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I am really getting fed up with Paul. I don't like his comments about the FIA and especially going back to Indy and blaming Max Mosley. The FIA have provided answers to the requests raised by Michellin. They are to blame and the teams that use them for this mess. If it was the other way round, with the majority of the cars racing, no-one would have cared.
Comments
I am a great supporter of Paul because he believes in what is right for F1. I don't think Max can say that he is in the same boat.
If the sport was so important like max says he would of found a way to have a race. He didn't. He wasn't even there.
I know who I'd rather trust.
They're fans who long for the Swiss/German 'nothingness' that a team like Sauber provide. :)
Of you go then.
Stoddiebasher!
Sauberbasher!
Beemerbasher?
still, one has to agree with ast (to a certain extent) Max is the last one to blame for the situation. You could even blame tony george for applying a new surface in the banked corner before blaming max mosley!
http://www.planetf1.com/features/letters/story_20187.shtml
you will see a pretty hard divide over PS and his threat. He is walking a very tight rope.
He's certainly not the first and only person to blame on a day where everyone was guilty of *something*, but he was party to the crime.
It amazes me to think that people are more offended by as you so cleverly put it, ' 2 bales of straw' than the three groups of cars of very differing quality circulating and 100,000 suckers wondering what the hell is happening.
[Edited on 13/7/2005 by dst]
Please understand that Paul saved Minardi from oblivion, and for that I am most gratefull.... but unlike others here at FM.com, I do not believe that he gets a free pass when he makes mistakes. I was at Indy....I still can't understand why Paul, whose team was prepared for the race conditions at Indy and WANTED to race, would rather sacrifice his teams efforts so he could be in the good graces of the Michelin 7. I understand he hates Mosley..... but to think seriously of screwing your own team to hit out at Mosley.....just doesn't make any sense to me.........
"Well stick by your guns and follow another team. '
I didn't read where he said he was going to leave if the team wasn't run to his satisfaction.....guess you are one the "love it or leave it" type...... well, there are those of us here who want the team .....from Paul to the fellows who sweep out the factory..... to enjoy success...... but, when the team is doing something we think is not productive (say using the v-10 in '06) we will "stick by our guns" and have our say...... and hopefully, if we are found to be incorrect in our assesment, we will be man enough to fess up to our mistakes.
"If the sport was so important like max says he would of found a way to have a race. He didn't. He wasn't even there. "
As Emmo pointed out, there was a "race"..... I wasn't pleased, at all, that 14 drivers returned to the pits......as many "journo's" stated after the fact, the race that was held was the only option..... The FIA idea of the 14 Michelin teams running through the pit lane was ludicrous..... the "thought" of a chicane was ludicrous..... a "Non-Championship" race was ludicrous....... could the Michelin teams come in amd change left rear's every 10 laps? yes, but that option made it impossible for scoring points.......the lesser evil was the race that was held......
As for Max not being there...ya got something right !
"There's a rather sad bunch of fans over at SauberSpeak who'll welcome you with open arms.
They're fans who long for the Swiss/German 'nothingness' that a team like Sauber provide.
Of you go then."
I know that you love the fact that you helped to chase Matt from this forum. Now you are encouraging someone else who doesn't share your views to leave as well.......
Hooked up with Matt for a day this past December.......didn't agree with half his views on Minardi & F1....still ,was a good guy. Wish he had stuck it out, but he didn't. Hope this kid has the gumption to stand up for his views...time will tell.
"Max is to blame in the sense that he was prepared to allow it to happen. He knew that the teams wanted a chicane. He thought that he called their bluff, that is until the cars came parading down pit lane"
You've been drinking again.....no surprise, ya couldn't hold your booze in Bologna, as I recall.........Ste is probably still getting a chuckle thinking of that Friday night......
"still, one has to agree with ast (to a certain extent) Max is the last one to blame for the situation. You could even blame tony george for applying a new surface in the banked corner before blaming max mosley!"
"could we please shut up about that chicane??? that must have been the weirdest idea ever and completely inconceivable in modern F1. It's hardly a soap box derby, is it!!!??? you can't just add two bales of straw in two hours and call it a chicane."
Nice to see some sign of inelligent life, RJ !!!
Read on Atlas that Michelin has organized a meeting with Mosley in Monaco......representing the 6 Michelin manufacturers ( BMW will be there with both Williams & Sauber) will be Ron Dennis...also attending will be Christian Horner of Red Bull.
"Autosport-Atlas understands that the meeting will involve formal presentations relating to Indianapolis, although it is not clear exactly what Dennis and Horner will request from the FIA."
There is also a story on Atlas in which Flavio says that F1 needs Mosley
"F1 News
Briatore: Formula One Needs Mosley
By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, 12 July 2005 11:52
Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore has poured cold water on suggestions that Formula One's manufacturer teams are determined to oust FIA president Max Mosley and said the sport needs a leader as strong as the Briton.
Tensions between the teams and Mosley have been growing since the United States Grand Prix tyre fiasco, and there have been suggestions that the teams are planning to put forward their own candidate to stand against Mosley in this October's presidential elections.
