The German Grand Prix was dominated but Nico Rosberg, but most of the focus was not on the World Championship leader, but rather on his team-mate Lewis Hamilton as he fought his way from the back of the grid to third place, just behind second-placed Valtteri Bottas. It was a masterful drive.
– We look at the FRIC suspension controversy
– Pirelli tests 18-inch wheels
– Britain to allow racing on the roads
– A chat with Susie Wolff
– JS looks at the future of F1
– DT wonders what happened to the crowd at Hockenheim
– The Hack remembers the old days at Hockenheim
– Peter Nygaard and his team of snappers capture all the action
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joeblogsf1 
Joe I will talk to Roy in the morning
Is he in the cell next to you?
No, just in the next town down the road.Anyway we had a long chat and he confirmed that in essence Mike Doodsons comments were true.He did not enjoy driving for Alan Rees-mostly because the job was just arrive and drive and it was not his style.
As for cats ,the first time I met him-20 or so years ago- the family cat was called Esox.
For those of you not piscatorially inclined it might help to know that the Latin name for the Pike is Esox Lucius.
“- A chat with Susie Wolff”
Wasn’t anyone else available?
I’d rather hear from the guy who cleans the biffies at the tracks, than SW. At least the poop-mobile drivers got their gigs the old fashioned way-They earned it…
I suggest you visit a doctor and ask if he or she has some positive pills.
Joe, did I imagine you said you had an interview with Hamilton in this issue?
You imagined it
Weird. Anyway, is that something that is doable? Does Lewis give those type of interviews or is he too far behind a PR wall to get at?
Lewis gives interviews but they are obviously quite restricted. He does have regular briefings with the UK papers from which most of the silly stories come. His words are twisted, his jokes misinterpreted and published in the rags (almost all of them have no real standards today). Then, of course, the bottom feeders in Wonga Wonga take over and spin the stories to new heights of inanity. Is it any wonder that most of the F1 press struggle to be respected?
“They earned it”
Please don’t fool yourself. There are plenty of folks there who would not otherwise be in the paddock if it were not for money.
How exactly do you “earn” a gig as a poop-mobile driver? Are there any poop-mobile drivers that proudly exclaim that they got their drive based on merit?
“How exactly do you “earn” a gig as a poop-mobile driver?”
Have a go at it if you think you can clean the biffies with pride and drive the poop-mobile safely:
http://www.biffsinc.com/employment.html
Click to access Biffs_Application-DRIVER.pdf
“Are there any poop-mobile drivers that proudly exclaim that they got their drive based on merit?”
I would hope so. I’m sure it’s far more difficult to get the gig driving the pumper truck than it was for SW to ask her spouse for the F1 drive…
What a ridiculous comment.
She got the house in the divorce, didn’t she?
As I have explained before many times I do not get the comments by thread but rather in time order so I don’t know to which thread this belongs. I have a feeling it is one that I might delete in normal circumstances. Anyway, I have no idea to whom or what it relates.
sorry, joe. yes, it was a reply to another poster. i clicked the wrong reply button. it was a vague joke about misogyny and susie wolf that wasn’t funny in hindsight. so, i guess ignore this and the other.
Congrats on the 150th edition!!!
.
@ David T. Thanks for clearing up LH’s faux pas re “Nick isn’t a real German”. When the news broke, I, probably like most others, wondered WTH was he thinking; How could he be so stupid; insensitive, etc., etc.
This is the first time I am hearing that the comments by LH were really a sort-of off-the-record throwaway line intended to amuse “Fleet Street” during the post-race session at Silverstone. And that his comments were not an insensitive declarative statement intended to demean his colleague much less for public consumption.
Joe may I suggest that you break protocol and post David’s article on the Blog. An alternate to consider is for either you or David to write a brief Post articulating the proper context re the comments. Doing so, will not eradicate the self-inflicted damage done to LH’s image; instead it will put into the public square the proper context.
Hopefully LH will finally learn to be more discreet and circumspect regarding information that he dispenses re his private life as well as comments regarding everything else.
I just think LH has a sense of humor, and the press pack none at all, nor the good grace to report in the sense a comment was intended. Maybe not the ability to distinguish for themselves. Sadly I think it is a good deal the inability to perceive how things are spoken, followed swiftly by anemic dullness of wit and a kind of warped absence of inner honesty that would otherwise not let comments be filtered into what people think they are hearing, which is the discomfiting disembowelment that characterizes the elementary liguistic failure of even basic reporting. One time I remember you could at least tell when someone was going to let personal interpretations come in to the piece. It would be called something other than news or reportage or coverage. There’s not even lip service to the style required to convey impressions and op-ed or essay now. Not even that effort, in the whitespace ink noise scuff of scribblers who believe a word bite slime spin for a cutaway is as good as even being a columnist’s cur’s copy cutter. How many ways could Lewis’ comment have been turned to better reflect his speech?* Is there a glyph or emoji or emoticon or Unicode character for tongue in cheek that, by being omitted from a cellphone keypad, has led to a entire range of human communication being lost?
Or course, grabbing my tinfoil hat for fun, it’s Murdoch, somehow arranging a impenetrable array of dullard minds to surround and suffocate F1, until, forgotten in the public’s heart, in a crucible of legal and political forces, the show can be had for cheap. Of course not, but it oftentimes make me think, the stultifying prose that flops embarrassed for its own self onto pages. I often wonder how much more we would hear from the racers and all teams, if they could rely on a lighter sense of humor form journalists, if they could color how they wished and not be put úp as pariahs or pelted as protagonists, for every opinion they may have. Brilliant season, but when controversy is made of a old great driver being annoyed a race is delayed for safety, no matter I certainly don’t agree with Lauda on that, well, we’re all self censuring ourselves. Think of the children! And all that.
