Rantbox

CarlosFerreira · Post by **CarlosFerreira** » 18 Apr 2011, 20:08

Go home, Pastor Maldonado.

Glennerz · Post by **Glennerz** » 18 Apr 2011, 20:19

shinji wrote:
Klon wrote:I am in favour of David Coulthard commentating no more...

No, wait, hear me out, you can put me in the straight-jacket directly afterwards: his commentating itself is good and he's very informative, but his accent is absolutely horrendous. Bugs me to no end. I had the pleasure of watching the Malaysia Grand Prix with BBC commentary and I thought my own English would never be spoken "properly" again because Coulthard's accent was etched on my memory.

Gaelic solidarity - he's not too bad, beyond Heidfield, which is the most annoying thing I have encountered in quite a while.

I think I heard Brundle slyly mentioning that Nick's second name was missing an 'I', as if he was trying to give Coulthard the hint. Also hearing him say 'Malay-see-a' does my head in.

RAK · Post by **RAK** » 18 Apr 2011, 21:27

Glennerz wrote:I think I heard Brundle slyly mentioning that Nick's second name was missing an 'I', as if he was trying to give Coulthard the hint..

I wondered if anybody else had noticed that.

James1978 · Post by **James1978** » 18 Apr 2011, 21:31

I feel Brundle's pronounciation of "Alguersuari" is more annoying that Coulthard's "Heid-FIELD" or "Vet-TEL"!

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 18 Apr 2011, 23:01

Cynon wrote:
Warren Hughes wrote:I actually agree with di Montezemolo on the engine thing, 4 cylinders is not enough for the pinnacle of European motorsport!

Fixed.

I would prefer to see 6 cylinders rather than 4 (IndyCar is going to a V6 Turbo engine soon as well, but the IRL's reason for using a V6 is that it's close to what the manufacturers have on their road cars), but if the 4 cylinder formula is both more fuel efficient and produces better racing, then I'll love it.

yes i know this is old but...
Buick/GM produced a 6 cylinder turbo motor that screamed many drivers to the 500 win and points championship.

One thing i hope to never have to sit through again is the 1997 and 1998 seasons with throaty v8s in the indycars. that combination of sound and visual didn't sit right with me. lol

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 19 Apr 2011, 03:22

I love scottish accent, but for some reason, DC's is a bit too... much.

Post by **tommykl** » 19 Apr 2011, 07:47

James1978 wrote:I feel Brundle's pronounciation of "Alguersuari" is more annoying that Coulthard's "Heid-FIELD" or "Vet-TEL"!

It annoys me too. Especially since Coulthard pronounces it correctly, but Brundle just doesn't seem to get the hint. Maybe he thinks Coulthard's scottishness makes his pronunciation wrong.

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 20 Apr 2011, 04:51

nome66 wrote: yes i know this is old but...
Buick/GM produced a 6 cylinder turbo motor that screamed many drivers to the 500 win and points championship.

Small correction, the stock(ish)-block Buick V6 Turbo engine never won the Indy 500, nor did it power any drivers to title. However you couldn't be more right about its power. For almost the entire duration of it was use, the Buick Indy was accepted as the powerful motor on the grid (the one major exception being 1994, when Penske turned up with Ilmor-Mercedes 500i. The reason the Buick never triumphed (even when on several occasions it looked as though it might) was due to its fragility. By the end of almost every race all but one of the Buick's would have failed; they simply did not have the stamina to last 500 miles. For this reason, the engine never saw the popularity of that the Cosworth DFX and the Chevrolet Indy V8.

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 20 Apr 2011, 14:47

but i thought al unser Jr. had one in '92. wait, nevermind i remember it was a chevy motor.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 20 Apr 2011, 15:08

Well, the Portuguese tv commentator is no better. His top 10 at the end of the race:

Hamiltons
Vettels
Webber
Buttons
Rosberg
Massa
Alonso
Schumacher
Petrovs

Annoying... And Monteiro, who is the other commentator, likes to say 'on attack' too much often.

dinizintheoven · Post by **dinizintheoven** » 20 Apr 2011, 15:25

DanielPT wrote:Well, the Portuguese tv commentator is no better. His top 10 at the end of the race:
Hamiltons
Vettels
Buttons
Petrovs

Are you sure he's not secretly Latvian?

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 20 Apr 2011, 15:48

dinizintheoven wrote:
DanielPT wrote:Well, the Portuguese tv commentator is no better. His top 10 at the end of the race:
Hamiltons
Vettels
Buttons
Petrovs

Are you sure he's not secretly Latvian?

