Rantbox

[dr-baker]

Pedro Lamy was passed it

Passed it? Like... over the top? Getting too old? He was only 24 years at the time.

And Lamy proved he was talented by having a fine sports car career.

It's a shame that each time I think of Pedro Lamy in F1, the first image in my head is always of hime smashing his Lotus into the back of Lehto's stationary Benetton at the start of the 1994 San Marino GP.

[Shadaza]

Another thing that annoys me is when commentators quote something like "The furthest place anyone has ever won from here is 4th." as ammunition for a track not being great for overtaking.

Well considering the grid (aside from penalties) is ordered with fastest drivers at the front, why would you be so shocked to see them win. That is like giving Usain Bolt a 10 Metre head start at the 100m finals then being surprised when he wins.

[Klon]

Now that I am sh*tfaced, I can tell the truth: I hate you, Jenson and I hate you, Ross - why'd you deny Rubens Barrichello his deserved world title? Where's the justice in that?

BOOOOOOOOO!

[dinizintheoven]

Lay off the Flensburger Pilsener, Klon...

[Klon]

It was Oldesloer Weizenkorn - the strong stuff.

[DanielPT]

Now that I am sh*tfaced, I can tell the truth: I hate you, Jenson and I hate you, Ross - why'd you deny Rubens Barrichello his deserved world title? Where's the justice in that?

BOOOOOOOOO!

Ahhhh Rubens Barrichello, one of the greatest F1 journeymen. Luckily we have followers like Massa, Webber, Kovalainen and Glock.

[Rusujuur]

This is my first post in a LONG time, but the more I get involved in kart racing, this question keeps popping up in my mind:

Why do the drivers drive up on the kerbs/curbs on the exit of any given corner? Driving on them on the apex makes sense, but on the exit? They're not made of the same substance the track is, so wouldn't the drivers be losing grip and speed by driving up on them? IIRC, the kerbs/curbs are built out of concrete, aren't they?

It opens up the exit of the corner which means a driver can put the power down earlier

Getting on the kerb on the exit of T10 at Bahrain? Bad idea. No grip, as you said. But at Eau Rouge using the exit kerb on left helps straighten the line through the corner thus causing less loss of speed.

Kerbs can be used to accelerate earlier on some tracks but on others they are built to deter cars from going over them too much. In some chicanes kerbs are built with a higher angle to stop the cars from cutting but on wider curves they sometimes "extend" the track for some formulas - the less grippy your tires the less you will benefit from the "extra" track. Kimi in China got into trouble after an exit onto the DRS straight that was too wide onto the kerbs and lost traction, on the other hand, had he not risked it he would not have had enough acceleration out of the corner.

[Klon]

It is insane ranting time and I don't care about your rules which is why I will post long texts - let's start with:

Observation #1

It is almost eerily just how close Michael Schumacher's and Michael Jordan's career are to each other if you switch things around a bit:

Both start impressive, qualifying a Jordan in 7th for their first race and immediately moving to Benetton for Schumacher and winning Rookie Of The Year for Jordan, bevor moving to the top in their next season (Schumacher's first win and Jordan's 63-point game against the Celtics). Now, here we need to move a bit and we have Schumacher's first two championships and the first three-peat for Chicago. The Detroit Pistons roadblock that Jordan had before his championships came after Schumacher's first championships in form of Mika Häkkinen. Then we have the Baseball episode by Jordan and Schumacher breaking his leg, before both return to dominate the sport. After the apparent end to their career, they came back, not quite on their former level for teams that are not championship contenders.

[Salamander]

It is insane ranting time and I don't care about your rules which is why I will post long texts - let's start with:

Observation #1

It is almost eerily just how close Michael Schumacher's and Michael Jordan's career are to each other if you switch things around a bit:

Both start impressive, qualifying a Jordan in 7th for their first race and immediately moving to Benetton for Schumacher and winning Rookie Of The Year for Jordan, bevor moving to the top in their next season (Schumacher's first win and Jordan's 63-point game against the Celtics). Now, here we need to move a bit and we have Schumacher's first two championships and the first three-peat for Chicago. The Detroit Pistons roadblock that Jordan had before his championships came after Schumacher's first championships in form of Mika Häkkinen. Then we have the Baseball episode by Jordan and Schumacher breaking his leg, before both return to dominate the sport. After the apparent end to their career, they came back, not quite on their former level for teams that are not championship contenders.

