F1 silly season

[EauRouge]

It's getting very silly now with these rumours of Alonso going to Red Bull- can't see it happening. I hope it won't be Kimi either. Seb needs a good number 2 behind him, someone that won't challenge him for the championship. I reckon Ricciardo is Red Bull's best bet.

[SuperiorCat]

Avoided this thread as couldn't watch the race live and didn't want any spoilers until I managed to watch the highlights. Really enjoyed it even though Seb stretched out his lead even further felt so sorry for DiResta, he is a solid driver and doesn't usually make mistakes, but unfortunately for him often ends up the innocent victim of other drivers battling it out on track like today.

[EauRouge]

That was so unlucky for DiResta.

Now all we need is for Massa to stay at Ferrari and Kimi to stay at Lotus for the full silly season anticlimax

[HilariousLotus]

Can i ask you all why there is so much hate on Vettel? I never really understood it and i want to see it from someone elses point of view so i can see why the poor bloke keeps on getting booed

I can't beleive they went for Riccardo after all of that to be honest i mean it was well known that Christian and Adrian both wanted Kimi but Detrich and Helmut overruled them and went for Riccardo i assume so they could justify the Torro Rosso team and their young driver program because if they are not promoting from within whats the point of the hundreds of millions the are spending

I swear if Kimi stays with Lotus this whole silly season was literally just designed to torment us all but with that drive it doesn't look like Massa will stay so at least we will have one move at least ... well i'm hoping at least one move or my brain may explode

[EauRouge]

I dunno what it is. I've tried so hard to like him, but I've failed. There's obv stuff like Multi-21-gate and the fact that he's been so obviously favoured by the team while they were all swearing blind that Webber wasn't a number 2. That and it gets proper boring with the same person winning all the time. I'm sure he's a nice person really

I think you're right about Massa. I'm hoping for Hulkenburg as a replacement.

[HilariousLotus]

I understand the Multi 21 thing because then even i though god he needs a slap but what annoyed me about that Malaysian GP more was that people seem to have forgotten Hamilton did the same thing to Rosberg as well in a team that claims to also have no number one driver either

i guess how i see is it kind of from a if i were a team owner sort of way because when Mark was ahead and nearly won his championship the team was very much on his side and it was all about him really because winning the constructors/drivers championship brings in money so they backed him but when it was Vettel who was bringing in the money to the team they backed him i mean if you were the team principal who would you back the guy bringing in the money or the other guy?

Oh i don't think hes a nice person i bet hes really not but i don't think he deserves the hate for having the best car/driver package on the grid

Massas replacement i think is a toss up between Bianchi or Hulkenberg

[SmallFarAway]

I agree with Hilarious about the Multi21 thing. The team is all about the win so they support and throw the resources at the driver with the most chance of achieving it. I also understand why he did it...he is a super ambitious driver, paid to race and he wants to win. He knows he can win. He saw his opportunity at Malaysia and he took it. Probably while thinking 'fuck it, i'll deal with the fall out later'. Not saying its right to go against the team orders like that but I can understand his mindset I think.

But yes, his dominance is boring. Just as Schumacher's dominance was boring all those years that he was at the top. When i've seen Vettel interviewed away from F1, I've actually warmed to him as a person but on a race weekend and on the track he's arrogant. however, he's not the only arrogant driver on the grid by a long shot and I also don't think he deserves hatred and vitriol for it.

[EauRouge]

Oh, I understand why he did it too. I'd love to see team orders scrapped but realistically there's no point because they'd just do it in code (secret or not so secret ). Just giving examples of why people say they hate him.

I'm not a fan of Hamilton either and can't quite put my finger on that. I don't recall when he did the same thing to Rosberg though, when was that?

[SmallFarAway]

I'm not a Hamilton fan either. Although I'm finding him more tolerable this season than when he was with McLare for some reason.

I think the Mercedes team orders thing was at Malaysia too I think. Nico was pushing to pass and was told to hold position, IIRC.

[SmallFarAway]

And I think the booing may have been for Vettel's 80s Europop hair tragedy

[HilariousLotus]

I'm glad someone kind of agrees that Vettel's been getting the short end of the stick really especially with the booing which is just slightly unfair because for me he is a great driver especially if you look at Abu Dhabi where he came from the back twice to get on the podium and then in Brazil which was my favourite race of the year it was so action packed and for me this proves its not just the car that is winning the races for him so i just feel bad for him

Small is right Rosberg was faster than Hamilton during the last stages of Malaysia and was told to stay behind him by Ross Brawn and Hamilton even said Rosberg should of been on the podium and collected third place but that was lost in the whole Multi 21 saga that no one seems to remember it really which annoys me because both teams did the same thing and Red Bull just seem to be attacked about it more

Vettel's hair he must of lost a bet with Kimi because if you remember Kimi had that horrible mullet mohican at Silverstone and now Vettel looks like he has been bleached unless he has decided he wants to look like Heikki now but no way is it just sun bleached :)

[EauRouge]

The booing isn't very sporting at all. Vettel is talented and wins on merit, it's not like he cheats all the time. His hair is shit though.

Yes, I remember the Rosberg/Hamilton team orders, slightly different than the multi-21 scenario though in that the drivers obeyed the team orders. I don't see a way around it, but I hate it when team orders affect the outcome of the race. Austria in 2000 (?) was the worst ever. Or I might have the wrong race and wrong year, but it was the one where Schumacher passed Barrichello right before the finish line.

[SmallFarAway]

Vettel is a great driver. It's dull as fuck when he qualifies on pole and leads from the front for an entire race but when he has to fight for position, he is undeniably brilliant.

