To keep this on topic you agree that Indy is good place for the USGP to stay. Off topic. In 1965 I was 15 years old working to set up a new store, (defunct Harts) and I was the auto ailse. Richard Petty came for the Grand Opening, for STP, and sent me next door to Burger Chef, (defunct), to get lunch. Let me keep the change.
First, I dont think anyone needs to be better than Speed to be able to criticize him, so the "well he's better than you!" thing doesn't hold any water. Besides I totally reject the idea that just being in F1 makes you the best in the world. Most of the best drivers in the world never race professionally, most likely, because only a very very very small percentage of folks have the resources to actually race. When you get a great natural talent, maturity, intelligence AND the opportunity to put it to use, you get a Schumacher or a Senna. Many of those on this forum who've raced competitively know for a fact that it has a heck of a lot to do with who you know and how much $$ you can pull in - as much or more so than how much ability you have. I think its silly to think Speed was chosen as the best the USA has to offer. Its clear why he was chosen - they did a search, they were looking for the best overall package, not just the best driver. They wanted someone who oozed "American!" with every word, with every look. Most Europeans are much more reserved than Americans, and I'm sure most Euros rolled their eyes with his "heads will roll" comment and probably a few gullible Yanks shouted "yeah! git 'em!" at their televisions. Speed has the perfect name for F1. He's a California boy. He has "the look". He's young. He's Mr. Enthusiasm. He's got passable experience. If anyone thinks he's the best in the USA, err, well I strongly disagree. I also disagree that F1 is the best by definition. Many drivers make it in based on hype, or based on being the right guy or having the right connections, or based on bringing cash to the table. Andretti, Zanadri, Yoong, Ide, Firman - these were all drivers who washed out of F1 and you can't say they all domainted in every other series. Same with Speed. He was mediocre before and he's mediocre now. The "he needs time to develop" comments crack me up. When has any driver ever needed years of grooming to show they are fast? The superstars always shone even when they were with a chump team and/or chump teammate. If Speed was the next Alonso or even the next Coulthard, he would have shown it by now. I think the Speed experiment is/will fail in the USA. He's not that good to stay in F1 based on talent alone. He's probably not the catalyst for F1 interest in the USA, so after a few mediocre years he will probably either get benched or sink down the ranks and quit. I doubt McLaren, Renault, Ferrari or Toyota/Honda are lining up to sign him or will be in the future, so what's the Speed game plan? Anyone who says he's just gaining experience and will blossom into a pro IMO is fooling themselves. None of the greats (even the pretty good's) were mediocre/unimpressive in their debut.
Nothing. The name is actually Manteca. It's a farming town in California's central valley. Lots of growth in recent years from housing tract developments affordably priced to attract punters willing to endure 2hr + one-way commutes to SF/ San Jose. It's also a good stopping off point for fuel and a coffee on your way from SF to Yosemite. That's it. Don't know what the attraction is for Varsha. Cheers
Agreed. For some reason I thought he got into F1 because he actually delivered results *in* Europe - something that virtually no other American seems to be able to do. Speed is mediocre? 3rd in GP2 is mediocre? The only American winner of a European open wheel feeder series *ever* is mediocre? If any American deserved to be in the 2006 F1 series it is Scott Speed. No one even had results that were remotely close. Agreed.
There is quite a bit of criticism in these pages because Scott said something dumb within shot of a camera. The same guys getting on this think Marco A. should be the next one up. Did anyone hear Marco rip Eddie Cheaver on TV and radio a couple weeks ago after they crashed? Eddie did it deliberately because he hates my Grandpa and he's Eddie Cheaver. Yes, kids say stupid things. At least neither one is a pacifist.
