Excellent post. And let us not forget that it is USF1 who is driving these interviews, not the fans. It's not like some fan showed up unannounced and started asking questions. It was a scheduled event... so this is USF1 at their best. I saw a bunch of portable tables, printed pictures taped to the walls, large open spaces, and a couple of interviewees who were extremely uncomfortable with being on camera. The guy talking about "a lot of work... grunt... brain damage...grr" ...WTF? And the British guy was leaning back so far that he looked like he was about to fall backwards over the desk. Does Varsha have bad breath or something? Of course, not everyone needs to be comfortable being in the public eye, but faced with the choice of who to put on, those are the guys PW chose to represent the technical face of USF1 to the world? Is PW brain damaged himself or is that just the best he could come up with?
I think more because it's a cultural thing -- nothing to do with setting a tone. (Just MHO.) My entire career (in tech) we never had any dress code and I spent many years in flip flops producing now-indispensable products that you use every day. Obviously I wasn't at IBM!
Ooh, ooh!, let Me guess!. Now give Me a minute!. I think I've got it!. Hang on though, just to make sure, can we have a clue?
No doubt, for just tires it's two guys going over the wall, kneeling down, 5 lugs, tire off, tire on, 5 lugs, getting up, running around half the car and getting back down again, 5 lugs, tire off, tire on, 5 lugs, getting back up and running back around the car again? AND the front tire guy usually cleans the grill too! All in less than 15 seconds most times? You can't even READ IT that fast.
spot on! i am not a nascar fan but i respect what it has become. long gone are the days where junior and banjo ruled the roost...it's engineers now guys! they know how to use an engine, chassis dyno, suspension dyno or wind tunnel as well as f-1's best. last, all the nascrap comments i find just a bit disrespectful when we have more than a few great members on the site that make their living in that world.
We are both in agreement on this Mike. A passage from The Art of Worldly Wisdom by Gracian comes to mind, "231. Never show half-finished things to others. Let them by enjoyed in their perfection. All beginnings are formless, and what lingers is the image of that deformity. The memory of having seen something imperfect spoils our enjoyment when it is finished. To take in a large object at a single glance keeps us from appreciating the parts, but it satisfies our taste. Before it IS, everything it is not, and when it begins to be, it is still very close to nonbeing. It is revolting to watch even the most succulent dish being cooked. Great teachers are careful not to let their works be seen in embryo. Learn from Nature, and don't show them until they look good." Advice as good today as it was almost 500 years ago... Frank
Did anybody see where the YouTube CEO is on board in some fashion? Maybe he brings a certain expertise to the table... Namely, how to start a business that gets lots of attention and looks shiny but doesn't make any actual profit, and how to sell that business for a kazillion dollars. Google F1?
I really like that quote, Frank! I think I am going to print that and pin it on the wall of the sales guy who is always whining about new products being done sooner and 'can we at least show a prototype'
I am a technology sales guy. Your salesman will get bored and quit reading the paragraph, just like I did.
I know the old "you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink it" ...but he better well not b!tch if he's still thirsty afterwards!
More good news? http://www.crash.net/tailenders/video/155956/1/windsor_explains_usf1_late-season_start.html
speculation in June; this on August 19, 2009 http://www.racer.com/us-f1-confirms-youtube-co-founders-backing/article/146851/ Carol
more of the same.....what a subdued Varsha - soooo monotone; first interviewee keep looking at Pee Wee - guess he was getting cues? another nascar dude; last guy tried to get a job in the UK when he graduated but failed... Brian, other link for tailender was pretty good - "Yes" huh??? Here's one on Nick:http://www.crash.net/f1/video/155922/1/nick_wirth_reveals_virgins_secret_weapon_for_f1_2010.html I rather like his theory! (not one of the best of the tailenders but still pretty good nonetheless) Carol
I've watched all three of Varsha USF1 tapes and something seems strange to me. Did all of the employees have a bad hair day that day?
i just watched the 3 part video series. wow you guys really are resentful, it just doesn't make sense to me. even if you don't like PW (which while I don't agree, I can understand) it's not like he did anything personally to anyone here (did he?). i wish folks wouldn't project their dislike of PW onto USF1! Along those lines, I can't believe the negative comments on the videos! I think they're fantastic! Sure the office is spartan and not how I would have conceived it but I like it -- they have all the tools they need (big screens), the rest is window dressing. As for the interviews themselves, no other team would allow a camera in there like that. Interviewing the designers directly?? No PR person to give them scripted statements? (Well it seems that way -- you can't actually tell how produced it is since it's not live.) They are living up to their early statements about showing the inside of an F1 team. I can't wait to see the car. Hopefully we'll get to see it being built, ie an expanded version of that teaser video from a few weeks back.
not that long ago a DTM pitstop was timed a 3.4 seconds. watched it live on tv. My jaw dropped. The nascar pitstop comment is laughable.
Come on... anyone with half a brain nows how PR works -- except at USF1 it seems. This is the best they can do to show their faces to the world? It doesn't take a genius to tell your workers they're going to be on camera tomorrow and maybe, they might want to dress and look appropriately. This looks like an undercover film in a frat house while crashing for exams. Look, if you're a small budget team -- shout it out. Say how effecient you are and how the other teams are so wasteful -- but still be and look professional. Make yourself the low budget underdog. Try to get people on your side. They may be a talented crew, but they come across in these films as amatuers.
The NASCAR guys use just two tire changers for all four wheels and have to remove and tighten 5 lugnuts per wheel.
