Lauda and Hamilton seem to go together as evidenced by their egos. Lauda is in the press everyday and has something to say (or think s he does) about everyone and everything. Hamilton's latest is he won't wear the team hat because he doesn't like the way it looks. He has offered to help restyle the teams clothing. This is racing driver???
It is a good thing that Seb is such a down to earth, team player. I can't imagine what he would be like if he was a diva like Lewis...
Exactly......and I still don't understand why so many people talk Vettel down, calling him "the Brat" and so on. I think he's a refreshing change to the usual business only F1 diva driver. Of course, winning three championships in a row has to give a guy some confidence!
Ask anyone about Senna, Prost, Lauda, Hunt, Schumacher, etc., and you'll get conflicting opinions. Vettel is a proven winner - critics are bound to come out of the woodwork.
I just realized that I forgot to turn my sarcasm font on with my post! While I think Lewis is the worst as far as ego goes, I don't think Seb is far behind. I give him credit for being a 3 time F1 champ, but I'm curious how much of that has to do with the car versus his actual skill.
If I were a young, charismatic and handsome F1 champion, you could not contain my ego. I would make Lewis Hamilton, and maybe even Tiger Woods, look humble. :wink: Between the teams, F1 technology makes a significant difference, not unlike America's Cup yachts. Put Vettel and Hamilton in F1 cars fielded by Marussia, Williams or Caterham. Do you think they consistently perform in GP events like they do now?
I'm sorry, I don't buy that argument at all......Seb's teammate the last three seasons has years more experience, is considered a top driver, and hasn't been able to come close to Seb's performance in the exact same car. No, if he was driving a Caterham he would not be world champion three times over, but neither would any of the other top drivers......the comparison is not valid.
If the current F1 drivers operated the exact same vehicle, better drivers would assuredly rise to the top. Driver skill is paramount. But that is not the case in the F1 circuit, so you must factor in technological variances among the respective F1 teams. How would Raikkonen compare to Vettel if he drove Webber's car? When you're talking about mere seconds in the world's fastest sport, technological differences and driver skill inevitably affect performance results. But what do I know? I'm a lawyer. :wink: I defer to wiser F1 enthusiasts with greater insight and experience.
Cars in a team may be the same, but drivers are not. What is splendid for one driver is often called undriveable by a teams second driver. You can bet your paycheck that the Red Bull is what Vettel wants & not necessarily what Webber wanted. Yes they are very adjustable machines, but I'd bet there were more resources on Vettel's side of the garage. My main point is all drivers like a car a different way. Vettel is very happy with his car & it shows. When his car is not perfect neither is he & that also shows.
Seb did well when he was driving for TR and scored his first point in his first race driving a BMW. How many other drivers have scored their first point yet? My point with Hammy is he wants to be a singer, a clothing designer, and a part time driver?
I have an idea that could help the smaller teams get more sponsor money. Change the rule to allow a teams cars to run different liveries. A bigger/title add is cheaper for one car and more sellable to potential sponsors.
One of the teams tried that a few years ago. Someone (Bernie? FIA? other teams?) said not allowed and that's why we had a couple BARs with dual livery, split down the middle with a zipper.
F1 = Drama. Give me grassroots racing like NASA and SCCA where the drivers don't give a damn how they look, they drive for the fun, and they can actually turn a wrench.
Yep that's the best. Especially if you get to hold the steering wheel & the wrench. Trouble is there is no TV coverage of those guys. Love it when door slammers are on the track.
I've run events with NASA and the Secret Sports Car Club for years, and I also like grass roots racing, but that takes nothing away from my appreciation of what the F1 circus brings to my TV. Sure, some of the backroom wrangling is tiresome, but when the red lights go out, all that doesn't matter any more, and it's on, baby! I also like NASCAR ( although I definitely enjoy the road course races the most), and I watch the Indycars too. I've been to National drag race events (in fact I was at Heartland Park the day they broke the 300 mph record - years ago) and run my share of regional events. I'm a fan of many types of racing, and they all have their positives, so I'll just leave it at that. But one last comment, there's no way that Mock Webba would run a car with the top team for 4 years if it wasn't suited to him....it only took Kimi three races to get Renault to completely change the steering to suit him.
I think all of us here love racing. Nascrap as long as it is on a road course. :wink: Ovals in any form do little for this old guy. Different strokes.
I too like all types of racing...my point was that I get tired of the off track drama, especially in F1. To each his own, give me grassroots racing without the crowds, the hype and the off track drama.