OT: Racing 2015 (Spoiler Alert)

[GB_Simo]

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Ha, clear as mud, right...all this Senna analysis and then all of a sudden I'm there going, "It was alright, I guess, but what about the bloke who started 12th?"

I think it's cool that you're digging into things like Donington '93 and I love sharing my passion for this sport but I might need reining in sometimes...give me a smack if I'm getting carried away, mate.

[Rodster]

I'll take Senna's hunting of Prost -- to the tune of four seconds per lap -- in the 1984 Monaco Grand Prix while driving a Toleman as a rookie over either Estoril or Donington:



Senna qualified 13th in the dry in a Toleman-Hart that could kindly be called mediocre. Yet he would have eaten Prost's pole-sitting McLaren alive if Clerk of the Course Jacky Ickx had decided controversially to red-flag the race early, with Prost barely clinging to the lead.

This sequence was featured in the majestic "Senna" documentary a few years ago.

That was pretty badass stuff especially in your rookie season and driving a sled while hunting down a McLaren. That was legendary !

[XXXIV]

Thanks for clearing that up for me.

Ha, clear as mud, right...all this Senna analysis and then all of a sudden I'm there going, "It was alright, I guess, but what about the bloke who started 12th?"

I think it's cool that you're digging into things like Donington '93 and I love sharing my passion for this sport but I might need reining in sometimes...give me a smack if I'm getting carried away, mate.

I love your insight.

Most of this stuff is NEW to me and I do really enjoy digging into some F1 history.

On Prost. That looked accidental on purpose to me. What exactly forms a pattern of disgusting behavior?

[GB_Simo]

On Prost. That looked accidental on purpose to me. What exactly forms a pattern of disgusting behavior?

I didn't give you a very good clip there, mate. Skip to 3:20 in this video instead and play from there - you might still feel the same about it but I think this clip shows it more clearly as driver error without malice:



A better view of the accident, some slow-motion replays and what happened to Alain next. It's worth noting that when James Hunt talks of Prost winning himself the world championship, he's wrong - for a variety of reasons, most of them Renault's fault, he didn't.

The only disreputable thing I can remember Prost doing in an F1 car was the chop on Senna at Suzuka in '89, which he completely messed up - if you get it right, the other guy shouldn't be able to drive off after you've hit him. Senna was Honda's man, having ran their engines at Lotus in 1987, and once they knew that Prost was off to Ferrari for 1990, some very odd things started happening to Alain's engines at places like Hockenheim and Monza, where you needed grunt above all else. Honda's engine chief Osamu Goto tried to explain Prost's top speed deficit against Senna to journalists by stating that Prost, twice a world champion by this stage, didn't change gear properly. It seemed unlikely. At Monza, though, Alain's detuned engine made it to the end. Ayrton's fully-fettled unit, running clear at the front, failed in the closing laps.

It's worth bearing in mind that in the previous year, 1988, Prost scored 105 points to Senna's 94 and still lost the world title, thanks to a rule that said drivers could only count their best 11 results that year. (Alain was never lower than 2nd place all season, while Ayrton was, but Ayrton had 8 wins and 3 2nd places as his best 11. Prost, a win behind, lost by 3 points once dropped scores were applied.) Full of McLaren Honda politics, angry with Ayrton over Estoril '88 and Imola '89 and sick of folk trying to take away what he felt he'd earned, Alain saw Ayrton coming at Suzuka, turned in on his rival and, having no practice at this kind of thing, completely f*cked it up.

Beyond that, mate, I can't think of a single thing he did behind the wheel that seemed even a bit questionable. For Senna, there's Rio in '86, Estoril in '88, Imola '89, arguably Rio the same year, the premeditated attack at Suzuka in '90, Adelaide '92...and you can trace it back further to his occasional attacks on Martin Brundle in British F3 through 1983. One wanted to win in a manner he saw as sporting, the other to win at any cost, and there are those who rank Prost above Senna for that reason alone.

