Qualifying Press Conference !!! ????

I think they were trying to avoid sounding either cocky or over-confident... but came off overly business-like and overly pragmatic. Someone needs to remind them that the drivers are supposed to get excited (or at least be happy) about being on the front row!

 

I noticed that too!! MS was very subdued and poor RB was sitting playing second fiddle even with MS turning a 'not' so good lap. JPM never smiles,there wasn't anything new there.

 

I wouldn't be to happy if i was in the middle east either.

 

I don't know I thought they looked and talked as always, which is ... boring.

No emotion, no inside stories, no jokes, no swears. Just politically correct statements prefabricated by their public relations department. Boring.

Gosh I wish Eddie Irvine was still around. Or James Hunt. Or Clay Regazzoni...or...or..or

 

MS is thinking "I hope I don't fall asleep in the race again."
RB is thinking "I'm such a loser."
JM is thinking"RB is such a loser and I hope there is a good spread after the race, I'll just stuff my face while MS, RB and Kimi do their post race interviews."

 

Yeah, I think you're right on that one. Especially with Michael. I can hear Ross Brawn already "slow down Michael, save the engine, slow down, you have a 30 second lead".

My only hope for some entertainment is Kimi coming from behind and Alonso starting from mid field. Plus JPM and Ralf are close to each other and Rubens. And who knows, if some desert storm (pun intended) swipes in some sand, breaking zones might become more interesting...

 

He will start saying that on the end of lap 2.

 

I was actually thinking exactly that when I wrote that line.

 

"He will start saying that on the end of lap 2."

Why so pessimistic?

 

All I know is, MS looked plenty happy in the garage right after qualifying ended.

 

It's not "pessimistic", if you want it to happen! Yeah, yeah, yeah, good for Ferrari but bad for F1.

 

It is scary how true this actually was.

 

The interviewer at the end mentioned the 30 second gap from MS to him and Michael was quick to downplay it as only a few seconds. Yeah right, to Rubens and only AFTER MS braked for him for the photo finish.

Even the Speed commentators have thrown in the towel and mentioned it is unlikely for MS now not to win the 7th crown (unless he hurts himself). I have meanwhile accepted that and focus now on the rest of the field. If you do that, the race actually becomes enjoyable again.

 

You are absouletly correct. I think I may have to come to the same realization and not worry about who will win the race, but rather, who will come in 2nd, 3rd, 4th..
Granted the race was extremely boring up front but there were a lot of good scraps from 3rd on.

 

I think it is all part of trying not to look like Ferrari is destroying the opposition ... which it is. MS is no actor and thus it came off wrong.

RB is just hopeless and his ego is finally getting sick and tired of trying to believe what his Mum keeps telling him, ie. he can beat MS.

In the end MS is just too good!

I believe MS will retire a bored man at the end of this year ... nobody can continue to race being told to slow down continually so as to make the rest of the field look as though they can actually drive.

Why RB cannot hang on to MS in the first 2 laps is beyond me, he is just hopeless at judging a track speed and thus the gap is enormous after the first lap ... fncken useless IMO, after all he can simply follow the great man. Stirling Moss used to push Fangio all the way home, until RB does that race after race he is not a racing driver worth **** IMO. Remember following is EASY.

Pete

 

I think that's too strongly negative of RB. RB is a very fast driver... one of the fastest. He is also a great team player, which is critical in F1 which is so highly dependent upon getting the car set right for the track. Keep in mind that RB is comparable to MS in that. In this situation, with Ferrari having the best team & car, RB could similarly dominate the field as MS.

However, if Ferrari ever blows an engine in qualifying or otherwise leaves a driver way back at the start, I'd have far more confidence in MS to make the passing moves than RB. RB can drive amazingly fast, but is not near as adroit at passing as MS seems to be.

 

RB job is to keep the 3rd place guys far back so that MS has an easy run of it. It does it well.

Once RB said being second fiddle at Ferrari is better then being #1 driver at any other team.

 

Agree Brian, but why does RB not hang on to MS in those first critical laps, and when the weather changes he is lost.

If I was in RB shoes, I would be the team player and all, but I would be right up MS's cars arse every lap I could, to show the team and the world that I am fast and not just in a good car.

If he did that the team would eventually question holding RB back ... and let him race, but instead it is 100% obvious to everybody that they only have one WC in the team.

RB needs to prove himself ... and not expect handouts. F1 is not the place for handouts. I have only ever seen RB drive ONE race at a race winners level

Pete

 

Arh ... now that makes sense, but fnck that I could never do that! Poor RB

Pete
ps: RB in that post qualifying press conference, looks absolutely pissed off ... man MS must have a laugh about that

 

Team orders. Consider that the best way to help out MS is to stay back, but fast enough that he's damn near impossible to pass. That way, the 3rd place person is way off MS in the off-chance that RB's car or MS's car experiences "weakness".

Consider the last few seasons where later in the season RB kicked MS's ass in qualifying. No team orders... no passing issues... just who's fastest. RB was. Consider the races where MS resorted to RB's setup because RB had figured it out and was running way faster than MS.

RB is damned fast. RB is going to go down in history as likely the fastest driver to never win a WC. But he'll also go down as a key team player in one of the greatest racing dynasty's in history... especially if RB and MS stick to it through 2006.

They didn't question in it past seasons when RB was kicking ass. No, MS is the team #1 as long as he chooses to be. I just hope Ferrari sets its goals high... on an MS-RB 1-2 in the WDC. RB deserves that. And MS and Ferrari is strong enough that they can give some focus to RB.

I don't understand that... you remove MS, I believe RB is the best driver in the field for Ferrari... he's good with setups and way fast if you get him out front. Qualifying times don't lie. Now, if you're a lesser team, then I think RB wouldn't be best in many cases... you need a far more aggressive and creative driver... but RB is damned fast when nobody is in the way.

 

Never, Stirling Moss has that role.

History may not be so kind on RB, and see him as a push over ??? I do hope not for his sake.

Again only seen that in one race. Beating the rest of the morons does not count

Your last comment is why RB never will be a WC, and why he is the perfect number 2. RB is a fast lapper but NOT a racing driver.

Thus when MS retires who will be ready to carry the torch?. RB will not be good enough, neither will Massa and Fisi ... I say this because I expect Alonso, Weber, Klien and Button to continue to step up ... RB will be passed as he has long since reached his peak.

Pete

 

Did you think I was kidding? I knew he would pull away as fast as he could. And I knew he would be able to do it. Go MS go!

 

He is either blinded by money or he is not a true racer. You can slam me if you want, but I would never say "I will not challenge for the lead ever sir". I would rather have my engine blow up half way through every race and never record a point. At least I tried and pushed as hard as I could. I would spend my entire career at Minardi if it meant I could race flat-out.

 

Yep that is how I would play the game too.

Pete