Rantbox

[CoopsII]

I was watching BBC News this morning, trying to get on top of the hangover that was putting me through the wringer when to make it worse guess who pops up reading the Sport?

Legard.

Aarcgh!! MY EYES!! MY EYES!!

Flipped over to SKY News (I panicked) just in time to see M****n B*****e telling me how good SKY would be doing the F1.

I wish those two Force Indias had run him over.

Judas.

[mario]

I was watching BBC News this morning, trying to get on top of the hangover that was putting me through the wringer when to make it worse guess who pops up reading the Sport?

Legard.

Aarcgh!! MY EYES!! MY EYES!!

Flipped over to SKY News (I panicked) just in time to see M****n B*****e telling me how good SKY would be doing the F1.

I wish those two Force Indias had run him over.

Judas.

To be fair to Brundle, at the Autosport awards he indicated that his initial preference was to stay with the BBC instead of switching to Sky. He has already said in the past that he was not happy at the way the BBC rushed into their deal with Sky without explaining what it would mean for the presenters until after the deal was done, and at the Autosport awards he said "had the BBC treated me differently then perhaps things would have been different".
After all, the BBC didn't exactly cover itself in glory either with the way it handled the deal - Autosport was handed a transcript of the Director General defending the BBC's actions to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee where he admitted that the BBC had made their deal with Sky without bothering to consult Channel 4 (Mark Thompson's justification was "It seems to me that it was not required of us" to speak to Channel 4). http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96815

Overall, when you see the somewhat dismissive and high handed manner in which the BBC seems to have treated its rival free to air broadcasters, perhaps it's not all that surprising Brundle chose to leave - coupled to Sky offering him a chance to expand on his role (with additional technical films etc.) whilst the BBC were asking him to cut back, and it's not surprising why Brundle was swayed by the terms Sky offered.

[CoopsII]

Dont get me wrong, I understand that the BBC are the spoilt, arrogant, self-serving cause of all of this.

[JeremyMcClean]

Dont get me wrong, I understand that the BBC are the spoilt, arrogant, self-serving cause of all of this.

Then again, so is Bernie Ecclestone.

[Captain Hammer]

Over the past month, I have notced that Autosport have run a dozen stories - nearly one every other day - about Raikkonen's return and how he is just as committed as he was before he went rallying, and how he can easily succeed. This culminated a few days ago with Damon Hill offering his opinion on the matter, sounding suspiciously like a yes-man. I could understand it when journalists were asking Eric Boullier and Gerard Lopez because they run the team. I could understand it when they asked Romain Grosjean and Sebastian Vettel, because they are Raikkonen's new team-mate and the reigning World Champion respectively. But as time wore on, they started asking people who were further and further away from Raikkonen. First David Coulthard, then Damon Hill. Who next, Kim Jong-un? He's suddenly become prominent in Korea, and there's a Grand Prix in Korea, so I'm sure that by this time next month, Autosport will have sent someone to Pyongyang to get his thoughts. And it will no doubt be headline news. Long story short, one month after it was announced, Raikkonen's return is old news, but publications keep turning out stories that hype him up.

I find this particularly telling because Autosport have totally ignored Gerhard Berger's comments that he would not re-sign Raikkonen. Considering that Berger is co-owner of a team that just made one of the most ruthless moves in the sport's recent history by ditching Alguersuari and Buemi, I'd be very interested in what he has to say - and why - on the subject of Raikkonen's return. And yet, there hasn't been any mention of it on Autosport.

[eagleash]

Didn't Berger sell his share back to Mateschitz several years ago?

[AndreaModa]

Didn't Berger sell his share back to Mateschitz several years ago?

I believe he did.

[mario]

Over the past month, I have notced that Autosport have run a dozen stories - nearly one every other day - about Raikkonen's return and how he is just as committed as he was before he went rallying, and how he can easily succeed. This culminated a few days ago with Damon Hill offering his opinion on the matter, sounding suspiciously like a yes-man. I could understand it when journalists were asking Eric Boullier and Gerard Lopez because they run the team. I could understand it when they asked Romain Grosjean and Sebastian Vettel, because they are Raikkonen's new team-mate and the reigning World Champion respectively. But as time wore on, they started asking people who were further and further away from Raikkonen. First David Coulthard, then Damon Hill. Who next, Kim Jong-un? He's suddenly become prominent in Korea, and there's a Grand Prix in Korea, so I'm sure that by this time next month, Autosport will have sent someone to Pyongyang to get his thoughts. And it will no doubt be headline news. Long story short, one month after it was announced, Raikkonen's return is old news, but publications keep turning out stories that hype him up.

