Ricciardo “seen as more consistent” – Vergne

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In the round-up: Jean-Eric Vergne says the prevailing view in the F1 paddock is that team mate Daniel Ricciardo is a more consistent performer than him.

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Ricciardo to Red Bull? Two perspectives from team boss and team mate (James Allen on F1)

Vergne: “If you look at the results this year, I’ve scored more points than Ricciardo, but he’s finished all the races, I haven’t. I have a label on my back. Even if it’s false, in the paddock Ricciardo is seen as consistent and I’m not.”

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A man for all missions (The Age)

“Tony Gaze, who died last week aged 93, became Australia’s first Formula One driver when he raced in the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix. More laudably, this remarkable man was a Spitfire ace in World War II who in 485 sorties over Europe was responsible for 12.5 aerial combat victories against the Germans.”

MotorSportsTalk’s F1 2013 mid-season review – part two (NBC)

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89 comments on “Ricciardo “seen as more consistent” – Vergne”

  1. Well there is a reason Red Bull have decided its down to Ricciardo or Raikonen, they are not blind.

  2. I’d hardly call it a rumour that Kubica could get a works Citroen DS3 seat next year – Yves Matton has openly said the team are considering it. That the same as Christian Horner publicly saying that Red Bull are considering Kimi Raikkonen. Even if it doesn’t pan out, there is still substance to it, rather than hushed whispers behind the team transporters.

  3. I like Vergne, him and Ricciardo seem like a good pairing and I think JEV has reasonable pace, but Daniel hasn’t really put a foot wrong. Apart from going off road in a Red Bull I don’t remember him binning the car or making errors in the last 2 and a half seasons. I think if he does go to Red Bull, Daniel would be a really solid contender, particularly in qualifying. His racecraft will improve with time and he can already pull off some nifty overtaking.
    The drivers championship can only be won by one driver, and Vettel is Red Bull’s main contender. But to win the constructors championship they need two quick and consistent drivers, and I think Daniel has shown great promise to deliver those kind of results needed to win championships.

    1. I don’t think there are many that would put up an immediate challenge to Vettel in their first year (not even Räikkönen) so – provided he gets the seat of course – if Ricciardo can score say 75/80% of the points of Vettek I think he’ll have done a really good job. Provided the car is at the front still I think that’d be a more than adequate performance to give them a good shot at the championship.

      What I’d be really looking forward to is qualifying though – Ricciardo appears to have some serious one lap pace so we may have a fight on our hands!

    2. I think both are pretty good drivers. They may still be raw, but there is room for growth. I certainly hope that RIC is RB’s choice. He’s a decent qualifier and doesn’t throw it often. He’ll of course have to work on his consistensy a bit more. Meanwhile, I do feel a little bad for JEV. RIC’s is better in my book, but I can understand JEV’s bitterness. It’s a shame that the Lotus rumors died. Can’t believe they’ll persist with GRO next year.

      1. its rare that Daniel goes forward(or anywhere) in the race. So i totally get JEV feelings.

        Bit like JA who was always quick in the race as thats how he set up his car.

        Sadly people only look at STR qualy results as no one cares what they do in the race if they arent in the points.

        1. its rare that Daniel goes forward(or anywhere) in the race

          I’ve seen a fair bit of criticism to the effect that Dan goes backwards in the race.

          I think to some degree he is being punished by outdriving the car in qualy. It’s possible to do that for one lap, but with today’s Pirellis it’s just not possible to drive at the limit for 70 laps and string multiple qualifying style laps together.

          The result is that in the course of the race, the car reverts to the mean, just as Bottas did after qualifying third in Canada.

          You’ve also got to closely look at what happens during the races. A lot of people don’t pay attention to the mid-field cars during races – they just look at the start and finish positions and assume that if the driver finished lower than he started, he must have had a bad race.

          For example, at Silverstone Ricciardo suffered badly when his team decided not to pit him for fresh tyres during the last safety car period. In Hungary, his first pit stop was the slowest of any driver in the race (the team’s fault, not his) with the result that having gone in 9th, he came out 11th or 12th. He then went on a two stop strategy that didn’t work, although towards the end of the race he was catching the car in front.

