Raikkonen still in the running at Red Bull – Horner

F1 Fanatic Round-up

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In the round-up: Christian Horner says he wouldn’t rule out Kimi Raikkonen joining the team next year despite Raikkonen’s manager having said talks were at an end.

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Red Bull not ruling out Raikkonen for vacant seat (Reuters)

“‘I wouldn’t rule anything out at the moment,’ [Horner] told reporters in a teasing, cat-and-mouse briefing in Red Bull’s double-decked hospitality unit at the Belgian Grand Prix.”

Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo the talk of the paddock as Formula One returns at Spa (The Independent)

“Raikkonen’s failure to turn up to today’s press conference owing to a ‘bug’ has sparked rumours once more that the Lotus driver is yet to be paid by his team.”

Red Bull would be fair – Ricciardo (BBC)

“I’m sure if I was in a position to win a race in the future, I’d be allowed to.”

Alonso: Ferrari misinformed (Sky)

“I think it was wrong information coming to the president, to be honest, because we looked back through all the press conferences. With these recorders, it’s easy to check exactly what you say and obviously it was nothing different to any other grand prix.”

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa heads to Belgian Grand Prix with future on the line (The Guardian)

“Ferrari’s president, Luca di Montezemolo, who has been publicly critical of Alonso in recent weeks, even though the Spaniard has carried his indifferent car for the past four seasons, is thought to favour sticking with Massa if only the Brazilian can show him some encouraging form in the coming weeks.”

Fernando Alonso: "We need to keep believing that we can do it…” (Adam Cooper’s F1 blog)

“The title will be decided by what the performance of the cars in next four races, in my opinion. We have Spa, medium downforce, Monza, light downforce and Singapore, maximum downforce. These three circuits, with three completely different set-ups and configurations of the cars, will tell us which is the main contender for Vettel. He is the big favourite.”

Formula One: Adrian Sutil tells Lewis Hamilton to “grow up” (The National)

“He is not able to speak – maybe he is scared of me, I don’t know. There is a time when people have to grow up and he hasn’t done it.”

Raikkonen not market key – Hulkenberg (Autosport)

“Obviously Kimi is playing a role there but it is not necessarily depending all on him.”

Hamilton ‘more motivated than ever’ (ESPN)

“It’s the same every year, you have one [good] race and people get excited and then you have a bad race and negative things are said. I’m not focused on what is trying to be said. I’m just focusing on the job I have and I’ve been training hard over the break, which is very different to the last six years when I’ve taken it as a real holiday.”

Women who have plastic surgery ‘can’t stand themselves’, says Niki Lauda (The Telegraph)

“My then wife fainted when she first saw me [after his 1976 crash at the Nurburgring], so I knew it could not have been good. As I get older the scars get lost in the lines, and, well, you just get used to it.”

Tweets

Comment of the day

DaveW on Spa’s curious grid grooves:

If it prevents a start behind the Safety Car, then it will have done its job. Otherwise, it’s just going to slow down the guys in front a bit. Given the infamous concertina effect at La Source, not a really great thing.
DaveW (@DMW)

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Innim and Tomas!

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

Alberto Ascari won his second world championship 60 years ago today in the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten.

Here’s some footage from the race:

http://youtu.be/xjNLATcLfpk?t=4m47s

Image © Red Bull/Getty

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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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99 comments on “Raikkonen still in the running at Red Bull – Horner”

  1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    23rd August 2013, 0:16

    There is a time when people have to grow up and he hasn’t done it.”

    Its funny because Sutil is inadvertently making himself look like the one who needs to “grow up”.

    1. @tophercheese21 he goes on and on about it instead of just cutting ties with him…

      Oops.

      1. yeah, he does go about it right – “when asked about …” really shows its Sutil going around finding people to hear his story @fer-no65?

        I think that if you read what he actually ANSWERS in that question, is that he did some skullduggery in his year out, and it seems he has matured. And maybe yes, he now sees more how he had not been a grown up before, and recognizes some of that in Hamilton.

        What he mentions about Hamilton “maybe being afraid” sounds pretty normal, because its an embarrassing episode for Lewis too.

      2. I’ve learned and seen Sutil has a luxury Rolls&Royce car for the Belgian race weekend, so who’s living by: ‘They realise they did wrong and that life is not just about being rich and famous,’ Sutil.

