Retrospective F1 Rejects of the Race

[good_Ralf]

One team that did have an awful year was Footwork Arrows. They had a reasonably competitive car at the start of the season and looked a challenger for the minor points and the top 10. But the moment Tom Walkinshaw bought the team, they just gave up on the season. Plus, sending Verstappen back on track at Spa that year in a car which was suffering from a sticking throttle is mind-boggling. The accident he had at Stavelot on his first lap back on track was bloody massive, and I'm surprised he got away from it with just a few bruises. Just look at this video.

I dread to think of the consequences if that accident had happened a couple of years earlier.

I read how Jos' shunt was caused by a stub axle failure and he unsurprisingly suffered a prolonged neck injury as well. The following year in Monte Carlo, Mosley said how without cockpit padding and higher sides Verstappen's crash would have been fatal.

[FMecha]

It was Badoer's gearbox Rachel, not engine. And are you implying that Malaysian stewards at the 1999 GP were biased?

This should be merged with the Retrospective ROTR thread by the way.

[James1978]

I agree that Benetton weren't bad in 1996 - they just suffered from Schumacher leaving. (And were still better than McLaren after Senna left).

Alesi and Berger in 1996 were at least as competitive as Herbert had been in 1995 but didn't get two lucky wins due to Hill and Schumacher colliding (and were horrendously unlucky to lose wins in Monaco and Germany respectively).

[rachel1990]

Right Onto 1995- (I didn't hear a whole load of disgust over Ferrari winning ROTY 1996)

Brazil-Elf Fuel- A huge cock up from one of the workers meant both MS and Dc nearly lost 1st and 2nd. But at the same timer Berger nearly won the race so it wasn't so bad.

Argentina- David Coulthard's Throttle- Took the certain victory away from him and just kept giving him false hope until it bloody died. Special Mention- Mika Hakkinen- Took a highly placed Irvine out of the race with a very amateurish move

San Marino- Benetton- Schumacher crashed out and the team Principal left the circuit even though there was a Bennetton with Herbert at the wheel in the race. But he didn't get any points so it was a bad weekend all round for them- Special Mention- Nigel Mansell- While he finally fit into the car all he did was crash into Irvine and got Nowhere near the points.

Spain- Nigel Mansell- Sometimes cars are difficult to drive- But most are not 'impossible'. Anyway Mika seemed able to do it. So did Mark Blundell. He gave up and drove Ron Dennis to madness and a firing. He was past it anyway (Lets be honest he only won the 1992 WC because of the car not the driving skill. Deserved 1986 though.)

Monaco- (Many Nominations here)- Simtek- A Bad way to go out of f1 with both drivers not even completing a lap- (Plenty of) Special Mentions- Jump Starting Barrichello, Brundle, Montermini, Frentzen, Morbidelli and Panis all jump started and go stop and go penalties- With this many drivers the race should have been restarted again with all of them sent to the back- In grid order or whoever jumped first)- Safety car- On Saturday The Safety car hit Inoue's Footwork and could have killed him- It was not Inoue's fault and there should have been a heavy fine for the safety car driver.

Canada- Gerhard Berger- On a day when Jean Alesi was FINALLY get his rewards Gerhard was doing the opposite- He decided the best course of action was to just take himself and Brundle out of the race in an awful move that you would rarely see. Special mention- Williams- They really need to sort reliability out for both cars. Double DNF today. They were very lucky that Schumacher ran into trouble (yet still scored points unlike most drivers)

France- Ferrari- 4th and 7th in qualifying- one driver punts of Herbert (its becoming a game in f1) and finishes 5th (ahead is a LIGER????) the other one is screwed over by his pit stop crew which means he finishes 12th. Bad Bad Bad

Britain- DAMON F******G HILL- Oh I can rant about this one for hours. Surely you would know where the racing line is. Why Should MS go off it for YOU!!!!! No wonder he was pissed off (as was the british crowd and Frank Williams) It was 100% Hill's fault but he should know where the racing line is.

Germany- Williams- I think Hill going off was his own fault but it was a really bad day all around for the team with DC speeding in the pitlane as well. If was either down to him or the car it was still an awful weekend all round for the team

Hungary- Mercedes engines- 2 failures during the race will not sell road cars I can easily tell you that. I bet Ron Dennis was NOT impressed.

Belgium- Damon Hill whinging- You DID NOT LOSE THE RACE because MS did some very questionable Blocking- You lost the race for a poor start and Speeding in the pitlane- Get a grip man. You're heading for the ROTY podium if this continues- Special mentions- The race director- sending the safety car out because it was a bit wetter on the track. Not a good reason to ME!!! MIchael Schumacher- Yes he won the race but some of the blocking he did was outrageous and was not necessary in the end.

Italy- The FIA- For once I thought it was Inoue's fault that Hill went into the back of Schumacher. But the stewards thought differently and gave him a suspended 1 race ban. Nt great decision making from them. Special Mention- Ferrari Luck- On a day when they could have got a 1-2 the camera of Alesi's car fell of and it Berger's car taking it out of the race then Alesi wheel went. All at their home GP as well.