If you think that's long, clearly you haven't read one of my 'What If?' posts.

But yeah, that is in interesting similarity, I wonder if there are any other sports stories that read about the same?

[Klon]

Time to continue with:

Observation #2

I was shocked at the 2011 Canadian (or was it Brazilian?) Grand Prix, where Jacques Villeneuve was visiting and interviewed by Kai Ebel. In said interview he claimed that he has no interest to return to F1 and accepted his time was over. This is something, as we know, that Villeneuve would never say. It caused me to consider what could made him do that. Was he blackmailed? Did someone threatened him? Did someone convince him a second CD of his could become a major hit? No, I did not believed that. After spiraling down in more insane theories, I remembered something I found odd in a 2010 FOM music video. Thankfully I had downloaded them only a few weeks ago and in the Hungarian highlights ("We don't celebrate Sundays anymore, WE DON'T CELEBRATE SUNDAYS" - nice song) found the solution to this case: this picture of Jaime Alguersuari. Something odd about it, isn't it? And then it hit me like a brick: the surprisingly good start to their careers, given their situation (Alguersuari fared a lot better in F1 than someone his age and experience in motorsport would be expected to, Villeneuve nearly became a champion in his first season); their musical ventures - it is obvious: Jaime Alguersuari is a clone of Jacques Villeneuve! Did Helmut Marko realise this as well and destroyed his own reputation to stop Villeneuve's career from becoming immortal? Is he the hero that F1 wants, nay, craves?

[DemocalypseNow]

Time to continue with:

Observation #2

I was shocked at the 2011 Canadian (or was it Brazilian?) Grand Prix, where Jacques Villeneuve was visiting and interviewed by Kai Ebel. In said interview he claimed that he has no interest to return to F1 and accepted his time was over. This is something, as we know, that Villeneuve would never say. It caused me to consider what could made him do that. Was he blackmailed? Did someone threatened him? Did someone convince him a second CD of his could become a major hit? No, I did not believed that. After spiraling down in more insane theories, I remembered something I found odd in a 2010 FOM music video. Thankfully I had downloaded them only a few weeks ago and in the Hungarian highlights ("We don't celebrate Sundays anymore, WE DON'T CELEBRATE SUNDAYS" - nice song) found the solution to this case: this picture of Jaime Alguersuari. Something odd about it, isn't it? And then it hit me like a brick: the surprisingly good start to their careers, given their situation (Alguersuari fared a lot better in F1 than someone his age and experience in motorsport would be expected to, Villeneuve nearly became a champion in his first season); their musical ventures - it is obvious: Jaime Alguersuari is a clone of Jacques Villeneuve! Did Helmut Marko realise this as well and destroyed his own reputation to stop Villeneuve's career from becoming immortal? Is he the hero that F1 wants, nay, craves?

If Hamilton never wins another world championship and decides to release that R&B album after all, he will be the true JV clone.

[DanielPT]

Time to continue with:

Observation #2

I was shocked at the 2011 Canadian (or was it Brazilian?) Grand Prix, where Jacques Villeneuve was visiting and interviewed by Kai Ebel. In said interview he claimed that he has no interest to return to F1 and accepted his time was over. This is something, as we know, that Villeneuve would never say. It caused me to consider what could made him do that. Was he blackmailed? Did someone threatened him? Did someone convince him a second CD of his could become a major hit? No, I did not believed that. After spiraling down in more insane theories, I remembered something I found odd in a 2010 FOM music video. Thankfully I had downloaded them only a few weeks ago and in the Hungarian highlights ("We don't celebrate Sundays anymore, WE DON'T CELEBRATE SUNDAYS" - nice song) found the solution to this case: this picture of Jaime Alguersuari. Something odd about it, isn't it? And then it hit me like a brick: the surprisingly good start to their careers, given their situation (Alguersuari fared a lot better in F1 than someone his age and experience in motorsport would be expected to, Villeneuve nearly became a champion in his first season); their musical ventures - it is obvious: Jaime Alguersuari is a clone of Jacques Villeneuve! Did Helmut Marko realise this as well and destroyed his own reputation to stop Villeneuve's career from becoming immortal? Is he the hero that F1 wants, nay, craves?