My thoughts are too long for here, but I think some factors have led to dull reporting, not least business politics are beyond even self professed specialists in business reporting. The technical world is poorly done, certainly compared with what is possible to communicate. Maybe scribblers dream of being PR or spokesbodies for teams? I don’t even see the old guard of writers conveying much excitement over this year, at least form where I look.. admittedly I am still biased by the full court press of the engine sound complaints that went on far beyond making the point, and weren’t interesting to start with… I don’t want to clone Joe, I just don’t wan to feel like I am prodding other publications for signs of life. I still think however that Joe gets on the end of swipes from fellow professionally employed types only because he stands square and feet apart. It seems such a petty environment, and I don’t have to go far to see how it fits there is too much bashing by the pack for standing upright, and how that goes hand in hand with tawdry type tweaking.
* ‘”And he’s not even German,” said the Monegasque Brit with a knowing grin.’
(my try, anyhow, how to report if it was that way)
That’s a great take J o J.
Yes Peter, he ( JoJ ) just goes from superlative to inspired etc etc, with posts that really command re reading before commentating on….and which rarely need any further comment as they are so all encompassing..to para phrase Lewis, whatever he’s smoking I could do with some of it!
Hi Guys,
I’m, replying here, just because it’s nested nicely in the formatting, but I’m replying to all; Peter, Damian, Bob, Alex I’ll add a separate reply on that topic.
Okay, err, I’m embarrassed, okay?
Thank you as always, for your kind words. (and speak UP, please, if you have criticism: “criticism” is not a pejorative word in my dictionary.)
I’m embarrassed enough I want to tell you why!
(briefly, ho ho ho)
It’s because somewhere along the line, not so long ago, and not to recently either, I stopped worrying about why I wrote anything. I began only to think whether what wrote, of itself, had anything going for it, and discarded any other or ulterior sense of purpose.
That may not amount to a hill of beans, except it largely curtailed the worst excesses of unwarranted convolution, in my speech, and got rid of, what is quite rightly noted below, by Bob, as being “crotchety”. Bob has a case in point. Because I knew my general thoughts as to the press, media, and their role in F1, in particular, enhanced in context here, far outreached what could say, I fell right face flat I in the trap of, well, crocheting too much rather messily. From being in grade school ignorance of punctuation, to nervous doctoral aural examination blathering of concatenated complexity for sake fo nerves, and so arching construct into punctuated sentences which are paragraph length…. ahem, seen this very paragraph as a deliberate example.
There’s no pleasing everyone, but, darn me, there’s no pleasing me, either!
So, when I receive a compliment here, please understand that I appreciate the trials and tribulations you went through, to understand me… believe me, I went through the same!
It’s not good enough, though. This is why am embarrassed. If this was my gig professionally, guided by editors or even a advertising department, I likely would have directed my style to pander increasingly to one response or another. Shall we say, between those who endure and yet find my writing endearing, and for their efforts, rewarding .. rewarding in the way a bad school expedition builds character, maybe… or those who would rather a admixture of technicalia, festooned with footnotes, and blunted, more personalized andecdote. I think that’s three directions, there. I started out with the middle one, footnotes and qualifications and detail. In was called out as a imposter, early on, when I dropped that style: I couldn’t be me, without the page long footnotes! (I couldn’t be just “John”, either, someone also – how surprising – has the same name, and was worried about his idenity… and so I caked myself JoJ, before I realized silly things like the theories of a thirteenth apostle..). What I pass off as insight, tends to fall in the “character building” reading section. And the endearing but difficult… well, thanks, to all who tolerated me (and we were both saved by Joe, on more than one occasion from far worse, I promise you!) because I am simply human, this sport is one of the few things I get worked up about, and I guess I work in a line that requires me to think rather hard continually about competitive psychology, which opens a doorway to my own mind, in response, sometime a little too personally.
I’m embarrassed, sure, for every compliment. For the fact I enjoy my time scribbling here, and for the fact it is always worth my effort to read every comment, almost without exception. But I am embarrassed mostly because I think it suits me to be embarrassed. In that if you a writing with any passion, publicly, you darn well ought to feel a little embarrassed. It’s not a holier than thou stance, nor a exercise in doing one’s clean washing īn public, but rather a personal challenge, to question openly what I think about something that can make my blood run hot, and my mind race. If arrogance ever came into the expression you use to address who is dearest to you, would you feel right? I seem to learn from that state, far faster than I would otherwise, and I’ve latched onto this theory in practice in work and personal life, also, with some interesting positive effects.
~ – ~
But this remains a hobby.
Why?
Well, assuming I was any good, I grew up in advertising. I do not implicitly trust myself not to be biased by writing for the market. In thought that through, and the lack of self trust is not lack of faith i’d generally toe my own line, but rather that the temptation to experiment, all in the aide of science, naturally, would be too great.
I also have been approached a couple times too often, to front, as a partner, businesses in which clearly there is no intent except to believe that my turn of phrase can overcome Pleistocene era operations that are the real limit to success. One semi current one is so glaring that I mapped out some fairly simple inventory management issues, that require basic stockkeeping and linear integration, that would attract me enough to say Yes, to a partnership. But instead of a response on development plans (for which I banged out a twenty thousand word summary report of the tech, in a weekend), I got a “don’t worry about the ‘backend’ i’ll take care of that”… rather missing the point. Now imagine there is only one of me, and I have a choice: to write as my passion and interest takes me, and to slug away at pretty dull gigs at the worst, or to start believing my words are some magic pixie dust I can shake all over someone else’s all icing, no cake, cupcake? I may be a fool, but I dare the line at putting myself on a sure path to perquisite self delusíon…
I have, FWIW, been asked to write on very varied topics, usually with a technical bent, for notable outlets, on a fair few occasions. Boys and girls, writing is addictive. Especially at the small end of the game, when the only currency is praise. Biggest professional photography website by visitors within their field? Wouldn’t even let me know a bit more about the audience breakdown. That’s okay, Joe tells me all the time, this website here is not about money and bent a website in that way. But the photography site was, very much so, a purveyor, and very beholden it suddenly turned out, during a notorious technical controversy, which nixed that idea for me for good, which controversy is ten years old but still remembered as a break of integrity.
