graveslids
This statement is in regards to what Exige had to say. It is me trying to expound my thought processes on what Exige was saying about the sport being dependant upon respect. Which it is, but I still firmly believe, that given the opportunity, a driver will do near whatever is neccesarry for track postion. One only needs look at Montoya's punting of Trulli at Spa I think it was, or Schumi's continual weaving across the track when starting from pole. Or the first corner pile up's that still occur. F1 is a brutal sport just barely kept in check by it's participants due to the highly dangerous penalties of getting out of line.
F1 is far from a brutal sport that is barely kept in check, for motorsport of that style simply check-out most touring car series or the V8brutes.
Yes given an oportunity a driver will do all they can to pass, but they will also be aware of the marshalls and the priority of the other drivers on the track. If a driver should yeald to a pass, because the other driver has the position they will do.
Thats not to say that they will give up a place, they will fight (in most cases fairly) for position but to say that
if a driver had a chance to legally pass another, he would not pass due to respect. is patently redicuolous and having re-read the enture thread no one has said or suggest such a thing.
In regard to the drivers who have driven in the manner you have described, then (as I have previously said) they should, and often have been warned and in some cases penalised for it.
graveslids
See above, in the eyes of the general public, only winners count.
In the eyes of the general public most figures in motorsport are unknown, champions or not. Walk up to most people in the street and show them pictures of Rossi, Scumacher and Loeb dressed in 'everyday' clothes and most would fail to recognise them.
However exceptions do happen, Stirling Moss is a name that a good number of people in the UK would recognise, even if they had no interest in motorsport.
To those that have a true interest in Motorsport these drivers are legends, that they failed to win the World Championship is a great shame, but it certainly does not make them less reconisable as the talent they were/are.
That is however totally irelivent, as that is not what you said. You stated that being a World Champion
...is the measuring stick for what makes a pilot a pilot in F1.
To put it bluntly if you don't class the three drivers I mentioned as some of the best to have ever sat in a car (particularly Stirling Moss) then quite frankly you don't have a clue what you are talking about.
graveslids
Ahh you mean the driver than in the same race broke the pit-lane speed limit and got given a drive through penalty. Which he took and still managed to finish third, all without blaming someone else and swearing at anyone, remarkable that.
graveslids
...in this and every other racing series I can think of...
Which is why Speed's actions and reactions are all the more inexcusable, its not like it was a new thing.
graveslids
...as I have said numerous times, I am not defending what was said, merely applauding the young one for standing his ground. For all the reasons that have been brought foraward of him going after Coulthard, it would really have to take some confidence to go after him, especially given the pennance that could be headed his way. Be it right or wrong, and wrong he was, he felt passionately enough about his situation to give voice to his opinion...
No he felt angry and frustrated and lashed out in a totally unprofessional and aggressive manner. Confidence had nothing to do with it hot-headed stupidity would be more appropriate terms.
I've lost count of the number of drivers who have lost wins (not a point but a win) because of a technical infringement (sometimes actually reported by another team) and have accepted it as part of the job. They may have gone and kicked the cat afterwards*, but they did not start swearing at whomever they thought was to blame.
The best example I can think of was when Carlos Saintz engine failed a few hundred yards from the finish of the last stage of the last rally of the year (1998 IIRC), which cost him not a single point, or a win, but the entire World Championship.
Yes he was angry, and he did put his helmet through the back window of the car, and seconds after that he had half a dozen TV cameras in his face. He simple and politely told them 'no comment', shrugged his shoulders and walked away. No swearing, no trying to blame anyone else; and that from a man who had just lost the world championship by a few hundered yards.
Speed would do well to watch the tape of that and learn from it.
graveslids
...if safety were truly the be all, end all, pay drives and Yuji Ide would not exist in F1...
No if safety was truely the be all and end all the cars would be limited to 5mph and fitted with big cushions all around.
Pay drivers and Ide still have to meet a certain standard before they can sit in the cockpit of the car and obtaining the required licence for F1 is not like getting your driving licence.
They are few are far between as far as a major problem goes and have never been a huge problem in F1. For a true insight into what has made F1 a much safer sport than it was 20 years ago read Life at the Limit by Prof Sid watkins, that will give you all the insight you need.
graveslids
No doubt the team bus would of taken the frutrations better, but I know from personal experience, adrenaline is a wicked modifier of behaviour. Which is why I brought that point forward.
And if speed can't keep his adrenaline under control when hes out of the car, then will he be able to do so in the car?
If he can't then he's not going to have a very successful career in F1 and he will end up posing a danger to all around him.
For the sake of his own career he needs to learn some self-discipline and fast.
Regards
Scaff
* Scaff in no way supports the kicking of cats - it bad and you should not do it (or chase them with chainsaws, throw dogs at them or anything like that)**
**No, honest I mean it, leave the cat alone.***
***Look if you get arested for animal cruelty now, you can't blame me
