Unpopular F1 opinions

[go_Rubens]

I really, really like the new Ferrari F14T. After the Mercedes, it's the second best looking car of the year.

Even though it looks good for 2014 standards there's just something about that nose that doesn't make me warm to it

For some reason it reminds me of an older car. It looks like it came fresh out of the 70s or 80s.

[SgtPepper]

I really, really like the new Ferrari F14T. After the Mercedes, it's the second best looking car of the year.

Even though it looks good for 2014 standards there's just something about that nose that doesn't make me warm to it

I think it would be nice if it wasn't for the arches on each side that connect to the wing.

[UncreativeUsername37]

Does the Ferrari nose look like it's going "duuurrr" to anyone else?

[go_Rubens]

As for a real one: The V8s sounded better than these "power units". (Grabs papaya shield)

*Lightning Storm rains papayas*

To be fair, Wallio, I was okay with the V8s, but they weren't too good. F1 V8s were awesome in the 50s through the 90s and 2006. Every other year F1 used V8s in the 21st century was for me was slightly disappointing. I love these new turbocharged cars. Not only are 1) they sound awesome 2) provide more torque 3) have the futuristic ERS thingys, they are just awesome.

We need HWNSNBM's take on these new sounds. Oh wait... ^^

[roblo97]

As for a real one: The V8s sounded better than these "power units". (Grabs papaya shield)

*Lightning Storm rains papayas*

To be fair, Wallio, I was okay with the V8s, but they weren't too good. F1 V8s were awesome in the 50s through the 90s and 2006. Every other year F1 used V8s in the 21st century was for me was slightly disappointing. I love these new turbocharged cars. Not only are 1) they sound awesome 2) provide more torque 3) have the futuristic ERS thingys, they are just awesome.

We need HWNSNBM's take on these new sounds. Oh wait... ^^

If the engines sounded more like the Red Bull X2014 Standard on the other hand…

[go_Rubens]

As for a real one: The V8s sounded better than these "power units". (Grabs papaya shield)

*Lightning Storm rains papayas*

To be fair, Wallio, I was okay with the V8s, but they weren't too good. F1 V8s were awesome in the 50s through the 90s and 2006. Every other year F1 used V8s in the 21st century was for me was slightly disappointing. I love these new turbocharged cars. Not only are 1) they sound awesome 2) provide more torque 3) have the futuristic ERS thingys, they are just awesome.

We need HWNSNBM's take on these new sounds. Oh wait... ^^

If the engines sounded more like the Red Bull X2014 Standard on the other hand…

Ewww... Not the Standard. The Fan Car, yes. But the Standard has a really annoying screech to the sound that shows how crap PD are at making sounds for a racing game. They really have to improve the quality of the sounds on GT6. I hear they will have a sound update, but I am starting to doubt whether they will be better or not.

[AdrianSutil]

Marcus Ericsson and Max Chilton shouldn't be in F1 this season.

Note I said 'shouldn't, not 'don't deserve'. They're both good racing drivers don't get me wrong, but I know there's drives out there who have been linked to seats and who should've got them. Van der Garde should be at Caterham and I'd have liked to have seen James Calado in the Marussia. Both of those drivers are better in general.

I don't buy the whole 'Chilton finished every race, well done' crap either. The cars are ultra-reliable and he's running last every lap. Hardly going to trip over anyone or be in a big accident at the start is he... And he wasn't the only car to finish every race. Button did if I'm correct...

As for Ericsson, it's true we haven't seen much of him yet and we all slagged off GVDG and were largely proved wrong, but I'm willing to bet my avatar that he fails to out-qualify Kobayashi more than three times this season. He won't score a point either and will not be racing in 2015. He was 6th in GP2. 6th. Behind five drivers (Calado included), who are better.

But good luck to them both anyway, doing something we all wished to do.

[Alextrax52]

Marcus Ericsson and Max Chilton shouldn't be in F1 this season.

