Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

2009 Formula One Thread

Vogue Harper said:
Michael Andretti in 1993 had a McLaren that Senna won races in and was probably the best car after the Williams FW15. Da Matta and Bourdais might not have been given decent cars but then they did not exactly shine against their team mates. Webber (Minardi), Vettel (STR), Alonso (Minardi) and even Sutil in his Force India are examples of drivers who have all started in mid/backfield running cars and made their way.

I thought USGP had an American driver only policy - I wonder if Danica Patrick is still in with a chance for a drive?

As for Austria 2002 I am a Schumacher fan and even I thought it was a bit ridiculous that they should have called for the move at that race when he was so far ahead in the championship. My only point in raising that race was to highlight Barrichello's history of petulance. He could have moved over a lot earlier in the race and avoided the massive controversy that followed. If that's what you are contracted to do, then do it. Don't compound the situation by demonstrating to the world that you don't like doing something you are contracted to do.
Click to expand...

Yeah, don't take it as a personal attack. Apologies if I made it seem that way.
BUT... Why pull over? I don't think that is appropriate either. That is called race fixing. I don't watch races, or want to watch races(or any ohter sporting event) in which the result is predetermined, do you? That's not racing and it isn't sporting. ;)

As for whining and petulance and what not. Michael Andretti, and now his son, are very culpable. All I can say in MA's defense is that he went about the '93 F1 season all wrong. He lived in the states and continually flew back and forth. Not a good way to endear yourself with the team or learn how to drive a very powerful and unfamiliar machine. It didn't help that he was competing with Senna.

Da Matta I never rated but he was pretty good in the states. But the Toyotas he drove were sh*t.

Bourdais I can see getting a chance with one of the newer teams.

-----
If Nico goes to BMW what about poor Nick?


Alonso to Ferrari? Be a pal Fred and take little Jarno with you... puuuhhhhllleeeeeeaaaasssssse?
 
pachyderm said:
Yeah, don't take it as a personal attack. Apologies if I made it seem that way.
BUT... Why pull over? I don't think that is appropriate either. That is called race fixing. I don't watch races, or want to watch races(or any ohter sporting event) in which the result is predetermined, do you? That's not racing and it isn't sporting. ;)
Click to expand...

Not at all - don't worry :) Just made me realise I perhaps wasn't being clear in why I mentioned Austria 2002 in the current Barrichello controversy.

You are right, team orders were not racing and not sporting either, but Formula 1 really stopped becoming sport when Bernie Ecclestone decided he wanted to make a few bob out of it. Team orders have been in place for ages in F1, see the infamous 1982 San Marino GP when Pironi disobeyed Ferrari team orders. But everyone tolerated them from the fans who watched to the drivers who had to play second fiddle. The reason why fans like me tolerated them was because we understood that the drivers involved tolerated them. In every case they were being paid an astronomical sum of money under a contract, a term of which was to play second fiddle and move over when the call came to do so. Failure to agree to this term would have meant they would not be driving that car. Riccardo Patrese moved over countless times for Nigel Mansell at Williams even though at some races (like Magny Cours 1991) he had shown Mansell a clean pair of heels, every time without complaint. That is why, as wrong as Austria 2002 was from a race fixing perspective, the only thing unique about it was the way in which the position swap was so blatantly carried out by the protagonists a result entirely borne of Barrichello's petulance.
 
MOFS said:
In other news, Rosberg to BMW, and Rubens to Williams?
Click to expand...

That seems odd to me. Especially given this year I'd say why get rid of Heidfeld instead of Kubica? I know in the past Kubica has driven well, but what about all of the baggage? All he has done this year is complain and ontop of that he tried calling about Vettle for that crash in Australia, but if you look at the replays I think anybody would say that was more his fault over Vettle. By contrast Heidfeld is a good driver who appears to be willing to work with the team and do whatever he can to get the most ouf of the car.
 
Vogue Harper said:
Not at all - don't worry :) Just made me realise I perhaps wasn't being clear in why I mentioned Austria 2002 in the current Barrichello controversy.

You are right, team orders were not racing and not sporting either, but Formula 1 really stopped becoming sport when Bernie Ecclestone decided he wanted to make a few bob out of it. Team orders have been in place for ages in F1, see the infamous 1982 San Marino GP when Pironi disobeyed Ferrari team orders. But everyone tolerated them from the fans who watched to the drivers who had to play second fiddle. The reason why fans like me tolerated them was because we understood that the drivers involved tolerated them. In every case they were being paid an astronomical sum of money under a contract, a term of which was to play second fiddle and move over when the call came to do so. Failure to agree to this term would have meant they would not be driving that car. Riccardo Patrese moved over countless times for Nigel Mansell at Williams even though at some races (like Magny Cours 1991) he had shown Mansell a clean pair of heels, every time without complaint. That is why, as wrong as Austria 2002 was from a race fixing perspective, the only thing unique about it was the way in which the position swap was so blatantly carried out by the protagonists a result entirely borne of Barrichello's petulance.
Click to expand...

