Your Reject of the Race - China

Post by **Londoner** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:44

Jenson Button - That move was never gonna work in a month of Sundays
Red Bull - Regressing back into Jaguar with every race it seems
Pastor Maldonado - y u do dis?

But ROTR has to go to

The race itself - Abysmal, there's no other word for it.

Post by **Miguel98** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:46

Red Bull - 2 and a half engine blowups, shite race. It's not Renault's fault you morons.
Jenson Button - Bad move JB. Klon laughed at that one.
Track marshalls - Just... what the bathplug?

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:47

Nominations

1. Pastor Maldonado - Threw away points with that lockup. The spin was just amusing since he had no chance for points
2. Jenson Button - Smashing into Maldonado
3. Renault engines - Again
4. Hulkenberg - Did basically nothing this weekend. Forgot he stopped earlier in the race.

But for me

The Marshals - lolworthy attempt to get the STR back into the pits.

AdrianBelmonte_ · Post by **AdrianBelmonte_** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:49

The marshals: Seriously...
The race itself: Seriously...

Post by **Miguel98** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:49

Hulk was making a good race until he retired. It's just another pretext for him to bugger off into WEC...

Salamander · Post by **Salamander** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:53

ROTR? Red Bull. No contest. What a waste of talent and petrol, amirite?

good_Ralf · Post by **good_Ralf** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:55

Carlos Sainz Jr., was destroyed by Verstappen, even without the early spin.

Shizuka · Post by **Shizuka** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:56

Red Bull. Also Button for that Turn 1 antics.

GerhardTalger · Post by **GerhardTalger** » 12 Apr 2015, 07:59

Hulk was actually okay. The Force India is just the worst car apart from Marussia (although the engine saves it from being behind McLaren).
The race was not even that bad either. Sure, it wasn't good and there were no drivers doing outstanding jobs. The top six was very much settled. But it was not a complete borefest for the midfield.

Options are many:
Jenson Button for crashing into the back of Maldonado. He's probably not used to seeing any cars whatsoever with the Honda engine.
Pastor Maldonado for binning the chance of a good points haul for Lotus
Renault engines for going out with a bang twice more
Carlos Sainz for trailing around at the back all day while his teammate was on course for four points
The marshalls for not being able to... well, do anything. But at least they made the race somewhat funnier in the end.
Red Bull overall is pretty shoddy as well

But the winner is:
Daniel Ricciardo - From beating Vettel fair and square as a teammate to not being able to overtake Ericsson for a long time... and when he does, he makes a mistake and gives the place back. Was lucky to still clinch some points.

tBone · Post by **tBone** » 12 Apr 2015, 08:05

My ROTR was going to be Pastor Maldonado, proving all the Maldonado-bashers right. That was until the marshals showed some truly rejectful car parking skills, causing the safety car to stay out in the last lap and denying Kimi to attack Vettel and Ricciardo to attack Nasr.

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 12 Apr 2015, 08:07

Pastor Maldonado - Oh dear...
Red Bull - 1 point! Doesn't justify the moaning, though.
Jenson Button - Just because it's the Reverend doesn't mean you can crash into him without blame.
The marshals - :lol:

Post by **mario** » 12 Apr 2015, 08:08

I'm surprised that there haven't been more nominations for the marshals yet - they had already been slow to deal with Hulkenberg and Kvyat as well, but that moment with Verstappen's car was truly dire.

Mind you, both Renault and Red Bull as a whole had a poor race too - the engine blowouts for both Kvyat and Verstappen cost them dearly, Sainz Jr's gearbox issues were costly and Ricciardo made a few errors too.

That rare mistake of Button's was also notable - it's not often you see him doing that, but he simply misjudged that one badly given Maldonado was always going to turn in at that point.
Speaking of Maldonado, it's a shame that he threw away what had been, to begin with, a very good drive - he'd pulled off some nice passes earlier in the race, but it all went awry in the latter half (though I wonder how F1Fanatic's fans will react to the position of seeing somebody else crash into Maldonado in an amateurish manner - must be conflicting emotions for them).

