2010-11 Silly Season

[JoostLamers]

If lewis didnt hold up alonso in indianopolis, mclaren would be WDC. If lewis didnt go against the teams wishes, and complained in hungary, mclaren would have the WDC with alonso. But then, if Alonso drove the car in canada properly, it would have helped. If he didnt make enemies with mclaren, it would have helped.

Yeah, ifs and buts all the time happen in every season. If Alonso didn't go to the FIA McLaren would have been WCC.

If Alonso didn't hold up Lewis in Monaco, Lewis would've been WDC. If. If. If. If's are useless mate

[phil1993]

Alonso didn't hold Lewis up in Monaco though, read my whole post.

[JoostLamers]

Alonso didn't hold Lewis up in Monaco though, read my whole post.

My Anti-Lewis alert rang

[phil1993]

Haha

Hulkenberg has said he won't pay for his seat

[mikhailv]

Not many start in the best car on the grid, let alone a 'good car'. Its not pushing boundries. either. mclaren and ferrari was the top 4 teams by a good 3 tenths, 4 tenths of a second. Often, massa fell behind, so all that was needed to be done was drive the car at the speed the car would go at. Lewis got too cocky, too soon. Monaco was a joke. He complained back then that he was number 2 because they were told to hold station. Then he goes and says a few years later that hes a driver who youd think you beat, but hed come back with another tenth or two and used monaco as an example. Alonso had lewis by the short and curlies that race, but few lewis fans accept that.

Indeed, Alonso was on another planet that weekend and was controlling the race. McLaren handled it badly (like they did a lot in 2007) as they pitted Hamilton at a time where he could have gone faster, so the conception was that he could have challenged Alonso which he couldn't have done.

Webber and Alonso had plenty of preassure at minardi. Minardi always replaced drivers, Marquez was replaced by yoong at minardi in 01. Alonso was challenging the benetton of Fisichella, let alone on merit finished just outside the top 10 in japan. Backmarker teams feel just as much pressure as front running teams

The pressure is different though. The pressure of being a backmarker team is the funding to survive. The pressure of a frontrunning team is for you to deliver the title. Every race matters near the front but at the back one bad race is not a tragedy - its if you keep mucking up is when it turns bad. Don't forget that Alonso wasn't exactly vulnerable. Yes he was young, but he did have a lot of backing already.

Disagreeing with phil is insulting him? Your insulting me then. And what makes him informed? Does he work in F1? No. He, like me, have probably read endless amounts of books and watched the season reviews like me, from VHS 78 to 2010. doesnt mean i know things, I only know whats been recorded publicly and who cares who does what with this or that. I dont care who edits the magazine, if I disagre with something i will say it. Im not going to ball suck on this forum to the regular crew around here

Thanks.

I dont believe lewis set the bar for rookies. Why? There IS no wide bar for rookies. The only person who sets the bar, is the teams themselves. The minimum expectation is unique to each driver. Armchair fans? Yeah theyd probably say lewis set the bar. But fact remains, he was in the fastest car, and lewis or alonso deserved the championship equally. They finished on equal points, its no small feat to achieve, it was a solid first year. Couldnt have asked him to do more. The only thing I consider is the situation within the team. Alonso was a mard arse. But then, you watch the european GP which happened amist the arguments, and it was the start of him venting his anger on the track instead of throwing the dummy out. That to me, was the standout performance on 2007. lewis' standout performance to me, was unfortunatly marred by Kubica's crash. never the less, he was absolutly faultess that weekend, and I say its his best performance of 07, easily.

But if Lewis wasn't great then how come very very few other rookies can beat their team mate in their first season? Petrov. Where's he? Hulkenberg, AKA "The new Hamilton" - where is he? Also beating your team mate in a lower team is easier than in a big team against someone like Alonso. Hamilton scored in 15 out of 17 races (I think?) which is very impressive and Alonso in 16 out of 17 (again, I think?) and that indeed is a remarkable feat. To say that Lewis was average in his first season is just bitter.

