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Talk about emotional turmoil - how much will the Yanks on this website be cheering on their boy next year, assuming he is with Squadra Tosso?
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Now I was a UOP Shadow fan, firstly through the CanAm and then f1. I also liked McLaren back in the '70's when it had a Yank tint ( Teddy Mayer, Tyler Alexander, Peter Revson......and runing in CanAm, Indy 500, and f1) but once Uncle Ron bought it and destroyed its soul, I bailed. I have also been a fan of Matra/Ligier and also Ferrari....... it is the Irish in me but not a big fan of the roast beefs....... respect English teams & drivers, yes.....just no love.
as for individual drivers......When I first started to attend GP's in the early '70's I met briefly a backmarker at Mosport Park in 1972 when I snuck into the pits.....and decided to follow him......his name was Niki Lauda. In the past 3 decades I've been very impresed with all the drivers, but I have been a fan of Niki (March), Ronnie (March), Elio (Shadow), St. Gilles (Ferrari), Nige (Lotus), Michael (Benetton), Fred (Minardi), Kimi (Sauber), and Felipe (Sauber). I have had a soft spot also for Jacques (Lafitte), Clay, Lole, Jumper (Jarier), Jacky (Ickx), and Patrick Tambay.
So Viges...... no emotional turmoil from this Yank as far as Mr. Speed is concerned..............
It is my patriotic duty to support Williams and McLaren against the red hordes - much more the former than the latter but I can't see them coming back any time soon, unless Cossie play a blinder on the V8. Despite Frog ownership, I also have a soft spot for Renault and they are based near Williams in Oxfordshire.
Enjoyed Jordan's successes but never really bought into Jag, let alone Red Bull. Lotus and Tyrrell were biggies, obviously. Arrows never that bothered. Soft spot for Ligier too, what is it with those Frenchies?!
However, nothing can replace Minardi.
You are correct..... Marlboro threw their considerable weight to Uncle Ron's MP4 team forcing Mr. Mayer out at McLaren. I do recall McLaren having won a few championships during the days when they were the "good guys"..... Emmo & James in f1..... domination in CanAm before the Porsche Panzer showed up....and McLarens were the car to have when winning the Indy 500 back when that race was a biggie (not like now)...... sooooooo, one doesn't have to lose their soul to become a winner.......
A question for you.... how can anyone who sez he is a supporter of Minardi, and remembers how Ron Dennis (along with Frank.....and even Eddie became Judas) shit all over Paul at Montreal a couple of years ago, can be a supporter of McLaren???????? I am not talking about the drivers here.... (I am a fan of Kimi....I just want to see him escape the "dark side".......) I hope it's something more substantial than that " Patriotic Duty" song and dance........................'sigh
And just to be on the safe side..... I have already packed a lighter for Spa & Monza in 2006, and I don't smoke........ if ya get my drift..........
ciao
Ho hum, I seem to remember more recently than Montreal than Frank and Ron actually stood up for Stoddie and he thanked them for it. We are still waiting for the low down of what happened that weekend in Canada, it is certainly not black and white.
Ron may be a little odd (even in uptight English terms) but a bad man that makes him not. Yes, he is ultra-competitive but he does not cheat + he allows his racers to race (which separates the 1988 season from 2002 or '04).
I understand that Hollywood likes its villains to have English accents (Sanders, Irons, Hopkins*, Rickman, Berkoff, etc., etc.) but not all of us are evil. We don't care, of course, what you peasants think but just for the record ...
*obviously I know Sir Anthony is Welsh but Lecter's accent wasn't.
PS I think it's clear Minardi is my first love but that is over (for the time being?) so I have to cheer someone else on.
[Edited on 30/10/2005 by viges]
I seem to remember Jerez in 1997 when a certain RD ordered one of his drivers (DC) to pull over and let another one of his drivers (MH) pass him to win his first GP on the next to last lap........ and that is after that certain RD made an agreement with Frank W not to have his drivers get involved in the Jacques-Michael race even though the McLaren was the fastest f1 car at both Jerez and the previous race in Suzuka.....
Interesting note about the 1988 season... McLaren did provide equal cars to both Ayrton & Prost....... Honda though admitted a couple of years ago that Ayrton was given the more powerfull engines......
and for the record, just because Uncle Ron is a prick, I wouldn't even think to put all English peoples in that category..... Ste, Minardirule, and Matt are prime examples of Englishmen that I have met who are outstanding human beings.... I also hope that those on the forum do not judge all us Yanks as F-ing assholes based on "W", Dick Cheney, FOX News, the IRL, McDonalds, the KKK, Michael Jackson, Sly Stalone movies, Pepsi, and Michael Andretti...................
The long and short of it...should he be on the grid, I'll be at Indy next season flying the American flag.
[Edited on 11/5/2005 by ThunderboltSeven]
Murph - Jerez was a wrong but I don't believe the 1988 stuff, even if Alain does.