Brad, I don't think Ayrton was talking about Vettel

I'm talking about Alehop's intention with the quote

Edited by BradSpeedMan, 08 December 2012 - 02:28 PM.

[AleHop]

Rainmaster, on 08 December 2012 - 02:15 PM, said:

So, statistically at least, Alonso winning another title would be quite an anomaly, especially in the modern era, given no other driver has ever been able to do it after missing it for more than 5 years.

I don't know if Alonso will win another title but if he did, I doubt he drove better than this season.

About the quote, it's just a quote. It's Mr. Ayrton Senna who said it and I agree with him. Greatness is a subjective quality.

[AleHop]

Another quote.

"There are sometimes those special drivers: Ayrton Senna was one, Michael Schumacher was one, and Alonso is one", Gerhard Berger

[Massa]

AleHop, on 08 December 2012 - 01:24 AM, said:

Today (in F1) I came across a quote.

"Every year there is a champion, but not always there is a great champion", Ayrton Senna.

Fortunately, there was a great champion in 2012.

In fact, going into Interlagos, there wasn't an option for there to be any other outcome.  Both Vettel and Alonso are just excellent.  Good time to be an F1 fan; very competitive among the constructors, and a great rivalry at the top.

[AleHop]

Massa, on 08 December 2012 - 10:44 PM, said:

Fortunately, there was a great champion in 2012.

Senna told you that?

[Massa]

I'm not sure any driver has ever believed anyone other than him- or herself was a great champion, so I doubt Senna was my source.

[freaky2]

Good save! It seems Alonso love/hate is all that keeps this forum going after the races are run. He should probably be proud XD

[AleHop]

freaky2, on 09 December 2012 - 01:30 PM, said:

Good save! It seems Alonso love/hate is all that keeps this forum going after the races are run. He should probably be proud XD

It keeps the world spinning round.

[dribbler]

Rainmaster, on 08 December 2012 - 02:15 PM, said:

Come on, Brad, I don't think Ayrton was talking about Vettel there...

The other day I was thinking about how long ago 2006 was, Alonso's last title. As it turns out, very few drivers have ever gone so long between winning their last title and their next one. Brabham, for example, went without the title for five years after winning his 2nd. Graham Hill also lost the title 5 times before winning his 2nd. Alonso has gone 6 years without the title. The only other driver who managed to win the title after missing it for 6 years, was one Niki Lauda. Though he was not active during all those years, as he was running his airline for two of them (1980 & 1981), so effectively he lost the title 4 times before winning it back.

So, statistically at least, Alonso winning another title would be quite an anomaly, especially in the modern era, given no other driver has ever been able to do it after missing it for more than 5 years.

Alonso's career went a little off track after his first stint at Renault. Throughout it all, he has driven well enough to take any number of titles. He will have that capability for many years yet too.

I liked your analysis of the gaps between certain driver's titles. Looked at slightly differently, Schumacher's gap between first to last title is further proof that years do not diminish talent and that landing a great drive is more significant to ones chances.

[Rainmaster]

dribbler, on 10 December 2012 - 10:02 PM, said:

Alonso's career went a little off track after his first stint at Renault. Throughout it all, he has driven well enough to take any number of titles. He will have that capability for many years yet too.

I liked your analysis of the gaps between certain driver's titles. Looked at slightly differently, Schumacher's gap between first to last title is further proof that years do not diminish talent and that landing a great drive is more significant to ones chances.

Yep. He can definitely win more, but even if he does he'll certainly end up with less titles than people think he's worth or think he should have won, after being so close to winning so many more (2007, 2010, 2012). I just think that's interesting. A little bit like Prost except the huge gap between titles. Imagine if Alonso doesn't win the title next year, how odd his career will look, 2005, 2006... 2014! I think he still has some strong years left yet too, but like Ale said, it'll be interesting if he can keep this season's level up or whether we'll look back and say it was his peak. But peak or not, he still has at least 4 years left in him, and perhaps as many as 8.

[AleHop]

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/104812

Let's crucify them!

[Rainmaster]

James Allen's assessment seems fairly close to the mark: http://www.jamesalle...rivers-of-2012/

[Massa]

AleHop, on 13 December 2012 - 08:44 PM, said:

http://www.autosport...t.php/id/104812

Let's crucify them!

It's too hard for me to evaluate anyone other than Vettel and Alonso, because the McLaren, Lotus, Sauber, etc. were too inconsistent to really get a read on (the Ferrari wasn't always the second-best car on a given weekend, but it was more regularly a top three car than the other ones which could be faster some weekends and not on others...inconsistent cars, more than any other, seem to overstate driver performance because it's easier to say that the bad races were the car's normal level of performance.  In a way, this happened to Alonso/Ferrari due to the Ferrari's poor start) who both impressed me so much I'd have to go to the tiebreaker, which is race victories.  So I guess Vettel gets it.

But I love the fact that people can easily and fairly give it to Alonso, too.  It just shows you how competitive it is, and how great of a rivalry this could be.

It's also excellent that we talk so much about Alonso and Vettel, and we're not even covering half the guys who won Grands Prix last year.  I'd love for a strong Lotus and McLaren to really get a feel for what Räikkönen and Button can bring.

[AleHop]

Massa, on 13 December 2012 - 11:21 PM, said:

It's also excellent that we talk so much about Alonso and Vettel, and we're not even covering half the guys who won Grands Prix last year.  I'd love for a strong Lotus and McLaren to really get a feel for what Räikkönen and Button can bring.

I think Hamilton deserves a mention too. He drove quite well and could have been in the fight if the car and team had worked reliably the whole season. Good news for Hamilton that Norbert Haug will open a restaurant in Frankfurt or something so he won't be a key member of the Mercedes GP team, I feel it will give next year's car a few tenths. Not as many as 6 of them of course.