“Who cares why we are overtaking?” – Rosberg
F1 Fanatic round-up
In the round–up: Nico Rosberg defends DRS, saying “In the end, who cares why we are overtaking?”
Links
Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:
DRS zones to be adjusted for 2012 (Autosport)
Rosberg: “DRS is a great thing. In the end, who cares why we are overtaking?”
What’s your view on DRS? Have your say and cast your vote here:
Valencia in drive to cut Formula One costs (FT, registration required)
Bernie Ecclestone: “What’s been talked about more is that Barcelona would like to alternate with them. Maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe it’s the way to go.”
Ecclestone Hid $5 Million Payment to Gribkowsky, Adviser Says (Bloomberg)
“‘Ecclestone told me to transfer $5 million of his money to Mr. Gribkowsky by using a special company so his name wouldn’t appear,’ Andre Favre, who worked as an adviser to Ecclestone, told a Munich court at Gribkowsky’s bribery trial. ‘All Ecclestone told me was that he owed Gribkowsky the money.”
2011 Hamilton’s Year Of Growth (Speed)
“There’s no doubt that Lewis [Hamilton] has been continually disappointed by McLaren’s consistent failure to start the season with a truly competitive package.”
Liuzzi: HRT still searching for budget (GP Update)
“The biggest problem is that the team has no budget. They’re still looking at whether it is possible to have two drivers on the payroll this year.”
Reebok reveals global brand strategy (Marketing Week)
“Reebok is preparing to launch a global brand strategy to position itself as the world’s primary fitness brand, and will feature sportsmen including Lewis Hamilton and cricketer MS Dhoni in a campaign to support the new direction.”
“For the ten races the BBC aren’t showing live this year, commentary will still be recorded live, rather than ‘made-up’ over the highlights.”
“Back at Marussia Technical Centre in Banbury today meeting with Engineers. Pre-season training going well – though very cold outdoors.”
Comment of the day
Topdowntoedown on Ron Howard’s forthcoming F1 film Rush:
A film about ’70s F1 set at the Nurburgring? Brilliant!
Directed by Ron Howard? Happy Days!
Topdowntoedown
From the forum
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On this day in F1
Fernando Alonso drove the MP4-22 – the only McLaren he has ever raced – for the first time on this day five years ago.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 17th January 2012, 0:05
Yeah, I bet Nico didn’t care Vettel overtook him so easily in the middle of the straight at Spa either.
He must’ve thought: “ooooh, that’s a neat overtaking move right there! Good job Sebastian!”
(of course, Seb then showed true grit going round the outside at the backstraight, but that’s another matter and has nothing to do with DRS!)
Hairs (@hairs) said on 17th January 2012, 0:07
nico knew that his car was.fundamentally slower, and that drs or not, he was going to get passed.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 17th January 2012, 0:09
Of course, but he could’ve at least had a better chance to hold on, though
MRFS said on 17th January 2012, 0:13
If I were Nico, I’d have dropped behind Vettel at La Source, and stalked him up Eau Rogue to get the DRS + combined straight line speed..
Hairs (@hairs) said on 17th January 2012, 0:37
and then he would have been passed, again, a few corners later .
cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello) said on 17th January 2012, 0:13
@Hairs
Gilles’ car was fundamentally slower. But there was no way he was letting a car by.
Hairs (@hairs) said on 17th January 2012, 0:35
Here we go again. Right, once more for the cheap seats…
1. Cars in the 70s and early 80s did not work in the same way. You might as well compare what happens in a motorbike race and complain that “more of them can go through the corners”.
2. The cars were more varied and unpredictable. Two chassis from the same shop floor might be tenths of a second different in lap time. The driver was far more of a factor in how the car performed.
3. I’ll ask it again: Why is years of turbulence robbing us of classic battles not as big a deal as something like drs? Or has everyone forgotten? Because in 2009, Gilles would not have held anyone behind in a wheel to wheel battle – nobody would have been within a second and a half of him.
verstappen (@verstappen) said on 17th January 2012, 8:56
Well, in hindsight, I wish I would’ve never filled in those questionaires from FOTA. Because I truly think all old rules were better. Yes, I was astounded by China this year but DRS makes me long for those days where overtaking was à scarce Achievement, which made me stand up from my sofa.
Just like in football (soccer): à goal means something, and they don’t move those goalposts.
Turbulence is and was only part of tha ‘problem’, circuitdesign is tha biggest factor.
I could live with à temporary solution and in some races – notably Barcelona – I liked DRS. But now it’s going to be permanent I feel …. Let’s just say robbed.
Dobin1000 (@dobin1000) said on 17th January 2012, 12:17
Goals in football mean something because they occur so rarely – if there were only two overtakes in a 90 minute race then most people would get bored. I know I would and I am a massive F1 fan. An overtake is more like a long pass; sometimes they are difficult and impressive but other times they are routine and barely register, just like an overtake made without DRS and one with DRS.
