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The 2020 F1 Season

For some reason I could never warm to Nico Rosberg. He came across as a bit slimy to me. I try to never let my likes and dislikes get in the way of my admiration of their racing skills, but it never happened with him.

I’ll assume @IanW thought Mansell was the third type when he dealt with him. I can imagine him being like the worst pilots I’ve had to deal with, and funnily enough he liked being associated with the red arrows. (Universally ridiculed in the RAF).

Anyway, I’ve got to go and strip some Apaches.
 
For some reason I could never warm to Nico Rosberg. He came across as a bit slimy to me. I try to never let my likes and dislikes get in the way of my admiration of their racing skills, but it never happened with him.

I think he found being beaten by Hamilton very difficult to deal with so probably did a few things and said a few things he maybe shouldn't have, but I also think some of the way many think of him is down to how he was portrayed by certain sections of the media. He has less natural talent than Hamilton, but he also has a very analytical mind and is probably more in the ilk of Prost than Senna for instance. The way he closed out the last 4 races of 2016 where he knew second in each race was enough was hugely impressive, many other drivers would have gone for glory and messed it up.

As for Mansell he was a hero of mine, but when I eventually met him I didn't warm to him as much as I had hoped. Still a hugely impressive driver who got to where he got through sheer bloody mindedness as much as talent. His reputation for being difficult was justified though I reckon. Patrick Head once famously said that the best thing to do was to keep Nigel in the car as that way he can't tell you what to do (paraphrasing there) :D

I have met a few of the drivers in my time and was most impressed by Schumacher and Hamilton who were/are both intensely articulate and thoughtful about what they said/say with a refreshing honesty to the way they talk off track and out of the spotlight. Alonso I was distinctly less impressed by which was sad as I rather hoped he was going to very likeable and not like some of the press portray him.
 
Re the earlier comment about Shumacher and Rosberg with Rosberg getting the better of him late in his career. Aside from being late in his career Schumacher as a very hard working driving who tested as much as possible preparing for the next race. This level of testing wasn't remotely possible when he was up against Rosberg so I suspect this is one reason why Rosberg got the upper hand. Some have said the grooved tyres didn't suit either. Another aspect was not being in a competitive car - when Schumacher was way down the filed with little hope of progress this is when he made mistakes - so he lost his focus. We've seen the same with Lewis on occasion though I suspect he would now use such a position as a development session
 
There can surely be no possible reason other than inherent racism in society Tony? I wish I could think of one but Hamilton is a model sportsman, the most successful Britain has produced in a generation, and has shown commitment and exemplary behaviour since childhood.

tis an interesting dynamic for sure. Murray's "anyone but England" gaffe doesn't seem to have harmed his standing any, although rife with racial dynamics.

Both he and Hamilton are also the product of very focused (aka pushy) middle classed vicarious parents channelling them from a very early age.

I like them both for what they are, but arguably Hamilton has competed and achieved for longer at the very top of his game than has Murray. He's also raised that game consistently over the years, where Murray has had his ups and his downs.
 
I am enjoying the HAM discussion and don't have much to add but the impressions (most of us) get as distant fans can be different to the reality. I have a good friend and work colleague who is an accredited F1 photographer and knows many of the mechanics and drivers through his closeness to them. He specialises in close up pictures and spends all his time in the pit lane except the actual race.

As most know, I am no fan of VET but my friend says that he is the nicest driver out there and the most generous with his time with the fans, often staying with them longer than anyone else.

I was a Mansell fan as he was the first driver who started getting success when I was watching initially and he was exciting to watch but I had no idea of his less pleasant elements until much later. I saw a program about him recently in Indy-car and with the benefit of hindsight he really does big himself up at every opportunity and how he overcame adversity at every turn. A bit sad really as he did not need to as he had the skills for sure.

I guess we all like some humility in our racers and if we don't feel we are seeing it we can take against them.
 
As most know, I am no fan of VET but my friend says that he is the nicest driver out there and the most generous with his time with the fans, often staying with them longer than anyone else.

Very true about Vettel, he has a wicked sense of humour too.

This is one of the best interviews from recent years .... Canada GP 2016, Lewis, Seb and the seagulls

 
Mansell spent hours at every meeting with the fans, when he could. It was a non-stop weekend of appearances for corporate sponsors, signing autographs, telly interviews, and a bit of driving. I bet it’s no different now.
 
Mansell spent hours at every meeting with the fans, when he could. It was a non-stop weekend of appearances for corporate sponsors, signing autographs, telly interviews, and a bit of driving. I bet it’s no different now.

I remember that, he did love Mansell Mania and definitely gave plenty of his time.
 
Is it just me or has something just gone wrong with this thread. If I try and get past page six I just get a full page quote from Tony - not that there is anything wrong with that per se! It's just I can't see anything else or contribute in any way. Mods?
 
