3530 replies to this topic

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

If all the drivers were the type that don't do or say anything off track, it'd be pretty boring. Imagine if Kimi was cloned for all 20 seats, what press conferences would be like.

Half of F1 is man-soapopera.

i assume you were a fan of the storyline in Grand Prix?

seriously though, i couldn't care what sort of pansy slapfights they get into off track because i tune in every other weekend to watch how the fight on track. if i wanted to see a soap opera i wouldn't have to wait all winter and then catch an ep every 2 weekends.

[Nacho]

i assume you were a fan of the storyline in Grand Prix?

Outside of the racing bits, i find it hard to watch that movie.

seriously though, i couldn't care what sort of pansy slapfights they get into off track because i tune in every other weekend to watch how the fight on track. if i wanted to see a soap opera i wouldn't have to wait all winter and then catch an ep every 2 weekends.

I figure that pansy slap-fights off track lead to more manly car-fights on track.

[Dr. Jimmmah!]

Outside of the racing bits, i find it hard to watch that movie.



I figure that pansy slap-fights off track lead to more manly car-fights on track.

here's the way i see it..

yes formula 1 needs entertaining personalities in the driver lineup, however it doesn't necessarily need to come from the trash talking.

example in point: valentino rossi. there's no arguing a guy like that would make the paddock a better place, but he doesn't need to go around talking shit to pedrosa and stoner. he simply gets it done on track. but he's still an interesting guy because he has fun with his job and doesn't take it so 'super-serial' all the time. i was pretty about the teammate 'portraits' that the magazine got the f1 drivers to do that one time, if they could open up like that then it'd be more interesting to me than fred getting his panties in a bunch because lewis got first dibs on ron's anus.

[Nacho]

here's the way i see it..

yes formula 1 needs entertaining personalities in the driver lineup, however it doesn't necessarily need to come from the trash talking.

example in point: valentino rossi. there's no arguing a guy like that would make the paddock a better place, but he doesn't need to go around talking shit to pedrosa and stoner. he simply gets it done on track. but he's still an interesting guy because he has fun with his job and doesn't take it so 'super-serial' all the time. i was pretty about the teammate 'portraits' that the magazine got the f1 drivers to do that one time, if they could open up like that then it'd be more interesting to me than fred getting his panties in a bunch because lewis got first dibs on ron's anus.

That was hilarious.

[_R_]

example in point: valentino rossi.

I was about to say that as well...
Rossi goes out, gets the job done, finishes the race with a smile on his face. it's honestly hard not to like the guy...
then we got Pedrosa which has an emotional range of Kimi, but he's still goes out and does his thing and stays quiet
then you got Nicki Hayden who you rarely hear speak out against the team or other riders, he's just a good ole boy thats also a world champ
then you got Stoner...

it keeps going and going... then shit, you got people like Colins sneaking up on you pulling your clutch after practice...

other these people go out and do their thing, some trash talk yes (ala: Stoner being pissed for the move Rossi did at Laguna), but they all have personalities that are enjoyable without putting other riders down and calling them out...

[Skyliner]

I fucking hate this faggot so fucking much

[Skyliner]

DC talks tons of shit and never won a WDC. Webber about the guys in the 80's being pussies compared to the guys in the 60s and 70s. Most of us find it entertaining.

If the only people who could talk shit are WDC winners, the only one talking would be Fredo. Kimi might try, but we'd never really know what he was really saying.

Evil twin

[Redliner]

MotoGP is different b/c it's not nearly as political as F1 is. And quite frankly that's a bit of a shame. But...F1 also gets bankrolled much harder than MotoGP ever would be, so MotoGP is allowed to have fun, where in F1, you have BE tightening the screws and making everyone look like robots. I bet all of them are pretty fun to hang around IRL, but shit, you wouldn't be able to tell the way the media reports it.

As for the shit talking that LH does - I agree, he does talk a too much trash for my liking. I'd rather just have him do his shit on the track - but whatever. He's one of the few to talk trash these days. Most of them are robots sadly other than the crazy Scot and the wicked Australian

[rlolz]

I've never ever thought or alleged that hammy wasn't quick...just saying he'd be a little more humble if he'd started at the bottom.

i agree with this post.

