Sauber sponsor indicates Gutierrez will get 2013 seat

F1 Fanatic round-up

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In the round-up: Esteban Gutierrez looks set to occupy the second seat at Sauber according to the team’s sponsor Carlos Slim Domit.

Links

Top F1 links from the past 24 hours:

Lotus finish successful stint in testing at Abu Dhabi (The National)

“Quotes attributed to Carlos Slim Domit, the chairman of Sauber’s sponsor Telmex, yesterday claimed he is ‘quite sure that we will have two Mexican drivers in Formula One for a full season’.”

Whitmarsh: Perez signing risky (Autosport)

“But I have to be honest and I don’t know [about his potential]. We wouldn’t have signed him unless we thought he could go to another level, but I think what I said is that we don’t know.”

New F1 documentary to debut in Austin (F1)

“Entitled ‘1’, the film tells the story of the drivers who raced during the sport’s most dangerous era in the 1960s and ’70s and those who stood up to improve safety standards.”

Formula 1 drivers warned over using bad language in interviews (BBC)

“A letter to teams says it is ‘very much our collective responsibility to make sure drivers are aware such language has no place during media events’.”

Wolff on Williams’ driver deliberations and the 2014 engine regs (James Allen on F1)

“Equally Bruno [Senna] has shown okay performances, good performances, scored points. But then we have Valtteri [Bottas] also who is a long-term prospective and who is judged as being the new kid on the block. So we are not yet there.”

Abu Dhabi-Updates: Red Bull testet neues DRD-System (Auto Motor und Sport)

Pictures of Red Bull testing a revised rear wing in Abu Dhabi.

‘Outside F1 I’m one of the best’ (ESPN)

Davide Valsecchi: “We have to remember that at the end of the day it’s the same sport; bringing the maximum out of the car you have. Formula One is a bit faster but OK. I won GP2, I think I can stay in the group in Formula One. That’s my idea, now I need to prove it.”

Vallelunga: Prize drive in an F60 for Formula Three drivers (Ferrari)

“The Scuderia’s school will run a 2009 F60 Formula 1 car for a full on test session for the winners of the championship, Riccardo Agostini and Eddie Cheever Jnr., who will thus realise their dream of getting behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car. Joining them will be Spain’s Daniel Juncadella, winner of the Formula 3 European Series and the newly created FIA European Formula 3 Championship.”

Mr Ron Dennis CBE (F1 Elvis)

“Only earlier this season, the team suffered ‘heat-soak’ issues with the bodywork burning around the exhausts each time the car stopped in pit lane. An old rag, soaked in a bucket of cold water was laid onto the sidepod each time the it returned from a run and was reversed into the garage, to alleviate the problem. When Ron next attended a race and saw this going on he hit the roof. Next race they had nicely tailored and shaped black towels, each beautifully embroidered with the drivers initials, and the bucket’s now kept out of sight.”

Coca-Cola favours energy drinks brand for sponsorship (Yahoo)

Bernie Ecclestone: “The president of Coca-Cola is a very good friend of mine but the head of marketing has always said he didn’t think Formula One was good for them. If they do come in I think they will come in with one of their energy drink brands not Coke itself. The only time Coke would perhaps get involved with something, other than what they currently do, is if Pepsi got in.”

Zanardi completes BMW test at Nurburgring (Touring Car Times)

“Just as when Zanardi raced for BMW in the FIA World Touring Car Championship, handicap modifications were made to the BMW M3 DTM. The Italian operated the accelerator with his left hand on the steering wheel and the brake was moved to the right in order for him to brake with his prosthetic right leg.”

Apple Senior VP Eddy Cue joins Ferrari’s board of directors (The Verge)

“Italian automotive manufacturer Ferrari has just announced a surprising addition ? Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior [vice-president] of internet software and services, has joined the company’s board of directors.”

Thanks to Chris SZ for the tip.

Tweets

https://twitter.com/SamOKeefe/statuses/266506608811573248

Comment of the day

@Taurus’s simple idea for making the Hungaroring layout more interesting:

Run it anti clockwise and remove the chicane.
@Taurus

From the forum

Happy birthday!

No F1 Fanatic birthdays today.

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

However we can wish a happy birthday to Lotus team principal Eric Boullier.

Image © Sauber F1 Team

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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86 comments on “Sauber sponsor indicates Gutierrez will get 2013 seat”

  1. Thats not good for Kobayashi if Gutierrez gets the second seat

    1. Poor Kobayashi, he is a fun character and Japan deserve a F1 driver for their passion for the sport…

    2. Probably curtains for Kobayashi..not many other seats up for grabs. He would be lucky to get a seat at Force India or Williams, even luckier if he manages a one at Lotus. I predict he will end up in Caterham, but who knows, its all about the money!

      On another note, Max Biaggi retired from racing yesterday. He will be missed.