Is it just me or has something just gone wrong with this thread. If I try and get past page six I just get a full page quote from Tony - not that there is anything wrong with that per se! It's just I can't see anything else or contribute in any way. Mods?

All fine here, latest iOS on iPhone.
 
Page 7 just comprises of this

The 2020 F1 Season

For some reason I could never warm to Nico Rosberg. He came across as a bit slimy to me. I try to never let my likes and dislikes get in the way of my admiration of their racing skills, but it never happened with him.

I think he found being beaten by Hamilton very difficult to deal with so probably did a few things and said a few things he maybe shouldn't have, but I also think some of the way many think of him is down to how he was portrayed by certain sections of the media. He has less natural talent than Hamilton, but he also has a very analytical mind and is probably more in the ilk of Prost than Senna for instance. The way he closed out the last 4 races of 2016 where he knew second in each race was enough was hugely impressive, many other drivers would have gone for glory and messed it up.

As for Mansell he was a hero of mine, but when I eventually met him I didn't warm to him as much as I had hoped. Still a hugely impressive driver who got to where he got through sheer bloody mindedness as much as talent. His reputation for being difficult was justified though I reckon. Patrick Head once famously said that the best thing to do was to keep Nigel in the car as that way he can't tell you what to do (paraphrasing there)
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I have met a few of the drivers in my time and was most impressed by Schumacher and Hamilton who were/are both intensely articulate and thoughtful about what they said/say with a refreshing honesty to the way they talk off track and out of the spotlight. Alonso I was distinctly less impressed by which was sad as I rather hoped he was going to very likeable and not like some of the press portray him.

If I've done anything wrong, please do let me know by message as I cannot read the thread. :)

Bob, issues have happened three times in a week - all on this site - and I've never had issues on any site in maybe 20 years.
 
Have to say I find this notion that Rosberg was nowhere near the same level as rather fanciful. Rosberg (IMO FWIW) was a lot better driver than many gave him credit for.
Rosberg was generally very fast over any given lap, but he was not fast in a race, unless he was in free air. He was very poor at overtaking, so whenever he was out of position on the grid, for whatever reason, he struggled to get through the midfield, whereas if Hamilton was out of position he had no problem getting back to the front. With overtaking being an important part of racing, I have to say that if you are poor at overtaking, it will cost you many championship points and possibly race wins.

During their 3 years together at Merc:

Lewis won 32 races, Nico won 22
Lewis was on the podium 55 times, Nico 50 times
Lewis out qualified Nico 42 times and Nico out qualified Lewis 36 times

That is what a significantly better race driver does.

He kept Schumacher honest and much of the time was very close to Hamilton.
Schumacher was well past his best when he drove for Mercedes. Also he did not have the benefit of being the number one and hence everything was not optimised in his favour, which in the past made him look even better than he was. Lewis has done his winning with a joint number one status.

In summary, you get points for where you finish the race, not where you qualify, so not a fanciful view, but an objective one.
 
I think he found being beaten by Hamilton very difficult to deal with so probably did a few things and said a few things he maybe shouldn't have, but I also think some of the way many think of him is down to how he was portrayed by certain sections of the media. He has less natural talent than Hamilton, but he also has a very analytical mind and is probably more in the ilk of Prost than Senna for instance. The way he closed out the last 4 races of 2016 where he knew second in each race was enough was hugely impressive, many other drivers would have gone for glory and messed it up.

Nico was much more analytical than Lewis. Nico would drive the simulator a lot, whereas Lewis wouldn't. Lewis would get Anthony Davidson to develop setups etc for him. Nico was also easier to work with and had more of an engineering brain. But in the end Lewis was just better at racing.

I have met a few of the drivers in my time and was most impressed by Schumacher and Hamilton who were/are both intensely articulate and thoughtful about what they said/say with a refreshing honesty to the way they talk off track and out of the spotlight. Alonso I was distinctly less impressed by which was sad as I rather hoped he was going to very likeable and not like some of the press portray him.

When working in a team you tend to see a different side to the drivers and generally I have found them pretty easy to work with.
 
Fixed. I'm just not naturally talented when it comes to digital media - I am persistent however :)

Again Ian (and apologies if you already answered) is there a driver, you would put up against Hamilton, as someone who could consistently extract so much from his package over the course of a season?
 
When working in a team you tend to see a different side to the drivers and generally I have found them pretty easy to work with.

Have you had any dealings with Lando Norris? I follow him on social media and he definitely knows how to use that platform. He's as funny as they come on there but does seem like a good lad. Will be interesting to see how he develops this year.
 
Have you had any dealings with Lando Norris? I follow him on social media and he definitely knows how to use that platform. He's as funny as they come on there but does seem like a good lad. Will be interesting to see how he develops this year.

No never worked with him. The younger drivers seem to be more media aware nowadays, whereas the older drivers, perhaps because they have already delivered, tend to not be interested.
 


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