So there you go., Its all over for another year.
I have to be honest, Pirelli and the FIA won it for Redbull, not Vettel. Before the race at Silverstone, the Redbull was winning, but it wasn’t a steamroller crushing all before it. The Merc won a couple and Kimi was having a bash at looking respectable. It was shaping up to be a good season.
Then the tyres exploded, Redbull threw its hands in the air and told everyone that would listen that this was exactly what they said would happen when they ran the tyres on the wrong wheels and with the pressures lower than advised and it was all Pirellis fault and it was dangerous and it they could just have the tyres back from last year then it would all be fine.
The FIA, weather because they were sick of listening to Redbull whinge on and on about it, or because letting the teams run the tyres outside of the correct manufacture's parameters was too difficult to police. Stepped in and told Pirelli to make the tyres the way Redbull wanted.
And that effectively ended the season as a spectacle.
And about the point I gave up with it all.
Then i was reminded that there are some things more important than silly car racing and I lost all interest in this so called sport I’m afraid. I’m tired of watching the same teams win and the same drivers complain. The real talents like Hulkenberg and Di Resta (Yeah he is, maybe not a world champion, but he’s a damn sight better than Perez or Maldonado). Are being lost because its about the money now. All credit to McLaren who have made the brave decision to bring in Kevin Magnusson next year and ditch Perez because talent and points are more important than than money. Team like Sauber have gotten so used to just surviving to the next paycheck that they’ve forgotten why they’re there in the first place. Paying to sit in the middle of the pack is no way to go racing.
And i blame Bernie firmly and squarely for this state of affairs. Selling a sport to a bunch of investors ? They only want to take as much money out of the sport to pay their shareholders as is legally possible. They don’t care at all about the punters in the stands or the teams going to the wall. Teams like Sauber and Lotus should not have to go begging to dodgy individuals looking to off load a bit of capital or “build business to business relationships with strategically placed core business financiers” whatever that means.
This isn’t just a rose tinted view back to the good old days when Ken Tyrrell could knock up an F1 car in the lockup down the road and take on the might of Ferrari. The lord knows those days were just as much about the money and surviving from week to week. But the teams spent money on going racing and a smart engineer could come up with a cleaver widget and suddenly they were winning races.
Now the likes of Redbull have bought up all the top talent and have them grinding away to find all those tenths of a second, and if they can;t find them, they find the loophole that beat the system and pay the best lawyers to argue that it is legal.
Too much money is being concentrated into too few teams. None of the teams trust each other, the midfield teams don’t trust the big boys, the big boys can’t afford to give the little guys a chance. Bernie controls the whole show to make money for himself from what i can tell. Bernie PLC and CVC investors.
Innovation has gone out of the window. Innovation has been stamped on because it gives the little guys a chance.
And don;t think next year will be any different. No, Redbull can afford to build and test a 2014 car. The only glimmer is that Renault will produce a bit of dud and Mercedes or Ferrari will have something special. Ha ha imagine 10 years ago wishing Ferrari could win some races and a championship. We were all so bored of Schumacher winning week after week. We all thought he was unbeatable, turns out is was the team and the car. Stick him in an unremarkable midfielder and he loses and lot of that golden glow doesn’t he.
Anyway. I didn’t really watch the Brazilian race because i couldn’t be bothered to watch Vettel win again, Mark to almost win and some one else join them on the podium.
I’m not even going to bother with a season review I’m afraid. I just don’t care anymore.
oh all right... just a quick one. So in championship wining order ....
1. Vettel, four championships in a row, I guess you have to say he;s the best driver of this generation with the best car and the best team. He Robbed Webber of the Malaysian win and as it turns out he didn’t need to. I don;t think he’s very good under pressure, I think he’s annoying and far too smug.
2 Alonso, once again takes a lacklustre Ferrari and is the best of the rest. Still the best pound for pound driver out there for my money. If he’s been in a Redbull for the last four years he’d have been unstoppable.
3. Webber, when he got sucker punched by Vettel in Malaysia and the team did absolutely nothing about it. He should have smack the smug German on the chin and walked away there and then. As it is he’s off to Porsche to race at Le Mans then makes him a Hero in my book.
4. Hamilton, not a bad year, certainly not his worst. But Lewis likes to take a car and thrash it for all its worth. Having to sit there and be passed by car after car to save the tyres isn’t on his action plan. He lost heart after the surprise win in Hungary and then lost his girlfriend. Maybe next year will be the old Lewis we love to watch.