Portugal - Mclaren- Bad weekend all round with awful qualifying then a engine failure for Hakkinen and Blundell not making an impact.

Europe- Damon Hill- Needed to win the race instead he crashed into Alesi and then after he got a new front wing he crashed again. Bad Bad Bad

Pacific- Bernie- Calling a race after an Ocean is really bad but the timetable is worse because we had TWO Japanese races one after another. 1 had to go and this was it.

Japan(part 2)- Williams Drivers- Both DC and DH went out of the race within a lap of each other and were nowhere near Schumacher and gave Benetton both titles there and then.

Australia- David Coulthard - I will let Murray explain this one http://youtu.be/p5vEUaaVKkg- No further words needed.

ROTY Teams Podiums-
3rd Ferrari I am certain that they would have won more than 1 race if reliability had not come into question this year.
2nd Footwork-Hart Bloody lucky to have any points at all thanks to a very lucky podium in Australia where everyone else was crashing out of the race
1st- Mclaren-Mercedes- Mansell was a complete waste of Money and they fact that they could barely beat the Jordans and the Ligers says it all really.

ROTY Drivers
3rd Damon Hill- Yes he came second but he made too many mistakes this year and just let Schumacher Runaway with the title
2nd Roberto Moreno- Pedro Diniz in the same car actually produced some half decent results. Maybe its time for retirement??
1st Nigel Mansell- While he only did 2 races he made such a pig's ear of it and really was past it to be in f1. For that alone he wins ROTY

Tomorrow 1994 (San Marino will not have a ROTR)

[midgrid]

One team that did have an awful year was Footwork Arrows. They had a reasonably competitive car at the start of the season and looked a challenger for the minor points and the top 10. But the moment Tom Walkinshaw bought the team, they just gave up on the season. Plus, sending Verstappen back on track at Spa that year in a car which was suffering from a sticking throttle is mind-boggling. The accident he had at Stavelot on his first lap back on track was bloody massive, and I'm surprised he got away from it with just a few bruises. Just look at this video.

I dread to think of the consequences if that accident had happened a couple of years earlier.

Can't believe I don't remember that crash.

It wasn't recorded on one of the FOCA cameras, rather a local cctv camera that happened to overlook the corner. The footage was not broadcast at the time - I believe it is taken from a later interview with Max Mosley in which he discusses how safety improvements (in this case, higher cockpit sides) have prevented drivers from being killed/seriously injured since 1994.

[rachel1990]

Right onto 1994

Brazil- Eddie Irvine - That Huge accident was YOUR fault. YOu could have nearly killed someone. No wonder he got banned for that move. Special Mention Ayrton Senna- On your first race for your new team and you spin out. On your home turf as well. No wonder the fans fled for the exits

Pacific - Mclaren- They are a shadow of the team that they were last season. Double DNF. Special Mention Bernie- WTF Pacific- Might as well called it Asian or the Super Aguri race (Actually I quite like that)

San Marino- Not Appropriate- I don't feel giving a ROTR would be wise or Appropriate due to the events of that weekend.

Monaco- Damon Hill/Mika Hakkinen- On a weekend where both men needed to belt up and help their team through a difficult process they both hit the wall on lap 1. Probably cheered up a few fans though. Special Mention Paul Belmondo- You sodding qualify for the race which is an achievement considering you are in a Pacific (But due to the fact that Sauber pulled out and Simtek and Williams both only fielded one car) and you retire because you are uncomfortable. Get a grip man.

Spain- Reliability of cars- Several teams ran into trouble with Engines (6 DNF) Transmissions gearboxes (Though Schumacher managed to keep going) but my personal favourite was Fuel Valve Fell Into Tank in Gianni Morbidelli's Footwork.

Canada- Peugeot- Its not going well for the french company at the moment with ANOTHER engine failure. I think Mclaren will look elsewhere next year.

France-McLaren-Peugeot - Just for a DOUBLE engine failure again- And at Peugeot's home gp as well

Britain- The race stewards- It was a comedy of errors. What they should have done was to send Schumacher to the back of the grid. Instead they waited for the race to start then gave hima stop and go but the didn't properly notify Benetton. Of course the team were going to ignore it. Then they gave him a black flag then receded it. Bad Bad Bad.

Germany- Mika Hakkinen - Caused absolute chaos and took out 10 drivers (including Himself) Special Mentions- Ferrari- a 1-2 on the Grid and before 1 lap is completed Alesi is out because of reliability. Just shoot yourself in the foot. (they were very lucky with Berger though). Benetton- First Double DNF of the season 1 due to an awful cock up in the pits that could have killed Jos the Boss. Damon Hill- Should have won the race or even just taken the points but no. Had to damage his suspension and finish outside the points. Idiot.

Hungary- Jordan- Needing points and there drivers take each other out on the first lap. A lot of Irish shouting probably took place later on.

Belgium- Ferrari Engines- Double DNF is not the way to go to get third place from Mclaren in the constructors. Special Mention- Benetton- Whoever fitted the plank on Schumacher's car is an idiot because it got him DSQ.

