I'm sort of not a fan of Nick Heidfeld. I don't hate the guy or think he is a horrid race driver, but for years now I am always amazed that he is continually able to find drives in F1. When Kubica had his accident this winter I was kind of excited for Senna, as I wanted to see him in a decent car since I am still mildly skeptical of his ability and driving a decent enough black and gold "Lotus" Renault just like his old uncle did back in the day, seemed like a perfect opportunity for everybody. I couldn't quite understand why Renault insisted on having an experienced driver other then for car development due to the lack of in-season testing and maybe as some kind of progress marker for Petrov? On the flip side, I imagine Renault knows that their neither their car and/or their car with Heidfeld behind the wheel are good enough to win a race this year, so why not take some Brazillian money and see if Senna Jr. is any good. I strongly feel that Renault kind of wrote this season off the second they found out about Kubica so this really would have been a good year to develop potential talent such as Senna - as there is no way for him to test - Renault could have and should have done this the other way around, had Senna start the year and if he didn't perform up to their standards replace him with old Heidfeld - but doing it the other way around seems silly even to me for a variety of reasons legal and strategically.
Either way, I hope Senna is able to prove himself and I hope Heidfeld doesn't bitch, whine, or sue too much over this. The guy has been around in F1 for over 10 years and done almost 200 races. He's 34 years old and has never won a race. He should be thanking the heavens for the races he received this year as they were a gift more than anything else.
Showing posts with label Nick Heidfeld. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick Heidfeld. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Hungary For More Action!
+The Hungarian GP can even some how manage to be a tad bit boring in the wet! Now don't get me wrong, today's race was quite decent but there was a very solid lull there in the middle of the race for awhile. I actually nodded off for a few laps, luckily I missed nothing.
+How interesting it is that in only the second track that Button has twice conquered, the conditions were amazingly similar to those in which he clinched his maiden GP win back in 2006. I guess that is pretty cool considering it was also his 200'th race. I was really surprised when SpeedTV was doing a little career retrospective on Button and they said it was in 2003 that JB had that heavy shunt in practice at Monaco... That kinda made me feel old as I think that was the first season I watched religiously from start to finish, every practice, quali & race. I remember when Sergio Perez had his bizarrely similar crash to Button's this year at Monaco and they showed them both - I recalled being wowed JB's was from '03. I must have put it out of my mind though, considering I was once again wowed today by how long ago that was!
+While I'm glad Jenson won, I once again felt The Brown Possum's strife and felt he ran a solid race considering the adversity he faced making 6 stops or something outrageous, along with that spin and all.
+I swear I heard today was only the 2'nd time that the Hungarian GP was wet and/or damp, which makes it even more odd that these "rare" conditions had the same winner. I also think I heard that with something like 186 million pit stops, that this race officially had the most pit stops ever, taking the crown from another race that happened this year. What I would like to know, is what race previously held the record prior to the Pirelli era?
+Lastly - Two things I found humorous today was when Heidfeld's car burst in to flames, the manner in which he exited. Looks like the wet car almost caused him to slip. I am glad he and his beard did not eat shit and fall. That would have been really embarrassing. The other amusing thing I noted was when Massa kissed the wall with his rear wing there was a dude with a camera like right there but he was walking AWAY with his back turned to the happening, which was really odd cos it seemed like it was going on VERY close to him. Maybe he had ear plugs in... but I couldn't help but wondering why he didn't hear a small Formula 1 car sliding towards him and the tire barrier at a mildly decent speed.
+How interesting it is that in only the second track that Button has twice conquered, the conditions were amazingly similar to those in which he clinched his maiden GP win back in 2006. I guess that is pretty cool considering it was also his 200'th race. I was really surprised when SpeedTV was doing a little career retrospective on Button and they said it was in 2003 that JB had that heavy shunt in practice at Monaco... That kinda made me feel old as I think that was the first season I watched religiously from start to finish, every practice, quali & race. I remember when Sergio Perez had his bizarrely similar crash to Button's this year at Monaco and they showed them both - I recalled being wowed JB's was from '03. I must have put it out of my mind though, considering I was once again wowed today by how long ago that was!
+While I'm glad Jenson won, I once again felt The Brown Possum's strife and felt he ran a solid race considering the adversity he faced making 6 stops or something outrageous, along with that spin and all.
