The Obvious, The Predictions, The Drama!

[KoolMonkey 0]

Time to get to the meat of a few issues.

Pirelli don't deserve the drama that associates them at present. They tendered to enter F1 at their expense, produced a product to help improve F1, and I have to say on the whole they have been successful. This years tyres maybe were too aggressive, but you know what, how on earth can they nail it down to perfection when driving an old Toyota, Renault or HRT. It's ludicrous.

And a special mention must go for those folks who are put off by using Pirelli's tyres for their own cars because these very specific tyres that have nothing to do with road cars, don't last as long. They aren't meant to, it was the design brief from the very beginning. If you are swayed by such nonsense and think their road tyres are just as bad, you have no idea of the spectrum and history of Pirelli tyres. Nor do I think you've ever used their road tyres, otherwise you'd know in an instant the only similarities they share are that they have their brand on teh F1 tyres. Chances are you've never even used them, and are another arm chair critic who likes to boycott companies each and every week based on whatever stupid PC furore is happening on the news.

Pirelli make great road tyres, and if there ever comes a tyre war again, I hope they are there as well. Why not have 4 companies or more all duking it out, it would be great. But right now Pirelli need not to be criticised but asked how or what they need assistance with. Testing tyres with old cars is again madness if you think they will then work properly with each years current car.

Testing in F1 needs to come back more than a few crappy 2 day tests. Heck let them test after each F1 GP if it's not a street circuit. So scratch Australia, Monaco, Canada etc. and let give them 10x 2 day tests a year to be done at any of the tracks they choose after a GP weekend. Saves money, since they are right there, and thus they can pick what circuit interests them, and time new parts, the weather, what is happening in the championship to their needs.

I hope Merc get the book thrown at them, though I hope it doesn't involve Brawn getting the chop. I know he authorized the "secret" tests, but he might just have outsmarted himself. Seeing as how he is a master of rule interpretations, I think he might have erred on this one. Many months ago I posted stating I felt he would be gone by the end of the year. Despite him doing this "secret" test, I trust him more than Wolff and Lauda. Those two guys would turn on their own mother if it suited them. Brawn is a dead man walking now, and it's so convenient to have Paddy standing by. The way Merc got rid of Haug so easily after he was at the helm in Merc having one of the best engines for most of hte past decade shows what will happen to Brawn. He will "retire" soon enough. Maybe that's a good thing. I don't want to lose him from F1. McLaren would be a great place to goto, or back to Ferrari. Merc are trouble. Who here honestly thinks they will be around in 6 years time?

I hope Kimi gets to RBR next year. I fear Lotus will go kaput quite soon. Even with Kimi they don't have a title sponsor. So something is up in that team. Heck why are they even called Lotus when Lotus dont' pay them anything and are no longer involved. It really is odd. Losing Allison is only the beginning. Kimi's asking price has shot up with his consistency. I can't see Lotus getting any better this year. RBR might just run away with it again I think. At no point last year did I feel Lotus were improving on and making up ground to the other teams, let alone this year so far. I know Kimi won a race last year, but there were other factors involved too. It could have just as easily been another second place that night too.

The obstacle to Kimi to RBR is Webber. My Grouchy (soon to be replaced by Mr P Whipped Hamilton) Webber might stick around another year, but I have to question why he's in that team. He never looks happy to me, and would have to be seriously naive to think he'd get preferential treatment to Vettel. I don't think he get's lesser treatment, I just think the team knows they have a great chance of winning with Vettel. He should have gone to Ferrari last year. He might not get that chance again. Maybe he can swap with Kimi and be #1 at Lotus or something. But he's not cutting it for me, and the longer he's there the more it shows he's there because he's Mateschitz boy.

Button, oh Button. He seems to only be on song when the car is just right. Well I got news for you, any driver can be better when their car is on song. Just look at Fisi in the Force India at Spa 2009. There are drivers who are great in great cars, and great drivers who exceed and still do ok in bad cars. I havn't seen Button do ok in a bad car. Not always, but Alonso, Hamilton, Kimi and other can do ok in not so good cars. That's what Button is missing and while he'll never be one of the greats. It's like he just shuts off and figures well maybe next race it will be better. No you gotta sweat blood when the goings tough, otherwise that perfect amalgamation of having a great car and everything going your way doesn't happen that often.

Perez, ah, looking forward to his next stuff up. I just pray it doesn't involve Kimi.

McLaren need Ron back at the helm to steady the ship. Whitmarsh has not and is not effective. Losing Paddy was not good either. Losing Hamilton, well you can let him be someone else's primadona. Heck only a few months back he was gushing about Merc, saying his life was great, he was finally free, and now look at how miserable he looks even after getting a second at Canada. His statements that he was not expecting a win in his first year at Merc were and have always been rubbish. Fair enough he wants a win, every F1 driver should want that. But he's carrying on now like he expects it. Hang on, I thought this year was just to get to know the team, develop the car and move forward in that manner. Now he looks like a sourpuss because things aren't going his way. I still wish he was at McLaren this year though, if only so he could earn his F1 stripes the hard way and realize it's not all given to you on a silver platter.