      1. He deserves a “midfield” seat to continue to prove himself at the very least. He’s not had a perfect season, but he’s only a few points behind his team mate who was so impressive that McLaren snapped him up.. So he hasn’t done that bad!

        I think whoever picks him up for next year is getting a great deal, especially if he brings in sponsorship. I would put money on him outscoring Di Resta in a FI or Maldonado/Senna in a Williams. Many say he hasn’t be consistent enough, but had he had a proper run in Belgium and hadn’t been squashed into a wall in Valencia and messed up by Grosjean in Monaco.. He wouldn’t be looking too shabby at all.

        1. You are so right.
          There was something on Autosport about KK possibly being in fact better than Perez.
          On the 3 podiums that Perez had, KK had the better quali. And that limited his tyres choices for the race, whereas Perez who was out of the top ten, could gamble on the tyre strategy.
          In Suzuka on the other hand, KK actually had the same pace as the top teams and earned his 3rd position because he drove that Sauber like there was no tomorrow. he didnt just earn the place because everyone’s tires were gone.

          I am in no way saying Perez did not deserve his podiums. What I mean is that the two drivers earned the podiums differently. One was “lucky” and the other was a hero.

          Like you said, KK would be in a much better position if he hadn’t been so unlucky.

    3. I’d so much rather see Frijns get a seat.

      1. Dutch F1 drivers have been a constant disappointment. Albers, Doornbos. Verstappen was probably the best we had. Nope better do what we do best Dakar in trucks.

    4. I’d be genuinely gutted if Kobayashi and Kovalainen aren’t on the grid next year. I really enjoy watching both drivers, especially Kamui. They are entertaining, fan favourites and I believe have a lot more to give the sport than the likes of Petrov, De La Rosa, Karthikeyan, Senna and even maybe Massa and Maldonado.
      Hopefully Gutierrez is a real star and can be as fun to watch (or more so) than Kobayashi.

      1. Finally somebody gets it. Guys like Koba are a joy to watch they fight as hard as they can. The rest to me are grey mice not really a joy to watch.
        I hope he really gets a good seat next year and some big sponsors.

      2. AMEN!
        KK is one of the reasons I still watch F1. It would be such a shame to waste a huge talent like that.

    5. To be honest, I don’t think there’s any news from about 2 weeks ago on this front. That one line from Slim was from a soundbite I think was already out there from maybe before the Indian race, only its put in the article about Guttierez because it fits in with Sauber being satisfied with his work.

      I do think its likely he will be signed (but that was already quite likely the moment Perez signed with McLaren), and its also likely Kobayashi will be without a seat. I am afraid Kamui knew this already during the Japanese race, commenting on how reaching the podium as an F1 driver means you have achieved something in the sport.

      1. If you look though, Kobayashi hasn’t exqactly been out performed by Perez. Perez has picked up the big headline winning results…but often because he qualified outside the top 10 in a car that should have been in there so he could go for the hard-soft tyre strategy as opposed to the soft-hard the top 10 would go for.

        I’d be sad to see Kamui go, he deserves a place in the sport. If Felipe Massa deserves a ferrari seat, Kamui deserves a midfield spot, hes a good driver

        1. Not saying Kamui does not deserve a seat as much as most of the drivers on the grid, but he is probably not going to keep his non theless.

        2. Just to end the myth of “just because he was outside the top ten and had tyre choice” I have to point out that in Canada and Italy he was not the only one with that strategy. In Canada both Hulkenberg and Räikkönen used it. In Italy it was Maldonado and Hulkenberg again.

          Now, I am not saying the strategy did not benefit him because it did, but its a mistake to think he got those podiums solely based on that fact, as you seem to suggest. Remember that the harder tyre is also slower, so in order to make those strategies work he needed not only to fend the attacks of drivers behind him with the faster tyres but also maintain a small enough gap with the front runners that would make a one stopper-work. Furthermore, in those races he also showed some of the skills that McLaren picked him for. Namely that pass over Massa and Rosberg in Canada and his first 14 laps in Italy when he went from 12th to 8th on a harder slower tyre passing Rosberg, Senna, DiResta and Kobayashi.

    6. Shame for Kobayashi. Just a couple of years ago, he seemed like the hot prospect that everyone was talking about. It’s amazing how quickly things can change in F1.

    7. There’s not much love for Kamui at Sauber any more, if this is anything to go by…

      “I Love Kamui” Ladies’ T-shirt. Was €37.00, NOW €18.00 (Sauber F1 Team Store)

  2. Entitled ’1′, the film tells the story of the drivers who raced during the sport’s most dangerous era in the 1960s and ’70s and those who stood up to improve safety standards.”

    Oh, I wanna see…

    Bah… I don´t know about the “strong language” complaint… there are worst things on tv than what was aired…

    1. F1 should respect the cultures it chooses to partner with unless it wants to cement impressions of Western arrogant indifference.