        More on that car, it is slightly damaged on the frond end, looks like somebody’s car gave him a slap.

    2. Maybe if journalist will stop asking him about his “relationship” with Hamilton he will stop commenting on it.

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        23rd August 2013, 0:41

        @celeste
        He wasn’t directly asked about their relationship.
        He was just asked how fame can influence you when maturing from a young driver to a formula 1 driver.

        Sutil really launched into an attack from then on. Nothing prompted him, and no one forces him to say these things. He does it of his own volition.

        He can choose not to comment on questions about his relationship with Hamilton, but it appears as if he is actively seeking out questions that are somewhat to do with it and using them as a platform to take pot shots at Hamilton.

        1. Go easy on the guy, he’s still hurting.

          1. So is Lux!

        2. If you want to believe that @tophercheese21 you can. But if Sutil is best known for that incident now, and that offers the perfect opportunity for a story that will get attention, then journalists will be asking about it.

          Why would Sutil not answer as he sees the world, its not as if he is saying anything surprising or bad.

          1. Why would Sutil not answer these questions? Perhaps if he wanted a few people to maintain a tiny bit of respect for him still.

            If he was anything near average intelligence he would have realized how foolish he came across already the first time a made an effort to avoid anything like that again.

            Instead he seems to be on some jealous school yard vengeance which does nothing but drawing attention back to the incident.

            Does anybody actually believe that a guy with the character he is currently showing would have done differently had the tables been turned and he had everything to lose? I for one certainly doubt it.

      2. @celeste he can always say: “i don’t want to comment about it”. Being asked about something doesn’t mean you should answer.

        He’s just a spoiled child. LH might have been wrong, but come on…

    3. Jack (@jackisthestig)
      23rd August 2013, 0:51

      Sounds like Adrian’s off the Champagne and onto the bitter.

    4. lewis should knock him out

      1. Cmon look at Lewis, he’s soft as white bait. Lewis couldn’t knock the fluff off a cappucino. Adrian comes accross as a bit of a loose cannon, and I reckon he could handle himself. I prefer Lewis as a driver, but if they were put in the octagon together, my money would go on Adrian

    5. Looks like Lewis has become the new Kimi for Sutil; as he kept mentioning the incident and lost points in 2008 Monaco for years (even though he had passed under the yellow flags himself and was going to get a drive through penalty).

    6. Sutil is like an ‘ex-girlfriend’ that just won’t let go….

      1. +10000000000000 That is exactly what I thought of!! He really should just cry a river, build a bridge and get over it!!

    7. Lewis should atleast apologize…

      1. @noob
        for what??? Would you commit perjury just to save a friend risking your own freedom??

        I for one, would not do it… maybe if it were something that could be won but, stabbing someone is basically an open shut case… no ifs or buts about it! Sutil realy should apogize and just get over it!

        1. @karter22

          Would you commit perjury just to save a friend risking your own freedom??

          Saying the truth does not amount to perjury, keeping quiet does. What Sutil expected out of Hamilton, was to tell the truth about what all happened, that would have helped clear the air and also establish the fact that Sutil attacked only after coming under extreme & grave provocation.

          Since Lewis kept quiet, it was difficult for Sutil’s lawyers to establish this fact.

          Keep in mind, Sutil never asked Lewis to lie

          1. @noob
            Would it really have made a difference?? The fact remains that Sutil stabbed a guy! No matter how annoyed or ****** off you are, you have no right to assault someone else or even attempt to murder the guy! Sutil was gonna get convicted with or without Lewis´ testimony and that is a fact! Lewis´ testimony might have even been worse for Sutil so maybe he did him a favor!
            He should really get over it.

  2. “I’m sure if I was in a position to win a race in the future, I’d be allowed to.”

    Keep thinking that, sunshine. Vettel isn’t Alonso, but he won’t like being beaten by a random guy that gets the 2nd seat.

    That being said… he’s too good to be challenged, really, so he won’t need it anyway.

    1. We’ll soon see about that! DR is a quick guy and so is kimi! Vetted isn’t the only driver on the grid who would be able to win a championship in an AN car

    2. I Love the Pope
      23rd August 2013, 2:52

      You’re right about Vettel not being Alonso. Vettel has more titles than Alonso.

