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Fernandez claims Caterham Grp not for sale – no mention of F1 team
Hamilton behaviour ‘sub-standard’ – Hakkinen (GMM)
Rumours suggest that Honda looking to buy into Mclaren
Hamilton walking a tightrope with Mercedes
Fernandez claims Caterham Grp not for sale – no mention of F1 team
Recent speculation about the future of the Caterham Group and the apparent disinterest of owner Tony Fernandez has been refuted by a statement on the team’s F1 site.
By all accounts, the press rumours of Fernandez seeking $589 million for the Caterham Group are ‘factually incorrect – the Group is not for sale.’
“It is, however, true that the Group is actively searching for additional investment as it seeks to fulfil ambitious plans to develop. The shareholders of the Group, co-Chairmen Tony Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, remain wholly committed to the Caterham brand.”
Fernandes confirmed: “The Caterham Group is not for sale. We love what we build and we are always looking for further investment. This is no different to how we started AirAsia. Yes, we are constantly challenging ourselves and making decisions on everything from the structure to projects within the Group. That is normal business. That does not mean we are selling.”
What is not mentioned in the press statement is the future of the F1 team, just that the Group is not for sale. The Caterham Group’s is made up of 11 separate divisions which include the F1 team, Caterham cars and Caterham Technology and Innovation.
Yet it was only four months ago that he told the team: “My message to the 250 people here [at the factory] is we have to go for it this year. This is it – the final chance. We’ve given you the best infrastructure, the best potential drivers but it is now down to all of you to go and do it.”
“If we’re at the back I don’t think I’m going to carry on. Nothing is set in stone but after five years with no points there is a limit to one’s patience, money, motivation, etc, so it’s an important year.”
“I need to feel like we’re going somewhere. If I feel we can compete, then great but if we’re not competing then we have to seriously examine ourselves and ask ‘does this make sense?’ If we’re not competing, two seconds behind everybody else, then we haven’t made any progress.”
Hardly the message of someone in it for the long term…
Fernandez had bought into the Max Mosley dream of £40 million budgets when he joined the sport but it has become clear that this will never happen. Caterham stays routed to the back of the grid and with the recent haul of points for Marussia, it is unlikely Caterham will finish inside the Top 10 once again – with its benefits of prize monies and travel costs assisting the budget significantly.
The genesis of the Caterham F1 team goes back to 2010 when Fernandez entered the cars as Team Lotus. After a court case over the naming rights of Lotus, he merged the F1 team into another business he had acquired and the Caterham Group was born. Despite investing in the Leafield facility and having Mike Gascoyne as designer aboard, the team have failed spectacularly in their endeavours.
With his airline business expanding, his football team promoted to the premiership league in England, the only embarrassment on his CV is the F1 team.
Hamilton behaviour ‘sub-standard’ – Hakkinen (GMM)
Mika Hakkinen says Lewis Hamilton’s behaviour was “sub-standard” in Monaco. 2008 world champion Hamilton accused his Mercedes teammate of deliberately sabotaging his push for pole position, afterwards refusing to acknowledge his race win.
“I appreciate Nico’s patience in this situation,” double world champion Hakkinen told Finland’s Ilta Sanomat newspaper, when asked about the falling out. “I do not like the idea of what Lewis did. It was quite sub-standard behaviour,” said Hakkinen. Even now, it is believed Hamilton and Rosberg have not spoken a word since Monaco. “They are in different places,” team boss Toto Wolff is quoted by DPA news agency. “So it’s not unusual.”
Hamilton indicated after Monaco that he had seen evidence that convinced him that Rosberg had acted deliberately under braking for the Mirabeau corner. That same evidence did not, however, convince the Monaco stewards, including former F1 driver Derek Warwick. “I don’t want to give him (Hamilton) advice really,” Warwick told the Daily Mail. “He has won umpteen races and a world championship. But if I were to say anything it would be to man up and concentrate on the next race in Canada.”
Indeed, Rosberg is showing signs of wanting to move on. “It was one of the more difficult weekends,” he said on a visit to Italy where the German football team is preparing for the world cup. “But I think after a break we will, as always, talk about it,” added Rosberg. “I make an effort for teamwork and for the atmosphere in the team.”
It seems less likely that Hamilton is similarly ready to move on. Indeed, Gerhard Berger – who hosted the Mercedes bosses and drivers for a dinner on his yacht in Monaco – thinks the duo are set for an “explosion”. Clearly it’s just starting now,” he told Austrian Servus TV. “I think Hamilton must do his homework better. He is currently the fastest man in formula one, but he still focuses too much on trivialities. Rosberg is the perfect package,” added Berger.
A clear ‘number 1’ and ‘number 2′ situation is easier for a team to manage, but team boss Wolff said he believes one of the secrets of Mercedes’ dominance this year is a pair of drivers who spur each other to great heights. But that doesn’t mean he was overjoyed in Monaco. “I was the bad guy after qualifying,” said Wolff. “I told them it is absolutely unacceptable to have to spend the afternoon with the media talking about whether one of them cheated or not. I have other things to do.” He was particularly unhappy about Hamilton’s suggestion that he will deal with the situation just as Ayrton Senna did, sparking rumours of a deliberate crash.
“We had our board members in Monaco, our partners — I will not have our team and our brand made a fool of. I think they (the drivers) understood,” said Wolff. “They can have fun with their toys so long as they don’t break them,” the Austrian is quoted by Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It will never come to the level of the Prost-Senna relationship,” Wolff promised. “Clearly there is no hugging, but this is a job, not a holiday. It is wonderful to have two drivers at this level.”
Rumours suggest that Honda looking to buy into Mclaren
Honda has a chequered history in Formula One. As a manufacturer team in the late 60’s they won two Grand Prix – the 1965 Mexican GP and the 1967 Italian GP but the fatal accident of Jo Schlesser at the 1968 French GP prompted their exit from the sport.
They returned in 1983 as an engine supplier with the Spirit team before joining forces with Williams and subsequently Mclaren in the late 80’s. The result; five drivers titles and six constructor titles with their respective teams.
By 1992, with the Renault powered Williams providing true competition they decided to leave the sport once more and supplied engines via their Mugen Motorsport connection. Mugen Motorsport was formed in 1973 by Hirotoshi Honda – the son of Honda Motor company founder Soichiro Honda – and was an engine tuner and parts manufacturer with close ties to the Honda factory but despite the family links had remained an independent concern.
Honda returned as an engine manufacturer in 2000 with BAR and Jordan before acquiring a 45% stake in BAR in late November 2004. Within a year Honda had bought out the remaining 55% and entered the 2006 season as the Honda Racing F1 team. Honda won their third Grand Prix as an entrant at the 2006 Hungarian event – a break of thirty-nine years. Mixed conditions and retirements of several fancied runners allowed Button to claim victory from 14th on the grid.
By 2007 Honda was struggling to gather sponsorship and decided to fund the team themselves with their Planet Earth livery. Reactions were mixed, with Greenpeace accusing the manufacturer of hypocrisy due to the pollution of F1. By the winter of 2008, Honda had withdrawn and sold the team to Ross Brawn who went on to secure the following years titles with Mercedes power.
Fast forward to 2014 and Honda is working on an engine design for their return to F1 competition with Mclaren. Paranoia within F1, over technical secrets, means Mercedes take their engines back from the team after every event but are aware that Honda has information available to them from the team’s running over the weekend.
