US Grand Prix 2005 – tripping down memory lane
“It was not the best race I’ve ever seen.”
Overpaid Button the hero for Honda’s F1 workforce
“Curiously, however, it looks as though the Englishman’s three-year contract with Honda may be playing a part in keeping his 700 colleagues at the team’s Northamptonshire headquarters in employment, following the Japanese company’s decision to get out of formula one.”
Motorsport Magazine – The reason paper and ink were invented!
Someone else who likes “Motor Sport”. (More here)
US motorsports sponsorship falling?
“NASCAR is pretty well adjusted to race-by-race deals with some cars appearing in different liveries on a regular basis. F1 has long worked on the basis that teams will run with the same liveries at every event, thus increasing the professional image of the sport and making it easy for fans to recognise the cars involved.”
“After claiming her debut Indycar victory at Motegi, Japan, in April last year she became the first woman to win a major motor race.” Just don’t mention her road course performance.
Stewart: F1 can’t lose British GP
Jackie Stewart: “Well, I think Bernie is a Brit and a proud Brit and I don’t think he really wants to see no British Grand Prix. I think that would be a very negative thing on him and the people around him.”
Test event with the BMW Sauber F1 team
Anyone been to one of these?
Nigel Mansell takes on minder as shortcut to security
Nigel Mansell: "I spent years surrounded by true professionals in the motor racing industry, and Geisha is no different. She too is at the top of her game." Geisha’s a dog, by the way.
Lewis shares his thoughts post Jerez
“KERS makes the car feel different under braking, and we’re losing some of the top-end speed that we used to have in the fast corners.”
Too Good
18th February 2009, 1:41
“Just don’t mention her road course performance. ”
Aaah another of the elitist (read snob) comment typisch “Brit/European”,made by through tinted glass vision I guess.
One opportunity to write down whats Non-Brit (and then Non European) everyone on other side of Pont becomes “Expert” I say. Its this attitude that has aliented F1 from Fans made sport run as and by “Private Gentlemen’s Club”.
This attitude reminds me of backyard cricket games where “proud owner” of Cricket bat gets additional turn to bat. Only in case of F1, F1 Teams/FOM/ and even the Brit(European) Fans expects participation of Rest of World in F1 should be limited only to Foot Hefty bills of F1 teams :-(
People tend to forget that Danica honed her Open wheel racing skills in UK of Road Courses not to mention Barber Pro Series in the US which is Road and Street Circuit series
Gman
18th February 2009, 5:38
Too Good,
With 100% respect and kindness, take a moment and chill out for a second. If you look at Danica’s record, her results on road courses (which compose 100% of the F1 schedule at the moment) are not very good. I’m not saying that oval experience is bad for an F1 driver- JV and Montoya both used it very well in preparing for F1- but I think you would be hard-pressed to argue that she deserves an F1 drive based on her results alone.
Second, I don’t know where you came up with the arrogent Brit/European perspective. All the regular readers on this site know I am an American, and I am quite proud of my nationality. Most of them also know I don’t think Danica can cut it as an F1 driver, at least not based on what she has shown to date. Is she the worst around? No. But she needs to improve in some areas before she should be considered for real. And that’s an American giving you his take on Danica….
You are obvioulsy entitled to your own opinions, but in the year or so that I have been visiting F1Fanatic, I have seen no such European arrogence on display. On the contrary, the vast majority of the posters here are very supportive of everything American, and probably wish very much for USF1 to be a success. I just think I speak for the majority that Danica shoulden’t be handed a seat in this case.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
18th February 2009, 8:58
I regularly watch Indy Car racing, I’m entitled to my opinion, and I resent the implication that I can’t make my mind up about something without being influence by what wretched country I was born in. It seems I can’t write anything these days without you having a go about be for being British. I assure you it means a hell of a lot more to you than it does to me.
