Ponderbox

The place for speaking your mind on current goings-on in F1
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watka
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by watka »

mario wrote:
Aguvazk wrote:I was thinking... Now liberty media want to increase the calendar, could be interesting the inclusion of an oval race, we could have an oval race, some street races, some at night...

Judging by their latest strategy, it's more likely that Liberty Media are going to focus on boosting the number of street circuits on the calendar instead, hence why we are seeing proposals such as a street circuit in Copenhagen.

Speaking of which, we have now see Liberty Media put forward their latest proposal for the future development of F1, and it is one which I have a slight sense of unease about. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/form ... 51820/?s=1

Maybe it is me, but what Bratches calls his 'Revel in the racing’ objective sounds a bit mixed - whilst there is an argument for reapportioning revenue, the proposal for cost caps does also feel a bit like Liberty's way of justifying continuing to take a large chunk of the profits out of the sport (not to mention the difficulties of managing to impose such a system in the first place).

When he also talks about altering the governance structure, at the same time that does start to make me wonder if he is talking about increased standardisation of parts and a move towards a semi-spec series - something that would also tally with the increased emphasis on the drivers and their personalities at the expense of the teams.


I think I've said it before on the forum, but I'd be sad to see a calendar full of street circuits.

The commercial advantage of street circuits is obvious; no need for a company to own a circuit, no white elephant left when a company gives up its grand prix, fans can reach the circuit easily by public transport, a chance to race against the backdrop of famous landmarks. However, street circuits to me should always be a mere novelty. I grew up watching F1 in the mid-90s; there was Monaco and Adelaide, and then you could debatable include Montreal and Melbourne. Street circuits seemed like a unique challenge, now they are two a penny.

A permanent circuit is by definition, purpose-built. Each corner has been specifically designed and profiled. A street circuit is by definition, a compromise. It would be more than a shame to witness the slow death of circuit racing in sacrifice for "the show".
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Peteroli34 »

Formula one car are air lifted to the non European happens so what happens if one of the planes cant make it or it was to crash surely that race would have to be cancelled.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Spectoremg »

Ok, so one swallow doesn't make a summer but McHonda had a good race today (Malaysia).
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Rob Dylan »

With the current political issues and events taking place in Catalonia, will it have any bearing or threat on the Spanish Grand Prix next year?
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by yannicksamlad »

Rob Dylan wrote:With the current political issues and events taking place in Catalonia, will it have any bearing or threat on the Spanish Grand Prix next year?

I hadnt thought of that ..until you mentioned it.

Assuming that no-one does anything too stupid to incite mayhem I assume the race will go ahead fine . I tend to believe that there will be a bit of posturing , and a re-negotiation of the place Catalonia has as part of Spain ( with maybe a longer term drift to 'independence' , but no outright secession immediately ( at least in terms of facts on the ground) . I tend to think business and movement will continue as before.

So that just leaves whether anyone will be so upset that its called the "Spanish" GP that they try to derail it. Hopefully unlikely.

But there must be a risk that protests turn violent and Catalans decide that all things Spanish are to be rejected - including the Grand Prix, at which point the politics may make it difficult to hold the race .
I'm guessing the organisers will be keen for it to go ahead though ; they're paying their 'hosting fee' so they'll want to sell tickets . I doubt they have insurance to cover it
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Rob Dylan »

One major point that needs to be understood I think, is whether tickets are on sale yet. If tickets haven't started being sold, then there could be a boycott of the race by the Catalonians over the name, which, although it would still mean the race would occur, might have long-term financial issues for the organisers. Hell, even if the tickets are on sale already, there could still be a boycott. I don't know, this is all conjecture, but it's a possibility that the organisers and Liberty Media need to understand.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by dr-baker »

Rob Dylan wrote:One major point that needs to be understood I think, is whether tickets are on sale yet. If tickets haven't started being sold, then there could be a boycott of the race by the Catalonians over the name, which, although it would still mean the race would occur, might have long-term financial issues for the organisers. Hell, even if the tickets are on sale already, there could still be a boycott. I don't know, this is all conjecture, but it's a possibility that the organisers and Liberty Media need to understand.

