OT: Racing 2009 (Spoiler Alert)

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:39 pm

Rodster wrote:
pk500 wrote: I hope Schuey blows Raikkonen into the weeds, either forcing Kimi to learn the meaning of the word "work" or accelerating Kimi's plans for a life of full-time vodka drinking.

Take care,
PK
That's Kimi's main problem, work ethic and motivation. When Kimi applies either one of those he's up there with Alonso who is currently considered one of the best drivers in the world. But Ferrari is to blame knowing full well Kimi's work and motivation issues before signing him and giving him an extension.

Something tells me come Valencia Kimi will bring his A game.

As I said in a previous post, I am not ready to fully buy into the idea that Kimi has work and motivation issues. His results on the track when he has a reliable car bear that out. I highly doubt Ferrari would throw that much money his way if he truly had serious issues in either department. Yeah, just watching him in interviews, and seeing some of his antics off the track, one would be lead to believe he does not have maximum fire in his belly. However, those around Kimi contend he wants to win as bad as anyone else and does what he needs to do in the way of work. If I had to choose one driver from the current lineup (excluding MS) for one race, with all cars being equal, there is no question I would choose Kimi.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 2:45 pm

One other thing regarding MS' return, we get to see Lewis versus Michael. The Ferrari and McLaren were fairly equal in the 1-2 spots at Hungary. There can be little doubt that Lewis is going to have extra adrenaline flowing with Michael out on the track. Then you also have to factor in the element of Barrichello's Brawn car. I'm sure Rubens wants to show well out there against Michael for obvious reasons. It sucks there is a long wait for the next race.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:40 pm

toonarmy wrote:As I said in a previous post, I am not ready to fully buy into the idea that Kimi has work and motivation issues. His results on the track when he has a reliable car bear that out.

I fully buy into it. A good friend of mine has covered all but three Grands Prix on site since 1984, the only American journalist to do so, and he has told me a few times that Raikkonen has nowhere near the work ethic of Schumacher and Alonso. Those two guys are willing to spend hours after the final session of the day, poring over data with engineers. Kimi sometimes spends minutes with them, then leaving the track for the day.

toonarmy wrote:I highly doubt Ferrari would throw that much money his way if he truly had serious issues in either department. Yeah, just watching him in interviews, and seeing some of his antics off the track, one would be lead to believe he does not have maximum fire in his belly.

Kimi has fantastic natural pace and car control, something you can't teach or engineer. I think Ferrari figured its more nurturing environment -- quite the contrast from Ron Dennis' austere McLaren -- would bring out more of a work ethic in Kimi. But it hasn't happened.

toonarmy wrote:However, those around Kimi contend he wants to win as bad as anyone else and does what he needs to do in the way of work. If I had to choose one driver from the current lineup (excluding MS) for one race, with all cars being equal, there is no question I would choose Kimi.

I would pick Alonso, hands down. That guy extracts more from bad cars than anyone on the grid so far this season. Amazing that anyone could put that car on the pole, but Alonso did it at Hungary. He also had the fastest lap at the Nurburgring. He also had no business winning last year at Singapore, but he did it.

Good hypothetical question to ask, though! Bet we'd get about four or five different answers.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:41 pm

toonarmy wrote:One other thing regarding MS' return, we get to see Lewis versus Michael. The Ferrari and McLaren were fairly equal in the 1-2 spots at Hungary. There can be little doubt that Lewis is going to have extra adrenaline flowing with Michael out on the track. Then you also have to factor in the element of Barrichello's Brawn car. I'm sure Rubens wants to show well out there against Michael for obvious reasons. It sucks there is a long wait for the next race.

Absolutely agree, on all levels!

Take care,
PK

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:53 pm

pk500 wrote:
toonarmy wrote:If I had to choose one driver from the current lineup (excluding MS) for one race, with all cars being equal, there is no question I would choose Kimi.
I would pick Alonso, hands down. That guy extracts more from bad cars than anyone on the grid so far this season. Amazing that anyone could put that car on the pole, but Alonso did it at Hungary. He also had the fastest lap at the Nurburgring. He also had no business winning last year at Singapore, but he did it.

Good hypothetical question to ask, though! Bet we'd get about four or five different answers.

My answer would match yours, PK. When I'm watching a qualifying session or a race, I rarely find myself studying Alonso's times and thinking, "Hmmm, thought the car had a bit more in it than that." I'm more often wondering what the Hell he's doing that far up the field. He had a little blip in the middle of 2008 when he was overdriving something horrid, but otherwise that's been true of his performances ever since his departure from McLaren.