But are fans of F1 too quick to believe Honda rejoining Mclaren will bring similar success to a generation ago? Rumours have been circulating for some time that Honda is funding part of Mclaren’s budget for this year to be in place to take over completely next year.
Mclaren have appeared with bit-part sponsorship over the last few months despite Chemical Boullier’s assertions that the title sponsorship would be announced shortly and recent talks with Japan’s Rakuten Group for a $60million annual sponsorship deal have fallen through, with the Japanese concern speaking to the Lotus team instead.
Ron Dennis has made it clear he will not de-value the worth of his team and despite their lack-lustre performance will not entertain predatory companies looking to sponsor the team for less than he believes is justified. But it has been suggested that the Bahraini-owned Mumtalakat company that owns 50% of Mclaren is looking to sell it’s shares and Honda may be the buyer.
The question has to be, can Dennis – with his fastidious nature – truly be happy with another Planet Earth sponsorship format? Could it be that not only has the loss of Hamilton significantly reduced the team’s appeal to sponsors but the tie-in with Honda is not as welcome in the corporate world as it is to nostalgic F1 fans…
Hamilton walking a tightrope with Mercedes
Whether hypocritical, or not; Mercedes Benz are highly sensitive to all matters or suggestions of impropriety. One reason CVC are prepared to cut Ecclestone loose if he is found guilty of the current Munich corruption charges is due to the pressure brought about from Stuttgart following Mr. E admitting having made the $44m payments to the Bayern bank official, Gerhard Gribkosky.
Mercedes threatened to withdraw from F1.
“If it is proven that Mr Ecclestone has done anything that is criminally wrong, we would fire him,” Mackenzie, chairman of CVC, told a hearing at London’s High Court last November.
The background to Stuttgart’s sensitivities culminated in 2010, when the German car manufacturer agreed to pay $185m (£124m) in fines to settle a corruption investigation in the US. US prosecutors had accused Daimler Benz and its subsidiaries of paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to secure government contracts around the world.
According to the court filing, the carmaker “made hundreds of improper payments worth tens of millions of dollars to foreign officials” in return for assistance “in securing contracts with government customers for the purchase of Daimler vehicles worth hundreds of millions of dollars”.
This boosted the company’s pretax profits by at least $50m (£33m), the filing said. In certain cases, Daimler made bribes from “cash desks”, allowing employees to take out large amounts of cash to make payments to foreign officials.
“In some cases Daimler wired these improper payments to US bank accounts or to the foreign bank accounts of US shell companies in order to transmit the bribe,” the court papers said.
One case outlined in the court documents describes how Daimler and its distributor gave an official in Turkmenistan a Mercedes armoured car worth €300,000 (£270,000) for his birthday. In Iraq, Daimler paid 10% kickbacks to Iraqi officials so it could sell them vehicles in violation of UN oil-for-food programme rules.
Prosecutors also uncovered corruption in China, Russia, Turkey, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, Serbia and Montenegro, Egypt and Nigeria, among other places.
Suffice to say, the current board wish to present an image of the brand which is whiter than white.
Lewis Hamilton does wear his heart on his sleeve, which at times has meant when he is upset he has released information which with hindsight would have been better kept quiet. Spa 2012 and tweeting Jenson’s telemetry is an obvious example of this. Lewis felt the team were with-holding information about his team mates set-up which had disadvantaged him in qualifying.
This weekend in Monaco, Hamilton informed members of the media that he had seen evidence demonstrating that Rosberg had acted deliberately to create the yellow flag in the dying moments of qualifying. “I wish you could have seen the data. I saw something late on last night and all I could do was smile,” Hamilton revealed.
We also learned at the weekend that Hamilton had disobeyed the team’s orders in Barcelona, run his engine at a “extra power” setting the team had forbidden both drivers to use and later been forced to apologise to Nico for this. It appears Nico kept his own counsel over this.
Yet Toto Wolf was furious this weekend following the Hamilton disclosure and whilst he couched his comments in terms of “both drivers” clearly for this specific instance his reprimand was directed at Lewis
“it is absolutely unacceptable to have to spend the afternoon with the media talking about whether one of them cheated or not. I have other things to do,” Wolff stated. “We had our board members in Monaco, our partners — I will not have our team and our brand made a fool of.”
It appears Toto was particularly upset by Hamilton’s veiled threat to ‘do a Senna’ on Nico and deliberately crash into him.
“They can have fun with their toys so long as they don’t break them. It will never come to the level of the Prost-Senna relationship,” Wolff asserted.
Hamilton has been widely criticised by others from the world of F1 for going public and claiming he has evidence that Nico cheated. This includes former driver and current steward Derek Warwick. “I don’t want to give him (Hamilton) advice really. He has won umpteen races and a world championship. But if I were to say anything it would be to man up and concentrate on the next race in Canada.”
Lewis ended up at odds with his McLaren family, and at the end was heavily marginalised in the garage. This weekend he has publicly accused both his team mate and his team of lying and cheating. Should he continue his outbursts, he will surely become marginalised in his current team..
Once is unfortunate, twice may infer some kind of pattern.
I actually think – as a Hamilton fan – it is quite easy to argue that he could and should have handled this much better. Yes, he does focus on ‘trivialities’.
However, why ‘defend him’, then? Well if you read my first sentence I’m not, really. It’s not about defending or criticising.
But, what I will defend – which is a subjective judgement I admit – is that I prefer that he is honest with what he feels (yes, sometimes to the point of acting unwisely), in a world of cynicism. Hamilton can be naïve, he can be too dramatic with his public speaking, he has too thin a skin. But, he is not as cynical and calculating as some others. I genuinely think he – like Senna – takes something done to him as a personal slight, and that’s an immaturity that he would be wise to fix.
But, I also think that deep down all he wants to do is drive as fast as he can, and be allowed to be who he is. So, dislikes the politics and, frankly, can’t be do the politics very well 🙂
So, what I dislike in the way all this has been discussed is the idea that Rosberg is some cool down to earth genuine guy. I think he is cleverer than Hamilton in one area; how to get the team on side and come across as the ‘nice guy’. Just like Button. That potentially makes them the more rounded driver, and a better member of the team, but, in my opinion, less likeable. It’s the same problem I had between Button and Hamilton with the Canada crash.
So, I don’t defend Hamilton’s behaviour in the sense of being the right thing to do. But, I do think it comes from an understandable, naïve position. And, I just wish F1 was a little more naïve and about racing fast, rather than the politics. Hamilton is not good at the ‘mind games’, so shouldn’t bother. But, I actually like him for that (though, I just wish he’d not bother).
I’ll happily admit though, weekends like Monaco, and Spa in ’12, do make it very hard to not want to give him a slap 🙂
Also, if people don’t think his race has made things harder they are naïve themselves. That very few people in F1, in any position of seniority, are black (or women), does mean something. It can be overplayed, but to deny that it would understandably make the only black driver in F1 history feel defensive, is unrealistic. I notice no-one ever really remembers the pitiful reaction F1 had to racism from some Spanish fans.