Italy- Mercedes- Within two laps both Saubers retire because the Engine has blown- why does this sound so Familiar. Special Mention Eddie Irvine- Causing more accidents than anyone else at the moment. another bad day another race ban.

Portugal- Ferrari- Once again Reliability has dogged them. Berger could have won but his Ferrari had other ideas.

Europe- Nigel Mansell- Why was DC dropped for him may I ask? Once again he Retired (and once again it was his fault since he spun off)

Japan- Michael Schumacher - Not the best day he has ever had. It was wet as well. Bad tactics and lost it at the start

Australia- Michael Schumacher - If he went into Hill delbrailty is a matter for interpretation. What is a fact is that he went into the wall damaged the car then he and hill collided taking him out altogether. If he did it on purpose it was a big risk for him to take. I see it as 50-50 personally because maybe Hill should have waited.

Roty Podium Teams-
3rd Ferrari- I reckon if they had sorted out their reliability out they could have sneaked 2nd place in the constructors. But they didn't and they were 3rd on both places.
2nd- Pacific-Ilmor- Maybe it was unfair to compare them to Simtek yet they only qualified for 5 races. Adding an awful pay driver and the fact they didn't compete in another race past Canada says it all really.
1st Mclaren- Peugeot-(More the Peugeot)- Yes it was always going to be a rebuilding year. And yet they were really slow. The Peugeot engines were a joke so much so the Ron Dennis had enough and kicked them out. Driver errors didn't help either.

ROTY Podium- Drivers-
3rd- Michele Alboreto- I wonder if he just went arond the paddock having this in his head http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KODZtjOIPg. Maybe its time to give up
2nd- Paul Belmondo- Both times he qualified for the race he managed to become a walking chicane- He retired because he was tired in Monaco (which was a ridiculous excuse) and the other time he spun out.
1st- Eddie Irvine- Yes he has speed- But you need control over that speed and he really didn't have any of that this year. 2 bans (one suspended) and plenty of retirements. Plus his team-mate thrashed him.

Tomorrow 1993 (Its pretty easy to predict who will win ROTY 1993)

[FullMetalJack]

Australia- David Coulthard - I will let Murray explain this one http://youtu.be/p5vEUaaVKkg- No further words needed.

Honourable mention has to go to Roberto Moreno for spinning in the pitlane, when teammate Pedro Diniz almost scored a point, as Panis's engine was smoking by the time he finished the race.

I could even give Mark Blundell an honourable mention. Yes he finished 4th, but behind Gianni Morbidelli in his Footwork, and he was even lapped by Heinz-Harald Frentzen despite Mark's best blocking efforts. Frentzen then went on to give Blundell an international thank you

[rachel1990]

1993- Another Williams roll over season

South Africa- Tyrrell- Two pay drivers and they both go out within 1 lap due to reliability. Not a great start.

Brazil- Alain Prost- A comedy of errors from the frenchman- A year out was maybe the wrong thing for him to do. Special Mention- Ivan Capelli- Pretty dismal showing with a DNQ

Europe- Everyone expect Ayrton Senna and Rubens Barrichello- Everyone else looked like amateurs. Special Mention- Michael Andretti 3 races 3 accidents 3 laps completed.

San Marino-Ayrton Senna- Treating Mclaren like a second class team. Plus he was insulting both Benetton drivers as well.

Spain- The race director- the start was a joke and was nothing but confusing for everyone

Monaco- Alain Prost- Another weekend full of errors- remind me why is Frank Williams paying his enormous fee.

France- Ferrari- Awful weekend all round for the prancing horse- Engine failure for Alesi and Berger was nowhere.

Britain- Mclaren- 1 driver spins out- on the first lap and the other runs out of fuel. At your home race as well. Bad Bad Bad

Germany- Damon Hill's Rear Tyre- The Brit was 1 lap away from his first win when it occurred. Special Mention Michael Andretti- How has he survived so long in f1. I think a firing must be on the way soon.

Hungary- Michael Schumacher- A bad day for the highly rated German. Special Mention Alain Prost- He either wins or messes up badly. At least Hill is consistent.

Belgium- Thierry Boutsen- Not the best way to end your f1 career. Special Mention- Michael Andretti- Please just FIRE HIM!!! Another useless drive.

Italy- Footwork- Both drivers managed to take each other out on the first lap. Oh well done. Special Mention- Ayrton Senna- 2 collisions in the race has almost certainly cost him the drivers championship.

Portugal- Lotus- Just what the team didn't need both cars spinning off within 1 lap of each other. Special Mentions- Mika Hakkinen - Time to prove yourself and you smash into the wall. Gerhard Berger - How not to do an out lap. Bad Bad bad.

Japan- Michael Schumacher- Managed to ruin his own race as well as Hill's. Not a good weekend for the German.

Australia- Ukyo Katayama/ Eddie Irvine- managed to cause chaos with stalling on the grid.