Aguaman · Post by **Aguaman** » 12 Apr 2015, 08:12

mario wrote:
Speaking of Maldonado, it's a shame that he threw away what had been, to begin with, a very good drive - he'd pulled off some nice passes earlier in the race, but it all went awry in the latter half (though I wonder how F1Fanatic's fans will react to the position of seeing somebody else crash into Maldonado in an amateurish manner - must be conflicting emotions for them).

They might have blown up if he scored points.

Anyone disses the Reverend and I show them one of the greatest pictures in F1 history. Him with that 1st place trophy. Yeah where's your win Hulkenberg?

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 12 Apr 2015, 08:27

Aguaman wrote:
mario wrote:
Speaking of Maldonado, it's a shame that he threw away what had been, to begin with, a very good drive - he'd pulled off some nice passes earlier in the race, but it all went awry in the latter half (though I wonder how F1Fanatic's fans will react to the position of seeing somebody else crash into Maldonado in an amateurish manner - must be conflicting emotions for them).

They might have blown up if he scored points.

Anyone disses the Reverend and I show them one of the greatest pictures in F1 history. Him with that 1st place trophy. Yeah where's your win Hulkenberg?

On top of this isn't Button the most supported driver over there? I definitely remember reading such a statistic a while back.

Post by **tommykl** » 12 Apr 2015, 09:44

Now, sure, there were a lot of disappointing performances all around, and Jenson Button had that one moment of brainfade right into Maldonado, but remember, Reject of the Race will go towards a moment of sheer incompetence and hilarity when it happens.

And therefore, it can only go to the track marshals. That was a brilliant piece of logistics, there...

Zergon · Post by **Zergon** » 12 Apr 2015, 09:51

To me it has to be Pastor Maldonado, not because that crash (it was Button´s fault after all), but because of those two earlier mistakes that saw him to drop near the McLarens (from likely 8th place) to begin with.

Honorable Mention:
Red Bull: Practise sessions showed some promise but race is a whole differend story it seems, Ricciardo salvaging two points and Maldonado being his usual self save them for getting nominated by me this time but it´s a close call. Now I´m just waiting which Red Bull boss starts the whining this time around.

Jan Magnussen · Post by **Rob Dylan** » 12 Apr 2015, 11:02

Fell asleep with boredom, so I nominate the race itself.

RonDenisDeletraz · Post by **RonDenisDeletraz** » 12 Apr 2015, 11:30

I nominate Maldonado, the pinball of F1. Did bring some excitement to an otherwise dreary race though.

Post by **Ataxia** » 12 Apr 2015, 11:36

I gotta give it to the marshals. Dealing with Verstappen's stricken Toro Rosso was truly a comedy of errors.

Luckily the mechanics got involved, having been subjected to something that can only be defined by this picture:

Post by **Nuppiz** » 12 Apr 2015, 12:17

The marshals - Bernie please, next time you place a race in <insert rich nation here> at least demand them to train marshals properly. Their shenanigans today reminded me of their Korean colleagues.

SeedStriker · Post by **SeedStriker** » 12 Apr 2015, 14:57

1)Chinese Marshalls: Comedy at work with Verstappen's TR. And it's not the first time the Chinese marshalls went full kek. Refer to last year's WTCC race.

2)Red Bull: No solutions for any of it's problems today.

Dishonorable mentions to Jenson Button (brainfade that put The Reverend out), Pastor Maldonado (doing a Hamilton in Shanghai) and the race itself (I fell asleep mid race)

The Power of Nightmares Award goes to McLaren Honda (beaten by almost everyone but last year's Marussia)

Dj_bereta · Post by **Dj_bereta** » 12 Apr 2015, 15:00

I think I did better in watching only the highlights from Globo TV. Looks like the race was pretty boring.

I'm going to nominate Jenson Button. It's very uncommon to see him doing a silly mistake. Smashed Maldonado's back and was lucky to survive. Talking about the Venezuelan, he deserves a special mention, because he threw away a 8th place, at least.

Red Bull group deserves a mention too. Another abysmal race. No wonder they are threatening quit F1. Also, track Marshalls.

tc3j3r · Post by **tc3j3r** » 12 Apr 2015, 15:01

Jenson Button for his basic error.