I can see where Nico is coming from, although I am still unsure whether I would prefer F1 with or without DRS. What I do care about is the aerodynamics rules being overhauled so cars can follow each other through corners without being massively disadvantaged.
HoHum (@hohum) said on 17th January 2012, 0:37
@hairs, in fact on the straights it was the RedBull that was “fundementally slower”.
Hairs (@hairs) said on 17th January 2012, 0:39
And it made up the difference, and more, in the corners.
sato113 (@sato113) said on 17th January 2012, 2:08
@hohum actually with drs open on both cars, vettel was 4kph quicker than rosberg on the straights. source: http://www.formula1.com/results/season/2011/858/6889/speed_trap.html
raymondu999 (@raymondu999) said on 17th January 2012, 5:41
@sato113 Speed trap in Spa means nothing. It’s located in the middle of Raidillon. It says nothing of end of straight speeds; really.
sato113 (@sato113) said on 17th January 2012, 12:39
@raymondu999 oh yeah. i thought it was weird how fast the red bull’s appeared to be.
raymondu999 (@raymondu999) said on 17th January 2012, 17:49
@sato113 don’t forget too – DRS doesn’t make a difference at all in the Spa speed trap. DRS (even in qualifying) was only allowed to be activated after the speed trap.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 17th January 2012, 0:54
Rosberg probably didn’t think that at all. Because was, you know, busy driving a racing car.
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 17th January 2012, 8:53
Good point PM… :P
http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/015/orly.jpg
Aussie Fan said on 21st January 2012, 9:52
Yeah you don’t have to think at all to drive a f1 car flat out, apparantely they just do it themselves while you enjoy the ride ;-) good point for sure, oh wait…
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65) said on 17th January 2012, 0:07
Alternating the Spanish GP between Barcelona and Valencia felt obvious right from the start. It’d free us from that hideous street circuit every other year too!
JT19 (@jt19) said on 17th January 2012, 0:20
+1
thatscienceguy said on 17th January 2012, 7:35
And it saves us from that hideous barcelona circuit every other year too.
Wait, what?
George (@george) said on 17th January 2012, 17:28
Well, only one hideous track a year instead of two (if you discount all the other unpopular ones anyway ;))
foleyger (@foleyger) said on 17th January 2012, 23:21
get rid of both tracks and have Jerez or some new track.Valencia and Barcelona are awful tracks
Jake (@jleigh) said on 17th January 2012, 0:09
Erm, I care why overtaking happens and whether it’s because of true skill or the ability to press a button. I’m pretty sure most serious F1 fans feel the same.
Regarding F1 on Virgin Media, great news! Just a shame I’ll have to pay for all the Sky Sports channels when all I’m interested in is the F1. Will of course ring up threatening to leave but I doubt it will achieve much as they know I would have to pay even more if I went to Sky :/
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 17th January 2012, 8:54
I think the drivers like DRS because it means they don’t have to take as many risks when trying to pass another driver. If they had it their way, they’d make the DRS even stronger, I’d imagine.
Aris (@aris) said on 17th January 2012, 13:14
This would make F1 even more artificial. I fear that drivers these days don’t care that much for the sport rather than what would make their lives easier. I agree that certain things need to be assured like safety, but overtakes shouldn’t be done with a touch of a button.
Tayyib (@m0nzaman) said on 17th January 2012, 11:35
Totally and utterly agree with you mate. A lot of the DRS zones last year made it to easy to past and took away the skill of defending. If you pass someone wwho can’t defend due to lack of speed is like boxing someone with no hands you can’t class as a REAL win/overtake it makes it look cheap and takes quality away for quantity.
Hairs (@hairs) said on 17th January 2012, 0:12
Liuzzi must be drinking absinthe if he thinks HRT are having any sort of debate at all.
And I’m pretty sure I read that reebok story last year… not on here though . Exciting stuff.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 17th January 2012, 8:18
I guess him having a contract means it makes sense to speak about it for him @hairs, as he clearly signals that he wants to either drive the car or they sould find someone to fund both the team and his payoff!
BasCB (@bascb) said on 17th January 2012, 8:41
Just had a look at the article, seems Liuzzi is pretty much of the same opinion there @hairs – look at what he says here
Sounds like he doesn’t expect much of a debate either!
JCost (@jcost) said on 17th January 2012, 16:27
Who plays cricket outside Commonwealth?
vho (@) said on 18th January 2012, 6:55
Netherlands, Zimbabwe, USA, Denmark and apparently Argentina too…
Toby Bushby (@toby-bushby) said on 18th January 2012, 9:23
+ India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kenya, Singapore and just a few others…..
matt90 (@matt90) said on 17th January 2012, 0:23
Does anybody actually know for sure yet whether the BBC non-live races will be highlights or full re-runs?