ROTY Podium- Teams
3rd- Footwork-Mugen-Honda- Pretty poor year all round for the team with only two lucky point scoring races
2nd- Jordan-Hart- they only scored in Japan and were nowhere near the pace
1st- Tyrrell- After a great 1992 this time around they were nowhere and were last overall. Lola didn't complete the last 2 races yet they got a better result.

ROTY Podium Drivers
3rd- Michele Alboreto- Badour produced much more promising results than him and managed less DNQs as well. He really has fallen from Grace
2nd- Riccardo Patrese- Nowhere near Schumachers pace and didn't seem able to cope in a Cosworth powered car.
1st-Michael Andretti- One of the worst drivers in a top seat for years. THen blamed the team for sabotaging his chances. B******t. You were just crap and because you scored a very lucky 3rd you escaped a profile on the site.

Tomorrow 1992

[Bleu]

Few comments

1995 Monaco: I think that was the first year they had sensors analyzing jump starts, while before it was just what you can see on human eye. By the many comments by the drivers themselves, most jump starts were just due to driver putting gear on and car rolling few centimetres.

1995 Pacific: I believe they just didn't want to cancel the race. Kobe earthquake (in early 1995) damaged some roads leading to circuit, which was the reason for rescheduling of the race. It was meant to be third race of the season (after Argentina and Brazil), but then Argentina was moved to Pacific GP original slot.

1994 Japan: Benetton was more to blame in that. They were believing that race would be stopped at 75% and fuelled according to that in their first stop. Plus the early race safety cars meant Schumacher wasn't able to build a gap he would have liked.

Also I think you are putting too much blame for teams when drivers screw themselves.

Also, 1993 Canada is missing? Either Lotus or McLaren would be fit. Lotus was way off the pace. McLaren had bad qualifying 8th/12th, then Andretti's car failed at the start so he was able to continue only after two or three laps was completed. Senna's car failed in the closing stages.

[rachel1990]

Few comments

1995 Monaco: I think that was the first year they had sensors analyzing jump starts, while before it was just what you can see on human eye. By the many comments by the drivers themselves, most jump starts were just due to driver putting gear on and car rolling few centimetres.

1995 Pacific: I believe they just didn't want to cancel the race. Kobe earthquake (in early 1995) damaged some roads leading to circuit, which was the reason for rescheduling of the race. It was meant to be third race of the season (after Argentina and Brazil), but then Argentina was moved to Pacific GP original slot.

1994 Japan: Benetton was more to blame in that. They were believing that race would be stopped at 75% and fuelled according to that in their first stop. Plus the early race safety cars meant Schumacher wasn't able to build a gap he would have liked.

Also I think you are putting too much blame for teams when drivers screw themselves.

Also, 1993 Canada is missing? Either Lotus or McLaren would be fit. Lotus was way off the pace. McLaren had bad qualifying 8th/12th, then Andretti's car failed at the start so he was able to continue only after two or three laps was completed. Senna's car failed in the closing stages.

Oh Crap I forgot canada
Canada- Mclaren- Double Dnf again for the team- No wonder Senna was reluctant to sign a contract

[rachel1990]

Onto 1992- A year of infamy for rejectness

South Africa- Andrea Moda- nightmare start to the season and it got a lot worse- Special mentions- everyone but Williams- Its not looking good competition wise is it.

Mexico- Electronics- Making f1 very boring in 1992. It was the 2nd Williams 1-2 in a row

Brazil- Mclaren- Great way to debut the new car with a double DNF due to reliability. Forget Williams they are losing ground to Benetton at the moment

Spain- Ivan Capelli- on a day where Alesi looked like a hero he looked like a chump. Special mentions Andrea Moda- Could only do a few laps with one car working in qualifying (and being about 10 seconds off the pace to get through.)

San Marino- Mika Hakkinen- WHAT?? I expect this from a March or Andrea Moda not from a lotus driver to get a DNQ. Special Mention-Gerhard Berger/Jean Alesi- Well done. Both your teams need the points and you wreck it.

Monaco- Ivan Capelli- Another awful weekend from the Ferrari driver. he could have easily hurt himself. Special Mention- Judd engine- On the day when Andrea Moda FINALLY qualify for the race it expires after 11 laps.

Canada- Nigel Mansell- Finally showed he can make mistakes this year with a big error spinning off. Special Mention- Andrea Moda-In a year where it is quite boring you do have to thank them for keeping the fans amused.

France- Michael Schumacher- 2 collisions 1 took out senna the second himself. Bad Bad Bad for the german who has been best of the rest this year. Special mention- French Driver blockade- F1 missed out on the greatness of Andrea Moda this weekend which was a pity.

Britain- Ivan Capelli- Nowhere on the pace all weekend and was beaten by a footwork. Awful. Special Mention- You've guessed it- Andrea Moda- No sponsors and a 1 driver team by now. Still nowhere on the pace though

Germany-Riccardo Patrese - Not the way to basically give the drivers title to Mansell - Special Mention Ford Engines 3 failures in 1 race Andrea Moda- Just for treating Perry McCarthy like S**t by now

Hungary- Ligier drivers- the team is NOT having a good year anyway and both drivers are out on lap 1 thanks to a collision. Could be worse they could be Andrea Moda. Taking of which- Special Mention- Andrea Moda- I don't know who hates who most now Perry McCarthy hating the team or the team hating Perry McCarthy. 45 seconds on track???