But in a major interview with German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag, Briatore has claimed that friction between the teams and Mosley is not as great as many believe - and that ultimately the teams will work together with him to end the threat of a manufacturer breakaway.
"Max Mosley has done a good job in the last few years," said Briatore. "He is an intelligent, capable man with good ideas. This does not mean that everything he proposes is perfect. But I agree in general with his most important demands.
"We have to make Formula One safer, more exciting and cheaper. For this we need a strong FIA president like Mosley to regulate things. But also Ferrari because of the attractiveness and unity of the series."
Ferrari are the only team that have committed to Formula One beyond the end of 2007 and Briatore's belief that the sport needs them and Mosley points towards the teams preferring to remain in F1 rather than join a breakaway series.
"There has not been and will never be a Formula One war," added Briatore. "We all know what Formula One needs. We need unity, a strong FIA who is watching everything, but also more money than before for the teams and manufacturers.
"The manufacturers will develop a system together with the FIA and Ecclestone in which everybody is a part, Ferrari too. This would mean that from 2008 onwards the train would move in the same direction."
The manufacturers planning their breakaway series met in Munich in the week before the British Grand Prix to discuss the progress of plans for their Championship. Although the regulations for the series are due to be published in August, Briatore claims that just as much work is being put into attempts to keep the teams in F1.
"We are trying to find a compromise with the FIA and Ecclestone," he said. "We accept both positions. We neither have a problem with Bernie nor with Max or the FIA. Everything just needs to be re-adjusted in everybody's sense."
When asked whether he believed the manufacturers would run their own series, Briatore said: "That is not the problem. The question is whether this will help all parties concerned in the end. This is the only thing that counts."
The issue that Briatore believes needs to be overcome to allow the talks to resolve F1's future is for those involved in the discussions to put aside their personal interests.
"We are all in the same boat. None of us can shoot a hole in the boat. We all need to get closer and leave our personality problems at home. That is the real problem." "
Who knows, maybe both side are coming to their senses......but it could be another lull in the storm.... no mention of Paul in either story..........
enough of my ranting.....
ciao
[Edited on 12/7/2005 by Murph]
There have been odd occasions in the past when I myself have tended to support, rather than criticise the man, but these are rare. A healthy opposition is the essence of debate however and ought to be encouraged, not discouraged. This is not, after all a Facist nursery. There are no BushBlairs here........................though it should be said that our Austro- Payee Bas leader sometimes would prefer, let's say, a pragmatic approach to debate, rather than an anarchic one.
Let us keep things in perspective, though. Unlike the colours on the car, our views on the team principal ought not to be either black, or white. Our dearest Mathew passed from this place from an acute case of embarrassment, not because of the views of any of the members. Deep down in his psyche was the Brit lower class's need to conform and be subservient to those with referent power. Stoddart was just way too disrespectful for Matt and the only way to lash out was to leave us. I for one, miss his humour and still get mental images of his description of Louise 'Bangles' Goodman and the effect of certain acts that she may perform with her feller (this of course, predated the tragic passing of her husband). So unless Matt decides to again take up his unholy alliance with the Sawbones, may he rest in peace in the bossom of the Krauts.
When deciding who is at fault for the outcomes of 'The Oval Place, it is hard to find someone who was not at fault. What it did highlight is that there is no authority in Formula One that can say 'You guys will do this', and that resulted in a no-show at the races. Like long-simmering European conflicts, this will bubble away for a long time yet.
And lastly, there are times when I too wish that Stoddart would keep his trap shut and not buy into other people's arguments. The fact is though, that he truly, deeply believes in what he is doing and being a self-made man, also thinks that he has the right to say what he thinks.
At the end of the story is this little gem:
"Meanwhile a middle-aged Australian is understoood to be working on his own 'tribute' to another leading member of the F1 community, a 153,854 page tome entitled 'Max, you don't give a XXXX for F1'.
His biography of McLaren boss, Ron Dennis, is currently 'on hold'."
What a hoot!
Who knows, he could run for premier in Italy...:hehe:
But I don't think anyone knows the politics of what is going on behind the scenes.
As a small team we have virtually no power or influence of how things happen in our sport.
The only way Paul can get things done or heard is in the public. Because he has done this, if he speaks he gets heard because they don't want their dirty laundry aired.
That's why I support the team and Paul and everyone else in our team. He gives Minardi a voice. As much as it is right or wrong most of the time at least we have one.
Oh, it's you Quig, sorry, thought that was supposed to be our standard response.
I see here a need for a new board. Instead of just the racing, pub, and assorted fadish language boards, we start a 'What Paul Did Next' board. We could invite Matt back, and he and the Sawbones and all the other 'Outed' and closet anti-Stoddart folks could go for their lives.
Then they could get a petition together demanding that the team be sold to the next Philanthropic Multi Millionaire who wants to keep the name, premises and people that comes along (they're like buses, there's one every couple of minutes).
I think it's a good idea.