ANYWAY, in other news, Mark Hughes has been pushed into give more away about why he thinks the stewards did not have the full picture at Monaco. In comments under his article for Motorsport, we have:
“They couldn’t prove it. He braked late and hard, but not outrageously so. I was told they looked at the standard brake, throttle and steering traces, but not the tyre load data. Had they done, I’m pretty sure they’d have found an inconsistency between what the tyres could take (as seen on previous run) and how much steering input was made…It’s was as if he’d expected that sawing to create a twitch and when it didn’t and he found himself arriving at the turn-in point with the car slowed and stable, he then locked up, ensuring he couldn’t make the turn. It’s the locking up of the wheels at a point where the car is easily slow enough to make the turn that gives it away.”
Hughes really is suspicious of Rosberg on this one, it’s getting a bit boring going on about it – time to move on – but I would recommend anyone reads the Motorsport thread.
People are too quick to dismiss the race issue. A recent survay in Britain showed that 1/3 admitted to having racial prejudices. The real percentage is probably higher given that people are likely to under report their racial prejudices. In europe I would guess that the percentage is higher. It really is beyond doubt that he will receive at least some negative reporting and decisions based on race evennif it’s subconscious
Exactly, I am NOT saying that the ‘Ali G’ comment was right, or that Hamilton should be seeing racism around every corner, but to suggest that the only black F1 driver in history (in a sport disproportionately dominated by wealthy white men) doesn’t face some subconscious racism is a little silly.
Hamilton would be wise to drop the chips on his shoulder, because they are unproductive and don’t allow him to concentrate on his driving. Also, as the Judge has intimated, I do wonder if a certain person close to him really helps…
…but in the end, I respect his immense driving skill. It’s not the complete package, but, if I had to pick one driver to drive a qualy lap or race the fastest, it would be Hamilton.
Thank you The Gonch, your comments neatly sum up my thinking too 🙂 Hamilton will always take these things to heart, and we’ll continue to both love and hate him for it. There had been a few signs of him dealing with the media in a better way, but Monaco was a case of back to his old ways. Come to think of it wasn’t the Ali G comment at Monaco too?
I’ve given the Rosberg qualy thing some thought, and as someone else commented in yesterday’s comment fest, I think the main point has been a little overlooked… if he didn’t do it on purpose then why reverse back onto the track? It’s not like he was going to get back to the pits for another run, more likely he was making sure he’d done the job as intended.
Britney might find it backfires on him though, as given the next few races (except wildcard Austria) have all been happy hunting grounds for Lewis in the past, he’s going to need all the speed he can muster.
Well stated TG.
…give me a break. Lewis has suffered minuscule levels of racism when compared to black footballers in Europe… who have been screamed abuse at from the terraces, spit upon and had objects hurled at them – along with death threats……
….and those who advocate Lewis is a victim of any kind, stoke the opposition (non racist) fires even further. Lewis is a highly privileged individual… and has been for most of his life… It wasn’t Lewis working 3 jobs was it?
He is also one of the very best drivers of his generation…
Hey judge, it wasn’t nico who made those millions for keke, that funded his racing career right?….sure it wasn’t him working all those jobs, but it’s because of those sacrifices his dad made, why his dad doesn’t have to work no more, unless he wants to.
To mention who did what to fund his career is just plain petulance….. How many other drivers had massive findings behind them, but didn’t make it to the top? Have you ever thought, that having a powerhouse like Mclaren behind you, brings more pressure than anything else? He earned those fundings and he had to perform to keep those fundings. It wouldn’t have cost them nothing to cut him off, the moment he started to perform below what was expected of him.
You say he’s a highly privileged individual, but he had to earn those privileges right? It’s not like those privileges fell from the sky straight into his laps now did they?
So by your reckoning, because he’s not receiving the same amount of vile racial slurs that footballers endure, it’s not that big a deal? Racism is racism! Whether you receive it from one person or a million. So for you to take that view of it, does make you look a bit suspect in my eyes.
And, one argument I liked about Hamilton was this:
Why does he act ‘entitled’? Why isn’t he more ’rounded’? Well, perhaps it is because the pressure of being a McLaren protégé has created this. Wasn’t one of the arguments Dennis used about his leave McLaren that is was like ‘leaving home’.
I certainly know if my dad had been my manager it would have driven me up the wall! 🙂
Plus, I have a lot of time for how Hamilton supports his brother.
We are all making a big deal out of his ‘upbringing’ comments. But, what if all he was asked was:
” you have a different background than Nico and relatively humble, does that give you a different outlook and hunger? ”
We don’t know what he was actually asked. We don’t even know if his reply also included a comment in favour of Rosberg. The assumption that what was reported is the verbatim FULL comments of Hamilton is so naïve.
It’s like the Senna thing. He was ASKED if it was like Senna and Post, he didn’t offer it up. He should, obviously have said “don’t be silly”. But, I don’t think he thinks or speaks in PR speak. He’s a racing driver, and rather acts like one. Not a calculating automaton.
So, for example, I always respected the fact that at McLaren the sponsorship commitments pissed him off. Some people argued it was his job. Well, yeah, but I’d rather his job be driving fast, than acting in Mobile 1 or Santander commercials.
…give it up – there is no evidence of racism in any F1 writers’ pieces I’ve seen… its an easy accusation – and a huge diversion from the reality that Hamilton once again made a fool of himself to many people in and around F1 with his comments this week…. and he is being widely criticised by them appropriately.
I don’t care what colour he is – if he behaves like a child he will be called to account accordingly….
… I’m not seeing him receive ANY racial slurs is the point…. no TJ13 writer or any other F1 piece I’ve read since the weekend infers it.
It’s a diversionary topic for Lewis fans maybe some vain attempt to stop any criticism of their idol.
Racism is most serious and is never acceptable…
You may not see it in the media, which would be something very difficult for any self respecting journalist to do, but it’s there. Now had The Gonch not posted that link, I and maybe others on here, would not have known that this had occurred.
Fine criticise him for what he did over the weekend, but don’t try and dismiss or quantify racism.
Judge, you do know that Lewis has a multi cultural, multi ethnic fan base right?…
So to say that its used by his fans, just stop the criticism he gets, again makes you look petulant.
There’s fair and unfair criticism. If he deserves to be criticised, then fine do so. But you can’t say at time he’s not unfairly criticised for things he does, that every other driver does. He talks to his engineers with assertiveness, it gets reported he’s being disrespectful, but when it’s done by other drivers, it’s look at as being positive.
Why is that?
…I see no other explanation for the outburst of fans saying he has been racially abused in the critiques offered of his behaviour…
…Lewis is criticised more than others because of his behaviour and attitude. Calling your team and team mate cheats and liars isn’t going to win friends or positively influence people…. and he should be careful.
The whole paddock and well informed writers, have called his teammate a cheat.
But I guess you’d be happy, if he just sat in his corner and not react to whenever he feels he’s been wronged, right?
…Sorry Fortis but you are becoming delusional. Lewis is employed by Mercedes. Mercedes don’t care what anyone outside the team says.
The team defended Rosberg in front of the stewards – so then for a high profile employee of the team to accuse them of lying is something else…
You don’t bite the hand that feeds you – and certainly not to the world’s media….
Yes.. Lewis can and has done this…. and a number of drivers have previously done so too – and what does history demonstrate the result to have been?
History has shown us, that they’re idolise for being assertive and putting their foot down to get what they want.
Sure your not going to bite the hands that feed you, but if that same hand is going to punch you in the face, then why wouldn’t you bite it off?