      1. Shreyas Mohanty (@)
        23rd August 2013, 11:37

        Oh god, @ilovethepope just tried to conclude a driver’s talent by the number of WDCs. New to F1, are you, mate?

        1. I love the Pope
          23rd August 2013, 12:42

          LOL. Three to two. :)

          Vettel uber Alonso and hammy

        2. Haha! Yea, I mean, since when has consistently winning, year after year, been a good indicator of of someone’s level of skill? Everyone knows it’s the untalented losers that dominate in F1.

          Man, the ideas some people have.

      2. Yeah, how dare he make a statement on a public forum using nothing but facts to support his opinion.

    3. In Red Bull Dan would have every chance to win races. In fact Vettel would prefer a team mate who does. Vettel performs better after he has been beaten by his team mate. Vettel is a pressure guy. The more pressure he has the better he does. And when he loses we don’t get silly tweets like we get from Alonso “The sacred butterfly ate the peasants face because the wind blew south”. So Dan go for it because in Red Bull a win is not going to be given to you.

      1. Shreyas Mohanty (@)
        23rd August 2013, 11:43

        I almost checked reading your comment. o

        Vettel performs better after he has been beaten by his team mate.
        Vettel has never been under pressure from his team-mate. Not because he is brilliant and the best (which he isn’t) – but because he has never had a team-mate top-tier team-mate. Webber is “good”, at best.

        Vettel is a pressure guy. The more pressure he has the better he does.
        Watch the last 3-4 laps of the Hungarian Grand Prix, 2013.

        1. Shreyas Mohanty (@)
          23rd August 2013, 11:44

          *chocked

          1. @shreyasf1fan watch the end of the 2010 and 2012 seasons and then we can talk who performs under pressure and who doesn’t

          2. @shreyasf1fan
            Considering Vettel has won 2 championships from behind I would say he is a pressure guy. Alonso lost 2 or 3(does 2007 count?) from being in the lead so he is not a pressure guy. Mark may not be a world champion but on his day he can win. Vettel is the best simply because he has had the most points at the end of the season. That’s how all sports are run. If it was the car then RB drivers would have been 1 and 2 for the last 3 years.

      2. “The sacred butterfly ate the peasant’s face because the wind blew south”

        I genuinely laughed at that one.

        1. Me too…

    4. Now that I think about it Dan is not the man. If he was they would of signed him already. I suspect they are holding out for Kimmi. It also has me thinking. I wonder if there is an offer from Kubica as he wants to get back to a single seater. Then I wondered about Schumacher, considering he had good form last year but the reliability was not there.

    5. @fer-no65
      SV is no ALO but he definitely would not like it if his new whipping boy would finish in front! I just don´t see it happening. He´ll be what Massa was to Schumi… or Barichelo for that matter…

      1. If you believe that Massa was Schumi’s whipping boy then can you explain why Ferrari pushed out Schumacher to make way for Raikkonen? Massa learned from the master and learned enough to go on to challenge for the WDC.

        Now that Vettel is the current master of F1 I’m sure that Ricciardo could learn a lot for his own future challenge. If they do go for Kimi it could be because they fear losing Vettel and want to get in a complete title contender rather than a potential one.

        1. @jerseyf1
          sorry but you might not have any idea of what you are saying… Schumi´s outing was more politically oriented than anything else. His domination with Ferrari was affecting F1 as a whole. He was pushed out for that reason not because he could not keep whippin Massa. If you disagree, I sugest you take a look back at Brazil 2006. That race alone shows a man still on the peek of his game. It is wrong to say he got sacked for not being able to perform. Before Suzuka 2006, he looked to have had it in the bag so please… don´t twist things.

          1. @karter22 The point I was making was that Schumacher beat Massa because he was the better driver and not because Massa’s role was as a whipping boy, that is a role he has only filled since becoming team-mate to Alonso. As for the political conspiracy theory nonsense I don’t remember Schumacher’s dominance in either of the seasons 2005 or 2006. Your comment on Schumacher’s race at Brazil in 2006 is about the only sensible or accurate comment you’ve made, why he chose to leave instead of taking a move to another team, like BMW, I guess only he knows.