          As I say, there’s more to the eye than raw results. Fortunately those making the decisions at Red Bull will look at his results in a more sophisticated way than many of the pundits and journos do.

          You can’t deny Ricciardo’s qualy pace, and when you’ve got a front running car that makes a huge difference to how your race turns out. If he gets the Red Bull seat, I expect him to surprise a lot of people.

          1. Spot on with your comments here @tdog. I agree with every point you made.

          2. +1 It seems more than one person is paying attention to the capabilities of DR.

          3. Very well said Tyler.

      2. its rare that Daniel goes forward(or anywhere) in the race. So i totally get JEV feelings.

        Bit like JA who was always quick in the race as thats how he set up his car.

        Sadly people only look at STR qualy results as no one cares what they do in the race if they arent in the points.

    3. I agree. There’s not very much to choose between these two. However, I think Red Bull may see Ricciardo as the better option due to his superior qualifying pace. Easier to teach a fast driver consistency than a consistent driver to be fast? Plus like you say he’s a good points scorer but unlikely to seriously trouble Vettel in the Championship. Putting aside the fact he’s Australian, it’s hard to look past the thought that the Red Bull higher-ups see him as Webber V 2.0.

  4. Hamilton’s tweet with “#putinwork” – I didn’t know the Russian president was a piece of gym equipment!

    1. hehehe nice one ;)

    2. It is scary that I didn’t understand his hashtag at first ;) . I mean use some proper English already ;) .

      1. @hamilfan at first glance I actually did read it as “Putin work”! rather than “put in work”! :’) Agreed though, you don’t need to hashtag everything Lewis ;)

        Thank you @celeste :)

    3. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      11th August 2013, 4:17

      and why does his insist in being a “gangsta”? I mean his (bad) words are as if he goes on and says: “I p1mp my gym at West Coast Customs”

      1. Am I the only one who thinks that Hammy is Corny? What is with these tweets? Is he the only one in this ” b!xch” who thinks it’s cool to text “b!xch” without any reason to “b!xch”? Lewis, please, get a hold of yourself man! I am having difficulty uncringing.

        1. I certainly enjoy when sporting personalities have some character and Hamilton likes to wear his heart on his sleeve, but some of his comments on Facebook recently particularly concerning his relationship status and spirituality have been cringeworthy, particularly coming from someone who has such an awesome life. But if it helps him beat Vettel this year I can tolerate it :)

        2. @ferrox-glideh what about letting him be himself? Are you shocked with that? C’mon.

        3. @ferrox-glideh I find them pretty cringey as well, I really didn’t know that the perfect metaphor for a gym was a female dog either!

          I suppose @jcost is right through: many may loathe it but that is Hamilton (although I still maintain the gangsta thing is at least partially forced) and different personalities are what make the F1 grid interesting – it creates that pantomime atmosphere where you boo the “bad guys” and cheer the “good guys”!

        4. I think his secret is to make everybody else feel that they are better than him i.e HAM is stupid, but we know who is “balling”.

          1. To be honest I don’t think Hamilton is capable of creating such a sophisticated rouse Young One!

        5. I don’t think “corny” is the best description. Maybe if he texted it to one good friend it would be corny but publicly? NOT cool! It’s starting to remind me of Miss J-Lookatme-Lookatme-Lopez! YIKES!

          (Used to be a fan really, but all this just makes it harder every day)

        6. The guy lives his own life and does/writes what makes him happy, if you think he’s gonna change himself just because you wanna see him that way, you are wrong buddy.

          People saying they want the drivers more real and less PR, then there you go, he’s a human too like you are, has feelings and does stuff he likes to do and says what he wants

          1. Posting something on FB or Twitter is sort of a PR. He can lives his life however he wants and says things he want to say but once these things are in a public domain it’s a PR and it builds a picture of him. Whether it’s a good one or bad it’s in the eyes of the people that read the posts but you can’t blame someone that he/she doesn’t like what Hamilton has to say or do.