I find this particularly telling because Autosport have totally ignored Gerhard Berger's comments that he would not re-sign Raikkonen. Considering that Berger is co-owner of a team that just made one of the most ruthless moves in the sport's recent history by ditching Alguersuari and Buemi, I'd be very interested in what he has to say - and why - on the subject of Raikkonen's return. And yet, there hasn't been any mention of it on Autosport.

He who pays the piper calls the tune - Group Lotus has been getting quite close to Autosport after they chose to enter the sport, going to the extent of sponsoring the last Autosport Engineering Show and possibly doing the same thing again this coming year. I wouldn't be surprised, therefore, if Group Lotus has decided to milk the story for all that it is worth - they are the ones who benefit most from the higher media coverage - and have leaned on Autosport to provide them with the most flattering and extensive coverage possible, hence why stories like Berger's comments on Kimi might have been quietly left to one side.
It's going to be a problem for Kimi though - we've seen that the reaction to Schumacher's return has been mixed, and arguably he was in better shape than Kimi was for a return despite his age, so too much pre-season hype could backfire badly on the team and Kimi if his performance is underwhelming in the opening races. If the media and public turn their focus on him as aggressively as on Schumacher I can see Kimi getting sick of the sport fairly quickly given his famed dislike of the politics and media in F1 at the moment.

[AdrianSutil]

Didn't Berger sell his share back to Mateschitz several years ago?

I believe he did.

Yes he did. Sold his 50% share back in November 2008.

[eagleash]

Didn't Berger sell his share back to Mateschitz several years ago?

I believe he did.

Yes he did. Sold his 50% share back in November 2008.

*Rhetorical*

[Myrvold]

Who next, Kim Jong-un? He's suddenly become prominent in Korea, and there's a Grand Prix in Korea

Ouch.

[DanielPT]

Who next, Kim Jong-un? He's suddenly become prominent in Korea, and there's a Grand Prix in Korea

Did you just mixed North Korea and South Korea on the same sentence? Oh my, the punishment for that in North Korea is death. Luckily that is no crime in South Korea, although they might get pissed.

[Cynon]

It's going to be a problem for Kimi though - we've seen that the reaction to Schumacher's return has been mixed, and arguably he was in better shape than Kimi was for a return despite his age, so too much pre-season hype could backfire badly on the team and Kimi if his performance is underwhelming in the opening races. If the media and public turn their focus on him as aggressively as on Schumacher I can see Kimi getting sick of the sport fairly quickly given his famed dislike of the politics and media in F1 at the moment.

Kimi was no fan of the media in his lone NASCAR weekend either... and his NASCAR adventure wasn't all that spectacular. Makes you wonder if Kimi would be more comfortable in a series like the IRL where there isn't as many media people hanging around you if you stay quiet, even if you're a winning driver.

[Captain Hammer]

Who next, Kim Jong-un? He's suddenly become prominent in Korea, and there's a Grand Prix in Korea

Did you just mixed North Korea and South Korea on the same sentence?

No, I did not get them mixed up. I deliberately named Jong-un and connected him to the Korean Grand Prix to prove a point: that Autosport have been going to people who are increasingly removed from Formula 1 for opinions about Raikkonen's return, and that they will no doubt ask Jong-un for his opinion because asking him is the natural extension of what they are currently doing.

[CoopsII]

I deliberately named Jong-un and connected him to the Korean Grand Prix to prove a point: that Autosport have been going to people who are increasingly removed from Formula 1 for opinions about Raikkonen's return, and that they will no doubt ask Jong-un for his opinion because asking him is the natural extension of what they are currently doing.

Obviously

[eurobrun]

I deliberately named Jong-un and connected him to the Korean Grand Prix to prove a point: that Autosport have been going to people who are increasingly removed from Formula 1 for opinions about Raikkonen's return, and that they will no doubt ask Jong-un for his opinion because asking him is the natural extension of what they are currently doing.

Obviously

What

[tristan1117]

I've been trying to halt the F1 Deprivation Blues by listening to every single F1 Rejects Podcast from 2005 onwards. I found out that I'm still pissed that Webber got punted off by Vettel at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix.