Watching Kimi drifting the Ferrari on Sunday, getting out to some very entertaining slip angles and then carrying on his merry way, the thought struck me that Michael in one of the current-spec cars would be a sight to behold. I didn't for one second seriously think I'd see it. I want Valencia to be tomorrow now.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:01 pm

GB_Simo wrote: Watching Kimi drifting the Ferrari on Sunday, getting out to some very entertaining slip angles and then carrying on his merry way, the thought struck me that Michael in one of the current-spec cars would be a sight to behold. I didn't for one second seriously think I'd see it. I want Valencia to be tomorrow now.

Watching Kimi on the edge in Hungary reminded me of his Championship year at Silverstone. That day he was on it. When Kimi is on it there are few if any on the grid that can catch him. When I watched the race last weekend I thought to myself "now there goes the fastest man in F1." That's the first time this year where I said he gave the maximum effort.

Lewis and the McLaren were to much for the Kimi and the F60.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:07 pm

P.S.: Nice redesign on the blog, Adam! Love the shot of the Old Man and Gilles in the masthead.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:09 pm

pk500 wrote:P.S.: Nice redesign on the blog, Adam! Love the shot of the Old Man and Gilles in the masthead.

Take care,
PK

Holy crap it's been awhile since i've visited your site Adam. Good stuff mate.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:13 pm

Trivia question, and I don't know the answer: Michael Schumacher is 40. Who was the last 40-year-old to race in F1?

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:27 pm

Comments from Newman/Haas/Lanigan senior engineer Craig Hampson about the IRL's new Push to Pass system. N/H/L used P2P in Champ Car, so Hampson has good perspective from which to draw:

“Honda and the IRL have also added additional functionality to the overtake button. This has been tested by other teams, but we have not experienced it yet. It’s very good that both our drivers previously used an overtake button in Champ Car - though here it works a little differently, and the effects will be a lot smaller.

"The thing I do very much like about Honda's system is the "hold off time" they have put on the backside of each use. After you use the button, there is a period of time where you CANNOT use the button. This will likely set up a few "pass, and then pass back" scenarios, where the drivers trade off who leads at different ends of the track. Certainly, the driver will need to be smart about when to use the pass button because you only get 20 shots of it. And once you use a shot, you have to wait a bit before your next one. It will surely be a thinking man's game.

“I do wish the power boost was larger, but with a normally aspirated engine, there is only so much you can achieve. The only other approach would have been to detune the engine power for the majority of its running - and that's not a path anyone wanted to see us go down."

Take care,
PK

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:48 pm

pk500 wrote:Trivia question, and I don't know the answer: Michael Schumacher is 40. Who was the last 40-year-old to race in F1?

Take care,
PK

Don't know the answer either but here's an educated guess - Our Nige? Race winner aged 41 with Williams, though I prefer not to think about what he did next.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 4:51 pm

Yeah, I think it would have to be Mansell. I cannot think of anyone beyond the mid-90s that would have been 40 when they raced.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:01 pm

According to this Wiki article it would have to be Nige.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigel_Mans ... ormula_One

Return to Formula One

In 1994 Mansell made a Formula One comeback. After the untimely death of Ayrton Senna, he returned to Formula One with Williams replacing rookie David Coulthard for the French Grand Prix and the last three races of the season. Mansell was paid approximately £900,000 per race, compared to Williams' lead driver at the time, Damon Hill being paid £300,000 for the entire season. Mansell's return was helped by Bernie Ecclestone helping unravel his contracts in the United States. It was important for F1 to have a world champion driving that season and they needed Mansell. Mansell wasn't as quick as Damon Hill in race trim but signs that his speed were coming back were evident in Japan during a fantastic battle with the Ferrari of Jean Alesi. Mansell took his final Grand Prix victory, the Australian Grand Prix, which was the final race of the season having out-qualified the two contenders for the title, Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher, in the process. The plan was initially for Mansell to protect Hill from Schumacher, but both drivers passed him at the start and eventually collided, handing Schumacher his 1st World Title.

Williams had an option on Mansell's services for 1995 which Mansell was sure they would take. However, Williams opted for youth over experience and hired Coulthard.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:07 pm

Unless one of the era's pay drivers got in there, but I'm fairly sure the majority of them - Jean-Denis Deletraz (famous for what Nigel Roebuck called "a very special interpretation of Grand Prix driving," qualifying slower than an F3000 car at Estoril and stalling mid-corner on one 'hot' lap), Giovanni "Johnny Carwash" Lavaggi, those kind of folk - were a tad younger than Nigel.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:31 pm

I believe it's Mansell, too. I contacted my American F1 journalist buddy this afternoon, and he's almost certain it's Mansell.

