And even the most ardent Hamilton fans would have to question whether if he had started in a bottom team, (like everyone else has), he would still be in F1. Talented or not the lower teams can't afford drivers that get involved in as many incidents has Hamilton does, (irrespective of fault).
Also, I'd be hugely interested in how people on this forum, (and the media in general), would be discussing Hamilton if he was a "backmarker" driver and making the mistakes he does. He get's "let off" a lot of perfectly valid critisism just because on other occasions he has amazing races and wins stuff.
Except that he made contact. No pass where contact is made can ever be "unquestionably fair". I don't believe that any driver has the right to compromise the driver they're passing in such a way during qualification and claim it was a fair move. That's just my opinion, irrespective of what the rules may say about the situation. I still believe that if it weren't for Maldonados retributive reaction Hamilton would have been given at least a couple of place penalty.
Personally, I think the "fair" response to the whole incident would be a two/three place penalty for Hamilton and a straight DQ/back of the grid placement for Maldonado. They've both gotten off very lightly IMO. F1 is meant to be completely non contact, and any "avoidable" contact should merit a non discretionary place/time penalty. Otherwise F1 is at risk of ending up like BTCC. i.e. filled with over agressive bullying tactics being passed off as "skill".
Haven't seen it, but c'mon if you're going to make a remake of an iconic film with an iconic action star as big, (literally as well as star wise), as Arnie, at least replace the character with someone with similar physical presence, "The Rock" would have been a far better choice IMO.
Which under normal circumstances would earn a place penalty. There is no doubt in my mind that Hamiltons move compromised Maldonados lap, and that it was clearly a deliberate move. Whist in a race that incident may have been borderline, in qualifying it shouldn't be tolerated imo. I believe that it's only because of Maldonados ridiculously stupid retribution move that Hamilton has effectively been let off. Not for the first time I'd add.
I consider myself to lean strongly to the left politically but if I hear one more person excuse this behaviour by claiming it's down to poverty and lack of oportunity I'm going to scream !! I'm in Brazil at the moment and I think every single one of the rioting pratts should be flown over here and dumped in the middle of a Rio favella and then told.. this is poverty.. this is lack of oportunity.. what's your excuse? I'm with Itrepid on this one, (not often I can say that), the only "poverty" that people in the UK suffer is one of "poverty of luxury", I don't believe for a second that any of these rioters come from families where there is such a lack of money that they can't afford to eat for example. None of these people are desperate to survive, not a single one of them will sell their stolen goods to buy food or pay the rent or bills etc. I have absolutely no sympathy with their actions, because there is zero justification for them. No jobs? no seriously, there are jobs, just not ones that they would ever consider lowering themselves to do. leave those jobs to the immigrants, working in mac donalds is beneath them despite the fact they may have never done a days work in their lives. For those involved that do have jobs etc all I can say is "shame on you". 
Don't waste your money on an expensive, (to buy/run/insure), 125.
Get something cheap and reliable, (like a Honda CG125), to learn your road craft on, and hone your basic motorcycle control skills then once you've got a couple of years under your belt, (saving every penny you earn), take and pass your test(s) and get a proper full licence and a decent machine to enjoy.
Get something cheap and reliable, (like a Honda CG125), to learn your road craft on, and hone your basic motorcycle control skills then once you've got a couple of years under your belt, (saving every penny you earn), take and pass your test(s) and get a proper full licence and a decent machine to enjoy.
Make your secondary monitor the primary one and vice versa?
Not sure I even understand why you would want to put your icons etc on your secondary monitor anyway, especially if you're going to want to turn it off. Why you'd want use the "primary" monitor with no access to any desktop icons or taskbar etc is beyond me.
Not sure I even understand why you would want to put your icons etc on your secondary monitor anyway, especially if you're going to want to turn it off. Why you'd want use the "primary" monitor with no access to any desktop icons or taskbar etc is beyond me.
Well I hope for Hamiltons sake that that is just a standard BS Daily Mail headline, because otherwise I can't think of anything that sounds more petulent and childish. Like a kid being told he can't play a bit rough with the other kids at school then getting all pouty and complaining to moma about it.
I highly doubt Hamilton did say it in such terms but who knows.
I'll put my hand up and state openly that I don't like the guy. To me he's just too rash on the track and too arrogant off it. He's forever opening his mouth and saying things that smell like he believes people should just move out of his way and let him win championships because clearly he's the best driver out there. Which doesn't engender any sympathy in me.
I'll give dues where deserved though and having seen the pictures of the Maldanado incident, it does look like quite a bit of inexperience / stupidity on Maldanados part in this case.
