Yes, it was a bit of a flippant answer. However, never underestimate the power of asking 'what if' or 'why'? Take the last lap traffic out of the mix, and 'what if' comes into play. Was Button really that much faster? Was Vettel backing off? Would your Grandmother have kept the bus upright through the turn 10 chicane? I'm sure both RB and McLaren are asking those questions this evening, or at least have asked them before and have answers in hand. (Well, maybe not the bus one...)
Haha. Not quite a fluke as I believe he is a great driver. That being said, it makes me bonkers that RB will not team him up with a challenging teammate. I believe they are doing this on purpose so Vettel can break records under the Red Bull name. It's a smart move for Red Bull, but we still haven't a solid idea of just how good he is other than that he is indeed good and in a very very good car as even Mark Webber looks like a superstar. Mark outran most everyone without KERS for crying out loud.
+1. Good post, though I suppose they don't owe it to anyone to press a guy who has shown to get rattled under pressure. I think Mark with his "bad starts" (sorry, something is foul about that) is the perfect teammate as Vettel doesn't have to worry about being under attack and can cruise off into the sunset. Put a young, hungry driver in there with him and you have the McLaren situation from a couple of years back. That's why they scoffed at Hamilton naming them as a team he's interested in.
Just in case anyone's a bit slow, I was, of course, kidding about that. You can't fluke what he's done. You just can't. Of course, Michael Schumacher's achievements are just a fluke and nothing but luck.
With 100+ points ahead of everybody else? I don't think so. Getting the start right is not cake by any means. And 20 laps less and he'd have won by 30 seconds. Got to love conjectures . This time he was managing the race. If it was 2 laps more, he'd have had more fuel too, and not slow down until 2 laps later.
Someone quote me later on this, but if Vettel is done with Red Bull in 2014 and given Ferrari and Mercedes are top contending teams (all things being about equal between them), he will go to Mercedes before Ferrari.
Since when is Merc a top-contending team..they're solid mid-pack. Unless Renault's V6 is terrible Vettel isn't going anywhere for a long long time, not until Newey leaves.
Which means he could well be off quite soon given the persistent rumors about Newey wanting to retire...
You see the people Merc have coming to them? I still can't understand how you manage to preach this. I chuckle every time you say it, firstly because it's economically insane considering the massive investment MB is putting forth, and secondly because you are once again part of a very small minority who think this. And I know you have no insider information other thannyour dislike for Schu, which I am sure perpetuates your dislike for MB. MB's situation is just like Didi opening the tap for Newey...... It's coming, and big. Meanwhile, Ferrari are once again stuck in a 19th century mafia style paradigm which will sink their ship. I love Ferrari, but I fail to understand their way of doing business. If you read my post, I clearly stated if all things between Ferrari and Mercedes were nearly equal at the time and they were very close competitors that Vettel would head to MB before Ferrari. Vettel may drive for Ferrari at some point, but if he had to chose between two equal teams he would go German.
Nothing to do with points. It's just good team strategy to have the #2 immediately behind the #1 to provide some "protection". Adrian & the boys would love nothing more than for Mark to be able to get off the line right behind Seb and thence hold up the field. As for getting the start right, I agree it's not a piece of cake and they've all messed it up on occasion, but Mark *always* seems to screw it up - I don't think it's any kind of conspiracy but a lack of confidence - He's expecting it to go wrong. Cheers, Ian
I'm not so sure. As the Viz so eloquently put it, "the siren song from Maranello has tempted many"..... They may not shout their desire to wear red quite as loudly as Jarno, but they remain the definitive F1 team that they all, deep down inside would love to drive for. [The money they pay doesn't hurt either!....] Cheers, Ian
As my math teacher used to say about democracy: There is no reason why two idiots should be more right than one who knows what he is talking about. I never cared about what the majority thinks. As for the rationale: With the exception of Renault no car manufacturer has managed to clinch the title in like the last 30+ years (at least as long since I've been following F1). Renault showed that it is possible, but all the other failed attempts are living proof that it seems to go against the grain of a car manufacturer to run an efficient F1 team. And let's not count the 6,000 cars Ferrari produces as a "car manufacturer", nor the 100 (?) McLarens coming from that factory. Interesting statement. How would you know? You happen to be right, at least as far as Mercedes is concerned, but don't overestimate your "insider information": You are not the only one on here who has a friend in a F1 team and quite frankly, having been there/done that myself I have to say the insider information only goes so far. After all the teams can't predict the future either. Sometimes it is harder to see the forest when you stand in it, then when you're outside of it. Not true. I only care about Ferrari powered teams, all others to me are about equally interesting/uninteresting. I wish MB neither harm nor glory. In fact I wouldn't mind if they'd succeed at building a competitive car as it would give Nico a chance at finally winning some GPs. I simply don't believe in big car manufacturers running F1 teams. Even if MB would build a competitive car or at least one as good/bad as the Ferrari, I don't see him going to MB first: Schumacher wanted to race for Merc because he started with MB in touring racing and all his buddies went there. Vettel doesn't have that background and I severely doubt he gives a rats ass about driving a German car. And I'm equally sure that he - just like any F1 driver - would love to drive at least once for the one and only team that was in F1 during all its years since its inception. PS: Given how certain you are about MB you still haven't accepted any of my bets. Just saying...
Some good perspectives in there I can certainly respect. The pieces are moving into place for MB and they have the best in the business running the show. Those in the biz know it's only a matter of time as the MB board have given Brawn more power than he ever had at Ferrari. That being said, your above statement confuses me as Ferrari does indeed answer to a big and even more politically demanding board than quite possibly anyone out there. This is not the early 60s. They essentially run things with an iron fist and have zero patience, which as I have said before will be their downfall. Them losing Acosta over silly political reasons floors me to no end. Did they think no one was going to jump all over him being available? He was Byrne's right hand man for crying out loud. Anyway, Vettel will do what is best for him, but once the turbo era hits again I find it difficult to swallow that anyone will have more to bring to the table than MB's Stuttgart engineers who have practically written the book on turbocharged road engines.
That's a bit of an overstatement IMO; Renault and/or BMW I could go with, but AFAIK Merc has never been a "world leader" in turbo technology. Cheers, Ian
