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Who is most at fault in the row over Minardi's participation in Australia?
Paul Stoddart
16.22 % (661)
FIA
11.31 % (461)
TOIT
72.47 % (2953)
I wish TOIT would just say yes. We are hardly going to challenge them despite our higher Downforce levels!
Comments
Come on conservatives. You are all very good at spraying Stoddart with unfounded annecdotes about the perceptions of the F1 world about his actions. Now there appears to be some actual information about that.
Cat got your collective tongues?
would it have been better to just shut up? time will tell i guess...
I've been going to races since the 1972 Canadian GP...I was 25 then. I've followed F1 passionaltely ever since....... I was very fortunate to be taught about F1 by Dennis Jenkinson (DSJ) the greatest GP journo who wrote for MOTOR SPORT....plus 2 Yanks who had a clue.... Pete Lyons and Jeff Hutchinson who wrote for FORMULA and AUTOWEEK back in the 70's and 80's. Fans and the journo's seemed to respect all the drivers and the various teams....... But jingoism came to the coverage of F1 begining in 1976.....I remember the British Press and their coverage of the '76 season....James vs. the machine (Niki Lauda).... the new fans of F1 must of liked that crap because supporting "Our (fill in the blank)" by denigrating his rival became not the exception...became the norm.....I was/still am a fan of Nigel Mansell....but the British Press ran with "Our Nige" vs the world ( Piquet was a crybaby....Prost was "The Professor" but wasn't a real racer....Senna was homicidal....)...then it was "Our Damon" and now it's "Our Jense".......... the common denominator being the enemy was/is Michael Schumacher...and those cheats at Benetton and Ferrari who always has the FIA support........ Which is kinda funny 'cuz the FIA has made changes to the point system (cheapening the value of a win by awarding 2nd place with 8 points instead of 6.....to the benefit of Kimi in 2003.....1 win and he is in the hunt for the WDC to the very end of the season) and qualifying...both aimed at hurting Ferrari.......
All one has to know about the British Enthusiast Press is read this weeks AUTOSPORT...... 10 Greatest Races of F1...... One of the races was Jerez in 1997 where Jacques Villeneuve survived Schumachers' thuggery to win the WDC. Of couse this race is remembered by many for another horrendous action that too many easily equals Schumacher's thuggery..... the DEAL between McLaren and Williams going into the race....McLaren were very competitive going into this GP.... but Uncle Ron had his team sandbag instead of going for the victory..... after Schumacher crashed out of the race....Jacques was reminded over the radio to remember to honor the deal and let the McLaren's pass.... he didn't listen at first and it took Jock Clear a number of times to get on the radio and remind him to honor the Williams side of the deal....he eventually did..... First DC passed him and then the 3rd place driver, Mika got by.... Uncle Ron then ordered DC to let Mika by so that Mika could gain his first win.....and DC did as he was ordered........ Again this was 1997....years before TOIT put the sport in disrepute in Autria..... The British Press has a very convenient memory.........
Sorry, I'm just an old fart who remebers what F1 fans used to be all about....... I'm discouraged by some of the crap I read here by the new fans of F1. Hell, one can't even type in the Scuderia's name or a certain driver without it being changed by software......if you want to act like children, then go ahead and write whatever term you want for drivers, teams, writers of articles, and other posters.... I just think that I should have the opportunity to express myself in a way that is not degrading.
Lease..... if you want to believe that a poll taken by a website that has a bias is "actual information"...that is your perogative.
I see it as biased...PERIOD...... and there is no cat that has my tongue.....
Jerez '97 almost made me stop watching F1 altogether...watching my then-hero Schumacher attempt to ram JV, and what followed in the aftermath, with Hakkinen being gifted the race...I distinctly recall going into a "I don't need F1, I've got CART" funk...