If Hamilton never wins another world championship and decides to release that R&B album after all, he will be the true JV clone.

I always had a gut feeling that so much love for Rubens Barrichello wasn't healthy, but now I am sure!

[Klon]

I always had a gut feeling that so much love for Rubens Barrichello wasn't healthy, but now I am sure!

Hey, don't reduce my insanity just to Barrichello not succeeding as much as I want him to - I am more than just that.

[Phoenix]

Time to continue with:

Observation #2

I was shocked at the 2011 Canadian (or was it Brazilian?) Grand Prix, where Jacques Villeneuve was visiting and interviewed by Kai Ebel. In said interview he claimed that he has no interest to return to F1 and accepted his time was over. This is something, as we know, that Villeneuve would never say. It caused me to consider what could made him do that. Was he blackmailed? Did someone threatened him? Did someone convince him a second CD of his could become a major hit? No, I did not believed that. After spiraling down in more insane theories, I remembered something I found odd in a 2010 FOM music video. Thankfully I had downloaded them only a few weeks ago and in the Hungarian highlights ("We don't celebrate Sundays anymore, WE DON'T CELEBRATE SUNDAYS" - nice song) found the solution to this case: this picture of Jaime Alguersuari. Something odd about it, isn't it? And then it hit me like a brick: the surprisingly good start to their careers, given their situation (Alguersuari fared a lot better in F1 than someone his age and experience in motorsport would be expected to, Villeneuve nearly became a champion in his first season); their musical ventures - it is obvious: Jaime Alguersuari is a clone of Jacques Villeneuve! Did Helmut Marko realise this as well and destroyed his own reputation to stop Villeneuve's career from becoming immortal? Is he the hero that F1 wants, nay, craves?

If Hamilton never wins another world championship and decides to release that R&B album after all, he will be the true JV clone.

Seriously, stop using that facepalm emoticon on every post you make, it's beginning to become tiresome - you're just reminding me of one P. WNSNBM

Besides, Hamilton's post-WC career has turned out to be far better than that of Jacques Villeneuve.

[DemocalypseNow]

Seriously, stop using that facepalm emoticon on every post you make, it's beginning to become tiresome - you're just reminding me of one P. WNSNBM

You're telling me to suppress my true emotions? How can you be so cruel?

[Phoenix]

Seriously, stop using that facepalm emoticon on every post you make, it's beginning to become tiresome - you're just reminding me of one P. WNSNBM

You're telling me to suppress my true emotions? How can you be so cruel?

Moderation just got to a whole new level!

No, seriously, I'm feeling too serious today for some reason I don't know

[DemocalypseNow]

Seriously, stop using that facepalm emoticon on every post you make, it's beginning to become tiresome - you're just reminding me of one P. WNSNBM

You're telling me to suppress my true emotions? How can you be so cruel?

Moderation just got to a whole new level!

No, seriously, I'm feeling too serious today for some reason I don't know

Perhaps this will help you wind down;

[Phoenix]

Only one? When you can have many?

[FMecha]

Phoenix, kostas22, that is watka's thing

[Phoenix]

Phoenix, kostas22, that is watka's thing

And where is he now? Someone had to take over his mantle if he ever vanished into thin air

[FMecha]

Phoenix, kostas22, that is watka's thing

And where is he now? Someone had to take over his mantle if he ever vanished into thin air

Four letters: AWOL. That is all. Nothing can be heard about him now - except that Mitie-Kingfisher want Watka's driver (Watkinson).