      Swearing in public in Abu Dhabi is an offence (fine or imprisonment), as is drinking beer in public.
      You can only buy alcohol in hotels.

      If F1 chooses to race in such places it does so by implicitly accepting they will respect traditions and the rule of law – unless exceptions are negotiated in the F1 contract.

      FIFA has a similar problem with the criminal homosexual laws in Qatar who have been awarded the contract to host the 2022 World Cup.

      Choose to go there – then comply, or go somewhere else methinks

      1. Don’t you think it should be the other way around? If you are spending tons of money and bending over backwards to get a sport with western traditions to come over to perform at your place, shouldn’t you be satisfied with what you’ve got, instead of trying to rewrite the whole thing so it fits your idea of what it should be?
        If you don’t like the guy as he is, you should simply not invite him over, instead of trying to smite him into someone you’d actually like, once he has come over? Nobody was forcing F1 into Abu Dhabi or the World Cup into Qatar – they applied for the honour themselves.

        1. As wrong as it sounds, you got it backwards. We are after their money, though their spending tend to shows their willingness to be part of our society. It is our (western) greed that makes way for backwards scenario.

          It’s a screwed up situation, the whole Arab Oil – West Democracy dance. It’s just a showcase of our human nature and if things ever going to be “Good” it’s going to be for a such short time that no one will ever notice it :)

          ps – Both parties are right in their mind, and funny thing is they are both sincerely believe so, which makes each of them right :D

          Watched Coriolanus yesterday, might be the reason for the above blabering :)

        2. @Steven, remind me to never invite you over to my place for a party. By your lights, if I did and you got blasted, smashed the loo and threw up on the cat, I’d have to accept it since I invited you over… and I should be happy you said yes.

          1. Amen to that @wonderduck, a strange way of visiting people

          2. +1, well said. F1 needs to be more respectful of the countries that they visit, and their cultures.

        3. It has to go both ways. While some races seem like the playthings of billionaire rulers, they’re also forking out the race hosting fees to promote their country on the world stage and bring in tourists. If they’re doing it to showcase Abu Dhabi and the UAE as a whole then they’re going to want to portray their culture and local customs. It’s already being done with things like replacing the podium champagne with a non-alcoholic alternative. If they completely ‘westernise’ the whole event it defeats the purpose of showcasing their country.

        4. Don’t you think it should be the other way around? If you are spending tons of money and bending over backwards to get a sport with western traditions to come over to perform at your place, shouldn’t you be satisfied with what you’ve got, instead of trying to rewrite the whole thing so it fits your idea of what it should be?

          @stjuuv No mate, that’s ridiculous (to say the least). Just like if you’re going to the UK you should drive on the left, instead of the right. Each country has it’s own legislations and traditions, and as a visitor, you need to follow them and respect them. You can’t do whatever you want, even if you’re paying tons of money for it to happen.

          You can’t rule a country and impose different laws to different people “just because you invited them”. Nor you can’t let others behave as they like, they have to follow the law.

          (And btw, drivers should be careful with what they say. Kimi and Vettel didn’t say much, I don’t even care, but someone probably cares. They are relevant people, and they should behave as such, specially on live tv, and specially when there’s no need to swear… )

        5. @stjuuv

          Don’t you think it should be the other way around?

          You put across a very good other-side-of-the-coin perspective to the debate…however, I feel you ‘generalized’ the perspective, rather than sticking strictly to F1. Here’s why…

          If it was an entity specific to F1, like the rules or the speed or even that a driver has a certain secsual orientation, that gets picked for a change to appease/conform to local laws or sentiment, then it’s a very wrong thing to do, which is where your ‘..they applied for the honour themselves’ comment makes absolute sense.
          But, imposition of local rules to entities outside the F1, is only like saying that the driver with a certain secsual preference will not be barred entry into the country nor in race participation, but then again will defintely not be allowed to pursue/practice his secsual preference(that is deemed illegal) in the said country.
          Homosecsuality is illegal as is swearing in that country, a secsual orientation and a communication form respectively that have no direct relevance to F1, and therefore should not be looked at using the F1 glass……very similar to the reason why this comment, if liked suitably, still wont make it as the COTD, because even if it gets liked by everybody and the site owner himself, it speaks of certain stuff that cannot be G-rated!

      2. @thejudge13

        Swearing in public in Abu Dhabi is an offence (fine or imprisonment)

        Then I wonder why Eminem was not sentenced to life after his concert.

        1. There is a good a point…

    2. I think asking them not to swear on a live broadcast is fair enough. I did think it was funny that the bbc got more complaints for delaying putting the race on the iplayer than they did for the swearing though. (As an aside, what does one hope to achieve by complaining about these things? Not as though the bbc was responsible for/could help drivers swearing during s live broadcast.)