My argument is Patrick is a good oval driver, but she’s not been as good on road courses. Here are her finishes from last year on both types of track:
Ovals
Miami – 6
Motegi – 1
Milwaukee – 9
Texas – 10
Iowa – 6
Richmond – 6
Nashville – 5
Kentucky – 11
Chicago – 10
Average – 7.1
Road and street courses
St. Petersburg – 10
Watkins Glen – 14
Mid-Ohio – 12
Edmonton – 18
Infineon – 5
Detroit – 16
Average – 12.5
These are my opinions and those are the facts. I’m perfectly happy to debate anyone on those. But take the nationalistic crap somewhere else.
Eric M.
18th February 2009, 3:45
Too Good, get off your high horse man. The fact of the matter is that Danica’s road course performance in the top North American open wheel series has been unimpressive to say the least.
DG
18th February 2009, 8:38
F1 cars keep the same colours in all events? Not all the time – what about the various celebratory and movie tie-in colours there have been over the years?
OK, so the colours are more or less the same, but didn’t Jordan or BAR completely change logos and colours for a Japanese race at one point?
I would like to see a bit more variation in the colours, and don’t believe that changing the graphics or vinyls can be so expensive, since Williams spent last years testing changing colours every week, and most teams have a test livery and a racing livery.
It would be good to see a local tie-in at most of the races – arabic sponsors in Bahrain, Japanese graphics in Japan, various brand changes of the cars and the sponsors between Europe and South America. Perhaps it would create a market more interesting to the alcohol companies?
Too Good
18th February 2009, 12:39
So it again boils down to If and when US F1 team enters F1 they should hire Drivers Ant Davidson, Mike Conway, Will Stevens
The Wrapper maybe different, inherent meaning remains the same…..
Seedy001
18th February 2009, 16:04
No, I don’t believe for a moment that that is what anyone here is suggesting. All that Keith was pointing out is that it is hard enough these days for drivers to get a seat in F1 without giving it to someone who has yet to show they have the potential to be successful given the chance.
As Keith’s stats prove she hasn’t shown much promise on road courses and in fact I don’t even think her oval stats are particularly good for someone driving for one of the 3 super-teams of Indycars where AGR, Ganassi and Penske regularly lock out the top 6-8. Therefore an average of 7.1 isn’t quite as good as it seems.
As you said earlier and was mentioned in the article, she proved successful in junior single seaters but how many of those 160-odd drivers in formula ford are still racing professionally? How many have even sat in an F1 car?
Basically, I don’t think anyone on this site from the UK or Europe is against American participation in F1 – thats nonsense – just look through the comments on other articles conveying dismay at the lack of a race in both the US and Canada and on the excitement about having the USF1 team bringing more cars to the grid and creating more interest state-side in F1.
However, race seats are precious enough without them being dished out just because of the huge marketing potential and hype a certain driver might create. It isn’t as though there aren’t plenty of talented, young individuals knocking on the door from both Europe and America.
In fact, Keith wrote an article detailing exciting forumla 1 hopefuls from the US which I think included Jonathan Summerton amoungst others. So I think to insult him of being anti-american is slightly wide of the mark.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
18th February 2009, 20:19
I didn’t say that – you did. I said Danica Patrick is better on ovals than she is on road courses, and nationality is not important.
Chaz
18th February 2009, 14:07
Interesting Jenson Button article and I must say how fortunate for him to be in a win win situation in many other respects…
YeaMon
18th February 2009, 15:12
Danic wreaks to many cars, and also seems to blame someone else for her mistakes. I don’t think she’s a good choice for even a consideration. She needs to prove herself with more wins and better consistancy.
chaostheory
18th February 2009, 15:14
Speaking of Danica Patrick and F1 – I thought it would be interesting to read about females in Formula One. I know there were some in 70s and early 90s but I don’t know much about it. Maybe someone can find & interview them?
Dean
18th February 2009, 15:32
“It was not the best race I’ve ever seen.”
Wow, you mean there are people that actually believe there was a F1 race at 2005 USGP. I was there. I’m struggling to recall anything that closely resembles any activity that could be construed as F1 racing. I come up totally empty. They did some testing, although only 3 teams tested through the weekend. The others packed up and left early.