      2. #Just Keepin It #Gangsta Yo

  5. Michael Brown (@)
    11th August 2013, 1:00

    To be honest I don’t see the current Toro Rosso pair to be that different from Alguersuari and Buemi. They’re both consistent now that they have experience in F1. Of course they aren’t scoring as many points as the other pair because the car isn’t as good but they’re still solid drivers.

    1. I think you’re right. The main difference is that there’s a seat available at Red Bull now, but there wasn’t when Buemi and Alguersuari were racing.

      1. I think we also have to consider a lot of the elements used in the decision making process are not in the public eye. A lot has to do with the work they do behind the scenes, and even at Red Bull’s own simulator. Franz Tost and dare I say it, Helmut, all have experience with good drivers so they know what elements to look for in drivers.

  6. Jack (@jackisthestig)
    11th August 2013, 1:13

    Little tip Lewis; never watch QVC when you’re drunk.

  7. I can see Ricciardo working, even JEV, but what is wrong with Kimi? He is the most consistent driver on the grid, will score plenty of points, and has a great relationship with Vettel. He would race hard but fair, and wouldn’t play any games like the ‘multi 21’ nonsense. It would be a great rivalry and let vettel prove his worth to show if wasn’t ‘just the car.’ Worst thing that could happen to RBR is Kimi wins a championship or two before retiring. All while they win the CC in the process.

    1. Longevity; Raikkonen is torwards the end of his career, whereas Ricciardo and Vergne are starting their career.
      Furthermore, hiring Kimi puts the RB young drivers development programme under serious scrutiny as it will be percieved that it isn’t working.

      1. @xjr15jaaag I struggle to see how hiring Kimi would imply that the Red Bull YDP isn’t working.. If the 2 STR drivers (Whoever they are) aren’t ready for a Red Bull seat, then they shouldn’t be getting promoted.

        If the answer is longevity, then there’s no reason not for Raikkonen to sign a 1-year deal, leaving Ricciardo and Vergne an extra year to mature. Think about it: Raikkonen has been in top flight motorsport (F1/WRC/NASCAR/Whatever) since 2002, which is the same amount of time as Webber has been in F1, so Raikkonen may be looking at a final year in F1. Ricciardo and Vergne are hardly going to go past their prime in that 1 year, and the fans can finally get the proof that Vettel is actually a top driver..

        1. @keeleyobsessed
          You don’t need any more proof Vettel is a top driver; you don’t luck into 3 consecutive world titles whilst being a rubbish/mediocre driver.
          Clark and Fangio never had their doubters, yet they were always in top cars.
          Why is this now happening to Vettel?

          1. @xjr15jaaag I know Vettel is a top driver, just for some reason people don’t yet, and they seem to think Raikkonen is the guy to prove/disprove that. People forget that Adrian Newey worked for McLaren during the Ferrari domination, so he’s not faultless

    2. I think it could also be a question of how Raikkonen takes a number 2 status. No matter what they say about equal treatment, Vettel is their star driver, and will continue to be as long as he keeps winning.

      Remember how Raikkonen drove when he was teamed up with Massa? Certainly not his best driving. Then Massa got injured and he immediately upped his game once he started getting the preferential treatment.

    3. I would say its not about RBR choosing to take a Ricciardo over Kimi, but rather about Kimi choosing to stay with Lotus (or even go to Ferrari??) over going with Red Bull @swindle94

  8. The general view here is that Ricciardo is the faster qualifier but Vergne is the better racer. While there does seem to be a lot of hype surrounding Ricciardo for whatever reason, to me both drivers look evenly matched. You can’t just simply look at qualifying times and then say X driver is better than the other because qualifying is only half the job done but this kind of attitude is exactly what is playing out in front of us regarding the Toro Rosso pair. I mean, people have just seemingly forgotten that it is Vergne who has Toro Rosso’s best race finish in ages and it is also Vergne who is leading on points. I’m not saying that because of these two facts that Vergne is a better driver than Ricciardo but these facts simply can’t be ignored. What’s the essence of qualifying in the top 10 if you can’t keep the car there at the end of the race??