+I swear I heard today was only the 2'nd time that the Hungarian GP was wet and/or damp, which makes it even more odd that these "rare" conditions had the same winner. I also think I heard that with something like 186 million pit stops, that this race officially had the most pit stops ever, taking the crown from another race that happened this year. What I would like to know, is what race previously held the record prior to the Pirelli era?
+Lastly - Two things I found humorous today was when Heidfeld's car burst in to flames, the manner in which he exited. Looks like the wet car almost caused him to slip. I am glad he and his beard did not eat shit and fall. That would have been really embarrassing. The other amusing thing I noted was when Massa kissed the wall with his rear wing there was a dude with a camera like right there but he was walking AWAY with his back turned to the happening, which was really odd cos it seemed like it was going on VERY close to him. Maybe he had ear plugs in... but I couldn't help but wondering why he didn't hear a small Formula 1 car sliding towards him and the tire barrier at a mildly decent speed.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Death Rides, Devil Horns, and guys on their way out... or already gone!
This next piece of Microsoft Paint will probably land me in hell, and I call it
"Barrichello's '94 Imola (near) Death Ride and The Devil Horns"
Yup. He's giving the old Devil Horns during his hellacious crash at Imola back in 1994, which is pretty hardcore.
I find it odd that old Rubinho is getting so much coverage in my blog as of late, considering I don't particularly think too much of him one way or another, other than I like him more than most of the old guys still kicking around F1 that won't leave. With that said, I think I shall take a moment to speak about drivers who I wish would already leave F1 or have raced their last race.
So, speaking of such it seems as though Turdsy Fisichella has been given his walking papers being that Mini Piquet will probably race with The Fern at Renault, and purportedly Heikki will move on over to Alonso's vacated seat at McLaren. At least this is what I have read, and I do hope it is the case, because I'm only against the promising Finn being moved to another team if it is a lesser team than his current one. Moving to McLaren wouldn't be a horrid deal and I could live with this.
So it looks like Fisi is out of F1. Good riddence. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy as a person but I think he's a truly unspectacular racer and a slight whiner. I remember back in 2003 or maybe 2004 when there was talk of Schumi retiring that Fisi went to the press literally begging Ferrari to sign him. It was at that point that I realized this guy wasn't good for much other than delivering Jordan Grand Prix their last race win. Why not show on the track yer worth the Scuderia's time. After being brought to Renault to replace Trulli/Villeneuve in 2005 he was outclassed by Alonso, and again in 2006. Fernie left for 2007 and Fisi had the team to himself and did nothing with it. Sure, the car was kind of a turd this year, but it wasn't the previous two years when he did next to nothing with the machine.
Nick Heidfeld and his unspectacular beard look to be safe because for some reason people still think he has some chance of doing something with himself. Sure he scored 61 points to The Kube's 39, but that is not a fantastic representation, considering Kubica had 3 retirements and 1 missed race due to injury, whereas Heidfeld only had two retirements. Either way, I do concede that Nick was quicker than The Kube this year. No denying that, just Heidfeld has been kicking around in F1 for 7 seasons, making a total of 132 starts, while The Kube has raced just 1.3 seasons, making only 22 starts... so Heidfeld better be quicker. I just think Heidfeld is a solid-to-mediocre driver at best.
Moving along, I wonder what is going to become of Jarno Trulli and his massive neck? Jarno is another one of those guys that is probably on his way out. While he has a valid contract for 2008, due to the uncertain future of Alonso, Toyota have seemed to be entertaining the idea of buying him out of his contract which could leave him marooned. The way I see it is that Toyota should let Jarno stick around for another year. They have never given him a great car, so therefore have nothing lost by keeping him around the paddock for yet another year. Besides, what else is he going to do with that tree trunk of a neck?
Ralph Schumacher on the other hand, I can understand why they did not retain his services. However, if all Ralphie was asking for was to keep any prize money won/earned and for Toyota to take care of travel expenses, then Toyota should have kept him around for another year, being as with Jarno, Toyota have never really ponied up a fantastic car and we know Ralph is capable of winning races... but I imagine his proposal to them was to halve his salary, which would still be $10 or $11 million a year, which is not exactly a bargain, even if you are the world's most prosperous car maker. I suppose next year will be the first Schumacherless year since 1991.