Alianora La Canta
19th February 2009, 19:07
I thought it was a race – of one. The Ferraris were on parade, the Minardis were only there because Jordan was, Karthikeyan was unusually off-pace and the only other driver on track in the end was Monteiro. It was a bit like the race in the days of yore where three cars started and they all broke down before the finish, but with a yucky layer of psuedopolitics on top.
Too Good
18th February 2009, 17:46
@Seedy – Don’t take personally , I don’t have any biases against anyone. but can’t help but notice the common themes that come out of different discussions on this and other forum.
Alluding to quality of Danica (or for that matter) is not fair. In any form of motor racing ( and very very more so in F1) things are heavily dependent on Car, Car Set-up and strategy.
Give Wrongly setup car to best of the F1 drivers and they are gonna spin and wreck that as well.
If and when team USF1 is launched, its for them to decide whom they want to pilot their car, for us the arm chair critics to run down any driver is bad is all I can say.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
18th February 2009, 20:20
By that reasoning we might as well not bother to make judgements on the qualities of any racing drivers.
Eric M.
18th February 2009, 23:26
“I don’t have any biases against anyone. but can’t help but notice the common themes that come out of different discussions on this and other forum.”
You’re really reaching if you think those themes are apparent in the article above, which you seem to. Or on this blog at all, for that matter. Maybe in the comments section every now and then, but you can’t blame the blog author for that.
the limit
19th February 2009, 5:28
Danica Patrick may not have had that great a success at road courses, but lets not be too hasty and try to think like a team owner here. Like her or loathe her, Danica is one of the hottest, most sought after drivers out there.
Some may scoff at this, but the IRL Series would be seriously peeved to lose Danica to any series, F1 or NASCAR or whoever. She has the appeal of being the only female driver to win a ‘major’ open wheel race, and she has shown on other occasions that she is capable.
Back in 2007, some of my friends suggested that Montoya would flop in NASCAR. He won’t make it, NASCAR is too different from F1 blah blah blah. I had the great honour of watching him at Daytona on Sunday last, and he did not look out of place, far from it!
The transition to NASCAR was tough for him and took balls, but he did it, and it may yet bear fruit. Danica is perfectly capable of trying her hand at F1, of making the switch. How can you learn if you don’t try?
At the end of the day, talent always shows in the end.
Jay Menon
19th February 2009, 5:28
I think we’re beginning to forget what makes a great F1 Driver. What made the likes of Senna and Schumacher great apart from the fact that they were prodiguos talents? The fact that they could develop a car, build a team and more than anything else, get the setup right. Winning comes with this. Look at Fernando Alonso and he’s done, closest we have to the old school.
I say bring on Danica Patrick, I would really like to see her in an F1 car. If she could prove her critics wrong, good for her, but from I’ve been reading over the past couple days, people who’ve seen her race and have worked with her (seriously, there was a post on the Guardian), don’t seem to be too enthusiatic. Anyway, its obvious this is nothing more than a media stunt. The very fact that all the major news and fan sites are discussing this, just aids to her popularity and comercial clout…so lets just leave this and move on.
US F1 should give Scott Speed and another shot at F1.
Adrian
19th February 2009, 10:01
Hang on a minute, there’s plenty of American Drivers who haven’t had a chance yet, why give Scott Speed another one when he didn’t impress the first time round? I’d rather see Danica in F1 than Scott (lacks) Speed…
Actually, I for one would welcome Danica to F1, it would help raise the profile of the sport and might, just might encourage my girlfriend to watch it..!!
DC
19th February 2009, 13:18
“Not all the time – what about the various celebratory and movie tie-in colours there have been over the years?”
Like when one of my favourite drivers David Coulthard had to wear a Superman cape on the Monaco podium? My God, that was so embarrasing. It was like that NASCAR idiocy where the winner has to pose with all the sponsor’s products in the winner’s circle. I felt so sorry for him.