Which isn't to say that I do, nor that you should...

[XXXIV]

Vettel looks good to me.

What exactly were Rosberg and Hamilton doing today?

Now that was a fun race.

Adam thanks for the history on Prost. Seriously. I had him pegged as F1s greatest monster. Good to know the reality.

[GB_Simo]

Some people still think he's F1's greatest monster, mate. Senna inspired that kind of fanatical devotion, much of which passed me by growing up because I was a young Mansell fan. I remain a fan of Mansell the driver...

Vettel looks good to me.

What exactly were Rosberg and Hamilton doing today?

Now that was a fun race.

Vettel was imperious, as he so often can be. Hamilton can be too, with yesterday being further confirmation that he has that Schumacher knack for pulling out something absolutely mega over one lap, but he also has a less desirable Schumi trait, that of spending the odd day here and there crashing into anything that moves. Rosberg's clash with the magnificent Danny Ric (the man put on a clinic at the restart and while he was never going to get that car stopped in time against Nico, how can you fail to love him for having a go anyway?) wasn't a million miles removed from the collision with Hamilton at Spa last year. Whether it's coincidence or a blind spot is for debate but leaving Danny an extra couple of inches would have hurt nothing and done his championship the world of good. All a bit short-sighted, really - with Hamilton busy sabotaging his own afternoon, what Nico had to do above all else was bring it home.

Reading that back, isn't it funny how there's never any need to clarify which Schumacher you mean?

[Rodster]

Seb no doubt had a great start and solid race and when he's locked in and the car is to his liking he's just like the rest of the top group.....tough if not impossible to beat. Feel bad for my favorite driver The Kimster, luck is not on his side this year, surely 2nd place was almost a certainty.

Holy sh*t while watching The Hulkster lose his front wing without contact and the day before Chico lost parts of his rear suspension. Force India, time to get another parts supplier.

How does Capt Morgan do it? Sure he benefited from some drama in front but bringing home a shitsled of a McLaren to 5th place.

[GB_Simo]

I read the blurb for a retired racing driver's upcoming autobiography today - his third, if I've counted properly - and wondered if any of you were able to guess who it was from the following excerpt:

Out of the car, he was outspoken and charismatic, which merely served to enhance his reputation.

Mark Webber's book is out soon but while the above might describe him, it hasn't been said about him. Any takers? Remember, Webster's defines the word 'charismatic' as 'having great charm or appeal.'

It's Nigel Mansell. Nigel Mansell, for f*ck's sake.

[DChaps]

Sir Jackie Stewart?

[Dave]

Out of the car, he was outspoken and charismatic, which merely served to enhance his reputation.

HAHAHAHAHA.

[Rodster]

Ferrari gambled and lost 3rd place by keeping Vettel out too long. He lost his right rear tire on the kemmel straight on the last lap. Shades of Hakkinen's car coming to a complete stop before the checkered flag in Barcelona.

[DChaps]

Thoughts and Prayers for Justin Wilson and his family. One of the easiest guys to cheer for in all of racing.

[Rodster]

Thoughts with Justin Wilson who's in critical condition after being struck in the head by flying debris from another Indycar in today's Pocono race. It's being listed as severe head injury so that doesn't sound good.

[pk500]

I'll echo the concern and sentiments for Justin Wilson. Along with Scott Dixon, Wilson is the only driver about whom you will never hear an ill word in the IndyCar paddock. A true gentleman.

I had the privilege of working a media tour to promote the Watkins Glen IndyCar race with Justin in 2010. Spent a good chunk of a day with him, just he and I. A superb guy. A regular guy. Pure class. Just as eager to share stories about his kids and mountain biking as he was about racing.

Pulling hard for the big guy. You hear this cliche a lot during tragedies like this, but it's true, in this case: Justin Wilson is one of the nicest guys in his profession.

[F308GTB]

RIP Justin.

[WPatrick]

Just saw the news. Thoughts and prayers for Justin's friends and family.

