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**evilC** · 03-11-2008, 09:39

F1 - 2008

ursus arctos wrote:

My sense is that Hamilton has suffered from having too many "handlers", "consultants" and "advisors" surround him at a very young age, but Massa was very impressively gracious in defeat.

And full marks to Papa Hamilton for going to the Ferarri pit after the race; he is getting a lot of credit here for a class gesture.

If it rained every race, Vettel would break all of Schumacher's records. The kid is a force of nature in the wet.

Agreed, on all of that.

Ad Hoc - I don't think that Hamilton is so much a 'dick' as simply has very little personality! You sometimes get this with people whose whole lifestyle is quite separated from 'the real world'.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd rather see a slightly volatile 'character' - like James Hunt - any day of the week, rather than the bland driving machines like Hamilton, Loeb or Mansell.

**evilC** · 03-11-2008, 09:43

F1 - 2008

Oh, and although I'm very happy for Hamilton, I've just become so disillusioned with F1 over these last two years that it's really taken the sheen off it all for me. If this had happened when I was 20, I would have been jumping all around the living room. Now, I'm just waiting for the next stewards' inquiry or Ferrari appeal every time something goes right for Hamilton.

**evilC** · 03-11-2008, 10:13

F1 - 2008

bewaldeth wrote:

Wet/dry races should be compulsory - fuck all the impenetrable technology changes, just get some sprinklers installed at every track.

I actually bemoan the fact they've taken Canada (Ile de Notre Dame) off the calendar next year, for this very reason. It used to be criticised for the changeable weather, but in the last season or two, people have finally come around to how good it was to have such a test in the season somewhere.

I'm all for having GPs in all seasonal conditions and not just have the F1 circus follow the Summer around the globe, as it currently does.

**ursus arctos** · 03-11-2008, 10:27

F1 - 2008

Indeed, Montreal is a real loss to the calendar, and the idea that we are going to have multiple races on identikit tracks in the desert is yet another reason to be depressed about the future of the sport.

One of the revelations of the weekend for me was that Raikkonen identified James Hunt as his childhood hero. I guess Kimi's idea of hero worship is to conduct one's life in a diametrically opposed fashion . . .

It was also really unfortunate for Coulthard to get shunted out at the second corner; I've never been a big fan of his, but he deserved better than that.

**evilC** · 03-11-2008, 10:53

F1 - 2008

ursus arctos wrote:

One of the revelations of the weekend for me was that Raikkonen identified James Hunt as his childhood hero. I guess Kimi's idea of hero worship is to conduct one's life in a diametrically opposed fashion . . .

It was also really unfortunate for Coulthard to get shunted out at the second corner; I've never been a big fan of his, but he deserved better than that.

Isn't it Raikonnen who goes out and gets pissed on vodka all the time, when back in Finland and not on F1 duty, though? Or was that Hakkinen?

I never liked Coulthard at first, either. Again, he seemed a bit bland. But over the years, it's become clear what a class act he really is. I doubt he'll end up in commentary, so I hope he goes into F1 management (in some way) - I think he'll be excellent at that.

**ursus arctos** · 03-11-2008, 11:04

F1 - 2008

That was Hakkinen (as far as I know). Raikkonen lives in Switzerland.

**Ball Comrade** · 03-11-2008, 11:20

F1 - 2008

H�kkinen has just been through a messy divorce, and is living in a 'bachelor pad' (seemingly surrounded by tabloid photographers) in Helsinki. His life might well turn into a much wealthier, and therefore duller, version of Matti Nyk�nen's post ski-jumping career.

**Third rate Leszno** · 03-11-2008, 11:22

F1 - 2008

No, Kimi had the infamous incident when he was found pissed to the point of unconsciousness, clutching an inflatable dolphin - story here.

It's just a shame he chooses to be so disinterested in presenting any sort of human face in press conferences.

**ursus arctos** · 03-11-2008, 11:26

F1 - 2008

Interesting, that story never made it into the papers down here.

Must be another Ferrari conspiracy . . .

**evilC** · 03-11-2008, 11:31

F1 - 2008

Ball Comrade wrote:

H�kkinen has just been through a messy divorce, and is living in a 'bachelor pad' (seemingly surrounded by tabloid photographers) in Helsinki. His life might well turn into a much wealthier, and therefore duller, version of Matti Nyk�nen's post ski-jumping career.

Shame about the divorce.

Btw - in a previous job, I had a boss who was from out Woking way. One day he was at a party somewhere in the area (this was about '99, I think) and met a bloke who was a McLaren race engineer - possibly Hakkinen's own dedicated engineer. My boss asked him what Hakkinen was like. The engineer bloke replied that he was an utter nightmare! He said that Coulthard would come in from a test lap and give loads of feedback - "we need a half turn of front wing, tiny bit of extra camber" etc, etc. But when Hakkinen would come in, the engineers could say "Well, Mika - what was it like? What needs changing?" and he'd just shrug and go "I dunno"! So getting info out of him was like getting blood from a stone, quite often. He said that most of the team ended up with the impression that Hakkinen was actually just a bit thick!

Given this supposed first-hand account, I was surprised a few months later when someone on telly was saying the opposite - that Hakkinen was one of the more intelligent and knowledgeable drivers in the sport. Perhaps someone somewhere in McLaren was having a bit of an in-joke at Hakkinen's expense?

**Guest** · 03-11-2008, 11:37

F1 - 2008

Or you met a pissed bloke at a party pretending to work for McLaren.