David Coulthard deserves another year or three with Red Balls considering he purportedly helped engineer Adrian Newey's entrance to the team and as of yet, Ade hasn't yet spat out one of his classic designs. While DC will never win a championship, he's still a solid racer and in the twilight of his career, yet still producing strong results with what he has been given. I mean, he out performed The Webb, whom is another driver I'm not too sure about, yet I shant talk shit upon since he always ends up in the wrong car at the wrong time, though if he doesn't do something soon, I will start hating on him.
Wurz retired, which was a smart move. I have already addressed this subject though in previous enteries.
Then there's the guy who keeps popping up in all my blog entries like he was my favorite friggin driver or something... Mr. Rubens Barrichello. I like Rubens, I will admit this. The guy has had an interesting career, and was Michael Schumacher's ultimate bitch. Sure, if he had not been at Ferrari he probably would have never won a race and have been out of F1 a long time ago, but here he is. He is currently the most experienced driver on the grid, the only current driver to have raced with Senna, and in 2008 will have raced in more GP's than any other driver ever. This year was Barrichello's worst season ever, considering he scored not one point, and scored 2 points back in his rookie season in 1993. This was namely due to Honda producing possibly the shittiest car on the grid. Due to this abortion of a car, Rubens was rewarded with one last contract. It's damn near impossible he will have a worse year than this one, and can leave the sport at the end of 2008 as the guy who raced longer than all others.
"Barrichello's '94 Imola (near) Death Ride and The Devil Horns"
Yup. He's giving the old Devil Horns during his hellacious crash at Imola back in 1994, which is pretty hardcore.
I find it odd that old Rubinho is getting so much coverage in my blog as of late, considering I don't particularly think too much of him one way or another, other than I like him more than most of the old guys still kicking around F1 that won't leave. With that said, I think I shall take a moment to speak about drivers who I wish would already leave F1 or have raced their last race.
So, speaking of such it seems as though Turdsy Fisichella has been given his walking papers being that Mini Piquet will probably race with The Fern at Renault, and purportedly Heikki will move on over to Alonso's vacated seat at McLaren. At least this is what I have read, and I do hope it is the case, because I'm only against the promising Finn being moved to another team if it is a lesser team than his current one. Moving to McLaren wouldn't be a horrid deal and I could live with this.
So it looks like Fisi is out of F1. Good riddence. Don't get me wrong, I like the guy as a person but I think he's a truly unspectacular racer and a slight whiner. I remember back in 2003 or maybe 2004 when there was talk of Schumi retiring that Fisi went to the press literally begging Ferrari to sign him. It was at that point that I realized this guy wasn't good for much other than delivering Jordan Grand Prix their last race win. Why not show on the track yer worth the Scuderia's time. After being brought to Renault to replace Trulli/Villeneuve in 2005 he was outclassed by Alonso, and again in 2006. Fernie left for 2007 and Fisi had the team to himself and did nothing with it. Sure, the car was kind of a turd this year, but it wasn't the previous two years when he did next to nothing with the machine.
Nick Heidfeld and his unspectacular beard look to be safe because for some reason people still think he has some chance of doing something with himself. Sure he scored 61 points to The Kube's 39, but that is not a fantastic representation, considering Kubica had 3 retirements and 1 missed race due to injury, whereas Heidfeld only had two retirements. Either way, I do concede that Nick was quicker than The Kube this year. No denying that, just Heidfeld has been kicking around in F1 for 7 seasons, making a total of 132 starts, while The Kube has raced just 1.3 seasons, making only 22 starts... so Heidfeld better be quicker. I just think Heidfeld is a solid-to-mediocre driver at best.
Moving along, I wonder what is going to become of Jarno Trulli and his massive neck? Jarno is another one of those guys that is probably on his way out. While he has a valid contract for 2008, due to the uncertain future of Alonso, Toyota have seemed to be entertaining the idea of buying him out of his contract which could leave him marooned. The way I see it is that Toyota should let Jarno stick around for another year. They have never given him a great car, so therefore have nothing lost by keeping him around the paddock for yet another year. Besides, what else is he going to do with that tree trunk of a neck?
Ralph Schumacher on the other hand, I can understand why they did not retain his services. However, if all Ralphie was asking for was to keep any prize money won/earned and for Toyota to take care of travel expenses, then Toyota should have kept him around for another year, being as with Jarno, Toyota have never really ponied up a fantastic car and we know Ralph is capable of winning races... but I imagine his proposal to them was to halve his salary, which would still be $10 or $11 million a year, which is not exactly a bargain, even if you are the world's most prosperous car maker. I suppose next year will be the first Schumacherless year since 1991.