    Another issue that I have with Red Bull’s search for Webber’s replacement is the fact that they seem to be restricting themselves to their own driver’s programme which is fair enough if you are a midfield team but it doesn’t make sense if you are challenging for titles. I recall earlier in the season that Horner said he wanted the best drivers available, surely drivers like Kimi Raikkonen or Hulkenberg should be at the top of their lists even before the Toro Rosso pair? Next season there are going to be regulation changes and there is a good chance Red Bull may not have the best all round car any more, so they are going to need all the points they can possibly get from both drivers. Simply relying on Vettel to get majority of the points and podiums isn’t going to be enough. By signing Ricciardo they will be sending a message to me that they just seem desperate to get someone from RB’s driver academy so that the programme gives the view of being ‘vindicated’ because to me, apart from a few qualifying outings, Ricciardo has done nothing special and neither has Vergne for that matter. Saying the car is difficult to drive isn’t really an excuse in my opinion, we have seen examples like Alonso dragging a Minardi amongst midfield runners on his debut season as proof that talent will always shine through.

    I know its a totally different sport, but if you look at football all the big clubs have academies. However it is only the outstanding players from these academies that get a shot at the main team. Just because they come from the clubs training school or whatever doesn’t and shouldn’t put them at an advantage over a more talented player coming from another club or overseas. In my view, Hulkenberg seems the perfect choice for Red Bull moving forward; he’s young, relatively experienced and has led a race in a dog of a Sauber, should have won last years Brazilian GP and has poled a Williams. Kimi Raikkonen would be a great signing for Red Bull as well as he’s super consistent and can be devastatingly quick on his day. Even if Red Bull have a car that isn’t the best they will still be in the hunt for the constructors title mainly because of their all – star line-up.

    Ask yourself this, if Ricciardo and Vergne weren’t in the programme, would they be even considered for the Red Bull seat? I don’t think so.

    1. Just to add to my post. Having said all that, this is just my view at the end of the day and Toro Rosso probably have a reason for being interested in Ricciardo because of all the telemetry and data they receive. However, I just think there are better drivers out there.

    2. @ferrari_412t That is very very accurate . The only point in favour of Ricciardo is that he knows the Red Bull philosophy , maybe the ins and outs of how they work , a little bit more . But, Hulkenberg is a very good prospect . I think, he shot himself in the foot by going to Sauber. I would prefer Kimi to partner vettel . But, I doubt it will happen . If it does , I will have some greater respect for Red Bull as a team (Imagine that :o ).

    3. @ferrari_412t

      Saying the car is difficult to drive isn’t really an excuse in my opinion, we have seen examples like Alonso dragging a Minardi amongst midfield runners on his debut season as proof that talent will always shine through.

      Oh, yes, one million times, yes!

      1. The difference is Alonso went on to become no. 1 driver, not no 2.

    4. But then again, Kimi for sure would be a one, and at best two year signing. I doubt he’d stay longer. And that’s not good for Red Bull. Added to it is how much he’d cost, and how little he’d do in terms of PR. Which for Red Bull is an important factor.

      1. The fact that Kimi wouldn’t stay at Red Bull for the long haul is even better for all concerned. While Kimi is at RB, the current Toro Rosso drivers can gain more experience and hone their skills further by staying at Toro Rosso for an extra year or two. By then, the team gets a better understanding of which is the better of the two drivers.

        But for me, Red Bull should go for Kimi. We are talking about the reigning world champions here who should be signing world champion drivers if possible. I think Kimi’s apparent hatred for PR is blown out of proportion. Sure, he doesn’t like it but if Red Bull give him a car capable of winning the championship i think he wouldn’t mind at all. And has money ever been an issue for Red Bull?