Dishonourable mention to Rosberg for all his moaning.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 12 Apr 2015, 15:02

Red Bull: Perfect combination of whining in the press, crap driving, crap engines, and crap cars.
Jenson Button: The guy in front of you is not the brake pedal!!
Nico Rosberg: Championship hopes gone unless Hamilton is out of F1 for whatever reason (including injury).
Track Marshals: Too much went wrong.

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 12 Apr 2015, 15:10

I'm torn. Marshalls for you know what or Maldonado for locking up going into the pits.

Press_Play2002 · Post by **Press_Play2002** » 12 Apr 2015, 15:53

Pastor Maldonaldo: One must be mindful of his own braking.

The Marshalls: Comically inept at best and agonizingly lazy at worst.

Jenson Button: No Jenson, punting Pastor off won't do any favors to anyone. Let alone yourself.

Lewis Hamilton's Final Team Radio speech: For god's sake Hamster, YOU'RE NOT BARACK SODDING OBAMA!

Red Bull and RenaultSport: Pointless paddock butthurt leads to one point, two engine fires linked to the valves plus one gearbox failure and one finish from a woeful Ricciardo.

Nico's Threat narritive: https://forum-s3.pinside.com/201212/527542/57373.jpg Enough said.

CoopsII · Post by **CoopsII** » 12 Apr 2015, 16:57

The Marshalls - "Get car off track. Car not go off track. Why car not go off track? Push car in wall"

Rosberg - Shut up.

Peteroli34 · Post by **Peteroli34** » 12 Apr 2015, 17:49

Marshals - Your job is to remove cars from the track not push them into walls

Red Bull Being beaten by a Child driving for the junior team. Maybe Red Bull should swap cars with Toro Rosso without them noticing

Special mention to Maldonado for managing to get lost

sw3ishida · Post by **sw3ishida** » 12 Apr 2015, 18:08

Couldn't help but laugh at the Marshals. It's the kind of rejectfulness that added some comedy to a rather dull race

UncreativeUsername37 · Post by **UncreativeUsername37** » 12 Apr 2015, 19:55

Maldonado, Button, Renault, all RsOTR in a lesser race. But nothing brought the word rejectful straight to my mind like those marshals.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 12 Apr 2015, 20:45

Dishonourable mentions

Jenson Button - It's very rare for him to have a moment of brain fade like that. Another driver may not have even had a look in at this award

Red Bull were in the wars and looked to have sewn up the award quite comfortably after what was a dismal weekend for what was once the dominant force of F1.

That was until the end of the race, where my nomination for ROTR was won by none other than

The Marshals - Comically incompetent

watka · Post by **watka** » 12 Apr 2015, 22:18

Notable mentions:

Jenson Button - for the single biggest mistake in the race, slamming straight into the back of the Pastor

Pastor Maldonado - his biggest incident was Button's fault and his pace was rather good (matching Grosjean) but he was as clumsy as ever

Nico Rosberg - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujBjn1qeCLs

Red Bull roster - 3 retirements out of 4. Toro Rossos slipping back in pace from the first 2 races. Sainz's lazy Ericsson-esque spin. Kvyat and Ricciardo battling when instructing not too. Ricciardo getting only 9th and looking like an amateur when trying to pass Ericsson. Red Bull looking like more of a handful than even the McLaren. Verstappen's performance was the only highlight Dreadful.

But the winner is:

The marshals - for the sheer hilarity for trying to get Verstappen's Toro Rosso into the pits. Luckily they didn't break anything!

AustralianStig · Post by **AustralianStig** » 13 Apr 2015, 00:17

Maldonado - even if it wasn't his fault for getting punted off by Button, he wouldn't have been down fighting with the McLarens if he could go 30 laps without spinning.

