Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
Fan is short for fanatic. Fanaticism is “marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea.” Nowadays there is a distinction between being a fan and a fanatic, but the line between the two can be all too easy to cross. Such was he case this week and test held and the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. Native son Fernando Alonso tested this week for the first time there since rejoining Renault last month, and it didn’t take long for his “fans” to turn into fanatics. Reports surfaced Saturday on Autosport.com stating that fans were, among other things, constantly heckling McLaren, displaying angry banners, and even throwing things at the McLaren cars as they passed. But this not the reason why I decided to write about the Spanish fans. It got worse when the fans decided to make racist chants towards Lewis Hamilton. Autosport.com stated that,
Reports in the Spanish papers suggested that some of the insults against Hamilton even had a racial element - with Marca claiming that shouts of “puto negro” (fucking black) and “negro de mierda” (black shit) were clearly heard, and that large sections of the crowd were involved.
Now it does strike me as odd that this happened now, since there have been 2 tests each at Jerez and Valencia since Alonso returned to Renault. Obviously both are still in Spain and should have produced the same kind of Alonso fans as the ones in Barcelona. However, as some of you may know, the people of Catalunya, the region surrounding Barcelona, tend to march to their own drum, as evidenced by the fact that they have been trying to break away from Spain and create their own autonomous region for the past several decades. Now I know that may be a stretch, but consider this. Barcelona and Jerez are separated by about 800 miles, which is also about the same distance between Chicago and Atlanta. That’s the difference between the heart of the Midwest, and arguably the heart of the South. Those of us in the U.S. know just how different the cultures of Chicago and Atlanta can be.
What’s most odd, and most revolting, is that Hamilton, as far as we know, played no role in the spy scandal that was part of last season. It involved mostly Alonso and Pedro De La Rosa. Judging by the fans reactions as Barcelona, you’d think that Hamilton was the one taking information from Mike Coughlan and using to illegally gain an advantage. Most ironically, the two drivers involved were both Spanish. Beyond that, it was Alonso who made it plain that he was no Hamilton fan. Alonso was the one who basically blackmailed Ron Dennis at Hungary, saying that if he wasn’t given number 1 status, he’d blow the whistle on the spy scandal. Alonso was the one that ran Hamilton off the road at Spa. And Alonso was the one who acted like JV (a whining prick) most of the season. But that wont stop Alonso’s supporters. They won’t let the facts get in the way of a good story.
What’s most upsetting is that the fans at Barcelona were hounding Hamilton simply because he was of a different skin tone than both Alonso and themselves. This was not a joke gone wrong or an attempt to have some fun. This was pure unadulterated racism. It would be one thing if Hamilton had someone undermined Alonso at McLaren, but he didn’t he proved he had just as much of a right to fight for the driver’s title as Alonso did. If Alonso didn’t like that, he could leave and find a weakling to beat up on, and that’s exactly what he found in Renault and Nelson Piquet Jr. In fact, as I stated before, it was 2 Spainards, Alonso and De La Rosa who were the cause of the spy scandal, and it was Alonso who, over the course of the season, became more and more belligerent towards Alonso.
The FIA stated on Monday that sanctions could be imposed, which could include the removal of both races held in Spain on the 2008 calender, the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya, and the European Grand Prix on the newly constructed harbor streets of Valencia. Now I believe it is a bit to soon to go quite that far. This incident occurred over the weekend and hopefully is an isolated incident. However, there are two more 3-day tests planned before the Spanish Grand Prix. The first is from February 25-27, and the second from April 14-16. If another incident occurs despited this new warning from the FIA, I would be saddened, but supportive of the removal of both the Spanish and European Grand Prixs from the 2008 calender. Should that unfortunatly happen, the people of Spain will have no else to blame but the fanatics, not the fans.
Posted in Op-ed, The Y Series | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
A driver may be quick, may have great car control, may make witty remarks in press conferences, and may date a string of underwear models. But the real name of the game is winning races and championships. In the history of the Formula One World Championship so far, only 45 drivers have won five or more Grands Prix. While it is possible for a “number two” driver to hang about on a top team for many seasons and win a handful of races (or more for Coulthard and Rubens), the vast majority of these 45 drivers are the cream of the F1 crop.
What is surprising is just how difficult it is for even a very talented driver to pick up five career victories. The list of drivers who didn’t make it includes Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Mike Hawthorn, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Carlos Pace, Jean Alesi, and Olivier Panis. Most F1 drivers find even a single race win eludes them through their careers. Button and Trulli each have one, but very good drivers such as Nick Heidfeld and Mark Webber do not, even after more than a hundred attempts. Lewis Hamilton is already only one win away from joining the group of 45 and talking his place among a very exclusive group, which is astonishing. Only time will tell if he is a Jim Clark or a Jacques Villeneuve.