Belgium- Andrea Moda- Sending Perry McCarthy out on track KNOWING that there was a dangerous fault on the car is truly evil of the team and really was uncalled for. However they got their just rewards when the team principal was arrested for fraud that weekend. and the team was promptly banned from the rest of the season. Pity they brought something to a very boring season. Special Mention - Williams- Got it badly wrong on the day Mr Schumacher got it so right.

Italy- Ferrari- Home gp Double DNF for reliability. Bad Bad Bad

Portugal- Gerhard Berger- Very dangerous move that ruined plenty of drivers races

Japan- Honda - At their last gp for some time and Senna the man that Honda adore has an engine failure. 2 laps into the race.

Australia- Nigel Mansell- Difficult But I think he was more to blame than Senna- anyway it was a bad way to end his time with Williams

ROTY podium- Teams
3rd- Ferrari- a 1 driver team all year and lost more ground to the top 3
2nd Jordan- Second season syndrome for EJ's team only 1 point scoring race
1st Andrea Moda- Where do I begin? nowhere near the pace trying to kill one of their drivers and fraud.

Roty Podium drivers
3rd Thierry Boutsen- Really has hit the bottom of his career
2nd- Paul Belmondo- Compared to his teammate he was really poor
1st Ivan Capelli- Yes the ferrari was crap but he made it a lot worse

Tomorrow 1991

[FullMetalJack]

No Brabham for ROTY podium? Ferrari would avoid the team ROTY podium for me just down to other teams being bad.

[Alextrax52]

It was Badoer's gearbox Rachel, not engine. And are you implying that Malaysian stewards at the 1999 GP were biased?

This should be merged with the Retrospective ROTR thread by the way.

This is Rachel1990 we're talking about here a Girl who doesn't give anything other than a controversial Opinion

[rachel1990]

It was Badoer's gearbox Rachel, not engine. And are you implying that Malaysian stewards at the 1999 GP were biased?

This should be merged with the Retrospective ROTR thread by the way.

This is Rachel1990 we're talking about here a Girl who doesn't give anything other than a controversial Opinion

OI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Alextrax52]

It was Badoer's gearbox Rachel, not engine. And are you implying that Malaysian stewards at the 1999 GP were biased?

This should be merged with the Retrospective ROTR thread by the way.

This is Rachel1990 we're talking about here a Girl who doesn't give anything other than a controversial Opinion

OI!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cue Muttley's laugh

[Alextrax52]

Remember when we did the Monaco 2013 ROTR Thread? My Nomination was the Whole Field bar.... nomination. I'll explain it now.

The Whole field bar Rosberg Vettel Webber Sutil and Vergne

Hamilton threw away a podium thanks to mis-timing the gap between Nico and himself under the safety car
Button Moaned about Perez Again
Alonso shut off like Canada 2007
Di Resta fouled up qualy and moaned again
Raikkonen clashed with Perez and spat the dummy
Hulkenberg chewed his tires to the belt
Bottas let Raikkonen by meekly and was anonymous
Gutierrez was nowhere
Chilton caused the ridiculous accident which almost hurt Maldonado and Red Flagged the race
Van der Garde wasted his Q2 appearance by hitting Maldonado
Perez channeled his Andy Neate and became the target for Kimi
Grosjean? Well we won't go into his antics
Ricciardo was owned by Vergne and was used as a brake for Grosjean
Bianchi had a weekend from hell
Maldonado was a target for the new teams
Massa crashed 3 times one of which was his own fault
Pic went out in a blaze of glory

I'm disappointed in all of you

Australia 2007: Heikki Kovalainen qualified 13th and had a comedy of errors including a 360 spin on the turn 1 grass before he slogged home 10th. Meanwhile Fisichella qualified 6th and raced to 5th. No wonder Flavio Briatore wondered if it was Heikki's brother driving the car.

[rachel1990]

Remember when we did the Monaco 2013 ROTR Thread? My Nomination was the Whole Field bar.... nomination. I'll explain it now.

The Whole field bar Rosberg Vettel Webber Sutil and Vergne

Hamilton threw away a podium thanks to mis-timing the gap between Nico and himself under the safety car
Button Moaned about Perez Again
Alonso shut off like Canada 2007
Di Resta fouled up qualy and moaned again
Raikkonen clashed with Perez and spat the dummy
Hulkenberg chewed his tires to the belt
Bottas let Raikkonen by meekly and was anonymous
Gutierrez was nowhere
Chilton caused the ridiculous accident which almost hurt Maldonado and Red Flagged the race
Van der Garde wasted his Q2 appearance by hitting Maldonado
Perez channeled his Andy Neate and became the target for Kimi
Grosjean? Well we won't go into his antics
Ricciardo was owned by Vergne and was used as a brake for Grosjean
Bianchi had a weekend from hell
Maldonado was a target for the new teams
Massa crashed 3 times one of which was his own fault
Pic went out in a blaze of glory

I'm disappointed in all of you

Australia 2007: Heikki Kovalainen qualified 13th and had a comedy of errors including a 360 spin on the turn 1 grass before he slogged home 10th. Meanwhile Fisichella qualified 6th and raced to 5th. No wonder Flavio Briatore wondered if it was Heikki's brother was driving the car.