But I will restate what I said before, (and echo other comments made in the media), Hamilton needs to do a bit of self reflection regarding him always being called to task on incidents he's involved in. To my mind, good drivers just don't end up in such situations as often as Hamilton does. He has pace, (there's no denying he's about as fast as they come), but he lacks practically any patience, and unfortunately, (to my mind at least), good drivers need both. Fairly or not, he always brings up memories of LFS Demo where fast guys start spamming you "blue flag get out the way" if you don't just let them passed. Like the fact that they are quicker means they have a god given right to just be allowed passed.
So people should have anticipated Hamiltons late brake up the inside Kamikazi moves and just let him through huh? Last time I checked it was the overtakers responsibility to make the pass without incident not vise versa. The person in front is completely entitled to hold the line and drive just like no one was behind them. If the idiot behind can't pass without a move that is nothing more than scare tactics and bullying then they don't deserve to be in F1. So much of Hamiltons "great overtaking" ability is actually just down to him having a reputation as making late lunges up the inside that people have no choice but to change their line to avoid a collision else risk being put out of the race altogether. Hamilton doesn't race with his head. He races from frustration and agression IMHO. To me that makes him a poor racing driver irrespective of his car handling skills. Same goes for any other driver that uses the same type of techniques. I know it's a fine line, but maybe Hamilton should do a bit of self reflection as to why he's been pulled up "5 times out of 6" rather than pulling the race card BS, (yeah he claims it was a joke.. I don't believe it .. he expressed what he really believed then realised it would look bad and tried to make light of it). I think he was let off extremely lightly for his remarks.
Finally, what is the point of a penalty that ends in no actual loss of points? 20 second penalty when he was so far ahead of the next car is laughable, he should be happy he was let off that second incident, as he didn't actually suffer from the so called penalty in any way. IMO he should have been given a placement penalty and knocked back two or more positions.
Finally, what is the point of a penalty that ends in no actual loss of points? 20 second penalty when he was so far ahead of the next car is laughable, he should be happy he was let off that second incident, as he didn't actually suffer from the so called penalty in any way. IMO he should have been given a placement penalty and knocked back two or more positions.
From a safety point of view it's far more important to be able to steer than to go !!
Presumably they've had no issues with go traction but have had problems with keeping control of the direction of the car.
Either that or as you say they're just dumb, (no need to state BMW as that's implicit in the statement anyway!), drivers.
All in all Vettel was easily the most deserving WDC winner this year IMO. What with 3 DNFs and still beating Alonso who was "gifted" an additional 8 points by team orders.
Hmm.. ok.. Not quite clear on what that rant was in aid of .. but nevermind. Maybe you got out of bed the wrong side or something maybe.
I'm certainly not going to respond to any of the implied insults. Seems perfectly clear to me, judging purely from that report alone, (because to be honest I've got better things to do than spend my life following F1 news stories), that the person in question clearly believed their is a law to cover the situation.
It does? did you miss this bit ?
"charges of defrauding the Brazilian public under laws protecting the rights of fans to witness fair spectacles"
Firstly, the BBC's actual title was "Jenson Button unhurt after armed men threaten him", which seems pretty un sensationalist to me.
However, I do question their assertion that he was "targetted". Whilst it's very likely that the robbers, (because that's exactly what they were), were lying in wait in that particular location because they knew it was a route to the circuit, (and only pretty rich people can afford F1 tickets in Brasil), in order to rob people on their way to and from it, I find it hard to believe they were waiting for Jensen specifically. For one how would they know when he was likely to be passing by?
Secondly, this event has absolutely zero to do with the passion of the Brasilian nation for F1 as a sport. Armed robberies are widespread and occur on multiple occasions every day in Sao Paulo, (as does real car jacking). Apart from the fact that rich F1 fans are more likely to be targets than average people just walking down the street, this event has nothing to do with F1. Sao Paulo is a violent city. Violent crime is endemic there, (as it is in many other towns/cities in Brasil).
However, I do question their assertion that he was "targetted". Whilst it's very likely that the robbers, (because that's exactly what they were), were lying in wait in that particular location because they knew it was a route to the circuit, (and only pretty rich people can afford F1 tickets in Brasil), in order to rob people on their way to and from it, I find it hard to believe they were waiting for Jensen specifically. For one how would they know when he was likely to be passing by?
Secondly, this event has absolutely zero to do with the passion of the Brasilian nation for F1 as a sport. Armed robberies are widespread and occur on multiple occasions every day in Sao Paulo, (as does real car jacking). Apart from the fact that rich F1 fans are more likely to be targets than average people just walking down the street, this event has nothing to do with F1. Sao Paulo is a violent city. Violent crime is endemic there, (as it is in many other towns/cities in Brasil).
I just wonder how much longer Porsche are going to keep flogging the 911 horse. Sure it's an Iconic car, but it's a technically flawed platform that they've managed to keep up with the game with some brute force engineering. Which is great, but I really do think that it's getting close to the time where the 911 has nowhere else to go Vs other super cars available on the road, (and I'm not talking the uber expensive kind only made in handfuls). I think they'd be better off retiring the model and pushing a remodelled Cayman based platform to the fore as their premier sports model.