Note I said 'shouldn't, not 'don't deserve'. They're both good racing drivers don't get me wrong, but I know there's drives out there who have been linked to seats and who should've got them. Van der Garde should be at Caterham and I'd have liked to have seen James Calado in the Marussia. Both of those drivers are better in general.

I don't buy the whole 'Chilton finished every race, well done' crap either. The cars are ultra-reliable and he's running last every lap. Hardly going to trip over anyone or be in a big accident at the start is he... And he wasn't the only car to finish every race. Button did if I'm correct...

As for Ericsson, it's true we haven't seen much of him yet and we all slagged off GVDG and were largely proved wrong, but I'm willing to bet my avatar that he fails to out-qualify Kobayashi more than three times this season. He won't score a point either and will not be racing in 2015. He was 6th in GP2. 6th. Behind five drivers (Calado included), who are better.

But good luck to them both anyway, doing something we all wished to do.

I'm not judging Ericsson yet (I'll save that after 7-8 races have been done) But I agree about Chilton. It doesn't matter if he finished every race the fact is he never impressed in any of them apart from maybe India. A real eye sore for me was Germany where he qualified over a second off Bianchi and finished about 35 seconds behind the Caterhams despite the safety car coming out for the Phantom Marussia. It's not just his on track performances that irk me though. He claimed that he deserved a 2014 seat because he outqualified Bianchi once and outraced him twice and he thought that his 14th in Monaco was important. It was because 7 cars retired and GVDG's tires were chewed to the belt. Plus he has the advantage of the media protecting him for his lack of pace but if he was German they would be all over him for it.

That said Chilton does tend to get better with more experience (In his last year in both F3 and GP2 he claimed wins) so maybe he can outqualify Bianchi on merit or if not at least aim to be a tenth or two behind at worst instead of some of the gulfs we saw last year.

[mario]

I don't buy the whole 'Chilton finished every race, well done' crap either. The cars are ultra-reliable and he's running last every lap. Hardly going to trip over anyone or be in a big accident at the start is he... And he wasn't the only car to finish every race. Button did if I'm correct...

It's slightly different as Button was a classified finisher in every race, which isn't quite the same situation as finishing every race. Button officially retired from the Malaysian GP three laps from the end, but because he had completed more than 95% of the full race distance he was recorded as having finished in 17th place.

[Jocke1]

Marcus Ericsson and Max Chilton shouldn't be in F1 this season.

I agree about Chilton

http://youtu.be/hsVAYFSEBrA?t=3m1s

[Alextrax52]

Marcus Ericsson and Max Chilton shouldn't be in F1 this season.

I agree about Chilton

http://youtu.be/hsVAYFSEBrA?t=3m1s

Jocke1 really has Gongaga

[go_Rubens]

Marcus Ericsson and Max Chilton shouldn't be in F1 this season.

I agree about Chilton

http://youtu.be/hsVAYFSEBrA?t=3m1s

Meanwhile, I agree about Ericsson.

I'll get me coat, me hat, me shoes, and me scarf.

[More_Blue_Flags]

I was convinced this one would have come up as an unpopular opinion before, but I couldn't find it with the search function. Feel free to put me in my place if it has been covered already. Anyway ...

... Didier Pironi was completely justified in passing Gilles Villeneuve for the win at Imola in 1982. Villeneuve may have been furious with Pironi - and Villeneuve's death at Zolder was certainly tragic - but it doesn't mean that Pironi was wrong.

This may not exactly reflect my opinion now, but it was certainly my opinion in 1982 before I understood the context of how Gilles supported Jody Scheckter's bid for the title in 1979 and how that shaped his expectations of how a team should work.

[mario]

I was convinced this one would have come up as an unpopular opinion before, but I couldn't find it with the search function. Feel free to put me in my place if it has been covered already. Anyway ...

... Didier Pironi was completely justified in passing Gilles Villeneuve for the win at Imola in 1982. Villeneuve may have been furious with Pironi - and Villeneuve's death at Zolder was certainly tragic - but it doesn't mean that Pironi was wrong.

