pk500 wrote:Don't trust anything in this situation until both parties have acknowledged it. Max is trying to save face here, and he will say anything to make the press believe he is the white knight.
When FOTA acknowledges a truce, I'll believe it. Until then, there's a reason Max has brown eyes -- his entire body is full of sh*t.
GB_Simo wrote:It smacks of desperation from the outgoing President; outgoing, that is, as long as he keeps his word this time...
Coming a mile off, wasn't it?
Edit: And does it make any difference? Are the FOTA bosses rendered completely untrustworthy by it all, and is it meant to matter anywhere outside of the President's ego?
Last edited by GB_Simo on Thu Jun 25, 2009 7:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I just got through reading Autosport and was coming on here to address the Max situation, but it looks like you guys have already brought to light the SOB playing more shenanigans. Very few people in sport get under my skin more than Max and that little hobgoblin Bernie. Max is a drama queen and it will be interesting to see how all of this sorts out now that he has made his latest round of accusations.
The impression I have - an impression now blogged here so that it can be added to the list of things I've got wrong so far in this dispute - is that this one is more about wounded pride and ego than any serious attempt to go back on his word. FOTA have given Max a public kicking these last couple of days, not all of it necessary. He wouldn't allow himself to sit in the corner licking his wounds. Not Mosley's way at all. Hopefully it's no more than a warning shot, a reminder to all that he is still around and for as long as that is the case, they might not want to piss him off.
Surely not even Max can genuinely believe such a thing is worth plunging the sport back into uncertainty over. Surely. Surely?
GB_Simo wrote:The impression I have - an impression now blogged here so that it can be added to the list of things I've got wrong so far in this dispute - is that this one is more about wounded pride and ego than any serious attempt to go back on his word. FOTA have given Max a public kicking these last couple of days, not all of it necessary. He wouldn't allow himself to sit in the corner licking his wounds. Not Mosley's way at all. Hopefully it's no more than a warning shot, a reminder to all that he is still around and for as long as that is the case, they might not want to piss him off.
Surely not even Max can genuinely believe such a thing is worth plunging the sport back into uncertainty over. Surely. Surely?
That's the million dollar question! Are Max and his ginormous ego merely trying to save a little face, or is he truly intent on opening another can of worms? I'm hoping it is the former, but it certainly will get interesting if it is the latter. With Max you never know.
I'm sure if Max stays or decides to pursue reelection then FOTA will bail after 2012 which is just 3 years away. By then Bernie if he's still around will be 81.
But with that said I think it's just Max's way of giving it to FOTA in return after Luca and the rest of the "loonies" Max's quote decided to claim victory.
If FOTA just shuts the hell up and gets on with their 2010 business then Max will walk off. The problem is there are egos that are too big to let go of who won or loss. IOW it's like a mini version of our political threads.
All signs pointing to Alonso being unveiled as a Ferrari driver for 2010-2016 at Monza according to this article. The question is who do they unload? I say get rid of Kimi, keep Massa. He's fast enough to push Alonso but not as good to overtake him as the #1 driver. Kimi has been a joke after his first WDC in 2007. Why Ferrari extended his contract to 2010 is beyond me?
Rodster wrote:Kimi has been a joke after his first WDC in 2007. Why Ferrari extended his contract to 2010 is beyond me?
For all that we've had a justifiable dig at Kimi, it's worth remembering that he set 10 fastest laps last season and was the leader of the world championship entering the second part of 2008. Additionally, some of his recent performances, particularly his Monaco run and the first part of his Silverstone race, have been excellent. To call him a joke is, well, a joke, Rod. To call him horrifically inconsistent is completely fair, but then he's been that for the last four seasons...
He's doing Rally Finland this coming month, has an interest in motorsports outside of Formula One and a general distaste for a lot of the things that happen in F1, though. Added to that, if you were looking to one of the Ferrari drivers to try to galvanise the team in times of trouble, you'd look to Raikkonen's teammate regardless of who that teammate actually was. If the Alonso business is true (a 7 year contract? That's a long time for a man like Fernando to commit to a team that currently shows no signs of winning anything), it'd make sense if Kimi was the one going, but I can't agree with your assessment of his driving, mate.
