we are talking about the guy that presided over 8 constructors championships in the last 10 years, right? We are talking about a guy that rules over the current world constructor's championship, no? Man, you guys have pretty high standards for other people. What do you want him to do? Become the super duper world champion? World champion just isn't good enough for you? I wonder if you hold yourself to the same high standards. wow.
You are confusing the past with the present. The current choices are not delivering the results expected. Last year Ferrari won the constructor's championship in spite of itself. Fortunately for Ferrari there were others who folded under the pressure to a greater degree. People remember the driver who was world champion not the team. The driver didn't win... CH
The introduction of KERS was supposed to aid overtaking, but half the grid has chosen not to use it. If you consider the packaging of the whole system it does compromise the design and layout of the car, its weight distribution, centre of gravity and fuel tank size etc. The cars without it have much more precise and nimble handling that they vastly outperform them. Renault, BMW, McLaren and Ferrari are no fools but look who are struggling with the handling of there cars. So what if you get a massive boost on the straight and overtake only to see them whip around the outside in the corners!!!
i think you are confusing two races with a world championship. people don't remember the constructor's champion? what people? Remember alan jones? i don't. Ask montezemelo which he wants, driver or constructor. I know i would have ferrari take the constructor over the driver. Anyway, i think some of you guys are being a little harsh. the fact is, monty Z has the best track record of the last 10 years period. I think it's a little keyboard cowboy to trash him over two races, or 10. specially when mcmerc suck just as bad. Brawn had light years more time to develop and test their car. will see how it plays out this year.
Hate to agree with this point because it sounds like an excuse, but is there any coincidence to the rise of the backmarkers vs last year's competitors for the crown? I think not. Flavio and Haug didn't become morons overnight (sorry, Domenicali is a moron...can't give him their status). That said, Brawn is vastly superior to the likes of Toyota & Williams, etc. On the other hand, Ferrari's mind-numbing mistakes over the last two years are a clear indication that Domenicali & Co. were't ready to be handed the 'keys to the Ferrari', so to speak. They fumbled away a championship last year and are directly responsible for the lack of points after two races this year. I don't have the confidence they can bring a championship to Maranello without a vastly superior car.
So how then did Hamilton finish the race in 3rd, beating 17 other cars if KERS cars can't beat non-KERS cars? How did Massa beat 14 other cars if KERS can't beat non-KERS cars?
Nice list of teams. All of which aren't running a "big" diffuser. Once they do and their increase in cornering ability because of it we'll see the tru potential of KERS.
Way too many people agreeing with me. I must be doing something wrong. Can I have a rain check for next time I'm stating that Scott Speed shouldn't be in F1 and get clobbered for it?
Because they just had beaten Force Indias, Toro Rossos and Nakajimas, but couldn´t cope with the Red Bull, the Toyota and the BMW of Kubica (wich doesn´t use KERS and is waay faster than the other BMW with KERS). I suppose that KERS will ultimately work fine, but not yet.
How about "SPEED LIMITed"? Back to the thread at hand: AFAIK the real reason for why Brawn is now not with the Scuderia was the question of his role: He wanted to be team manager, not just technical director and Ferrari didn't want to hand that over. Had nothing to do with timing, money or Ferrari being already a winning team. I don't remember whether it was Todt or LdM who ultimately refused to give him that promotion.
That's the way I remember it. I'm sure I could (or one of us could) look up an article about it and know for sure but I doubt that'll happen as I sit here at my keyboard yawning away. Either way the buck stops with LdM. He made the call or Todt did and he could have overturned it. For some reason I seem to remember Todt making the call. How much different would it all have been. Would Stepney have gotten the cold shoulder or decided to go rogue had he known his good friend RB was going to be returning and could possibly be giving him the position he wanted? They had worked closely for a number of years. Flexi-floor would have stayed a secret, Stepney-gate would never have happened, do you think the Massa refueling mess would have happened under Brawn? Who really knows? What we do know is Ferrari have under performed compared to when Brawn been guiding the team from the pit wall. While not a fan of LdM he is a brilliant man. But even brilliant soccer/fooball players can make mistakes and suddenly find the ball at the back of their own net. What will define this current team is not that it's happened but how they react to it and if they're able to not let it get to them and push forward as they should.
The point is to facilitate overtaking, and in that light the 6.6 second limit makes complete sense. Unfortunately, KERS does probably present a disadvantage to non-KERS, however it's becoming clear how difficult it is to integrate KERS and so when it is required for 2010 those teams using it now will have a leg up. I think it's too early in the season to go around making snap judgements about KERS.
Pretty accurate. I think on paper it was Todt who refused to give the Director position, but let's not fool ourselves about who the command came from. Todt is not with Ferrari in any capacity now.
