2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bull!!

[MattS]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

True to a point and I accept your clarification.

Just one thing I disagree on -- unless Ferrari totally sh*ts the bed, they will always be able to get better sponsorship than most teams simply on name value alone. Unlike most other teams, their performance is barely tied into their success at getting sponsors.

Agreed.

[alfablue]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

listening to some news while the British Grand Prix is under red- Haas Automation is now a sponsor of Ferrari. Stickers on the car and everything.

So we know who Gene is planning to team up with...

[MattS]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

listening to some news while the British Grand Prix is under red- Haas Automation is now a sponsor of Ferrari. Stickers on the car and everything.

So we know who Gene is planning to team up with...

I read earlier this week that this move it two-fold. Obvisously one think Haas will use Ferrari power but also it shows Bernie and the FIA that he is serious about spending money and not be another Caterham, HRT, Marussia.

[Runsub5]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Some of the best wheel to wheel racing so far this year in today's British GP. The battle for fifth position between Sebastian and Fernando was fantastic. Ferrari just doesn't have the car to compete with. Lewis winning the race certainly made up for his blunder in qualifying.

[alfablue]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

I was not a fan of Will Power, but after his excuse of blocking really put a bad taste in my mouth. Getting out of Castroneves' way? Are you joking?!

Great drive by Montoya for sure, and confusing strategy from Target by taking Kannan off the lead strategy- not as if he didn't have the speed to run head to head with Montoya. Oh well.

Fun F1 race, with Alonso showing his real hard driving colors, that was really great to see him hold off vettel. Too bad for Rosberg, but great win for Hamilton!

Botas shows, again, that he is a great driver.

[solovsfett]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

I was not a fan of Will Power, but after his excuse of blocking really put a bad taste in my mouth. Getting out of Castroneves' way? Are you joking?!

Great drive by Montoya for sure, and confusing strategy from Target by taking Kannan off the lead strategy- not as if he didn't have the speed to run head to head with Montoya. Oh well.

Fun F1 race, with Alonso showing his real hard driving colors, that was really great to see him hold off vettel. Too bad for Rosberg, but great win for Hamilton!

Botas shows, again, that he is a great driver.

Agreed on all fronts here. Will Power has really become a *******. Even Cindric told him to "wake up". He's just gotten too vindictive out there and he doesn't have the talent of a Senna (nor the charisma or off track contributions) for this fan to overlook his zealous nature.

I'm very happy for JPM, glad he's BACK!

Kanaan...I love TK but I'm wondering if he's going to be questioning his decision to move to Target. He might have been better off at Schmidt-Hamilton or staying w/Vasser

Silverstone: what a fantastic race IMO. Great to see Hamilton make up for his qualifying blunder and great to see Bottas finish 2nd (and I never in one million years thought I'd cheer for a Williams driver ever again)...Not sure how long McLaren will be down but they definitely appear to be heading toward the front quicker than Ferrari.

ha ha ha Vettel at the start, I think that was my favorite part of the race! 2nd to 5th in 1 lap, eat it!

[alfablue]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Watching the replay of the F1 race. Vettel is just a jerk. Why do you think someone should not try everything that they can to prevent you to pass? Alonso did it really well, and forced Vettel to really work hard to make it stick- to the point where bad attempts were going to fail- and all he did was whine about the fact that Alonso took a line he didn't like.

Put your head down and drive, for crying out loud. Not sure what Fernando whined about after the pass.... Still, Sebastian acted like a pretty big baby in that encounter.

[solovsfett]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Watching the replay of the F1 race. Vettel is just a jerk. Why do you think someone should not try everything that they can to prevent you to pass? Alonso did it really well, and forced Vettel to really work hard to make it stick- to the point where bad attempts were going to fail- and all he did was whine about the fact that Alonso took a line he didn't like.

