Racing 2018

[pk500]

Jacques Villeneuve, the last driver to win a world championship with Williams, believes his former team is "dead" after its recent struggles. Villeneuve, who is known for being outspoken, believes deputy team principal Claire Williams is to blame after taking control of the team in 2013. "The team is dead," he told Motorsport-Total.com. "There is no management. There was a choice back then [in 2013], you either put the heiress or the heir [in charge]. "And they put Claire instead of Jonathan [Williams, Claire's brother]. Big mistake. Obviously, just look where the team is at now."

http://www.espn.co.uk/f1/story/_/id/240 ... -team-dead

Sexist?

Who's being a sexist, Jacques? The brother has a motorsport background and the sister did not but her dad picked her to run his team.

Villeneuve usually is an idiot who loves to hear himself talk in a vain effort to stay relevant in racing, but he's right in the Williams' case.

Claire did have a racing background; she handled PR and marketing for the team for 11 years before she was named team principal. But that's really not enough training in the "piranha club" of F1 to be qualified as a deputy team principal.

To be fair, Jonathan has run since 2014 the "heritage" division of Williams, which consists of restoring and selling the team's old cars to collectors around the world and then servicing those machines when needed. I'm not sure of his background in team management before he received that position, largely as a consolation prize to his sister getting the deputy team principal job.

[Rodster]

I know some people here are tired of Martin Brundle but I have to say that the dude pretty much nails his calls most of the time even before the replays are shown or the Stewards make the call. In Silverstone he had unless I missed one, he nailed every call 100% of the time. In other races he pretty much does the same which is why I like him as a race analyst in the booth with Crofty. In fact he cutoff Crofty at Silverstone when LeClerc came out of the pits saying something was wrong with his car, sure enough he stopped away from the track.

Then they showed a replay of his pitstop and said it sounded like a rear wheel wasn't attached properly, which later on we found out that was the case. He also said after reviewing the clash between Lewis and Kimi that Kimi would get a penalty, then he was observant enough to see that Sergio Perez had spun while the action was on the top three cars. He has a keen eye for race action, Crofty OTOH just keeps blabbering like he's still calling the broadcast on Radio 5 Live.

[DChaps]

Goodwood Festival of Speed 2018

Not pure racing, but I love the Goodwood Festival of Speed. I have always hoped that the Forza series would somehow get the licensing for this event and make it a Rivals event where every single car would have time tracked and it would be default build, default setup.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67IvQwZZLVU

[Dave]

There probably aren't too many people lamenting IndyCar's move from Sonoma to Laguna Seca, but I am going to miss Sonoma for sentimental reasons. Both my son and wife attended their first IndyCar race there and is such a fan-friendly environment.

I have two favorite moments. The first was getting to meet Conor Daly (my son's current favorite driver/obsession) in the garage last year, so happy we were able to set that up for my son. The second was probably my biggest fanboy moment when I got to talk to Rick Mears (my childhood hero) for a while after one of the races years ago.

Sentimentality aside, I am really excited to see IndyCar return to Laguna Seca, just wish it could have worked out to have both on the calendar. We're already looking into rentals for next September, definitely want to check the race out.

[Rodster]

Lewis has supposedly signed a 2 year deal with Mercedes worth $170 million. The highest paid driver in history. I don't know if he's worth that much. What do Indycar and Nascar drivers make these days?

[pk500]

Lewis has supposedly signed a 2 year deal with Mercedes worth $170 million. The highest paid driver in history. I don't know if he's worth that much. What do Indycar and Nascar drivers make these days?

Not even in the same galaxy as Lewis.

Top IndyCar drivers, such as Dixon, make around $2-3 million per year in salary. Top NASCAR drivers, such as Jimmie Johnson, make about $10 million per year in salary.

But drivers like Dixon and Johnson are exceptions, not rules.

There probably are only six drivers, or so, who make seven figures in IndyCar. Dixon, Hunter-Reay, Rossi, the Penske drivers, maybe Hinch. The rest are making high five or six figures or bringing money to the team and making nothing.

In NASCAR, the bottom fell out of salaries after the 2016 season. That's why Kenseth "retired." He wanted another deal at $10 million per season, and owners laughed at him. Kasey Kahne took a huge pay cut when he was fired by Hendrick after 2017. Went from $10 million with Hendrick to probably $1 million with Leavine.

Most top Cup drivers these days earn low seven figures. There's a reason why recently retired guys like Kenseth, Dale Jr. and Jeff Gordon are being replaced by young guys like Erik Jones, Alex Bowman and William Byron, and it's not a desire for fresh blood. NASCAR teams are hemorrhaging sponsors, and owners are making up the difference by hiring kids who are earning $1 million per season instead of paying old war horses between $5 and $10 million per season.