      1. If someone feels strongly enough about something, I suppose they will complain – regardless of whether it has an impact – its a release maybe.

        Having said that, its a British thing to moan but not complain. I’ve been at dinner with people who have slated the service and food quality, and when asked by the waitress if everything was okay – said “Great” – derr ???? :D

        1. Having said that, its a British thing to moan but not complain.

          Hideously true that, we’re angry but lazy ;)

          1. I’d say it’s less laziness, more passive aggression.

            Many other cultures would kick off and flip the table. We just decline the tip when the waiter or waitress hands us the wireless PDQ to settle the bill. :)

      2. Drop Valencia!
        9th November 2012, 12:36

        As an aside, what does one hope to achieve by complaining about these things?
        We used to have live team radio until someone complained to the BBC about hearing the F word in a pitstop. Maybe the podium will be on delay one day….

    3. I find ridiculous that disciplinary action may be taken. They’re adults and don’t need a FIA to hold their hand. A driver’s choice of words, as his behaviour off the track in general, should be of no concern to anybody other than the team for contractual reasons.

      1. Rubbish! F1 is a global sport that is watched by a wide age group and a very diverse cultural span. The drivers should respect that and understand that. Swearing during a live TV interview is class less, and not very funny. The drivers are paid rediclous amounts of money and have a great deal of responsibility to behave in a reasonable way while they are earning that money. Its not like they were at the local pub, they where standing on the poduim with millions of people covering a wide age group and cultural diversity live on TV.

        I really felt sorry for Coulthard whose did an excellent job and was try to be very proffesional. Kimi’s sounded more like a slip of the tounge and his heavy accent masked it a but. But Vettel sounded an bit planned like he was trying to one up Kimi, then the childish prank of pouring drink on Coulthard was just stupid. Coulthard did well to keep his cool but looked pretty annoyed and I imagine he had a few choice word to say to Vettel off camera.

        1. I don’t mind the swearing. It just seemed to me that Vettel was trying to steal Kimi’s thunder. I wasn’t surprised when Kimi swore, but when has Vettel used that kind of language? And the “prank” to Coulthard was so stupid. He seemed like a spoiled-brat pranking his father to get his uncles’ attention, what a ****!

        2. @theoddkiwi

          Swearing during a live TV interview is classless

          Exactly. Was I offended by it? No. Do I think less of them for it? Yes. Vettel did the right thing by apologising afterwards but he should have known better.

          1. @keithcollantine Maybe he was just taking his cue from one of the all-time greats?

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4g0xP-Yss5w

        3. Swearing during a live TV interview is class less, and not very funny.

          I agree, but how is that relevant? Something being classless doesn’t make it illegal.

          The drivers are paid rediclous amounts of money and have a great deal of responsibility to behave in a reasonable way while they are earning that money.

          Who’s paying them the money? Their employers. That’s the reason why Vettel apologised since it’s hardly a PR boost for Red Bull when Vettel thinks he’ll be the second James Hunt. For contractual reasons, probably for something along the lines of damaging the image of the brand, the teams should care. Not the FIA.

      2. I have seen far too many people rush to Raikkonen’s defence, as if his behaviour is excuseable because he’s Kimi Raikkonen and he makes people laugh. He was incredibly rude over the radio when he cut the team off, and now he lacks the decorum to think about what he is saying before he actually says it. But people shrug and laugh it off, saying “Oh, but that’s just Kimi!”. And while he might be well-known for being blunt at the best of times, in the aftermath of Abu Dhabi, I have come to the conclusion that he just isn’t a very nice person.

        1. Isn’t the in-car radio a special case because an FOM busy-body cherry picks juicy bits to play to the audience?

          I’d imagine a lot more of the “shut up, I’m busy” goes on, especially as there are known examples – the Alonso “don’t talk to me anymore” and Button “I don’t bloody know [about my front wing]” ones get dragged up on YouTube regularly.

        2. Of course, one cannot say that Seb was more guilty than Kimi.

          Still, I can understand why Vettel’s behaviour might have embarrassed fans more. I once used to have a colleague that swore regularly but every word seemed to come out of his heart and the strong language just somehow suited him. The other people usually reacted to those ‘performances’ by either laughing or even showing kind of delight but not disgust. But I have also met people that simply try to be cool by using similar words but you can sense that this is just a mask so their swearing sounds disgusting. I think this was the difference between Kimi and Seb as well.

          Another remarkable difference between both is that Seb seems to want to tell the world about his big —- all the time, while Kimi’s attitude is more like ‘sod off everyone’. It’s easy to see why not everyone (dis)likes both guys to the same extent.

        3. I can’t wait till Kimi wins again and says “People gave me a lot of **** last time because I said ****, and probably they will give me some more **** this time again.”

