Motorsports Thread

[Drago]

Is it a team sport or do they race as individuals?

They race as individuals for the most part, and it is right that should be the default position.

At least, until such time that the likely outcome of either an individual race or a championship as a whole becomes strategically more important than an individual drivers tactical result on the day.

Sadly many egos are so fragile they just cant accept that racing for themselves has failed on that particular day, and moving to the fallback position of racing for the team is incompatible with ego. That's all there is to it.

Its easy for them on an xyz million pound contract to be egotistical chumps, but a cleaner on £15k a year plays an equally vital role for the team yet they cant afford to bring an ego to work. Its those backroom workers who share the prize pot that suffer the most when some spoiled millionaire thinks theyre more important than the people that put him in the car race after race, season after season.

 

[Kevberlin]

View: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1391048558710087/

 

[Beebo]

View: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1391048558710087/

What is your point?

 

[Kevberlin]

I’m not making a point.

 

[Drago]

View: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1391048558710087/

For a moment I thought that was Frank Spencer. Certainly drives like Spencer lately.

 

[rustybolts]

In Damon's case, I wasn't talking about his actions on track. It were his actions in the garage.

Adrian Newey was disgusted when he heard that Williams and Patrick Herd were dumping Hill, he had no prior knowledge of it and was never consulted about it. Newey had great time for Hill and also for Bobby Rahal , whose race engineer he was in Indycar at the start of his career. Hill was given the nod from another British Racing Driver ( you know who it was ) that a testing role was becoming vacant at Williams . The rest is history .

 

[Reynard]

Adrian Newey was disgusted when he heard that Williams and Patrick Herd were dumping Hill, he had no prior knowledge of it and was never consulted about it. Newey had great time for Hill and also for Bobby Rahal , whose race engineer he was in Indycar at the start of his career. Hill was given the nod from another British Racing Driver ( you know who it was ) that a testing role was becoming vacant at Williams . The rest is history .

Whereas I would be quite happy to see Damon Hill fall flat on his face into cow pats. Repeatedly.

As far as I'm concerned, he's an obnoxious little sh*t who perpetuates the "poor little me" persona - to his benefit. Part of the story came to me when I was doing research for a book project I was involved with nearly thirty years ago. I got another part of the story from two different and very reliable sources, and the final part from a motor racing historian I happen to know.

When you look back at all the "Ratpack" reunion photos, you get to notice who never sits next to whom. It might look cordial and fun on the surface, but under that surface, the resentment still runs deep.

IMHO Patrick Head is a far better judge of character than Adrian Newey. Who while incredibly talented as an engineer, always hops to where the big budget happens to be.

As for Mansell, his own team manager at Williams (who later ran Julian Westwood Cane-Cordy Motorsport in British F3000) called him "an 'orrible little man".

 

[rustybolts]

Whereas I would be quite happy to see Damon Hill fall flat on his face into cow pats. Repeatedly.

As far as I'm concerned, he's an obnoxious little sh*t who perpetuates the "poor little me" persona - to his benefit. Part of the story came to me when I was doing research for a book project I was involved with nearly thirty years ago. I got another part of the story from two different and very reliable sources, and the final part from a motor racing historian I happen to know.

When you look back at all the "Ratpack" reunion photos, you get to notice who never sits next to whom. It might look cordial and fun on the surface, but under that surface, the resentment still runs deep.

IMHO Patrick Head is a far better judge of character than Adrian Newey. Who while incredibly talented as an engineer, always hops to where the big budget happens to be.

As for Mansell, his own team manager at Williams (who later ran Julian Westwood Cane-Cordy Motorsport in British F3000) called him "an 'orrible little man".

What story ? you hint about Hill being treacherous and being resented by fellow Brit drivers and that's all you say. You heard it from various sources ? what did you hear ? Hill was extremely lucky to land the Williams testing job , he was extremely lucky to get probably the best F1 car of the era to clinch a world championship . When Schumacher took Hill off deliberately and deprived him of the WC title , Hill said not a word . Imagine that happening today and what the reaction would be ? If Verstappen was taken out on purpose and deprived of WC title he would explode and his father Jos worse again. What "resentment still runs deep " and by whom ? I never mentioned Mansell , why are you talking about him ? There will always be british drivers who resent and are jealous of somebody elses lucky break . Don't accuse somebody of dirty deeds and " I heard the story from very reliable sources " and leave it hanging.

 

[Reynard]

What story ? you hint about Hill being treacherous and being resented by fellow Brit drivers and that's all you say. You heard it from various sources ? what did you hear ? Hill was extremely lucky to land the Williams testing job , he was extremely lucky to get probably the best F1 car of the era to clinch a world championship . When Schumacher took Hill off deliberately and deprived him of the WC title , Hill said not a word . Imagine that happening today and what the reaction would be ? If Verstappen was taken out on purpose and deprived of WC title he would explode and his father Jos worse again. What "resentment still runs deep " and by whom ? I never mentioned Mansell , why are you talking about him ? There will always be british drivers who resent and are jealous of somebody elses lucky break . Don't accuse somebody of dirty deeds and " I heard the story from very reliable sources " and leave it hanging.

The incident I'm on about is *well* before Hill even had a sniff of an F1 car. I had it from his team principle at the time, who I interviewed for the aforementioned project, as well as from a family member of the other driver concerned, who I knew because a friend of mine worked for him. Both men are known for calling a spade a spade.

If there's one thing I cannot abide, it's a bully who throws his weight around and picks on someone much younger.

The book "Forever Young", released earlier this year, touches on this. I was also involved in that project, opening my archive for the publishers. They had to markedly tone down the draft text, which they sent me to fact check / error check, prior to publication. The fact that the person who wrote that section of the book came by the same story via a totally different route to, and independent of me, is no coincidence.

 

[rustybolts]

I know you are a supporter of the Warwick camp , so I imagine there is some sort of a grievance from that quarter . I never heard an ill whisper concerning Hill from any quarter .

 

[Drago]

I never heard an ill whisper concerning Hill from any quarter .

I have.

I've worked a few British GPs when I was innthe job and a lot of the drivers are arrogant arses, though some were ok.

My favourite encounter was with Stirling Moss, and I took great delight in putting him in his place. I'd been left in charge of two PCs on a hospitality area when who should come strutting up other than Stirling Toss himself, camel hair coat over his shoulders, entourage in tow.

"Tell such and such that I'm here," he barked at me.

I towered over him, made a point of pausing a moment to disdainfully look him up and down, and then replied...

"Certainly Sir. And who should I say is asking for him?"

David Coalshed was in the queue behind him and turned bright red with the effort of not bursting out laughing (he was alright, polite enough to us lackeys.)

Kovaleinnen was nice enough, Ralf was every bit the prat you'd expect. Wracking my brains trying to recall all of them.

 

[Bonefish Blues]

Coulthard's reputation is of a pretty regular guy, I've seen lots of stories of him taking time out with fans/randoms etc.

 

[Drago]

Coulthard's reputation is of a pretty regular guy, I've seen lots of stories of him taking time out with fans/randoms etc.

From what I've seen of him I could believe that.

 

[Reynard]

I never heard an ill whisper concerning Hill from any quarter .

Because he tends to squelch it rather firmly.

In this case, he was dropped at short notice into a complete clusterfark of a situation and didn't handle it particularly well.

 

[Drago]

I see Hamilton turned up for the London premiere of his new film dressed as a new Bond villain - the Dentist!

I see he still has that dicky tummy.