'Honda To Blame For Aguri's Downfall'

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Monday 5th May 2008

While some PF1ers reckons Nick Fry and Honda are doing the dirty on Super Aguri, others reckons it's just business and of course there is the huge debt Super Aguri already owe Honda.

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What Exactly Is Fry's Problem?
I'm going to keep it short. Just like most readers, I probably don't know everything going on but a sad pattern to recent stories about Super Aguri has emerged in my opinion.

That's the fact that A) Nick Fry obviously has some sort of personal issue with Super Aguri and B) Nick Fry probably needs to be taken out back and have his attitude adjusted. What's his problem?

If I was Super Aguri, I would seek legal recourse for denial of access to Istanbul against Nick himself, not Honda. aka him pay for a lawyer, and pay for damages out of his own incompetent pocket. Make Nick defend his stupid position.

Why is Formula 1 wanting me to start feeling like slapping some people in the back of the head?

Honda will never be ANYTHING, until Nick is gone. Ross Brawn anyone?
Bill Grogan

Shame On Honda
What kind of morons are in Honda?!

They set up SAF1 for Taku's sake, they give them all just to survive and now that they can't squeeze money out of them (their investors) they will just sink them.

Poor show from Honda... That is why most people will never cheer on a Honda! Now I will hate them even more!

We need privateers in F1 (Bernie do something)!!!

Long live Aguri san... Hope Honda never wins a GP again... Shame on them!!!
Matjaz Piskur, Slovenia, EU

Honda Aren't The Ones At Fault
You can't really blame Honda for not letting Super Aguri race in Turkey - they owe Honda millions in unpaid engine bills.

How would you like it if someone owed you millions, didn't pay up but still expected you to provide them with more whatever and with little sign that you may actually ever be paid back?

Sorry but that's not how you do business.

So long Aguri, you time was short and forgettable!
Julian

Barcelona Team-Mate Wars - Give Us A Break
For many years I have been a fan of David Coulthard, but his less than respectable qualifying abilities continue to handicap his race results.

I continue to regard his race-driving highly, but not his current race-attitude that continually takes himself out of a race because he doesn't accept the realities of mixing it with the inexperienced back-markers.

It's not a matter of "blame" but a matter of expecting a highly gifted and experienced driver to understand a race lasts 2 hours, and that there are no prizes for foolishly defending your position at the expense of the inevitable crash, and someone of Coulthards ability and experience should be able to hold a back-marker up to the point of being taken out.

I blame the highly experienced driver for these unnecessary crashes, regardless of whose fault it may be - AND how dare Team-Mate Wars offer excuses on David's behalf, to justify current relativities to the exceptional performances of Mark Webber.
Roger Payne, Australia

Ant Gets The Point?
I raised this point with you last year and I see you're at it again. How the hell does Davidson get the team-mate wars' point when he didn't even finish the Spanish GP and Takuma who finished the GP gets zero. Last year Takuma got points for the team, Davidson got nothing yet you picked Davidson as the better driver.

I would love an explanation of this decision and a correction as soon as possible.
Dharmesh

That Safety Car Rule
Undoubtedly the 'Safety Car' rule is unfair. However, I have yet to see any suggestions for a better way! All I see are complaints. Don't complain unless you can come up with a better idea.

Although the rule is not ideal, the possibility of a driver losing some points is infinitely preferable to someone being injured or killed in a crowded pit lane.

My only idea isn't ideal but for what it's worth, here it is: Simply remove the instant 'stop-go' penalty and make a decision after the race. Then anyone stopping during a 'pits closed' period would have the opportunity of later proving that they would have otherwise run dry. If they can prove it, they avoid punishment. If they can't, they are given a retrospective time penalty similar to that of a 'stop-go'.
Leigh Woolford, Wales

Ignorance, Thy Name Is Jock Hiddlestone
Jock Hiddleston, Wantage Oxforshire. You mention Ferrari and the pit-lane closure rule implying that Ferrari oppose the rule change as they have never suffered due to it. Just thought I'd point out to you that Ferrari did indeed fall foul of this rule and suffer. It happened in Montreal last season as you would have known had you not had your anti-red tinted glasses on or had you been a fan long enough to remember that incident...

I for one can't understand why everything that anyone feels is wrong in F1 instantly gets laid at Ferrari's doorstep by all the Johnny come latelys. The new F1 fan may have added to the viewership and the revenues, but the average IQ and knowledge on display seems to get worse with each passing race.

BTW, isn't there a Mailbox Compiler here who could perhaps correct such idiots when they exhibit such ignorance or idiocy?
Mike

...I just want to send a short response to the letter written by Jock Hiddleston, Wantage Oxforshire who seems to think that nothing will be done with the safety car rule until Ferrari are harmed by it.

Apparently he must have only started watching F1 this year or his memory is shorter than mine (and I didn't think that could happen to anyone). Or has he just chosen to block out Canada 2007? Massa was DQ'd because of the red light on in the pit lane. Not quite the same as Heidfeld's stop and go penalty, but at least Nick was able to continue the race and had a chance at points.

This has happened to numerous drivers since the rules were changed last year and many fans and F1 bigwigs have complained about it. Why it has continued is beyond anyone's guess, but I don't think anyone wants to see a championship decided because one of the contenders was penalized under those rules.

