Formula 1 Thread

[Matt79]

Sorry for being an unabashed fan of the formula 1 driver from my country, would expect Kiwis to understand.

 

[NZTailender]

Sorry for being an unabashed fan of the formula 1 driver from my country, would expect Kiwis to understand.

It's okay, I'm happy that he's won as he's my favourite driver.

 

[Dick Rockett]

Think that is a little unfair, Webber has always been a talented driver and he is not been all that far off Vettel all season.
Also Button is more than just a competent driver he has performed excellently this season, yes he has had the best car but he has driven almost perfectly this season (he has made far less mistakes and driven a lot more consistently than Hamilton did last season) To do this at the highest level is a skill that not all drivers have

Obviously in relative terms (ie. compared to ordinary mortals and race drivers in lower categories) both drivers are very good, but as F1 drivers they are both merely ordinary. A truly good driver will shine even when stuck with inferior machinery and neither have really done that aside from a few isolated occasions. Even worse, they've both had access to reasonable, if not pack leading, cars in the past when they drove for Williams and did basically nothing of note.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge them their day in the sun but it seems a real shame that either is a contender for the championship in a field that contains obviously superior drivers like Hamilton, Alonso, Raikkonen, Massa and Kubica struggling in the also ran section. IMO, Vettel is the only driver in contention who truly deserves to be world champion - the man is obviously extremely talented.

Same, was fantastic.

I'd like to have seen Mika Salo win a race, but he was denied that...

Didn't he nearly have the German GP in the bag at one stage, only to gift the win to Irvine (or someone)?

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Even worse, they've both had access to reasonable, if not pack leading, cars in the past when they drove for Williams and did basically nothing of note.

Explains why the engine blew up every race Webber drove I suppose. Must have been too good an engine for the car or something.

 

[99*]

Didn't he nearly have the German GP in the bag at one stage, only to gift the win to Irvine (or someone)?

Team orders to give it to Irvine, yep. Was during Shumi's injury.

 

[Dick Rockett]

Explains why the engine blew up every race Webber drove I suppose. Must have been too good an engine for the car or something.

A driver doesn't have to win or even finish a race to show he's better than his car suggests. Besides, engine failures were a fact of life back then, everyone had to deal with them (possibly except for anyone driving a Ferrari). At any rate, when he did finish the results weren't great and he hardly outdid his teammates.

I guess I sound like I'm being too hard on the guy, maybe I am. But tbh I'll never rate him as any better than any other midfield trundler that won a race occasionally, and to be fair there's been plenty of those over the years.

 

[ripper868]

A driver doesn't have to win or even finish a race to show he's better than his car suggests. Besides, engine failures were a fact of life back then, everyone had to deal with them (possibly except for anyone driving a Ferrari). At any rate, when he did finish the results weren't great and he hardly outdid his teammates.

I guess I sound like I'm being too hard on the guy, maybe I am. But tbh I'll never rate him as any better than any other midfield trundler that won a race occasionally, and to be fair there's been plenty of those over the years.

Remember this when he wins the championship next year
[/GIMH style optimisim]

 

[Dick Rockett]

Remember this when he wins the championship next year
[/GIMH style optimisim]

I'll actually be really surprised if the usual suspects (ie. Ferrari, McLaren) aren't back at the top again next year. Hoping for a resurgent Williams too, seeing as they've shown signs of improvement this season.

 

[Pothas]

Obviously in relative terms (ie. compared to ordinary mortals and race drivers in lower categories) both drivers are very good, but as F1 drivers they are both merely ordinary. A truly good driver will shine even when stuck with inferior machinery and neither have really done that aside from a few isolated occasions. Even worse, they've both had access to reasonable, if not pack leading, cars in the past when they drove for Williams and did basically nothing of note.

Don't get me wrong, I don't begrudge them their day in the sun but it seems a real shame that either is a contender for the championship in a field that contains obviously superior drivers like Hamilton, Alonso, Raikkonen, Massa and Kubica struggling in the also ran section. IMO, Vettel is the only driver in contention who truly deserves to be world champion - the man is obviously extremely talented.

You are right about Alonso who is clearly the best driver of this generation and Kimi before he went a bit rubbish. Would not agree that Massa is really much better than Button or Webber really. Yes he was very young when he was at Sauber but he was no more impressive than Button or Webber in similar cars. He drove really well last year but still made more mistakes than Button has so far this season. Button has always done well when given half decent cars (the ones he had at Honda the last couple of years were just awful.) Lewis has more talent but as I say Button has driven more consistently than Hamilton did last year. While your point about top drivers being good in poor cars is a good one I think just a good measure is how well a driver takes his chance when he is given the chance of winning, this is something Button has proved this season and Webber is showing signs of doing the same.

 

[Johnners]

Bit late I know but....

WEEEEEEEEEBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

My reaction was kinda like his when it actually happened tbh.

 

[99*]

The only time I miss qualifying all year and it has to be the time Massa comes close to death. ****.

Looks as if he'll be ok though so that's good.

 

[Matteh]

As useless as i think Massa is, that had the potential to be so much worse and it's thankful it isn't.

Youtube 'Tom Pryce' and you'll see what a solid object does to an F1 driver's head at speed.

 

[99*]

Youtube 'Tom Pryce' and you'll see what a solid object does to an F1 driver's head at speed.

And what a formula 1 car does to the human body.

 

[Matteh]

Yeah that bit's weird, looks like someone's unfurled a red flag where you know a person was a second before.

Pretty sure i read that they only knew who was hit by calling a roster of all the marshalls to see who was missing the body was that destroyed.

 

[Johnners]

Schumacher makes return to F1 - Formula One - Fox Sports

Will be interesting to see if he's back on the pace immediately or if it takes him a while to work back into it.

 

[GIMH]

Holy ****

 

[Jamee999]

So awesome. I so hope he wins. Armstrong-esque. I wonder if he's fit enough - obviously he's naturally probably in great shape, but F1 driving is so physically taxing, two years of no pro fitness work will be an issue.

 

[Simon]

Hopefully someone takes him out on the first corner and its finished. Where is Takuma Sato when you need him?

 

[Johnners]

Except Armstrong didn't actually win anything (not counting the Astana Team Victory)

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Hopefully someone takes him out on the first corner and its finished. Where is Takuma Sato when you need him?

Ind33d.