Hell, I have the red Marlboro F1 "bible" here at my desk. I suppose I could get off my ass and check!

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:37 pm

pk500 wrote: Hell, I have the red Marlboro F1 "bible" here at my desk. I suppose I could get off my ass and check!

Take care,
PK

And interrupt your iRacing online session, no way.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:38 pm

pk500 wrote:
I fully buy into it. A good friend of mine has covered all but three Grands Prix on site since 1984, the only American journalist to do so, and he has told me a few times that Raikkonen has nowhere near the work ethic of Schumacher and Alonso. Those two guys are willing to spend hours after the final session of the day, poring over data with engineers. Kimi sometimes spends minutes with them, then leaving the track for the day.

Nobody approaches the work ethic of Michael. He and his team should be a case study in textbooks on how to be successful in business, sports, etc. They were on another level in every sense of the word.

The interviews and articles I have read in magazines and web sites is that Kimi does everything the team asks of him. The overall image I have got over the years is that of a guy who has a good work ethic and does what needs to be done professionally, and then lets loose on his own time when the mood strikes. Kimi is a unique bird, to be for sure, who hates the spotlight and doesn't give two fucks what the media thinks of him. I think that may be part of the reason he gets the rap he does from people outside of his circle. Everything I have read out of the Ferrari camp is that his team absolutely loves working with him.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 5:42 pm

toonarmy wrote: The interviews and articles I have read in magazines and web sites is that Kimi does everything the team asks of him. The overall image I have got over the years is that of a guy who has a good work ethic and does what needs to be done professionally, and then lets loose on his own time when the mood strikes. Kimi is a unique bird, to be for sure, who hates the spotlight and doesn't give two fucks what the media thinks of him. I think that may be part of the reason he gets the rap he does from people outside of his circle. Everything I have read out of the Ferrari camp is that his team absolutely loves working with him.

The image I will always have burned in my memory was when he was eating an ice cream and wearing his baggy shorts in the garage on a race weekend. IOW he quit while the team was preparing for Sunday.

I know Adam sees it differently but if you want to wear baggy shorts and eat an ice cream while the team is busting their ass for the Sunday race, leave the garage and do it away from the cameras.

GB_Simo · Post by **GB_Simo** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:29 pm

Rodster wrote:I know Adam sees it differently but if you want to wear baggy shorts and eat an ice cream while the team is busting their ass for the Sunday race, leave the garage and do it away from the cameras.

As it goes, I do agree that it's a strange place to be snapped in shorts eating an ice cream. I have no issue with his food or his attire - he can dress like Vogue-era Madonna if it's what keeps him happy, and perhaps the pictures exist of some wild night in Helsinki - but it was a funny place to be seen doing it, sure. The bit I take issue with is the 'team busting their ass' part, because it's not wholly right, because Kimi's car was broken and never going to take the restart, and all involved knew that.

How in the name of all did we manage to get back on to that topic? Well done, Sir.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:30 pm

My everlasting images of Kimi:

Brazil, 2006, commenting about how he missed the pre-race ceremony in which Pele presented the retiring Schumacher with an award:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4HHUkHbgAtM&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

The Monster commenting on Raikkonen's driving at Spa:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4-zEnO_KwDg&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Finally, Kimi drunk on his yacht in Monaco:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-VW2oAkjcJ4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 6:46 pm

That Yacht video was a classic. Good thing he wasn't stopped for a Breathalyzer test. I could see him peg the meter.

toonarmy · Post by **toonarmy** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:12 pm

The one with Montoya cracks me up every time I see it. Montoya had some classic rants in the cockpit while in F1. There's no telling how many times opposing drivers thought of Montoya what he said in the above video about Kimi. There were not many dull moments with JPM on the track.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:40 pm

toonarmy wrote:The one with Montoya cracks me up every time I see it. Montoya had some classic rants in the cockpit while in F1. There's no telling how many times opposing drivers thought of Montoya what he said in the above video about Kimi. There were not many dull moments with JPM on the track.

Or off the track!

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y2eu-V57zpc&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 10:59 pm

That's awesome! Juan's always going to be one of my favorites.

I'll never forget seeing JPM and Robby Gordon cracking each other up after one of them absolutely punted a random dude at Stefan Johansson's old karting facility a few days before the 2000 Indy 500.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Wed Jul 29, 2009 11:03 pm

I guess Kimi's not the only one he calls a f@%#ing idiot.