I think writing is a solo, but not solitary, existence. It may be also a profession, in the literal sense of to profess a care for or to hold out one is a writer, rather than the most simple “professional because I am paid” argument, which least translates apparent talent into results of any kind. I think that is because apparent talent is not simply apparent. What you see now, is little indicator as to what you may read tomorrow. Save for a very few, who have put themselves through a personal discipline, the kind which I am unaware is ever trained, at least almost never trained by anyone who has succeeded in their aims as a writer. (that the FIA should seriously run some journalism workshops is not meant as a position of mine, but instead is a needed component of their survival plan)
I’ve gone on too much about the reasons. I like the embarrassment, and I, with grace, hope I shall be allowed to continue embarrassing myself. That is the very point of the challenge.
In the purest, most altruistic, sense, it is a secondary purpose; I should like to hope that some others are encouraged to write more, also, equally out of their interest and passion, critically, and seeking to unravel their and others’ unconscious biases, about F1. Social media may be important to marketers, but it is thin watered gruel, compared with genuine, articulate, expression. Get enough of the latter, and by the time Bernie and JT recognize there was a thing called twitter or WhatsApp or vibr or blahcrapp , whichever the medium du jour, they will have lost the game to true fans, who have come to love a sport by being involved in a real conversation with it, and within themselves as to why they were attracted and continue to be attracted. You cannot spam that conversation, nor hijack it with trolling. A high aim? Nah, we all have the tools, we all have the time, and the ability is more one of application than I like to consider, given the so common experience of dull teachers and advisers of language students in education, whom I did not mean to endorse as to their exhortations that effort alone will suffice. You do sweat, sure, but there are different ways of sweating. I chose, by accident, or plain silliness, to sweat with embarrassment, as a guide to whether what I wrote contains anything of meaning. Basically, then, if that works, I can hit “post comment” and figure it is not a waste of everyone’s time.
As for whether I shall write anything else, separately, well, maybe one day. I wrote, on word count, some two million words, last year. Obviously, not all here, and I do write for work, to describe my own aims there, also. Should I want to open with all that? I think my answer to myself is best described by how it has worked, here, under Joe’s tolerance of me: better to write and make it a conversation, because then you test yourself. Other than marketing bumph which is staple, but laconic really, for all the finessing, I’m unsure as to real prose. I get told often I should “do something” with my supposed ability to write. Well I *am* doing something! I was last told I ought to by whom I am not sure they really want me to write the story which could only be written as fiction, at all. What I will do, if I can find the right platform for it, is write about what interests me scientifically, professionally, and about programming. Those will be devotions of incomprehension, however, as every time I find a insight into certain subjects, I stare into abysmal depths of learning beyond me. Maybe getting used to being embarrassed might set me well, for that endeavor!
~ – ~
My interest for writing really is this blog, as long as I’m allowed. I would rather filter my thoughts to fit in debate here, where they stand a chance of being read and considered, than write formally elsewhere in treatise or in essay. It’s a sport, it’s a blog, the media fit well, and are used well, here. It’s a progression, and has been very generous to me indeed. I see no reason to unravel the positive argumentation, nor to deviate from something that, after — is it four years? — just now seems to look like it might get good.
Thanks to all,
As always,
Yours,
~ j (oj)
Hey JoJ, keep it up, keep entertaining us with thoughts that are not always mainstream, because it gives people like me, and no doubt others, something to think about. There are some people here who contribute a lot, and have interesting views. Not all of them find tolerance from Joe, but that’s ok because he rarely censors those views, even if he doesn’t like them, and as an aside, his own views can vary a lot on some subjects to the point that I don’t know precisely what his real view is!
Anyway, amongst those who comment here, I find your thoughts always interesting, challenging and sometime downright whimsical, which I like. There is a proper sense of humour in them, and you never take yourself too seriously as some others do. Also, most importantly, you are open to others thoughts and comments without being brash and positively rude as some people are. You have a civilised and old fashioned gentlemanly approach to life and to what you write, and I appreciate that a lot. If you were near me, you’d be the sort of person I’d want a regular beer with, which is my ultimate compliment!
Okay, well, aww, shucks, thank you for that, Damian, can I send you a imaginary virtual beer, in appreciation? I’m sure not all those nice things you said apply to me, nor are virtues absent of many others who frequent here. In fact, so far, the most gratifying experience has been how little the place changed in my absence. (I’m not so sure anyone would believe me, if I told the unexpurgated truth, but it was, err, a trip). Sometimes I think Joe is needling me (not personally save for causing my brow to furrow) and, well, hey, being a journalist involves taking impressions from the last person you spoke to, doesn’t it? I’m happy there’s a general approach I can understand. Actually I can understand the things that make me frown a bit, in consternation, pretty well, also, but this is a forward moving conversation, not a point scoring debate. We’ve been allowed to break most all the rules, whenever there’s been something worthwhile to say, and I think that has gone a very long way to stopping silliness. So arbitrary things can be necessary to keep the house in order, just as breaking a rule or two can let off a bit of pressure safely. I do hope I won’t drift into a fourth year before Joe picks up on some of the commercial and website tweaks I used to expand in the off season, though, because I think there’s a possibility for this place to grow significantly; I don’t mean scale like a venture capital thirsty web outfit thinks about scale, I mean encompass rather a lot more, and push the magazine into many more hands. Says me, it has only been in the past couple of months I bit the bullet and started to mine the quagmire of code that is WordPress, and why it is what it is, and I have to get past inadvertently seeking confirmation for all the failings that glared at me, from before I looked so close… I only mean, in context, so to be suggesting things that are doable, not pitch work at the man, but these darned weblogs genuinely tie at least one hand behind your back, the imaginary plug and play and compatibility is pure rot, a quote form a blogger who is deep into that business after a few years, by dint of just wanting a blog, “I never realized I would have to be a programmer, architect, engineer , database admin and designer, to try to get close to what I was promised was out of the box”… oh, absolutely… just mentioning, as when I flippantly say this or that e.g. opening up some articles, comment search, different subscriptions offers, I knew that’d be tricky, I just didn’t realize the entire system is, well, just about set against you … there I am talking work, again.. But I mention that because in comparison to who would get featuritis and think ambition alone on a website ~ and the gap in the market is so wide, see how quickly other efforts can rise, as well as fall ~ things have” just worked.” about here. Obviously it’s no magic. I’m just given to blush at any compliment I had any input on the matter, because it is rather “Si monumentum requires, circumspicetur”. Not me, but take a look around. Good humor begets good humor. Ahh, blown all my brownie points with a rambling long paragraph, so I’m done a good while on the meta discussion. Let’s move on and enjoy. Thanks again Damian, see you about, I shall now have a not so virtual beer in toast to you, and maybe another for everyone else, if not, my liver apologizes, name by name, tonight! very best ~ j
No problem mate. Always a pleasure to read your thoughts. I’ve toyed with the idea of a blog myself, but not found time to enquire what you do, and am a qualified technophobe, which isn’t a good place to start from!