          I bet Texas will welcome that.
          Those are also words, and they were directed towards no one. I see no offense, specially when it is the truth (Kimi’s case).

        4. I don’t think you need to make your opinion of Raikkonen clear PM, I’ve lost count of the number of times you’ve said you don’t like him over the last year or so.

          As for the team radios, Raikkonen likes to be left alone in the races. If he wants to know something he will ask. The team is fully aware of this, Mark Slade was his race engineer at Mclaren and he told Simon Rennie (the guy Kimi was blunt with over he radio) to not pass on instructions, which he then chose to ignore.
          http://kimiraikkonenspace.com/2012/11/05/over-excited-engineer-was-warned-about-kimi/
          The guy has won multiple races, been a world champion and doesn’t need the team to hold his hand through every step of the race like some drivers do. If he finds the radio comments such as in Abu Dhabi distracting rather than helpful, and this is well known within the team I think its entirely fair for him to react the way he did.

          He shouldn’t have sworn, and its true he is just as culpable as Vettel but I highly doubt he’ll lose any sleep over it. I suspect the team will tell him not to do it again, but people have already made their minds up about him long ago and as he’s said before he doesn’t care what anyone thinks anyway. The guy just refuses to play the game, and @Girts says that is entirely different to someone swearing to try and up their street cred.

          1. @debaser91 I think we should also remember that FOM broadcast only a small part of all the radio communication. I guess these were not the only two messages that Raikkonen received during the race so it’s very possible he reacted like that after 5th or 10th reminder.

          2. I agree, during the 2nd safety car period the broadcast radio message was something like you don’t need to remind me every ten seconds. Certainly suggests it wasn’t the first message of that kind he had received.

          3. Well, at least Raikkonen is honest, and doesn’t act around, or pretends to be nice to the (frankly rather nasty, and rude) media IMO. Maybe that’s the reason why we all like him really.

            http://www.gpnow.com/formula1/10012/%E2%80%98general-image-of-raikkonen-is-wrong%E2%80%99/

            Besides, it’s obvious that he is the instinctive, proper kind of racer. It’s clear that he doesn’t need to be helped, or ordered around all the time, unlike most drivers nowadays, who generally tend to only follow team strategies/orders, without being able to actually think for themselves(ahem Massa).

            And PM, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything. There is no need of you to constantly nitpick on drivers you dislike all the time, at every single minor opportunity (like some small team radio controversy, like seriously, have you got nothing else to do?)

          4. (frankly rather nasty, and rude) media

            When have the media been nasty and rude to Raikkonen?

            In Japan Raikkonen was asked what happened in qualifying, when he spun in Q3 and brought out the yellow flags. A perfectly fair question, to which Raikkonen came out with the insultingly obvious retort “I spun”. I don’t see what had been done to provoke that sort of response.

          5. @keithcollantine I know that incident rubbed you the wrong way, but I didn’t read that as him being snarky, but rather annoyed with himself for making a mistake. And actually, short and to the point with it as well: he spun the car, there had been no technical issues that had caused the spin.

            Shrug. I fully accept that generally I like Kimi’s attitude and undoubtedly that will colour my interpretation of what he does/says and likewise for those who generally dislike it.

            Peter Windsor in the latest episode of his The Flying Lap, told a story of talking to Kimi at a party hosted by Coulthard where Kimi told him he hates F1. At that time, in a glass half empty kind of view on things, he only liked the driving and hated everything else. That balance looks to be a bit different at the moment, but he doesn’t make a secret of the fact that the interviews is not one of his favourite parts.

          6. Sometimes the media tend to just give tarnishing ‘labels’ to drivers without much consideration really… Like how drivers like Button only won because they had ‘a dominant car’ or how Raikkonen is ‘lazy’ and ‘unmotivated’.

            I’m just saying this in general, obviously there are exceptions. Not all of the media’s always nasty, there are some people in the media could really pull up a good article/review.

          7. @keithcollantine

            A perfectly fair question, to which Raikkonen came out with the insultingly obvious retort “I spun”. I don’t see what had been done to provoke that sort of response.

            It’s stuff like this that I’m talking about. Raikkonen just does not come across as a particularly likeable person, and yet people continue to defend him. I don’t understand why – talent is no excuse for such uncivil behaviour.

            I can understand that maybe Raikkonen was frustrated with himself at Suzuka and wrongly took it out on the media. We all do it from time to time. But Raikkonen seems to do stuff like this much more often than any of the other drivers. Taken on their own, small incidents like snapping at the media or being rude to the team because he’s concentrating, or swearing on the podium are nothing … but when they happen this often, I see a pattern in it. He comes across as thoroughly unlikeable. I wouldn’t want to spend any more time with the man than I had to.

            It’s been said that if you want to know the measure of a man, then you should look at the way he treats people that he has no reason to show any kind of decorum. If that’s true, then this speaks volumes as to the kind of man Kimi Raikkonen is.