They probably commissioned a Need for Speed dev
I have no time for this kind of campaigning. It does nothing to persuade anyone but the emotionally sensitive souls among us, (not that there is anything wrong with being emotionally sensitive - world might be a better place if more people were). Plus it tends to have a negative reaction, because a lot of people, (and I count myself as one of them), just loath it when people attempt to emotionally manipulate them.
RIP The death of a great British Icon
Sir Norman Wisdom - The Great comedy legend dies at 95.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11473192
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11473192
In general, as a principle I'd agree. However, it may well be worth you considering your audience a little more carefully. I'd be willing to bet that the majority of readers of this forum, (if not it's actual contributors), are probably still living at home with mum & dad and aren't even required to pay the license, (assuming they even live in the UK). Just a thought.
Facebook?. I deleted my account long ago. Even if I was of a mind to join such a campaign, Facebook is the last medium I would use do do so.
F1? what's that?
Bernie is an idiot. I think he's just trying to leave some lasting legacy on F1. As if he hasn't done enough to have acheived that already!!
This is the most interesting WDC in years IMO.
I have no obligation to you or anyone else to do any such thing. Same goes for the rest of your post below. If you have an issue with the state of affairs of public broadcasting in the UK, then you do something about it. Start up a campaign, get signatures or something.. or do nothing... It's no skin off my nose. You clearly feel strongly about the issue. I, (like many others here), don't, so there really is no point continuing to attempt to drive your point home to us on this forum. If for no other reason than that to the best of my knowledge none of us have the influence or connections to make the changes you want. I suggest you petition your MP about it, unless, that is, you enjoy just blowing off steam on a forum that no-one really cares about.
Last edited by gezmoor, .
+100%
IMO the license fee is worth not having to put up with advertising breaks a million times over. I'll gladly pay, just for that reason alone. Add to it that there is very little in the way of quality programming on the independent channels, (CH4 apart maybe), and it's a no brainer. Where are the comparisons with the likes of Horizon, Question Time, Newsnight, Panorama and a variety of other factual programming that doesn't exist on the independent channels, to say nothing of the uninterrupted films and coverage of such sporting events as F1, MotoGP, World Cup, Rugby Six nations etc.
On the independent channels you get 45 mins programming out of every hour. 25% advertising time is the price you pay for the "free" programming. Not a price worth paying IMHO.
Why should F1 be any different from any other occupation? Most other employees risk disiplinary action at work, (or worse), if they break the law outside work. So why should F1 drivers be any different. The same is definitely true of most other people in the public eye, (with the possible exception of other sports people - though why this is, I'll never understand), so again I say why the exception for F1 drivers.
I agree 100%. Clearly the Imperial system doesn't scale as well, (or as clearly maybe), as the Metric system in the way you indicate. But patently it didn't prevent any of the British, (and in some cases other), Scientists and Engineers making the great contributions that some of them did to the world.
Personally, I grew up with the Metric system and whilst I feel comfortable with Imperial for "every day" measures, (such as a persons height/weight, room measurements etc), I would get "lost" very quickly trying to use it to make even relatively simple physics calculations for example. But that is almost certainly due to having essentially being educated solely in SI units.
My point was purely to contest the assertion that one system is intrinsically less "arbitary" than the other.
Hmm.. Imperial is arbitary and Metric isn't??
Don't know.. when you look at exactly how SI measures are defined, it seems just as arbitary as Imperial to me
SI unit definitions, (not many nice round numbers to be seen):
http://www.bipm.org/en/si/base_units/
metre m
Don't know.. when you look at exactly how SI measures are defined, it seems just as arbitary as Imperial to me
SI unit definitions, (not many nice round numbers to be seen):
http://www.bipm.org/en/si/base_units/
metre m
Last edited by gezmoor, .
Well deserved overall win by France. Easily the best team in the championship this year. As usual England made it hard for them and were a touch unlucky not to have won IMO. France just didn't seem to want to play, a shame because up until that last game they have been a joy to watch.
As for the Scotland / Ireland match. Well deserved win by Scotland I think. Got the impression that Ireland just weren't focused. Maybe nerves at the chance of wining the Tri-nations and maybe even the possibility championship. Started well, but after the spate of handling errors seemed to go off the boil a lot, though always remained threatening.
Missed the Italy / Wales game. A touch surprised by the margin of the win though. Italy have been playing relatively well this chapionship.
As for the Scotland / Ireland match. Well deserved win by Scotland I think. Got the impression that Ireland just weren't focused. Maybe nerves at the chance of wining the Tri-nations and maybe even the possibility championship. Started well, but after the spate of handling errors seemed to go off the boil a lot, though always remained threatening.
Missed the Italy / Wales game. A touch surprised by the margin of the win though. Italy have been playing relatively well this chapionship.
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