And I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with the idea of the best Formula one grid. The grids of the mid to late 80's were in my opinion the best. How can any grid without the names of Senna, Prost, Lauda be considered the best?
Why are you sorry?
And I can say with some ease that Hamilton, Alonso, and Schumacher at the very least are equals of any other driver combination from any era.
But, I was actually referring to not just the quality of the drivers at the front, but the quality of the entire grid overall. We have never had it so good, the pay driver is now an experienced driver who may not have had amazing results, but he isn't some joke driver. Yamamoto, Badoer, etc are really no where near the lows we got in the 80s and 90s.
I'd be happy to say that Vettel, Button, Kubica, Barrichello, Trulli, Kovalainen, Webber, Massa, Raikkonen, Montoya, Heidfeld...etc are more than a match for drivers like Berger, Arnoux, Patrese, Laffitte, Warwick, Cheever, Watson, Mansell, Piquet, etc etc.
I think drivers today are more focused, fit and experienced than ever before. Don't let finishing positions fool you, it takes far more effort to finish 10th today than it did in 1988 or any other year. Qualifying is far closer than ever, the "worst" team is a professional outfit who also run a LMS team (albeit with budget/financial management issues). The "worst" drivers have many years experience in single seaters, far more than the "worst" of the past have had.
How can you not think we have the highest quality F1 grids ever? Rose-tinted glasses much?
* Two words- Danica Patrick. She arrived and really became fun to watch. I've always loved watching Danica race. I think she'll find her stride in NASCAR and perhaps even be a consistent contender to win. Her performance at the 2005 Indy 500 really resonates for me. But more than ever- winning at Motegi. Danica did what I thought all along she would do- win a race. Maybe you can nit-pick that she hasn't yet won in the United States, but at least she won a race. My favorite race of hers that she didn't win was that great drive she had at Texas in 2010. Just up there and mixing it up almost all race long.
* Then too, I'm pleased not only for Danica, but also for more women racing. I'm probably one of few guys to be so pleased to see many more women race. Maybe one of the best moments was when there was that all-female driver lineup at Le Mans 2010 for the #61(?) Matech Ford GT. Too bad their effort was halted due to a fire or a serious crash.
* I love her, she's beautiful... but Milka Duno has been vastly disappointing in the IndyCar Series. Her biggest highlight has been that epic spat between the Venezuelan and Danica Patrick. I didn't know it was possible to be under probation for poor performance. It certainly is possible to be considered a moving chicane on the track.
* I don't usually take shots at Japanese cars and companies, but I'd have to nominate Honda and Toyota as failures in F1. For Honda's sake, it was really back-breaking when Braun GP went from Honda power to Mercedes-Benz power... and ended up winning a championship. Toyota just never hit its marks in F1. It wasn't until Fast Lane Daily's Leo Parente talked about how Toyota has been a world stage racing failure- competitive cars, but not enough in winning major races and championships.
First of all - may I say that it is good to see people still pushing for women in motorsport and that, yes this decade has been a little better for providing opportunities.
However, its really not been much to shout about is it really? Danica is by far the most over-rated driver I've read on the internet. Sure, she is decent, but I think women should try and aspire to be better than that. Just being "good" isn't going to change people's opinions, just like any new country to motorsport, women need their own Senna, Rossi, Schumacher or whatever.
I fear people are sometimes a little too praising of people like Danica, to the point where the fact she is a woman is elevating what are otherwise mediocre results. I feel I just need to point out that while Danica's (and other women this decade) results have been a nice thing to see, it should be considered just the same as anyone else's results. I don't think Danica should get better opportunities than say male drivers who have won championships. If she (or any other woman) is hired, it should be for results, not her sex if we really want to see motorsport change its stance. I've read far too many people saying she should be given far better chances simply to help the cause of women in motorsport, but I personally think its detrimental to glorify what is really a mediocre driver.
Anyway, Danica is good, not amazing, but good. Hopefully it points to signs of greater participation of women and therefore a greater chance they will find their "Senna".
Milka Duno is a shining example of pure marketing, no talent.
As for Japanese companies, this decade, I'd say yeah, they have kind of flopped. Unfortunately for them, its all due to the big increase in manufacturer interest and control in motorsport, which led to management boards taking decisions, rather than racing teams. For both Toyota and Honda in F1, their failure is rooted at their organisational structure and work practices. For Toyota, they took too much personal control away from TTE, and then firing anyone who dared suggest different, more European methods (Mike Gascoyne). For Honda, again, too much personal control, not allowing the race team to make the decisions and forcing a complete aero design novice onto the team.
For Japanese companies to return to the top, they really need to either alter their way of work or allow the European teams they purchase to do their jobs like they did in the 90s. That or simply just return to engine supply.
That said, mismangement of race teams and meddling by manufacturers is not solely a charateristic of Japanese companies, as Ford and BMW also messed up. Its just it appears the criticism is far more directed at the organisational structure, rather than any particular people taking decisions or particular mangement decisions. It was always going to become a problem once those companies started taking a greater interest and control in the decision process, whereas Ford and BMW's greater influcence on the race teams could have led to victory (and BMW almost had it right).
You may say that had Honda not quit for 2009, they would have been successful, but by 2008, they had already stopped meddling with the team, finally letting Ross Brawn make the decisions and sort the team out. Perhaps Honda at least recognised that it didn't need to meddle so much, perhaps they would have meddled again in 2009. Sadly for Honda, it didn't succeed, but it was close. Toyota never showed signs of sorting out their management issues.
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