2007 F1 Season

[djr81]

What a sickening week in F1. It demonstrated all that is wrong with the sport.

A governing body doing the bidding of one team.

Dull racing.

Petulant drivers.

For those that think that McLaren did anything wrong maybe you should spend some time in a pit paddock at any race weekend at any level of the sport. Most of the diiscussions are about who is running what. As to speculating about the weight distribution of the cars, well I guess I had better run and hide. Check post number 1232.

[Marco-R34GTT]

no comment...

[m3gtr]

if THIS is not the end of Alonso at Mac then i will eat more than my daks...

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns19666.html

bye bye you bastard.

[Kaido_RR]

if THIS is not the end of Alonso at Mac then i will eat more than my daks...

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns19666.html

bye bye you bastard.

nothing knew there....

[Forged]

nothing knew there....

that will depend on whose reading...

"Mr Alonso is not here because he does not want to be here. He does not speak to anyone much. He is a remarkable recluse for a driver. He is not here by choice. Moreover, he said he had other things to do by previous arrangement. I cannot force him to come. We asked him to come."

haha I'm starting to like the guy now hope he could keep contain LH the way he did in the last three races.

[Kaido_RR]

i found it interesting how the media can twist stuff

lol

The Daily Mirror on Monday said F1's reigning world champion 'pays to beat' his team-mate Lewis Hamilton by attempting to offer each of the mechanics on his side of the garage $1300 for a win over the British rookie.

no prizes for guessing what country this came from LOL!

nice to see both sides of the story

"Alonso has always offered a bonus to his mechanics," As revealed. "At Renault he used to pay thousands of euros to his mechanics for each victory, and sometimes he invited them out for dinner near the factory in Enstone as well.

[ctjet]

I think the british media are looking for their next bad guy... and to them Alonso seems to fit that bill

[djr81]

Well I was prepared to give Alonso the doubt. Until the last week, that is:

This is an extract from a Mike Doodson article in this weeks Auto Fiction titled "Who ratted on Ron"

...The man who phoned the FIA president Max Mosley to inform him that two McLaren drivers (de la Rosa & Alonso) and a senior McLaren engineer (Coughlan) had been circulating technical secrets...was none other than Ron Dennis...

As Dennis explained last weekend, his own driver Fernando Alonso "suggested" to him on the morning of last month's Hungarian GP that he possessed information.....

Alonso... ...said he would keep the information to himself if Dennis promised him favourable treatment...

Now to be clear I don't believe that any of the information that Alonso or de la Rosa had was anything more substantive than the usual run of the mill paddock gossip. But I do have issues with the way Alonso tried to use his behaviour to further leverage a competitive advantage. So go Lewis. Hope he brings it home.

[Roy]

Yeh, its strange that Renault love him. Flavio loves him...yet all you hear from teh Britsh F1 media is that he a bad egg ruining the team?!?!?!?!

I think the poms are pasting Alonso as they need to have it all their own way. Just look at the crap that has been written about Button...i see he is no longer racing according to the British press

[djr81]

Yeh, its strange that Renault love him. Flavio loves him...yet all you hear from teh Britsh F1 media is that he a bad egg ruining the team?!?!?!?!

I think the poms are pasting Alonso as they need to have it all their own way. Just look at the crap that has been written about Button...i see he is no longer racing according to the British press

I think the difference is that, at Renault, Alonso didn't have a team mate as quick if not quicker than him. As much as I like Fisi, he is not Lewis Hamilton. None the less Alonso did occassionally have a go at Renault through the press (eg they are more concerned about the constructors championship than the drivers carry on).

The other alternate explanation is that he has been made bitter and twisted by the FIA's favouritism towards Ferrari last year & the bullshit at Monza (He "held up" a Ferrari in qualifying by driving 100 yards ahead of them & was penalised) & by the mass damper debacle (A system Renault had been running for many races was suddenly declared illegal after Ferrari convinced the FIA).

Bottom line is I don't think he is comfortable with McLarens even handed approach to both drivers. He believes he deserves favoured treatment & in the absense of that coming forth from the team he is conducting himself in such a way as to gain every competitive advantage - to his & the teams detriment.

[Roy]

Bottom line is I don't think he is comfortable with McLarens even handed approach to both drivers. He believes he deserves favoured treatment & in the absense of that coming forth from the team he is conducting himself in such a way as to gain every competitive advantage - to his & the teams detriment.

LOL...i had to read that 2 to 3 times!??!?!?! Since when has McLaren ever been even handed with drivers??? (In recent history)

I think Alonso initial shock was that Hamilton was probably being shown favouritism. There have been a few moments earlier this year where Hamilton put Alonso to the test off the start line etc etc and showed that he wasnt prepared to take the back seat to Alonso. Yet last weekend when Alonso challenges Hamiltons comittment to his points lead everyvody in the press screams foul? At this end of the year they actually have somethng they are racing for.

The fact that Alonso did what he did in the pits a few GPs ago...well the little Spaniard is growing on me

[djr81]

LOL...i had to read that 2 to 3 times!??!?!?! Since when has McLaren ever been even handed with drivers??? (In recent history)

I think Alonso initial shock was that Hamilton was probably being shown favouritism. There have been a few moments earlier this year where Hamilton put Alonso to the test off the start line etc etc and showed that he wasnt prepared to take the back seat to Alonso. Yet last weekend when Alonso challenges Hamiltons comittment to his points lead everyvody in the press screams foul? At this end of the year they actually have somethng they are racing for.