[BlindCaveSalamander]

I've been trying to halt the F1 Deprivation Blues by listening to every single F1 Rejects Podcast from 2005 onwards. I found out that I'm still pissed that Webber got punted off by Vettel at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix.

I think everybody is, but don't forget Hamilton's part in that incident, slowing down far more than necessary.

[Klon]

I really can't help the fact that I am quite annoyed about Webber still being with Red Bull - it's a pathetic joke!

[AdrianSutil]

I really can't help the fact that I am quite annoyed about Webber still being with Red Bull - it's a pathetic joke!

Not as annoyed as I am with Massa still being with Ferrari. That seat deserves a proper talent like Kobayashi, Perez, Sutil (I can dream) or Alguersuari (what?! I hear you say). Seriously, he shouldve been driving for his job last year, not this year.

[mario]

I really can't help the fact that I am quite annoyed about Webber still being with Red Bull - it's a pathetic joke!

Not as annoyed as I am with Massa still being with Ferrari. That seat deserves a proper talent like Kobayashi, Perez, Sutil (I can dream) or Alguersuari (what?! I hear you say). Seriously, he shouldve been driving for his job last year, not this year.

Whilst Massa may have been affected by Hamilton's tendency to collide with him several times this year, at the same time Massa hasn't really looked all that convincing in the races (spinning out in Abu Dhabi when he was under indirect pressure from Webber, for example). The F150th might not have been quite as close to the leading pace at times as the F10 had been, but it is worth noting that Alonso was still very competitive last season - in fact, it says something about Alonso's consistency that he actually scored more points in 2011 than he did in 2010 (257 points in 2011 against 252 points in 2010) despite having what was considered to be an inferior car.
Perhaps Ferrari have been prepared to give Massa some slack because of contractual issues - in other words, it would be easier to stick with Massa rather than face a difficult legal problem - plus they know that by waiting until Massa's contract expires they potentially have a wider choice of drivers to pick from (because there are several drivers whose contracts expire when Massa's contract runs out).

After all, asides from the traditional veterans that Ferrari has tended to pick in the past, there are a few rising stars that might be a good choice - Perez, for a start, looks like he is becoming increasingly competitive and confident. Mind you, Ferrari are probably still trying to line Bianchi up for Massa's seat in the longer term (presumably why they helped him get the Force India test driver role) - make of that what you will...

[Wizzie]

After all, asides from the traditional veterans that Ferrari has tended to pick in the past, there are a few rising stars that might be a good choice - Perez, for a start, looks like he is becoming increasingly competitive and confident. Mind you, Ferrari are probably still trying to line Bianchi up for Massa's seat in the longer term (presumably why they helped him get the Force India test driver role) - make of that what you will...

Which makes one wonder what Ferrari actually see in him considering it took him a grand total of just over a lap to plant the Force India into a tyre barrier and the first half of his GP2 season last year

[mario]

After all, asides from the traditional veterans that Ferrari has tended to pick in the past, there are a few rising stars that might be a good choice - Perez, for a start, looks like he is becoming increasingly competitive and confident. Mind you, Ferrari are probably still trying to line Bianchi up for Massa's seat in the longer term (presumably why they helped him get the Force India test driver role) - make of that what you will...

Which makes one wonder what Ferrari actually see in him considering it took him a grand total of just over a lap to plant the Force India into a tyre barrier and the first half of his GP2 season last year

I am prepared to give Bianchi a little bit of slack for his accident in testing because Force India did make a rather strange decision there - they sent him out on the hard tyres when the track temperature was about 3ºC which, given how long the hard tyres take to warm up, sounds like an accident waiting to happen. Speaking of which, an accident waiting to happen could be how Bianchi's 2011 GP2 season could be described at times...

As to what Ferrari see in Bianchi, to be fair to them Bianchi's record in Formula 3 is pretty strong - he was 3rd in the European F3 series in his rookie year before winning the series by a substantial margin the following year, whilst his 2010 GP2 season was solid enough (he was the highest ranked rookie in the series that year) despite the accident he had in Hungary that lead to a fractured vertebra. It also has to be pointed out that Grosjean, by virtue of being Pirelli's official tyre tester, would have had a fairly substantial advantage over his rivals in the early stages of the 2011 season, so being beaten by him isn't massively surprising.

[Wizzie]

It also has to be pointed out that Grosjean, by virtue of being Pirelli's official tyre tester, would have had a fairly substantial advantage over his rivals in the early stages of the 2011 season, so being beaten by him isn't massively surprising.

