I HATE WILL BUXTON

yep, Autoweek news paper style was what I was raised on... Road & Track was just for car porn....I went with my parents to every USGP at Watkins Glen from 68 - 1980. and did Long Beach in 76 & 77... and did all the Gp's in Detroit from 83 on. never did Dallas or Vegas GP's.

ABC WWS for Monaco was like an event in my house! looked forward to it for months.

My favorite was Detroit... it was really easy to get / stay in the paddock... my dad had an FIA photo credential... so that part was cool... Phoenix was the worst... just terrible.

Watkins Glen was so cool for the ambiance - its what I feel real road racing is all about. The Bog, the cold & rain... and all the cool cars all over the place. From 86 -91 I was fortunate to be able to travel to almost all the GP's - dad was a photographer... so that was awsome times. We ( I ) used to run into Bob Varsha and John Bisigano all the time at the track.

 

I also like Will and his obvious enthusiasm, but nobody holds a candle to Hobbs. What a combo of experience and irreverence.

My least favorite SPEED commentator of all time is Derrick Daly. Nails on a chalkboard. Mute button or change the channel.

 

Ralph Sheheen (the castrato) is worse.

 

To give SPEED their due the Posey intro to Q was much better. The self referential humor about Varsha's quote was a nice touch.

 

I love Hobbs too, but he has mixed in profanity 3 or 4 times already this season. I think he's hitting the age where IDGAF kicks in. It is going to make for great commentary but probably his final season. If they put Buxton in the booth I'll cancel cable and somehow watch UK broadcasts on streaming.

Once again Will's analysis of many events was just way off. Calling Button's first stop timing wrong was well simply wrong - the timing was perfect. His thinking that they trimmed out the front wing was again wrong, as the track drys they always add front wing. The guy is a joke and the whole paddock knows it.

 

Hey, watch it! I used to go to Islip and watch the demo derbies and figure-8 races. Great fun, and I was sorry when they shut the place down and turned it into an industrial park.....

 

Gee, Tom, I went to Watkins Glen in 75/76/77/78/80 and Detroit 87/88, so maybe our paths did cross a few times back then!

And the "car porn" in R&T is what convinced me that I'd own a Ferrari some day.....

 

I think you must have a different view of profanity to us Brits.

I beg to differ on the first part, but that could have gone either way, hindsight is a wonderful thing. On the second, sorry, you are 100% wrong - You *always* (if allowed per the rules) crank on DF for the wet and take it off in the dry.

I also believe he's actually pretty well respected around the paddock, but I'd be willing to listen if you *know* any different........

Cheers,
Ian

 

we can differ on the downforce idea. yes in rain you run more than in dry; but remember they can only change the front wing not the rear; so all they're adjusting is balance not overall level. i've always seen them dial up the front wing as conditions dry and particularly when they switch back to slicks.

 

Seems the guys at Autosport agree with you on that one

Even so, Narain apologized to both him & Seb;

Cheers,
Ian

 

It's his IDGAF attitude that makes him worth listening to!

 

I like both Will and Sam... maybe today's was not the best Sam Posey intro but there is nostalgia there and I'll talk his monologues as long as he can do them.

 

I wouldnt say I hate anyone, but Did Ferrari hire him? Ferrari was handed a race not only once but twice and this guy made it seem as though they had an extra 100hp.

 

Huh? Fred won it fair and square due to his immense talent. It certainly was not "handed to him" in any way shape or form.

As for Will, he's just trying to be enthusiastic and pass on his surprise at the result.

Cheers,
Ian
PS - Mods - Spoiler in the title again please......

 

If anyone handed Zo the race it would be the rain god.

 

+1

I suspect the boys in Maranello are already doing the rain dance and may even hire a witch doctor to assist if they thought it may do any good.....

Cheers,
Ian

 

We're lucky, the rain affected only the other drivers and their cars on the field and had no influence on Alonso or his ferrari.......and they say you can't drive your ferrari in the rain)))))

i would think, the rain made it more of victory.

Tokyo (trying to be sarcastically funny) Drftr

 

Fact is, or at least seems to be, that Clifford destroys its tires in the dry. A wet track mitigates this disaster and does indeed help Ferrari (or at least Fred, before the haters jump in ) more than the others.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Back in the days of the Boston Braves we had a rotation just two pitchers deep. Since they needed two days rest between outings the saying was " Spahn, Sain and pray for rain".
Don't know why that comes to mind.

 

sorry I must have been watchnig the race were the Mclaren team fumbled through bad pit stops...

and a good choice from the ferrari wall had little to do with the win. fred drove well. It did not concrete his position as the greatest driver ever.

 

Macca had some uncharactaristically bad stops but they weren't enough to effect the outcome.
Certainly not for Jensen.

 

I've never claimed he is.

I do however believe he's the best out there right now and is getting more from Clifford than *any* of the current drivers would be capable of. Plus, he's never bad-mouthed the team and continues to offer encouragement to all of 'em. He's grown a lot since his Woking days.

Cheers,
Ian

 

If he's grown so much why are his hat and glasses too big on him?

 

Too Funny!

 

Totally disagree with you. I worked with Will a decade ago and have stayed in regular contact with him since then and can say with confidence that he is genuinely one of the good guys. Unlike some of the other sports reporters who populate the F1 paddock, he is not at all arrogant, obnoxious or abrasive. He has also had training which few of the other F1 TV presenters can match as he has written for some of the top UK newspapers.

It may not sound that important but when you think that many of F1’s TV anchors have been plucked straight out of the sport, and most of the bloggers work for themselves, they rarely have experience of their words being sanity checked by a proper chain of command. In contrast, when Will was writing for the newspapers, his words will have been seen by a sports editor, a sub editor and probably the editor of the paper (maybe even the paper’s lawyer) before they got printed. This is the reason why someone like Will is more skilled at coming out with a rational incisive assessment of the situation the first time round.

Again, unlike some of the less transparent members of the F1 press room, as far as I know, Will is not paid by any of the teams and does not work directly for them. He doesn’t also boast about the number of Grands Prix he has been to or the fact that he hasn’t missed attending a race in years as you will find others in the paddock doing. This may also not seem to be relevant but it shows that his purpose first and foremost is doing his job (that of a journalist) rather than being a Formula One groupie. Anyone who promotes the fact that they haven’t missed a race since the dawn of time clearly places a high value on this when in fact what we punters want is someone who places high value on doing their job. Even Bernie doesn’t go to every race (he hasn’t been to one yet this year) and being able to do his job without attending the track is a true mark of power.

It is for all these reasons that I heartily recommend Will’s words when it comes to anything relating to the on track action in F1. Yes, he and I are friends so I am biased but it is through knowing him that I can say this all with confidence.