Now that would not be much of a surprise. He has a Portuguese name though (can't remember his name though) ...

CarlosFerreira · Post by **CarlosFerreira** » 20 Apr 2011, 21:45

DanielPT wrote: Now that would not be much of a surprise. He has a Portuguese name though (can't remember his name though) ...

I can't remember it either, but he's indeed an unmitigated disaster. Every time I go back to Portugal and listen to the commentary, I daydream of posting a dog turd through his letterbox.

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 20 Apr 2011, 21:52

Williams will score less points this season than Toro Rosso did last season.

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 21 Apr 2011, 02:48

redbulljack14 wrote:Williams will score less points this season than Toro Rosso did last season.

Zero?

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 21 Apr 2011, 17:50

TF(and TL) is rumored to take over Caterham, and most likely use them as a main sponsor...

Caterham Lotus Renault against Lada Lotus Renault on track, while the team members of Caterham Lotus Renault will driver Caterham Super Seven, while Lada Lotus Renault will drive Lotus Super Seven

Oh well, that's not the case, but TL are rumoured to be taking over Caterham, and both Lotus (cars) and Caterham have the Super Seven model... We'll never finish this Lotus vs Lotus mess will we?

nome66 · Post by **nome66** » 21 Apr 2011, 19:03

no, no. it's the Caterham Super Seven vs. the Lotus 2-Eleven!
maybe some other teams will step in with the KTM X-Bow and the Ariel Atom v8. lol

Post by **mario** » 21 Apr 2011, 19:09

Myrvold wrote:TF(and TL) is rumored to take over Caterham, and most likely use them as a main sponsor...

Caterham Lotus Renault against Lada Lotus Renault on track, while the team members of Caterham Lotus Renault will driver Caterham Super Seven, while Lada Lotus Renault will drive Lotus Super Seven

Oh well, that's not the case, but TL are rumoured to be taking over Caterham, and both Lotus (cars) and Caterham have the Super Seven model... We'll never finish this Lotus vs Lotus mess will we?

Not really - the forerunner to Group Lotus sold off the rights to Caterham in the 1970's, and completely divested themselves of any connection with the car decades ago (deliberately, since they wanted to get away from the image of being just kit-car makers, not a fully fledged automotive business). I know that Bahar would probably still try to claim it if he could, but frankly he'd be on extremely shaky legal ground if he tried it on. That, of course, is assuming that the rumour turns out to be true - may I ask where you saw it?

Williams will score less points this season than Toro Rosso this season.

Fixed. And I mean that quite seriously.

Buemi and Alguersuari have the big carrot of getting into Red Bull Racing, and the stick of being kicked out for Riccardo if they fail, so they're going to be stepping it up a notch or two this season. The top 10 is getting quite crowded too - Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari seem to be solidly there (Ferrari may be off Red Bull's pace, but they are still capable of top 6 results), with Renault, Mercedes (at least in China) and occasionally Sauber, Toro Rosso and Force India able to scrape a point or two.
Frankly, Williams have not yet shown that they are capable of getting into the top 10 on a regular basis so far. They are pinning a lot of hope on a couple of big upgrade packages for Turkey and Barcelona, with modified wings, diffusers and exhausts - but, at the moment, it looks more like they are looking backwards to try to fend off Team Lotus, instead of looking up the grid.

This one I suspect might rile a few people, but here goes - Tilke is getting a lot of mud unfairly thrown at him because people find it easier to complain about an individual instead of the corporations who essentially tell him what to do.
And yes, I will qualify that - his recent commissions have been Sepang, Bahrain, the redevelopment of Hockenheim and Barcelona, Istanbul Park, the Valencian Street Circuit, China, Singapore, Korea, Abu Dhabi and the new tracks in India and North America.

