The F1 thread

Fretwired

stickyfiddle said:

chillidoggy said:

So, why did McLaren get rid of Perez? Did they think he was going to rock up and wipe the floor with Jenson?

I'd guess it's more to do with how he is in terms of car development than speed. Next year will be crucial to get a running start and keep up development-wise. If Perez is rubbish at communicating what he needs from the engineers and car then that'll hurt them a lot compared to the others

McLaren will have another rubbish year without any major support from Mercedes. They'll be planning for 2015 and with Honda's technology and money I'll bet they'll make a move for Alonso at the end of 2014. I can't see Ferrari improving for a few years given their current management structure and I think Mercedes will make a major step forward to challenging Red Bull.

chillidoggy

Fret you should replace Titmarsh at McLaren. You make more sense than he does!

fretmeister

Dario Franchitti retires after big crash. http://www1.skysports.com/motor-racing/news/15749/9025990/dario-franchitti-retires-after-his-indycar-crash-in-houston-last-month

rolls1392

Sad way to end a career

Bet he's a little sore!!

stickyfiddle

Great to see Kovalainen kicking ass yesterday in the Lotus. Maybe he'll get a race seat next year? I know he doesn't come with much cash but he dicks on Maldonado, Chilton, Gutierrez etc!!

chillidoggy

Yup, I always thought he was a good driver, especially when he beat Schumacher in the race of champions thing. I'll laugh my cock off if he whips Grosjean's arse

stickyfiddle

Between those performances from Heikki, Bottas and Hulk it's a mockery that Maldonado is even considered for a drive next year. 

chillidoggy

Unless you take into consideration the cartloads of cash he brings with him?

stickyfiddle

Of course. Just don't like the way PM is being such an arrogant dickbag despite being fairly shite overall, just because he brings sacks of petrodollars with him. He's very quick on his occasional "good day" but if he was as good as he clearly believes he'd have demolished Bottas all season AND kept his nose clean. Bah!

holnrew

Don't forget how ugly he is.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50883000/jpg/_50883734_maldonado466.jpg

fretmeister

I see he is blaming the team for not setting his car up right, and changing tyre pressures to throw him off!

chillidoggy

holnrew said:

Don't forget how ugly he is.

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50883000/jpg/_50883734_maldonado466.jpg

He can't hold a candle to such a good-looking bastard as you, Hol.

Actually, he looks like an axe-wielding, homicidal maniac in that shot.

Fretwired

fretmeister said:

I see he is blaming the team for not setting his car up right, and changing tyre pressures to throw him off!

I think he has a point - the team will be focusing it's limited resources on setting up the car for Valtteri Bottas. It's not deliberate sabotage, just common sense. Unfortunately he doesn't have any talent so can only achieve moderate success within a limited operating window. Look at what a real racer like Alonso can do with a dog of a car and you get an idea of what a talentless twat he is ...

There's no justice is a guy like Maldonado gets a drive and Paul Di Resta gets kicked out [as is being rumoured]. The first has money and no talent the second has talent but no money. The sport will quickly before the preserve of the wealthy playboy driver.

holnrew

I'm surprised there's no interest from Mercedes in Di Resta.

chillidoggy

Funnily enough, I've never rated Di Resta at all. I feel he's just been average.

Kovaleinen is the one who deserves a decent car in my view. Be interested to see how he does in Austin.

stickyfiddle

chillidoggy said:

Funnily enough, I've never rated Di Resta at all. I feel he's just been average.

Kovaleinen is the one who deserves a decent car in my view. Be interested to see how he does in Austin.

Yeah. DiResta is ok but not really any better than Sutil over 2 seasons, so not worth top teams chasing. Grosjean, Hulkenberg and Kovalienen are definitely my top 3 of the current non-top-team drivers. Admittedly RoGro is in a top team but hasn't fully stepped out of Kimi's shadow yet. 

holnrew

Heikki was disappointing at McLaren

Fretwired

Another boring race. The FIA needs to look long and hard at F1 when a fast driver like Lewis Hamilton is forced to back off for most of a race to protect his tyres from overheating. Alain Prost thinks this will be worse next year with the added dimension of fuel conservation forcing drivers to be cautious in the early stages.

Ianpdq

Recorded then deleted did not bother to watch knew it would be like that

chillidoggy

If I'd paid to see that race, I'd be demanding a refund. Shockingly boring. It was like no-one was bothered.