5. Kimi. Didn’t get paid for delivering Lotus a hat full of points, then got told to get out of the way when he flounced off the Ferrari. Not a classic season for the iceman. Back to Ferrari next year we’ll see how he gets on with Alonso shall we.
6. Nico, came of age this year with plenty of great races, he seemed to try to stay focused for the whole season. Whilst Lewis got the attention, he got on with things and proved that he’s got the talent if the car can deliver. Next year could be a good one for him.
7. Grosjean, really hit his stride this year and announced himself as proper grade a driver. He was the best of the rest to Redbull in the second half of the season (possible tyre related, or Kimi had had enough of not being paid, you decide). I think he’s successfully shaken that accident waiting to happen tag off now, lets see how he goes next year, like Rosberg it could be a good one.
8. Massa, Ferrari finally called it a day and he gets to go and work out his retirement at Williams next year. Williams need him more than he needs them, I think he’s done alright this year and as always he’s got on with things and kept his mouth shut, despite the snipping from the side lines.
9. Button, didn’t really step up and lead the team in the post Hamilton era. but did enough to keep his job for one more year.
10. Hulkenberg. Far and away the best talent without a decent drive. If he doesn’t go to Lotus there will is no justice in this world and it will confirm everything I have come to hate about this sport.
11. Perez, yes, it turns out he is a talent vacuum and i was right all along. The fact Whitmarch has been phoning it up all the other teams trying to off load him and not one has take him, tells you everything you need to know. I fully expect his to turn up in a Caterham or a Marussia next year with all that money of his. But he’s still not worth it.
12. Di Resta, apparently off to Indy car to replace his cousin Francitti or DTM to drive a Merc either way i think it’s a lost to F1. He didn’t really get the break he deserved and it all fell apart in the second half of the season after the tyre change. The team didn’t really do him any favours and him being all moody and glaring at the camera didn’t help himself. McLaren should have taken him to replace Button, but there you go.
13. Sutil, also getting the old heave hoe i believe, unless he can come up with some money. He did alright but it wasn’t anything special was it.
14. Ricciardo, how long will he last at Redbull ? I don’t think he’ll see his contract out to be honest. I think they’ve only taken him because so many people have questioned the Redbull driver program and what the point of it was when they only ever seem to fire them for not being Vettel. He’s all right, but he’s not going to be challenging the German anytime soon is he ? Maybe that's what they want now, a driver that will just do as he’s told and get out of Vettels way without having to be told to move over. I think there are far, far better drivers available right now and Riccy is a very, very lucky boy.
15. Vergne, not as good as Ricciardo, and unlikely to see the rest of his contract out in 2014.
16. Gutierrez, give the lad another year. Needs a bit more race craft and learn to look in his mirrors a bit more. But he did alright, nothing special but nothing particularly bad springs to mind.
17. Bottas YES YES YES YES, he beat Maldonado, and for that I am eternally grateful.
18. hahahahahahahhaha Pastor hahahaha even a half arsed Williams doesn’t want him, even a Williams about to go to the wall and with no money, would rather have a Brazilian with double vision and no money than this sorry excuse for a driver. He’s got no race craft, lucked into a win last year and failed to do anything meaningful since, has bad mouthed the team and driven like an idiot pretty much every time he got behind the wheel. The fact that his money might well take him to Lotus is a travesty in my book. Williams are certainly better off without him.
19. Bianchi, Meh he was better than the rest of the back markers, but didn’t really live up the hype did he. Ferrari certainly don’t think so. lets see if he gets another year.
20. Pic .... nope, i’ve still got nothing. Did he actually race this year ?
21. Kovalainen, suber sub that was a bit soggy and looked like it should have been left on the shelf after close inspection. But he probably did enough to get Pic’s job next year.
22. Van Der Garde, seems to have spent the year complaining about Marussia drivers driving into him or getting in his way. Once he found his feet he was better than Max, dammed with faint praise indeed.
23 finally its Max ‘the chin’ Chilton who was rubbish all year long and consistently 2 laps behind the winner. So was Bianchi, but he’s 19th and Max isn’t. Max has a great name and no talent, his dad has a whole shed load of cash and as Maldonado has proved that can open any door these days. I hope he comes back next year because his happy gormless smiling face at the end of every race always cheered me up. His unfettered ability to be positive about being so last was refreshing and gives hope to those of us who know we a rubbish but if we could just get that big break we’d prove all those doubters wrong. Well done Max, you are an inspiration to all those delusional folk out there who think they have what it takes to be a winner.