What is interesting to note is that the tracks where he has been given greater free reign - which were Sepang and Istanbul Park - and, more importantly, gave him decent topography to play with, are ones which are fairly popular and actually not that bad as tracks go - they're much better than some of the venues that have been used in the past.
All of the others which have been used so far, and which are criticized, have been major compromises, where the owners had more influence on the project - the Shakir circuit in Bahrain is essentially a massive billboard for the Bahraini royal family to show off on, whilst Yas Marina is a tacked on gaudy show piece in the perennial art of one-upsmanship that the ruling elites in the Middle East have traditionally always done. Valencia was dictated by the regneration project the city authorities wanted to do, with the race being nothing more than a way of getting the cash from government, Singapore is hamstrung by the existing buildings and the restrictions imposed by the FIA on track design (and the rival bid from Apex Design was little better) and Korea by the fact that the owners wanted a business park first, and a race track second (although we've only had one race, so perhaps it's a bit too soon to judge).
As for Hockenheim and Barcelona - at Hockenheim, he was heavily restricted on what he could do due to the influence of the local authorities, and environmentalists The current layout is basically all the land he was really allowed to use - the old track had to be torn up and replanted with trees, and very heavy restrictions were imposed on him to minimise the number of new trees that could be cut down to create the new circuit. As for Barcelona, well, they told him they wanted to slow the cars down for the final corner; what other option did he realistically have?

As for the new tracks - well, the Indian GP is a little uncertain, but the Austin track suffers heavily from the same "do as we want" attitude from the developers. The site was purchased a long time in advance, and the track is mainly designed to fit in with modern planning regulations (such as the rate at which people must be able to enter and leave the site etc.) and the multiple purposes that the site owners want to squeeze out of the venue.

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 21 Apr 2011, 20:52

Caterham as main sponsor was a guess. But it would be logical. The rumour is from Autosport

dr-baker · Post by **dr-baker** » 22 Apr 2011, 10:07

Here's a link to the Autosport/Caterham/Lotus story. And it's also on Autocar's website.

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 26 Apr 2011, 15:45

Three weeks break early into the season sucks badly. Specially when racing has been this good...

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 28 Apr 2011, 22:14

People need to stop looking at Senna with rose-tinted specs. :evil:

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 29 Apr 2011, 00:40

kostas22 wrote:People need to stop looking at Senna with rose-tinted specs.

Because he's dead. Same reason people look at Dale Earnhardt, Sr. with rose-colored glasses.

However, on the topic of Senna, anyone who chickens out of a CART ride when CART was supposedly inferior deserves to be berated. Mansell didn't chicken out of CART until he didn't have the best car on the grid anymore.

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 29 Apr 2011, 12:05

Chicken out? (I know the term - but why do you say that he did chicken out)

Ferrim · Post by **Ferrim** » 29 Apr 2011, 12:46

kostas22 wrote:People won't stop looking at Senna with rose-tinted specs.

Fixed.

Post by **mario** » 29 Apr 2011, 14:39

Ferrim wrote:
kostas22 wrote:People won't stop looking at Senna with rose-tinted specs.

Fixed.

The recent movie about Senna has complicated things too; it's increased the idolisation of him, but tended to skirt around the less appealing and darker sides to his character for much of the film (at least, that is what I have heard - the film is yet to be released here).

I suppose it is because there are many more viewers who witnessed Senna in action than, say, witnessed Clark or Fangio, along with a general pervading sense from an ageing populace (at least in Europe and the US) that "things aren't what they used to be" and heavily rose tinted nostalgia for the turbo era (where the processional races, and championships, have been forgotten about).
Senna, after all, raced in a much more media aware time, with far greater and wider public interest in his activities; the impression that he will have made, therefore, on the public consciousness will be much more widespread, and easily accessible to a modern, casual audience, compared to the drivers of the previous generation, who are only really remembered by the oldest viewers and the most enthusiastic fans. Then there was his political stance; few remember Balestre in a positive light, and both FISA and the FIA are viewed with, at best, ambivalence by the public, and at worst with distrust. To a certain extent, idolising Senna today also acts as a snub to figures like Balestre and the FIA, an implicit rejection of those who govern, and support for those who challenged the status quo.

It's a shame in a way; yes, Senna was a great driver, but idolising him above all others removes him from his context, which was one of a number of very competitive and aggressive drivers in a challenging and combative era of racing. Certainly, it took great skill to be remembered as the greatest driver of that era, but he drove in an era where there were many talented drivers with contrasting and combative attitudes to racing.
Personally, I'd like to see the drivers of the pre-aero and early aero era raised in the public consciousness - greats such as Jim Clark, for example, who I feel sometimes don't get the level of appreciation they deserve.

Klon · Post by **Klon** » 08 May 2011, 14:39

Supersoft and soft tyres in Canada? Don't you think that is a bit too risky, Mr. Hembery?

Cynon · Post by **Cynon** » 08 May 2011, 14:42

Myrvold wrote:Chicken out? (I know the term - but why do you say that he did chicken out)

He was offered a Penske ride for 1993 and turned it down because he didn't like the thought of running super speedways. Wuss.