          2. @jerseyf1
            Well, I agree, he didn´t dominate 2005 but 2006 he had it until his engine blew. You might not be a fan of conspiracy theories but even Eddie Jordan said he felt that “Michael was pushed out”. Remember most people´s feeling about Michael winning all those years back in 2000-2004… The non-fans were sick of it; The fans could not get enough of him.
            There is a video out there of Schumi´s las drive for Ferrari where he drives his car and before he gets in there is a big bow covering the number on the car… Look at the end of that video…. The hug between him and Luca was cold, but the looks between him and Todt said it all!
            Here, take a look:
            http://youtu.be/wqAmZMV3CcA?t=2m31s

            I believe he honestly didn´t want to leave. He still had a couple of good years in him!
            About Massa, well, there are some fans of him out there, I personally have never liked him at all, not even as Michael´s number 2 and he was his whipping boy just as Barichello was and Massa won some races just as Barichello did but still they were both number 2 drivers… Massa was unlucky but I still wouldn´t of had seen him as a wdc type of driver in 2008. Opinions are always going to vary and that is what is so great about them!

      2. Oh really @Karter???
        I don’t remember Webber received “Seb is faster than you” message, or that his gearbox is deliberately opened to promote Seb on the grid.

        And let’s remember Alonso’s behaviour when a rookie started beating him: he blocked his teammate in Hungary and when he was rebuked he threatened to blackmail. Not really a magnanimous behaviour in any book. Seb has some way to go to reach to match Alonso in that respect.

        1. @ifelix
          Dude, what is upwith that??

          SV is no ALO

          That is why I said that! I know ALO does get some preferential treatment but having your gearbox seal broken when you are fighting for the championship and you are out of it is fair game… If you don´t understand it then you are too blind for it. It was strategy, nothing more, nothing less. ALO was faster than Massa in germany 2010 and that is why he got the message. Sure ALO could have passed but they might have done a Turkey 2010 and that would not have been smart at all. Criticize all you want but I still don´t understand what you meant. I actually accepted in my comment that indeed ALO does get preferential treatment but that doesn´t mean that Vettel wouldn´t do the same if he started getting beat by a “rookie”. Have you forgotten ” get Mark out of the way, he is too slow”? If he was slow, why didn´t he pass him then? Why wait till he had turned down his engine?
          I´m not going to get into an arguement dude, you just didn´t get my point at all. Read carefully and maybe you will understand what I meant!

          1. First of all “he didn’t wait till he turned down his engine”. Seb came out of pit and start attacking Mark and this would have happened regardless if he had turned down his engine. Besides, after the first two corners Mark should have turned up the engine (unless he was so naive to think Vettel would give him the courtesy he himself denied him in Silverstone 2011).

            But I don’t want to argue either, but i am sicking tired of hearing ridiculous theories about Vettel from some fans of Alonso and Hamilton who out of jealousy constantly try to slander him. I was merely pointing out that Vettel is not particularly worse than other top drivers to ask for preferential treatment and it seems that we are not in disagreement.

          2. @ifelix
            Felix, nobody is trying to slander anybody. First of all, I believe that once the engine is turned down, he couldn´t turn it up back again, at least that is what I understood. Regardless, Webber could´ve stayed in front if he had wanted it that way or would have gone down in flames.
            I honestly don´t understand why SV fans like to wave the “jealousy” flag. That is something ridiculous. ALO has fought hard twice and fought to the end, twice! That to me, in a non-newey car is awesome! No need for jealousy on my end… if anything, I would love for ALO to drive a newey car at Ferrari! ;)
            Oh and BTW, the only difference between SV and other top drivers is we really don´t get to see his true colors often but I would eat my hat if wasn´t the same way as the rest! as a 3 time wdc, he does have a say in his team, that is no ifs or buts about it and I agree when you say:

            Vettel is not particularly worse than other top drivers to ask for preferential treatment and it seems that we are not in disagreement.

            But the truth is he still does it yet we almost never know about it! Cheers dude, at least we agreed on something!

          3. Just to let you know, I am a Kimi fan (always was), but don’t like when people just round up on a driver without any fair reason (suddenly it seems that Di Resta is the hate target).