Hairs (@hairs) said on 17th January 2012, 0:43
“Extended highlights” is the bullplop marketing term they’re using to try and fool people into believing that showing less than full race distances is the same as a full re-run.
matt90 (@matt90) said on 17th January 2012, 1:33
I thought so, but then I swear I heard people saying that full re-runs were happening. Oh well, illegal streaming it is!
bag0 (@bag0) said on 17th January 2012, 11:53
I dont know if it helps, but teh hungarian national television (m1) got back the rights to air the GP-s (for 10 years it was RTL-klub’s). Which means, you can legally watch the FPs Qs Rs in HD via “Astra 1KR” & “Amos 1” (but the commentary will be hungarian :D)
Tango (@tango) said on 17th January 2012, 8:17
Grand Prix of the day ! (I’d like Gary Lineker analysing a slow mo of Vettel taking a curve :D)
US_Peter (@us_peter) said on 17th January 2012, 0:27
Good news on expanding Amazon support to the US! I buy things on Amazon from time to time. I’ll try and search through this site for sure.
electrolite (@electrolite) said on 17th January 2012, 0:49
Ahh Nico, Nico! You disappoint me!
Not why – how!
Rob Wilson (@rob-wilson) said on 17th January 2012, 1:00
My answer to Nico’s question – Me.
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders) said on 17th January 2012, 1:33
And me
matt90 (@matt90) said on 17th January 2012, 1:33
And me.
Icthyes (@icthyes) said on 17th January 2012, 4:27
And me
Enigma (@enigma) said on 17th January 2012, 5:21
And me.
raymondu999 (@raymondu999) said on 17th January 2012, 5:43
And… oh never mind
verstappen (@verstappen) said on 17th January 2012, 7:48
Me
f1alex (@f1alex) said on 17th January 2012, 8:07
And me? Or is that one too many…
BasCB (@bascb) said on 17th January 2012, 8:19
Its not too many @f1alex!
Add me in as well. I also care
BBT (@bbt) said on 17th January 2012, 8:30
and me
Slr (@slr) said on 17th January 2012, 9:30
Add me to this “And me train” :).
John H (@john-h) said on 17th January 2012, 10:14
Me
The Last Pope (@the-last-pope) said on 17th January 2012, 10:38
And ME!
Mads (@mads) said on 17th January 2012, 16:15
and me!
Fixy (@fixy) said on 17th January 2012, 16:37
And me! No wait, it’s already been said…
Dizzy-A (@david-a) said on 17th January 2012, 18:12
í Y mi !
ScuderiaVincero (@scuderiavincero) said on 17th January 2012, 6:50
me seven!
Rob R. said on 17th January 2012, 11:22
“I don’t care I get paid 5M Euros a year for this. Let them eat DRS!”
Steph (@) said on 17th January 2012, 13:54
and me.
BBT (@bbt) said on 17th January 2012, 8:30
we need an ‘and me’ button
BasCB (@bascb) said on 17th January 2012, 8:43
:-)
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 17th January 2012, 10:45
@rob-wilson Me too
Aris (@aris) said on 17th January 2012, 13:17
To make things easier is there anyone here who doesn’t care? :D
Oh count me in too.
OmarR-Pepper (@omarr-pepper) said on 17th January 2012, 15:45
and ME
Robbie (@robbie) said on 18th January 2012, 15:57
And me.
Aussie Fan said on 21st January 2012, 9:54
Yep me too
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 17th January 2012, 1:01
They kind of need two drivers on the pay roll – every team is obligated to run two cars at every event.
matt90 (@matt90) said on 17th January 2012, 1:34
I assume they mean having one paid, and one paying.
Jarred Walmsley (@jarred-walmsley) said on 17th January 2012, 2:35
Thats what I assumed as well, one being paid a salary and one paying to be able to race.
DVC (@dvc) said on 17th January 2012, 2:48
PM knew that too, he was just providing flame bait.
Mike (@mike) said on 17th January 2012, 3:12
To his credit he is quite good at it :D
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 17th January 2012, 6:14
No, I wasn’t actually. Between the need to take a paying driver, reports that they may start the season with the F111 because the move to Valencia has left them desperately short of time to complete the F112, and the complete lack of actual sponsors, it could be that the team discover they only have the budget to run one car at all events and that the price of a second car would be too much for them to charge a pay driver.
wasiF1 (@wasif1) said on 17th January 2012, 1:54
Happy Birthday to Ads21, Bev, gabal and Gerdoner. Enjoy the day all.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 17th January 2012, 8:20
I fall in with this, Happy birthday to @Ads21, Bev, @gabal and @Gerdoner!
damonsmedley (@damonsmedley) said on 17th January 2012, 8:58
Happy birthday guys! And it’s also @Portugoose‘s birthday today. I hope you all have fantastic days.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 17th January 2012, 13:48
Oh, yeah. Happy birthday to you as well @portugoose
wasiF1 (@wasif1) said on 17th January 2012, 14:07
Also Happy Birthday to @@portugoose
Fixy (@fixy) said on 17th January 2012, 16:49
Happy birthdays @Ads21, @portugoose, @gabal, @gerdoner and Bev!