To be fair that race did show that there are some pretty poor drivers in f1 at the moment- VDG Chilton Gutierrez. I can't recall a season in the last 10 years where there has been such a poor quality of drivers. Perfect Fodder for us though
Take 2002 for example- the 3 worst drivers were Massa, Sato and Yoong. Out of those 3 drivers only Yoong didn't have a future in f1. Now can anyone really say that any of the 3 that I mentioned above for this year have a long term future- no.

[Alextrax52]

Remember when we did the Monaco 2013 ROTR Thread? My Nomination was the Whole Field bar.... nomination. I'll explain it now.

The Whole field bar Rosberg Vettel Webber Sutil and Vergne

Hamilton threw away a podium thanks to mis-timing the gap between Nico and himself under the safety car
Button Moaned about Perez Again
Alonso shut off like Canada 2007
Di Resta fouled up qualy and moaned again
Raikkonen clashed with Perez and spat the dummy
Hulkenberg chewed his tires to the belt
Bottas let Raikkonen by meekly and was anonymous
Gutierrez was nowhere
Chilton caused the ridiculous accident which almost hurt Maldonado and Red Flagged the race
Van der Garde wasted his Q2 appearance by hitting Maldonado
Perez channeled his Andy Neate and became the target for Kimi
Grosjean? Well we won't go into his antics
Ricciardo was owned by Vergne and was used as a brake for Grosjean
Bianchi had a weekend from hell
Maldonado was a target for the new teams
Massa crashed 3 times one of which was his own fault
Pic went out in a blaze of glory

I'm disappointed in all of you

Australia 2007: Heikki Kovalainen qualified 13th and had a comedy of errors including a 360 spin on the turn 1 grass before he slogged home 10th. Meanwhile Fisichella qualified 6th and raced to 5th. No wonder Flavio Briatore wondered if it was Heikki's brother was driving the car.

To be fair that race did show that there are some pretty poor drivers in f1 at the moment- VDG Chilton Gutierrez. I can't recall a season in the last 10 years where there has been such a poor quality of drivers. Perfect Fodder for us though
Take 2002 for example- the 3 worst drivers were Massa, Sato and Yoong. Out of those 3 drivers only Yoong didn't have a future in f1. Now can anyone really say that any of the 3 that I mentioned above for this year have a long term future- no.

To be fair Rachel GVDG is improving culminating in that fabulous weekend at Spa where he will be in the top 3 for IIDOTR for sure and more drives like this will see him escape the ROTY podium. However the other 2 don't have a place in F1 because they bring money and have been thrashed by their team-mates. Considering you don't think Chilton is talent you are by my side on this one.

[DOSBoot]

Watching the 1986 season review.

Brazil - Nigel Mansell: desperate attempt to pass Senna on the first lap cost him dearly.

Spain - Minardi: Both cars out of the race on the first lap due to differential problems.

San Marino - Fuel Regulations: Everyone running out of gas on the final laps.

Monaco - Alan Jones: Didn't learn from his collision with Palmer back in Spain, and is out on the 2nd lap.

Belgium - Alfa-Romeo: Gave Osella a double DNF in 3 laps.

Canada - Ayrton Senna: Blocking everyone behind him early on, and finishes a lap down.

Detroit - Rene Arnoux: In contention for a podium, and bins it.

France - Ferrari: Johansson out on lap 5 with a blown turbo, while Alboreto finishes 8th 2 laps down.

U.K. - Thierry Boutsen: Took out 4 drivers in a crash that ended Jacques Laffite's career.

Germany - Stefan Johansson: Took out Teo Fabi at the start.

Hungary - McLaren: Pit crew nonsense, and both cars fail to finish.

Austria - Berger's Battery: Cost him an almost certain home victory.

Italy - Lotus: Senna out at the start, while Dumfries retires early of gearbox failure.

Portugal - Unknown Marshall: Almost get's hit by Senna while making a dash across the track.

Mexico - Nigel Mansell: Bad start, and multiple tire changes cost him a chance to clinch the title.

Australia - Mansell's Tire: Literary "blew" his championship hopes.

[RonDenisDeletraz]

I think the marshalls deserve France 1986 ROTR

[James1978]

Watching the 1986 season review.

Hungary - McLaren: Pit crew nonsense, and both cars fail to finish.

Toilet occupied.

[James1978]

Also I think Goodyear in general deserve it for Australia for costing Keke Rosberg a win on his swansong (in addition to Mansell's problems).