[yonson]

Exclusive Raikkonen Q&A: We need to take every chance

Never underestimate a sly old fox. When most had discounted him as a title contender, last year Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen gave his competitors a dressing down in the season’s final races and walked away with the crown. With a 19-point deficit on championship leader Lewis Hamilton, Raikkonen seems to be facing a similar situation in 2008, though now with team mate Felipe Massa also among his rivals. Ferrari haven’t yet picked a favourite, but the Finn knows he must perform well in Monza if he is to stay in the picture…

Q: Kimi, how is life as the reigning world champion? You have been in the public eye for quite a while but the title must have increased attention on you? How do you deal with that?
Kimi Raikkonen: It’s true, it increased but it has not changed any normal living. I wouldn’t say that anything is different for myself - and the racing is still the same. But yes, it’s nice to be the champ. I always wanted to achieve that - and it’s something that can never be taken away from me. This is the really great part!

Q: Driving for Ferrari is every aspiring young race driver’s dream. Is it a dream come true for you?
KR: It was a dream at one point for me as I always wanted to come into Formula One and be with a top team. So far I’ve been lucky to be in two top teams. I enjoy being here and I had a fantastic time last year - when I joined last season, I had more fun than I have had in a long time. It is a great place to be, working with all these 120 percent-committed people. And red suits me, I would say.

Q: This season must be like a deja vu for you. As in 2007, you are playing catch up in the title race. But what is different to last season?
KR: Well, so far it has not been the easiest year. There have been a lot of difficulties lately, but that is part of racing sometimes. We have had some issues in getting the car exactly how we want it. We had a strong first part of the season and then we faced some problems. It has been difficult, yes, and hopefully we can turn it around a bit and get some good results. It is not too late yet - but it is getting difficult with every race. Let’s wait and see how it develops.

Q: Last year it was you against Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. This year the title match involves your team mate. That obviously doesn’t make things easier…
KR: Of course not. But again, that is part of racing. At the end of the day, it does not matter who it is - you need to beat all of them. So it doesn’t make any difference if it is your team mate or somebody else. You need to be in front of everybody if you want to win.

Q: But teams can concentrate their efforts on one driver…
KR: We have never had that situation. Of course last year when it was clear that the other car had no chance - points-wise - then it was a different story. But as long as we have every chance, we need to take them. Until that ‘no-chance situation’ comes, it is up to us to move forward - or to come back in my case.

Q: If your chances decrease, will you play the role of supporter to Felipe?
KR: When I clearly have no chance at all then it is a different story. But then that is not up to me. First Felipe needs to be in a position where he can try to win, and then if there is something that the team will benefit from, then it might be yes. But until that situation comes, I am not interested in talking about it.

Q: The championship is still wide open with five races to go and 50 points up for grabs. At what point would you accept that your chances to win the title have evaporated?
KR: As I just said, when it is clear that I will not be able to make enough points.

Q: In Spa you drove for all or nothing. In hindsight, would you do it all over again or settle for securing some points?
KR: I wanted to win - or nothing. Unfortunately I got nothing that time, but at least I had more fun that at many races before. And what are sure points? I needed more points than the others, so realistically I was in a position where I didn’t have much to lose, so I went for it. Afterwards it is always easy to say that by playing safe I would have probably ended in second place, but that is not the right way to win. I want to win it on the circuit rather than after the race. What happened in Spa happened. Again, that’s racing.

Q: The F2008 seems to be a very different machine to last year’s car. Are you still struggling to adapt your driving style to its characteristics?
KR: I would not say that the car is so different to last year. It is more about getting the tyres the way you want them to behave - that is the biggest issue. But then again, they are the same for everybody. When you compare the tyres from a couple of years ago, what we have now is completely different. So hopefully next year when we get the slick tyres it will be more as it used to be - meaning that it will be more fun to drive. And it’s not about wanting the old car back, it is more about getting the package right for us. And the last races indicated that we are on the right track.

Q: Monza is Ferrari’s backyard. It’s almost an obligation to succeed here. You have never won this race. How much ambition is there to walk away with the trophy on Sunday?
KR: I have never made it here although the chances were there. It would of course be great to win here - especially as it is the home Grand Prix for Ferrari. And hopefully we are in a position on Sunday to fight for it - that would be great.

Q: What about you and Felipe? Is there a rivalry?
KR: It is like at any other race. I try to win, he tries to win. This is normal procedure in a top team.

Q: You wouldn’t die for it, but what would a race win here be worth to you?
KR: Of course not. But be assured that I really want to win here and it would make me more happy than in a long time to be on the top spot of the podium on Sunday.

Q: Were you satisfied with the test here two weeks ago. Did it give you any indication of what your performance level will be?
KR: The test was not bad. It was definitely better than where we were one year ago, so we should have quite a good chance of a good result, but it depends on many things. If we get everything running well and the weather stays nice, that would improve our chances.