I love racing, but man I hate this part of it.

[Dave]

Absolutely gutted tonight. As Paul said, Justin was one of the best people in the paddock. Such a horrible loss for his family, friends, and colleagues.

[Rodster]

Another typical snooze-fest race. The only thing that made the race halfway fun was watching Kimi fall asleep behind the wheel while the lights went out. Watching him go from P2-P20 on lap 1 was entertaining. It was even more fun watching him claw back to finish 5th.

More fun was watching Rosberg's car give up the ghost and Mercedes got worried about Hammy's car towards the end. The new Spec engine for Mercedes looks even more ominous for next year. We could be in store for another, why even bother showing up to the race next year. Nice job, FIA !

You bankrupt the smaller teams with overly expensive/complex ICE's no one gives a sh*t about, that sound like wet farts and produce even more domination by one team.

[Rodster]

Both Hammy and Mercedes have been called before the stewards for illegal tire pressure. They found both cars to have below the minimum tire pressure before the start of the race.

.......Stay Tuned

[GB_Simo]

If you'd come to me a couple of years ago and said that in 2015, Red Bull and Ferrari would annex the top two rows of the grid in Singapore and I'd think it was a good thing for the sport, I'd have hit you.

We've got 40 minutes to fill before the race so, to mark this Thursday's release of Nigel Mansell's third autobiography, a reminder of why his publisher describes him as "charismatic":

[Rodster]

Well, Ferrari have achieved more wins than they set out for this season. Vettel cruised and controlled the race by pacing himself when he needed too. The Championship just got a wee bit more interesting with Hammy's retirement. With sixth more races left F1 appears to have a battle on it's hands and Mercedes looking over it's shoulders.

Impressive drive again by Verstappen who started dead last and was a lap down and finished the race in the top ten. He was told to let his teammate Sainz thru and he said NO. Ballsy kid and no question he's a superstar in the making.

Solid drive by Alexander Rossi who made a mistake in practice but finished 14th but he had NO commas during the race. For a rookie debut, that's impressive.

[XXXIV]

That track sure did even the playing field with Mercedes being kept out one of the two front row spots in qualifying for the first time in over a year.

I am thinking Vettel is actually a great driver.

[Rodster]

I am thinking Vettel is actually a great driver.

He is and I never said he wasn't. It's all about pecking order of the top three in today's F1 grid and I still put him at #3 behind Alonso and Lewis.

[Rodster]

It appears trusty Ol' Ted Kravitz will have called it right once again. That is, that JB will call an end to his career in Suzuka and will enter the WEC next year. What a shame, a great driver and genuinely nice person as well who probably got too frustrated with the Crap Box Honda he was given this year.

Martin Brundle suspects that Mercedes mystery falloff in performance is due to Ferrari's upgrade in performance and the minimum tire pressure now being enforced by the FIA. As Martin says, we'll find out if Singapore was a one off for Mercedes. So don't look now but could finger boy be looking at title #5 this year? Man if that happens, i'd hate to be anywhere near Alonso.

[GB_Simo]

I know substantially less than Martin Brundle but I'm willing to stick my neck out and say the Merc issue was track-specific. The car looked poor all weekend in ways that tyre pressures alone don't account for, like they'd set off in the wrong direction on setup and never quite figured out how to turn themselves around. Hamilton in particular had a lot of understeer in the car on entry which is at odds with his usual preferences and which he didn't shake off at any stage. I'd be a bit surprised if the pressures used this weekend were too much different from the ones used in Monaco, where Hamilton drove off into the distance. We shall see...

Hard to blame Jenson if he's decided to go off and be competitive elsewhere, given that things don't appear to be improving in any particular hurry down Woking way. I've never had to revise my opinion of a driver upwards quite as often as I've had to with JB over the last 5 years or so. He'll be a loss to F1 but he still has the pace to win given the tools, so going off to seek those tools isn't a bad move at all. I don't think Grosjean to Haas is a bad move either, given their ties to Ferrari.