I've never heard it referred to as "Barrichello's petulance" . lol. It simply seemed to me to be that MS couldn't catch him. Rubens ran away with that race. Period.
 
Random question, I was watching the post race press conference after Sunday's race, when did the epaulettes on the drivers' race suits disappear? They seem to have been replaced by drawings of epaulettes instead :confused:

The reason why they have epaulettes on race suits is so that marshals have a handle by which to drag a driver out of a car. Is there some other method now or some safety convention (such as the removable cockpit surround) that has rendered them unnecessary?
 
Vogue Harper said:
The reason why they have epaulettes on race suits is so that marshals have a handle by which to drag a driver out of a car. Is there some other method now or some safety convention (such as the removable cockpit surround) that has rendered them unnecessary?
Click to expand...

I think a lot of the drivers have jackets or similar they put on over the suits as the jackets display the sponsors logos better (and are clean).
 
That's certainly true of McLaren - they had a jacket engineered to point the sponsors logos forward.

FWIW - I've looked at Autosport's gallery from this w'end, and I can see real epaulettes (some are small, some are very well contoured to the rest of the overalls, but they are there) on every driver.
 
Aha thank you :) That's a good explanation of why they don't appear to have epaulettes if they are wearing jackets over the top of the overalls which they presumably put on after the podium ceremony.

I know my kart suit doesn't have epaulettes but then that's because I am never likely to have to be dragged out of my kart, more risk of being thrown out of the kart in an accident.
 
Vogue Harper said:
Aha thank you :) That's a good explanation of why they don't appear to have epaulettes if they are wearing jackets over the top of the overalls which they presumably put on after the podium ceremony.

I know my kart suit doesn't have epaulettes but then that's because I am never likely to have to be dragged out of my kart, more risk of being thrown out of the kart in an accident.
Click to expand...

I thought the entire drivers seat was designed to be pulled out now so there is no need for them... no?
 
I think that's more in the case of a big crash with potential spinal injury problems. It takes a while to do. If the thing just burst into flames - your want to ping the belt, and grab them by the race suit, and pull.
 
djellison said:
I think that's more in the case of a big crash with potential spinal injury problems. It takes a while to do. If the thing just burst into flames - your want to ping the belt, and grab them by the race suit, and pull.
Click to expand...

then surely they need real epaulettes... ?
 
Man I hope this guy gets the bill to run the FIA.

On the contrary, Jean Todt represents the old era, and it's not right that Max wants to impose a new leader, and that he uses the power of the federation to support his campaign...

At Ferrari they don't want Todt to be president, and so they have told me, because they think they sport would lose credibility. The same would happen if it was Ross Brawn or Flavio Briatore running. The president of the FIA must be someone neutral.
Click to expand...

Rest is here: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77019
 
i think todt would be very capable, but he comes with too much baggage.
besides, mosley's sponsorship is the kiss of death for him.
the guy is (rightly) toxic right now.

hopefully with the new course they also make a provision to limit to 1 term of 5-6 years, so we never go back into a mosley dictatorship
 
Don't panic said:
i think todt would be very capable, but he comes with too much baggage.
besides, mosley's sponsorship is the kiss of death for him.
the guy is (rightly) toxic right now.

hopefully with the new course they also make a provision to limit to 1 term of 5-6 years, so we never go back into a mosley dictatorship
Click to expand...

LOL. I was just going to say the same thing more or less. I'll take the other guy and say "No" to Todt.
 
Superman07 said:
How about just No + Todt = Nodt ?
Click to expand...

Nice. But it seems Varanen is fighting a losing battle.

autosport.com said:
"... Jean Todt represents the old era, and it's not right that Max wants to impose a new leader, and that he uses the power of the federation to support his campaign. The FIA is not a kingdom; it's a republic where the leaders are chosen democratically. At Ferrari they don't want Todt to be president, and so they have told me, because they think they sport would lose credibility. The same would happen if it was Ross Brawn or Flavio Briatore running. The president of the FIA must be someone neutral."

Despite Vatanen's claims about Ferrari not wanting Todt, AUTOSPORT understands that the Italian team has expressed no preference in who wins the FIA election, and is adopting a neutral stance regarding the situation.
Click to expand...

link
 
He's lucky he managed to regain consciousness in time to slam on the brakes and down the gears.

Had he been knocked out and kept the throttle open he would be dead. Even in a 2009 F1 car three rows of tyres aren't going to keep you alive at 200mph.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back