Motorsports Thread

[figbat]

Lewis didn’t come from money. Yes he was bankrolled from an early age due to his potential but it wasn’t nepotism or wealth that got him started.

 

[Drago]

It was Ron Dennis' wealth that got him his break though. Without that it seems unlikely his Dad should have got the shekels to push him further. Lewis would still be in "the slums", tomuse his own words, without Ron's wallet.

It always takes someones money in the modern era, if not mummy or daddy then a wealthy benefactor.

 

[FishFright]

It's the 'Madring' this weekend with it's banked corner and street track lack of run off .

The F3 test session had 19 red flags so get comfy for a long one on Sunday.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

It was 65 years ago today at Monza that the Ferrari of Count Wolfgang von Trips crashed, killing him and resulting in the death of 15 spectators.

Explanatory video with French then English descriptions:


View: https://youtu.be/LqQ92WyflBE?si=QKN3CS8EKSLebWdm

Further info here: https://emptywheel.net/2011/09/10/i...1-monza-death-of-von-trips-a-yankee-champion/

 

[Reynard]

It was Ron Dennis' wealth that got him his break though. Without that it seems unlikely his Dad should have got the shekels to push him further. Lewis would still be in "the slums", tomuse his own words, without Ron's wallet.

It always takes someones money in the modern era, if not mummy or daddy then a wealthy benefactor.

I'm with @figbat on this one. Lewis had already show a LOT of potential and picked up some really good results in karting on a miniscule budget well before Ron Dennis head-hunted him for the McLaren program. What was unusual about this, is that at the time, you didn't have the driver academy pathway run by the F1 teams in order to bring on young talent. In some ways, you can say that Lewis really started that trend.

Prior to that, unless you were bankrolled by wealthy friends or relatives, you really did have to make your way up the ladder off your own bat - knocking on doors, networking, and having jobs on the side, while still testing, racing and producing results. For instance, Jonathan Palmer was a qualified (and practicing) doctor, Martin Brundle sold Toyota cars, the Warwick brothers made agricultural trailers, Kelvin Burt sold used cars and also worked as an instructor with the Jim Russell school at Donington...

Back in the day, France let the way with a programme backed by Elf, the state-owned petrol people, which brought through drivers like Jean Pierre Jabouille, Patrick Depailler, Jacques Lafitte and Patrick Tambay. BP had a similar programme here in the UK, although it was a lot smaller in scale. That gave us Derek Warwick and Brian Henton amongst others. And then there was, in the mid-to-late 1980s, Racing for Britain, which helped guys like Johnny Herbert, for instance.

Plus the big cigarette brands - Camel and Marlboro mainly, but also Gitanes and Barclay, had their own sponsorship programmes to bring on talent. The downside of those, is it limited which teams and series you could drive in. Which was why, Paul Warwick couldn't drive for Dick Bennetts' WSR F3 team in 1989 even though a contract was offered to him, because they were Marlboro team and Paul was a Camel driver. So either he had to walk away from Camel and lose the majority of his budget, or keep the money and go elsewhere - in this case, Glenn Waters' Intersport outfit. And we all know what a disaster that ended up being...

But really, those programmes have nothing on what's in place today, with systems that head hunt kids who haven't even gone through puberty yet. Robin Raikkonen must've shown some promise for RB to sign him for their academy - I guess it's much the same as premier league football clubs doing the same. Not everyone will make it, and most will get released somewhere along the way.

Just as an aside, Kimi jumped from Formula Renault (the category *below* F3) straight into F1. Talk about a punt...

 

[Drago]

Lewis could have walked on water and fed the 5000, without the cash he wouldn't have had his first hair transplant yet.

 

[Beebo]

Lewis could have walked on water and fed the 5000, without the cash he wouldn't have had his first hair transplant yet.

His dad also remortgaged their house, which is pretty crazy when you think about the chances of him actually making it.

 

[Reynard]

His dad also remortgaged their house, which is pretty crazy when you think about the chances of him actually making it.

And worked multiple jobs, IIRC.

 

[Drago]

He did indeed. Set himself up after hours installing signs for an estate agent. Cant knock AH's commitment.

 

[biggs682]

Pretty sure Ford launched and ran a rally driver apprenticeship in the 90-2000's that unearthed a few drivers and some went on to help run factory sponsored teams later in life.

I can remember changing a rear diff on a 2wd Cosworth on one of the many RAC rally's I serviced on, we were asked by John Taylor to help change it as the driver only had a chase car crew at that service point after one of the stately home stages .

Of course we obliged as our driver wasn't due for ages and we just managed to wave the diff job off as our car pulled up, we got a right telling of by our boss when he found out.

Those were the days

 

[gbb]

It's the 'Madring' this weekend with it's banked corner and street track lack of run off .

The F3 test session had 19 red flags so get comfy for a long one on Sunday.

Thats going to be an interesting race, im just watching qualifying.
Looks a very technical circuit, all sorts of places to get it wrong.
Id lost interest i F1 generally, getting it back a bit but dont recall the layout of this GP, is it a new venue ?

 

[Reynard]

Thats going to be an interesting race, im just watching qualifying.
Looks a very technical circuit, all sorts of places to get it wrong.
Id lost interest i F1 generally, getting it back a bit but dont recall the layout of this GP, is it a new venue ?

Yes, it's a new venue, and the new venue for the Spanish Grand Prix - back in Madrid for the first time since 1981 (Jarama).

Barcelona (Catalunya GP) will now be alternating with Spa from next year.

 

[FishFright]

Thats going to be an interesting race, im just watching qualifying.
Looks a very technical circuit, all sorts of places to get it wrong.
Id lost interest i F1 generally, getting it back a bit but dont recall the layout of this GP, is it a new venue ?

It's brand new this year.

Looks fun to drive but not convinced it'll be a good race . Probably eventful with little to no run off and turns 5 an 5a

 

[biggs682]

Well qualifying was interesting and like others have said it might be an interesting watch, it could be another race decided in the very long pit lane

 

[biggs682]

So what was everyone's thoughts about the outcome of the race at the new circuit?

Closest top 3 for ages

Some strange strategy shown by a few teams

A lot of people were hoping for another safety car shout