This may not exactly reflect my opinion now, but it was certainly my opinion in 1982 before I understood the context of how Gilles supported Jody Scheckter's bid for the title in 1979 and how that shaped his expectations of how a team should work.

Whilst Pironi was acting in his own interests, it perhaps brought him short term gain but longer term misfortune. By passing Gilles, not only did he shatter the trust of his team mate, he also shattered the faith that the team had placed in him - let us not forget that Enzo Ferrari always emphasised that no driver was greater than the team, so to see a driver place his own interests ahead of that of the team and betray a driver whom Enzo was quite fond of must have deeply hurt him and damaged Pironi's relationship with the team heavily after that.

[Jocke1]

I might be hung for this blasphemy, but here I go anyway.

If there can be only one Japanese driver in F1 (which it currently is), I would rather have Sato than Kobayashi...

[Nessafox]

I might be hung for this blasphemy, but here I go anyway.

If there can be only one Japanese driver in F1 (which it currently is), I would rather have Sato than Kobayashi...

How is that unpopular? F1 Rejects loves Sato!

[Jocke1]

It feels like Kobayashi is God to some.

[CoopsII]

It feels like Kobayashi is God to some.

I think both Kobayashi and Sato are mega. If I had to choose one Id choose Sato. But then Id probably ditch many others to include Kobayashi on the grid.

[Wallio]

It feels like Kobayashi is God to some.

I think both Kobayashi and Sato are mega. If I had to choose one Id choose Sato. But then Id probably ditch many others to include Kobayashi on the grid.

Sato had an entire F1 team built from scratch around solely him, got David Richards fired from BAR when replacement was even mentioned, and has a guaranteed Indycar engine contract for life. I have no idea what kind of dirt he has on the Honda family, but man it must be good.

[Aerospeed]

It feels like Kobayashi is God to some.

I think both Kobayashi and Sato are mega. If I had to choose one Id choose Sato. But then Id probably ditch many others to include Kobayashi on the grid.

Sato had an entire F1 team built from scratch around solely him, got David Richards fired from BAR when replacement was even mentioned, and has a guaranteed Indycar engine contract for life. I have no idea what kind of dirt he has on the Honda family, but man it must be good.

What, really? I must have missed the memo, I didn't know AJ Foyt liked him that much!

[Wallio]

What, really? I must have missed the memo, I didn't know AJ Foyt liked him that much!

Not AJ, Honda. Whatever team signs Sato gets Hondas.

[Salamander]

It feels like Kobayashi is God to some.

I think both Kobayashi and Sato are mega. If I had to choose one Id choose Sato. But then Id probably ditch many others to include Kobayashi on the grid.

Sato had an entire F1 team built from scratch around solely him, got David Richards fired from BAR when replacement was even mentioned, and has a guaranteed Indycar engine contract for life. I have no idea what kind of dirt he has on the Honda family, but man it must be good.

I'm pretty sure it's because he has a massive Japanese fanbase.

[CoopsII]

It looks like Williams may at least begin the season with a competative car. It may not be that way all year, I understand that. However, assuming it does my possibly unpopular opinion is this...

Williams have a car with the potential to win races and thus the championship but sadly their driver line-up is not of the calibre to make the most of it.

Id love to be proved wrong but I dont think Bottas has it and Massa had it (a bit) but not anymore.

[mario]

It looks like Williams may at least begin the season with a competative car. It may not be that way all year, I understand that. However, assuming it does my possibly unpopular opinion is this...

Williams have a car with the potential to win races and thus the championship but sadly their driver line-up is not of the calibre to make the most of it.

Id love to be proved wrong but I dont think Bottas has it and Massa had it (a bit) but not anymore.

Given that it has been a long time since a Williams driver was able to challenge for the title, it is not surprising that Williams doesn't have the first pick of drivers that they might have had in the past.