I’d suggest that the average English racist is more likely to support a coloured English driver over a white German…
Lewis is just doing a better job of alienating anyone other than a die-hard fan who would still support him if he’d decided to lamp Ricciardo for daring to try and pass him.
It’s hard to support someone who seems oblivious to common sense and reason, no matter where he is from and how good he is.
thejudge:
Ah I get it, so there are acceptable and less acceptable levels of racism?! ‘Miniscule’ racism is a-ok. And, if you’re privileged, it should bother you less, so, f you have lots of money, then the feeling of being a minority is diminished?!
There is no such thing as minuscule racism. it’s just racism. Some is more overt. Sometimes the most damaging racism is the more subtle.
That I have had to just explain this to you is embarrassing.
Perhaps a better response from you might have been
“any kind of racism is fundamentally unacceptable, and whilst it could be argued that Hamilton has never faced the same kind of overt racism footballers have (though, lets ignore this for a moment: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1180451/Lewis-Hamilton-taunted-racist-fans-SECOND-time-Spanish-Grand-Prix.html) clearly, it would be wise if writers and commentators had a little more sensitivity the language they use, Hamilton as well. F1, with its lack of female or minatory representation isn’t exactly a shining light here. Still, there is no reason to think Hamilton is badly treated by the paddock”.
And then, this “stokes the opposition (non racist) fires even further”. What does that even mean? What fire is there to stoke?! Racism is just wrong in all forms.
Are you trying to say that the best way to deal with it is to not talk about it? I’d prefer continued vigilance against possible defacto racism, rather than brushing it under the carpet.
Carlo’s reply is a better place to end.
His reply to what you wrote, reeked of petulance, disdain and contempt!
Judge… the worst racism is not the type that is screamed in the street. It’s the stuff that isn’t spoken but just effects little decisions people make. I can’t put my finger on one just now but I know there have been a few studies where researchers send out identical job applications where the only difference was the picture or the name. White applicants get more interviews. Humans are tribal. Our instinct is to favour or own race. If you think that the only form of racism is yelling profanities then I would respectfully disagree.
It’s racial profiling by name.
Then the should ask all the drivers that, because exactly how do you define someone as being ‘well rounded’?… That in itself to me, is open to debate.
But here’s the thing that most people seem to forget, he wasn’t the only protege they had.
People want to ignore the fact, he does get labelled and unfairly criticised at times, because of his race.
just because others have it worse doesn’t mean what happens to him isn’t bad. it also doesn’t mean that subconcious racism does not influence the media reporting. as any member of a minority will tell you, you will be made to feel that you don’t belong in a place of privilege, no matter if it’s a school, university, job or, as in lewis case, formula 1. to quote samy davis jr: “being a star has made it possible for me to get insulted in places where the average negro could never hope to go and get insulted.”
sure, racism can be brute, as in the case of spanish fans making monkey noises towards lewis, or soccer fans throwing bananas. but in general, it is more subtle and works in codes. calling rosberg the more cerebral driver is code for a superior white intellect. saying lewis is petulant or arrogant means he is an uppity negro who doesn’t know his place. and when it was suggested he “didn’t deserve” his ride in formula one, because he was handed the best car right at his debut, that was code for “this guy doesn’t belong here” and “he can’t possibly have made it here on ability”. these codes provide deniability, and so the result of any one pointing out racism is always the same: indignation, victim blaming and the accusation that one is “too sensitive” or “pulling the race card”.
Everything he does gets scrutinised with a fine teeth comb. When he got his tattoos, a big deal was made of it, Alonso, Kimi and button all have tattoos… Him wearing earrings, his so called “bling” lifestyle and rapper friends. Heck I’ve even seen articles about the current hat he’s wearing, which I find puzzling, given that Kimi and Alonso wears hats similar in design.
If he turns up at a race weekend and he’s not chatty chatty, he’s in a grumpy mood. How about he’s just focusing on the job that he needs to on the day?
The judge is trying to ignore the fact, that he at times does get unfairly criticised and it has to do with his skin colour.
“calling rosberg the more cerebral driver is code for a superior white intellect. saying lewis is petulant or arrogant means he is an uppity negro who doesn’t know his place.”
Stop it – now this is going too far. For the record, I am not of white Anglo-Saxon heritage but this is all getting ridiculous.
Lewis is a driver of stunning ability. Nico is not that bad either… They have their good points and they have their bad points.
Deal with it. And celebrate the difference!
“calling rosberg the more cerebral driver is code for a superior white intellect. saying lewis is petulant or arrogant means he is an uppity negro who doesn’t know his place.”
How would this apply to George dubbleya Bush and his successor Barrack Obama…
it’s not going too far, it’s a fact. it plays to certain images and stereotypes. and as for the question of barak obama, it happens it politics as well:
http://ideas.time.com/2012/09/06/how-to-read-political-racial-code/
Dubya is Southern, Christian, and Right wing Carlo, I think here we find something the North American media ranks as public enemy number 1
It’s a good point SR but are the racial prejudices related to skin colour or immigrants that are placing strains within the country.
I understand as an immigrant myself the subtleties involved. I was raised in the UK and if I’m talking to somebody over the phone sound as English as any person born here. If they ask me my name, the immediate reaction is ‘are you Italian?” It can be quite frustrating to hear a different tone in their reasoning simply because the parameters have changed.
I have grown up with that so understand it fully, yet my wife still marvels at how much difference there is when she states her name when before she had a typical English surname.
I don’t know Hamilton’s story before he became a racing star but I have heard he was subject to racist abuse at school. Unfortunately this tarnishes you for life and you inevitably suspect people ridicule you when there is no agenda. It drives you to be stronger and better in life because you wish to prove you are worthy of your place.
The worst point for me personally was in 1985. I had returned to Italy for the summer, having finished schooling which I hated because of racist abuse and bullying. The European Cup that year had featured Juventus vs Liverpool when 38 Italian fans died after crowd trouble.
I got into a confrontation with some lads who chose to attack me because I was ‘English’ yet despite telling them I was Italian they mocked my English accent and said ‘you don’t belong here’ It’s hard to think you don’t actually belong anywhere.
I will never understand what it means to be judged by the colour of your skin but I do understand xenophobic attitudes. It’s a sad state that people judge others so easily without knowing the individual involved and I guess it says more about the ignorance of the attacker.
If I criticise Hamilton, Rosberg, Alonso, Senna I do it from a place of observer and hopefully a balanced viewpoint in regards trying to see both sides. I appreciate that others have differing views to me but that is what makes life a rich tapestry
all good point. I have no reply. I am in a similar situation to you.
Try being german. It’s the only thing worse in the world than being black… especially to people from England. That’s racism too. But you never see anyone complain about that. Cuz it’s serves them right for starting a war. Decades ago….
I’d actually agree with this! We cannot ‘prove’ that a lot of the British press do the German vs. Brit angle, but, as a Brit, you can see it is there.
I’d argue, sometimes the same with Hamilton in the other direction. A Spanish friend who speaks Spanish and Italian is continually unhappy with the subtle comments he reads in their reports about Hamilton.
Unlike thejudge, I don’t see this as some way of defining Hamilton, just understanding why, quite often, he thinks things are against him. Most of the time for black people in a white dominated sport, it would seem like that.
