[PAULYBEE2656]

most talented?????

ok. first up, the most talented driver ever to set footin a f1 car is giles villeneuve... that man was a god to me as a kid and still is now. i was only 8 when he died but still........

 

then its senna, no explanation needed.....

 

then id have to say lewis hamilton down to his sheer skill in a car. his ability to drive the wheels off it. his ability to keep it on the circuit at a point where an accident looks likely. and its his first season at 22 years old... immense talent! i havent been this excited about a driver in a very long long time!

 

i suppose michael schumacher is in here. i never liked the way he went racing but you cant argue the fact that he has so many victories and championships. but i think his talent is helped by te fact he had EVERYTHING laid out on aplate in front of him. he was exciting around the d 90s in a benneton and in the awful ferraris but im sorry, i am not a fan of his "my team, number one status" style of driving....... and he cheated more times than any other driver before, including senna.... theres ruthlessness and theres unfairness......

lastly.... tough one. hakkinen??? prost??? de angelis??? mansell??

id probably have to say stefan bellof. he only got a short shot at f1, one season, before he was killd in a sportscar accident at spa in 85 but he was awesomely quick and so frightingly brave. he would have won the 1984 monaco gp if it hant been red flagged. (thats the one that senna almost won in a toleman). if he lived im sure that he would have been the equal if not better than senna and prost.......

 

as you can see, im a purist, a race fan not a statistician!

[PAULYBEE2656]

check this-
french gp
1979
dijon
villeneuve vs arnoux (for 2nd place)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl2tIFxSEGA

monaco 1984
music by modest mouse for some reason!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCt2brsEweo

[greenlight]

nice to see you back on the board more often Pauly.

[demonrail666]

never really saw Gille Villeneuve so I can't choose him.

Anyway, here's mine:

1. Senna. Most exciting driver I've ever seen.

2. Schumacher. With better opposition to test him, he may have been the best.

3.Hamilton. Still too early, but looks like the real deal.

4. Mansell. Not necessarily the most talented, but definitely one of the most committed racers ever, as well as the most unlucky.

5. Montoya. More talent than you could shake a stick at. Unfortunately that's all he had.

[PAULYBEE2656]

id agree with montoya t for some reason f1 never clicked with him. in the cart series he was sublime as was alex zanardi. total genius in a champ car but failed to shine in f1. shame jpm got the hump and walked away from the sport but then again he is winning in nascar now so maybe he just missed america!

mansell. ballsy out! some racer. a real racer.. silverstone 1987 piquet and mansell final laps, wheel to wheel. you cant buy that shit!

canada 1990, waving to crowd on slow down lap, he stalls car. piquet drives past and wins whilst pissing himself laughing in the cockpit!

[demonrail666]

what do you make of the alonso leaving rumours?

where would he go?

who would replace him to partner Hamilton?

[PAULYBEE2656]

ha! yeah its funny. this whole spat between ferdy and lewis has gotten out of control. it should have never been made public but it has so i reckon alonso is firing a shot accross ron dennis' desk. hamilton seemingly flew off the handle after qualifying in hungary AT RON DENNIS! HIS BOSS!!!!!

they are both trying to out talk each other at the moment but they have to be careful because ron wont take that at mclaren! ron wi up having to make a decision about keeping both or sacking/relagating one of em. he wont sack alonso, alonso wont leave. lewis needs to keep schtum for a bit, he is still the new guy and he could easily get pushed down to test driveror at least be threatened with that if he doesnt obey the order to assist alonso in getting his 3rd wc....

sidepoint.... alonso always said that he will quit the sport if he wins 3 championships, he is happy at that and he never wished to remain in f1 fr a long time. i reckon he will quit f1 if he wins the championship his year and rest on his laurels in comfort, he is a very very private man after all. and maybe thats how ron sees it, demote lewis to a supporting role, no championship this year, alonso goes, no hassle or arguements for 2008 because they only really have pedro de la rosa in reserve and he is good but he aint a gp winner. lewis on for title in 08. end of story......

to answer yr questions....

the rumours- threatening but not gonna amount to much in te long run

where would he go- home!!!!

lewis partner- de la rosa...

although there is rumours that a certain scott dixon is looking hard at a drive next year, quality driver. sebastain bourdais has not signed for torro rossa yet and he is on the cards and he is top notch. who knows, all i can say for sure is that the final 7 rounds are gonna be fascinating big time! alonso is rattled to the point of cracking and lewis knows that. its amazing to think that a f1 rookie can do this in his first year to a double world champion team mate....in a mclaren! both incredible drivers with immense skill and intellegence but will we see em colliding at some point, oh yes we will, thats almost a guarantee!

prost vs senna again??????????


ps- sorry bout the rant but i love this sport!