I’ve only thought about it since finding this one. Pretty much every other motor sport one I’ve found is populated almost entirely by fanboys & trolls, and no one is prepared to listen to random thoughts or ideas, everything has to be black & white, you’re for or against, no middle paths, no grey areas…and that is not what life is like in my experience. However, apart from some few here who like to psychoanalyse, most folk here seem capable of an adult discussion and disagreement, without having to sound off and just be crass and stupid, not to say downright rude for no reason other than one has taken a differing view of something, to that which they feel is the only correct one!
Anyway, I’ve thought of a blog, to cover more interesting stuff of past racing, and of life in general, but not politics or religion as these are personal matters!
I find that MotorSport magazine, is the best read I have today. The current phase of racing doesn’t excite me, but the past, upto really the mid 1990’s, holds so much more interesting things to talk about.
These days everything is One Make, except F1 which should not be One Make but should allow people to buy used cars, so that we can have big grids again, and the chance for new drivers to shine with either a whole season, or just a few outings as used to be the norm. Hybrids do nothing for me either, it strikes me that most of the whole renewables industry, apart from old hydroelectric, is just a means for politicians and corporations, to part us from our hard earned, and pocket it themselves. This thought came to mind first,when I found out how many politicians and their relatives, have connections to the renewable industry, or just take payments from wind farms or solar panels on their land. A classic example being my local MP who voted against several wind & solar schemes, but then changed some 150 acres of his 3000 acres of farm, into a solar panel scheme!!
Anyway, going back, One Make just has never worked for me. And I now find myself far more interested in Historic racing and rallying, than in the current stuff. As for you, keep it up, I look forward to your next post!
Cheers,
Damian.
Ever thought about starting your own blog, John? Joe is getting so crotchety these days. ; -)
Better crotchety than nothing… Don’t bite the hand that feeds you for free!
I’m cool with that. I think I was a bit crotchety, and knew it time I was writing. It’s a bit of a tricky wicket, where I am from: I admire your writing, despise most all of the rest of the F1 efforts at journalism, have a life long engagement with sometimes some of the worst journalism outside of the red top tabloids (trade magazines), want to let rip often more than I have the ability to edit well, and want to keep this comfortable under the same roof you provided. Crotchety? Yes. I had my reasons.. 🙂
And I should say my reasons, whilst I hope valid, are also simply I did not loosen up and let my words accommodate my thinking about my position more easily reflect in my expression. Instead I rather cowered away from the underlying subjects, which then cramped it all up. There’s a very close call between clamming up and being mealy mouthed, and I got close to that, inadvertently.
Pls. Sorry, Joe, rotten form thinking I was being called out for being crotchety.. yes, it really, is rotten, being mistaken for you, even by myself, you grumpy old grinch, you!!
Oh, Bob, LOL!
I just realized how I got you wrong end of the stick there, and just thought too how in a way I think Joe and I can get a bit crotchety all on our lonesome! Sorry, Joe, I hope you allow I’m actually laughing aloud, at how we both responded to Bob’s oh so devious comment!!!
@John (o J): Whoa! Where to begin? Re Journalists: One of the reasons LH is popular with Journalists stems from his ability to almost always provide refreshing candour coupled with occasional verbal slip-ups. There is an old caveat that states: “one should never confide anything to a journalist that you do not want to land up in print or on the air the next day.” A Journalist’s principal loyalty is to his/her craft. In the highly competitive world of “Fleet Street” it may’ve been asking too much to not expect at least one Journalist to ran with a controversial scoop.
Obviously LH has a good mgmt team however, it would appear that he could used a better one. He needs coaching on media relations; he needs to be coached on the art of judiciousness in all his comments He also needs a team staffed with someone always available to put out fires. Journalists may like him but they are not his PR Dept.
Further, he needs to be highly constrained regarding any comments about his employer – and definitely to not make any conspiratorial statements. There seems to be a subtle pushback by Merc against him regarding his continuing jibes at them regarding real or perceived favoritism towards Nico – in Monaco “If I were at McLaren…” Silverstone ..”Toto prefers the other side of the garage..” Following his retirement in Montreal, we had to wait for Mark Hughes to ferret out the reasons LH brakes exploded while Nico was able to continue through to the end.
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/22058/9346500/in-lewis-hamiltons-mind-hes-been-faster-or-beaten-nico-rosberg-at-each-race.
As per Mr. Hughes it was due to the differentiation in their set-ups. Nico was running with more front brake bias while LH was running with more rear brake bias. So once the ersk failed LH was done. Subsequent to his retirement in Germany Merc quickly announced that it was LH who personally chose to use that brake brand. In other words they seems to be saying LH & Brembo are responsible, the team is blameless.