      2. @ferrari_412t
        One other thing Redbull has to consider is the future. Kimi is getting on in age and Seb has ambitions for Ferrari in the not so distant future and they won’t want to lose both drivers at the same time and have to recruit 2 unfamiliar drivers. If they take Dan now they have the time to develop him for a more stable future.

    5. Are we forgetting DR’s raw single lap pace. People are criticizing his race pace, but he isn’t always in control of that. Along with Hulkenberg and Bottas, Daniel has something to offer as his pace has shown. Forget the STR links, let’s give a young driver a go. I’m a fan a of Kimi’s but believe RBR have nothing to offer him but a No.2 drive

  9. That’s an impressive personal gym Lewis has assembled. Speaking of gyms, I’m going to open a gym myself, one that teaches only power walking and door knocking, I’m going to call it ‘Jehovah’s Fitness’.

    1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
      11th August 2013, 5:25

      You’ll have to write an indoctrinating story book.

    2. @hellotraverse
      That is pure genius!!!

    3. If you’d add Nordic Walking to that, I’d join in a heartbeat.

  10. Jim Clark won a non-championship race in Kanonloppet, Sweden 50 years ago today.

    Apologies for being nitpicky at this early hour, but the race was called ‘Kanonloppet’, which means ‘cannon race’ or something like that in Swedish. The actual venue was Karlskoga. The way it’s phrased right now is like ‘Grosjean won a non-championship race in Race of Champions, Thailand.’ :)

  11. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
    11th August 2013, 9:43

    In 1988 the fastest man in the world gave his entire salary to charity and was the subject of global idolisation.

    In 2013 the fastest man in the world, or “hip-hop Hamilton” as I call him, has a private gym which he calls his “b***h”, and whilst he is admired on track, he is generally loathed off track.

    Oh how things have changed, and there are still even those of a hopelessly nostalgic nature that believe Senna and Hamilton are similar…

    1. he is generally loathed off track

      Uhh what?

      1. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
        12th August 2013, 15:04

        @sid90 Look at how much the “Frome charmer” is ahead of “hip-hop Hamilton” in the recent popularity stakes. And I bet most people who support Hamilton do so only for his exciting and compelling driving style, I certainly do.

    2. Well if Hamilton decice to donote all his salary money for charity it will certanly deserve global idolisation… calling his gym his b***h doesn´t.

    3. @william-brierty agreed wholeheartedly. Senna definitely had a charisma as well which I think Hamilton is definitely lacking, or anybody on the grid today for that matter.

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        11th August 2013, 11:42

        @vettel1
        Senna was a once in a generation person, and driver. I truly wish he was alive today. :(

    4. Chris (@tophercheese21)
      11th August 2013, 11:32

      He’s working hard and doing what he loves.
      Get over it.

      Clearly you’re not a fan of Hamilton (judging by your DP), so why do you care what he does?

      Perhaps you should critique Alonso on his #Samurai tendency, rather than ripping into Lewis.

        1. Ripping into both is perfectly acceptable.

          1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
            11th August 2013, 11:58

            haha, as long as it’s not Vettel right Max? ahaha @vettel1

          2. Which is why I’m glad he’s avoided twitter Chris @tophercheese21 haha! :P

      1. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
        12th August 2013, 15:11

        @tophercheese21 Well, if you checked my profile, you’d notice that Button, Raikkonen and of course the “Spanish Shogun” is joined by none other than “hip-hop Hamilton” in the list of drivers I support. Hamilton has easily the most engaging on track style, certainly more than Vettel’s (@vettel1)…

    5. Michael Brown (@)
      11th August 2013, 12:54

      In your opinion

    6. I’m not against Senna by any means, but here’s a friendly reminder how Ayrton Senna, the great humanitarian, felt about racing under apartheid.

      Nobody is a saint and I bet you’re not spending your extra cash the same way your idol from the 80s did either. I think none of you have ever seen Chappelle’s Show. http://youtu.be/Rs6kT_0H1MI

      1. @npf1 I don’t really see how you can actively use that against him – pretty much everybody raced and he was abiding by his contract. Had the teams had the guts he would’ve boycotted it.

