Trulli's in big trouble - Briatore

Two points:
- The fact that I had to go nostalgic tells you how little mistakes MS made recently under pressure. Actually he does make them, but they're less obvious things.

- Interesting thing you say about how Renault handles this. Not sure you're right, but you might. Why would they want to be tough in the media, but not internally? To make the disappointed Renault workers at the track feel better? Maybe.
OTOH this is 180 degrees from how Ferrari would handle this where everything would be wonderful and rosy and no word whatsoever would be given to the media. Which is how a big corporation reacts. Politically correct, but very non telling to a fan like me. Remember Hungaroring last year? I'm still trying to figure out what the hell happened there.

 

Pete,

right now I think that everyone is a journey man. It's hard to judge anyone based on the race results when one team and one man so thouroughly dominate. That said, I totally agree, Trulli is a girly man, and the mistake he made is inexcusable.

 

That doesn't sound good for Fisico I agree. And in general having driven 100 races and won so few is not a good sign. OTOH some guys just take longer to get there: Hakkinen and Barrichello come to mind. I know what you're gonna say about Rubens, but seriously if there was no Michael AND the Ferrari was still that good (not sure it would be still good without Michael around) I bet Rubens would win more often.

Anyway, the point is, that some guys do need a hundred GPs to untie the knot in their head. I would have never said this if I hadn't seen Hakkinen though.

 

You know a man's memory is very short.
Just recently when Jarno Trulli won the Monaco GP there was a person on this board stating the Jarno Trulli was a great racer and he deserved to win. People's opinion changes faster than you can blink and now that same person says Trulli is "push over".

I think Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher will do well at Toyota. Toyota need experienced drivers to build the team around. Just like when Michael came to Ferrari and the whole operation was in shambles. Lets not forget Toyota is a Europe based outfit and with all that money from Toyota (Japan), Microsoft (??), and Panasonic they will be able to move mountains. I think we will see a big step forward from them. Having too sensible and smart drivers will also pay off. After all, one of them is the only one to have won a race besides Michael this year. Think about it!

Its easy to build castles in the air and hope that Fisichella can deliever. But its better to plan with two drivers that have a proven track record in the form of Ralf and Jarno.

 

I hear that Briatore canned Jarno because he wouldn't resign using Briatore as his agent. Sounds like Flavio was just being a pain in the ass again so he had more ammo to sack Truli. I'm sure Ralfie and Jarno will do well with Toyota...I'm sure the Honda success is really making Toyota mad and they'll be back swinging next season. Not that Ferrari cares about those teams too much

 

I'm not sure it played that way. I think Renault (Pat Symmonds) told Briatore to can Trulli and that ticked Trulli off so much, that he chose a different agent. Just my speculation.

As for Toyota, I'm not holding my breath. They have been sacking their drivers every year and I doubt this duo will change much. I don't see how Ralf or Trulli are much different from say Panis. A bit better, but not the quantum leap they need. That quantum leap IMHO needs to be made in their organization and management structure, fine tuning the drivers won't do that.

 

Why do you feel the urge to defend yourself if you are not guilty?

It is funny how you actually are defending Rubens in the post I have left from your quote.

PSK - "Look at RB's pass of Trulli. RB took the risk of pushing his car hard to push Trulli in the hope that Trulli would stuff up and thus he could get on the podium. Rb could have taken far less risk and just followed him home. Instead he risked his tyres life, etc. to push Trulli. Yes it is a precise came but there are risks involved. RB could have lost all his points, he could have worn his tyres so that he lost lap speed and thus lost a position (probably not, but just trying to explain). It is all about calculated risks on how fast the driver and the car can be pushed to play out the high speed chess game."

You yourself define Rubens as a risk taker and he could have sat back but he didn't. Now you say he is an embarasment to Ferrari and always throws his race away.

Its funny how short human memory is.

 

Everyone is already "pushing" the world's greatest F1 racer driving for the best F1 team ever created. Michael, the Ferrari team and the Ferrari car are simply too good and so we do not see any demonstration of fear or rash moves. Sometimes it is best to sit back and enjoy history being written.

 

We saw that for almost two decades!!! I think two decades of twitching and fighting has earned the Ferrari "fanatics" atleast one more season of complete Scuderia Ferrari dominance.

 

I have learnt it the hard way never to say its in the bag, till its done and over with. A racer that has won 11 races out of a possible 18, with 6 more races to go, can still lose the world championship. Tells you something is wrong with the points system.

Yes, Ferrari will still be the team to beat next year but I have heard that before too and it does not take too long for things to slip away. Just like last year nearly did.

 

Without that tires "glitch" last year championship could have been in the bag just about this time around.

 

it only takes one small glitch... tires, aero package, engine, gear box ... I don't ever think it could have been in the bag because it is either in the bag or not in the bag, no two ways about it.

 

amen to that.....i waited 21 years for another ferrari driver's world championship. i think i'll manage ok if they win a few more....

 

having just read some histories of F's political/dagger in the back 90/91 campaign, and the magnificent change in culture and process wrought in 96/76 by Luca under the ever present stress of F1, i must say Ferrari have earned, and continue to earn, through intense focus, effort and skill, everything they've achieved on the track.

i evaluate management teams for a living picking stocks -- if this team was an equity, i'd buy it! [not Fiat, alas].

Their sustained [key word] success is ineffably impressive. Congratulations SF!

 

I would do exactly the opposite: I would not buy Ferrari stocks as they are at the top of their game. It's only downhill from here. Not immediately, but eventually when the dream team dissolves.

I would buy Fiat though as Montezemolo took over and they're a total mess right now. I bet he will turn them around.

Just my $ 2 worth of stock tips.

 

it was a bad analogy...

abut tifosi, you would rather have them doing poorly so the only way to go is up?

 

That is some very smart insight! Luca di Montezemolo will be a good leader for FIAT and will be able to turn things around.

 

No, wasn't a bad analogy. I just had to be smart a_ss. Besides: Always do the opposite of what I'm buying at the stock market and you'll end up a rich man...

 

You missed the point, GreaseMonkey was referring to the cheating going on by the Michelin teams. Ferrari kept their mouth shut because they won anyway. Another outcome and the championship probably would have been handed to Ferrari post-championship. How ugly that would have been.