Bring on Silverstone. This is going to be a very long year for F1 fans I think.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Aww you guys are just cruel, cruel I say.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

Aww you guys are just cruel, cruel I say.

LOL, I agree with most of what you have to say, and Pirelli really has a raw deal as you put it....next year should be better with the increase testing

[HandyNZL 1]

I would just like to pick a few bones:

Pirelli F1 tyres are black. So too are their road tyres.

Pirelli F1 tyres are round. So too are their road tyres.

Pirelli F1 tyres are filled with nitrogen. So too can your road tyres if you ask nicely at the tyre shop (the ones that do nitro fills).

Pirelli F1 intermediate and wet tyres have treads. So too do their road tyres.

Pirelli F1 tyres transmit the engine torque to the ground. So too do their road tyres.

Pirelli F1 tyres will go flat if driven over nails. So too will their road tyres.

I could go on. But I am sure you will see that it is just not their name on the sidewall that makes them similar to road tyres.

And so endeth the sermon.

Oh, and Kimi sucks.

The last bit of ice cream off the stick.

[KoolMonkey 0]

HandyNZL you forget to mention that Pirelli F1 tyres also smoke when you burn rubber or lock them up. I'm pretty sure it's even the same colour smoke as road tyres, and my tricorder tells me it's has the same moleculor structure, so that's proof enough for me.

Vanilla Choc Swirl for me tonight, no stick! A cone will do. That's a man's icecream... with sprinkles.

[Jean-Pierre 0]

One more point about the similarities between F1 and road Pirellis:

F1 Pirellis suck, just like my Pirelli (P-zero) road winter tires.

[HandyNZL 1]

Nah...it's just your driving JP

[Jean-Pierre 0]

I'll remember that one HNZL!

[KoolMonkey 0]

One more point about the similarities between F1 and road Pirellis:

F1 Pirellis suck, just like my Pirelli (P-zero) road winter tires.

You mean that they have good suction... aka good grip on the road? Yeah I agree they "suck" alright.

[rwgordon 0]

I think the "Kimi => Red Bull" story has so much traction because we'd all like to see him at a more competitive team and taking it to Seb but I really think it's all hype and speculation. I don't think he'd want to go there, and frankly I don't think they'd want him - not because he isn't good on the track, but because of his attitude off it (re: marketing responsibilities, etc). Especially when there's Red Bull Jr drivers like Ricciardo waiting in the wings (no pun intended).

[KoolMonkey 0]

I put forward the theory that in today's society, where we are bombarded with ads everywhere we see, and the result where some demographics revolt against a brand feeling they are being pandered to, or told how and what to do, that Kimi is a marketing dream.

You can bet that whatever brand he does choose to market for and promote, get's ALOT of limelight because of it. Thus the old adage or any news is good news is thrown on it's head. Instead of some sportsman hocking everything from underwear, to shaving cream, to deoderant to motor oil to coffee, we eventually as viewers of television and media get turned off. It's like oh, it's that guy again spruiking whatever brand he's getting paid to this week. There is such a thing as overload.

Kimi's appearances for Renault and Makia have been pretty well received. Thus by just being himself and doing something if he feels the need to, it actually carries more weight. He doesn't need the money, and he's not being forced to promote something. Thus whatever he's promoting has more substance and people notice.

I want to see Kimi goto RBR for the sole reason I now feel Lotus are not ever going to take that next step. They lost Allison, and only just yesterday finally got some money into the team. So a lose win situation. But if they couldn't do it with Allison, how are they going to do it without him. That would be like saying you actually believe RBR will be a better more successful team without Horner, Newey and Vettel. RBR are smart enough to not squeeze Kimi to death with various commitments. Really it comes down to Webber first off, and then if RBR have actually made and offer, and then if Kimi feels it's the right thing to do.

I and I'm sure I'm not alone here, would hate to see Kimi being stuck at Lotus for years getting pretty much the maximum out of his car with 2nds and 3rds all the time. How amazing would he be in the best car, or at least a better car with a real chance of winning outright doing the same amount of pitstops as RBR, Ferrari and so on. You only gotta look at Suzuka 2005 and there's your answer!

[Jem of the Shire 0]

You only gotta look at Suzuka 2005 and there's your answer!

I think you can look at the WHOLE of 2005 - Kimi was the best performer all year long but his mclaren was hoplessly unreliable and Alonso was gifted a couple of victories

[Jean-Pierre 0]

Especially when there's Red Bull Jr drivers like Ricciardo waiting in the wings (no pun intended).