        1. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
          12th August 2013, 18:09

          @vettel1 +1

          I can’t believe how much I agree with a Vettel fan. I’ve just checked your profile, and, oh my, you really are a product of the era of F1 you’ve watched. You support all of the young drivers that are remotely worthy of support who have started since you started watching and you support the only guy that’s been successful whilst you’ve been watching. Are you British? You can’t be, Vettel fans aren’t allowed in my country. Maybe you should watch a few of the FIA Reviews of past years and you might learn that guys like Alonso, Raikkonen, Schumacher and Hamilton can be handy too! ;)

          1. @william-brierty honestly it is nothing to do with driving ability why I support Vettel over Hamilton or Alonso, it is purely because I find him a more likeable person (and of course he was in the same category of the other young drivers – I’ve said on my profile 2010 because that’s when I started following every qualifying and race session but I’ve been watching it since around 2006 actually!).

            And yes, I am British (or Scottish, I’m completely open to calling myself either) and honestly I just don’t like either of the big name British drivers! I should also add I am a traitor in the highest sense: I support Germany’s football team over Scotland’s ;)

            And I am well aware of the other top driver’s racing ability and never doubt for one minute how good they are, but I just don’t particularly like them as people ;)

            P.S my profile isn’t entirely accurate – I’ve pretty much supported all the drivers I like. The only ones I truly support are Maldonado, Hülkenberg, Di Resta and of course Vettel. :P

          2. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
            12th August 2013, 20:43

            @vettel1 Oh dear, what is happening to me, I agree with all of that! I have some confessions to make. I would much rather go to the pub with Vettel than either Hamilton or Alonso, and although I’m as English as the Oxfordshire hills in which my house is nestled, I was the one cheering Novak Djokovic on to beat that Scottish llama (no offence). My allegence to drivers is based purely on their feats in a car, but as my profile demonstrates that doesn’t always square with them being nice guys especially with the miserable so-in-sos of Alonso and Raikkonen, the clinically depressed Lewis Hamilton and the corporate host that is JB. I have to say though, I’ve been watching F1 along time (since 1985 to be precise) and whilst I remember a few of the nice guys, Gerhard Berger and Rubens for example, they have been blurred by the great feats of great drivers. In bloody ages of watching F1, I’ve seen a lot of drivers come and go, and only five have really made me sit up and say “Wow!”. Senna, naturally heads the list, where he is joined by Schumacher, Prost, Alonso and the “rookie-wonder” Hamilton of 2007. Vettel is yet to join the list, and if he is to do so I think he needs to be that little more complete as a driver, but notice the presence of the word “yet”…

            Sorry Max, but I doesn’t look like we’ll ever have a proper debate, we agree on too much…

          3. @william-brierty I don’t really have the issue of pure Scottishness – I live up to almost none of the stereotypes: I don’t like whiskey, I don’t generally particularly like alcohol in general actually; by extension, therefore it is a very rare occurrence for me to be drunk; again, that also means I am not one to get in a bar fight (I prefer to use words to fight my wars); I’m not ginger and finally I just generally don’t like football – the Glasgow Celtic and Rangers rivalry is massive around where I live and if I’m ever asked what football team I think is best of the two I answer with Bayern Munich! So I’m not actually up in arms over the Scottish Lama comment – I think that’s actually fairly just (he has only very recently developed any sort of personality, such as with smashing the ball off of Lendel in the charity match after the Queen’s tournament – it was a great event by the way, particularly with Boris Johnson and his wooden racket)!

            I don’t tend to build allegiances to drivers based solely on their abilities in the car but absolutely I doff my cap to them when it’s due – Hamilton’s qualifying laps for example are a joy to watch and some of the moves Alonso and Räikkönen have pulled in their time are phenomenal but as soon as they take off the helmet I judge them based solely on their personalities, hence why I’m a fan of Vettel (Maldonado is a quirk in that sense because I wouldn’t necessarily go to a pub with him to stick with your example).