            And then people wonder why I don’t like him. To those people, I ask this: how can I respect a person who clearly has no respect for those around him? No amount of talent as a racing driver can make me overlook behaviour like this.

          8. He treats the media like **** because that’s how they usually treat him and he’s doing the right thing quite frankly, they give him the attention either way – he’s trolling them and they fall for it each time lol. It’s give and take. He had enough of all the **-talk about him in 2009 about his motivation and people didn’t even know the full story about what happened at Ferrari and in my opinion it has shifted Raikkonen into more of a rudeboy.

            I’m shocked at how much people are upset over it when in general not once has he said a bad word against anyone, not a driver, no one. He’s always the first to accept the blame.

            I’m his fan but I’m not defending his ‘rudeness’, I just accept the way he is. That’s what fans do, so it’s kind of irrelevant questioning why fans defend their heroes, Kimi hasn’t done anything wrong, it’s the superficial and political and media strangled view of what sportsmen should be like – they are humans. He said “****”, he didn’t call the media ****, he said they gave him ****, so he’s giving it back, problem?

            David Coulthard summed it up pretty well after the race (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66CmBq9UG6U), “He doesn’t play the corporate game, if he’s being true to himself and hasn’t promised anything then people have to accept the way he is.” People are going to complain anyway, even if he sucks up and is nice. Raikkonen is infact a blessing, he is a living example of what the real world is. He never let F1 and fame get to his head or character.

            If you listen to that video above, can you sense the kind of negativity towards Kimi? I’m sick of the BBC, and Jake Humphrey in particular, constantly picking on Kimi, bullying on him like he’s the weird kid in school, always making jokes about his personality. Jake in reply to DC about Kimi being very talkative once you get to know him: “Talk about WHAT though?” Excuse me? Just because he doesn’t talk to the media suddenly he can’t talk of isn’t sociable or likeable? What happened to accepting everyone being different? They should be ashamed of themselves, considering it’s the BBC who are so vocal about equality and human rights.

          9. @hexoskel3ton I think what you’ve described falls well short of “nasty” and “rude”.

            Jake Humphrey in particular, constantly picking on Kimi, bullying on him like he’s the weird kid in school

            I can’t think of anything I’ve seen that struck me as “bullying”, but nor can I claim to have religiously watched every second of the BBC’s F1 output, so perhaps you could show us what you’re referring to?

          10. @prisoner-monkeys If you actually bothered to look at the video clearly, and looked at the context of the comments/dislikes, it’s quite clear that the desperate lady, who was too concerned in getting his autograph, without actually noticing the clueless girl, was the one who actually knocked the girl down with her file.

            He is a busy F1 driver, mind you, not some kind samaritan with plenty of time to give help to others. As much as he was supposed to be helping the girl, it seems rather obvious that he was clearly in a hurry, especially in a typically hectic race weekend. So he just refused to give her his autograph, and prompted her to go help the girl instead. It’s not like he just ‘ignorantly’ walked away, or ‘showed no decorum’ by signing her autograph without consideration for the little girl. What more do you seriously want?

            Please don’t misuse evidence to support your clearly prejudiced views. We all have our own drivers we favour or don’t really like, fair enough, and we can all respect that, but there’s clearly no need to pick up every single minor faults here and there just to post your Raikkonen-hate at every single article related to him, it seriously gets rather tiresome after a while.

          11. @keithcollatine Sorry, I think my words were slightly too exaggerated. But you get the idea, sometimes some of the media could come up with tarnishing ‘labels’ and creating a slightly inaccurate impressions of drivers on audiences, just for the sake of sensationalising everything, due to plainly not trying to take every factor into consideration.

            http://www.gpnow.com/formula1/10012/%e2%80%98general-image-of-raikkonen-is-wrong%e2%80%99/

            Coulthard’s (Raikkonen’s ex-Mclaren-teammate) take on Raikkonen:
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66CmBq9UG6U&feature=my_liked_videos&list=LLwjJQDj2WZNPbhvb4NzMBWw

            Judge from descriptions based on people who actually worked with the man, and know him well in the first place. Not from the media’s, some of who clearly don’t know him well enough to judge him in the first place.

          12. Some very strange arguments going on here: “Kimi is not a likable person, hence you shouldn’t defend him”!?!

            You can like what you want, but strangely Kimi happens to be one of the most popular drivers around which is remarkable considering he doesn’t have the millions of national fans that automatically comes with being German, British, Spanish, Brazilian or so on. Just check out the roar when he enters the podium, almost regardless of the country.

            I was actually hoping I would be able to stay out of this one but I cannot stand anyone telling me what I am supposed to like! Maybe I am a bit too much like Kimi in that regard as he never, ever pretends to like or be something he is not. Super straight forward and incredibly honest.