On knowing F1 history - It seems most professional athletes don't know the ancient history of their sports. I have trouble faulting them for this, especially for a sport like F1 that is not readily available on TV, talked about in the news, or fodder for discussion at the water cooler (at least in the U.S.). Truth is a guy like Speed spends his time on the track, not reading books. I'm OK with that. You'll find the same thing with young basketball players, baseball, football, etc. History is studied by those of us who have no other outlet for our passion due to lack of talent, those with talent actually participate and compete instead. On his optimism - I don't understand this comment. I have only heard him say (and he says it nearly every race) "I think we have a shot at finishing in the top 10". Well, he just did that in Canada! Maybe I missed some other comments? On "Heads will role" - I'm amazed everyone is getting so excited about a few words that were heard on tv that were taken out of context. I admit it sounded stupid, but none of us heard what was said before or after. While his words sounded firm, he voice didn't sound too upset, it sounded to me like it was almost a joke or just being played up for TV. Truth is, none of us know the real context of that comment so I won't draw any conclusions or opinions from it. On his interviews - He comes across as kind of dorky and perhaps a little less intelligent than others. I agree here. Part of this is cultural, he is a California kid and he is just being himself. His enthusiam is real, however, and I like that. Maybe I am more forgiving than others and respect diversity in ones personality and delivery. On his talent - I think he has earned the right to drive at this level. I do not think he will be a superstar, but I only see three guys (MS, FA, KR) at that level today and only a couple more (Rosberg perhaps) that show signs of future greatness. That leaves a large grid of other drivers that I do think he can compete with. I just hope he doesn't park his car in a corner during qualifying, then you folks will really be calling for his head in a basket.
In a basket? IN A BASKET?... we'll dance around with his head firmly planted on a stick; as a trophy that would make cannibals the world over proud. j/k Hopefully the kid does well this weekend and his (annoying) ways are like a big set of ears that he'll grow into over the years.
Somebody is thinking of quatorze Juillet (July 14) and Guillotine. Madame Pompidou et Monsieur Speed.
Amen to that... I did Formula Renault in 1990... and was immediately shocked by the commitment of the other French and German guys... I was 21... they were 15 - 18.. so I was the old guy... not only were they in better physical shape, but they were ruthless like I had never seen... stopped me cold from trying to persue racing in any professional form... I decided that I would just enjoy it... & buy a Ferrari!
SRT Mike-- How about this: Agreed on ALL points. I'll save the bandwidth and not re-quote the entire post I, too, disagree with the notion that all 22 F1 drivers this Sunday are the best in the world. Heck, some of the Friday drivers are better. And for all the reasons you stated, certain drivers end up in a seat and others don't. To those who say he needs "seasoning", Formula 1 isn't used for that. That's what all those lower categories are for. Kimi Raikkonen emerged with Sauber after a couple dozen FRenault races, which barely equates to Formula 3. And he put on a more impressive front by most opinions. With all of the GP2 races, plus miles and miles of pre-season testing, exactly what kind of "seasoning" are you talking about? If he's got it, it should be showing by now. Regarding Marco's comments about Eddie Cheever: he's kind of right. Cheever should have hung it up years ago, and he does have it in for the Andrettis. We did a thread on this. Marco talks with an aggressive confidence--Speed has this concocted nerdiness, a faux-confidence about him.
From my kart racing experience I have raced against Scott on a couple of occasions and been able to hang out with him and his family (father mike and little brother Alex) at the F1 Red Bull driver search. The thing that sets Scott apart from a lot of other drivers is not his natural talent but his relentless hard minded dedication to winning. I personally believe there are more naturally talented drivers, however none of them work as hard as Scott. He has a very technical approach to racing, and will do whatever it takes to make sure he has the best car possible (granted **** box minardi, but I know without question he is working as hard if not harder than Schumacher to get the most out of his Toro Roso). On the other hand Scott is victim to the same demons which got him to F1 in the first place, those of an over-achieving perfectionist. He is hard to get on with if you don't understand where he comes from. From my understand he only raced one event for the US a1gp team because the team couldn't handle him. As a racing driver with the same goals as him I believe I understand him in a lot of ways others wouldn't, and I think he is a nice guy ( as long as we aren't racing against one another). All of this being said, he's not perfect, but he is one of the best the United States has right now. Guys like Graham and Marco are faced with a simple problem when they get to the highest level (or europe). They have been given everything on a silver platter. Ironically in the words of Marco's grandfather Mario Andretti "When two drivers come to a corner and one has had to sell his soul to get the opportunity to race at this level, and the other has had it handed to him on a platter, who do you think is going to brake first?" Atlantic championships and IRL are won with engineering. I remember watching my little brother (who no one has ever heard of) get in a friends shifter kart he has never driven before and hold off Graham in his factory preped machine for 10 laps before my brother pulled into the pits. Unforunantely motorsports is not good at rewarding talent. We will see how Graham stacks up if he goes to Europe, Marco will continue to succeed in the IRL with Andretti Green behind him. Best to them all. Cheers Michael,
jaker. you dont think barry bonds knows whose record he is gunning for? you dont think the shaq knows how many rebounds he needs to get to be at the top? you dont think every single athlete doesnt know what records he is trying to beat? all scott speed has to do is look back a couple years and read what happened when schumi got his 5th, and fangio equaling, title. my guess is that he doesnt read - period. he is an ok young man trying hard in a difficult discipline, so i wont use him to beat you up. but you might want to reconsider your statement about not needing to know any history. the lack of knowledge about your own industry is negligent at best. sorry.