I once pretended to be a penguin keeper at London Zoo and it really impressed this girl, though she then wouldn't leave me alone. My mate was claiming to be the lion keeper.

Actually this might just mean that Watford girls are easy, imagine that.

**evilC** · 03-11-2008, 11:38

F1 - 2008

bewaldeth wrote:

No, Kimi had the infamous incident when he was found pissed to the point of unconsciousness, clutching an inflatable dolphin - story here.

Y'see - now, that's what I'm talking about. My respect for Raikkonen has just gone up immensely! Hockey 4 times a week? Wow! Nutter!

**evilC** · 03-11-2008, 11:40

F1 - 2008

barndoorio wrote:

Or you met....

My boss did, you mean.

**Gangster Octopus** · 03-11-2008, 12:59

F1 - 2008

ursus arctos wrote:

It was also really unfortunate for Coulthard to get shunted out at the second corner; I've never been a big fan of his, but he deserved better than that.

Oh, I don't know. The sense of futility and disappointment seemed to sum up his career...

**blameless** · 03-11-2008, 13:48

F1 - 2008

I feel sorry for Coulthard, and not necessarily because he's a compatriot either - it all goes back to the 1997 European Grand Prix, when both DC and Hakkinen were racing for McLaren.

It may seem odd to recall now that Hakkinen is a long-retired double champion, but for the first six seasons of his career he quite simply couldn't buy a GP win despite his obvious talent. Then, in the 1997 Euro GP, the two leading drivers of the day (Schumacher and Villeneuve) collided and went off, and McLaren found themselves unexpectedly first and second with just a few laps left.

Coulthard drove better on the day, and was in first place right up until a few corners from the end, when he unexpectedly pulled over to let Hakkinen through - it was later revealed that McLaren had ordered him to do this so that Hakkinen could finally get his first win (Coulthard already had a couple of wins by this point).

Getting the "first win" monkey off his back transformed Hakkinen, and as McLaren had the runaway best car in 1998 and 1999, he was able to win back-to-back titles. Despite McLaren's claims that Hakkinen and Coulthard had equal status, Coulthard's cars always suffered from more mechanical problems, and once Hakkinen opened up a bit of a lead in the World Championship, the team always threw everything into Hakkinen's cause and relegated Coulthard to an afterthought.

Don't get me wrong - Hakkinen was an excellent driver, and a better one than Coulthard. But who knows what would have happened if he hadn't been gifted that race in 1997?

**Gangster Octopus** · 05-09-2009, 09:27

F1 - 2008

Apparently F1 has it's own Bloodgate. Last season...

**evilC** · 05-09-2009, 10:29

F1 - 2008

Gangster Octopus wrote:

Apparently F1 has it's own Bloodgate. Last season...

Ron Dennis gone. Now Briatore set to be cru... sorry - swept aside. It strikes me that all the managerial 'loose cannons' are being *ahem* 'dealt with'.

Given that Renault may choose to withdraw from Formula 1 entirely due to this and with all the financial casualties currently pulling out, soon we'll be down to just two or three teams ...or maybe just one!

**Kid A** · 16-09-2009, 12:53

F1 - 2008

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/8258987.stm

Blimey.

**evilC** · 16-09-2009, 13:23

F1 - 2008

Well, there you go. My previous post stands. Dennis and Briatore both forced to leave their jobs. In particular, I find the timing of this one strange: it's been hanging around for nearly a year, yet only comes to be dealt with now - in the last month of Mosley's tenure as FIA boss! Hmmm... I wonder if he was 'dealing with some outstanding matters' before he leaves?

Strange how Ferrari never get pulled over for their part (50%) in the 'designs-swapping' scandal, while McLaren get a �50-million fine ...and Schumacher ostensibly wins two world championships by running people off the road in crucial races. Somehow I don't think the 'corruption' in F1 ends with the pit-lane 'foes' of Mosley and Ecclestone.

**Kid A** · 16-09-2009, 13:31

F1 - 2008

Surely the timing of this was all to do with Piquet Jr getting the sack from Renault? If that hadn't happened then this wouldn't have surfaced.

But I agree, the murkiness of F1 shenanigans doesn't end here.

**Levin** · 16-09-2009, 13:33

F1 - 2008

Yeah my thought is that you really can't fire people when they have this sort of material on you. Or upset in the Maclaren case. It was Alonso who made things tricky for them with his testimony wasn't it?

**caja-dglh** · 16-09-2009, 17:19

F1 - 2008

I am going to sound all American here, but in the two years I have been away I seem to have drifted to the point that - from my impression - no one really cares about F1 any more.

All the scandals, the changes to the format and the race awards... it seems to have really gone off track.

**Guest** · 17-09-2009, 12:30

F1 - 2008

Strange how Ferrari never get pulled over for their part (50%) in the 'designs-swapping' scandal, while McLaren get a �50-million fine ...and Schumacher ostensibly wins two world championships by running people off the road in crucial races.

Don't forget Barrichello standing aside for Schumacher in Austria.

That was the moment where I gave up on F1 for good. It is a sport that repeatedly and wilfully takes the piss out of its followers.

**ursus arctos** · 25-09-2009, 16:35

F1 - 2008

Grosjean stars in Turn 17: the sequel.

**Guest** · 28-09-2009, 08:44

F1 - 2008

how come noone has called this the piquetgate scandal

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