I AM NOT saying this is a defence of Hamilton’s behaviour. But, to just put his behaviour down to ’emotion’ or ‘immaturity’ is, as Toto Wolff said, a bit patronising.
I think that is a bit extreme but your point is very valid. What Germans experience is racism/xenophobia based on a past actions/event (whether just or not this far on), it has a definable source (the English and Americans get it too BTW). The kind of racism others, particularly black people, suffer often has no definable root, other than the colour of their skin, which unlike being German, can be defined before someone even speaks.
That is distinct from cultural racism, which have their roots in cultural traits, but are often poor caricatures, and very lacking when it comes to individuals.
‘Germans: literal minded and crude, poor abstract sense of humour, Don’t mention ze War, etc’
‘English: Can’t cook, boorish, mindless advocates of ‘God save the queen/Up the empire/Blighty forever (how many times have we had that thrown at us on here over the last few weeks’
People judging black people like Lewis for his taste, fashion, and looks.
I have no idea how you stop this, most people I know (primarily white and English) are aware of it, know its nonsense, and try to temper there responses and attitude as best as anyone can, but it makes a response like ‘…especially people from England’, hard to swallow, as we just all got bundled in together there. The success of Mercedes has been a controversial issue, with many Germans trying to belittle the British engineering contribution, saying we just think everything good was made by ‘the Empire’. How ridiculous, and Ad-Homination (see what I did there) is that? Indeed its implying if its good engineering it must be German. Instead of being pointing out what an amazing job the Anglo-German or Germo-Anglian if you like, team has done, its descended to ‘well of course its all the German/English teams work really’.
I have held of from chiming in, as I think the whole debate about Lewis behavior is being expanded excessively, in the same way Seb was last year, and indeed, anything relating to Alonso is. I do think this site has suffered recently, partly perhaps due to the ‘demand’ to put out ‘news’ all the time. I’m sure we are all used to 24 hours news, and its perpetual need to make stories to fill space, and there are no better space fillers that opinion pieces about the above three, and this is especially so when its something we all love like motor racing. So a tiny appeal from me; lets all try and play a bit nicer boys and girls, check for inflammatory language, as one of the best things about this community was its members ability to have a reasoned debate, and I feel that is slipping a little.
(P.S if there is anything inflammatory in the above, I apologize as my intent was the reverse, but I’m trying to type this without my boss seeing, so my proof reading and checking might no be up to scratch!
Thanks for that Carlo. It can be hard to express the subtle baked in racism (and sexism IMO) that seem to pervade all Western European societies to a greater or lesser extent. You have provided an eloquent window to those who doubt.
It’s not just western society. I have seen a lot of racism in Asia as well. White people don’t own racism
I can’t say I’m surprised to hear that, but having not traveled to Asia i felt better confining my remarks to cultures I’m familiar with
Thank you 🙂
hard to think you don’t actually belong anywhere
Well as for as I’m concerned, you certainly belong here…FWIW.
Thank you sir, it’s an honour contributing 🙂
Re the German anti-corruption thing: I work for a major international German company and I can not tell you how paranoid they are about this topic!
The company I work for is in the IT business, where there was a similar scandal – right down to the so-called cash desks – involving Siemens. Ever since then, even taking an existing client out for dinner after an account review needs numerous sign offs!
It is difficult to understand ‘on the outside’; but I just wanted to say this is not something to be overlooked.
So Lewis is walking a tight line, because he’s unhappy, that he felt his teammate cheated?
He said if only you could see what I saw, but he didn’t actually disclose it did he?
He went against team orders in Spain and it’s being blown up? So where’s the reprimand for Nico’s actions in Bahrain? At least he apologised for doing that.
Judge you’re starting to lack objectivity.
…he’s walking a tight line because this weekend Toto chose to speak out specifically about his behaviour and infer it had been damaging to the Mercedes brand….
If that isn’t a warning shot to mid-ships – then…..
Judge …you are walking a tight line by not bottling your personal prejudices.
You will see a downturn on this website going forward…especially with anything associated with you as the author. Credibility is very hard to ever claw back.
Your message is basically that Lewis must learn to act “white” going forward and supress his “black half”….othwerise he might upset sensitive crusty white folk like you. You hold some pretty misguided and ugly misconceptions.
I am an ethnic minority and can spot these undertones from a mile off. Would never say anything if it was directed towards me as these subtleties are hard to pin down. Also risk the backlash of being “oversensitive”…which gives more fuel to the subtle racists.
Why not just come out and post a campaign for Lewis to be kicked out of F1 and be over and done with it?
You can then have Button partner Rosberg. When Rosberg pulls the same cheat tactics, you can then call him a Dirty German. But at keast German will be more acceptable than half black?
I don’t think the judge has said anything racially motivated at all and definitely not in tight rope article. I do think it could have mentioned that Rosberg has also ‘cheated’ on engine settings in Bahrain
He didn’t say anything explicitly. It is the undertones and motivation behind this vitriolic, distorting and deliberatlh misleading article. It is only designed for one purpose…to encourage hate. He does nkt have to explicitly say “I hate blacks”…there are enough subtleties here to allow any moderately intelligent person to be able to read between the li es.
The quantity and tone of anti-Hamilton posts are astounding. If this was Alonso doing this on Raikkonen, there would be calls for his blood.
Completely ignored the underlying causes of this weekend’s behaviour…a team mate that he, and many other well informed people in F1, believed was cheating. When you know someone has done something wrong and deliberately against you, and at the same time they are shielded by a grudge-bearing media…would you also not be steaming inside?
Not only does TJ ignore Rosberg’s very questionable ethics, he decides to focus on the behaviour of the whistleblower. Then uses every opportunity possible to belittle, insult and marginalise Hamilton.
Looking forward to a period of silence after Hamliton thrashes Rosberg in Montreal.
Your post is outragous. If someone is behaving like a cock, then they are a cock, regardless of colour. I worked with a lady from Zimbarbway, lovley lady. Her son had an attitude, he used to come home and then complain the teachers were being racist for picking him up on it. She explained in no uncertain terms that whilst there maybe people who will challange you because of your colour, it is your actions that are problem here. not the colour of your skin.
We both have teenage sons, with the same teenager problems, so we’d talk a lot about it.(I’m white btw) anyway they would misbehave in exactly the same way and get into similiar trouble. She would use my son as example to her son, that its your behaviour that gets you into trouble, not you colour.
She always drummed into him, to look at himself as a person first as why people may have an issue with him and his colour last.
Comparison is ridiculous. Your friend’s son is not a public figure, whose every move is scrutinised.
So Lewis should learn from Nico? OK Lewis, you have carte blanche (excuse the pun) to cheat your way across the championship this year.
Mike, sorry for being this blunt, but that’s the biggest load of bollocks I ever heard.
Yes the judge has a very biased opinion, I even stopped being an author for this site because of his extremely biased way to write. But there is one thing you can’t accuse him of – and that’s racism. What you label an ability to sense rcial slurs ‘from a mile off’ is actually a bad case of paranoia. In fact your whole accusation reeks of slander.
Hi again Danilo, I am sorry that it always seem to be your comments I reply to the most. (I am not Mike from Medellin, by the way.)
I have until now found the Judge to be fairly impartial. His only bias, if there was one, was to counter your extreme bias in favour of Vettel. I get the impression that the anti Hamilton articles are not being written by the Judge. They are too one sided, not his style at all.