            But this is exactly why we like him so much more than anyone else on a grid packed with pretentious, bitching little princesses! He is not only the one driver refusing to be another media puppet and to dare speak his opinion at any time but he is even the most respectful driver ON track as well, and the very last person you will ever hear over the radio squealing “DID YOU SEE WHAT HE JUST DID?” like some other baby wanting mommy to set things straight.

            Instead he actually deals with every situation like a man and the media he deals with the best he can though he truly and honestly does despise it.

            Plenty of reason to like the guy rather than all the self indulgent, reality-TV-fed, “me me me” brats we seem to be cursed with these days!

            That is my opinion and you can like or not!

          13. @poul Thank you, finally someone with some sense. Good description of why some of us are his fans really.

            Some of you guys may not like a particular driver, fair enough, we all each have our own drivers we favour or dislike. But that doesn’t entitle a person to constantly express dislike every single time, and expecting us to completely agree and submit with your so called ‘superior’ and ‘politically-correct’ views.

            I’m sick of how everything has to be so politically-correct nowadays sometimes to be honest… This isn’t government officials that we’re talking about, this is just motorsport, originally intended to be a source of spectacle and entertainment for us viewers, for crying out loud!

            There has to be some political order obviously, but this is seriously going too far… How can some people nowadays be linear-minded, to such a horrible extent? Loosen up, seriously.

            We all have our own opinions, and we all try to respect that. Please (some of you guys), try respect ours too, in return.

    4. David Coulthard made a point after apologising on behalf of the drivers that English is, for all the drivers on the podium during that race, a second language. Sure, that doesn’t excuse it as F1 has a global audience of all age groups but I think we should perhaps give Kimi and Sebastian the benefit of the doubt, as they were obviously elated with the result of the race and perhaps they just slipped.

    5. Wowzers. Havn’t posted in a while but shocked at the amount of negativity that entertaining podium has drawn.

      I thought people liked James Hunt? I thought people wanted the drivers to say what they want?

      And the ‘childish prank on Coulthard’..? Pouring champers over him? Really?!

      Maybe we should scrap the podium ceremony and just have the drivers make a written statement over Twitter instead..

      Crazy!

      1. Who’s stupid idea was it to do podium interviews anyway? lol

  3. I don’t really see why it’s so hard to avoid swearing during the podium interview. I curse quite frequently but there is a time and a place for it. Standing on the podium while being broadcast live is not the place to be using the f-word (we’re not even allowed to use it here on an internet site). It’s rather simple, the drivers should be asked not to curse while up there, they follow that incredibly simple rule and life moves on, as it will.

    1. @xbx-117 I agree. It’s understandable if a driver says something impolite on the team radio, in the heat of the battle. But there’s just no need to turn the official interviews or press conferences into swearing competitions.

      1. Agreed with both, but I have to say it surprised me when I moved to the UK from NL, how much more serious a swearword the people in the UK consider “****” to be. Social convention does make a difference and if, as has been pointed out in various news outlets, as a driver you operate in an environment where swearing is not only normal but almost getting to be an essential part of the job, then you are going to get these kinds of incidents.

  4. Sounds like Whitmarsh is getting second thoughts about his signing. It was always going to be a risk. I don’t know if Perez is experienced enough for a top team or not having been in the sport just 2 years now. McLaren might have to rely a lot more on the inputs Jenson provides and certainly McLaren will also become a team with a designated no1 and no2 driver.

    That said, this move might also prove risky for Perez. He would have to put up a decent if not good show. Already the pressure seems to be telling. The recent incidents show that he is trying hard, almost too hard, to impress his new employers. Sadly, the incidents have almost always resulted in him ending up looking bad.

    1. Hate to say but maybe Luca was right for once. Although I hope Perez will prove him wrong :)

    2. Bob (@bobthevulcan)
      9th November 2012, 7:15

      I have faith that Perez will mature and rise to the occasion. He’s still young, and has plenty to learn – good thing he’s partnering one of the most experienced drivers on the grid next season.

    3. Any of the drivers McLaren were considering could be called a risk in their own way. There was never a guaranteed safe pair of hands on offer.

      1. Also, Hamilton was easily more of a unknown risk than Perez back in 2007.

        1. I disagree. Sure, Hamilton was a risk, but in my opinion less so than Perez. Hamilton was from the young driver’s program, and Ron Dennis should’ve had a much clearer idea about his potential as they saw him race, knew how he handled himself, what feedback he gave to the engineers, etc. And on top of that, Hamilton has shown so much more quality in the junior classes.

