No Respect

[strad]

I've said it for ages. Todays drivers don't even really know each other. Out of the car, quickly into the motorhome..quick to the private jet. Back in the day they lived together,,partied together. They were more than passing acquaintances.
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Call it sportsmanship. Call it “fair play.” Call it what you want. Fernando Alonso says there is little respect between today’s Formula 1 drivers.

The two-time world champion is quoted in BBC Sport as saying current F1 drivers lack “mutual respect” for each other on the track when compared to racing of decades gone by.
“I believe there is not that mutual respect there was back then,” Alonso says when comparing the current driving styles and habits of drivers on the Formula 1 circuit to those of shown 30 years ago by drivers such as the late Gilles Villeneuve, who died 30 years ago this week in a horrific crash during qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix.
The Spaniard recalled the tense moments at the 1979 French Grand Prix when Ferrari legend Villeneuve and Renault’s Rene Arnoux waged all-out war, passing and re-passing each other and even banging wheels during the final three laps of the race. He says that kind of racing is all but impossible in today’s Formula 1.
“There was definitely more respect then than there is now between us drivers,” Alonso says bluntly. “Partly because they knew that, in those cars, they were risking their lives.”
He is quick to add that it is not all because of driver mentality. Today’s F1 cars are remarkable machines and marvels of technology. Unfortunately, the cars don’t lend themselves to being driven the way race cars were three decades ago.
“The cars are now dominated by aerodynamics and those sorts of passing moves are no longer possible” Commenting on the racing excitement of yesteryear, Alonso concludes, “Unfortunately, these days, we no longer see this sort of fight because there are more difficulties to deal with.”
The Ferrari pilot is looking ahead to this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, where he hopes his car will put him back into contention in the Formula 1 world championship drivers’ standings. Alonso, who currently sits fifth behind points leader Sebastian Vettel, says Ferrari drivers have been struggling with a package that is “not competitive to fight for the top places” and that results must improve quickly before the season slips away.
“We must turn things around,” he says. “If we are not on pole in Barcelona then it’s not the end of the world. The important thing is to make progress, first this weekend, then again in Monaco and after that, in Montreal, Valencia and Silverstone.”

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/3 ... z1uOug4YJ5

[ajdavison2]

I unfortunately predict this could turn into another driver bashing thread :/

[PNSD]

Why restrict this to F1?

It's pretty much the same for most sports these days. They lack personality and respect. In NASCAR they are all friendly friendly at times but you get drivers like Kurt Busch who will punt you if you even look at him wrong.

Long gone are the day's when Graham Hill would treat the pit lane to one of his famous late night London parties, dancing drunk on the tables .

[FrukostScones]

Yawn!

Don't judge others by your own standards.

Of course there is respect between the pilots in F1, but also there is no right of way for the sometimes arrogant Alonso.
And of course some Pilots are friends, share private jets or talk with each other. Some also went partying together, stirring up the club and keeping court busy.

"fair play" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSOOH0pzwHM

[Jersey Tom]

Take things that drivers say or conclude with a grain of salt.

[xpensive]

I for one happen to agree with strad, I'm afraid things began to detoriate with Senna, Mansell, Piquet and their on track antics against eachother, while they all starting to act in a primadonna fashions off track. Then came Michael Schumacher and the picture was complete, win at all costs.

Gone were the days of the 70s with drivers sharing hotelrooms at times, there's a horse-story about Howden Ganley sleeping on the balcony because of Tim Schenken's snoring.

[Nando]

I've said it for ages. Todays drivers don't even really know each other. Out of the car, quickly into the motorhome..quick to the private jet. Back in the day they lived together,,partied together. They were more than passing acquaintances.

This isn´t fully true. There are pictures of Webber and Barrichello simracing in his flat.
Nico and Hamilton are very good friends. Alonso and Kubica are very good friends.

Back then F1 was a joke compared to today in terms of everything.

You can´t as a driver show up to practice do 2 laps then bugger of to the golf course for example.
You can´t even compare the different eras. It´s a completely different ball game today.

Even though F1 was serious back then it´s nothing like today.

[strad]

I unfortunately predict this could turn into another driver bashing thread :/

Sorry but in just a few posts it appears you're right. I'm sorry...It sure was not what I expected.
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I think the part about the danger hits it on the head and re-enforces what I have often said. When it gets too safe you have guys doing dangerous stuff because they are lulled by the safety of the cars into thinking no one will get hurt. Themselves or anyone else, and when even your team mate and you split ways as soon as the race is over and you never talk to some others they become non entities whose safety doesn't enter into your/their thought process.

[strad]

Nando

...So wrong..
More than one team pairing has said they never even talk.

[Nando]

Nando

...So wrong..
More than one team pairing has said they never even talk.

Yea i was wrong, they all hate each other like you would not believe.

[Nando]

Just look at the tension in this picture, it´s almost like you can cut it with a knife....or not.




Last picture we know one was not very liked on the racetrack, and we know two of them did not really talk to each other.

Same same but different.

[thearmofbarlow]

Nando

...So wrong..
More than one team pairing has said they never even talk.

Where does it say teammates have to be friends? Nando's correct. It just is not the same. If you didn't win in the 60's or early 70's it was a blow to your team, and only your team. There weren't multi-million dollar sponsors to appease, a string of investors, television cameras everywhere following your every move.

It's simply not the same game. There are no privateers. There are no gentlemen racers out there with their inherited fortunes driving last year's model to a 28th place finish. It's not as Eurocentric as it once was. How many of the drivers don't live anywhere near the others? Colin Chapman wrote a somewhat famous note detailing what makes a good racing car and one of his bullet points was that safety didn't matter. Could you imagine something like that being said in this day and age?

It's a different time in a different place. People can either deal with it or reject it. I prefer to take it as it comes. If I want a return to gentlemen racers I'll head off to the local trackday and have some fun there.

[Nando]

Some good friends in F1:

Hamilton - Rosberg
Alonso - Kubica
Vettel - Kimi
Button - Coulthard (ex driver right now i know)
Alonso - Webber
Webber - Barrichello

These are just some, then you had Barrichello which everyone like and respected, Massa the same.

Alonso and Hamilton might no be friends but they have an immense respect for each other.

Hamilton is Sutil another, perhaps deteriorated after the incident but still,



No they are not holding hands

What did you see when you were examining the cockpit of the McLaren... specifically relating to the 'knee control'?

(Laughs) I was having a bit of fun with Jenson and Lewis (Hamilton). Jenson was particularly saying: "Get away and leave it alone". So I was saying: "Go and have a look at mine - we've got a steering wheel and a pedal so there's not too much to hide." It was a bit of light-hearted fun. It was good to have a look inside the cockpit but I saw nothing really - though I'm sure there's something in there that was of interest.

all we ever see of Sebastian Vettel is the man in the race car, what's he really like as a human being?

He's a good bloke and everything you'd expect from a good competitor. He's very driven and we get on well. We certainly are competitive each weekend and try to get the most out of the car but he's a good guy and carries himself very well out of the car.

Do you play poker with fellow F1 drivers? Who from the current drivers are you friends with?

No, I don't play poker. I'm not big into cards. I grew up in Australia so we were always outside. I have a pretty decent relationship with most of the guys. There's a few of the new guys I don't know, of course, and I suppose Fernando (Alonso), Rubens (Barrichello), Sebastian, Robert (Kubica) and Jenson are the five guys I know the best.

Yep...they all hate each other

[Nando]

Another thing is that Alonso is talking about a completely different subject then Strad is.

[PlatinumZealot]

yeah, Alonso was talking about respect in regards to maneuvers on the track.