It seems to me that somebody asked him the question and he gave his opinion, just like you guys are now. But sadly the truth hurts, lets hope he is wrong. Toyota, well I do not think so, if anyone is in a good position from the 2 tier teams it's Button and Honda, I wonder if they can step up to the plate as the master will not be there to bring ferrari on next year, and Kimi will not be able to do anywhere near as well.
What is MS's involvement with the Ferrari F1 team besides "Driver"? I swear at the end of the Japanese GP one of the announcers said MS was owner or part owner or team principal of Ferrari's F1 team. I may be wrong. Just because MS is not driving next year, does that mean he is not involved with Ferrari F1 at all?? Sorry in advance if this is a stupid question.
read thru other threads, u'll get a brief idea what MS really is besides a driver. and no, he's not any team owner or any principle or anything like that.
I have one word for you...B-A-R Toyota has succeeded in proving one thing in F1 and that is that all the money in the world won't create a winning car if you have an unstable organization. I think it is far likelier that Toyota pulls the plug on their operation, declares victory, and goes home. Honda has a better chance of joining the top ranks but the next championship organization is going to be McLaren. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either dreaming or sniffing glue.
An increidible man, after being burned like that, and coming back so soon. I think he has earned the right to speak his mind. MotorSport March 2005 had a great article "The Man Who Saved Ferrari". That being said, why do you think they called him the Rat? Now you can say it is for his comments.
I predict that most of the car manufacturers will pull out of F1. It won't happen overnight, but one by one, very slowly. -Ford has already left, it had been one of the pillars of F1 for almost 40 years and then decided that F1 was not part of its corporate strategy. -Renault should be next from what I heard, and this is one of the reason why Alonso left; they couldn't guarantee him continuity beyond 2007/2008. Briatore can make all the statements he likes, the CEO at Renault thinks F1 is a waste of time for the company: 'an alien environment' as he put it. IMO, the team will be sold within 2/3 years. Another point, whatever the team success, Briatore didn't endear himself with French shareholders by refusing to employ French drivers. -I don't know how long Mercedes is going to bankroll McLaren. They should have left after Hakkinen's 2 titles. Now, the association looks in decline. Mercedes is tightening their budget and could do without F1 cost. -Toyota should get some result at some point, and then leave too. There is no way that spending this type of budget for these mediocre results makes sense. Toyoto joined out of spite, because as 1st Japanese manufacturer, they must be seen emulating Honda. Which leaves Ferrari. But Ferrari is not a major car manufacturer, and enters F1 not as part of a marketing strategy, or image building exercise, but because racing is at the roots of the company, so it will carry on regardless.
I never take the comments of these ex racers too seriously. They always like to compare the racing circumstances with how different it was in their time with repeated emphasis on perceived reckless driving, safety standards, risk, etc. We have heard these arguments ad nasuem. The world of F1 was way different then and their comments are mostly irrelevant in my opinion in today's F1 world. Here is an article quouting Stewart's and Lauda's opinion on Schumi: Source: itv-f1.com
Talk about being switched on... you are correct!!! F-1 has positioned them selves for a catastrophe of mega proportions... if Toyota and Honda have a couple of bad years economically... they will pull the plug so fast you will not know what hit you.... as for Mercedes.... they are over reached, Renault... who knows what the French will do... they are in the middle of major economic / social crisis... so who knows what the unions and govt. will do... so they can go at any time... that leaves only Ferrari... and if they ever get floated, watch out... F-1 could easliy go by the way side... Wall street has no room for mystique and history.....ask Gucci/ Fendi/ Armani.... familys... Personally I dont know who will be in F-1 in the next 10 years... if the economy keeps on going well... then no problem... thats my 10 Million lira for you!
He comes out of retirement and races for........ McLaren. He could have come out 6 months prior and raced for Ferrari, but didn't, and I am sure he was approached, after Villeneuve was killed and Pironi was injured. Gee, maybe he knew something we didn't.. Betcha we see Ferrari cut back on the dollars a bit, and rest on their laurels for awhile.
Not to mention the obvious.... but Niki was called "Niki the rat" and more lovingly "super Rat" because of his buck teeth, and scarred face, from the Nurburgring fire... no facial hair... eye brows, lashes etc.... it really is very distrubing in real life... thats why he most of the time either had his Parmalat hat on or back in Ferrari days Romerquell .... or when he got out of the car his balaclava was on top of his head.
When Lauda retired the 1st time, he was racing for Brabham (Bernie Ecclestone!), and was worn out. He had left Ferrari, feeling that his position was threatened after his crash in Germany: Ferrari didn't believe he'd survive and sent for replacement, even as Lauda was recovering. Lauda came back at the Italian GP to save his seat. His retirement at the Japanese GP, convinced Ferrari that Lauda was over the hill. The next year he was champion again, but the rift with Ferrari was too big: he left and wouldn't never have driven for the Scuderia again. Ron Dennis, later on, heard that Lauda was short of cash to finalise the purchase of some aircraft for his new airline, and offered him a drive. Marlboro agreed, and Lauda went on to win another championship and fend off 'new kid on the block' Prost. Not bad for someone just racing for money...
That's right, I remember the comment now. He said he never enjoyed driving, he only did it for the money. I just don't understand that. Do you think this was true? How do you become champion and not love what you are doing? Who here would not change places just for a moment to experience that acheivment, burns and all.
all i recall was, he said, that he's tired of driving around in circles, when he retired. that doesn't show much passion...does it?
Lauda is a strange character for sure. I think he says what suits him at the moment. His comments are all over the board. However, the guy was brave and excellent behind the wheel as they come. Remember he beat Prost (at the top of his game) by 1/2 a point in 84 in the McLaren.
84? i wasn't born yet Tony. but i still think he had some passion. i remember reading, after his crash in the ring, when he woke up, he asked the docs if he'd ever race again... man...he did comeback and nearly won the title that year. u need lots of courage to do what he did...
If I remember it right (and all this is from memory), Lauda was driving a Brabham-Alfa Romeo with John Watson as partner when he retired. The car had been designed by Gordon Murray, and because the engine was a flat-12, Murray couldn't use properly ground effect. In desperation, he created the 'fan car', where a fan powered by the gearbox sucked the air from under the car, and threw it back at the rear. When the car was standstill and the driver blipped the throttle, the saw would squat 1 or 2 inches! Just to prove that it was THAT efficient: traction was phenomenal. Lauda won one GP with that car before... guess what... it was declared illegal!!! Ecclestone, Murray and Lauda were all pissed off, but the car had to return to conventional set-up, and be uncompetitive. Lauda got frustrated and left half way through the season. It took a lot of arm-twisting from Ron Dennis and a huge retainer from Philipp Morris (Malrboro) to convince him to get out of retirement almost 2 years later, also he desperatly needed the money for his airline. There was no half measure with Lauda, and he was not a prima dona: he was committed, quick and consistent. I am sure that Prost learnt his trade racing alongside him. His name doesn't come very often among the 'great' drivers, but he was special.
Great points, he also knew that he would have a Young Nelson Piquet along side of him. If he would have stuck around he would have had a chance at a 4th title in 80 & 81 with the Beautiful BT49 Cosworth. Brian, you are young.
I can't think of any current drivers CAPABLE of 'putting it all together' for a team........ (besides MS in F1). Come to think of it, I can't think of any drivers in any series that can go to a team and turn that team around from top to bottom. There are a few that MIGHT be able to, Jeff Gordon and Dan Wheldon come to mind, but those are MAYBES.
Here is his crash, as well as someones top ten list. http://www.automotoportal.com/article/10_most_striking_Formula_One_crashes_ever