          1. to add to this, he had endless hours of testing in McLaren cars to get used to them too

          2. JimmyTheIllustratedBlindSolidSilverBeachStackapopolis III
            9th November 2012, 19:31

            I heard hamilton had around 10000km which is actually equivalent to 2 seasons of races not including testing qualy and practice. Perez has had more time in car than hamilton pre 07 plus it was in actual practice and qualy sessions plus real wheel to wheel racing including 3 podiums he’s the same age as lewis was. Experience is no excess for perez not beating button next year he’s got to visit the island of the showme’s

        2. Nah… Hamilton had done thousands of miles of F1 testing before he started in F1.
          He may even have driven as much as Perez has in the past two years.

    4. I am surprised there is no article yet about Hamilton having second thoughts about Mercedes as well.

      Since that fateful day with 2 announcements, all eyes have been on the performance of Perez and Mercedes. And safe to say that both have disappointed hugely.

      It seems as if the only thing that can stop Vettel in 2013 is if Ferrari get on top of their wind-tunnel issues. That doesn’t sound too promising :(

      1. I guess you didn’t you see the article (I think the original was from Autosport, then redone by many. Might have been from a more widely available interview or telephone-in) where Whitmarsh is quoted as saying that Hamilton has had exactly those second thoughts in the last couple of weeks too Sumedh!

        1. Whitmarsh actually said he THINKS Hamilton has had regrets. There is no direct quote that says Hamilton has said he has regret. This article is Whitmarsh’s opinion…..

  5. Whitmarsh: Perez signing risky. Knowing your incredible ability to screw drivers and consistenty mess up championship campaigns with winning cars I think Sergio is taking more risks than you Mr Withmarsh by signing for your team.
    He hasn’t provided Perez a decent car for 2013 yet but is already talking about the amount of pressure that Sergio must feel. I can already see those ‘lovely’ pre-season interviews when Button and Perez will be forced to pretend they’re good buddies and how they like each other. If there’s anyone who puts that team at risk, it’s Withmarsh and he’s poor management.

  6. Whitmarsh seems to have taken bigger bets on gearboxes that have not panned out ending with his drivers parked at the racetrack.
    Checo may not have the race-schooling of other young racers but is humble & willing to learn, and has a sharp edge if not the maturity. He has overdone it the last few races and wasted point potential.
    My sense is the memory of champagne @ podium clouds Checo’s judgment on how to plan & play tactical overtakes, on top of substandard pitstop strategy.
    This is stuff that can be corrected. He is fast, kind on tyres, has gotten better at quali and can race wheel-to-wheel. I’m giving it until after summer break ’13 for a first judgment.

  7. I found Martin Whitmarsh’s comments amusing, as he has on several occasions questioned Lewis Hamilton’s decision to move to Mercedes. The more I look at this situation, the more it appears to me that McLaren were convinced that Hamilton ‘WOULD’ stay with them. The whole Sergio Perez deal to me looks rushed, as if in blind panick, McLaren had to find somebody else.
    It is very true that Mercedes have been mightily disappointing in F1 as a team and that Hamilton has taken a risk. But Whitmarsh makes is appear to the world that Hamilton has left a team that is ‘dominating’ at the moment. The reality is that McLaren have spent atleast the last three years trying to catch Red Bull and have failed yet again to best them. Whitmarsh, at some point, has to take some responsibility for the teams dismal record in recent seasons compared to Red Bull and even Ferrari.
    If teams such as Mercedes and perhaps Lotus raise their game in 2013, I will be interested to see how Martin Whitmarsh portrays the teams performance. It looks like poor Sergio Perez maybe an excuse in the making already.

    1. JimmyTheIllustratedBlindSolidSilverBeachStackapopolis III
      9th November 2012, 19:18

      if you think that’s funny wait untill tonites round up im sure keith will include some more gems of wisdom from MW. If you can’t wait for that head over to the bbcs formula one page.

  8. Re: Ron Dennis:

    One of my friends was one of the designers of the McLaren factory a few years ago, reporting on occasion directly to RD. Ron asked for the factory floor to be completely flat concrete – the designers went away and did some number crunching to see if they could do that over such a large area. Eventually he reported to RD that it was possible, plus or minus 1mm. RD replied “so how do we get rid of this discrepancy?”.

    1. JimmyTheIllustratedBlindSolidSilverBeachStackapopolis III
      9th November 2012, 19:14

      your friend was lucky he wasn’t working for lord vader.

  9. Let them curse once in a while. Adults do that some times. So what some kiddies are watching. This sport is becoming more ridiculous by the minute.

    1. More and more ridiculous.
      Just watch the interviews. It’s like they get a script before the race:
      “You are gonna say this if you lose, and that if you win. And dont forget to mention the sponsors, thank the team, the guys in the garage, the fans that came to the track and everyone who is watching at home”.

  10. Interesting that a lot of the old engine benches have been thrown in the bin, according to the JA on F1 article. I’m glad we can’t backtrack on this issue and Renault’s conditional commitment is a good thing…only if it shuts LdM and Ecclestone up.

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