            I do kind of agree with you in that I wouldn’t consider Vettel to be in the leagues of Senna just yet as his career is still in its youthful stages but if he continues on his current trajectory (as I’m fairly confident he will) I think it will only be a matter of time before he’s reached the level of completeness that Alonso has reached, or has developed even part of the sensational qualifying speed of Senna. So yes, “yet” is an appropriate word to use I think.

            And on the debate, yes it is a sad truth but as they say, great minds think alike ;)

  12. You can clearly see who is the cooler driver between Bottas and Hamilton – they’re tweeting about similar things but it’s easy to tell who’s the least likely to brag about it constantly…

    1. I believe they call it “insecurity”

      1. Or, you know, slang.

    2. Bottas’ tweets read nothing else but “please like me/I am a nice person”. Boring. :)

      1. @zicasso I don’t know about you but I like nice people over those that would constantly tell me their life story yet brag about their workout regime at the same time ;)

      2. @zicasso I think someone would only reach that conclusion if they’d already made up their mind not to like him.

  13. Hamilton was complimenting his gym by referring to it as “B!*ch”. A b!*ch is a female dog, a dog is a man’s best friend, so therefore Hamilton is calling his gym his best friend, his valued and appreciated companion…

    1. Dictionary entry:

      Slang.a malicious, unpleasant, selfish person, especially a woman.

      Slang. a person who performs demeaning tasks for another; servant: Tom is so her b****; she just ordered him to go fetch her some pizza—and he went without a word.

      Slang. a difficult or unpleasant situation or thing: working the night shift is a b****

      Nice try @hellotraverse (perhaps your unconventional humour again ;) ) but sorry, Hamilton was talking slang in this instance ;)

      1. @vettel1
        I have never seen Hamilton use utter obscenities or profanities live on TV at 1 p.m. and finding it funny. I wonder what type of dictionaries you would bring if Vettel did that, I mean, Hamilton did that. We are talking about Hamilton, right? Right!

        1. @zicasso

          I have never seen Hamilton use utter obscenities or profanities live on TV at 1 p.m. and finding it funny.

          Unless I’m missing the ball here I’m afraid to say I have absolutely no idea what you’re referring to here.

          I wonder what type of dictionaries you would bring if Vettel did that, I mean, Hamilton did that.

          The Collins English dictionary.

          Besides all this, do you not recognise I was only countering Traverse’s claim, not actually demeaning Hamilton?

  14. I love how much Hamilton winds people up. Keep it up Lewis!

    Keep talking how you want son. I’d be surprise if those critising your manner of speech talk the Queens English themselves. Remember, people need a reason, they need a reason. They will find a reason.

    1. I do and I’m Scottish – I should talk slang but I don’t.

  15. “If you look at the races where I don’t have a problem, I blew my team mate away! He doesn’t exist!”

    Come on JEV. Did you seriously just said that? Of the 19 races that both of you finished you were ahead 10 times, while Riccardo was ahead 9 times and he was in the points more often. Granted, you managed to score more, but we definitely didn’t see any “blowing away” going on at Torro Rosso, one way or another.

    1. I know it’s difficult to admit for Ricciardo’s fans but it’s true that Daniel totally disappeared on race day. Vergne is by far the better race day driver and have been extremly unlucky with all his retirement (tear and engine failures). If he had been so unlucky, the gap in the drivers’ World Championship would have been even bigger in Vergne’s favor.

      1. “Ricciardo’s fans”? Far from it. I’d just say they are both about equal, with different strengths in different areas, but neither one is “blowing away” the other. And if indeed Red Bull’s analysis says that Ricciardo has a slight edge over Vergne, then they are probably right. I think they have a bit more data than we to asses the situation.

  16. If STR had not made such an obviously poor decision not to pit Ricciardo for new tyres at Silverstone, he would have finished 4th or 5th. That puts Vergne’s points lead into perspective. As far as Ricciardo finishing all the other races, that’s just factually wrong!

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