By the same token, I have an incredibly hard time rating anyone who gets beaten by eternal GP2 relic Luca Filippi in a straight fight

[Shizuka]

After all, asides from the traditional veterans that Ferrari has tended to pick in the past, there are a few rising stars that might be a good choice - Perez, for a start, looks like he is becoming increasingly competitive and confident. Mind you, Ferrari are probably still trying to line Bianchi up for Massa's seat in the longer term (presumably why they helped him get the Force India test driver role) - make of that what you will...

I think I know what's going to happen:
- Massa will still not do his best and his contract runs out
- Schumacher plans to retire
- Hülkenberg gets the nod, so he goes to Mercedes
- Bianchi, having been the third driver, gets promoted at Force India in 2013, while Ferrari keeps an eye on him all season
- Perez gets promoted to Ferrari for 2013, but only for one year, as Bianchi's been being considered for 2014

This is a very much possible plot to happen...

[DanielPT]

As to what Ferrari see in Bianchi, to be fair to them Bianchi's record in Formula 3 is pretty strong - he was 3rd in the European F3 series in his rookie year before winning the series by a substantial margin the following year, whilst his 2010 GP2 season was solid enough (he was the highest ranked rookie in the series that year) despite the accident he had in Hungary that lead to a fractured vertebra. It also has to be pointed out that Grosjean, by virtue of being Pirelli's official tyre tester, would have had a fairly substantial advantage over his rivals in the early stages of the 2011 season, so being beaten by him isn't massively surprising.

I will side with mario on this one. The F3 Euro Series record since 2003 (when French and German F3 merged) states that from the 27 drivers who finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd, they have 2 F1 World Champions (Hamilton and Vettel), 6 drivers who completed at least a full season (Klien, Sutil, di Grassi, di Resta, Buemi, Hulkenberg), 1 who already did a few races (Grosjean) and 3 current or former test drivers (Bottas, Bianchi and Hirate) and one who was a test driver for Spyker at one race (Premat). It is fair to say that not only we should expect these drivers to perform at some time in F1 but to also perform convincingly. Those who failed to get into F1 are mostly from the first and second season of the series and include Ryan Briscoe (IndyCar Series race winner), Oliver Pla (champion at Le Mans series and race winner at GP2), Jamie Green (DTM race winner), Nicolas Lapierre (Race winner at GP2). From those after Hulkenberg times (who is the latest to come from these select drivers, there is Mortara who is a rising start in DTM, Viettoris who will compete on his third season at GP2 and then there are Wittman Mehri and Juncadella who are all very young. Some pedigree for a feeder series!

[East Londoner]

Only one race in and I've already had enough of this 8 engines a year rule.

[Ferrim]

Why, Pastor?

WHY????

[RealRacingRoots]

After watching Di Resta getting passed by both Toro Rossos, I want an update to the DRS which makes it that if the car in front got passed by the car second in the queue in the first zone/under braking, the car that is third in the queue will not be able to activate his DRS in the second zone.

Another reason why I don't like DRS.

Multi-zone DRSs need work, as does DRSs in general.

[Wizzie]

It's just occurred to me that the corner Maldonado went off at is pretty much flat out in a Renault freaking Megane as anyone who watched either of the Red Bull Challenge races this weekend would testify to

[WeirdKerr]

It's just occurred to me that the corner Maldonado went off at is pretty much flat out in a Renault freaking Megane as anyone who watched either of the Red Bull Challenge races this weekend would testify to

the what???

why cant sky show ALL the support races.......(not just the GP2 and 3)

[Wizzie]

It's just occurred to me that the corner Maldonado went off at is pretty much flat out in a Renault freaking Megane as anyone who watched either of the Red Bull Challenge races this weekend would testify to

the what???

why cant sky show ALL the support races.......(not just the GP2 and 3)

The only good thing about the ONE coverage was it showed most of the support races. From memory, the ones they broadcast were the Red Bull Challenge with DC involved, the V8s and the Porsche Carrera Cup with a Mr Heinz-Harald Frentzen being anonymous and causing an accident with Daniel Gaunt with a few laps to go of the last race

There may have been more but since I was trying to avoid listening to the ONE Commentary team for as long as humanly possible, I missed about half of the support races. And, for the record, the Red Bull Challenge was one of the most rejectfully awesome things ever with a three-wide photo finish in both races.