            By the way, Newey cars were no reason for success for a whole decade (1999-2010) and during this time it was Brawn-led teams (and in 2007 his legacy) that took most championships. (poor Kimi lost on championship twice in 2003 and 2005 because Newey cars are quick but not so reliable). But who knows, maybe you get your wish of Alonso in a Newey car in 2014. He just needs to **** off LdM a bit more ;-)

    6. I disagree there. If it were a Kimi or a Hulkenburg in that seat, then I’d agree. But I can’t see why Ricciardo wouldn’t get a fair shot. There is undeniably some unconditional love towards Vettel within Red Bull, because he’s their baby, effectively. But then, so is Ricciardo. There’s not going to be any bias towards either driver until one emerges as the safer bet for the championship. I don’t think Red Bull would mind who it was.

      I mean, the higher-ups at Red Bull (Mateschitz and Marko) would surely love to be known as the ones who discovered two world champions in a row.

  3. I agree, que questions in the F1 conference today were horrible. Why ask them about if they are ready or not to being a father? or ask Vettel if he “worked” as hard as Alonso during the summer break…

    1. At this point I think we need the FOM to get one guy in there and have the twittersphere do the questions.

      Sure, you’d have the occasional fanboy/girl asking about a driver’s new haircut, but imagine Ross Brawn getting a legitimate tech question or Fernando Alonso an insight in his actual training schedule.

      Rather than ‘was it hard, any of the people sitting in front of me?’.

      1. @npf1 Nice idea…

        @adrianmorse Oh come on… I have seem very good questions being made in sites like this one by fans, sure a proffessional journalist came come up with something good…

        @bascb I think that here is a reason why drivers always look so bored and like they don´t care during this conference:
        The questions are bad or weird at best; or
        They are always the same

    2. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      23rd August 2013, 2:46

      @celeste any link on the full interview?

    3. @celeste, I didn’t mind the fatherhood question so much, though I thought the answers were pretty inane. I agree the press conference questions are not always great, but then it’s not that easy to come up with interesting questions before a wheel has been turned.

      1. really? its there job(and a very good one at that). They have had a month to think of some questions.

        Also its crazy how often the same questions get asked. its like the journalists do not have a back up question if theres gets asked.

        Its very poor and that is being kind.

    4. I guess it was a try to get more interesting answers than asking them about “what do you expect for the weekend” and “who is your main rival” or even “can you get points” or the obligatory ones about the driver market that never get answered anyway.

      Agree that its a sad affair with the press conferences like this @celeste

  4. Sutil is getting beyond a joke now! He seems to want to be a paddock bad boy but its just not working! He was proven guilty in that case and I don’t blame Hamilton for not standing by him.

    If he wants too make a name for himself by having a tiff with another driver then his best bet would be to do it with his team mate!

    It’s petty and quite boring that he is being so childish towards Hamilton, who is also a WDC! Have more respect Sutil and grow up yourself!

    1. Ya, my response after reading is if he really wants to talk to HAM and mend fences, maybe he himself should stop running his mouth to the media about HAM.

  5. Good grief! Top effort!

  6. This wait is killing me! Why won’t this deal get done ? I think everyone agrees (well, most) that the world would be a better place if Kimi is at RBR next year.

    1. @mnm101 – I think Red Bull know exactly who they want, and are just having a bit of fun with the media until they are ready to announce it. After all, Horner has a tendency to repeat what the rumours say after they break, and it’s gotten to the point where he’s started contradicting himself. He’s just fanning the flames because it means more attention on the team.

      If you’re expecting Raikkonen at Red Bull next year, I think you’ll be disappointed. But if you’re expecting the world to be a better place because of it, I *know* you’ll be disappointed. The world would be a better place if the Syrians stopped dumping chemical weapons on their own place. The world isn’t going to care much about a racing driver changing teams.

      1. Classic marketing… It keeps everyone talking about Red Bull which is free advertisement for Red Bull as a company. I don’t know anything about advertising, but perhaps they’ve seen an increase in sales, hence their delay?

    2. Would it? Or would it basically make a packed driver program full of promising talent completely untenable?

      1. Talent?? all i can see is young drivers nowadays is very good in generate hype that they couldn’t live with.

      2. I see where you’re coming from, but I don’t think Kimi driving for RBR for one or two years would hurt anyone, the bigger problem is the small amount of teams

    3. Considering the irrelevance of Formula 1 to social issues the World will remain the same regardless of F1 competition.

