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It is hypocritical to just single out Russia as all the countries have major human rights issues- literally every single one of them. I’m not saying that this discussion isn’t worth having as I actually think we should examine F1 and human rights issue more closely but there’s not really an argument for cancelling Russia that doesn’t apply to many of the other races. I would love someone to stand up to Russia especially on LGBT issues but it’s not like the motorsport world is open and moral and doesn’t discriminate either.
@Girts I think you’re right that journalists could play a role- I think F1 journalists are all pretty one dimensional. They only do the same old driver quotes and race reports but there’s very little (if any) in depth analysis of what goes on behind the scenes in F1.Cameron wants the race cancelled and the French to stop selling warships to Russia because it’s the easy thing to do. He won’t freeze assets of the Russian billionaires in Britain because it won’t hurt Britain (and particularly the Tory party donations). It reminds me of the attitude towards Bahrain: everyone yelled for action but action from someone else. Drivers said it was up to the teams and FIA, the teams said it was up to Bernie and the FIA, Bernie and the FIA said it was up to Bahrain to guarantee safety and F1 wasn’t a political issue and the journalists (who I lost most respect for) typed impressively on their keyboards that the whole race should be called off and that human rights shouldn’t be ignored but when push came to shove they did nothing. They carried on with their race reports because they didn’t want to lose viewers on their sites so everything went on as normal and that’s why Russia will go ahead- there’s very little security threat to the race and everyone is too selfish to put human rights before 2 hours worth of entertainment which brings them cash. It’s as simple as that.
I think Vergne has had a terrific season but his comments on F1 have interested me as much as his performance. He’s pretty much starved himself this season just because he believes he loses around 3/10ths to Kyvat simply due to their difference in weight. If that actually is true then I do wonder whether comparing drivers is even more down to guesswork than it was before. I think he’s having a great season but if his comments are true, or even have an element of truth, then perhaps he’d be rated better and Kvyat wouldn’t be getting all the glory.
Alonso- how do you cope when everything else around you fails?
Gutierrez- have you needed treatment for PTSD after Pastor’s missile attack?
Hamilton- you said Vettel only won so much because of the car, are you victories due to the car or skill?
Sutil- what do you actually give to the sport?The most annoying thing is that everyone knew situations like this could well happen – there was plenty of time to do something about it before anyone really suffered with it and once again the FIA and co did absolutely nothing. There has to be a change: it’s dangerous in the long term for drivers and it’s particularly dangerous during hot Grand Prixs and someone could pass out while driving. I hope Vergne is feeling okay; I’ve been taken to hospital before with severe weight loss and dehydration and it is deeply unpleasant and it takes a while to fully recover from.
This situation has made me realise just how vulnerable drivers are. They really have no support and are at the mercy of the regulations and the bad decisions of the teams (such as Crashgate). I wish there was a strong and protective drivers union because the GPDA seems pretty weak.
I’m terrible with photoshop and those picture programs* so I’ll just have to describe my helmet. Ideally I’d have zero sponsors but the design would be horizontal rainbow stripes (but a deeper colour) and for special races I’d have it sparkly like rainbow dust. I’ve always said I like colourful designs and that would be the ultimate one. For Japan though I’d have a Super Mario design from the Gameboy and then have it flash so that it looked like Mario was jumping over the pipes, dodging Donkey Kong and giving Yoshi a great big hug.
*what I really mean is I’m too lazy to use them
To be honest, if someone said to me my illness which causes incredible pain “happened for a reason” or said the same about my mother’s brain tumour I would be sick to my stomach. I have zero problem with faith but it’s the height of ignorance (and arrogance) when someone says that you’re suffering is happening for a reason (and hints at some unproven guy in the sky doing it all). I don’t mind philosophical comments about his strong character or his resilience or whatever but this is disrespectful.
I have no problem critising any driver so I’m a bit baffled by any insinuation that Lewis is getting a hard time just because he’s Lewis. If someone says something really insensitive when someone is fighting for their life they’re going to get stick for it- that’s just the way it is.
Basically, just everything Peter said.It’s not going to impact on F1 unless there was literally a battle outside of the track but that isn’t going to happen. F1’s shown time and again it only cares about world events when it has a bad impact on the sport and this won’t make any difference at all. If there is any reaction it’ll be from the mainstream media looking to get a few more views by saying “look what’s happening in Crimea and the race in Russia” and then it’ll forget about it as soon as the race is done as GeeMac has stated.
It’s quite different from the Bahrain race (which I’m against and I’m also against a race in Sochi) because Bahrain actually used the race as a cover for its brutal crackdown on protesters. F1 actually became a part of the problem whereas F1 has absolutely nothing to do with what is happening with Russia and Ukraine.
Agree with matt90.
Personally, I’d have fewer tests, I’d scrap Friday practice, I’d bring in a budget cap and a cap on driver wages, and I’d get rid of the daft top 10 quali rule and the even stupider DRS. If the engines weren’t changing this year I’d have brought back refuelling too as I like the strategic element. I’d also change the front nose rules so that they didn’t look so phallic/utterly ugly.Yes, they are but they also spend more than any other team iirc, have one of (if not the) best driver, and have a very strong designing team. They are beatable and it could be a year like 2009 where the teams which had dominated simply fell apart but RBR do still have all of the ingredients for success.
No, they’ve always been there and always will be unless F1 radically changes its structure/system. We’re noticing it more now probably because of there are more opportunities to discuss it thanks to the online world and because recently the teams are really struggling due to the economy. It’s taken a while for the downturn to really hit F1 and now it seems to be causing quite a bit of pain for the teams.
The points should stay the same otherwise it’s artificial and a complete gimmick. If the FIA wants closer racing then it should look at why it isn’t close in the first place – instead of doing cheap, quick solutions which are unfair and which fans are overwhelmingly against.
@GeeMac bang on.
Red Bull: Vettel will win, probably easily but Daniel might surprise on the odd weekend.
Merc: Rosberg will have the advantage when it comes to managing the race. Hamilton will either shine with battling the torque or completely lose his head when he has to actually think about the entire race weekend and not just treat the car like a bucking bronco.
Ferrari: Alonso probably the clear winner with Kimi pushing him hard, especially in quali and the early races.
Lotus: Grosjean, Maldonado will only get attention when people label him “that pay driver Lotus needed”
McLaren: Button as I just don’t see a rookie being able to do that much in the first year esp when the cars are undergoing radical change and the teams are a bit baffled.
FI: Hulkenberg leads an outshone Perez.
Sauber: Who knows. Probably Sutil but he’ll be as uninspiring as ever.
Toro Rosso: Vergne – same reason as McLaren.
Williams: Massa, closely followed by Bottas.
Marussia: Bianchi will beat anyone.
Caterham: Van Der Garde will surprise against an average Heikki.