The fact that Alonso did what he did in the pits a few GPs ago...well the little Spaniard is growing on me

Roy, I realise you are a card carrying member of the David Coulthard fan club, but I was pretty much the same about Mika. Crosses we have to bear.

Anyway, there is a big difference between the press (Pommie press pro Hamilton, Spanish press pro Alonso) & the team. To be honest I haven't seen anything from the team that indicates favouritism one way or the other.

[Beer Baron]

if THIS is not the end of Alonso at Mac then i will eat more than my daks...

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns19666.html

bye bye you bastard.

!!?!?!?!?!?! this is a big change of tune from the alonso fan i have come to see over the last 2 years. why are you deserting him now? I seem to remember you tellng me alonso how alonso was the greatest thing since sliced bread....

if anything I like him a little more now that he's being an arsehole. in the past he was just a faggy looking, shaggy haired little nancy. at least now he's a coniving, backstabbing shaggy haired little nancy...

[Roy]

Roy, I realise you are a card carrying member of the David Coulthard fan club, but I was pretty much the same about Mika. Crosses we have to bear.

LOL...yes, not many of us still around these days

I think its been pretty even stevens myself. But thats to the public. What i would like to know is who has the most snr engineers. Is testing and setup data a two way street? Does pit stratgey favour a certain driver? Its been proven that Hamilton is hungry for success and doesnt always listen to the pit wall. I wonder what interntal penalty/punishment he received for his part in the recent fiasco???

I would bet a small case of beer the smalll things that over a season make or break your success are falling LH's way

[djr81]

!!?!?!?!?!?! this is a big change of tune from the alonso fan i have come to see over the last 2 years. why are you deserting him now? I seem to remember you tellng me alonso how alonso was the greatest thing since sliced bread....

if anything I like him a little more now that he's being an arsehole. in the past he was just a faggy looking, shaggy haired little nancy. at least now he's a coniving, backstabbing shaggy haired little nancy...

Alonso can drive, of that there is no doubt. But I can't remember a more poisonous relationship between a team manager & his supposedly number 1 driver. Maybe Villeneuve & Sauber?

In his defence there was a short period when he had a proper haircut....

[djr81]

LOL...yes, not many of us still around these days

I think its been pretty even stevens myself. But thats to the public. What i would like to know is who has the most snr engineers. Is testing and setup data a two way street? Does pit stratgey favour a certain driver? Its been proven that Hamilton is hungry for success and doesnt always listen to the pit wall. I wonder what interntal penalty/punishment he received for his part in the recent fiasco???

I would bet a small case of beer the smalll things that over a season make or break your success are falling LH's way

Which fiasco? There have been so many....

There was some mention in the telecast commentary that Alonso is keeping much of his info to himself. But who knows who starts these things. I don't think Ron Dennis would put his teams hard work at risk by short changing anyone in terms of the number of engineers etc.

[Beer Baron]

I still can't believe they didn't strip drivers points as well as constructors. pretty typical half arsed limp wristed punishment from the FIA as usual. If maclaren did cheat (and I'm not saying they did, but the FIA is) then the drivers that benefit from that cheating should be penalised just as much as the team. how can they escape penalty when they gained from it the MOST.

[djr81]

I still can't believe they didn't strip drivers points as well as constructors. pretty typical half arsed limp wristed punishment from the FIA as usual. If maclaren did cheat (and I'm not saying they did, but the FIA is) then the drivers that benefit from that cheating should be penalised just as much as the team. how can they escape penalty when they gained from it the MOST.

If you have some time on your hands the transcripts of the proceedings make for interesting reading. It shows how insubstantial the allegations really were & also that the FIA didn't care whether or not McLaren made use of any information. The way the whole thing was conducted was bordering on the shambollic.

I guess not penalising the drivers (Hamilton knew nothing about any of it & Alonso didn't even have the guts to turn up!) allows the FIA to try & present themselves as being reasonable.

[Roy]

The whole baulking LH in qualifying.What penalty if any did LH get for not listening to team orders? Imagine id DC didnt pull over so that Mika could win his 1st and 2nd GPs ?

I don't think Ron Dennis would put his teams hard work at risk by short changing anyone in terms of the number of engineers etc.

Its not about getting less engineers. but soem are better then others. I knwo of a few isntances where teams have been changed internally to suit the demands of the preferred driver. Hell, even at Williams there was the isntance where Montoya was doing really well, then his performance fell off. A few GPs later it was revealed by old Patrick that engineering staff between RS and Montya had been swapped with a view to getting RS more competitive.

These cars need to be driven, but they are only as good as the engineerign staff workign with the drivers. I recall reading a long time ago about how Alonso treats his engineering team...he liek MS appreciates that he is nothing unbless they are the best at what they do and are doing the best that they can do.

So, hence my question of who is getting the more experienced race engineers/mechanics. Newey said that in his time at McLaren that DC lost out to his team amtes with regards to the seniority of his pit/race team.

[Kinks]

The fact that Alonso did what he did in the pits a few GPs ago...well the little Spaniard is growing on me

The irony is that a lot of the people saying they respect Alonso (for being a complete c*nt) are probably the same ones who criticised Schumacher for his tactics.

Alonso is a brat, he is a sook and he is as underhanded as they come. Just look at how much of a cry he was having when Hamilton was beating him... he buzzed his pit wall a few races ago when he was annoyed at being second to hamilton. Boo hoo the rookie's better than me you should tell him to slow down so I can win!

pussy.