2014 Comment: Friendly Fire

[eytl]

Hi everyone,

Time for my first 2014 season comment - or, as some of you might believe, my first attempt to put a hex on someone / something.

In the wake of the thrilling Bahrain GP, many were quick to claim it as a triumph of the 2014 rules to throw back in the face of those (*cough*Bernie*cough* and *cough*LucadiMontezemolo*cough*) who have been out to rubbish the new regulations. But was it really? On further reflection, I reckon it has more to do with one of the developing storylines of the 2014 season - the spate of intra-team battles up and down the grid.

Why do I say that? Find out here: http://www.f1rejects.com/centrale/2014/friendlyfire/index.html

Oh no! Does this mean I have jinxed all the remaining races for this year and ensured that they will all be processional affairs?

Cheers,
Enoch

[dinizintheoven]

Oh no! Does this mean I have jinxed all the remaining races for this year and ensured that they will all be processional affairs?

My reaction is similar to Richard Hammond's, whenever Jeremy Clarkson says "How hard can it be?"

[Jocke1]

Good piece, Enoch.

There's even Marussia, where an off-colour Jules Bianchi is coming up against a more confident Max Chilton.

Amen, brother.

Who is not just continuing to rack up the finishes, but is the one who has scored two crucial 13th places so far.

Tell it, Enoch!

There may well start to be a shift in the balance of power in that team.

Testify!

[watka]

Thanks again Enoch, will be interesting to see if what you say comes true.

[More_Blue_Flags]

I read an insightful analysis on the Sky Sports site which suggested that Hulkenberg's greatest flaw is that he performs with the dependability of a top-line driver, when what you really need when driving for Force India or Sauber are the carpe diem moments - exactly what Perez specialises in, even when Sergio might bin in the next race.

I think this has nailed the situation at Force India, and I would go as far as to say that as a general principle, steady and dependable drivers aren't valued as highly as more exciting and potentially erratic ones even outside the midfield teams. While I always preferred Prost to Senna, for example, that was (and probably always will be) a minority view. Neither Perez or Hulkenberg can have too many opportunities left to secure a spot in a front running team, so I expect then both to keep pushing pretty hard (in their contrasting styles) this year.

By contrast at Williams, it might take a bit of time but ultimately Bottas will come through as the rising star while - if managed correctly - Massa will develop a team leadership role that involves mentoring both Bottas and Nasr to an extent rather than expecting to be consistently if front of Bottas. Any objective analysis would suggest that the twilight of Massa's career is rapidly approaching while there is clearly more to come from Bottas.

At Ferrari, for all the talk of fire versus ice in the form of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, the reality is that they have two drivers in the same mould. Both possibly slightly past their prime, both having lost a tenth or two of raw pace compared to a decade ago, both relying on stealth and racecraft come Sunday. So really, Alonso and Raikkonen are fighting over the one role at Maranello, and if the F14 T continues to prove mediocre then their main focus will invariably turn to beating each other.

I would suggest that this change of focus has already happened for Alonso at least, while Kimi is rapidly losing interest. I predict that Alonso will win this intra-team battle and this may well be Kimi's last season in the sport.

[Jocke1]

Enoch, I seem to recall you quoting Colles in a podcast a few years back, or was it Pérez-Sala?,
where he mentioned something silly about percentages.
That the team "had extracted 50 percent from the potential of the car" or something similar to that.
I can't remember exactly but it was a strange calculation of percents.

Today we heard an equally odd percentage number in China, right from the mouth of Ferrari's hot new TP Marco Mattiacci.
He said to Sky Sports:
"I am an extremely humble person that will listen, and will fight 150%."


Could this be the big news in Formula 1 at this point in time?
Mattiacci defying the mathmatical laws!

[Paul Hayes]

As always with these features, a very interesting piece. Well done, and thanks!

[Cynon]

Enoch, I seem to recall you quoting Colles in a podcast a few years back, or was it Pérez-Sala?,
where he mentioned something silly about percentages.
That the team "had extracted 50 percent from the potential of the car" or something similar to that.
I can't remember exactly but it was a strange calculation of percents.

Today we heard an equally odd percentage number in China, right from the mouth of Ferrari's hot new TP Marco Mattiacci.
He said to Sky Sports:
"I am an extremely humble person that will listen, and will fight 150%."


Could this be the big news in Formula 1 at this point in time?
Mattiacci defying the mathmatical laws!

I interpreted that as a declaration that the team aiming to punch way above it's weight.

[go_Rubens]

Enoch, I seem to recall you quoting Colles in a podcast a few years back, or was it Pérez-Sala?,
where he mentioned something silly about percentages.
That the team "had extracted 50 percent from the potential of the car" or something similar to that.
I can't remember exactly but it was a strange calculation of percents.

Today we heard an equally odd percentage number in China, right from the mouth of Ferrari's hot new TP Marco Mattiacci.
He said to Sky Sports:
"I am an extremely humble person that will listen, and will fight 150%."


Could this be the big news in Formula 1 at this point in time?
Mattiacci defying the mathmatical laws!

I interpreted that as a declaration that the team aiming to punch way above it's weight.

And Alonso certainly did punch above Ferrari's weight in Shanghai. At least compared to the first 3 races.

[Jocke1]

What's the reason you were wearing sunglasses this morning?

BBC reporter to Mattiacci on the Friday in Shanghai.

I must admit I also wondered about this during FP1 and FP2, but I think that is the most stupid
question I have ever heard asked in the world of Formula One... yet o_O

[captainhappy]

Enoch,

Haven't been on here for Ages, but enjoyed the article immensely and just stopped by to say thanks! Pretty soon it'll be TEN years that I'll have enjoyed the F1 Rejects podcast.

Regards,
Nick - Canada

P.S. Is captain hammer still trolling the forums? (no disrespect)

[UncreativeUsername37]

P.S. Is captain hammer still trolling the forums? (no disrespect)

Nope. Nowadays he spends his time arguing on the talk page of Wikipedia's article on the 2014 F1 season. (His name there is Prisonermonkeys.)