If lewis didnt hold up alonso in indianopolis, mclaren would be WDC. If lewis didnt go against the teams wishes, and complained in hungary, mclaren would have the WDC with alonso. But then, if Alonso drove the car in canada properly, it would have helped. If he didnt make enemies with mclaren, it would have helped.

Yeah, ifs and buts all the time happen in every season. If Alonso didn't go to the FIA McLaren would have been WCC.

The TEAM failed BOTH drivers in my eyes. Alonso fans shouldnt put hatred to Lewis, and vice versa. Its neithers true fault, both made the same amount of mistakes overall, whether it was self inflicted or team inflicted. Digressing again

Yup, just the expectations were different. Alonso wasn't expected to throw his toys out of the pram - he was expected to act like a double world champion. Equally, McLaren were expected to favour the double world champion rather than the rookie superstar. But Alonso's issues with the tyres - issues which also hit Raikkonen - meant that mid-season Lewis had a 12 or 14 point lead which left them in a situation which was ultimately going to screw them.

Enemies? Good for me. I like enemies. If having an alternative opinion to the regular crew means your an enemy. Im happy with that.

I have no comment to this.

No way in hell can anyone call his first season average. I certainly didnt. Only a foold would say that. And you are right regarding current rookies. Petrov and hulkenberg are nowhere against their teammates. Lewis in the end is a special driver. He showed it in GP2 that he could do some stunning performances, but then it also shows that drivers such as Piquet, and most likely petrov and hulkenberg cant cut F1. Some never make the transition successful.

And ofcourse ifs and buts happen all the time. Fact is, mclaren as a whole team, both driver and management screwed themselves. Mclaren won when they favoured 1 driver over the other in the past 4 years. Its a harsh fact, but currently, with jense and lewis being two oppositely brilliant drivers, its going to be very hard for them to win a championship unless the other bombs it or team orders is used.

Alonso didnt have THAT much backing. Briatore got the seat as his manager and then plonked the talent into testing.

Otherwise, lewis is a brilliant driver, no damn question should challenge that at all. Its just when you say he sets the bar for rookies, its very hard to agree as each rookie is in a different situation, and you cant expect every new driver to hit it. If mclaren bring in di resta one day in his first year, sure, he does have a level that is set by lewis, but then di resta is from a slightly different background than lewis.

Its just hard to set a universal bar. Nobody said villeneuve set the bar for rookies, he did damn well and had previous experience in open wheelers, but then GP can be seen as similar, because nowdays its natural for alot of drivers to kart, open wheel etc for ten+ years. Thats why I dont believe he set the bar so to speak.

and the lewis bias is true. Look at joosts post

[phil1993]

petrov and hulkenberg cant cut F1. Some never make the transition successful.

Still their first season anyway. Petrov was never that outstanding in GP2 anyway.

And ofcourse ifs and buts happen all the time. Fact is, mclaren as a whole team, both driver and management screwed themselves. Mclaren won when they favoured 1 driver over the other in the past 4 years. Its a harsh fact, but currently, with jense and lewis being two oppositely brilliant drivers, its going to be very hard for them to win a championship unless the other bombs it or team orders is used.

Indeed. They're currently sitting on the fence

Alonso didnt have THAT much backing. Briatore got the seat as his manager and then plonked the talent into testing.

Yeah, he didn't have Hamilton/Vettel level of backing but he was a damn sight better off than Webber

and the lewis bias is true. Look at joosts post

But I am not Joost am I? I don't know where the problem is.

[phil1993]

Latest rumour is that Barrichello's seat at Williams isn't secure yet with the team evaluating the loss of sponsors & Head saying this week that Hulk deserves his place...

[sdutt]

Latest rumour is that Barrichello's seat at Williams isn't secure yet with the team evaluating the loss of sponsors & Head saying this week that Hulk deserves his place...

thats hard on Rubens if he loses the seat . Will have to c how the situation develops

[JoostLamers]

Money talks

[JoostLamers]

D'Ambrosio will race for Virgin in 2011
According to Eric Boullier

Spoiler:

Boullier says it's for 95% sure, and the rest is a matter of time. Team impressed with D'Ambrosio's performance in the practices and he has won the teams confidence with it. He'll join Glock in 2011, which will cost Di Grassi his seat

source: Belgian newspaper 'Het Nieuwsblad'

[iceman1]

Senna wants to move to a "better" team

Bruno Senna, the nephew of the great Ayrton Senna, is in talks to switch for 2011 from struggling HRT to F1's best new team Lotus.