Alex T, I can only say that I’d like Lewis & all the other drivers, to take media lessons from Niki Lauda, and watch old James Hunt interviews…..a bit of Mario Andretti would not go amiss, but please no Nige! Also, to Alonso, try Zenning up with old Senna tapes, there was possibly the most surreal and enigmatic sports personality of all time!
Hi Alex,
I think the last thing Lewis needs is coaching from anyone within the press loop. What instead I think he could gain from, is a understanding that his comments will not be considered in the same light even Nikki’s will: Lewis has not yet ascended to people giving him the benefit of the doubt, either by age, experience, eccentricity or even achievement. He’s still raw meat to the quote mongers. He’s still treated as a kid. I love to see him around, because he displays a youthful and light demeanor far more often than not. But I think that means he is surrounded by those who think they can teach him a lesson, how to be grown up. They seem to want to corner him as being ungenerous, in spirit, which really is the total opposite of what I perceive. He’s luck, he knows that, he’s rich, he sure knows that, but for some reason, despite others earn or have earned as well… oh, I don’t know, maybe it I because he is black. Anything he says is treated as being chippy, and I think it is who reports who is being petulant. But every time I like Lewis the more, because he continues being himself. Continues being chipper, rather than chippy, continues with his usual upbeat style. Even in despondency he’s pretty’ upbeat. That doesn’t seem forced, to me. I think that is him just understanding he has a good life and not allowing himself to express anything other than that. Look how he gets beat on, if he is even.. how dare he? :… a little glum? I really don’t think he needs to change. Maybe his management need to find ways to give a clue to some of the press. I’d confront some of these writers, face to face, and ask them what spoiled their lives forever, that someone cannot be innately happy for being successful? The thoughtfulness and grace Lewis does show, whilst driving so well, ought to be F1’s biggest export. Maybe management inside F1 are resentful of Lewis’s entourage, that that does not focus on, or much reflect the sport, directly? I’d go talk to who is involved, because I am sure who matters here is not Lewis, and not the obvious people you would first think of. I’d go softly about my days, being curious, and asking questions. Do you think F1 would not be better, if we had a real megastar, shining across the fan and viewer boundaries?
Lewis’s comments were made during a BBC karting session. They were the sort of thing you might jokingly say about your mate, completely throwaway.
This is why I don’t read the mainstream press / websites, they have nothing of true importance / relevance to say so they zone in on comments like this and big them up. It happens everywhere, sadly, not just in sport.
A wonderful race. I was hoping for a better result from Felipe Massa, but he seemed to cut off Kevin Magnussen at the first corner and suffered the consequences. The duel between Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso was sublime. And, I’m hoping that Nico Rosberg wins the drivers title this year.
All that said, I’m struck by the obvious — how important a good car is. The set of F1 drivers seems to be comprised of highly skilled, extraordinarily talented drivers. Within that set, is a subset of a few drivers who have special skills that set them apart and above the rest. All things being equal, the latter should win more often than not.
But all things aren’t equal. What truly makes a difference is the car they’re given to drive. Lewis Hamilton starts near the back, passes everyone and finishes third. Nico Rosberg starts on pole, wins by a 20-second margin and leads the championship after spending many years flogging average cars.
Jenson Button is given a Braun to drive — just when he thinks his F1 career is over, and he wins the drivers championship. He’s never been close since. Sebastian Vettel wins the title four times in a row when his Red Bull is clearly superior to the other cars. But, this year, he struggles to simply get on the podium.
We all love to see the technology (and vast sums of money) at work, but I’m beginning to wonder what an F1 season would look like if there were a system of revenue sharing that eliminated the financial disparities and equalized the money that each team had available to develop a car. Or, a system in which the teams that do the poorest get a larger (instead of smaller) payout at the end of the season to help them be more competitive the following year. It will never happen, of course, but it’s interesting to contemplate.
Welcome to Formula One! It’s an exciting sport, as you will no doubt learn. Since it is not a “spec” series, the cars are not the same, and that makes a huge difference for every driver on the grid. You will notice that there are actually two different titles to compete for each season. One is given to the driver with the most points, and the other to the team who’s cars win the most points.
In order to make direct driver comparisons, you would need a spec series, like GP2. Making direct “apples-to-apples” driver comparisons in F1 is a fools errand.
Interestingly enough, I only recently stumbled across Patrick O’Brien’s ‘Grand Prix ratings’, in which he has refined a system since 2002, to separate car and driver performance, while also showing the total package.
It makes for some interesting reading, and he has published some essays on his blog, to compare some of the top drivers, while having a thorough season-by-season analysis available for purchase by decade. He has also analysed the pre-F1 era, which throws up some interesting results. Boillot, for example, recently featured by Joe, is rated very highly as a driver.
Also noteworthy, is that he rates Alonso very highly, and seeing his results in the 2010 and 2012 Ferrari, we now know why… I think, in his opinion, from his system, he would say that of all the drivers on the current grid, it is Alonso who would feature amongst the top drivers of F1, while Vettel would be up next.
Perhaps Hamilton could follow, but his analysis currently ends after 2013, and I haven’t seen all the results just yet. But he does rate Rosberg higher than his father, and I think one tenth off Hamilton, in raw speed, is an accurate portrayal, that matches with this year very well.
This sounds massively interesting. I am going to need to hunt it down and give it a read. Thanks for sharing!
PS. Of all the spec series available, uniquely GP2 is the one that most rewards experience, with the tyres and car type (bulky with no power steering). The other junior series are probably better to judge drivers from.. hence Red Bull never put their juniors in GP2. Young Max Verstappen recently won 7 F3 races in a row at 16, for example…
A fair point!
