F1

F1 drivers and the media: Who is Jake Humphrey talking about?

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  • #130378

    This quote in Jake Humphrey’s latest article caught my eye:

    “I’m happy to report that, having been just feet from him as he won title number two, Vettel is well aware of his achievements and just how lucky he is.

    “Whether you like him as a driver or not, he is very impressive as a person. Without naming names, there are a number of drivers who not only are reluctant to speak to the media, but, even worse, are quite dismissive or condescending.”

    Any ideas which of the other 23 drivers he might be talking about?

    #183177
    damonsmedley
    Participant

    Interesting. I don’t want to point my finger at anyone without any evidence, but I’ll watch this thread closely.

    #183178
    Calum
    Participant

    I’d imagine Button would be happy to chat, as would Vettel, Paul di Resta probably talks to them too. Schumacher will be totally differant these days and would want to speak to the media.

    I could imagine Massa being grumpy after races or quali and not wanting to speak, Hamilton doesn’t talk on the grids usually, and probably would have excluded himself even more post race because of his form.

    I’d say any driver who has had a run of bad form/luck will be angry when they get out of their car and those are the ones who tell the media to ‘get to.’

    #183179
    Renner
    Member

    Kimi?

    #183180
    bananarama
    Participant

    Back in the day that would have been a discription of Schumacher but his attitude towards others has changed massively or at least the way he is presenting it (I always found him likeable).
    Button is a really nice bloke as is Webber but if you press his Buttons (word play .. blammo..) he can get really mean. The same could be said about Rosberg. DiResta is quite quiet which could seem rude to some. Havent seen awefully much of many other drivers but most of the time they seem nice. Petrov is a bit weird but a good sportsman. Sutil is genuinely weird, at least thats how he appears when I see him in german media.

    So who is left? Hamilton is a friendly person but he seems a likely candidate. He is often very quick at blaming others, even his own team (even in the media, which I could barely accept if I was his boss) and appears to be quite moody. Also in many interviews he gave me the impression that he thinks of himself as the greatest driver to date (sure many drivers do, but they usually communicate it as one of the best in the field).
    Alonso often seems quite arrogant but it seems thats mostly the way he handles the pressure and media attention, not his personality. The last one I could think of is Barrichello. As Schumacher once put it, there are drivers and then there is Rubens. He seems to be whining a lot, doesn’t often admit to own mistakes and occasionaly talks badly about others (especially his longtime teammate) and seems to believe he was good enough to be world champion. But putting those things aside he sometimes seems very friendly.

    So my guess is he meant one of the following: old (or bad mooded) Schumacher, Hamilton, Alonso or Barrichello.

    PS: If you talk to a driver in the wrong moment all of them can be rude, mean, arrogant or thelike because all of them have big egos because without that and tons of self confidence they couldn’t do what they do, especially those who operate on the very edge competing for wins and championships.

    #183181
    S.J.M
    Participant

    Crucially, he says ‘number of drivers’, so its 2 or more he’s talking about.

    #183182

    Well, why is it you never see Narain Karthikeyan interviewed? Just saying…

    #183183
    Duchess
    Participant

    That’s a bit harsh from Jake IMO. As far as I know, the drivers aren’t exactly obligated to speak to the media outside of organized events, and they have a lot on their minds. Sure, some drivers are more chatty and extroverted than others, but that doesn’t mean the others are straight-up rude.

    While yes, there are likely a few drivers with some attitude problems, I wouldn’t be writing a blog post about it. :V

    #183184
    cduk_mugello
    Participant

    Can see Nico Rosberg being a little prima donna

    #183185
    James_mc
    Participant

    I can understand why people would see Di Resta’s semi-aloofness as rudeness, but he’s just a quiet, canny lad and speaks quite a bit to the BBC.

    I think that Vettel is an exception in that he does always genuinely seem happy to chat to the media even on a bad day.

    On a bad day I wouldn’t fancy trying to interview the following:
    Schumacher (Jr or Sr)
    Hamilton
    Massa
    Barrichello
    Alonso
    Sutil.

    It is a very interesting post, I would however suggest that a lot of the drivers I’ve just mentioned can be quite friendly (notably Hamilton and Alonso).

    I think a clear indication of who Jake is suggesting would be given by who doesn’t appear regularly on BBC coverage, e.g. post-race, the forum and in the VT segments. I actually suspect Maldonado & Massa.

    #183186
    James_mc
    Participant

    And oddly enough, Heidfeld.

    #183187
    Lin1876
    Participant

    @Magnificent Geoffrey I’ve seen Karthikeyan being interviewed a couple of times before and he seemed friendly enough. I suspect being 24th has something to do with the lack of attention, although that is stating the obvious.

    I can see Alonso being pretty short with he media at times, although I can’t remember what he was like in his 05-06 championship years. Trulli maybe? He’s such a contrast to the very personable Kovalainen. I don’t know, I’m speculating now.

    #183188
    wasiF1
    Participant

    Can only think of Kimi.

    #183189
    BasCB
    Participant

    Not really sure who. He might mean Hamilton who is often quite dismissive this year, not sure about the others. Maybe Jake still has a bit of a grudge against Heikki Kovalainen for his remarks about the championship battle last year in Korea in the rain?
    Trulli at times comes over as a bit hard to like with his repeadedly coming up car problems.

    Alonso might not be readily available for the BBC at all times, and not always the easiest, but he talks to Spanish and Italian media far more. Some of the Germans probably get on German tv a bit more than on the BBC a matter of priorities.
    Both Sauber drivers seem quite fine. Petrov seems to take a while before getting out and talking to the press after incidents, but mostly he is open and fair about it. Senna is really nice with the press, it seems.
    We do not see much of Liuzzi, nor D’Ambrosio, but those are probably more down to lack of interest from the media than their willingness to talk to people.

    #183190
    raymondu999
    Participant

    Lewis has a reputation for not liking interviews so possibly it’s him. The last time he featured on the grid walk he specifically requested it; to show his helmet for Singapore (which had RIP MH CB on it)

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