No one questions Kimi's talent. But the motivation appears to be a spigot that's often turned on and off.
There wasn't a worse driver in F1 history for Raikkonen to replace than Michael Schumacher. Herr Schuey was legendary for his sheer graft and attention to detail, two traits Raikkonen lacks.
So Raikkonen's general insouciance toward anything in F1 other than sitting in a car and driving the wheels off of it was magnified 100-fold by his role as Schuey's successor.
Too bad Jordan isn't still on the grid in 1999 form. That would have been the PERFECT team for Raikkonen's personality. He and EJ would have been glove in hand. Vodka shots with Guinness chasers for all!
Take care,
PK
"You know why I love boxers? I love them because they face fear. And they face it alone." - Nick Charles
"First on the throttle, last on the brakes." - @MotoGP Twitter signature
Rodster wrote:Kimi has been a joke after his first WDC in 2007. Why Ferrari extended his contract to 2010 is beyond me?
For all that we've had a justifiable dig at Kimi, it's worth remembering that he set 10 fastest laps last season and was the leader of the world championship entering the second part of 2008. Additionally, some of his recent performances, particularly his Monaco run and the first part of his Silverstone race, have been excellent. To call him a joke is, well, a joke, Rod. To call him horrifically inconsistent is completely fair, but then he's been that for the last four seasons...
He's doing Rally Finland this coming month, has an interest in motorsports outside of Formula One and a general distaste for a lot of the things that happen in F1, though. Added to that, if you were looking to one of the Ferrari drivers to try to galvanise the team in times of trouble, you'd look to Raikkonen's teammate regardless of who that teammate actually was. If the Alonso business is true (a 7 year contract? That's a long time for a man like Fernando to commit to a team that currently shows no signs of winning anything), it'd make sense if Kimi was the one going, but I can't agree with your assessment of his driving, mate.
pk500 wrote:No one questions Kimi's talent. But the motivation appears to be a spigot that's often turned on and off.
There wasn't a worse driver in F1 history for Raikkonen to replace than Michael Schumacher. Herr Schuey was legendary for his sheer graft and attention to detail, two traits Raikkonen lacks.
So Raikkonen's general insouciance toward anything in F1 other than sitting in a car and driving the wheels off of it was magnified 100-fold by his role as Schuey's successor.
Too bad Jordan isn't still on the grid in 1999 form. That would have been the PERFECT team for Raikkonen's personality. He and EJ would have been glove in hand. Vodka shots with Guinness chasers for all!
Take care,
PK
Mate PK covered it for me. My problem with Raikkonen is not skill but rather does he give a sh*t on any given weekend? How hard does he try and how motivated is he to push the team and give them input to make the car better? Michael had that trait so does Fernando. I forget who at Renault was quoted as saying, that when it comes to trying new bits on the car we don't have to worry about Alonso doing a 100% effort so as to know if what we tried works or not. I can't say that Kimi fits that bill. DC said the same thing about Kimi and Kimi responded by "what a guy".
I expect more from the quote unquote fastest driver in F1. The image of Kimi eating an ice cream cone and wearing shorts while wearing an ipod in the garage will always leave me with the lasting impression of a guy who has the talent but lacks work ethics.
Rodster wrote:My problem with Raikkonen is not skill but rather does he give a sh*t on any given weekend?
GB_Simo wrote:To call him horrifically inconsistent is completely fair, but then he's been that for the last four seasons...
Then we're all three of us on the same page, mate.
I've never actually bothered to find out whether Raikkonen's car was as broken as Ferrari said it was in Malaysia. If it was, and if it was broken KERS as was reported, then I don't know how keen I'd be to stay in my race suit in humid conditions knowing my car wasn't moving, so I can cut him some slack for that.
Wasn't the George story reported as a rumour somewhere a few weeks ago? I'm sure I read a denial of it somewhere.
GB_Simo wrote:If it was, and if it was broken KERS as was reported, then I don't know how keen I'd be to stay in my race suit in humid conditions knowing my car wasn't moving, so I can cut him some slack for that.
I understand but when a driver has a reputation for being the total opposite of Schumacher and Alonso but has succeeded because of raw talent that only trumps when the race gods are all aligned on any given F1 weekend, that doesn't help your case. But then again we all know that Kimi doesn't give a rats @ss what anyone thinks and that's my problem with him.