In regard to the two titles Dale, it is generally the fact that the winning driver has the WCC title winning car. And direct driver comparisons were much easier in past times, when rules were fewer and car performance/engine performance was simpler. Also, if one looks at F2 from the past, and even F3000 prior to GP2, neither series was spec, and yet it was quite possible to make easy driver comparisons then. It was also possible to compare F1 & F2 drivers, as they would often compete in F2 races, thus making F2 an important factor in driver placement with F1 bosses, more so than GP2 is today. Even better, at some races in the 60’s/70’s they actually allowed F1 & F2 to race in GP events. If I remember correctly at the old Nurburgring one year, Jacky Ickx did a time fast enough for around 3rd or 4th for the GP although as in an F2 car he had to start from the back of the Grid. Now that was a surefire way of showing up the men from the boys!
What would be more interesting Bob, would be a season of F1 with regs that allow for individuality of machines, whilst also producing a much better parity of performance, so that one might have 4-5 teams being competitive with each other, and outsiders running 1 car and being able to fight the works teams and win against them. Back in the day before all this expensive technology, this happened and it was a lot of fun! Hearing engineers tell drivers ( as with Lewis in Germany ) that they were thinking of ways to help him get round reduced performance as a result of a nerfed front wing, just doesn’t feel right to me, as a purist. Neither does my heart soar to hear Perez’ engineer telling him he must slow down, and Rocky telling 4 x World Champ Vettel, that he too needs to slow down. I know Fangio said that one should win at the slowest possible speed, but this is a mockery of the words motor racing!
As an aside, it was very sad that no one apart from Caterham, could be seen to have the humanity to think of Malaysia Airways Flight MH17. A minute’s silence and some more black armbands or black nose cones, would have shown some decency.
Changing the subject, I see Peugeot has recently announced a Petrol/Compressed air Hybrid car, will the next round of expense in F1 be a change to petrol/air? Might be safer than when a battery pack goes off like Kvyat had happen to him?
Always ready with a fight of fancy, why could we not have one regulated car, and one “light touch” spec car, in each team? Up to the teams whether to share turns between drivers, it would sure solve testing! Only light touch cars would score no Constructors points, and half WDC points. (still interesting enough for Abu Dhabi!)
Always ready to duck the ridicule thrown at me, also, of course!
TJ13 handily keeps the status of used powertrain parts up on their front page each race weekend. There’s going to be a lot of penalties soon, by the looks of things. Another reg that slipped me, is that place demotions carry over to the next race, in balance, if you quail too far down to take a full grid drop. Ouch. That could really sting. Say Lewis broke a clutch, and is out of available allowed spares, and parks it, before banking anything in the first session? So he qualifies, P22. Next race, still a five place penalty. Oh, ouch ouch ouch. Obviously it’s meant to penalise really fast cars from just riding it from the back, as we so gloriously saw Lewis do yesterday, but in a genuine failure, this could be oh so painful. You could argue HAM or ROS can take a five place drop, but I’m not so sure a Ricciardo or Bottas won’t slip in there. Will we see strategic self inflicted suffering in the next couple of races? I’ve not checked if you can do that. I mean I don’t think you can take a early penalty and gain a extra box or turbo or whichever bit you need. If you can…
I wholeheartedly agree, it’s so sad to bear the slow down instructions. I almost hope there can be strategic penalty taking, to cause some more mix in the top ten. Surely it is possible to push a part, just a but too much, preferably after you’ve got your banker…. heck, if all that happens, I might have to take my cap off to Bernie for being so devious. Or Charlie, or Bernie. If BCE is the way of tobacco sponsorship, he certainly has left a few things to ponder, whilst we’ve been enjoying the season.
The MH crash is so sad, and so politicized, I can quite understand no one really wanting to bring that more attention. Out of respect, also, because it’s such a terrifying time for relatives. Not yet quite the moment to pay silent respect, whilst lost souls remain unnecessarily lost. I understand feeling īn M’sia is very high, and I think I too would have given the matter a pass, save for respects in a press release, twitter, as appropriately as one can with such awfulness.
More cheerily, thanks for the Peugeot tip. Most interesting. Can we have them plus the other big P turn up for a twirl, with some really innovative hybrids, please? I think the state of the grid is going to force being open and welcoming, very soon. Cross fingers… Williams Porsche, pretty please 😉
God, how thrilling a website with powertrain stats on the front page. Unmissable. Shame it’s all written by a stay-at-home Captain Mainwaring type.
Ouch, Joe, you’re being horrible, now! Tut tut! And go find said “unearthed” data, now it’s buried under a dozen new incredibly long, pointless, discourses. The continuing thread where they reallocate points for their own championship scores… I’m not conflicted, I chatted with them often enough beginning last year. But I cannot understand their output. Being a armchair reviewer of data is not dishonorable. However TJ13 has a blunderbuss approach to editorial, and I’m no fan of the tone that was taken, and I’m yet not the only one enamored, by misinterpretation of the resulting reality, of the idea of a technically minded new outlet. For free, there’s only so much. Why does every one have to fall flat, or go on a ego binge? There are useful things you can do, from a armchair. Unfortunately, the contortions required seem to have, well, contorted whatever was the purpose, and conversation got lost in the questioning.
I only think it fair if someone actually brings up points to attention, which are otherwise unreported. Is anyone else on the case of general lack of new engine bits? Even then, TJ13 didn’t extrapolate anything from the FIA reports. So I was not regurgitating their view, just giving a fair hat tip that they spotted that, and have monitored it. They could do well by recognizing their position and thinking more deeply. Could have been a interesting feature to develop. But, nope. Just gets me commenting here, trying to figure out what I can.
As for Captain Mainwaring, well, my dad was Home Guard, ran a small bank branch on the south coast, was a terrible petty despot, and wrote radio plays that were broadcast about the right time…. I keep wondering if he wasn’t some kind of inspiration… as for me, obviously I’m right here, on the front line, follow me, I’m right behind you, Joe! 🙂
Now, if I started commenting on what the paid media write, on supposedly their specialist topic…. ah, too late at night for another coffee. But next door is invitingly dark and cool, LOL!