I bet if that had happened to Hamilton last year, the rules would have been changed (like other things were to try and benefit him). Some of us, and not just Ferrari fans, are tired of these people who think everything is changed/bent to favor Ferrari. Talk about some people wearing red glasses. Many antis are more obsessed about Ferrari than Tifosi are.

And since I am writing this, I just want to chuckle/laugh/guffaw at those who complained that the McLaren grid penalty at Malaysia was all done to help Ferrari, even though that penalty had been in force for many seasons and has caught out many drivers and the fact that the McLarens were the only slow drivers who insisted on staying on the race line.

Anyway, I think some people should try to put their brains in gear before opening their mouths. Might save them from foot in mouth disease and keep them from looking like utter fools.
Brenda Clem, Tifosi forever

And While We're On The Subject
I struggle sometimes to follow some of the mindless posts on your website, of course a British channel is going to give greater coverage to one of its own, German TV is well known to have run endless hours of Schumacher full (and biased I'm sure) coverage during his fantastic career, in fact we were unable to listen to Michael before a race because he had a contract with the incumbent German broadcaster

I cannot believe the stick that Hamilton is getting in only his 21st race!! I am sure that he has not asked ITV to cover him in such a detailed and fawning way, but lets face it he is a fantastic prospect for the future and he is British...why shouldn't we be proud of him? Is he a work in progress, absolutely; were any of the drivers who have ever graced the sport been the finished article by the time they are 23??? no.. and frankly anyone who believes they could be is undoubtedly a mindless idiot who has no understanding or appreciation of the skill and technical complexity of this sport.

I pride myself on being a Formula one fan, a proper Formula one fan who enjoys and has the open-mindedness to actually appreciate the massive talent that all these drivers possess, not to tie myself up with petty uninformed swipes at drivers because of their nationality or what colour overalls they wear. We should all be pleased that Hamilton has arrived, not only can he drive the wheels off an F1 car but he is extremely articulate, and is a fantastic role model for youngsters everywhere.

Out of the current crop of drivers it is plain that their are a number of superstars, either fully fledged or soon to be, they all seem to be very different in personality and style.

I would suggest that the most complete drivers out their currently are Alonso and Raikkonen. Alonso is a brilliant technician behind the wheel, preferring slight understeer to oversteer which is the opposite of Raikkonen who seems to love the new non TC rules. Personality wise these two are poles apart also, when Alonso entered F1 he seemed to have a warm, frank and engaging personality, however over the last 2 seasons he has shown some fragility with his insecure comments about team preferences at both Renault and McLaren; he seems to have lost the fun. I would love to see him get that back as he is a better driver than he is currently showing. Raikkonen is probably the fastest of the lot on out and out pace, is the deserved current world champion and doesn't seem to be fazed by any team / teammate shenanigans. He is seen at times as being a little passionless but you only have to see him drive the car to dispel that rumour. Oh and I'd rather listen to Alonso in a press conference!

Next up is probably the Rosberg, Massa, Hamilton, Vettel, Button, Kubica gaggle, not a great deal to choose between these honestly but some have greater potential as they gain greater experience. My choices to join the Alonso, Raikkonen partnership are Hamilton, Vettel and Kubica. They all show that extra something that is needed to get to the very top.

All the top drivers have shown an aire of arrogance at times, Schumi, Senna, Hakkinen, Prost, Alonso, Stewart, Moss, Fangio, Andretti... et all. Don't expect the new crop to be any different.

I find comments from the likes of Ed Garirdo, Ned Collins and Esteban Garcia in this thread to be so uninformed and so far from reality it is not believable(do you actually watch F1???), I think Alonso is massively talented and one of the greatest champions of all time (after all he won his championships when the Lord god Schumacher was still in the house) but I very much doubt that he could have led as grandee a team as McLaren in his second season without at times taking the wrong direction (That's what the team are their for after all!). The driver is only one of an average of 1000 employees for all of the large teams and we all know from our own experiences that we all know more at 25 than at 20, or for that matter 30 over 25.

Give these youngsters the time they need to gain a modicum of experience before you make your judgements, one of the all time greats Nigel Mansell didn't win his first grand prix until he'd been in the sport for 5 years and he regularly diced with Senna and Prost. (sometimes even beat them) so don't tell me that anyone can judge a driver after 21 races

I think it's about time that some contributors started watching F1 with out their blinkers on and realised that the next few years will undoubtedly bring us some fantastic races and championships. For Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet, Rosberg, Lauda, era read Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Kubica, Vettel era.

Stop being petty and embarrassing, look forward to the next 10 years of outstanding talent and fabulous entertainment.
Lance Myhill

So Danica Wants A F1 Test
Somebody please tell Danica that there are no ovals in F1.
Keith Colhoun, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada

Bravo Ferrari
After watching the race I was able to draw a few conclusions from the race:

From this point on Raikkonen only has one rival, himself.
There was not miraculous comeback from Renault it was only light fuel for qualy.
As someone already said, if the Valencia track probes to be a major success in terms of show for spectators and TV audience, there will be no point on having this track, it should remain for testing purposes only, personally is the race that I feel less attracted to watch in front of the Hungaroring and Monaco.
Oscar Langarica, Mexico

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