[pk500]

P.S.: Hamilton's new deal is reported to be 40 million pounds per season, which equals $51 million per year. Almost a mil per week -- not bad if you can get it!

[Rodster]

Oh that sounds more reasonable. I was going by this report which mentioned Forbes was indicating it was $170m for 2 yrs.

https://www.planetf1.com/news/hamilton- ... -mercedes/

[EffDee]

After a long silence on these forums I felt compelled to post after learning Mo Nunn had passed away.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13750 ... -nunn-dies

My memories of Montoya and Zanardi would not be much without his handiwork.

[XXXIV]

Vettel the choke job.

"sorry guys"

Hamilton does seem to be the more focused driver at least to me. I didnt think so so much til today but now Im pretty sure.

I really have liked f1 a lot more this year.

[Rodster]

My internet stream of the race quit around lap 16 and I had other things to do and i'm glad I missed the race. I would have been pissed watching Seb throw away another race. Granted it was in wet conditions but as racers like to say, it's the same for everybody.

Now onto Hamilton. I'm starting to think that the dude has some wonky emotional problems or he seriously loves attention. That little episode during Q3, kneeling by the car after trying to push it just looked, Forced/STAGED. This was after he ruined the car by going over the curbs and just busting up the lower part of the car causing a hydraulics failure. I'm with PK, he's a superb generational talent but i'm starting to dislike his antics and this is coming from someone who actually liked Lewis the driver before he started his weird hairdo fashion statement like he's been secretly hanging out with Kahwi Leonard.

[pk500]

Lewis loves attention? NO ... NEVER.

Just follow the guy on Instagram. Perhaps the most phony, brand-oriented athlete account that tries to be genuine in global sport. It's pathetic.

[XXXIV]

I dont get the hate for Hamilton at all.

Dude wins.

I have said the same for Vettel but Lewis is the better driver in my eyes.

[pk500]

I dont get the hate for Hamilton at all.

Dude wins.

I have said the same for Vettel but Lewis is the better driver in my eyes.

No debate on Hamilton's ability or talent. He's an all-time great. I just don't like him personally. Think he's a phony, especially on social media.

[pk500]

I really have liked f1 a lot more this year.

Today's race was a ton of fun. One of my favorites this year. Action all over the circuit, with the fantastic wrinkle of late rain.

Splendid drive by Hammy.

[Rodster]

I dont get the hate for Hamilton at all.

He's turned into a phony baloney D-I-V-A

[pk500]

I dont get the hate for Hamilton at all.

He's turned into a phony baloney D-I-V-A

Yep. He's entering the Mansell Zone, aggrieved for no reason other than trying to curry attention and burnish his reputation as a battler.

[GB_Simo]

Nah.

For one, Lewis does at least apologise when it dawns upon him that he's said something a bit daft, which was never a particularly Mansellian trait. For another, Lewis thanked the team yesterday, where peak Nigel would have seen the driver dictating his own strategy, having to stop early because a wheel balance weight fell off (it was always a wheel balance weight, and you never used to see anyone else lose one) and doing the last 3 laps stuck in 5th gear irrespective of the audible gear changes coming from his car.

I've never duetted with Christina Aguilera, nor do I have access to all the Rihanna I can eat. The world Lewis Hamilton inhabits is not mine. There's very little point in me trying to understand what his brand requires, or how he came to have a brand in the first place, or why you never used to see Mark Blundell advertising underwear. (Note to sub-editor: please check. Something under the radar for Sears, maybe?)

I think, though, that I understand what makes him tick inside a racing car, have a decent idea of how he drives one and a safe, certain knowledge that I couldn't do it anything like as well as he does*. This hopefully qualifies me to say that his drive yesterday was flicked from measured to mesmerising exactly as needed, and that he stood a big, big chance of winning it even before Vettel erred. He can crack on with the extra-curricular stuff.

Nothing he or anyone else did yesterday was as enjoyably batsh*t crazy as the sight of Pierre Gasly on full wets, mind. You think that technology removes that kind of folly from modern sport, but you reckon without Franz Tost.

*Obviously, if you gave me a car with a bit more rear end than Lewis likes, I could have him.

[pk500]

How sincere are those apologies, Adam, or are they just damage limitation for his brand? We'll never know. I think you know to which side I lean.

Lewis is a brilliant talent. An all-time great. The best of this generation. Better than Vettel. Better than Alonso. And I enjoy drivers who have extracurricular pursuits.