[demonrail666]

A Hamilton demotion doesn't seem likely - although I'm sure Ron Dennis is having serious words with Lewis' camp - including his dad (who is really starting to grate on me and, by all accounts, a number of those in the paddock).

I'm amazed so far by Hamilton's talent. I'm starting to worry though, about the way he's conducting himself off of the track. I've already heard rumours that other drivers are disappointed at the way he brought charges against his own team following the pitlane incident at Hungary. The idea that Hamilton's charges against Alonso might've cost his own team constructors points is going to have pissed off Ron Dennis no end, I'm sure.

This post isn't an attack on Hamilton. Far from it. I'd love to see him win the World Championship this year. I just hope for his own sake that he calms down a bit and realises that while he may be the most exciting prospect for F1 in years, at the moment at least that's all he is: a prospect.

Either way, it's making for an amazing season, which seems to be getting more fascinating by the day!

 

[PAULYBEE2656]

seemingly all the row and arguements were a bit iover hyped by the media. they, dennis and te drivers are back talking and an in team rift has been denied by all parties!!!!!! corporate faces back on.......

at 2pm on the sunday for 2 hours the bullshit stops. thats is the only time f1 becomes a sport.

[demonrail666]

Whatever the team are saying, I think it's clear that Hamilton and Alonso are becoming enemies and that McLaren doesn't know quite how to handle it.

I generally love the back-room intrigue in F1. This season's been great so far because it has a mixture of on-track surprises, excellent driving, and off-track politics.

[PAULYBEE2656]

yeah and mclaren not handling it suprises me big time. they thought they had problems with kimi and juan!

[jico.]

Originally Posted by fuentes

HAMILTON IS A PAMPERED CHILD, HE SUCKS! Go Fernado!

ha... you got things reversed my friend.


i had big hopes for alonso, but then he started making those dirty moves last season... i didnt take them to seriously back then (maybe because i was so excited about he dethroning ferrari and schumacher), but now i'm starting to build a new image of him.

it's sad when someone as talented as alonso becomes a pampered child.

what will he be? the next schumacher?

[demonrail666]

Originally Posted by jico.

it's sad when someone as talented as alonso becomes a pampered child.

what will he be? the next schumacher?

I think both are showing certain Schumacher traits. Neither of them are 'team players'. It remains to be seen if McLaren, given its tradition of letting its drivers race each other, will be able to deal with either of them in the future - especially if Hamilton is crowned champion at the end of the season.

[PAULYBEE2656]

mickey shoey wasnt the start of this trend that i find abhorent. he was just the bridging gap between one generation and the next. senna did the dirty tricks too but with extreme intelligenge and dignity. so much so that he generally got away with it! schumacher was as subtle as a clenched steamroller in a china shop (parking te car in monaco last year in qualifying???)

the reason behind this selfishness, nay dangerous tactics is tat the circuits and cars are far far to safe and sterile and drivers now do not feel afraid to of at 180 mph! they go off fast and they have acres and acres of sand, grass, tarmac to ravel accross until they hit anything. they know thay the car will withstnd a nuclear explosion. it lends its way to dangerous and silly driving styles and this now is de rigeur in the sport and it scares me big time!

robert kubica was the warning shot for this year. he survived th iggest survivable accident f1 has ever seen in a race. we now apporach some of te safest circuits around and te fastests (istanbul) and some of th most dangerous (spa and monza). i want close exciting racing between the 2 maccas and the ferraris. i want the championship won on therace track, not in the courts or on the emergencey ward. its been a while since we have seen a fatality in f1, it will happen but driving standards shouldnt dictate when tha will be!

[PAULYBEE2656]

turkey then....

ferrari to be close....

kimi to win with lewis an alonso 2nd or 3rd or in the fence......

heidfeld to prehaps grab first win if it goes belly up for em all!

[PAULYBEE2656]

great circuit even for anew one!

 

[demonrail666]

This one looks wide open to me. Can see reasonable opportunities for overtaking.

[jico.]

hey look, it's a reverse circuit.

[PAULYBEE2656]

its anti clockwise alright, thats rare. hard on the necks.......

lewis kicked ass in final practice but yeah, its close!

[demonrail666]

Missed qualifying but know Massa's got pole and Lewis is second. At least Lewis is ahead of Kimi and Alonso.