Q: All that sounds as if you are still enjoying racing…
KR: I would not be here otherwise!

[mads]

here's the way i see it..

yes formula 1 needs entertaining personalities in the driver lineup, however it doesn't necessarily need to come from the trash talking.

example in point: valentino rossi. there's no arguing a guy like that would make the paddock a better place, but he doesn't need to go around talking shit to pedrosa and stoner. he simply gets it done on track. but he's still an interesting guy because he has fun with his job and doesn't take it so 'super-serial' all the time. i was pretty about the teammate 'portraits' that the magazine got the f1 drivers to do that one time, if they could open up like that then it'd be more interesting to me than fred getting his panties in a bunch because lewis got first dibs on ron's anus.

[kngrsll]

that article was one of the funniest things i have seen from F1 drivers in awhile...

[mads]

"fucked up nose on scott"

[mads]

[mads]

[mads]

v

[mads]

[mads]

[mads]

[mads]

"boy mclaren"

on fernando's portrait of lewis

[MrHahn]

slow server? I cant see shit captain

[mads]

slow server? I cant see shit captain

uploader.ws took a shit again

[_R_]

A week after the Spa-Francorchamps penalty controversy, championship leader Lewis Hamilton's on-track antics are back in the spotlight.

The McLaren driver got involved in some close encounters during Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, including with his old foe and former teammate, Fernando Alonso.

"There was some unnecessary movements he made," the Spaniard told reporters in his native tongue at Monza, "and he repeated them with Glock and Webber. It is his way of racing."

Toyota's Timo Glock was also not pleased when asked about Hamilton's driving.

"I do not know what he was thinking. I was right next to him but he left me no room. Sometimes he drives as though he is completely alone on the track," the German is quoted as saying by RTL.

"The next time I am with him (on track), I will behave with him in exactly the same way," Glock promised.

23-year-old Hamilton also made contact with Red Bull's Mark Webber during a wheel-to-wheel battle with the Australian at the first chicane.

"I made sure I covered my inside spot, but I didn't want to stay there on the wet patch or I wouldn't have made the corner," the Briton explained afterwards. "He just clipped my front wheel and went on."

[_R_]

A spokesman for the Spanish arm of the German manufacturer BMW has admitted that Fernando Alonso is in talks to switch to the BMW Sauber F1 team in 2009.

Figures in the Monza paddock over the weekend were careful to play down or sidestep the raging speculation about the Spaniard's future.

But Gigi Corbetta, communication director for BMW Spain, told Spanish radio that talks are taking place.

"And the news of the renewal of Raikkonen (at Ferrari) has accelerated the process," Corbetta is quoted as saying by the Spanish newspaper Marca.

"Now it is necessary to wait until the end of the season.
"

27-year-old Alonso, meanwhile, confirmed that his future is not due to be clarified before the Singapore Grand Prix in two weeks.

[_R_]

Ferrari admit that improving the way their car uses its tyres must be a priority for this week's private test at Mugello, amid fears it could cost them the championship.

The F2008 has struggled to get its tyres into their operating window as well as the McLaren does, and that has left Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen facing difficulties in cooler and wet races.

And after being unable to capitalise on McLaren's troubles in the rain-hit Italian Grand Prix because of the tyre issue, Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali thinks it is important they don't stumble again if there is rain in any of the final four races.

"Unfortunately there is a characteristic of the car that it is maybe not able to generate in certain conditions the right temperature for the tyres to be able to work," said Domenicali. "And that's the main issue that we have.

"We have seen it, both with grooved tyres in Germany and here in Monza with this temperature and with these conditions. Unfortunately there is only one more test that we can do in order to see what we can do in order to improve the situation for the last four races of the season.

"Then the other and most important thing that we have to think is really how we want to attack this problem for the future, that means for next year's car which is a completely different project.

"We need to make something that will help the tyre to work in these conditions, because we will have them, for sure."

When asked if he felt Ferrari's wet weather struggles meant Lewis Hamilton was now favourite for the championship if there is rain in the final events, Domenicali said: "I don't know.

"For sure Hamilton did a very good race, a fantastic race. He was very, very fast and above all very, very consistent.

"I don't know (the answer) because in rainy conditions you have not only the technical side to control, you may have different situations that you have to handle.

"So for sure it's not really the atmosphere that we would like to race with. The rain and cold. we cannot do anything about that, so the only thing we have to do is work very hard and see what we can do to improve our situation in these conditions."