Dishonourable mentions:
Renault - Make something that works, plz
Marshalls - Push, push, push...no wait! STOP STOP STOP *Crunch*

DOSBoot · Post by **DOSBoot** » 13 Apr 2015, 03:08

1. Red Bull: Their whining, and poor performance from the drivers get this one for me.

2. Button: Severe brain fade right there.

Dishonorable Mention - The Race Itself: Man it was boring as hell.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 13 Apr 2015, 12:51

A difficult one to call, this. There's choices aplenty for yesterday's pick. If you're looking for straight up rejectfulness, then there are few candidates vying for the win. Button piledriving Maldonado in a move even a rookie would be ashamed of, while Maldonado himself turned a very promising display into a wasted one my missing pit entry entirely, and following it up with a solo spin. And finally the Chinese GP marshals, for that amateur attempt at clearing Verstappen's car.

Of course, one might argue that there were simply outright worse performances on the grid today - notably some combination of one or both of Red Bull and Renault - 2/4 engines failed, the lead team's cars hideously off the pace. Perhaps even Daniel Ricciardo could earn it on his own - while the car certainly wasn't up to much, he made several unforced errors during the race, most notably his Webber-esque start and failure to deal with Marcus Ericsson. Verstappen in the junior team car showed him up badly. Carlos Sainz Jr had a shocker as well, the last car to finish the race bar the Manors, partially thanks to that first corner spin on the marbles. The inability to find a gear midway through the race was almost certainly not his fault, however.

From a certain angle, you could almost give it to Nico Rosberg for pure hypocrisy. His reaction at finishing second to Hamilton once again, and accusing him of not being a team player for backing him into Vettel, is an argument worn thin by his own actions last season when trying to tactically get one up on Hamilton in the title fight. If you earn track position, you earn the right to dictate the pace. Considering Mercedes publicly backed Hamilton on the issue, there was no reason to spend the next hour after the race trotting out the same argument to anyone that will listen. You could possibly hand him ROTR for the worst racing driver excuse we've heard in some time.

But in the end, the Reject of the Race award for the Chinese Grand Prix has to go to The Marshals. Usually I'm not happy to tack the volunteers who keep the sport running with such an award, but being able to tick off both the poor performance and rejectful event boxes ensures them the highly unprestigious award for this weekend. The comedic blunder of removing Verstappen's car is of course the first factor, caused by both a basic lack of understanding about how shallow an F1 car's steering lock is while not in motion, with the Toro Rosso mechanics looking on helplessly in anguish at the unfolding situation just adding to the rejectfulness. This, combined with the slow reactions to the failures of Kyvat and Hulkenberg's deceased cars, nails them a place on the ROTR leaderboard alongside the Korean marshals. Much like Hulkenberg, perhaps they're double dutying?

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 13 Apr 2015, 21:11

I'm putting in a belated vote for Rosberg for his post-race reaction. Reminds me of some of the excuses Barrichello made up for not being able to beat Schumacher when they were at Ferrari!!

watka · Post by **watka** » 14 Apr 2015, 12:53

Agree that the marshals should be ROTR, but for pure comedy rather than awful performance (not sure they could be accused of doing anything dangerous), which is what ROTR should be about.

Spectoremg · Post by **Spectoremg** » 14 Apr 2015, 21:33

1. The Marshals.
2. The 'race' (sic).
3. The BBC team who's brief seems to be OPTIMISM and BIG EVERYTHING UP. And especially Ben Edwards, a guy I liked all the way through his lower formulae commentating and was pleased to see get the big seat. Did he say something at the end about it being a close finish between Vettel and Raikkonen?

Post by **Bobby Doorknobs** » 14 Apr 2015, 21:55

Spectoremg wrote:1. The Marshals.
2. The 'race' (sic).
3. The BBC team who's brief seems to be OPTIMISM and BIG EVERYTHING UP. And especially Ben Edwards, a guy I liked all the way through his lower formulae commentating and was pleased to see get the big seat. Did he say something at the end about it being a close finish between Vettel and Raikkonen?

Well, less than a second did separate them

Tank · Post by **Tank** » 15 Apr 2015, 06:53

1) Red Bull - the less charitable part of me would be enjoying their decline if it weren't for the fact I genuinely like Riccardo.

2) Maldonado - while the final accident was undoubtedly Button's fault, The Reverend drove like a plum up to that point.

Dishonourable mentions
- Button
- Renault