Donkey of the Race - Singapore

[Jag_Warrior]

Thing is. Lewis must win. Merc team is anwerable to Merc board of directors, which includes trade union representatives. They are going to ask uncomfortable questions about hiring Lewis for a bazillian bucks when Nico can do the job for half the money.

Thing is, Nico can't win the Constructors by himself - and that's where the real money & power comes from... even though the fans tend to follow the WDC more. And once the other teams catch up (next year or whenever), will Nico be able to "do the job"? Mercedes has been in this game for a very long time. Lewis is a proven quantity, while there remains a question mark over Nico (good though he is). So my guess is, they want the absolute best driver pairing they can get. And right now, Lewis is probably one of the two or three drivers on anybody's "must have" list - and these guys get paid. I don't sense that Nico is on that list. Very good driver. But he's not on that short list, IMO.

[Jag_Warrior]

Eddie Jordan. Is it just me or is he really annoying? And if you are going to do the podium interviews get your facts right! LH has led before so this isn't the first time. What an idiot.

Hey now! When I get that unlimited personal loan from Bank of America, Eddie is going to run the F1 team that I'll be buying. We're going to suck in the races. But there are going to be busty babes all around the garage and our hospitality area is going to look like the Playboy Mansion!

To be honest, I really miss the quirky personalities that used to be around F1 - Eddie Jordan and Tom Walkinshaw among them. Yeah, they could be dodgy, crooked and annoying. But they brought a spice to the mix that we no longer have, what with all these stick-up-the-butt corporate types (like Toto Wolff and Ron Dennis) and the whiners & criers (Monisha Kaltenborn chief among that bunch). Thank goodness for Niki Lauda. He's pretty much the last of the Mohicans in that regard.

[Doc Austin]

Sure, but even though Schumacher drove dirty on more than one occasion (remember Monaco '06?) ...............

Monaco 06 isn't even a blip on the radar compared to crashing into people on purpose, or swerving at Mika at the fastest part of the circuit at Spa. Schumacher made a career of chopping, blocking and swerving, but all of that is forgotten because one time he parked his car in the wrong place. People lost their minds over that, but they did not seem to care if he swerved the entire width of a straight to block someone, or frighten them into submission. As many things as Schumacher did that could have easily killed someone, I was surprised so many people wet themselves over what he did at Monaco, which by comparison was essentially harmless.

..........he (Schumacher) had many, many instances of inspired brilliance.

His chopping, blocking and swerving made it difficult for me to enjoy his otherwise brilliant driving.

The sad part is that he didn't need to do it. If he had just raced clean he would have probably won just as much .... maybe even more. I don't believe anyone has ever doubted his speed or talent and race craft, but there are plenty of people who have no stomach for his ethic.

Having said that, Prost and Senna had already set the stage by taking each other out on purpose two years in a row at Suzuka.

That, and I wish Schumacher nothing but a full and speedy recovery.

I have much the same feelings about Ayrton Senna (Suzuka 1990).

Or Prost's in 89.

Senna, Schumacher and Prost......... I truly believe they left today's drivers with a legacy of winning at all costs no matter how much of your integrity you have to throw away.

Not once did Jackie Stewart pull a dirty trick on another driver. Neither did Jim Clark, or Graham Hill. Certainly there were arguments over who did or didn't leave the other guy enough room, or whatever, but we never, ever heard of someone trying to drive their teammate into the pit wall like Senna did to Prost at Estoril in 88. We never saw anyone deliberately crash someone else until Adelaide 94 (or Jerez 97 for the unbelievers). The sporting ethic in F1 has been in the toilet since Estoril 88.

[zako85]

I think there were no outright donkeys. Perez probably is best fit to carry this title for clipping his own wing, and then spreading all the debris that caused a lengthy caution. However, he sort of redeemed himself by passing a train of cars on the last couple of laps.

[anfield5]

After reading Mercedes statement about foriegn matter interfering with Nico's car, and reading what the foreign matter was, Mercedes are not just the Singapore donkey, but are the 2014 donkey kings!!

[Doc Austin]

"Unspecified substance." What does that even mean?

The strange part is that MERCEDES AMG F1
Tweeted that

To clarify, the contaminant was a substance used in normal pre-event servicing of the component.

Am I alone in finding this a bit bizarre?

[AndyL]

"Unspecified substance." What does that even mean?

Am I alone in finding this a bit bizarre?

I know, why so mysterious? Are they anointing their steering columns with goat's blood or something?

It's not just Bernie/FOM/FIA fruit-loopery that's causing F1 to lose touch with the fans. The culture of secrecy in the teams is making a major contribution too.

[Bagwan]

It does seem a bit weird , but I think it must be about some kind of contact cleaner , perhaps one they believe to be better than others are using .
An acid would clean up the contacts , but might erode other parts , if any was left behind .

Giving up the chemical name of the substance could easily give a window into the make-up of the part(s) corroded , and/or , possible interactions with other compounds nearby that may have resulted in a more corrosive situation than was expected .

I don't think it was "Stepney powder" , Doc .

[airshifter]

It does seem a bit weird , but I think it must be about some kind of contact cleaner , perhaps one they believe to be better than others are using .
An acid would clean up the contacts , but might erode other parts , if any was left behind .

Giving up the chemical name of the substance could easily give a window into the make-up of the part(s) corroded , and/or , possible interactions with other compounds nearby that may have resulted in a more corrosive situation than was expected .

I don't think it was "Stepney powder" , Doc .

That's the angle I was thinking. Probably a cleaner, or possibly a dielectric or other substance to protect the contact area.

But you never know, Flavio could be behind one of the companies that makes stuff for other teams. He still wants back into F1, so anything is possible.

[Bagwan]

That's the angle I was thinking. Probably a cleaner, or possibly a dielectric or other substance to protect the contact area.

But you never know, Flavio could be behind one of the companies that makes stuff for other teams. He still wants back into F1, so anything is possible.

Or , Dave Ryan , but he got the wrong car .

Yeah , seems suspicious to so quickly dismiss the conspiracy theory before it even got rolling .