Anyone going into a sport trying to break a record just to say so shouldn't be in that sport. Sorry, but i don't agree with your "history" logic here. Nor should someone have to know the history just to be good at something. That is a rediculous statement, Until proven otherwise.
i did not say either one of those things. i do think that people in an industry/sport should know something about what the greats have achieved, and perhaps study how they did it. to not know shows a lack of intellectual curiousity and this can also be a factor in your eventual performance - ie you have to be reasonably intelligent to get to the top of your field in formula one (i know, i know, there are many examples of the contrary, but for the moment humor me ). you can bet that schumi, alonso, kimi, nico etc know who the hell juan manuel fangio was !!!!!!!! what kid who plays baseball doesnt know who babe ruth is?! jeez.
Interesting fact. In the latest NKN mag there is an article about successful f1 drivers. The most successful are the ones that understand the technical side of racing and what is going on with the car, a la schumacher, senna. Which both of whom spent lots of time going over things with engineers. WHich is why schumacher was able to develope the ferrari's for so long. Then you have JPM who is fast and can drive the wheels off of a car but at the same time has no idea what is going on. Just thought that was relevent as SS is quite technical aswell. I guess wheel( haha get it?) see.
I want to like Scott Speed but he just...sucks. That driver error he made at Silverstone that caused the wreck basically just ended his chance of becoming one of my favorites. I know its not entirely true...but he just cant drive. During races hes always slower than Liuzzi which is not a good sign because their cars are identical, and whenever I see onboard cameras he seems like he brakes too early, doesnt turn hard enough, enters the corner bad and then doesnt even accelerate full throttle. Just watch Schumi out of a corner then Speed out of the same one and theres no comparison. He seems afraid, more afraid than he should be. I do find it hard to believe that Red Bull, which has this nearly unlimited spending power, chose him. Boggles me.... LONG LIVE MICHAEL SCHUMACHER
This would be after he qualified higher than all three of his Red Bull/Torro Rosso teammates? Its a shame he was taken out on the first lap. I thought he handled the interview well despite obvious disappointment.
I have to say I really liked him in the Speed special they did with all drivers before the race. A kid yes, but was pleasant. And quite frankly I was just happy to root for a US driver in Indy.
Well maybe contrary to the tenor of this thread, but I like him and think its really harsh to judge someone in their first year so hardly. As a father of sons around his age I think, given the glare of F1, he is doing a great job of answering inane questions from sometimes rude commentators and people demanding his time right and left. I like his attitude and the fact he seems real, genuine and cares to really think about the questions. He also speaks TO people rather than from some dull droning place like some of the drivers. He was set to have a good day on Sunday I believe and will, imo, succeed in F1. I wish him the best and as much as I would love to drive an F1 car, I would hate to have to answer some of the questions I have heard being thrown about.
Not going to read all 5 pages of posts but all I can say is... He is worth supporting as an American Driver...well at least until he does something really stupid. (I hope not)
