The KIMI SUCKS Thread

So wrong! He suffered 11 retirements that year. Come on do some research!
Pete

 

think you can argue forever about these two drivers who have such long histories.

But this race and this season? I don't get all the Alonso hatred.

Alonso is consistently passing a lot of people. If the car is limiting him, ultimately that will limit who he can pass. He seems to be passing everyone the car will let him pass.

Silverstone encapsulates Kimi lately. Bad judgment. He went off the road and then instead of waiting to get the car back on the road before driving like a maniac, he drove recklessly in the runoff area, which launched him in the air when he hit the ditch/curb.

I'm sorry, but you can't compare a grid lineup error to that. That is just a rank rookie move. For someone who's called "the iceman" this guy routinely lets his emotions cloud his judgment on the track.

I think Ferrari's choice of drivers for 2014 is much more blameworthy than the car problems they're having. I understand the economics of the car problems. I don't get why they had to hire Kimi and what they based it on.

 

Yes and that T3 river may have had less incidents, had the teams been allowed to bring more than one set of wet-weather tyre compounds to the race. All the teams on Bridgestone tyres had only brought an intermediate tyre.

True enough, brave or reckless, there is a fine line between the two.

Off topic but I cannot resist a dig at a cretin..
Max Mosley's U-turns for 2009 and 2010 - F1 Fanatic

 

Undoubtly.

 

I don't think Kimi gets all the blame. I know it's his responsibility to enter back safely but he is a race driver under a lot of pressure and it was the start of a GP and he is trying to make up spots from a bad starting position.

Do the tracks get some of the blame? With all these new Tilke tracks being so wide with huge paved run off areas, the drivers are just getting comfortable being able to run off the track at full speed and most times come back on the track at full speed with no consequence.


Alex

 

To be fair, Prost outperformed Lauda most of the season and even Lauda himself admitted years later that he retired because he knew that he was too old to beat Prost.

 

Sorry, but you have no idea what you are talking about.

Prost utterly destroyed Lauda in 1985. Out qualified him 13-1, often by huge margins. In fact, there were many times when Lauda could not even qualify in the top 10 with one of the best cars (Prost won the WDC with it).

Everyone knew Niki was done, including Lauda himself, who promptly retired after the season.

+1

 

True. But not bumps outside the perimeter of the track.

Does runoff area makes it more safer or dangerous compared to the now obsolete gravel traps?

 

I think you missed my post earlier Bas. I don't think it's fair to ban Kimi. Just a racing incident.

 

The case against gravel is that cars can skate over them and hit the wall unabated.

Putting aside the argument that an off should be a retirement, paved runoff areas that allow a driver to return to the race allow for dangerous situations like Sunday's.

 

Thanks for your insights. Off topic, but it's not punishing for the drivers. Like La Source...

 

Yes but you have to balance this with the fact that he is the only driver to come back from retirement and win a WDC, admittedly narrowly. So yes he was done but really he was done ~4 years earlier but was good enough still to win a WDC.

Also if his motivation was just money it is logical that he lost interest quickly, and therefore speed.

You can't knock drivers such as Lauda and Stewart IMO. Great thinking drivers. Lauda taught Prost and Prost is second to MS as the greatest modern F1 driver.

In conclusion it is not fair for Lauda to be included in the list of 'fluke' or 'in the right car at the right time' just long enough to win a WDC such as Hunt, Damon Hill, JV, Hulme, Rosberg (father) ...
Pete

 

Yes I accept that I had written a reply and then got lazy myself ... oops and apologies.

It is still unfair to talk of Lauda as a one WDC winner who then had a massive form drop off next season which is what we were discussing. Hence my objection to TifosiUSA's post to include Lauda.
Pete

 

I was aware, no worries . I more poked fun at the idea that some are suggesting a race ban

What's really needed is quite simple: immediately after the curbs/white line, have a 1.5-2 meters of (REAL) grass. Then have all the runoff you want. Drivers then get penalized for going off track, but still have the safety if they go beyond that.

 

Exactly, especially bumps that are so far away from where a driver normally runs off they get back on track much earlier.

 

Nonsense. The bump was right next to the track. That is part of the track. If he rode a bicycle around the track he would see that.

 

Sounds good but I'm not clear how that would work.

 

From the corner to where the bump is is 250 meters. That's not where one expects to drive during a race, or come back on track. In normal circumstances they came back on track MUCH earlier.

I seriously doubt any driver stood there inspecting a grass covered bump THAT far back, on this or any track. Expect the unexpected, sure. But there is a limit.

I'm yet to hear of ANY driver that races at Silverstone last weekend to say that Kimi should've seen the bump because others did too. With just about every driver having twitter these days (not just F1), it would've come to light.

 

It can't be done with artificial grass as it isn't slippery enough. Normal grass will not allow them to keep the throttle on without spinning out. If they do spin, the tarmac is there to safe them.

Karun Chandhok made the same suggestion.

 

How long would the grass last on a race weekend?

I like the idea of making offs more costly.

 

That measurement is absolutely irrelevant. You might as well measure the distance from the airport to the bump.

The only relevant measure is the distance from the driving surface to the bump and that's a just a few meters.

Again: a reconnaissance lap done on foot or bicycle would have clearly revealed this

 

I have no idea to be honest. Never been much of a gardener

 

I disagree.

I really want to see some pics of the bump how it looks like from a persons perspective walking on the track though. From the onboards it's barely noticeable.

 

I'm sure it is invisible from the cockpit. That's why a track walk is so crucial.

Of course having such a trap in the first place is idiotic.

 

Sorry, what I meant was for us to try and see the bumps' size from the onboard on freeze frame.

+1

And that's my point...had the bump been closer to where one normally rejoins the track, I have no doubt it wouldn't go unnoticed by anyone. But precisely because it's so far it's gone unnoticed.