    4. @prisoner-monkeys & Boomerang, it’s a figure of speech, I don’t mean the world would literally become better

    5. I’ve heard there’s internal conflict at Red Bull. Horner desperately wants Raikkonen to drive for Red Bull, but Marko wants Ricciardo. I wonder who Mateschitz will listen to…

  7. re: Fernando’s comments – interesting that he doesn’t mention Luca dM by name, and just says “the president”.

  8. tired of the raikkonen-red bull story now, one minute the deals off the next its back on the table, just sign ricciardo and be done with it! :P

  9. you have one [good] race and people get excited and then you have a bad race and negative things are said.

    Says the man who thought his car was just terrible after Friday practice, then after taking pole on Saturday and the win on Sunday announced that he felt like he could win every race for the rest of the season!

    1. @jonsan excellent observation!

  10. “Formula One champions Red Bull have not ruled out Kimi Raikkonen for their vacant seat next season even if the Finn’s manager appears to have done so, team principal Christian Horner said on Thursday.”

    That seems to be the important part of that story. To the extent the deal is dead it’s because Team Kimi have walked away from the table. What sounded like totally absurd rumors a week ago about KR moving to Ferrari now come across as at least plausible.

  11. Re the server move situation, I would like to say that I’m grateful for the service that F1fanatic provides. I like autosport.com, but there’s no way I could afford a subscription to their digital service. Plus I like to read what other people here have to say about things in the comments.

    1. Ditto, ditto, ditto. Well said.

    2. Same here. I installed an adblocker a couple of months ago, but as I frequent the site so much, I happily support the site.

      I don’t have many online subscriptions for money, but for F1Fanatic and Spotify I find I have my 2 major hobbies largely entertained.

    3. this.
      Sites like these make me very appreciative.

  12. OmarR-Pepper (@)
    23rd August 2013, 2:38

    Ricciardo is obviously dreaming when he says he will be treated equally as Seb, when Horner keeps saying he do want Kimi. With this, Horner and the big bosses are telling the world Ricciardo is as good as a leftover or the present you don’t like on your birthday but you have to smile anyway. Or as a consolation prize maybe?

    1. @omarr-pepper I see it this way, Obviously at the moment Kimi is a better driver the Dan, but each of them comes with his pros and cons, Kimi will give you the immediate advantage, in that he doesn’t need any polishing and knows how to get the job done, however he is towards the end of his career and probably has another 3 or 4 strong seasons in him, on the other hand Dan represents a long term investment, he will need support and you wouldn’t expect any immediate results from him, but those results will come in time.
      Also I don’t think Dan is expecting equal treatment, he might say that he does but realistically I don’t believe he thinks so, and he shouldn’t expect it, Seb has done a lot for RBR and deserves preferential treatment, Dan will come to have the same kind of support if he supplies the good later in his career.
      I think RBR’s best plan of action would be to get Kimi for a season or two and then take on Dan or JEV, next year and the year after that they will need the strongest most experienced drivers they can get

      1. They can sign Dan any time they want. The last thing we want to see in F1 is a Dan pull over, Seb is faster than you. For my money, the bet paring of drivers in F1 at the moment is at Mercedes.

  13. “To address this on Wednesday evening the site was moved to a new, more powerful (and more expensive) server. ”

    Fantastic :D. Thanks a lot guys . This website will to great heights .

  14. I’ve always been a bit negative towards RBR an Vettel. It’s perhaps because I saw both team and driver as upstarts in a series I’ve been following on and off since the ’60s. I know it really wasn’t, but I saw their success as being a bit to easy. It was so early (in the case of Vettel) and so late (in the case of RBR) on the scene. I’ve had a change of thought and have had to unlearn my aforementioned bias. It’s an awesome combination between Seb and RBR. I just hope that RBR will put a driver in Webber’s vacant seat that can challenge Seb and bring out the best in both.

  15. I’m getting Oh so tired of Lewis… Stop frickin’ underplaying you chances all of the ***** time. I don’t listen to a word he says, and haven’t for quite some time, it’s all expectation management all the time.
    I remember in the pre season he was saying CONSTANTLY that this year was a write off and bla bla bla, and after the first decent result he was all like “I don’t know why people doubted us… whine whine”
    Drive the car, and shut up is what I wish that Lewis would do… No more dumb twitters and other cr*ap.
    I’m not Vettels biggest fan, but damn it’s good not to have to read some dumb twitter of his (even if he’d probably be smarter than Lewis)

    1. well, Alonso got it works perfectly last year. He’s learning from the best.