That said, whilst I agree that overall their line up is probably not the strongest out there, it is not a terrible line up either - Bottas does seem to be maturing quite quickly and is showing promise, whilst Massa, although perhaps no longer quite as strong as once he was, does seem to be beginning to recapture a little of the form he had now that Williams are giving him room to develop.
Now, 2012 saw Williams produce a halfway decent car but, asides from Maldonado's performance in Spain, saw that thrown away by a driver who was quick but very erratic and another who was less erratic but struggling for performance (although Williams didn't help Bruno's cause by depriving him of so much practise time). Massa is a relatively mature driver and unlikely to throw the car into the barriers, whilst Bottas is showing a lot of maturity for a driver with so little experience - it could well be that, in the opening races, that slightly more conservative driving may yield dividends through the mistakes and breakdowns of others. Maybe it won't be a torrent of points, but a steady trickle of strong results that sees Williams rise to a respectable finishing position in the WCC - after all, realistically it is going to be very difficult for Williams to keep up with the manufacturers given the disparity in resources.

[andrew2209]

It would be a shame to see Vettel and Red Bull lose out because of Renault.

I'm not saying I'd like to see Vettel and Red Bull run off with yet another title, but I'd rather they were beaten fair and square by a driver with roughly equal cars, than be beaten because their engine supplier produced an overheating lemon of an engine.

[go_Rubens]

It would be a shame to see Vettel and Red Bull lose out because of Renault.

I'm not saying I'd like to see Vettel and Red Bull run off with yet another title, but I'd rather they were beaten fair and square by a driver with roughly equal cars, than be beaten because their engine supplier produced an overheating lemon of an engine.

I would have to agree with this as well. It's just that even with Renault's issues, it's not like Red Bull don't have their own issues. The car packaging was completely botched up, as colling just went straight out the window. Their issues actually prompted a Reject Rating (spoiler alert) of 25/10. In the early races, I expect Red Bull to commonly DNF. Yeah, Renault cocked up bad, but Red Bull are also at fault for building a car incompatible with the engine.

[CoopsII]

It would be a shame to see Vettel and Red Bull lose out because of Renault.

I'm not saying I'd like to see Vettel and Red Bull run off with yet another title, but I'd rather they were beaten fair and square by a driver with roughly equal cars, than be beaten because their engine supplier produced an overheating lemon of an engine.

Sure but, y'know, sh1t happens. Id like to have seen the likes of Alonso or Hamilton take him on in an even fight but it were not to be. For some time. Such is the nature of F1 sometimes.

[mario]

It would be a shame to see Vettel and Red Bull lose out because of Renault.

I'm not saying I'd like to see Vettel and Red Bull run off with yet another title, but I'd rather they were beaten fair and square by a driver with roughly equal cars, than be beaten because their engine supplier produced an overheating lemon of an engine.

I would have to agree with this as well. It's just that even with Renault's issues, it's not like Red Bull don't have their own issues. The car packaging was completely botched up, as colling just went straight out the window. Their issues actually prompted a Reject Rating (spoiler alert) of 25/10. In the early races, I expect Red Bull to commonly DNF. Yeah, Renault cocked up bad, but Red Bull are also at fault for building a car incompatible with the engine.

It is true that Renault have reportedly made errors when developing their powertrain, but you are right that perhaps not everything can be laid at their feet. Whilst Renault have reportedly made quite a few mistakes during the development of their powertrain - not integrating testing of the energy recovery units and the engine on the dyno, possible overambitious targets on energy recovery and so forth - Red Bull have not entirely helped matters either given that the energy recovery systems seem to have been developed around their specifications.
Whilst it is unfortunate, there are those who do feel that, ultimately, if you are going to place a greater emphasis on mechanical components such as engines, then it is inevitable that somebody will end up on the losing side of the deal as and when their engine doesn't work properly. Red Bull have had the privilege of being the works Renault team for several years, so there will be those that feel that they shouldn't be spared the flip side of that deal when they also bear the brunt of Renault's problems in the bad years.