Gerdoner (@gerdoner) said on 17th January 2012, 22:54
Thx guys :)
Happy birthday to @Ads21, @portugoose, @gabal, and @Bev!
PaulK (@paulk) said on 17th January 2012, 2:20
So if one day Rosberg is in the lead, or going for a 3rd place and then there’s a radio message saying that “Schumacher is faster than you” and suddenly Schumacher overtakes Rosberg, there is no problem. Who cares why Schumacher is overtaking him…
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys) said on 17th January 2012, 6:16
there’s a radio message saying that “Schumacher is faster than you” and suddenly Schumacher overtakes Rosberg
That won’t happen. Team orders are legal, but if a team decides to use them, they must be up-front about it. Using coded messages will only get them in serious trouble. And before you say that Red Bull told Vettel to slow down in Brazil, the stewards were satsified that he had a gearbox problem when they checked during post-race scrutineering.
ScuderiaVincero (@scuderiavincero) said on 17th January 2012, 6:54
@PrisonerMonkeys I doubt Nico would be pleased about team orders being used to his disadvantage though, unless there’s evidence to suggest he loves being a number two driver.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 17th January 2012, 8:28
Well, I really don’t like what Rosberg says there @paulk, but If you actually read the article the rest of what he says puts it a bit into context –
– about optimising the zones. I’d say this is pretty reasonable, if one accepts the fact that DRS is there in the first place.
What I find more supprising is something they also write in that article –
The only ones I saw / heard heap praise on it were the teams themselves (the ones who invented it to save them the burden of rethinking aero completely).
Even on TV here in the Czech Republic it was more talked about as “oh but he used DRS to get by” and the thing making many races confusing (remember those journo’s tweeting about it at the start of the year?)
Cacarella (@cacarella) said on 17th January 2012, 3:06
Happy B-day Ads21!
Girts (@girts) said on 17th January 2012, 6:22
Happy birthday @Ads21 !
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner) said on 17th January 2012, 7:38
Ditto. Happy Birthday @ads21
Girts (@girts) said on 17th January 2012, 6:40
From the sentence that’s in the headline it seems that Nico’s seriously insulting the fans. However, if you read the whole article, it’s not that bad. Anyway, it’s hard to understand Nico’s stance. DRS makes it even harder for teams like Mercedes to score podiums. Nico obviously thinks that he’ll get the best car in a couple of years anyway, good luck to him then.
BasCB (@bascb) said on 17th January 2012, 8:29
I see you wrote more or less the same as me @girts, after actually reading the article, should have seen your comment before posting!
Girts (@girts) said on 17th January 2012, 9:06
@BasCB I think you actually explained the situation very well. I also don’t believe that it is correct to say that DRS has been “widely praised”. I’ve read a lot of opinions from journalists, fans etc. and the reactions have been very diverse.
I’ve also noticed that I sometimes perceive non-DRS overtakes as DRS ones, particularly those passes that are not shown on TV. A couple of days ago, I expressed my dislike for the fact that backmarkers are now almost always easily passed by everyone else just because of the DRS. Then I surfed the lap charts a bit and found out that Kovalainen was sometimes overtaken already before the DRS had been enabled. Maybe I’m a bit a DRS-phobic but I think the problem is that the system has devaluated the worth of a pass in F1 in general.
OmarR-Pepper (@omarr-pepper) said on 17th January 2012, 15:54
yeah @girts Mercedes lost a well-worth podium (or possible podium for the syntax fans who once told me “so you can see the future Pepper?) when Schumi did one of those fabulous starts and gradually had to make room for the other ones, which race was it? I don’t remember the racewhen he was running third for a while and then lost place due to DRS overtakes
OmarR-Pepper (@omarr-pepper) said on 17th January 2012, 15:58
Canada!!! he was running second!
Robbie (@robbie) said on 18th January 2012, 16:18
Yeah I think that might be an example such that NR might be talking about where MS was made to look ‘silly’ or like he was standing still…that said, MS also got to where he was that day by using DRS on someone else. Not to mention the whole race was affected due to everyone having DRS.
Nice to read that NR is at least open to DRS being tweaked and that he says passing should still be difficult.
Aussie Fan said on 21st January 2012, 9:57
Fail sorry, DRS wasn’t enabled for most of that race due to the damp conditions, only towards the end when MS was overtaken by other drivers using DRS.
manatcna (@manatcna) said on 17th January 2012, 6:50
Electrolite – exactly what I thought :)