[the Masked Lapwing]

It's just occurred to me that the corner Maldonado went off at is pretty much flat out in a Renault freaking Megane as anyone who watched either of the Red Bull Challenge races this weekend would testify to

the what???

why cant sky show ALL the support races.......(not just the GP2 and 3)

The only good thing about the ONE coverage was it showed most of the support races. From memory, the ones they broadcast were the Red Bull Challenge with DC involved, the V8s and the Porsche Carrera Cup with a Mr Heinz-Harald Frentzen being anonymous and causing an accident with Daniel Gaunt with a few laps to go of the last race

There may have been more but since I was trying to avoid listening to the ONE Commentary team for as long as humanly possible, I missed about half of the support races. And, for the record, the Red Bull Challenge was one of the most rejectfully awesome things ever with a three-wide photo finish in both races.

There was also the Speed Comparison, where they raced a Merc C63 (Mick Doohan), a Triple Eight V8 Supercar (Scott Pye), and last year's McLaren (Gary Paffett). Doohan won the first two, Paffett the other two.

[Stramala]

[So incredibly off-topic that it has zero to do with F1]


CLAUDIO RANIERI GOES OUTTA!!!!!

And here is a video of me driving a BMW X5. I am so ridiculously over the f***ing moon at this news I am plastering my message of joy all over the internetz right now.

I apologise for the disruption, normal service should be returned to you shortly.

[DanielPT]

[So incredibly off-topic that it has zero to do with F1]


CLAUDIO RANIERI GOES OUTTA!!!!!

And here is a video of me driving a BMW X5. I am so ridiculously over the f***ing moon at this news I am plastering my message of joy all over the internetz right now.

I apologise for the disruption, normal service should be returned to you shortly.

Erm... Why are you so happy about? After Mourinho left, Inter have been saddled with an ageing squad while devouring manager after manager at a rate way faster than Chelsea, if that is even possible... It will be hard for them to go back at the forefront in the next couple of years or more if they keep going like this...

[Stramala]

Erm... Why are you so happy about? After Mourinho left, Inter have been saddled with an ageing squad while devouring manager after manager at a rate way faster than Chelsea, if that is even possible... It will be hard for them to go back at the forefront in the next couple of years or more if they keep going like this...

The squad issues are known. Ranieri's problem was insisting on using the old rotting players that are about to be gotten rid of anyway. He was playing Deki at CM almsot religiously despite the fact he has zero talent left and shouldn't even be on the bench.

His choice of substitions is the worst thing though. Look at Juve Merda vs Inter on Sunday. He took Obi and Poli, our most effective midfielders in that game, off the pitch. And their place, on comes the misfiring Pazzini, while Faraoni plays out of position and Forlan is moved to left wing, a position he publically despises. Ranieri was STUPID. He didn't even make the best of what he was given, THAT is why I am glad he is gone.

It's like comparing Minardi and Jaguar. Minardi had nothing, but the tiny amount of money and resources they had, they maximised them in the best possible way. Jaguar had a good amount of cash and resources. Not the best on the grid, but still a very good amount. And they were hopelessly rubbish, because the management was rubbish. It's the same here. Everyone said our Primavera team was average, the players were average, they wouldn't go far, but they just won the U19 equivalent of the Champions League. Perhaps Andrea Stramaccioni is the right man for the job at the end of the season.

But one man I would like to see sacked even more than Ranieri - Marco Branca. Awful transfer decisions lately. We need Rossi, Isla, Tremoulanis, Tasci, Montolivo, Bender, Giovinco, Borini to come in and turn this team back around, while disposing of Deki, Chivu, Lucio, Ranocchia, Milito, Forlan, Maicon, Zarate, Palombo. But nooooo...knowing Branca, he will only fire Chivu, take up purchase options on Zarate and Palombo, and buy Cacau, Owen, Obertan, Hargreaves and DJEMBA DJEMBA.

[WeirdKerr]

*yawn* football.....

[Stramala]

*yawn* football.....

[FullMetalJack]

I am so ridiculously over the f***ing moon at this news I am plastering my message of joy all over the internetz right now.

I apologise for the disruption, normal service should be returned to you shortly.

I was the same when Alex McLeish left us.

[QuickYoda41]

If Stramaccioni can't build in our young talents, then nobody can.

(I never expected I'll find this here in the rantbox. )