[Klon]

Time to continue with:

Observation #2

I was shocked at the 2011 Canadian (or was it Brazilian?) Grand Prix, where Jacques Villeneuve was visiting and interviewed by Kai Ebel. In said interview he claimed that he has no interest to return to F1 and accepted his time was over. This is something, as we know, that Villeneuve would never say. It caused me to consider what could made him do that. Was he blackmailed? Did someone threatened him? Did someone convince him a second CD of his could become a major hit? No, I did not believed that. After spiraling down in more insane theories, I remembered something I found odd in a 2010 FOM music video. Thankfully I had downloaded them only a few weeks ago and in the Hungarian highlights ("We don't celebrate Sundays anymore, WE DON'T CELEBRATE SUNDAYS" - nice song) found the solution to this case: this picture of Jaime Alguersuari. Something odd about it, isn't it? And then it hit me like a brick: the surprisingly good start to their careers, given their situation (Alguersuari fared a lot better in F1 than someone his age and experience in motorsport would be expected to, Villeneuve nearly became a champion in his first season); their musical ventures - it is obvious: Jaime Alguersuari is a clone of Jacques Villeneuve! Did Helmut Marko realise this as well and destroyed his own reputation to stop Villeneuve's career from becoming immortal? Is he the hero that F1 wants, nay, craves?

Holy mother of HWNSNBM! According to Wikipedia, Jaime is the Spanish version for James, which is the English version of Jacques. This is getting too sane for my liking.

[AdrianSutil]

Phoenix, kostas22, that is watka's thing

And where is he now? Someone had to take over his mantle if he ever vanished into thin air

Four letters: AWOL. That is all. Nothing can be heard about him now - except that Mitie-Kingfisher want Watka's driver (Watkinson).

Wanted, and got

Anyway, the similarities between JV and Alguersuari aren't as close as you'd expect. Remember Villeneuve was in F1 for nearly 10 years and Jaime was just starting to break through. If JV left at the end of say, 2000, when his reputation was virtually restored after a blip, that would be a lot closer. Music wise, spot on

[Ferrim]

I can't understand how so many people attack Pirelli's tyres. It's starting to drive me mad for fear they will force a change in the end.

The best thing that has happened to F1 since I follow ('99) and so many people whining, I don't know where the hell they were in 2010 when everyone said that racing was boring because of the tyres.

[DanielPT]

I can't understand how so many people attack Pirelli's tyres. It's starting to drive me mad for fear they will force a change in the end.

The best thing that has happened to F1 since I follow ('99) and so many people whining, I don't know where the hell they were in 2010 when everyone said that racing was boring because of the tyres.

That is exactly where they were... Saying that racing was boring because of the tyres. And that is the pathetic part. Although I particularly like this year rules and racing (even my father is watching and saying it is exciting, he enjoyed and discussed Maldonado's victory yesterday, something that did not happened for a long time), I agree we should not let racing get too artificial.

[AndreaModa]

It pisses me off no end. Just like Enoch said in his editorial comment piece on Schumacher recently, the tyres have introduced the complex strategic element back into F1, something that Maldonado carried out perfectly yesterday. If the drivers can't deal with it then why are they in F1? It's rewarding the intelligent, calculating drivers and producing some excellent racing. Even without all the passing elsewhere in the race yesterday, I would still say for the battle up front alone it was a very good race, regardless of whether it was a Williams in the hunt for the win or not. Two drivers, on the edge of performance, going at it for the victory in two vastly different cars. I can't see what there is to complain about!

[DanielPT]

It pisses me off no end. Just like Enoch said in his editorial comment piece on Schumacher recently, the tyres have introduced the complex strategic element back into F1, something that Maldonado carried out perfectly yesterday. If the drivers can't deal with it then why are they in F1? It's rewarding the intelligent, calculating drivers and producing some excellent racing. Even without all the passing elsewhere in the race yesterday, I would still say for the battle up front alone it was a very good race, regardless of whether it was a Williams in the hunt for the win or not. Two drivers, on the edge of performance, going at it for the victory in two vastly different cars. I can't see what there is to complain about!

Yes, here we are again. People complaining about the state of F1. From ever since I can remember people complain about the state of F1. Be it the lack of sponsors, the new rules that don't work like back in the days, or that there aren't many good teams in the sport or that the sport needs more professional outfits or that it has too much manufacturers and went too much professional, we moan and complain.

Last year, the same guy won everything on his sight. He was clearly the best and his package was crushingly dominant: "It is always the same who wins, no one else can get a result", "Today is only about the cars and not about the drivers", "There is too much emphasis on aero and not enough overtakes", "The sport is dull", "The cars are too spread out in terms of pace", etc.