But Lewis' personna, at least from his social media accounts, is far too calculated with a glossy veneer for my taste. He's more of a carefully marketed product than a human being. Alonso, on the other hand, comes off as immensely human while still promoting his Kimoa brand and karting academy.

Lewis and his brand management team could learn something from Captain Morgan.

There are times I want to believe the sincerity and quest for more knowledge that Lewis shows, such as during his illuminating and entertaining hour-long interview with Tom Clarkson for the BRILLIANT new F1 podcast, F1: Beyond The Grid. No handlers, no PR -- just Lewis speaking with someone with whom he is very comfortable.

Then I see Lewis' social media and occasional histrionics at the circuit and return to cringing. Maybe the real Lewis lies somewhere between those two poles?

[Rodster]

Lewis and his brand management team could learn something from Captain Morgan.

Just my IMO and no facts. I feel Lewis began to change when he realized that he was going to be a Superstar in the sport as soon as 2007. Let's face it, he beat Alonso in his rookie season. If not for McLaren's botched pitstop call in China where he was left out too long and his tires could not get him back into the pits and he beached right before the pit entry.

Then in Brasil his on track impatience/immaturity where all he had to do was place 6th in the race and he would have been crowned WC. Instead he went to chase Alonso and screwed up his race when he ran wide. In 2008 he came back and won the WC title. I believe that was the turning point and IIRC soon thereafter he parted ways with his dad who managed both his career and image. He got signed again IIRC by Simon Cowell's agency.

That's when the image appeared, the tats, the hanging out with celebrity's, the hairdo's, the clothes and wanting to be seen everywhere he thought was important.

Where I disagree is that IMO, Alonso is still the better driver. He doesn't have the title's but that's due to him and all the bullsh*t politics he likes to play within a team. But I doubt you'll ever see Hamilton racing at the Indy 500 on a short 4 weeks notice and learning the ropes and placing his car 4th late in the race at Indy before the engine failed. I don't think Hamilton has the balls to try it. Alonso is just too versatile and really good at whatever he drives. And his Le Mans drive was impressive as well which appears to have setup his team for the win trying to beat the sister car which he did at night with little preparation.

[Dave]

Ricciardo to Renault is a surprise to me, seemed to be a lot of momentum to re-signing with Red Bull. Going to be interesting to see how Hulkenberg performs next to him.

Now the silly season really gets interesting.

[pk500]

Ricciardo to Renault is a surprise to me, seemed to be a lot of momentum to re-signing with Red Bull. Going to be interesting to see how Hulkenberg performs next to him.

Now the silly season really gets interesting.

Two forces at work in this move:

1. Factory money. Danny Ric clearly will make more as Renault's No. 1 than as No. 1.5 at Red Bull.

2. Status. Red Bull is Max Verstappen's team. He is the clear No. 1, regardless of results. He can't do anything wrong in Helmut Marko's eyes, so Ricciardo probably got sick of that.

[Rodster]

Ricciardo to Renault is a surprise to me, seemed to be a lot of momentum to re-signing with Red Bull. Going to be interesting to see how Hulkenberg performs next to him.

Now the silly season really gets interesting.

Two forces at work in this move:

1. Factory money. Danny Ric clearly will make more as Renault's No. 1 than as No. 1.5 at Red Bull.

2. Status. Red Bull is Max Verstappen's team. He is the clear No. 1, regardless of results. He can't do anything wrong in Helmut Marko's eyes, so Ricciardo probably got sick of that.

All true, but I think he was a little troubled with the team switching to Honda. Yes Honda has made some improvements this year but are they really close to Renault performance? And there's the reliability question marks. Bold move and surely a driver who is Championship ready, he just needs the right car to make it happen. That said, he's one of the more likeable drivers on the grid.

[Dave]

2. Status. Red Bull is Max Verstappen's team. He is the clear No. 1, regardless of results. He can't do anything wrong in Helmut Marko's eyes, so Ricciardo probably got sick of that.

The more I thought and read about it, the more I believe this might have been the biggest reason. Especially if Ric felt lowballed compared to what Red Bull handled the boy genius.

[Rodster]

So apparently Danny agreed to terms with Red Bull and they agreed to his one year deal terms. Then he calls Christian to tell him he signed with Renault and his deal is 2 years at 26m per year. Nice pay out and about right for his skills. He's won 7 more races than the Hulkster although Nico is a first rate driver in his own right. Not sure why he's never been able to get on the podium?

PK, said Danny is the defacto #1, i'm not so sure about that. I think Renault will let it play out and both drivers are of such quality and skills that there's no need to set one or the other as a #1, though I seriously doubt Nico is making $26m a year. Zak Brown said they were in the hunt for Danny and thought they would land him but understood why he chose Renault over McLaren.