I have to be honest, Pirelli and the FIA won it for Redbull, not Vettel. Before the race at Silverstone, the Redbull was winning, but it wasn’t a steamroller crushing all before it. The Merc won a couple and Kimi was having a bash at looking respectable. It was shaping up to be a good season.
Then the tyres exploded, Redbull threw its hands in the air and told everyone that would listen that this was exactly what they said would happen when they ran the tyres on the wrong wheels and with the pressures lower than advised and it was all Pirellis fault and it was dangerous and it they could just have the tyres back from last year then it would all be fine.
The FIA, weather because they were sick of listening to Redbull whinge on and on about it, or because letting the teams run the tyres outside of the correct manufacture's parameters was too difficult to police. Stepped in and told Pirelli to make the tyres the way Redbull wanted.
And that effectively ended the season as a spectacle.
And about the point I gave up with it all.
Then i was reminded that there are some things more important than silly car racing and I lost all interest in this so called sport I’m afraid. I’m tired of watching the same teams win and the same drivers complain. The real talents like Hulkenberg and Di Resta (Yeah he is, maybe not a world champion, but he’s a damn sight better than Perez or Maldonado). Are being lost because its about the money now. All credit to McLaren who have made the brave decision to bring in Kevin Magnusson next year and ditch Perez because talent and points are more important than than money. Team like Sauber have gotten so used to just surviving to the next paycheck that they’ve forgotten why they’re there in the first place. Paying to sit in the middle of the pack is no way to go racing.
And i blame Bernie firmly and squarely for this state of affairs. Selling a sport to a bunch of investors ? They only want to take as much money out of the sport to pay their shareholders as is legally possible. They don’t care at all about the punters in the stands or the teams going to the wall. Teams like Sauber and Lotus should not have to go begging to dodgy individuals looking to off load a bit of capital or “build business to business relationships with strategically placed core business financiers” whatever that means.
This isn’t just a rose tinted view back to the good old days when Ken Tyrrell could knock up an F1 car in the lockup down the road and take on the might of Ferrari. The lord knows those days were just as much about the money and surviving from week to week. But the teams spent money on going racing and a smart engineer could come up with a cleaver widget and suddenly they were winning races.
Now the likes of Redbull have bought up all the top talent and have them grinding away to find all those tenths of a second, and if they can;t find them, they find the loophole that beat the system and pay the best lawyers to argue that it is legal.
Too much money is being concentrated into too few teams. None of the teams trust each other, the midfield teams don’t trust the big boys, the big boys can’t afford to give the little guys a chance. Bernie controls the whole show to make money for himself from what i can tell. Bernie PLC and CVC investors.
Innovation has gone out of the window. Innovation has been stamped on because it gives the little guys a chance.
And don;t think next year will be any different. No, Redbull can afford to build and test a 2014 car. The only glimmer is that Renault will produce a bit of dud and Mercedes or Ferrari will have something special. Ha ha imagine 10 years ago wishing Ferrari could win some races and a championship. We were all so bored of Schumacher winning week after week. We all thought he was unbeatable, turns out is was the team and the car. Stick him in an unremarkable midfielder and he loses and lot of that golden glow doesn’t he.
Anyway. I didn’t really watch the Brazilian race because i couldn’t be bothered to watch Vettel win again, Mark to almost win and some one else join them on the podium.
I’m not even going to bother with a season review I’m afraid. I just don’t care anymore.
oh all right... just a quick one. So in championship wining order ....
1. Vettel, four championships in a row, I guess you have to say he;s the best driver of this generation with the best car and the best team. He Robbed Webber of the Malaysian win and as it turns out he didn’t need to. I don;t think he’s very good under pressure, I think he’s annoying and far too smug.
2 Alonso, once again takes a lacklustre Ferrari and is the best of the rest. Still the best pound for pound driver out there for my money. If he’s been in a Redbull for the last four years he’d have been unstoppable.
3. Webber, when he got sucker punched by Vettel in Malaysia and the team did absolutely nothing about it. He should have smack the smug German on the chin and walked away there and then. As it is he’s off to Porsche to race at Le Mans then makes him a Hero in my book.
4. Hamilton, not a bad year, certainly not his worst. But Lewis likes to take a car and thrash it for all its worth. Having to sit there and be passed by car after car to save the tyres isn’t on his action plan. He lost heart after the surprise win in Hungary and then lost his girlfriend. Maybe next year will be the old Lewis we love to watch.