That is the claim of Brazil's Globo Esporte, noting that the move would reinvoke the fabled Lotus/Renault/Senna combination of the 1980s.

Rookie Senna, who turned 27 earlier this month, has had a difficult debut season in 2010 at the wheel of the slowest and least developed car on the grid fielded by the Spanish newcomer Hispania.

"Bruno Senna is close to getting something better," said the Portuguese language report.

"He is in talks with Lotus and these talks are already well advanced," Globo added, nominating Jarno Trulli as the driver most likely to leave the Malaysian team in the event that Senna is signed.

The report cited sources "close to the driver" as insisting that Senna cannot finalise the deal until his sponsors agree, adding that these talks with "several companies" are also already taking place.

Globo Esporte also said Lotus' announcement of its Renault engine deal for 2011 will be made next weekend at Interlagos.

Late triple world champion Ayrton Senna won his first Grand Prix at the wheel of a Renault-powered Lotus in 1985.

He won a further 5 grands prix in a Lotus-Renault, as well as 24 podiums, 16 pole positions and 150 points before moving to McLaren.

[iceman1]

Williams indicates Hulkenberg will stay next season

Frank Williams: “It was a little disappointing, maybe, in the first few races, perhaps because he was being over-cautious. But lately he has become very competitive and we have just seen the beginning of something exceptional.”

[sleenster]

Williams indicates Hulkenberg will stay next season

Frank Williams: “It was a little disappointing, maybe, in the first few races, perhaps because he was being over-cautious. But lately he has become very competitive and we have just seen the beginning of something exceptional.”

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsp ... 141018.stm

The funniest part of the article I thought was when Frank Williams was talking about Barrichello:

"His technique is very understated, he's a very smooth driver. He likes to be mollycoddled emotionally a little bit, and he likes being told how good he is, but we don't have any problem in telling him, we believe strongly in him.

[iceman1]

HRT to soon announce de la Rosa for 2011

A deal for Pedro de la Rosa to return to the grid next year could be announced officially next week.

After being ousted by Sauber, the 39-year-old Spaniard was recruited as Pirelli's main test driver but said he would be interested in driving for HRT in 2011 if its "sporting project is interesting and ambitious".

"I am in contact with the (team owner) Carabantes," he revealed last month.

Citing the information of a member of the Spanish team, the Brazilian publication Terra said "almost everything is done" to secure de la Rosa's services for 2011.

And after HRT sealed its deal for a Williams transmission, the report said the team will base its next car on the unraced 2010 Toyota.

The El Confidencial publication said de la Rosa has "increased, not decreased" his personal sponsorship since leaving Sauber, and that he is HRT's "first choice" for the 2011 season.

The report said another Spanish publication believes an agreement has already been reached between the two parties, with an official announcement due "in the coming days".

According to Europa Press, de la Rosa will be in Madrid on Thursday due to his involvement in the first 3D advertisement in Spain with the department store El Corte Ingles.

Among his other sponsors are Banco Santander, Diageo and the watch brand Certina.

[sleenster]

Nico Hulkenberg as Mercedes reserve driver?

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2010/11/l ... e-attacks/

* Meanwhile I’ve been thinking a bit more about the plight of Nico Hulkenberg, who appears to be out of Williams in favour of Pastor Maldonado. I posted on this yesterday. Given his nationality and that Willi Weber is his manager, accepting the reserve driver role at Mercedes next year might be a better bet than racing for one of the smaller teams. That way he would be in position to race alongside Nico Rosberg when Michael Schumacher calls it a day, quite possibly at the end of 2011.

http://www.ultimogiro.com/categorie/mot ... maldonato/