As I understood it you left in a huff because everyone was so fed up with your rants and you being so anti other drivers, especially Webber, that you were asked to be quiet. I actually like most of what you write, even though I don’t agree with a lot of it. You have an excellent knowledge of the sport but an aggressive style in writing which annoys people some times.
I don’t know, and nobody here knows (unless Rosberg is a contributor) if it was a mistake or deliberate on Rosberg’s part. The point is that Hamilton is convinced it was deliberate. Very obviously convinced, shown by his actions and words. Nobody likes to be beaten. But they REALLY don’t like to be beaten by what they consider to be cheating or underhand tactics.
I am not sure where this “discrimination” thing has come from, except as a means to sell newspapers. I have certainly never thought of the Judge as racist in any way. Everyone has the right to speak their mind. What will be next? Maybe drivers with scraggy beards are not allowed to talk about their junior team mates. Or short drivers are not allowed to complain if driven into by another car?
mike, the story behind my leaving is not really a matter for public discussion. The main reason was that the judge was fed up with my public criticism of the site (GMM articles, running the same anti-Vettel story three times on the same day among other things).
As I said, the judge is not racist, but he is not imapartial either. In the past he was extremely biased towards Webber and because of that he had a rather hateful stance toward Vettel.
The only driver I ever ranted against was Webber, because I think he was an extremely two-faced media manipulator (or better his better half was, Webber just went along with it). Inevitably that caused conflict.
As for Hamilton being convinced that Rosberg cheated. There’s a stewards decision that says otherwise. And going against that is a stupid idea, especially if it reflects bad on the team. He’s in the most dominant team F1 has seen since McLaren in 1988. Alienating them would be monumentally stupid.
So who’s more guilty? The one who blows the whistle or the one who does the cheating? Hamilton saw what happened, along with the rest of the paddock, but Britney got away with it so Toto has to defend him and chastise Lewis. I wonder if it’s the same story behind closed doors though?
The one’s who count – the Stewards – did not see what Hamilton allegedly saw late at night. They had access to all telemetry data and decided that the data did not prove any deliberate action – in simple terms: They looked exactly like it does when someone misses the breaking point. You can’t call someone a burglar, who has been deemed not guilty of it. So why do you claim the right to call Rosberg a cheat, when the FIA officials ruled that he didn’t?
Read this Mr Hippo http://www.formula1blog.com/f1-news/warwick-rosberg-most-honest-driver-in-grand-prix-racing/
So had he not said anything and been the good little boy he is, then toto would not have said anything, would he?….
Merc knew who and the type of person and character he has, when they went out and convinced him to join them. So don’t you think it’s a little late, to try and put him on a leech?
So the moment he speaks out, when he feels he has been wronged, is this what we should expect the response from everyone to be?
He doesn’t need a leash, he needs a muzzle. He just keeps barking and barking.
Hamilton will want to shut his mouth immediately or he will talk himself out of a WDC.Mercedes must be fuming at his behaviour.
I bet he is already thinking of going back to uncle Ron and driving a Mclaren Honda like his idol.
This season is going to get real messy and if Hamilton doesn’t beat Rosberg to the Championship he wont be at Mercedes next year.
…assuming Ron Dennis would have him back…..
Mercedes could still win both titles with just one car
Dear oh dear…standards are slipping here.
TJ was just waiting for this to happen in order to release the internal pressure build up. How dare that “upstart” ethnic minority Hamilton get above his station? Does he not realise that he should bow his head and feel grateful that his type are allowed to be in the paddock? He is behaving like a savage, while Aryan Rosberg has been a shining example ofhow a civilized gentleman should behave.
Old white men discussing the mongrel Hamilton’s decorum. Utterly pathetic with some very nasty racist underlyings here.
I only read this forum now as an anthropology excerice. The rest of the news and opinion has been devalued by some disgusting prejudice and lack of objectivity.
I see a downturn here going forward….very sad, because up until now it was an area for intelligent conversation.
FWIW, my take on it is more cereberal than racist. Maybe having a Taiwanese wife makes you less prone to the typical English ‘disease’, I don’t know…
Anyway, what is colouring (sorry, maybe not the best word to use…) my attitude towards the two drivers is that Rosberg comes across as intelligent, well spoken and pleasant. Lewis, however, comes across as annoying and immature.
It doesn’t really matter what goes on behind the scenes, but what Lewis says in public (including team radio) doesn’t give a good impression. It’s also frustrating as you know it is a waste of time. Demanding to know the gap to Nico when Ricciardo was gaining rapidly is a prime example of this – does he really think he was being given random information for no reason?
This is also why Jenson became more popular at McLaren – he is more personable and tried to understand what information he’s given.
To be honest, I think Lewis would only really succeed in a situation similar to Schumacher or Vettel in the past – where he was the accepted no 1 and all resources were put towards his success. Something he is never going to get at McLaren or Mercedes.
He’s not alone – Vettel similarly alienated a lot of fans by his attitude and Schumacher didn’t make a lot of friends either. It will be interesting to see how Seb deals with his current situation as that could easily make him new fans if he deals with it well. Certainly Schumacher gained a lot of respect for his time at Mercedes as it showed a new aspect to his personality.
If Lewis wants to succeed at Mercedes he needs to re-think his public persona. If he can’t or doesn’t want to do this then he needs to try and find an opening at a team what will make him no 1 and focus all efforts on him.
Are you kidding?
Hamilton acted like a cunt. A spoiled, entitled, cunt.
No one gives a fuck he’s black. Only he does. Still I rise my ass… He doesn’t even know what that was about…
I feel sorry for most if all Angelou. She would hate her script on his back.
stop it please. hamilton has an attitude that isnt far away from the racist, he’s ignorant. i doubt his hard life involved going to school the day after the then popular british sitcom ‘love thy neighbour’, or the film ‘roots’ had been aired. someone who possibly understands what was going on in those days is another high profile man of colour, a man who i have read on various forums, suffers hate for the same reason as lewis, because of his skin colour. in president obama’s case i havent heard any instances of him using the ‘is it coz im black’ joke as a defence, i havent heard instances of him saying (or insinuating) ‘the opposition cheated, i cant prove anything, but, you know . . . wink wink’, or ‘america is great because of me’ or ‘crap because of everyone else’.
as a ‘black male’ born and raised in the uk, i dont ever (yet) worry about seeing obama on tv and thinking ‘please dont say anything that makes black people look ignorant’, when microphones are put infront of hamilton however i feel an urge to hit the mute button. hamilton gets hammered because he at times behaves like a (use obama’s views on a kanye west public act ignorance) ass, his skin colour is almost incidental
This blog needs an enema. Or an “ignore” button, at least.
I seriously can’t fathom the need for certain individuals to make their life complete by feeling aggrieved by proxy for a bunch of overpaid, overindulged, entitled taxi drivers – and that’s most of them. I’m genuinely stuck for words to describe my level of bewilderment. Get a ferkin life, or a job or something.
Can someone feed the dog, please. I’ll be back in a week…
Comment of the week I think.
Since the introduction of the “on this Day…” articles, I’ve been discovering and watching much more of 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s F1, and have found myself in awe of the sheer bravery (and perhaps foolishness too) of the drivers from those era’s.