    2. Now can we hear Mr. Hyde’s version of events please?

    3. There’s an Unfollow button, you know. I used it on Lewis a couple of weeks ago when the emo, “I miss Nicole” stuff got too much.

    4. “I don’t listen to a word he says, and haven’t for quite some time,”

      Funny, that. Given your outburst.

      If you don’t want to read his tweets and all the rest of it, simply dont, then you wont get wound so tightly that you have to come onto a forum to publically verbally vomit about his every comment.

      1. well, I do tend to soak up any and all availabe f1 related stuff, so I guess saying “listen” was inaccurate. What I meant was, I don’t take anything that HAM says seriously.
        The dumb tweets annoy me, and although I don’t follow him on twitter the quotes tend to find their way into my knowledge on way or another, for example through this awesome site and its forum where I spend too much time haha.
        But the thing I mentioned about post race retracting of downplaying and in some cases (imo) borderline badmouthing of his current team really rubbs me the wrong way.

        and I most certainly do not verbally vomit about his every comment… (at least not publicly ;) haha)

  16. First of all, fantastic to hear about the new server!

    Re COTD: the thing with a safety car start is usually that there is too much spray, so a few laps behind the safety car dries it up a little before they start. So I don’t see why a few grooves on the starting grid would prevent safety car starts.

  17. Really Sutil? You are still going on about it? Want some cheese with that wine(glass)?

    And what is the big problem with the press conference and the question whether they are ready to be fathers? Grosjean became a father during the summer break and therefore it does have some relevance. And the lighthearted responses were quite refreshing from the usual drab conferences… Allow the drivers to be human why don’t you?

  18. What is it with Alonso’s “I-said-nothing”? Is he lying in our faces now? Is he teasing Ferrari?

    1. Even in modern F1, it’s possible Fernando’s words were mis-translated or mis-interpreted. Think of how many F1 sites use Google Translate and how many motorsports journalists will write a page long article about 3 remarks made by Hamilton in one race. If Button wasn’t as loved as he was; there would be pages filled with rumors about him joining Ferrari as well with his quote about the team over-analyzed and raising the question where Alonso will go. (In no way meant to be a dig at any mentioned driver; rather the people in the press who blow up any speculation or quote.)

      If Alonso and the Ferrari PR department have found the tape of the interview in which he said that and his actual words can be explained to Luca in a different manner, I still think Fernando would need some major debating skills to defend even the implication he would rather drive for another team.

      1. Well, sure. It IS possible that was about a mis-translation, or a mis-interpretation @npf1. What I find far (and I really mean FAR) more likely explanation, is that they have sat down and agreed to refrain from open bickering and get behind solving their issues and just say this to get the subject off the table.

        You can be sure that Luca would have had the tape of those interviews played for him already even before he had his statements published by Ferrari. That is exactly why teams record EVERYTHING their drivers say.

  19. Nico to red bull and sutil to Mercedes lol!

  20. Interesting viewpoint from Lauda on cosmetic surgery. I do agree with him in that its often visible (and make all those celebrities look alike over time with the same cheeks, big lips, thin noses etc) and that its probably a lot to do with not feeling good about themselves enough.

    But only a very strong person like Lauda himself can uphold that “You have to have enough personality to overcome this beauty bull—- and find the strength to love yourself the way you are.” Its not that easy when you are down to just overcome your problems. It would be good if more people realized that cosmetic surgery doesn’t really solve anything of that (although it does help some people get over a low self esteem), instead support and therapy can help far more.

    A society which does not look down on not being thin, “healthy looking” with the ideal proportions would be even better!

  21. Surely the tention between Lewis and Adrian can’t be helping the force India and Mercedes relationship any good?

    Does anyone no which engines force India are using next year?

    1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
      23rd August 2013, 11:15

      I highly doubt that an off-track personal issue would in any way affect Force India’s relationship with Mercedes engine supply.

  22. So Horner is gonna hire Kimi without the manager’s involvement…….great.

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