Grand Prix Rejects

Welcome all, to the new tin-foil award on the F1Rejects Forum, the Infinite Improbability Drive, awarded to the pilot or team that surprises you the most during a weekend.
It is based on the assumption that, at any moment in time, there is a non-zero probability that even the slowest, most inexperienced and least reliable of underdogs might win the race. That under every rock, there might be a gold nugget. This is the award for that first podium that we all celebrate, for the first win that everyone cheers to, for Force India's first points finish. This is the award, in short, for the driver or team that makes you go "Woah! Where did THAT come from?!".

And, in our first edition, we already have two strong candidates:

Adrian Sutil, who managed 3rd in Friday's FP2
Kazuki Nakajima, who got second on Saturday's FP3, and 5th in Qualifying.

Now, if you agree (and Jamie and Enoch agree as well...), I will be posting this for every GP from now on. Just remember: this is a feel-good award, that will focus on nothing but track action.

I'm going to nominate Adrian Sutil's Force India, the back end of which was everywhere over Abbey by the end of his shunt.

I'll add Jaques Villeneuve for warming up engines in his new attempt to return to F1.

Not F1 related but I have to mention Alberto Valerio in GP2. Last year complete season with no points and now victory in feature race. OK he took some points in Turkey but that was giant surprise anyway.

Nakajima was given a fuel load where his car didn't weigh like a tank and got P5, beating Rosberg and Button. Unexpected, still tomorrow Kazuki ftw.

I vote for Sutil--he beat Lewisteria in quali despite some apparently pretty major car problems.

Debaser wrote:Nakajima was given a fuel load where his car didn't weigh like a tank and got P5, beating Rosberg and Button. Unexpected, still tomorrow Kazuki ftw.

and he was fastest in the first part of qualifying

I would say Heikki Kovalainen getting to Q2 was a surprise, the car looked more of a pig than ever, and he looked like he was putting in a heroic effort just to get through (had it not been for Sutil, he'd probably not have made it,but my point stands)

(To add onto Carlos's introduction)

This is the award that Jamie and Enoch root against so that they have more material on Monday.

I would say Lewis Hamilton going from champ to mediocrity with his 19th place qualification run in admitted a dog of a car but his lower rated teammate was able to get the car into Q2. He reminds me a lot this year of certain someone whose won 6 of 7 races this year who last year was an anonmyous (if i spelled it correctly) reject of the year.

thehemogoblin wrote:(To add onto Carlos's introduction)

This is the award that Jamie and Enoch root against so that they have more material on Monday.

Another nomination: Fisichella, for finishing 10th, in the same lap as the winner!

CarlosFerreira wrote:Another nomination: Fisichella, for finishing 10th, in the same lap as the winner!

Seconded. He was merely seconds away from Force India's first point! Brilliant drive

Enrique Bernoldi wrote:

CarlosFerreira wrote:Another nomination: Fisichella, for finishing 10th, in the same lap as the winner!

Seconded. He was merely seconds away from Force India's first point! Brilliant drive

Even more, he made a flying move in the inside while a Sauber and a Benetton (.... where the hell THAT came from?) a BMW and a Renault were battling.

Massa from failing to make it to Q3 up to P4 in the race.

I would have hoped the IID to go to Kazuki Nakajima, but it was not to be.

Fisicella was the only guy who made me think ' what the hell's he doing there.' Great drive .

Yannick wrote:Massa from failing to make it to Q3 up to P4 in the race.

I would have hoped the IID to go to Kazuki Nakajima, but it was not to be.

The laws of probability caught up with him, I guess.

Has to be Fisichella with Massa being a close second.

I'm just going to remember everyone that Nelsinho beat World Champions, plus both BMWs, while making no mistakes. Admittedly, Nando Alonso had his race utterly screwed by Heidfeld, but still! If only it wasn't for 12th place...

Fisi's brilliant move takes the cake.

Giancarlo Fisichella astonished even me, and I'm pretty much used to him doing improbable stuff (and supporting him partly as a result of said tendency). Great start, lovely double-overtaking move and then a lovely consistent drive to secure 10th. This despite being hampered by Sutil crashing into him at the end of Friday Practise 2 and having a final, possibly-Q2-earning run aborted by... ...Sutil's brakes going on strike!

Just to let everyone know I will be calling it a day next Thursday, right before the German GP ends. I will count every vote (if you mentioned more than one possible IID candidate, I will count all of the nominees), compile the numbers and declare a winner by popular choice.

Please note I will only count drivers, on track action, no political shenanigans or other factors.

So, time to call it a day and do the maths.
To make it absolutely clear which votes were counted, I am publishing a list of the nominees and respective voter. No, the vote is not secret, this is a bloody public forum! So, I compiled these:

NOMINEE VOTED BY
Adrian Sutil- - CarlosFerreira
Kazuki Nakajima- CarlosFerreira
Adrian Sutil's car- Captain Hammer
Kazuki Nakajima- Debaser
Adrian Sutil- Robbie
Kazuki Nakajima- WeirdKerr
Heikki Kovalainen- watka
Lewis Hamilton- deCrasheris
Giancarlo Fisichella- CarlosFerreira
Giancarlo Fisichella- Enrique Bernoldi
Giancarlo Fisichella- Popi Larrauri
Felipe Massa- Yannick
Giancarlo Fisichella- Ross Prawn
Giancarlo Fisichella- Wizzie
Felipe Massa- Wizzie
Giancarlo Fisichella- Pepys
Giancarlo Fisichella- Alianora la Canta

Popi Larrauri, I didn't count your vote on the possible return of bald-man Jacques Villeneuve, improbable though it is, because it's an off-track issue.
Bleu, I decided against Valerio's victory on different grounds: although the victory of an unfancied Brazilian driver, that drives for the Piquet team and is Nelsinho's best friend is one of the best proofs there an infinite probability for everything, I would prefer to keep this award specifically for F1 track action. Most people around here (me included) don't really follow the inferior formulae.
So, sorry to both you guys.

Now, the moment we've all been waiting for. The winner of the very first IIDOTR award is an old (quite literally) favourite of the F1Rejects community. His performances over the years have demonstrated the IID principle, by morphing from brilliant to horrid - sometimes in consecutive laps. By pushing the darling car and team of most of the F1R community close (but not quite) to the stairways to the points leaderboard, Giancarlo Fisichella gets the gong!


NOMINEE VOTES
Adrian Sutil- 2
Adrian Sutil's car- 1
Felipe Massa- 2
Giancarlo Fisichella- 7
Heikki Kovalainen- 1
Kazuki Nakajima- 3
Lewis Hamilton- 1

I want to thank all voters. The voting is over and the verdict reached. Feel free to comment, but all votes from now on will not be considered. Time to look to the German GP!