I was truly surprised the the Ferrari front line stayed together as long as they did. Their duration as champions was a testament to teamwork and focus towards a common goal. However, in the rarefied air of the F1 world, egos eventually had the leaders looking at other challenges, the uniqueness of the team is that they lasted as long as they did. The similarities between F1 and rock bands in the music world is an interesting parallel as most bands break up after a few years at the top because someone thinks they can do better on their own searching out new challenges. Dynasties always end but the true champions rebuild from the ashes. My bet is that LDM will rebuild the team and regain the aura of infallibility once again over the next few years. Just my 2 cents worth. Cheers-Colin Firth-Ontario Canada
I first saw LDM's feet of clay in his decision to sack Schumi. Idiot move based on ego, revenge, and and power-tripping. IMO opinion Ross's masterpiece was funding team Brawn with Honda's money. Classic. The whole thing reminds me of the script for "The Producers".
There are 2 Red Bulls, 2 Toyotas, 2 BrawnGP's, 1 non-KERS BWM... 7 cars. If the KERS cars can't beat those cars, how come Lewis did beat all of them except 2? How come Alonso was able to beat all other cars except the BrawnGP's and the Toyotas? I'm not trying to be argumentative, just saying it is not the case that KERS is a dog and useless. The teams definitely did their testing on it, and we saw in the recent races how KERS allowed Alonso to dice it up and keep passing Webber. I think the performance differential we have seen lately isn't just about KERS, but according to the teams it is mostly to do with the diffusers.
The Safety car has played an important part in the GPs by bunching the pack closer together. Better to look at the qualifying runs and you can see that the non KERS cars are much quicker taking into account weights and fuel. Had it not been for the safety car in Oz, the Brawn car would have lapped most of the field i think. The restriction of 6 secs of power boost per lap is fine if everybody on the grid has it, but they dont ,so no real advantage is acheived to the few...yet. Now if you let the cars have say 20 secs per lap that would get the non runners worried. Of course the double diffuser is the key to the performance advantage, IMO they should be banned as these cars are now outperforming last years cars. The whole point of the rule changes introduced this year was to reduce downforce, which clearly it hasnt for some teams. For that reason and for those that have expoloited the spirit of the rule changes should be made to block off the diffuser. FOTA agreed the reduction in downforce but some including Brawn (who is head of FOTA) have found a loop hole in the regulations (by design some might say!!). These need to be tidied up so everybody can race as intended.
Is Ross the head of FOTA? [I did not know that - I thought it was LdeM.] Anyway, Brawn apparently: a. Offered to clarify the regulations in this area a year back. b. Asked Charlie's merry band if what they were up to was legal - Were told "yes". [ie, not a loophole, just interpretation] c. Passed scrutineering at the first two races. I think it would be outrageous if they declare the "super diffusers" illegal at this stage. [Which is probably a good reason why they will of course!] These guys "gambled" and it's paying off for them. As I said somewhere else, if it were just one team that had done it I think my attitude would be different. But 30% of 'em had the same interpretation and therefore the other guys need to catch up. As always, my 02c, Cheers, Ian
The rule change was not meant to slow down the cars at all it was simply to change the flow from aerodynamical grip to mechanical grip, and thus allow more passing. If they wanted them to be slower they would have kept the grooved tires and just decreased grip over all. I honestly don't see Brawn and others as finding a loop hole or exploiting the rules but simply as a different way of looking at the rules. They have done nothing wrong and in order for it to be thrown out the non double diffuser cars have to prove its not in the sporting spirit of the regs which will be really hard to do with 3 teams interpreting the rules that way. If it were one team that interpreted as such yeah it would be thrown out but 3 is gonna be tough to refute. Basically i agree with Fast_ian
I believe their performance has more to do with their whole aero package than just some "super" diffuser.
I'm not sure about "more to do with" - I'll agree their whole package is obviously really good. [The looks are even starting to grow on me!] I'm worried that if found illegal: a. It's a lot more than "blanking off" parts - And we know Brawn & Williams at least haven't got the deepest pockets. b. Their entire package is completely thrown out of whack by not having it - Then they're completely screwed. Cheers, Ian
Agree in that the main perfomance differential is the diffuser, but I still think that KERS is not helping. Remember that Hamilton only got third after Kubica, Vettel, Trulli and a few others crashed or had any kind of trouble, and that the Toyotas started from the back of the grid and still managed to get to the podium. Just compare the Renault and the Red Bull, for example: the Renault was miles away from the Red Bull all these years, and suddenly the Red Bull, with the same engine and "legal" diffusor is ahead of the Renault. Without using KERS. By the way, Alonso could hold Webber thanks to KERS, but just for a few laps, he was way slower.