As regards race name, would renaming the race as either the Iberian Grand Prix or European Grand Prix be problematic, or might it help?
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Fetzie »

Rob Dylan wrote:One major point that needs to be understood I think, is whether tickets are on sale yet. If tickets haven't started being sold, then there could be a boycott of the race by the Catalonians over the name, which, although it would still mean the race would occur, might have long-term financial issues for the organisers. Hell, even if the tickets are on sale already, there could still be a boycott. I don't know, this is all conjecture, but it's a possibility that the organisers and Liberty Media need to understand.


F1 raced in Bahrain when it was practically in a state of active civil war, so I don't think the race would be cancelled.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Aislabie »

I'm just hoping that long-term it means we go to Motorland Aragon
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by mario »

watka wrote:
mario wrote:
Aguvazk wrote:I was thinking... Now liberty media want to increase the calendar, could be interesting the inclusion of an oval race, we could have an oval race, some street races, some at night...

Judging by their latest strategy, it's more likely that Liberty Media are going to focus on boosting the number of street circuits on the calendar instead, hence why we are seeing proposals such as a street circuit in Copenhagen.

Speaking of which, we have now see Liberty Media put forward their latest proposal for the future development of F1, and it is one which I have a slight sense of unease about. https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/form ... 51820/?s=1

Maybe it is me, but what Bratches calls his 'Revel in the racing’ objective sounds a bit mixed - whilst there is an argument for reapportioning revenue, the proposal for cost caps does also feel a bit like Liberty's way of justifying continuing to take a large chunk of the profits out of the sport (not to mention the difficulties of managing to impose such a system in the first place).

When he also talks about altering the governance structure, at the same time that does start to make me wonder if he is talking about increased standardisation of parts and a move towards a semi-spec series - something that would also tally with the increased emphasis on the drivers and their personalities at the expense of the teams.


I think I've said it before on the forum, but I'd be sad to see a calendar full of street circuits.

The commercial advantage of street circuits is obvious; no need for a company to own a circuit, no white elephant left when a company gives up its grand prix, fans can reach the circuit easily by public transport, a chance to race against the backdrop of famous landmarks. However, street circuits to me should always be a mere novelty. I grew up watching F1 in the mid-90s; there was Monaco and Adelaide, and then you could debatable include Montreal and Melbourne. Street circuits seemed like a unique challenge, now they are two a penny.

A permanent circuit is by definition, purpose-built. Each corner has been specifically designed and profiled. A street circuit is by definition, a compromise. It would be more than a shame to witness the slow death of circuit racing in sacrifice for "the show".

Going back to this point, we've now seen at least two more proposals for street races, the first being in Vietnam as part of Liberty Media's push for more Asian street races, and now talk of a possible Dutch street circuit, either in Rotterdam or Amsterdam, to cash in on the sudden surge of interest in Max Verstappen.

Now, it's quite plausible that a number of these announcements could be being made just to maintain a certain amount of interest in the sport, but it does point towards a mentality of packing the calendar with street races in order to "create a spectacle" - by contrast, there doesn't seem to have been any new news about what might happen with Silverstone and the British GP since the break clause was activated.

Aislabie wrote:I'm just hoping that long-term it means we go to Motorland Aragon

At the rate that Liberty Media are going, they'll probably propose replacing it with a street circuit in Madrid instead...
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by DemocalypseNow »

Rob Dylan wrote:One major point that needs to be understood I think, is whether tickets are on sale yet. If tickets haven't started being sold, then there could be a boycott of the race by the Catalonians over the name, which, although it would still mean the race would occur, might have long-term financial issues for the organisers. Hell, even if the tickets are on sale already, there could still be a boycott. I don't know, this is all conjecture, but it's a possibility that the organisers and Liberty Media need to understand.

RallyRACC Catalunya-Costa Daurada (a.k.a. Rally de Espana) ran without a hitch last weekend, right in the immediate aftermath of the divisive referendum.

I don't see it being an issue on that basis.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Meatwad »

According to Autosport, Gasly won't race in Austin, instead participating in the Super Formula title decider.

Who will take his place? I'd like to see Rossi, but that rumor was already denied. There are very few drivers available who have a super licence. Could we even see Palmer get a chance? :o
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

Meatwad wrote:According to Autosport, Gasly won't race in Austin, instead participating in the Super Formula title decider.