As much as I admire the skills of many of the current generation of F1 stars, “overpaid, overindulged, entitled taxi drivers” seems rather apt to me. 🙂
They are fascinating to research and write too 🙂
Totally unrelated but i know you are a fan Carlo, if you get the chance go see prince live. I saw him yesterday (4 times now) but this one was the best yet. The man is going at it like never before.
Ive been following 3rdeyegirl on twitter and various fan accounts, all saying about how good it is. He has covered the north of england but hasn’t done london yet so waiting for announcement.
It will be my 23rd time!!
I went in 2007 to five concerts and took my eldest daughter too, she was eight at the time. Front row seats and he spotted her as he was walking round the stage singing Purple Rain. He stopped played guitar and sang to her then carried on around. She was ecstatic. After the concert one of the roadies came out and gave her an ivory plectrum with the purple symbol on it saying Prince wanted to gift it to her. F*****g unbelievable.
That is what inspired my On This Day for the 14th May. I watched that concert through her eyes. Truly magical
if you have twitter – add me – herowassenna and carlo_carluccio
Hope I added the right carlo_carluccio. There are many on twitter. 😆
Might be easier finding herowassenna. Background is my race car, foreground me in a 458 😜
Yes that one wasn’t a problem. Only one like that on twitter 😆
Thanks RogerD, you said it for me and said it well. This is bullshit. Some posters need to take a deep breath, step back, and let it go. I too am taking a vacation and will see how things are in a week or so. This blog had/has potential and I’ve been here for quite a while, but we seem to be heading down the rabbit hole. Let’s hope some people can see how they are affecting things here and cool down a bit.
When all else fails – play the race card.
It’s spelled “Fernandes”.
Time to get it right, you silly old white man 😉
This Fortus guy really wants to suck Lewis’s… Oh nvm. 😉
Seriously Fortis, your worse than a ‘beleiber’. Did he autograph your tits one day or so something?
Brilliant comment 😀
Nope, your mum did!…
If you’re not going to contribute something sensible to the thread other than trying to be a smartass, the piss off!!!
Your not really the one to say that fortis. All you do is shoot at people who don’t have the same opinion as you. And not just today or yesterday…
And is that any different to what anyone else does? Isn’t that why we all comment on here? I didn’t know it was a page whereby everyone shares the same opinions?
So if you see something that you don’t particularly agree with, are you telling, that you just sit and nod your head in agreement? Do you not challenge that opinion by offering a different view?
You don’t see me replying calling people “cunts, belieber” or making sexual references, do you?
If you don’t like what I’ve got to say, then fine, that’s your right to do so, but of you’re going to reply, then do so in a proper manner, but don’t try and insult me, like you think your opinions are more valid than mine.
The whole idea is to debate things on here. We all have an opinion… I agree, let’s try well constructed debates rather than calling names.
The beauty of TJ13 is the power of debate on here. Keep it clean gents, this is a great site, let’s keep it that way.
And where did I do that? I’ve never insulted anyone here. But you have. Sarcasme is your weapon of choice. And it’s ok to disagree with someone but you keep going on about your point like an other isn’t entitled to his own opinion.
But isn’t that what I’m suppose to do, argue my point? You really don’t expect me to argue yours do you?
Are you going to just cave in, when someone replies to something you wrote and your not in agreement with what was said? And who doesn’t use sarcasm in their comments?
At the end of the day, I’m not here to insult or call people names, I’m here to give my views on issues raised by the judge, whether I’m agreed with or not, is not important to me, because I wasn’t asking for that.
Sorry Fortis, was not meant against you. Was agreeing with you.
Sarcasm is a strange one, sometimes you can miss it completely. My sister tends to be sarcastic… I’m just direct but it has it’s drawbacks too 🙂
All I am asking for is a bit of order. I.e no words like c**t etc.
But there is a difference between arguing with mutual respect ( like most of the arguments here) And forcing the rest to believe your opinion is the only good one (like you most of the time do) i dont mind you arguing, hell no. That’s what this site is about. But it seems that you don’t like it if someone else has an other opinion than you do. You like to force your believes on to others.
I know Don_quixote…was just replying to bruznic
@bruznic
Fair enough. But if that’s how you see it, well i apologise, that was not my intentions.
But I’d appreciate it, if I’m going to be pulled up about my comments, then I’d prefer if it was done with some form of respect.
Then please show me where I disrespected you.
Bruznic…
That post was not meant for you, it was for that very smart intellectual guy, I think he calls himself…. Ooh ooh are something of the sort.
So instead of trying to respond with some form intelligent comment, you however choose to act like an immature school girl, who went can’t find anything intelligent to say, resorts to name calling?
Wow very mature….
It shows your level of intelligence, that to get your point across, you’ve resorted to swearing, because you’ve got nothing sensible to contribute.
But feel free to continue with your prepubescent rant and attempt at trying to insult me, which if I’m honest, I find it quite amusing.
👏👏👏👏👏
Yep +1000. ROFL
Been reading Fortis96’s crazy comments for a few days now and frankly my reaction has been either laughter, incredulity or sheer bewilderment.
This guy has mental issues I think.
I’d say it’s mental issues. I was only just released from the nut house. I went in to have a few screws replaced and some tightened up, so I’m not fully up to speed as yet.
Cheers 👌👌👌
At least the screws ain’t missing mate 😛
@ The Gonch
yet more lying ?
” We cannot ‘prove’ that a lot of the British press do the German vs. Brit angle, but, as a Brit, you can see it is there……. ”
I have NEVER seen anti German articles in the Scottish press.
I have only ever seen it in the ENGLISH press.
Get your facts straight – don’t tar me with the same brush as you !
and
@ bruznic
come to Scotland mate – we love Germans here and especially love your penalty taking skills ….
😀
“a lot of”, not all the English papers do it either.
Oh but, my good friend, I am belgian. But i do have a german mother. So I’m like Carlo. Stuck between two fires. .. and i dont mind all those prejudice up to certain level. Hey I’ve got some myself.everbody has. 😆 I heard Scottish people are those guys in skirts who drink all day 😉
And its the dutch by the way, who have THE best penalty skills 😂
@ bruznic
” I heard Scottish people are those guys in skirts who drink all day 😉 ”
Indeed we are.
You forgot to mention that we only eat haggis and porridge – and our only music is from bagpipes …….
BTW – sorry I got your nationality wrong – we love Belgians too
😀
Oh do you? We belgian are quite boring in fact. 😆
that’s not been my experience ……. 😉
No we aren’t, but the English seem to think that way about us (Or at least the English press and Jeremy Clarkson 😆) By the way I have to say I myself am a big fan of the Scottish drinks 😉
Irn Bru? 😛 … Or the wheat variety?
@bruznic but you do the beer thing rather well IMO.
@ bruznic
had a Belgian girlfiend for 5 years
it was great – free Stella ( the REAL stuff not the pish brewed in UK ) and free Cote D’or – yummy 🙂
@matt, I don’t drink beer. I think it tastes bad. 😈
Ah but what about the English 😛
I do like the Haggis you guys do BTW… and the porridge ain’t Taft bad either 😉
we love them too
especially the ones who come to live here
😀
German and Belgian, and Carlo is Italian-English, and you guys think you have it bad?