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 08 May 2011, 15:04

Cynon wrote:
Myrvold wrote:Chicken out? (I know the term - but why do you say that he did chicken out)

He was offered a Penske ride for 1993 and turned it down because he didn't like the thought of running super speedways. Wuss.

My understanding was that it was all posturing to get more money out of Ron Dennis, and put more pressure on the team to deliver. Sure, Senna was probably looking at moving to American Open Wheel in his future, but I have serious doubts he would have moved to CART for 1993. Senna's heart was in Formula 1.

That's an interesting thought though, seeing him at Michigan and Indianapolis.

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 08 May 2011, 15:44

Cynon wrote:
Myrvold wrote:Chicken out? (I know the term - but why do you say that he did chicken out)

He was offered a Penske ride for 1993 and turned it down because he didn't like the thought of running super speedways. Wuss.

Well, it is sensible... Maybe not in the US, but outside.

WeirdKerr · Post by **WeirdKerr** » 08 May 2011, 17:27

Klon wrote:Supersoft and soft tyres in Canada? Don't you think that is a bit too risky, Mr. Hembery?

31 stop strategy anyone?

F1000X · Post by **F1000X** » 09 May 2011, 03:44

WeirdKerr wrote:
Klon wrote:Supersoft and soft tyres in Canada? Don't you think that is a bit too risky, Mr. Hembery?

31 stop strategy anyone?

Expect them to be running Champcar speed laps (over 1'20") at the end of a stint. In fact, Roman Grojean will be able to go out there and pass the leader (Vettel) in a GP2 car on outright grip.

RainierSassetti · Post by **RainierSassetti** » 09 May 2011, 05:10

Why is Ferrari whining about that 4cyl? Was there 4cyl GP cars in the 40/50's?
And why is FOTA ditching the return to ground effect?
Where is the (road-car industry-) relevant innovation?
F1 in its current state is a farce. (But hey, it's less farcier than when I started to follow it in 2007....)

DanielPT · Post by **DanielPT** » 09 May 2011, 10:00

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/91298

This is getting a bit ridiculous... Now there is too much overtaking? DRS allowed guys to keep close and even overtake when otherwise it would be night on impossible, it allowed great battles in the race and now they feel it is a bit too much, everything feeling a bit artificial? What is natural? Half the number of overtakes or some fixed number every GP? Some people need to get a grip on themselves and enjoy what we have right now, which is way better than the barren races we've had for years...

FullMetalJack · Post by **FullMetalJack** » 09 May 2011, 20:58

Vettel is unbelievably boring.

And you people all call Heidfeld boring.

Post by **DemocalypseNow** » 09 May 2011, 22:32

redbulljack14 wrote:Vettel is unbelievably boring.

And you people all call Heidfeld boring.

All Germans are boring.

As Heidfeld once said; "There is no fun in Germany".

Myrvold · Post by **Myrvold** » 09 May 2011, 23:38

They to have the... uhm, Oktoberfestival... or something like that? Lots of beer-drinking...

Peter · Post by **Peter** » 09 May 2011, 23:54

Formula 1 has become so artificial now. We have these super-quick degrading tyres and a bathplug moveable rear wing. Everytime I hear "DRS" on TV ,I just look the other way, it's just appalling. If you're within 1 second os someone when overtaking you just get to fly on past. It takes the skill out of overtaking. Instead of haring "Kobayashi just did a marvelous pass on Schumacher from a long way back." it's "Kobayashi uses the DRS and just soars past Schumacher, and there's nothing Michael can do about it."

The tyres I can bear a bit more, but it's not "whose the fastest?" anymore, it's just "who can nurse their tyres the best and whose car is gentlest on tyres." Nothing wrong with that if the tyres last more than 10 laps, but when they go shot after 10 laps, that's jsut silly. It wouldn't provide Pirelli with a good outward image either, would it? The Bridgestones will forever be known as the tyres that could go an entire race distance, while the Pirellis are those that could go a whole 10 laps. Really doesn't make me want to put Pirellis on my car when I get one. Plus the marbles, they are a safety hazard and hurt the drivers and the cars. Brake ducts get clogged, and so do radiators. And they decide to bring only the super soft and soft tyres to Montreal. The SS and S tyres which only have a maximum distance of 6 and 12 laps at best on a normal track, will wear in about half the time at Montreal, unless the track isn't green like it was last year. The track easily had more than twice the amounts of pitstops of any race last year, with 3 and 4 stopping Pirellis as is, the drivers are better off doing no running on any practices and qualifying to save tyres for the race.