Who will take his place? I'd like to see Rossi, but that rumor was already denied. There are very few drivers available who have a super licence. Could we even see Palmer get a chance? :o

I've seen rumours of pretty much every Honda IndyCar driver being linked with the seat, most prominently SATOOOO (sorry, I've been gravitating towards the Autosport forums on IndyCar weekends this year), Newgarden (F1 could use his personality, then again it probably doesn't deserve him) and of course Rossi.

Then we have Buemi, who's still linked with Red Bull and has been doing testing for them whenever his replacement Gasly's been unavailable. It would be good to get his profile up to the 30,000 word mark. :twisted:

Palmer driving for Toro Rosso would be the greatest comeback ever, obviously, and he should be in a fantastic position to finish 5th and unrejectify himself as we all know he should.

Sean Gelael has been doing running for them, but he doesn't come anywhere near qualifying for a superlicence under the points system. But then again they've made it so convoluted since introducing points he may yet qualify under the 300 km of running rule that he may have covered enough distance to get in there.

Nigel Mansell hasn't formally retired yet, so there's that. That's that obligatory joke out of the way...

This is also exactly the sort of situation that would allow Pedro de la Rosa to make another comeback.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Rob Dylan »

Is Gary Paffett still waiting around the wings?

And Timo Glock was hinting at some kind of F1 comeback earlier this year which was never ever mentioned again. Maybe this exact scenario was what he was implying?
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by CarloSpace »

Autosport reports Brendon Hartley the favourite now with Buemi the back-up: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132366/hartley-favourite-for-toro-rosso-us-gp-drive

I'd love to see Hartley get a shot in F1, it's way too long since there was a driver from New Zealand. Plus it's a great chance to get another reject (barring any heroics by him!).
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by mario »

CarloSpace wrote:Autosport reports Brendon Hartley the favourite now with Buemi the back-up: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132366/hartley-favourite-for-toro-rosso-us-gp-drive

I'd love to see Hartley get a shot in F1, it's way too long since there was a driver from New Zealand. Plus it's a great chance to get another reject (barring any heroics by him!).

Hartley seems like a rather odd choice given that Red Bull dropped him from their Junior Team back in 2010 because they thought that he had been underperforming on track - if they didn't think he was good enough for the team 7 years ago, why would they suddenly be so open to him now?

It also seems a bit odd given that he's barely going to have any time to prepare for this race - he's currently in Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji, so he's barely got four days between that race and the US GP. If it worked out, then all the better for him - but it's surprising when I would have thought that it would be far easier to slot Buemi into the seat for a race.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by 1993DonningtonNo1Mk2 »

mario wrote:
CarloSpace wrote:Autosport reports Brendon Hartley the favourite now with Buemi the back-up: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132366/hartley-favourite-for-toro-rosso-us-gp-drive

I'd love to see Hartley get a shot in F1, it's way too long since there was a driver from New Zealand. Plus it's a great chance to get another reject (barring any heroics by him!).

Hartley seems like a rather odd choice given that Red Bull dropped him from their Junior Team back in 2010 because they thought that he had been underperforming on track - if they didn't think he was good enough for the team 7 years ago, why would they suddenly be so open to him now?

It also seems a bit odd given that he's barely going to have any time to prepare for this race - he's currently in Japan for the 6 Hours of Fuji, so he's barely got four days between that race and the US GP. If it worked out, then all the better for him - but it's surprising when I would have thought that it would be far easier to slot Buemi into the seat for a race.


The theme of one-off appearances seems to be making a comeback this season.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

CarloSpace wrote:Autosport reports Brendon Hartley the favourite now with Buemi the back-up: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132366/hartley-favourite-for-toro-rosso-us-gp-drive

I'd love to see Hartley get a shot in F1, it's way too long since there was a driver from New Zealand. Plus it's a great chance to get another reject (barring any heroics by him!).

Funny, I was going to facetiously suggest Hartley as well...
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by This Could Be You »

Simtek wrote:
CarloSpace wrote:Autosport reports Brendon Hartley the favourite now with Buemi the back-up: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132366/hartley-favourite-for-toro-rosso-us-gp-drive

I'd love to see Hartley get a shot in F1, it's way too long since there was a driver from New Zealand. Plus it's a great chance to get another reject (barring any heroics by him!).

