Vettel always seems like a super cool guy when doing interviews. I like him, even when he had the bad relationship with Webber.
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The Formula 1 2014 Season |OT| Who Will Win? Nobody Nose
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Vettel always seems like a super cool guy when doing interviews. I like him, even when he had the bad relationship with Webber.
Shiiiiiiit. Bianchi to Ferrari then?
Ambitious driver?
Someone fighting for a championship?
Honestly, is he supposed to be happy and cheerful and oh so proud of his teammate that just took his spot at the top of a championship ladder?
Sound to me like you're just projecting your hatred of him on this picture.
Alonso to McLaren, Vettel to Ferrari, Button into retirement, and Vergne into Red Bull!
Well, In 2 weeks he'll have the whole world looking at him in FP1.
I really really really hope he doesn't fuck up
Psychotext
Member
That's Vettel's car. Danny's problems lay elsewhere.
imagine Kimi and bianchi as our drivers.....that's just as bad as Mclaren this year, might as well give up now
I support this notion in every respect.
massivekettle
Member
You are asking too much of Ferrari. They can barely make a competitive car (that nobody except Alonso can handle) and now you are asking them to make a (fast) car for Kimi (who's in a bit of a "Button" phase in his career)?
James Allison gave him great cars two years in a row and will get his first proper chance to design a car for Ferrari so here's to hoping.
Lol...Kimi is past it, I think he his just driving for a pay cheque now. He is no team leader and you can't build a team around him. This whole building a car for a driver thing is stupid, they build the best car they can.
When Alonso leaves, Ferrari is fucked.....they are the new McLaren
When Alonso leaves, Ferrari is fucked.....they are the new McLaren
Nah, as soon as Alonso's out the door they'll fix the wind tunnel and get 200 extra ponies out of the engine.
KillerMan91
Member
I really don't think Kimi has been that bad lately. He just somehow sucks at qualifying this year and that makes races so much harder. He is not that much slower in races than Alonso but when you have shit car like Ferrari with shit engine it makes passing those mercedes cars damn hard even though you have otherwise faster car (This race Kimi drove behind Massa and Bottas whole race even though you could see that he would have had more pace had he passed them). Even Alonso makes like 95% of his position gains at starts or pitstops and then just focuses on to keep people behind him. Kimi has had some shit luck too though at qualifyings (like this race).
Psychotext
Member
Seems that a number of very good drivers are having real trouble getting the most out of their cars this year. For whatever reason it seems like the way these cars / tyres act just doesn't suit their driving styles, and they've been slow to adapt.
You and I can't prove it, but when just about every insider credits him with dragging that car to more points finishes than it rightfully deserves, it tends to carry some weight.
massivekettle
Member
You can't build a team around at 36-year-old driver who's clearly past his prime (2004-2007). Kimi has only been fast on occasion since his return and only if everything fell into place. He has definitely lost whatever skill he had to drive around problems like Alonso or Hamilton do.
He's much more like a Vettel or actually closer to a Button who requires near-perfect conditions to perform optimally which in itself is not that bad if you can provide him with all the elements, which I don't think Ferrari can do given recent track record.
All that really proves is he's an exceptional driver. But it doesn't prove he knows how to help a team develop a great car, like a guy like Schumacher was able to do in his prime.
He's awesome.
Ah, I get what you're saying now. I don't have a counterpoint.
If the engineering part of the team isn't good enough, even Schumacher in his prime wouldn't drag a world championship car out of them.
Well, in the seasons he was there he was
108 points
140 points
156 points
& 130 points
ahead of his team mate.
He won 11 races to his team mates 0 and he nearly became world champion twice with a clearly inferior car.
I'd say that without him Ferrari would have finished lower down the the constructor's championship every, missed out on a lot of money as a result, they would have won next to no races and would certainly not have fought for the championship in any season.
To say that he wasted his best years at a team that he had to carry and that didn't once equip him with a car that he could fight for the championship with on at least level footing with the strongest constructor is putting it mildly.
Schumacher was driving in a completely different period and he had the best team of people around him. By many accounts he was not actually the best at developing cars and at set ups. He was quick and he united the team behind him with his talent, but even a Senna-Schumacher-Prost-Alonso hybrid wouldn't have made Ferrari a winning constructor in the last few years.