[Klon]

Anyone who is worried about the sound of a racing car is a pretentious git.

[CoopsII]

Anyone who is worried about the sound of a racing car is a pretentious git.

What about people worried about the nose-cones on an F1 car?

[SgtPepper]

Anyone who is worried about the sound of a racing car is a pretentious git.

I think the furore over the noses was only quite so strong because when they were first shown, the F1 world has desperately little to go on for what promises to be such an eventful season. To be fair, some of the noses are pretty dire, but at least we get to see differing cars which is nice. Personally I'd like some sort of vanity panel type solution, but I'm sure once the cars are on track it will all be forgotten either way.

[DanielPT]

Anyone who is worried about the sound of a racing car is a pretentious git.

What about people worried about the nose-cones on an F1 car?

It is an honest worry to have, specially those who are in the circuit and can be hit from behind!



As for Klon said, I do not see how is that unpopular solely from my point of view. As for the git part, we must not forget who was the first one to voice his concerns about this...

[watka]

Anyone who is worried about the sound of a racing car is a pretentious git.

I take it you're looking forward to Formula E then?

(I actually am)

[SgtPepper]

Anyone who is worried about the sound of a racing car is a pretentious git.

I take it you're looking forward to Formula E then?

(I actually am)

Wouldn't it be amazing if the Formula E drivers were all ex-F1 drivers? Alesi, Prost, Mansell, Hakkinen etc etc.

But then noone would watch F1 again.

[Klon]

Anyone who is worried about the sound of a racing car is a pretentious git.

I take it you're looking forward to Formula E then?

I indeed am. I can see that becoming really big. I hope I have monies by the time the ticket sales for the Berlin race start.

[dr-baker]

Anyone who is worried about the sound of a racing car is a pretentious git.

I take it you're looking forward to Formula E then?

I indeed am. I can see that becoming really big. I hope I have monies by the time the ticket sales for the Berlin race start.

I'm hoping to go the the London event, by which time, we'll have an idea how rejectworthy or otherwise the series is. And it looks likely to run in Battersea, famous for its disused power station and dogs' home. Will there be comparisons with the series's power station running on empty, or the car being a female dog (=bitch)? Only time will tell...

[Normal32]

-Senna deserves more than 3 titles.
-I don't like Maldonado
-As well as Alonso.
-Valterri Bottas,Jules Bianchi and Sergio Perez are future F1 Champions.

[CoopsII]

Im really looking forward to things kicking off, really I am.

However.

All this talk about how different and exciting F1 is guaranteed to be from this weekend smacks of desperation. It comes across as a last-gasp pitch to pull punters in after what we're always told has been several lacklustre seasons.

If it doesnt match the hype, well, then what?

[good_Ralf]

-Senna deserves more than 3 titles.

You mean Ayrton, right? He controversially won in '90 and was a bit lucky in '88 but yeah, he had the speed to win both anyway (that's how I think ) plus without mechanical failures he would have been in more serious contention in '89.

-Valterri Bottas,Jules Bianchi and Sergio Perez are future F1 Champions.

Bottas is a future champion, and so is Bianchi. I'm not so sure about Perez, after his sadly unconvincing year with McLaren. But when Checo is at his best, he's pretty fast.

[Aerospeed]

-Valterri Bottas,Jules Bianchi and Sergio Perez are future F1 Champions.

Bottas is a future champion, and so is Bianchi. I'm not so sure about Perez, after his sadly unconvincing year with McLaren. But when Checo is at his best, he's pretty fast.

I think it had much to do with the crappy MP4-28 - the car couldn't do anything even with Jenson driving the car. Also, Whitmarsh completely mishandled the whole season, and made it from bad to worse.

On the other hand, if the rumours of Force India being linked to hiring Magnussen were true, then the idea of having them backing out suddenly and getting Perez in return was an act of sheer genius. Now the only thing that remains is Perez having to prove himself once again. If he beats Hulkenberg in the standings, I think that will increase his value significantly.