Put your head down and drive, for crying out loud. Not sure what Fernando whined about after the pass.... Still, Sebastian acted like a pretty big baby in that encounter.

he is a big baby really. And the post race comments from Alonso confirm he tried everything he could to maintain position and was proud to have held his position against a superior red bull for 13 laps

This is the kind of thing that separates the men from the boys really. If it were Senna or Schumacher behind Alonso they'd have found a way past much much quicker...heh, or they'd have both been shunted off

[joecct]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

he is a big baby really. And the post race comments from Alonso confirm he tried everything he could to maintain position and was proud to have held his position against a superior red bull for 13 laps

This is the kind of thing that separates the men from the boys really. If it were Senna or Schumacher behind Alonso they'd have found a way past much much quicker...heh, or they'd have both been shunted off

Maybe SV is driving for Red Steer?

[MattS]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

I thought outside of the Mercedes driving away from everyone, which has been the norm this season, it was a good race. I don't particularly like Silverstone but this one was good.

The absolute best part of the Alonso - Vettel fight was David Hobbs making fun of Vettel's whining on the air. That was great! Once again Alonso is killing it in a bad Ferrari. I don't know if anyone else heard but the expectation is that there are going to be some pretty hefty firings at Maranello over the state of the F1 program.

Bottas has really shown he can drive. I think he is getting everything out of a decent Williams car. Well done.

Good to hear Kimi is OK other than a bruised ankle. That was a pretty good lick he took.

I feel bad for Massa. He had a horrible start which I believe was his own fault but dang I still feel bad for him getting caught in the Kimi wreck. Tough way to have your 200th GP end.

And good for Button. Nice to see him have a good drive in the British GP. Too bad he couldn't get that elusive podium. Ah, well, maybe next year if he's still driving.

Oh, and I am sick of the made up by the press BS of the "ill will" between Hamilton and Rosberg. I thought that the NBC crew was above it but they get sucked right in like most of the press. Ugh.

[solovsfett]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

Maybe SV is driving for Red Steer?

he's getting beaten by a teammate w/less experience and he's whining all of the time (well, actually that bit is not new at all). He's got a top 4 car still as evidenced by Ricciardo but he's lost, combine that with how terrible he is in traffic and it tells me he's not nearly as good as the SV fans make him out to be

[manurespreader]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

I don't see alonso staying around after this year. Too many other good cars out there with less drama.

[MattS]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

I don't see alonso staying around after this year. Too many other good cars out there with less drama.

I agree with you that Alonso would much rather have a better car. He is under contract with Ferrari through the 2016 season but we all know contracts don't mean too much in F1. Sure there are good cars out there but realistically where is Alonso going to go? Certainly not Mercedes or RB as their driver lineups are set. I can't see Williams or Force India having that cash to pay Alonso what he would require. Lotus and Sauber would be steps back even if they could afford him. STR is out also. And Caterham and Marussia are laughable.

That leaves McLaren. I don't think Magnussen is going anywhere as he looks impressive for a rookie. So that leaves Button's seat. I can see Button leaving as I think his contract is up after this season. So that certainly is a viable seat up for grabs. I can't help but wonder if Alonso would go back to McLaren and work with Ron Dennis again. Last time wasn't too pleasant. And then there is the whole Honda engine thing. Are they going to be behind or does the "extra" year make them instantly competitive? It's certainly not an easy decision for him. So while I agree that Alonso would like and deserves a better car, his options at other teams are very limited.

I don't agree with you about your drama comment as I think Ferrari has been drama free by F1 standards this season.

[alfablue]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

I don't agree with you about your drama comment as I think Ferrari has been drama free by F1 standards this season.

You mean besides the firing of the team priniciple, and then the new one telling the world that there's going to be a house cleaning. Which should start very soon. And the drivers mentioning that the car isn't very good.

No, no drama at all.

i guess in comparison to the drama at Mercedes that has now passed, but the press is holding onto that, well...

Back when Fernando was hired, my wife was really worried that an emotional Spaniard was joining and emotional Italian team, which is an interesting mix. Thankfully, she did get to witness him winning a race at Monza in person.

[MattS]

Re: 2014 Open Wheel Racing - if it's white smoke, it's not a good sign & that's no bu

You mean besides the firing of the team priniciple, and then the new one telling the world that there's going to be a house cleaning. Which should start very soon. And the drivers mentioning that the car isn't very good.

No, no drama at all.

i guess in comparison to the drama at Mercedes that has now passed, but the press is holding onto that, well...

Ok, I guess I see that could be considered "drama". I consider it part of everyday business life.