Funny, I was going to facetiously suggest Hartley as well...

Honestly I'm surprised that no one has figured out that Helmut Marko is also going to drop Kvyat, in order to make way for a Badoer/Lotterer superteam. Obvious, no?
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

This Could Be You wrote:
Simtek wrote:
CarloSpace wrote:Autosport reports Brendon Hartley the favourite now with Buemi the back-up: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/132366/hartley-favourite-for-toro-rosso-us-gp-drive

I'd love to see Hartley get a shot in F1, it's way too long since there was a driver from New Zealand. Plus it's a great chance to get another reject (barring any heroics by him!).

Funny, I was going to facetiously suggest Hartley as well...

Honestly I'm surprised that no one has figured out that Helmut Marko is also going to drop Kvyat...

Of course, it should have been obvious all along.

It's been a while since we've had an Austrian on the grid...
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by 1993DonningtonNo1Mk2 »

So whoever gets the drive, it will be the 3rd one-off appearance of the season, the most since 2005 and potentially the first Kiwi F1 Driver since Mike Thackwell in 1984.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by sswishbone »

This is so Red Bull can sweeten Porsche for an engine deal in 2021
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by 1993DonningtonNo1Mk2 »

sswishbone wrote:This is so Red Bull can sweeten Porsche for an engine deal in 2021


There's always an ulterior motive.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Rob Dylan »

I'm definitely enjoying this roulette one-off driver changes this year. A refreshing change from years of 2012-3 where there was a one-off drive and that was all the variety we got from a season.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by 1993DonningtonNo1Mk2 »

Rob Dylan wrote:I'm definitely enjoying this roulette one-off driver changes this year. A refreshing change from years of 2012-3 where there was a one-off drive and that was all the variety we got from a season.


Makes things more interesting too.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by dr-baker »

But we are far from the 1994 season, where there were driver changes in 14 of the 16 races, either due to injury, death or disqualification.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by 1993DonningtonNo1Mk2 »

dr-baker wrote:But we are far from the 1994 season, where there were driver changes in 14 of the 16 races, either due to injury, death or disqualification.


True, that was both unfortunate and ridiculous.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Peteroli34 »

So Toro Rosso go into the USGP running 2 completely different drivers then they ran in the previous GP. When was the last time that happened in the same season?.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

peteroli34 wrote:So Toro Rosso go into the USGP running 2 completely different drivers then they ran in the previous GP. When was the last time that happened in the same season?.

https://gprejects.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 80#p382954 :deletraz:
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by 1993DonningtonNo1Mk2 »

Simtek wrote:
peteroli34 wrote:So Toro Rosso go into the USGP running 2 completely different drivers then they ran in the previous GP. When was the last time that happened in the same season?.

https://gprejects.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 80#p382954 :deletraz:


I just read that fact on gpupdate.com.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by dinizintheoven »

The further thought occurs:

Brendon Hartley is unlikely to be considered a permanent driver for this season, and should be allocated a temporary number akin to André Lotterer and Will Stevens in 2015 and Stoffel Vandoorne last year. Toro Rosso's testing-and-temporary numbers are 38 and 39, and Sean Gelael's already taken 38 for a couple of Friday morning test runs with a hefty splodge of Indonesian government money...

...do the right thing, number-allocators at the FIA. Bring back the number 39 for the first time since Bruno Giacomelli tried to coax an interesting flowerpot with the loosest possible definition of an engine into life, for a team with the same name. (And before anyone points out the Judd engine, I wasn't going to ruin that last sentence for the sake of pedanticism but it's not as if it made the interesting flowerpot move any faster.)
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by The Chicane »

It was Peter Sauber's 74th birthday this past Friday so lets wish a Happy Birthday to the founder of F1's current backmarker.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by 1993DonningtonNo1Mk2 »

The Chicane wrote:It was Peter Sauber's 74th birthday this past Friday so lets wish a Happy Birthday to the founder of F1's current backmarker.