David Coulthard deserves another year or three with Red Balls considering he purportedly helped engineer Adrian Newey's entrance to the team and as of yet, Ade hasn't yet spat out one of his classic designs. While DC will never win a championship, he's still a solid racer and in the twilight of his career, yet still producing strong results with what he has been given. I mean, he out performed The Webb, whom is another driver I'm not too sure about, yet I shant talk shit upon since he always ends up in the wrong car at the wrong time, though if he doesn't do something soon, I will start hating on him.
Wurz retired, which was a smart move. I have already addressed this subject though in previous enteries.
Then there's the guy who keeps popping up in all my blog entries like he was my favorite friggin driver or something... Mr. Rubens Barrichello. I like Rubens, I will admit this. The guy has had an interesting career, and was Michael Schumacher's ultimate bitch. Sure, if he had not been at Ferrari he probably would have never won a race and have been out of F1 a long time ago, but here he is. He is currently the most experienced driver on the grid, the only current driver to have raced with Senna, and in 2008 will have raced in more GP's than any other driver ever. This year was Barrichello's worst season ever, considering he scored not one point, and scored 2 points back in his rookie season in 1993. This was namely due to Honda producing possibly the shittiest car on the grid. Due to this abortion of a car, Rubens was rewarded with one last contract. It's damn near impossible he will have a worse year than this one, and can leave the sport at the end of 2008 as the guy who raced longer than all others.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Nick Heidfeld's Beard
Nick Heidfeld brought something to Formula One this year that had been sorely missed for a good long time: a beard.
For quite awhile Eddie Jordan was the face-furriest man in F1 with his goatee. Eventually Paul Stoddart and his beard entered the picture. Then there was Bobby Rahal and Dr. Mario Theissen with their mustaches, but those haven't been fashionable in years, though I must say Mario's is a very pleasant mustache in a Ned Flanders sort of way. However, these were team principals and engine guys... not actual drivers. Sure, every now and then a driver would show up unshaven, but nobody has had a dedicated beard for a long time.
Last year DC started sporting a light salt and pepper goatee, which was a step in the right direction, yet he kept it too neat. Still, it is progress. This year Nick Heidfeld brought an actual beard to the track and has kept it all year.
Even though it isn't a great beard like those of the 1970's, it is still a beard none the less. Patchy and thin as it is, I respect it. However, it looks as though Jenson Button has been sticking with some facial hair, maybe even considering taking the fight to Quick Nick. While Button's beard is more in the vein of a goatee with a chin strap, it can still be considered a beard. I feel that if he sticks with it over the winter and lets it grow in a bit further that by the start of the 2008 season he could replace Heidfeld as the ultimate beard in Formula One. The only thing to consider are the wild cards who currently are not sporting facial hair and are always clean shaven. For all we know a Jarno Truli or Rubens Barrichello or even the young Nico Rosberg could show up with a mane of beard and wow us all shaming Nick and Jenson so badly that they shave theirs!
For quite awhile Eddie Jordan was the face-furriest man in F1 with his goatee. Eventually Paul Stoddart and his beard entered the picture. Then there was Bobby Rahal and Dr. Mario Theissen with their mustaches, but those haven't been fashionable in years, though I must say Mario's is a very pleasant mustache in a Ned Flanders sort of way. However, these were team principals and engine guys... not actual drivers. Sure, every now and then a driver would show up unshaven, but nobody has had a dedicated beard for a long time.
Last year DC started sporting a light salt and pepper goatee, which was a step in the right direction, yet he kept it too neat. Still, it is progress. This year Nick Heidfeld brought an actual beard to the track and has kept it all year.
Even though it isn't a great beard like those of the 1970's, it is still a beard none the less. Patchy and thin as it is, I respect it. However, it looks as though Jenson Button has been sticking with some facial hair, maybe even considering taking the fight to Quick Nick. While Button's beard is more in the vein of a goatee with a chin strap, it can still be considered a beard. I feel that if he sticks with it over the winter and lets it grow in a bit further that by the start of the 2008 season he could replace Heidfeld as the ultimate beard in Formula One. The only thing to consider are the wild cards who currently are not sporting facial hair and are always clean shaven. For all we know a Jarno Truli or Rubens Barrichello or even the young Nico Rosberg could show up with a mane of beard and wow us all shaming Nick and Jenson so badly that they shave theirs!
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