Ron Dennis pays tribute to Neil Armstrong
F1 Fanatic round-up
In the round-up: Ron Dennis talks about how Neil Armstrong, who died on Saturday, inspired him.
Ron Dennis on Neil Armstrong
McLaren group executive chairman Ron Dennis had this to say about the late Neil Armstrong yesterday:
I was saddened to hear of the death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon.
The achievement of Armstrong and his colleagues remains perhaps the single most iconic triumph of scientific ambition, against all odds, that the world has seen. It was, and is still, truly inspiring.
It certainly inspired me. In 1969, when Armstrong took that famous ‘one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind’, I was a 22-year-old motor racing technician. But Armstrong showed me, and many others like me, that in our own small way we could also dare to try – and ‘dare to try’ remains a McLaren mantra to this day.
Links
Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:
Third marriage for Ecclestone (Crash)
“F1 commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone has married for the third time, committing in secret to Brazilian fiancee Fabiana Flosi at a ceremony in Switzerland.”
A sneak preview of the F1 2012 game (James Allen on F1)
Codemasters creative director: “Sometimes I think the hardcore community think we are trying to dumb down the game or turn it into an arcade game, but the commentators on TV are always explaining these things and that’s what we are trying to do. It’s more of an accessible game.”
The number 1 track in the world (F1elvis)
“The punishment which hurt most and to be honest, still hurts now, was being excluded from the world constructors’ championship of 2007. Many within the team, myself included, felt incredibly angry that in a year where we had a real chance of winning the ‘team’ championship, something we hadn’t done for almost ten years, the stupid actions of one or two individuals had taken it away from us all through no fault of our own.”
Tweets
Watching DTM at Zandvoort, looks tricky with the rain. But not enough to put wets on. Easier decision sat on my sofa with a cup of tea!
— Paul Di Resta (@pauldirestaf1) August 26, 2012
Comment of the day
Are tickets sales for the Belgian Grand Prix really that poor? @Spawinte has this to say:
I don’t believe those poor tickets sales stories either. I was there in 2010 and the place was rammed come race day.
If they are true it’s because general admission prices are very bad value for money. Views of the track are blocked by trees in many of the most spectacular places or just limited viewing space. They’ve got so much open ground at the track that they’re not making use of.
@Spawinte
From the forum
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On this day in F1
Jack Brabham won the Canadian Grand Prix at Mosport 45 years ago today in tricky wet conditions, followed by his team mate Denny Hulme.
As was so often the case in 1967, Jim Clark led to begin with but his Lotus suffered a technical problem – this time it was electrical in nature.
Here’s footage from the race:
Image © McLaren/Hoch Zwei
dot_com (@dot_com) said on 27th August 2012, 23:46
Imagine her surprise when she finds out he’s wealthy, too!
Marcus (@jadedwriter) said on 28th August 2012, 3:53
I come to this website for the cars, not to hear about Gollum’s marriage.
TED BELL said on 28th August 2012, 15:20
How sad…
Looking at the responses to the three main subjects on this column made me realize how sad it is to see how important video games have become in our lives. Potentially the most famous human in history as an explorer , certainly more so than Christopher Columbus, is pretty much ignored by F1 fans who find codemasters games more important than the passing of the first man on the Moon.
I find it disturbing how self centered this generation has become.
Remember Neil Armstrong represents what humans can do when in the pursuit of knowledge and the curiosity of the human kind can accomplish. Instead of feeding money into a war machine that does little to alter the destiny of all of us, men chose to seek a path that enrichens all of us and shows that when the people of Earth pursue these endevours we are all richer in spirit for their efforts.
One small step for codemasters, one giant leap for F1 fans…..how pathetic