I'd go with Vergne personally. Ricciardo has a big mouth and can't deliver on his bull s*** predictions - "I'm going to crush Vergne". I'm sure Vergne will have more points than the big mouth at the end of the season.

[Massa 0]

Vergne's high-end, to me, is more impressive than Ricciardo's.

The problem, though, is that Ricciardo's consistent performance is at a higher level than Vergne's.

I almost think that consistency would fit the Red Bull #2 better than what Vergne does, which is flash some serious pace in a few rounds and be investigated by the stewards in all the others.

I can't deny the fact I'm a fan of Vergne's. I just am not sure I see him in that role. In a car like the Toro Rosso, Vergne will outscore Ricciardo because a "normal day" in a Toro Rosso is out-of-the-points. Ricciardo can finish P12 and it is a good, solid day. But he doesn't score any more than Vergne who fumbled to P16. So, it's deceptive; when Vergne fires off a P6, it looks like he's out-performed Ricciardo all year.

But in a Red Bull, a points-scoring car, I think Ricciardo gets more than Vergne in their current form, because Ricciardo's normal day would be in the points each week. You'd get a sense of differentiation in a points-scoring car that is lost by having P11 on back all pay 0 (don't get me wrong; I like the F1 points system a lot. Just saying, it's hard to see these things going by it).

So, yes, Vergne will outscore Ricciardo, but I don't think he would in a Red Bull because of how the math works in the upper-level cars.

I will say that I think Vergne has more potential, but I'm always one to be biased toward flash over consistency. That's how I'm hopelessly waiting for Pérez and Bianchi to be WDCs, while I never seem to notice just how good di Resta has become!

[Jean-Pierre 0]

Might be, but I think Vergne is just took more time to get used to the car and that he is now familiar with it. I think he will score more points than his team mate from now on.

[Massa 0]

I tested my theory:

Over their careers, Vergne has out-scored Ricciardo 29 to 17.

However, Ricciardo has finished ahead of Vergne in 15 races; Vergne has finished ahead of Ricciardo in 12.

So, I subtracted 4 from their finishing position in every race. Random, arbitrary, sure. But it illustrates what would happen, in theory (and in no reality), if they were in a points-scoring car, as opposed to one where finishing outside of the points blurs the differences (i.e. P11 is equal to P22 outside of the points).

In 2012, Ricciardo would have out-scored Vergne 74 to 71, instead of Vergne out-scoring Ricciardo 16 to 10.

In 2013, Vergne would be out-scoring Ricciardo 46 to 23, instead of Vergne out-scoring Ricciardo 13 to 7.

As such, my observation wasn't totally accurate. We'll see how it shakes out, though.

[Jean-Pierre 0]

Well, we'll see whose theory is correct. Another interesting issue in this fascinating season!

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

Vergne's high-end, to me, is more impressive than Ricciardo's.

Vergne's high end....? By that, you mean his head, right? I'm not so sure in this hat

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

[quote name='Jean-Pierre' timestamp='1371741148' post='355551']
Ricciardo has a big mouth
[/quote]

Yep, I'd agree, that [i]is[/i] a big mouth. (I do wonder sometimes if I take things too literally)

[img]http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Daniel+Ricciardo+Amber+Lounge+Fashion+Monaco+-cvBqjjBYE9l.jpg[/img]

[KoolMonkey 0]

You do know Mr Smiley has had his braces taken out. I havn't honestly taken much notice of Vergne this year or last really. But I do rate Ricci. He might hopefully have a long career in F1, but we are talking about STR, which is pretty much suicide for average drivers. Or even very good drivers that just don't click or get on with the team, or have a last name of Speed "Crap my boss is actually really choking me", Bourdais who I've always felt was hard done by. He's a way better driver than Mr Crash My Pants at Lotus and the other Frenchman in F1. A shame when he got the boot really.

Other than Ricci, who else from the back half of the grid does anyone actually pay attention to? Each year it's a revolving door at those back marker teams, and already I can't remember who raced for them. It is honestly a shame, but that's the rough world of F1. You have to do something to standout and get promoted up the order.

[Emmcee 0]

I support RICCI as much as WEBBO,this kid IMO has got what it takes, I think he could step into webbers car now and be quick, he is ready IMO.

[Angellica 0]

I like Ricciardo and Vergne I have to admit, they're both pretty good on their day. Can't say I've watched them closely enough to be able to say who is the better of the two.

[Emmcee 0]

From what I see,RICCI is more consistent but when vergne does score points, it's quite a few. Like RICCI will finish 9/10 but vergne when he does score points it's like a 7/8 finish. So RICCI is more consistent but doesn't score aswell as vergne imo