There’s a good article in July’s Motorsport magazine analyzing the technical nuances of SebVet’s lack of results this year. Apparently his style of driving was finely attuned to the blown diffuser car and he has been trying to get the rear of this years car to behave similarly. I found it very interesting! On a separate note, joe, do you know what Seb has called this year’s car?
No
He should call it Sheila..
Or Sue, cos sue keeps picking a fight with his daddy in a bar….
It’s an interesting conundrum.. no doubt in my mind that Alonso, Hamilton, Vettel, Hulkenberg and probably Rosberg would all be somewhere near the front. Kubica I think would also have been right in there.. he regularly could beat Hamilton and Rosberg in karts together. Who else? Raikkonen until recently.. now he’d probably be replaced by some of the up and coming young guns who look impressive, like Ricciardo or Bottas. Bianchi we could finally rate, and he’d probably do quite well, along with Magnussen and Kvyat, and the forgotten-in-2014 Grosjean.
We all know who would currently be at the back – usually Gutierrez, Ericsson and Chilton. But Esteban was looking good in Hockenheim – its just a shame he doesn’t always bring that performance to each race.. same for Maldonado.
But the cars would at least have to be set up for individual liking… F1 takes this further, by adding in the development aspect, to fully mould the car to your liking and thus win as a package with your team.
Joe, do you think that the MH17 tragedy will further reduce the chance of the Russian GP this year ? I’m sure that the like of Petronas, Mercedes and other major sponsors will not want their name to be associated with Russia, even though it is an important market for many of them.
F1 has no morality
Ah, the benefits of a magazine able to respond immediately. Page 87 is a lovely touch.
Loved the qualifying report – some real Saward classics!
Congrats to all on the 150th edition.
“It was a masterful drive.”
I don’t recall you saying Vettel’s similar drive in Abu Dhabi in 2012 was masterful…
No idea to what this refrs
Vettel started from the pitlane and finished on the podium. In a car that, while still the best in the field, did not have the same advantage that the 2014 Mercedes has.
And, yet, I recall no member of the British media calling Vettel’s drive “masterful”.
I am sure you read every word written on the subject
I seem to remember that Vettel was disqualified from qualifying due to not having enough fuel to give a sample at the end. By opting to start from the pit lane, the team were able to work on the car to give him more straight-line speed for overtaking, where the Red Bull was not usually set up to do this as it was usually at the front of the field.
My own point of view was that the team gained an advantage from the DSQ, and instead Vettel should have been made to start at the back of the grid on the tyres he qualified on (as he was initially in the top ten) and under stricter parc ferme conditions where set-up changes could not be made. I doubt he’d have finished so high then…
JPMontoya did 19th to 2nd, in a car that wasn’t the top one that year ( 2005 ) in Germany…..was that a masterful drive? JPM never got the credit he deserved, and still does deserve, as a driver imho.
I really did like Juan Pablo. Was really sorry to see him go. But I don’t think if I were he, i’d feel I missed too much. He’s firmly my silly wish list of drivers to come back, someone I think would make a lot of what’s available now. I think current cars would really suit him. (why is it your comments always get me into flights of fancy? Not complaining though! 🙂 )
I think that was the fastest car that year (Kimi would have won, but for some reliability problems), although I do agree with you about Montoya. He also had great overtaking skills, at a time where it could make a huge difference to your results, to go with mesmerising qualifying speed.
Did someone say that Monty lacked talent?
I think Ron thought he ate too many burgers and donuts…..
No, I think it was methods of playing tennis that the team found extraordinary
Is that a euphemism?
Ha ha ! Yes, quite a feat playing tennis on wheels!
Yup, moto-tennis-cross is a favorite with team bosses…
I think he’s like a modern day Mario Andretti, although Patrick O’Brien compares his career to that of Jose Froilan Gonzalez! Could be true on the driving stats front….
Juan Pablo had the misfortune, common among many excellent drivers, not to be born in Britain or to be killed while driving, so his talents and achievements have gone unheralded.
Yet more tosh.
Rather than that, it’s more that he pursued multiple racing series. He won the Indycar championship and Indy 500, rather than drive a relatively uncompetitive Williams (’99 and ’00), after his F3000 success, which led to more drives for Zanardi and then a chance for Button to make his debut. Then, in mid-2006, he left for NASCAR and now is back in Indycar, where he is already in championship/top 5 contention.
Good point. Things did seem to happen, around JPM, and in a good way.
I am not sure what your point is, but I got curious and checked my files. David Tremayne wrote the Race Report in that issue of GP+, and he wrote:
“… Seb, who was blending superb, relentless driving with excellent strategy.”
So, I suppose that while he did not use the specific word “masterful”, it is still a quite lauding comment (for a driver who went off the track behind the safety car), would you not agree?
Reading GP+ costs £29.99 for the entire season but a lot of people who make comments on this blog are too cheap to spend anything…
You’d have another Joe, if the money can be directed other then via that Paypal mob.
One attempted dodgy deal by them was one too many for me….
What about it?
Yes, second that. Why not publish a IBAN number, or send back to inquiries, Joe? Many if not most can send direct from their internet banking.
Also, as you know, I am weird, I subscribe mid season, and binge read. Then I lost some copies, and wanted to access them again, and was told I must subscribe for the next year first, to access what i’d already paid for,… which did… but that was strange, and off color really. I don’t know what marginal benefit you’d get in sales, by offering more varied ways to buy, but I am certain it would help spread the word. One off purchases vouchered against the full subscription would be my aim, to capitalize on well received GPs. With television viewing so expensive, say I miss a race because I am with a friend that weekend (sure Sky Go, but I, like I am sure many others, have friends with crappy broadband, who don’t have watchable screens, or who simply want to cook and socialise), well, I think by not having the once off purchase option, you miss a few there, who would lve a fresh view on a great race they missed, that cannot be the same had they viewed live.