[Alextrax52]

Australia 2011 should have been given to HRT because i remember reading the race report in autosport and I came to Narain's individual report and it said he would have had more chance of making the grid in the NASCAR Truck he'd been driving in 2010 than in the HRT and I think that rather says it all about how bad Hispania were on that race weekend

[Ben Gilbert]

Detroit - Rene Arnoux: In contention for a podium, and bins it.

To be fair to Arnoux, he wasn't entirely to blame for his crash. The marshals were, though, for seeing that Piquet's dead car was on the racing line after a blind corner, and deciding that the best course of action was to take away the yellow flag before they removed it.

[Liquid]

1997 Luxembourgish Grand Prix

Mario Illien.

Two Ilmor built blow-ups right in front of the pitwall, costing McLaren an otherwise certain race victory. On Häkkinen's birthday, too.

[good_Ralf]

1997 Luxembourgish Grand Prix

Mario Illien.

Two Ilmor built blow-ups right in front of the pitwall, costing McLaren an otherwise certain race victory. On Häkkinen's birthday, too.

Na, it would probably go to Ralf for arguably costing his bro the '97 title and taking out teammate Fisichella who might have got a podium otherwise. But the Mercedes fail would be a contender.

[ibsey]

1997 Luxembourgish Grand Prix

Mario Illien.

Two Ilmor built blow-ups right in front of the pitwall, costing McLaren an otherwise certain race victory. On Häkkinen's birthday, too.

Not only that. But an unintended consequence of this double retirement was that F1 photographer Darren Heath was able to close one of the retired McLaren's (since they were parked quite close together and unguarded) & take a sneaky photograph of the McLaren pedal layout. Thus revealing the 'secret' 2nd brake pedal which gave McLaren a performance edge at the time. IIRC Ron Dennis was absolutely livid!!! And McLaren's clever braking system was later ban circa Brazil 1998.

All in all not a great race for McLaren.

Personally I'd nomiate R Schumi for taking out his teammate & his brother at the 1st corner (& almost decapitating M Schumi in the process).

EDIT; Or maybe even Hill for stalling his engine during a pitstop. Thus throwing away a good haul of points for Arrows.

[Liquid]

Ah, I'd forgotten about that! A terrible race for McLaren, Mercedes and Ilmor all round; literally right in front of the German big wigs.

On the 1998 VHS they claim that Sauber and Jordan also had rudimentary forms of this braking system. Have never really heard much more about this but clearly they didn't do them much good over those opening two races!

[ibsey]

On the 1998 VHS they claim that Sauber and Jordan also had rudimentary forms of this braking system. Have never really heard much more about this but clearly they didn't do them much good over those opening two races!

IIRC on ITV's intro for the 1998 Brazilian GP, I think Tony Jardine said something like Jordan's version of this braking system was hurriedly introduced and the race drivers were struggling to get used to it out on track.

[Liquid]

Watched the 1988 San Marinese Grand Prix the other day and Riccardo Patrese had a nightmare. Marched towards the back of the pack and finished 2 laps down in a Williams. Gerhard Berger didn't do much better either, but was fortunate enough to clamber on to 5th place.

[DOSBoot]

For 1982:

South Africa - Nelson Piquet: Spining off on the 3rd lap is not a great way to start you're championship defense.

Brazil - Gilles Villeneuve: Makes an error taking himself out of the race whilst in the fight for the lead. Almost taking out Piquet in the process.

Long Beach - Ferrari's Wing: Did they really think that their protest on the water tanks was going to work?

San Marino - Politics: Protests, and team orders haunt this race to this very day.

Belgium - Safety: Villeneuve's and Mass' errors lead to the tragedy.

Monaco - Alain Prost: You were 3 laps from winning it by a mile, and you binned it!

Detroit - Nelson Piquet: Failed to qualify.

Canada - Saftey: Chaotic start leads to the death of Riccardo Paletti.

The Netherlands - Ligier: Eddie Cheever fails to qualify, while Jacques Laffite retires with handling problems on lap 4.

U.K. - John Watson: Last year's winner spins out on the second lap. While his teammate wins the race.

France - BMW: Two engine failures while leading the race.

Germany - Eliseo Salazar: The famous fight caused by his incompetence.

Austria - Andrea de Cesaris: Takes himself, and his teammate out at the start.

Switzerland - Andrea de Cesaris: Blocking everybody at all costs.

Italy - March: Both cars fail to qualify.

Caesars Palace - Raul Boesel: Started dead last, and finished 6 laps down.

[Alextrax52]

Having looked back at Canada last year I'm surprised no one mentioned Simon Lazenby for a mention for the fact that he kept telling the Jenson Button fans not to worry about him qualifying 10th and remember last year because he started 7th in 2011. Did he not watch last year because there were completely different conditions and it was the period where Jenson was moaning about pretty much everything that was wrong with the car and was only in Q3 because McDonald crashed.

[UncreativeUsername37]

Having looked back at Canada last year I'm surprised no one mentioned Simon Lazenby for a mention for the fact that he kept telling the Jenson Button fans not to worry about him qualifying 10th and remember last year because he started 7th in 2011. Did he not watch last year because there were completely different conditions and it was the period where Jenson was moaning about pretty much everything that was wrong with the car and was only in Q3 because McDonald crashed.