I guess we all have our eras that we champion above the others, depending on when it was that we were young...I was not fortunate to witness F1 during the 60's, 70's, and most of the 80's...I will, however, forever love the early 90's, when young Michael was in ascent in that lovely yellow/green Benetton, when Senna drove an underpowered McLaren to places it didn't belong, when Alesi turned in drive after passionate drive for the Scuderia, when Prost returned for one last hurrah with Williams, just to remind us all how good he was...
...and when Minardi used to produce one beautiful car after another. Who wouldn't buy that M192 if they had the money?
Sorry, just can't help going for the stereotype gag.
The point that I made was targeted towards the folks who think that Stoddart should knuckle down and race until the money runs out and then quietly go away. The fact that a poll of perceptions was actually available was something of a revelation and deserved debate.
In reality, it seems to have unlocked long-simmering annoyance at journalistic bias (now there's something new) towards the evil eyeties on the part of the Honest Tommies. Sorry, know nothing of this. Um, don't care either.
Murph, you sound like a sage and connected fan and your views are interesting to read and I'm a little surprised that you dragged the soapbox out on this one, but there ya go. Are most of us uninformed? You bet. Do those of you who are connected, share? No, the reality is that several coteries exist within the confines of these pages and the place sometimes reeks of smugness. No point giving someone their commupance for the simple reason that they don't know what you know. That's called contempt.
Clearly though, the acronyms are causing growing consternation. Sticks and stones.
Stoddart is walking on thin ice.
With who????
Murph: agree with much of what you say, the tabloids here only have one take on British drivers but you don't have to read it - most people don't! For what it's worth, Damon & DC have been consistently denigrated overseas but we're not allowed to call that racism, are we? They are both very good drivers, Damon occasionally brilliant. Nothing wrong with being patriotic.
Jenks was a top bloke, as is Roebuck now.
re: Jerez. Point taken but it wasn't for the championship + Williams and McLaren at least, generally, let their drivers race against one another.
Stoddart seems larger than life (even for an aussie)-theres no way he is going to sit around quietly being told what to do. I wouldn't have thought this was the yank approach either.:)
I don't think anyone has suggested Stoddie just accept his lot, neither should he allow himself to be set-up by Ron and Frank. He's in big school now and this may well end in tears.
If by 'conservative' you mean behind-the-scenes persuasion and pressure (definitely not doing nothing) then I am conservative. It would also win more sponsors and ensure longer survival in F1.
You can't blame the Great Unwashed for forming their opinions contrary to yours if they aren't being presented with all of the facts. And several of you on here apparently (allegedly?) have some facts hidden away quietly amongst yourselves but don't share outside of a few cryptic announcements. What's the secret password? :rolleyes:
tick tock tick tock... what to do what to do?
BTW - how many of US are in US?
If you are in US please post aye in your next thread.
The way I see it is you should always know what you are getting into. Stoddart took on the Minardi F1 team. It is'nt, and has never been a Ferrari or Williams. To try and gain influence and thus strengthen your hand in the current state of F1 like other teams do just is'nt what I like Minardi for. I've always liked the fact that Minardi always steered clear of that stuff and put their 'mouth' on the track. THIS is where Minardi garnered respect down the pitlane cos they kept clear of MOST of the politics. Now in my opinion it is being destroyed. Now Minardi has become the 'moaner' of the pitlane. Minardi are being forced into a difficult situation? Damn right they are and it does'nt help when as a small team you go rubbing people up the wrong way. What TRUE Allies does Stoddart have now in the pitlane, he is walking such thin ice it's almost see through......Minardi should have stuck with what they did best....race, if Minardi went down the pan doing just that at least they would have gone out in style and been missed. Now if Minardi go out of F1, the image that Minardi used to stand for has been tarnished and I'm sure some people would say 'good riddance', which is not being true to GCM's heritage nor true to what the hard working staff at Faenza deserve.
I agree with Murph on the points of British Press, come on how can you constantly support COULTHARD for christs sake. Had he been an Italian driver with Italian press that guy would have been out of F1 years ago....