Posted in Countdown 2008 | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
I haven’t blogged much since the start of the season. I’m certainly following the season just as intently as I have any other season and I haven’t given up on F1 as someone suggested in an email wondering why I don’t post more items on the blog. To be honest I just haven’t had much to say. This has been an interesting season with a tight championship and the intrigue of a soap opera off the track.
I would say the biggest story this season has been the emergence of Lewis Hamilton as a championship favorite. He burst unto the F1 season after a very successful career in the lower formula including wining the GP2 title last year. From the first race in Australia through last weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix I get asked repeatedly by friends and family if Lewis Hamilton is the real deal or is he just another good driver in a great car. My answer is always the same. Look at how he does against his teammate (he has outperformed his double world champion teammate on several occasions) and just look at the way he drives. I think Hamilton is one of the best pure talented racing drivers we’ve seen since Michael Schumacher burst unto the scene in the 90’s. To my friends and family and anyone else that’ll listen I point out his exceptional braking ability as proof of his massive talent. Don’t get me wrong, he is gifted in almost every aspect of driving a race car but his overtaking skills under heavy braking is second to none and that shows not only physical talent but mental toughness as well. I don’t want to post about the Hamilton Effect and all the hype surrounding this young driver. I just want to leave with a small clip of what he did on the track last year in a GP2 race in Turkey. He spun early in the race and fell to nearly last place but he finished the race in second place. Marvel at the skill to achieve this result.
My favourite move has to be the move for second place toward the end of the clip. Look how far back he comes from to make that move. A lesser driver would have ended up off the track!
Posted in Audio/Video/Pictures | 10 Comments »
Saturday, December 2nd, 2006
So, Hamilton it is then. Good. Now we can get on with our lives.
But I have a fear. Many fears infact, but the point is that I can’t help but worry about poor old Tyler.
Because he must have the worst job in the world.
Now don’t get me wrong, being an F1 driver is just about the most perfect thing anyone can do. I mean the job of being a young hopeful Brit at the wheel of an F1 car.
We were there before. Nigel Mansell. Damon Hill. Even Coulthard looked like he had a chance of being champion once. Then we had Jenson. And now we have Tyler.
Since Damon Hill won the Championship, being a Brit in F1 got exponentially worse. Because now they had an F1 champion for the first time since loooooong, and they were looking for the next one under every rock.
Even though Hill was a good driver, his Championship win was more because of what he drove and not how he drove. And that made him look a lot better than he actually was.
Jenson was a different story. He was being hyped up like you wouldn’t believe before he even had a chance to prove himself. He started in 2000 at Williams, a top 5 team at that time. And he absolutely did not deliver.
So they said, okay, he’s just starting this F1 thing, let’s give him some time to gel. So they did. And 3 years later his performance was better than before, but still no earth shattering things were happening. Was all this faith placed in that young man misplaced? He was definitely not the ‘new Schumacher’ as he was called when he started in F1.
It must be terrible having such high hopes and such pressure on your shoulders when you’re a young lad
just starting in F1. It must be even worse when 5 years down the line, you still have yet to grab your first race win. Granted, he did get 3rd place in the championship in 2004, but realistically he had no hope in hell of finishing any higher at that time. Not with the red guys in front winning absolutely everything, and handing everyone else their asses, race after race.
So Hungary 2006 must have been a relief. After such a long time, he finally got that ‘1st win’ monkey off his back. I shall not analyze that race, because it would mainly prove that even though he won, it was hardly because he was a good driver, but rather, every other good driver failed to finish, and he just there to steal their places(See also : Olivier Panis, Monaco 1996).
But I hope to GOD that Hamilton is all he is cracked up to be. I have seen some of his F2 races and must say I am impressed. That 3-car wide move at Silverstone last year is already a classic. But then again I watched Sato race in F3 and kick everyone’s ass too, so previous results say nothing in F1.
Whether or not he will adapt to the style of F1, will have to do how he reacts to the pressure the British media is putting on him. And on top of that, he’ll always be known as ‘the first black driver in F1′, which adds even more tension. I so, so hope that he will be able to handle it all, and that he is a true racer that can surprise us, and wow the audience with his skill.
But you have to admit, his predecessors, who were all called ‘golden boys’ at their time, did not deliver. Here’s to hoping he will break the streak.
Posted in Op-ed | 6 Comments »