ROTR should be something everyone sees, like Pastor Maldonado or Caterham or a crazy fan or New Delhi haze. Not something only one channel's people would ever know about.

[good_Ralf]

Spain 2005 - The Minardis for stalling on the grid simultaneously, bringing out the SC and double-DNFing later on in the race. This is more rejectful than Liuzzi's performance in my opinion.

[go_Rubens]

My take on 1983:

Brazil - Keke Rosberg - The second year in a row at Jacerepagua he gets the car push started after a fire in the pits and gets a disqualification from it.

Long Beach - Keke Rosberg - Horrible attempt at an overtake on Tambay for the lead, taking Tambay out, and sets himself up to be taken out by Jarier.

France - Andrea de Cesaris - Qualifies 8th and finishes 4 laps down.

San Marino - Ricardo Patrese - Takes the lead with 6 to go and bins it on the same lap.

Monaco - McLaren - Neither car qualifies.

Belgium - McLaren - Horrid performance again.

Detroit - Danny Sullivan - Nowhere while Alboreto wins and on home tarmac as well.

Canada - McLaren - Didn't deserve a point.

Britain - Turbochargers - Caused a third of the retirements.

Germany - Niki Lauda - Disqualified for reversing his car in the pits.

Austria - Williams - Awful pace

Netherlands - Marc Surer - Beaten by Johansson in a Spirit.

Italy - Cosworth - First time a Cosworth powered car failed to score points since 1967.

Europe - Patrick Tambay - Spun out in a critical race in his title challenge.

South Africa - Alain Prost's turbocharger - Ruined his title hopes.

ROTY for drivers:

3rd - Danny Sullivan - He only scored 2 points thanks to the mess that was the Monaco GP and was crushed by Michele Alboreto the whole season. This season proved he didn't belong in F1. At least he proved his talent by becoming the "Spin and Win" king at Indy 2 years later.

2nd - Niki Lauda - His season was not helped by the McLaren's awful pace in qualifying, but his season was just woeful to say the least. Beaten by Watson and just nowhere in most races. It seemed as if he was slightly out of depth.

1st - Raul Boesel - He drove a Ligier that was of a respectable pedigree, but he did nothing with it. Jacques Laffite was good with the car, and he scored 11 points to Boesel's none. His season justifiably proved that he didn't belong in F1. Woeful to say the least.

ROTY for teams:

3rd - Alfa Romeo - Suffered a litany of mechanical problems with both the car and the driver. Andrea de Cesaris proved how he was a mobile chicane, and the car blew up just too often. 18 points was all they managed with a car that could have and should have done better.

2nd - Arrows - Three points finishes in the first four races and then none for the rest of the year. Marc Surer could do nothing with the car except in attrition races, and there weren't many. It was a pretty wasted year to say the least.

1st - McLaren - The car had great race pace, but their qualifying pace was just plain disgraceful of a team with such a rich history up to that point. They did finish 1-2 at Long Beach while starting 22nd and 23rd but the rest of the season was a waste. Both cars failed to quailify at Monaco, and after that, the season just went bad. ROTY by the length of Circuit de la Sarthe.

[dinizintheoven]

ROTY for drivers:
1st - Raul Boesel - He drove a Ligier that was of a respectable pedigree, but he did nothing with it. Jacques Laffite was good with the car, and he scored 11 points to Boesel's none. His season justifiably proved that he didn't belong in F1. Woeful to say the least.

Jacques Laffitte was driving for Williams that year, and again in 1984. The other Ligier was driven by Jean-Pierre "awful and crass piece of driving" Jarier, to similar ineffect; neither scored any points, both drivers' results were equally mediocre, with the only real statistic to separate them being that Jarier qualified for all the races and Boesel missed out on two.

[go_Rubens]

ROTY for drivers:
1st - Raul Boesel - He drove a Ligier that was of a respectable pedigree, but he did nothing with it. Jacques Laffite was good with the car, and he scored 11 points to Boesel's none. His season justifiably proved that he didn't belong in F1. Woeful to say the least.

Jacques Laffitte was driving for Williams that year, and again in 1984. The other Ligier was driven by Jean-Pierre "awful and crass piece of driving" Jarier, to similar ineffect; neither scored any points, both drivers' results were equally mediocre, with the only real statistic to separate them being that Jarier qualified for all the races and Boesel missed out on two.

Apologies there for thinking Laffite was at Ligier his while career. I'll edit my ROTY for drivers later.

[James1978]

Think for 1983 it's unfair to nominate:

McLaren for Belgium and Canada, Williams for Austria and Cosworths for Monza - the said teams didn't have turbos and all those circuits held massive advantages for turbo cars!

[FullMetalJack]

Obviously Jarier should get the award for Austria, even Murray Walker was criticising his driving.

[good_Ralf]

Monaco 1998 - Outside of the race it would 100% go to Ricardo Rosset. His attempt to recover from a spin put him into the wall. I laughed quite hard watching that.