I'd say that he could, hell, Ferrari in 1995 wasn't that far off from where they are now. Schumacher was a central part of that team, the engineering part of the team gets elevated when you have a driver with the presence of Schumacher around.
But then we go back to 2007 and we see that Alonso isn't anywhere near as dominant when matched up with a teammate that's on his level. Alonso is an AMAZING driver, among the top 3 or 4 on the grid over the past decade, but there's more drivers like that on the grid today. Ferrari isn't even remotely fucked if they replace him with someone on equal grounds, even if they don't get such a driver for next year, they could for the year after that.
Besides it's Ferarri, they've come out of deeper holes than this, really.
See above. The driver is only a small part in turning a team around and to act as if Schumacher single handedly turned Ferrari into a winning team makes no sense.
2007 was a bit of a special year to be fair. Hamilton got to him and the circumstances were very strange. By the way, I don't think that he's the only good driver in F1, I do think that Hamilton is on his level (probably the only one that is). However, those drivers are rare and without him Ferrari would have been bollocksed in recent years.
I've no doubt that at some point they'll come out of their slump again, but it could easily take 5 or 10 years until they do.
Never said it was "single handedly", I did say he was instrumental and it's hard to argue that fact I would say.
There is no proof Alonso makes the Ferrari team any better though or that Ferrari is gonna get significantly worse without him at developing cars and the team in general.
massivekettle
Member
That's why I think Ferrari will try everything to get Lewis for 2016.
Didnt Alonso do the same at Renault (can't remember what they were called at the time) when in-season testing was still there though? The driver is a lot less influential in car development now than the were back when they could punch in tons of laps between races.
They were called Renault.
Honestly though, those two years are the only times Alonso was dominant, but unless he can do that again, it's just not proof.
But your second point is much more valid imo, the lack of in-season testing does decrease driver influence on development, that's true enough.
massivekettle
Member
Alonso proposing seat swap with Lewis according to Marca
http://www.marca.com/2014/09/22/mot...tml?cid=SMBOSO34503&s_kw=Twitter&t=1411379090
http://www.marca.com/2014/09/22/mot...tml?cid=SMBOSO34503&s_kw=Twitter&t=1411379090
Hamilton walking away from Mercedes seems pretty farfetched to me, even taking in some reliability blemishes into account.
Nicktendo86
Member
Been out of the F1 loop as I have been in a bad mood since United's capitulation to Leicester yesterday, Alonso to leave Ferrari? Good for him. Hamilton would be utterly, utterly stupid to take his place though, there is no sign whatsoever that they are going to turn a corner anytime soon.
Alonso needs to hook Toto up with Nicole or something, otherwise I don't see it happening.
gutterboy44
Member
It will be really disappointing to see Alonso never with the title for Ferrari, but i can't blame him. He deserves a better car, and they have been putting out stinkers for seasons. I would love to see Alonso battling for a title again before he retires. That open Ferrari seat should sure be exciting.
I hope there isn't another Mercedes like tech/engine gap next seasons. I think there could be some insane racing from 1st to tenth if no one team has a massive advantage. 2015-2016 could be a hell of a season!
I hope there isn't another Mercedes like tech/engine gap next seasons. I think there could be some insane racing from 1st to tenth if no one team has a massive advantage. 2015-2016 could be a hell of a season!
Mastah
Member
Completely different eras. No testing, no test mules (Irvine said Schumacher was great at developing engine and electronics, but hopeless at aerodynamics, so he had to rely on test drivers who felt difference between parts), no privileges, driver skill playing less important role, no refuelling.
Psychotext
Member
Fox Mulder
Member
lol, why.
swapping an OP championship seat even with technical issues for Ferrari.
he's clearly the better driver at Mercedes, he just has to stop being a crybaby with baby hair and suck up the issues with DNFs. You'd almost forget that he's won 7 times this year with all the needless drama.
Business
Member
Winning the title with Mercedes and jumping into Vettel's seat would be a great idea I think, with Vettel replacing Button.
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