Sheesh, My Mother is from Yorkshire, my Dad is from Lancashire, and I was brought up in Cumbria, with a Geordie wife, who has a Scottish Granny… 😀 Its warfare across northern Britain (probably only works if you are British)
I think so cuz I dont understand. But i hear ya brother! Stay strong 😆
Good grief… lol. At least our issues are international, lol 😉
When I think of guys in skirts drinking all day…. oh never mind!! I have a soft spot for the Scottish but she was a lady wearing a skirt… 😉
The best part is when people ask me which team I support. I say Ferrari. Yes I know, sad but tragically true. Anyway, they get confused because they want to be able to attack my football choice.
When it comes to World Cup football, I’ll choose the Azzurri or England, I’m not bothered but either way I can commiserate with the appropriate fans… 😉
This site reached it’s lowest point when Ooh Ooh Ah Ah discovered it.
It can’t sink any lower, or can it?
Lewis vs Rosberg:
Lewis is a pure natural born racer, a true diamond albeit quite raw and rough in places, in need of polishing to perfection. He might benefit from attending a boy’s version of Institut Villa Pierrefeu – The Original Swiss Finishing School.
Rosberg is a gem too, really shiny and perfectly cut and polished. However he is not a real diamond, maybe a hint of zirconium. Just a little bit fake, I think.
Rosberg did NOT need to reverse from the escape road after his quite possibly genuine error at Mirabeau.
Indeed… If, as the Judge would have us believe, Britney is the perfect sporting gent, then after having made his “mistake” his first instinct would be to stay as far out of the way so as not to ruin anyone else’s lap. Lewis dared to be unhappy in public though, so it’s time to sharpen up the guillotine instead apparently.
Or is Lewis a
petulant spoiled childish immature arsehole ?
Hmmmm ……
We can argue all we like about Hamilton’s behaviour because very simply he sells papers, he gets viewers on the telly, he gets people on F1 blogs. He’s the most marketable driver.
There’s however only one hard fact. Rosberg parked his car the same way Schuey did in 2006. In 2006 it was crystal clear that it was deliberate. In this case, only Rosberg (maybe) knows.
Hamilton is between a rock and a hard place. Criticise his team-mate, he gets on the wrong foot with the team. Not say anything and they might as well carry on with subtle strategic decisions that could jeopardise his title challenge.
And I don’t buy the arguments of “he should do it behind closed doors”. Sometimes you have to go a bit public so as to push your point across.
Warwick believes Nico is an angel- http://www.formula1blog.com/f1-news/warwick-rosberg-most-honest-driver-in-grand-prix-racing/
It would be interesting to find out how many incidents where Lewis was penalised in the past that had Warwick as a steward.
Excellent idea
go and find another bullshit conspiracy theory
😀
” There’s however only one hard fact. Rosberg parked his car the same way Schuey did in 2006. ”
That is NOT a fact – that is your opinion.
The REAL FACT is that Rosberg did nothing wrong.
You are just like Fortis and The Gronch – lying and talking complete and utter shite to try and justify your opinion.
Well he did not park his car… He reversed it no?
Well, that’s not a fact either technically. The FACTs here are that Rosberg had an incident that prevented a few others having a clear final run, but was cleared by those governing such events of wrong doing. To determine his intent as a fact is impossible, unless he admitted to it.
My opinion, as a big Hamilton fan, is the same as yours: that Rosberg made an honest mistake. The sad result is it prevented us from seeing a shoot out.
Yawn.
Can I just say, that Lewis at NO time said he was going to ‘crash’ into Nico, just that he would take a leaf from Senna’s book. To me that means he will not just beat his team mate but humiliated him in the same machinery. Why are people always looking for the negative spin on things said by not just Hamilton but many other drivers over recent seasons.
Clear View indeed!
I think that Nico’s main advantage over Lewis is that Nico’s mentor and father were the same person (and a World Champion, to boot!), and Keke seems to have been a steady hand at the wheel, also with a light touch – hardly one to hog the limelight.
Lewis’ father was out of his depth as his manager once they got to F1, and should have had the sense to go before he was pushed. And Ron Dennis utterly failed Lewis as his mentor, putting him under too much pressure, too soon, and then leaving him to fend for himself.
It can’t be easy growing up under the intense glare of the world’s media, for any of the drivers, but that’s international motorsport for you.
Thanks for that . There are so many interesting things to talk about, but I have read of sociological studies that say for people who grow up poor and then make it to the middle class (or at least what’s left of it) that they never really get all the way comfortable as there are a million little details that any one growing up in that socioeconomic strata know, but they take a lifetime to learn if you come to them as an adult.
In particular, it throws a lens on the distorting effect of our cultures’ hero worship of obscene amounts of money and athletics. Talent/Money entitles behaviour generally not accepted and no one wishes to upset the golden goose once the contracts are signed. Frankly, anyone who manages to retain a semblance of normality in that pressure cooker impresses me, even if they are far less than perfect.
Interestingly enough Sebastian Vettel has had exactly the same way into F1 like Hamilton. He was signed up aged 12 and put in the spot-light, yet all those definding Lewis now don’t apply the same leniency to Vettel. What’s the reason behind that obvious discrepancy?
Coz he’s a fuckin’ Kraut …….
don’t ya get it ?
😉
Maya Angelou, rest in peace.
Wow, people are really hung up on this…
This angel Nico – is he the same guy that outed his team’s secret Pirelli test last year? And didn’t even bother telling his team-mate sorry in Australia? LOL!
@ Sebsie
what did Nico have to apologise for in Australia ?
* confused *
So he revealed that his team broke the rules. Can’t see anything wrong with that. And what exactly did he have to appologize for in AUS? For winning?
Danilo – maybe he should have apologised for being German …. 😉
No the bad part isn’t that he’s german. The bad part is that he became a german who’s winning. That’s what he should apologise for. 😆
All I can think of is he is saying Nico should have said sorry for his retirement in Australia, which meant Ham didn’t win.
Of course – * smacks forehead *
Nico sabotaged Lewis’s car by stuffing sauerkraut into the exhaust …
how foolish of me to forget that ….
This website is driving me nuts. I’ve been attempting to find an article from last week, about the lack of decent questions being asked at the press conferences. I think I’ve found the article title, but the article itself isn’t available.
I wanted to send a link to the article for others to read – thereby spreading the word that this site does have interesting stuff to read. Disappearing articles make this impossible – as do comments that can’t easily be accessed.
Generally the site is a PITA anyway, why isn’t it possible to put each article onto a separate page with a link from the ‘home’ page? All I see is a bog roll effect website with stuff disappearing off the bottom as new articles are added.
Please take a look at the websites of Joe Seaweed & James Allen. Both use WordPress, so there shouldn’t be a problem nicking their layouts.
Jonno – the search facility here varies between shit and utterly useless …
However – could this be the article you were looking for ?
from Friday 23rd ?
” FIA Press Conferences a joke ”
http://thejudge13.com/2014/05/23/daily-f1-news-and-comment-friday-23rd-may-2014/
🙂
Jonno, you will be pleased to hear the new site is coming on well and will be with us all soon. In the meantime please bear with us.
Thanks, but that link leads nowhere – other than the current front page. The link I found previously put me onto a page with no text.
This could be a good website – articles like the one I’m looking for don’t get printed on other F1 sites, but the messy layout, disappearing articles and buggered up comment section is killing it.
Working in the layout Jonno
Opps, sorry I was wrong, the link does lead to the article I wanted.
Thanks.