This year, we had 5 different winners from 5 different teams, only 2 of them from pole and the championship is tight as it can be: "F1 is a lottery, people don't understand the tyres", "The best teams can't string two weekends in a row at the top", "Drivers can't drive at 100% all the time", "F1 is entertaining, but now feels artificial", "There are too much gimmicks these days", "Too much people are winning these days, therefore rendering a race victory ordinary. F1 needs its niche of special drivers at the top" (yep, I've read this one elsewhere in the Net), etc.

I have said it before and will say again. There is nothing wrong in improving our sport, but seriously, we need to get a grip. So much complaining and whinging (of the kind that makes Mansell proud) cannot be good to promote our sport. And this is if we want it, because I am pretty sure that now we complain that we can't get enough cash and people outside hardcore fans can't give a damn, but if it was the other way around we would complain about how mainstream the sport was and that all the racing tradition went down the drain. Or something else, but we would complain anyway.

Evolution made the cars more sophisticated and complex with many performance differentiators. Quite frankly, an open formula would be madness. Spiralling costs and safety issues would arise. Long are the days now where the cars were tubes with only the engines to blame for performance gaps. We should try to promote good racing while doing exactly that, racing. Raikkonen wasn't too much off the mark with that refuelling ban being a key factor in today's races. "Refuelling makes the cars sprint to the finish line and only overtake on the pit-lane without much sense of strategy". "Now that refuelling is gone, the cars and tyres must be nursed until the finish line making this endurance racing".

Anyway, must stop complaining about the complaints.

[AndreaModa]

Good post Daniel! Sums it up nicely.

[Ferrim]

Yeah, I liked very much Räikkönen's appreciations. He's certainly liking this generation of F1 racing, and I wouldn't complain if he went on to win the world championship in his comeback year. It's not that unlikely anymore, as the Lotus is the most consistent car in the field

[FullMetalJack]

Yeah, I liked very much Räikkönen's appreciations. He's certainly liking this generation of F1 racing, and I wouldn't complain if he went on to win the world championship in his comeback year. It's not that unlikely anymore, as the Lotus is the most consistent car in the field

I've actually bet on it. I'm thinking he may win at Monaco too.

[pasta_maldonado]

Complaining about the state of F1 is futile; give it 20 or 30 years and we'll be looking back at this period in time (2010 - 2014) with rose-tinted glasses and fond memories.

[DanielPT]

Complaining about the state of F1 is futile; give it 20 or 30 years and we'll be looking back at this period in time (2010 - 2014) with rose-tinted glasses and fond memories.

That doesn't prevent people complaining because, let's face it, for many folks, life or things from it are always getting worse than they were. The same that complain now, will look back in 20 years and recall the Hamiltons, the Alonsos and the Vettels battling for championship after championship and saying to their kids how awesome it was and how it is not the same thing in their age. Oh well...

[Klon]

Sauber and the drivers they chose apparentely have quite a talent for choking - Heinz-Harald Frentzen in Monaco '96, Sergio Perez in Malaysia '12 - makes you wonder whether Sauber will ever win a race.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Sauber and the drivers they chose apparentely have quite a talent for choking - Heinz-Harald Frentzen in Monaco '96, Sergio Perez in Malaysia '12 - makes you wonder whether Sauber will ever win a race.

Frenzten didn't choke. His team basically screwed up as, in hindsight, when he pitted for that new front wing, it was probably the perfect window to switch onto slicks.

[Klon]

That does not change the fact that he did rip it off after all.

[TomWazzleshaw]

That does not change the fact that he did rip it off after all.

Wouldn't you if you spent 30 minutes stuck behind a Ferrari losing the best part of three seconds a lap?

[Klon]

I most likely would...

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Kobayashi is going to win Monaco. That is all.

[Pamphlet]

Kobayashi is going to win Monaco. That is all.

Considering the situation of F1 at the moment I wouldn't be surprised if Massa won.

[Londoner]

Kobayashi is going to win Monaco. That is all.

Considering the situation of F1 at the moment I wouldn't be surprised if Massa won.

I think the only feasible conclusion we can drawn at the moment is that McLaren will find a way of stuffing up everything again.