The hair though...anyone remember Sun-In?

Incidentally, it's Mark Webber's birthday today :)

[SmallFarAway]

Yes, I remember being outraged at ferrari's them orders quite a few times. Particularly when Irvine was driving for them as I was a die hard Irvine fan. But then they've never made a secret of the fact that they have first and second drivers and I guess the second driver signs their contract with that knowledge. It makes for shit viewing as a fan though.

[HilariousLotus]

I just can't understand the booing personally because as you say its unsporting but even i would be booing that hair its just wrong ... oh the fond memories i have of sun in but surely you stop using that as an adult right?

Ferrari and the infamous non team orders were ridiculous but proved it was happening even when it was illegal so i think its here to stay because teams will always do it

Happy Birthday Mark

Also Mclaren to resign Jenson for £12 million a year but that does make me think as much as i am a Kimi fan and i think he is the most naturally talented driver why is he asking for a reported £30 million from Red bull and maybe thats why they went for Riccardo

[HilariousLotus]

Plus according to this Vettel gets paid 8 million euro less than Hamilton and Alonso dispite being the tripple world champion

[SmallFarAway]

If that's true about Vettel getting paid less, I can kind of see how RBR get away with it. Vettel is already at the top team with the best car and the best chance of wining the championship again (and again and again). Another team might mean a bigger pay packet but less chance of the win.

[SmallFarAway]

Not sure that I explained that very well. What I mean is Vettel can say 'give me another ?10 million or I'll walk' and RBR can say 'off you fuck then cunty chops. You might get more dosh from Ferrari but their car is shit'. They kind of have him over a barell in that regard.

[HilariousLotus]

Maybe thats why he only signed for another year he is probably thinking wait a minute i keep winning here yet those two are getting 8 million more a year from teams that aren't winning as much as i am

If he gets 4 in a row this year and doesn't earn the most money something is definitely wrong in that paddock hell even Jenson is getting paid more from Mclaren than Vettel is getting from Red Bull and as much as i like Jenson he should not be getting more money than the triple world champion

[HilariousLotus]

I laughed at cunty chops just because im imagining that conversation actually happening :) that made me smile

You do have a point about Ferrari though because even though they now have James Alison so i don't think there car for next year is going to be that bad the only problem they have is that the Ferrari engine for next year is not meant to be as good as the Mercedes or Renault engines

Maybe Vettel did get a payrise and thats why they can't have Kimi and have gone for the cheaper option of Riccardo

[EauRouge]

If I was an F1 driver, I'd drive for minimum wage if Adrian Newey had designed the car.

There's been a lot of talk about how the rule changes next year are going to affect the teams and their new cars.

[SmallFarAway]

Ferrari seem to have nailed the reliability issues that plagued them a while ago but they can't get anywhere near the speed they need to properly compete with RBR and even Mercedes. Must be the engine thing, as you say.

If Ferrari had any driver other than Alonso in that car, they wouldn't be anywhere near the podium. Alonso consistently out performs the capabilities of the car. Which is probably why they're happy to shell out the big bucks to keep him.

[HilariousLotus]

The talk is Mercedes are going to walk it with ease next year they are going to have the best engine and after there not so secret tyre test they are having no problems with the tyres and even Newey may struggle with designing a car to cope with all the changes for next year but 2014 is going to be a very interesting year and i just don't see Red Bull walking away with it again

Ferraris issues are apparently due to the wind tunnel which seems to always be there excuse but maybe they should get Jenson instead of Alonso and take that extra 8 million euro and use it to develop the wind tunnel and better parts for the car

I do agree Alonso is pulling stuff from that Ferrari car that is not there but i don't think he is the only one who could do that i mean Lewis, Jenson, Rosberg even i think could pull it from that car as well not discounting what Vettel could bring out of it as well so i wouldn't say he was worth the extra 8 million a year

[SmallFarAway]

See, I'm not sure that they could pull the same results from the Ferrari that Alonso is doing. Button seems utterly defeated by the McLaren this year. Yes, he has a pig of a car but he seems to have written off this season totally and not shown any of the grit that he has done in the past.

Rosberg? Not convinced at all. Likewise Hamilton. Although I think he could perform in a substandard car over a few races but not as relentlessly as Alonso has had to. Hamilton struggles to turn pole positions into wins, he'd find it way more difficult if he was consistently starting on the 5th row.

Vettel? Almost certainly. But only because he's the only driver out there at the minute who is as good as/better than Alonso.

I'm not a particular fan of Alonso, by the way.

[SmallFarAway]

And I agree that Ferrari would be better to pay significantly less and invest in the car if they are ever to win the constructors championship again.

[HilariousLotus]

You're right he really has been defeated by this years car and i think Mclaren coming out and saying that they have stopped developing this years car is going to hurt him even more although i do understand why they have done it because there is no point trying to put right a car that they can't take forward into the next year and is just horrific it just is bad news for Button so i don't expect him to be doing much this year i bet he will just be happy to get out of quali 3 every race

I was thinking about Rosberg in that list and i think he can take the car to the limits but thats about it he does drive the car which makes me think that actually he would be a good driver for Red Bull in so much as he could drive the car to its limits but not over drive it

Kimi for sure could get every bit and more out of the Ferrari i think possibly more than Alonso can but with the insane amount he wants from them would not help the budget it would make a even bigger dent and then they would probably take the money from somewhere else

It could work in Ferraris favour if they give him a performance related contact which means its in his best interests to get everything plus out the car and Kimi is good at that plus he is very consistent ... That may end up costing them more though i guess