F1 Cool Wall: from Williams to Honda

Keith Collantine — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:00:31 +0000

The F1 Fanatic Cool Wall is back! Read on for who’s where and why…

Seriously cool: Williams

The car’s been quick in testing and their cracking young driver Nico Rosberg spurned a big-money move to McLaren to stick with the team that gave him his F1 break – and to take the outfit his father won the championship for in 1982 back to the top. Their second driver is quick but a bit wild, the way Japanese F1 drivers tend to be. This is all rather cool.

Everyone likes Williams at the moment. Apart from David Richards, who’s in a huff with them because their opposition to customer cars stopped him getting in F1. Which is a bit uncool of them, but also cool in an F1-is-a-mean-business kind of way.

Cool: tyre smoke

Traction control is banned this year and I’m hoping we’ll see big clouds of tyre smoke as the first race gets underway.

Cool: Red Bull

Now some people wanted Red Bull deeming ‘uncool’ for their: “ugly, ugly fin we saw earlier in testing.” But in true Jeremy Clarkson* fashion I’m going to over rule them and shout loudly so no-one else can hear me.

I think the fact that they have parts on the car that actually make them look substantially different from other cars is cool, when F1 cars increasingly look the same. Fins are cool, just ask Kimi or Heikki.

Uncool: Vijay Mallya

Milos put Force India F1 boss Vijay Mallya forward for the ‘uncool’ spot:

He is kind of a cool guy, he should spend some time on the uncool wall for not knowing how to pronounce names of his drivers

Uncool: Formula One Management

Nico Savidge said it best:

Is the 10-second video of Kimi Raikkonen I took at the USGP really gonna destroy the sport? I didn’t think so.

Seriously uncool: Honda

Just like when I did the first Cool Wall it’s hard to find a less cool team than Honda – so the Seriously Uncool spot is still named after them. Two arguments were put forward for keeping them in the pit of total uncoolness. Dan Brunell said:

Honda’s treatment of Super Aguri… Really either pull the plug or help them find some sponsors this year. To keep them out on a string this long is unfair to the team, their sponsors, and all of us.

And Nico Savidge marked them down for their paint job. Honda are represented here by Rubens Barrichello. Anyone want to make a case for him not belonging in the Seriously Uncool section? Thought not.

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*For anyone out there who doesn’t watch Top Gear, the whole Cool Wall idea is ripped off from the motoring TV show presented by the opinionated and loud Jeremy Clarkson.

The F1 Cool Wall

Keith Collantine — Wed, 30 May 2007 09:00:38 +0000

F1Fanatic presents the first ever F1 Cool Wall.

Shamelessly ripped off from Top Gear the F1 Fanatic cool wall tells you what’s hot and what’s not in Formula 1. Ron Dennis, BMW, Jude Law and more are on the wall this time. Read on to find out where…

BMW – Sub-zero

Why? For letting a modern F1 car loose on the mighty Nürburgring Nordschleife for the first time since 1976.

Alexander Wurz – Cool

Why? For his storming drive in Monaco. He started 11th and finished seventh while team mate Nico Rosberg somehow slipped from fifth to 12th. Result.

Adrian Sutil – Cool

Why? Well first of all he’s the only 2007 rookie to be making his start the old-fashioned way, with a back of the grid team. And he’s doing a pretty good job – out-qualifying Christijan Albers 4-1 and also beating Ralf Schumacher and Takuma Sato last time out.

Never mind that he binned it in the race – that’s what real rookies do. Oh, and he plays piano…

Ron Dennis – Uncool

Why? For banning paddock rag The Red Bulletin from the McLaren Technology Centre because he doesn’t like, “the way it tries to make fun out of individuals from every team and their efforts to try and do a good job.” Geez, Ron, lighten up.

Monaco celebrities – Uncool
Represented above by Jude Law

Why? While the paying punters shell out a fortune for over-priced seats the – ahem – ‘great and the good’, meet the drivers, forget their names, give perfunctory and dull interviews to TV crews, then spend most of the race staring out into the harbour, wishing the cars weren’t so noisy.

Honda

Why? Honda have so bravely defined the art of uncool this year with their eco-warrior branding we’ve named the ‘seriously uncool’ section after them. Yes, it’s a worthy cause, but it’s not cool. Especially not when both your drivers get into the final phase of qualifying and have to do the ‘fuel burn’ thing. Now isn’t that just a little bit silly?

And what was up with their race strategy? Do they not understand the object of the exercise is to finish the race as quickly as possible?

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F1 Cool Wall: from Williams to Honda

The F1 Cool Wall