5. Kimi. Didn’t get paid for delivering Lotus a hat full of points, then got told to get out of the way when he flounced off the Ferrari. Not a classic season for the iceman. Back to Ferrari next year we’ll see how he gets on with Alonso shall we.
6. Nico, came of age this year with plenty of great races, he seemed to try to stay focused for the whole season. Whilst Lewis got the attention, he got on with things and proved that he’s got the talent if the car can deliver. Next year could be a good one for him.
7. Grosjean, really hit his stride this year and announced himself as proper grade a driver. He was the best of the rest to Redbull in the second half of the season (possible tyre related, or Kimi had had enough of not being paid, you decide). I think he’s successfully shaken that accident waiting to happen tag off now, lets see how he goes next year, like Rosberg it could be a good one.
8. Massa, Ferrari finally called it a day and he gets to go and work out his retirement at Williams next year. Williams need him more than he needs them, I think he’s done alright this year and as always he’s got on with things and kept his mouth shut, despite the snipping from the side lines.
9. Button, didn’t really step up and lead the team in the post Hamilton era. but did enough to keep his job for one more year.
10. Hulkenberg. Far and away the best talent without a decent drive. If he doesn’t go to Lotus there will is no justice in this world and it will confirm everything I have come to hate about this sport.
11. Perez, yes, it turns out he is a talent vacuum and i was right all along. The fact Whitmarch has been phoning it up all the other teams trying to off load him and not one has take him, tells you everything you need to know. I fully expect his to turn up in a Caterham or a Marussia next year with all that money of his. But he’s still not worth it.
12. Di Resta, apparently off to Indy car to replace his cousin Francitti or DTM to drive a Merc either way i think it’s a lost to F1. He didn’t really get the break he deserved and it all fell apart in the second half of the season after the tyre change. The team didn’t really do him any favours and him being all moody and glaring at the camera didn’t help himself. McLaren should have taken him to replace Button, but there you go.
13. Sutil, also getting the old heave hoe i believe, unless he can come up with some money. He did alright but it wasn’t anything special was it.
14. Ricciardo, how long will he last at Redbull ? I don’t think he’ll see his contract out to be honest. I think they’ve only taken him because so many people have questioned the Redbull driver program and what the point of it was when they only ever seem to fire them for not being Vettel. He’s all right, but he’s not going to be challenging the German anytime soon is he ? Maybe that's what they want now, a driver that will just do as he’s told and get out of Vettels way without having to be told to move over. I think there are far, far better drivers available right now and Riccy is a very, very lucky boy.
15. Vergne, not as good as Ricciardo, and unlikely to see the rest of his contract out in 2014.
16. Gutierrez, give the lad another year. Needs a bit more race craft and learn to look in his mirrors a bit more. But he did alright, nothing special but nothing particularly bad springs to mind.
17. Bottas YES YES YES YES, he beat Maldonado, and for that I am eternally grateful.
18. hahahahahahahhaha Pastor hahahaha even a half arsed Williams doesn’t want him, even a Williams about to go to the wall and with no money, would rather have a Brazilian with double vision and no money than this sorry excuse for a driver. He’s got no race craft, lucked into a win last year and failed to do anything meaningful since, has bad mouthed the team and driven like an idiot pretty much every time he got behind the wheel. The fact that his money might well take him to Lotus is a travesty in my book. Williams are certainly better off without him.
19. Bianchi, Meh he was better than the rest of the back markers, but didn’t really live up the hype did he. Ferrari certainly don’t think so. lets see if he gets another year.
20. Pic .... nope, i’ve still got nothing. Did he actually race this year ?
21. Kovalainen, suber sub that was a bit soggy and looked like it should have been left on the shelf after close inspection. But he probably did enough to get Pic’s job next year.
22. Van Der Garde, seems to have spent the year complaining about Marussia drivers driving into him or getting in his way. Once he found his feet he was better than Max, dammed with faint praise indeed.
23 finally its Max ‘the chin’ Chilton who was rubbish all year long and consistently 2 laps behind the winner. So was Bianchi, but he’s 19th and Max isn’t. Max has a great name and no talent, his dad has a whole shed load of cash and as Maldonado has proved that can open any door these days. I hope he comes back next year because his happy gormless smiling face at the end of every race always cheered me up. His unfettered ability to be positive about being so last was refreshing and gives hope to those of us who know we a rubbish but if we could just get that big break we’d prove all those doubters wrong. Well done Max, you are an inspiration to all those delusional folk out there who think they have what it takes to be a winner.