The FIA and Pirelli are a bunch of idiots. :roll:

TomWazzleshaw · Post by **TomWazzleshaw** » 10 May 2011, 00:10

Peter wrote:Formula 1 has become so artificial now. We have these super-quick degrading tyres and a bathplug moveable rear wing. Everytime I hear "DRS" on TV ,I just look the other way, it's just appalling. If you're within 1 second os someone when overtaking you just get to fly on past. It takes the skill out of overtaking. Instead of haring "Kobayashi just did a marvelous pass on Schumacher from a long way back." it's "Kobayashi uses the DRS and just soars past Schumacher, and there's nothing Michael can do about it."

The tyres I can bear a bit more, but it's not "whose the fastest?" anymore, it's just "who can nurse their tyres the best and whose car is gentlest on tyres." Nothing wrong with that if the tyres last more than 10 laps, but when they go shot after 10 laps, that's jsut silly. It wouldn't provide Pirelli with a good outward image either, would it? The Bridgestones will forever be known as the tyres that could go an entire race distance, while the Pirellis are those that could go a whole 10 laps. Really doesn't make me want to put Pirellis on my car when I get one. Plus the marbles, they are a safety hazard and hurt the drivers and the cars. Brake ducts get clogged, and so do radiators. And they decide to bring only the super soft and soft tyres to Montreal. The SS and S tyres which only have a maximum distance of 6 and 12 laps at best on a normal track, will wear in about half the time at Montreal, unless the track isn't green like it was last year. The track easily had more than twice the amounts of pitstops of any race last year, with 3 and 4 stopping Pirellis as is, the drivers are better off doing no running on any practices and qualifying to save tyres for the race.

The FIA and Pirelli are a bunch of idiots.

The issue with the DRS at Turkey are probably a one-off and Pirelli made the tyres so they WOULD wear out on purpose that quickly.

eagleash · Post by **eagleash** » 10 May 2011, 00:12

Myrvold wrote:They to have the... uhm, Oktoberfestival... or something like that? Lots of beer-drinking...

It's their attempt at humour......it's not actually in October........ :lol:

mario wrote:
Ferrim wrote:
kostas22 wrote:People won't stop looking at Senna with rose-tinted specs.

Fixed.

The recent movie about Senna has complicated things too; it's increased the idolisation of him, but tended to skirt around the less appealing and darker sides to his character for much of the film (at least, that is what I have heard - the film is yet to be released here).

I suppose it is because there are many more viewers who witnessed Senna in action than, say, witnessed Clark or Fangio, along with a general pervading sense from an ageing populace (at least in Europe and the US) that "things aren't what they used to be" and heavily rose tinted nostalgia for the turbo era (where the processional races, and championships, have been forgotten about).
Senna, after all, raced in a much more media aware time, with far greater and wider public interest in his activities; the impression that he will have made, therefore, on the public consciousness will be much more widespread, and easily accessible to a modern, casual audience, compared to the drivers of the previous generation, who are only really remembered by the oldest viewers and the most enthusiastic fans. Then there was his political stance; few remember Balestre in a positive light, and both FISA and the FIA are viewed with, at best, ambivalence by the public, and at worst with distrust. To a certain extent, idolising Senna today also acts as a snub to figures like Balestre and the FIA, an implicit rejection of those who govern, and support for those who challenged the status quo.

It's a shame in a way; yes, Senna was a great driver, but idolising him above all others removes him from his context, which was one of a number of very competitive and aggressive drivers in a challenging and combative era of racing. Certainly, it took great skill to be remembered as the greatest driver of that era, but he drove in an era where there were many talented drivers with contrasting and combative attitudes to racing.
Personally, I'd like to see the drivers of the pre-aero and early aero era raised in the public consciousness - greats such as Jim Clark, for example, who I feel sometimes don't get the level of appreciation they deserve.

Clark recently came out on top in a Worldwide "Poll of Polls". So does get some credit. That and the fact that Senna DID race in that era against so many competitive drivers, (a decade or so, with so many top line drivers, staying the course as it were)....& was pretty much universally acknowledged as the most talented of the bunch. His arrogance & on track aggression were things that increased the admiration people had for him because he had the sheer talent to carry it off, like many other great sportsmen.