Ferrari needs a talented driver like Alonso that will provide them focus, work ethic and motivation to put the best car on the grid. If all of this is true I wonder if Alonso will bring anyone else with him from Renault. I like Massa but he's not the driver Alonso is. I would say Kimi and Alonso are equal in talent except Fernando shows up every weekend to win. Don't get me wrong mate I like Kimi and I like his talent but we all knew what Ferrari was getting when he replaced Michael.
GB_Simo wrote:
Wasn't the George story reported as a rumour somewhere a few weeks ago? I'm sure I read a denial of it somewhere.
Maybe PK can fill us in on what's official. I don't follow the league but the man made the IRL what it is and brought new revenue to IMS(Nascar, F1, MotoGP). Kind of strange to sit him in the corner of the room so to speak.
Rodster wrote:Maybe PK can fill us in on what's official. I don't follow the league but the man made the IRL what it is and brought new revenue to IMS(Nascar, F1, MotoGP). Kind of strange to sit him in the corner of the room so to speak.
Rodster wrote:I understand but when a driver has a reputation for being the total opposite of Schumacher and Alonso but has succeeded because of raw talent that only trumps when the race gods are all aligned on any given F1 weekend, that doesn't help your case. But then again we all know that Kimi doesn't give a rats @ss what anyone thinks and that's my problem with him.
Ah. One of my major bugbears when it comes to current-era Formula One is that far, far too many people do give a rat's ass what anyone thinks. Part of my fondness for Rubinho, Alonso, increasingly Vettel, Webber and yes, even Kimi (and while we're at it, let's not forget the final years of dear old Crazy Dave, here sounding a warning to Massa in Australia last year) comes from how they don't seem to worry too much about that.
We're never going to agree on the ice-cream thing either. I still love you, though.
TOYOTA-OWNED Fuji International Speedway is reportedly planning to pull out of hosting the 2010 Japanese Formula One Grand Prix.
The world's biggest auto maker has refused to comment on reports carried by domestic newspapers and Japan's national news agency.
Fuji has decided not to host the 2010 race, Kyodo News agency reported yesterday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
A Toyota spokesman told the Associated Press: "It's true that (Fuji Speedway) is making various considerations regarding its hosting of the event next year," but refused to elaborate further.
Toyota has been hit by the global economic downturn. The company expects the current fiscal year through March 2010 to be its worst ever financially, forecasting a net loss of US$5.7 billion.
Fuji Speedway hosted the Japanese Grand Prix in 2007 and 2008 for the first time in 30 years, replacing the Honda-owned Suzuka circuit.
The 2009 Japanese Grand Prix will be held at Suzuka, near the city of Nagoya. It was expected that the race would alternate between Suzuka and Fuji beginning this year.
Meanwhile, Red Bull replaced Formula One reserve driver Brendon Hartley with Jaime Alguersuari yesterday.
Spain's Alguersuari, 19, will assume his new duties at next week's German Grand Prix.
Hartley, who held the post since the start of the season, will concentrate "on his own racing program in the European F3 series," the Austrian team said.
Alguersuari, who last year became the youngest ever British F3 champion, is currently competing in the Renault World Series.
Red Bull trails only Brawn GP in the constructors' standings.
Fuji is great because the weather is so unpredictable pretty much every day whereas Suzuka is just a fast circuit that the drivers just love to be at. My vote is for Suzuka as well.
I wish the little treasure troll Bernie would just go away. This man is a disgrace and an embarrassment to the sport. What is it with Bernie and Max and the NAZI party? Bernie's latest comments further show that he is a complete ass. What a great duo to have promoting the league!
toonarmy wrote:I wish the little treasure troll Bernie would just go away. This man is a disgrace and an embarrassment to the sport. What is it with Bernie and Max and the NAZI party? Bernie's latest comments further show that he is a complete ass. What a great duo to have promoting the league!
Wonderful timing, with the German Grand Prix coming up and all.
I read a similar article this morning at f1live.com
One of the positive results of a FOTA breakaway would have been not dealing with Bernie or Max anymore. And yes the guy can quite be the prick when he wants.
