The King is Dead, Long Live The King

[LTC8K6]

Well then how do you explain Alonso beating Piquet in nearly every race and in every qualify despite the same car.

How come Button won 6 out of 8 races and Barricello has never been able to match his speed despite the same car.

While the car is still one of the deciding factors, it's the driver that has to actually win.
The fact that each team has 2 cars really shows you the quality of a driver.

Barrichello just soundly beat Button, and Piquet and Alonso are not in the same class as drivers.

Also, Barrichello had beaten Button before, but gave up the spot to Button.

Barrichello is also a dinosaur compared to Button.

Teams have a #1 driver and that driver gets the better car. No 2 cars run the same.

 

[mk52]

In any case my point was that driver still plays a very important role and that even with the best car you still need a gifted driver to win.

Also while I don't believe that the cars are any different between team mates, I do believe that different drivers are better at setting up the balance of the car to suit their needs than others.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

it's always been 60% car, 40% driver. that is the unofficial ratio the sport has intended for decades, because it is a team sport.

Never heard of any such ratio in my life.

we decided you weren't ready to hear it until now.

 

[GoatMonkey]

Originally posted by: mk52
Well then how do you explain Alonso beating Piquet in nearly every race and in every qualify despite the same car.
How come Button won 6 out of 8 races and Barricello has never been able to match his speed despite the same car.

While the car is still one of the deciding factors, it's the driver that has to actually win.
The fact that each team has 2 cars really shows you the quality of a driver.

Alonso and Piquet are in the same car. Alonso is known as being one of the best at car setup. On top of that, he is a far superior driver. Piquet is on the edge of being fired. It's too bad that Alonso is such a jackass, because he's still one of the best drivers out there. I just hope he doesn't end up in a Ferrari at some point.

 

[LTC8K6]

we decided you weren't ready to hear it until now.

You gotta' kill me now, right?

 

[GreenGhost]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

Barrichello is also a dinosaur compared to Button.

Teams have a #1 driver and that driver gets the better car. No 2 cars run the same.

I don't think they get better cars, but the moment one performs better, he gets the support for the driver's championship. They also want to minimize friction within the team, e.g.: Vettel being told he was slower than Webber in Turkey. Now what? Vettel is #1?

Piquet still has its job because Brazil is the only large market for Renault to expand in the near future; they've invested heavily there, so it's beneficial from the pov of marketing. He'll never threat Alonso, so the team is in peace for now. He'll get the boot sooner or later. He'd be successful in the US, provided he's not such a snob like his father appeared to be.

F1 in the US has always been a frustrating business. Like in any other sport, international competition has always been downplayed by the media, unless the US is totally dominant. Autosport in US is so strong that F1 will always be a niche sport. Nascar sucked some energy from open wheel racing, but sport cars and endurance are doing very well, with ALMS and Rolex Series, which give jobs to many of the European. The brands and companies that support F1 are somewhat out of reach of the masses, and the lack of American drivers doesn''t help either. A successful American team is even less likely. It just takes one Alonso, Kubica or Fittipaldi to put a country on the map in the F1 world.

 

[foghorn67]

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: ElFenix
doesn't frank williams have practically all the good drivers under contract?

That's Sir Frank Williams to you.

and no, he doesn't. over the years, he has had some of the greats, tho.

He had one of the most dominating seasons under his belt with Mansell/Piquet.

 

[GreenGhost]

I think the teams are primarily showing unity. Of course it's possible to organize a breakway series, even if Europe-centered in the first (maybe only) year. Countries or venues that lost races may want a comeback (Austria, Portugal, Suzuka, and heck, Silverstone), and provide some subsidy.

The problem would be the sea of contracts that tie all the players. F1 without the top teams would not be attractive. Canada is waiting, other venues complained in the past that investments are not feasible without multi-year contracts, and Bernie is always threatening to take F1 away from established venues to some distant country.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: The Boston Dangler

Originally posted by: foghorn67

Originally posted by: ElFenix
doesn't frank williams have practically all the good drivers under contract?

That's Sir Frank Williams to you.

and no, he doesn't. over the years, he has had some of the greats, tho.

He had one of the most dominating seasons under his belt with Mansell/Piquet.

in the early and mid 90's, the williams car was untouchable. strong car + strong driver = domination.

Originally posted by: LTC8K6

we decided you weren't ready to hear it until now.

You gotta' kill me now, right?

when you find the black rose, you will have 24 hours to put your affairs in order.

 

[The Boston Dangler]

this just in:
the war is over (for now)
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2009/6/9551.html