I get grumpy with Joe, when he says people are too cheap to spend anything. May be true, is true, sure it is. But gives a slightly off impression. And totally negates the age old rule of the poor always paying twice: sure, you can have single issues, or a cancelable subscription, but that costs this, $_this being dollars a few more than if you weren’t cheap in the first place. You’re missing out on people kicking themselves for taking the bad deal, Joe. That’s what drives long term subscriptions, if you had a option to direct debit until cancelled. Oh, look, I like the straightforwardness of the approach, it’s honourable, but your pre and end season reviews, some of your other historical content, could so easily be put into bonus issues for subscribers, no skin off your regular customers’ noses, and yet you can include who are presently “too cheap” to pay the headline rate. If single price rates really worked, there’d be no extra super mega medium large mini mocha triple half caf Demi sec skinny not too plump lattés in Starbucks! Only want you to get rich, so we can have more!!!!
Yes that’s a good question posed in there – just what DID happen to the crowds at Hockenheim? There were half empty stands everywhere.
Here in the US a TV sports announcer delivering the sport news on Sunday afternoon narrated the flip over crash of one ‘Feleep Matza.’
And so it goes.
It is more than somewhat relevant, that your parting shot was from the iconic 1966 John Frankenheimer film “Grand Prix”, which was aired immediately before the BBC highlights programme. The film has good and bad points and it was unnerving to see onboard sequences from some of the old tracks before they were cut short and to realise just how raw it was “pre-safety”.
Even more poignant to read immediately after the film that it’s star James Garner had died.
Yup, RIP James Garner. Pleased you noted his passing, rpaco, he’s definitely a man I admired very much as a human presence on the screen. A obit or three have noted how he seemed to get lost in the seventies as edgier, and much uglier, in every way, leading men were preferred, but I grew up addicted to The Rockford Files, so I don’t feel cheated at all! One of the few who always brings a smile to me.
Indeed.. the shots of Burnenville at Spa leave you with increased respect for the drivers, that’s for sure. Bonnier’s Cooper ended up right on the edge of a huge drop.. and if you got it wrong at Masta, then the houses on the either side loomed large in your eyesight.
I think the film makes a point of this, when Sarti’s car fails and hence two spectators are killed who were viewing right on the track edge. They knew the dangers of the time, for everybody involved.. and even that some may have been attracted by that, with some rage directed at the photographers trying to get a gruesome picture, from drivers and wives alike.
Yeah what a nice ordinary bloke James Garner came across as, not the usual prima donna movie type at all.
The film Grand Prix, is a great reminder of times past, not really in the driving sequences, but the track aspects. The film footage at Spa reminds one what courageous guys these were, and how that could not be allowed these days, as it really is absurdly dangerous…although if you go to the Finnish GP in WRC, the rally car/ crowd interaction is spookily similar to GP racing in the 60’s!!
It was also nice to see a car that looks and sounds like a racing machine, and that one can see the driver working the wheel of the car and not fiddling with damn buttons all the time whilst being instructed to slow down and save fuel/tyres/bugs hitting the bodywork etc etc.
Big well done on the first 150 issues, read all of them! For me the best bits will always be when you and DT can relax and do fun stuff like the trip in the California from Budapest to Maranello and DT driving the Infiniti in Texas on his way to Austin . Without a fric in sight!
I thought your parting shot was very tasteful. I grew up with Jim Rockford in the seventies and always knew that as soon as the credits started to roll and the theme music started it was time for bed. I passed along my commiserations to my old Mum this morning, she always insisted he was “well dishy” It wasn’t until I saw “Grand Prix” that I had a clue about what she saw in him.
Yesterday after watching the F1 race, I went to the Global Rally Cross race here on Long Island. Two former F1 drivers, Piquet Jr and Scott Speed, were in it. At one point I was 15 feet from Piquet and was tempted to yell “what lap are you going to deliberately crash?” but did’t. I don’t know if F1 can really learn a lot from GRC, although they had autograph sessions before and after. But there is a LOT of down time. From 11 AM to 2:30 there were 4 races and each race is maybe 7 minutes long. I should have brought my copy of “Grand Prix Saboteurs” to pass the time. They also made a point of telling people how to get on the track
for the podium ceremony. The engines are noisy but you can still hear the PA announcer during the race.
Speed was both poor (getting off to a bad start in the heat race) and good..he moved up to third in the heat to move along. In the final race he finished second..his teammate at VW Andretti (another F1 racer!) won. Both Speed and Piquet showed their NASCAR by doing some banging into each.
Tickets ran $40 plus the $20 in various handling charges..plus $12 to park. Attendance? a couple thousand..it is in the parking lot of a hockey arena. Mixture of ages..large white but more minorities than you see at NHL games. Red Bull does the right thing by having these in large cities and on network Sunday afternoon tv, usually same day (slightly delayed). Probably a time buy.
One thing surprised me. I thought these drivers (about 14) would mainly be in their twenties. Nope, mainly thirty-somethings (Speed is 31) and a couple 40s.
GRC won’t replace F1 as my racing passion-it is a bit gimmickry with jumps and a joker lap. They have to do something about the down time. But if they are back next year, so am I.
I hope this is appropriate to the forum since Mr Saward talks about engaging the new generation and GRC tries to.
It does. I see much potential in it.
I don’t know Titus & Joe, after all Bernie tried the Parking Lot idea at Las Vegas and it didn’t prove very promising then…..
The world has moved on in the last 30 years.
And Parking Lots have changed significantly? QC!
Well the one at Houston sure hadn’t.
Wonderful magazine as always; I think, strangely, my favourite part was the RIP for James Garner in that shot from the excellent Grand Prix film. Any chance future issues might explore that (and, as a recent subscriber, if there’s a back issue that covers the film I would gladly buy it)
Did anyone notice the advertising from Bertie at the last corner of the Hockenheimring … “Bertie says : Think before you bribe”?
That is not what it said.