Belated Happy returns, Peter Sauber.
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Re: Ponderbox

Post by 1993DonningtonNo1Mk2 »

dinizintheoven wrote:The further thought occurs:

Brendon Hartley is unlikely to be considered a permanent driver for this season, and should be allocated a temporary number akin to André Lotterer and Will Stevens in 2015 and Stoffel Vandoorne last year. Toro Rosso's testing-and-temporary numbers are 38 and 39, and Sean Gelael's already taken 38 for a couple of Friday morning test runs with a hefty splodge of Indonesian government money...

...do the right thing, number-allocators at the FIA. Bring back the number 39 for the first time since Bruno Giacomelli tried to coax an interesting flowerpot with the loosest possible definition of an engine into life, for a team with the same name. (And before anyone points out the Judd engine, I wasn't going to ruin that last sentence for the sake of pedanticism but it's not as if it made the interesting flowerpot move any faster.)


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Post by dinizintheoven »

Image

GO! GO! GO! Or not, in the case of the interesting flowerpot. Lots and lots of DNPQs for Bad Boy Brabham and Bad Luck Bruno in F1's worst ever car.

Image

Schnell, schnell! I mean... langsam, langsam! Volker "was sagst du?" Weidler and Pierre-Henri "one day I'll be Bugatti's chief test driver" Raphanel never had anything to do on Sunday.

Image

And we have to go back to 1978 to find the previous time before the Rial ARC-2 that there was a number 39 on the entry sheet - with previously profiled reject Danny Ongais in the Interscope Racing Shadow DN9. His results in that car - two DNPQs! He did qualify for two races in an Ensign, with number 21, but not in the number 39 Shadow.

Image

And this means that the United States Grand Prix on 2nd October 1977 was the last time the number 39 was seen in a race, courtesy of Ian Ashley (formerly of Token, Frank Williams Racing Cars and Stanley-BRM!), qualifying the Hesketh 308E at his fourth and final attempt that year. Héctor Rebaque scored three DNQs in Hesketh #39 but qualified once out of three attempts in Hesketh #25. So, 40 years and a few days later, that long streak should be broken!

But Ian Ashley didn't finish that day at the Glen, so we have to go back to the 1976 Austrian Grand Prix to find the last time car 39 saw the chequered flag - courtesy of Alessandro Pesenti-Rossi in a privately-entered Tyrrell, who finished 11th and three laps down. And this was the only time his car wore #39, it was #40 for the two races either side of this one, and #37 for his final attempt.

Image

39 must be a strong contender for the most rejectful history of any number that's been used more than a handful of times.
Last edited by dinizintheoven on 19 Oct 2017, 16:10, edited 2 times in total.
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Re:

Post by mario »

dinizintheoven wrote:39 must be a strong contender for the most rejectful history of any number that's been used more than a handful of times.

Unfortunately, that picture of Alessandro is not showing up (it just goes back to a link saying that you have to log in to see it).

I have also taken a look, and it seems that there is another possible candidate - No.41, which graced the car of Winkelhock at AGS in 1989 (7 DNPQ's), Loris Kessel in 1977 (1 DNQ) and Geoff Lees at Ensign in 1980 (1 DNQ and one start in 24th for the Dutch GP, where Brambilla took him out after 21 laps).

No. 43 also seemed to bring similar misfortune, with Mike Thackwell in 1980 at Tyrrell (1 DNQ, qualified once in 24th in Canada but had to give his car to Jarier when the race had to be restarted), Leo Kinnunen in 1974 for Surtees (2 DNQ's), Nigel Mansell's Lotus 81B in 1980 (1 DNQ, 1 start in 16th and once in 24th, failing to finish on both occasions), Gerard Larousse in 1974 with a second hand Brabham BT42 entered by Scuderia Finotto (1 DNQ, started once in 28th but failed to finish) and, of course, Desire Wilson (1 DNQ).
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dinizintheoven
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Post by dinizintheoven »

mario wrote:Unfortunately, that picture of Alessandro is not showing up (it just goes back to a link saying that you have to log in to see it).

Is that better now? I'd gone for a picture from Forix, where I have an account. It's been changed for one from Pinterest, where I don't, so if it shows for me, it should show for everyone.

mario wrote:I have also taken a look, and it seems that there is another possible candidate - No.41, which graced the car of Winkelhock at AGS in 1989 (7 DNPQ's), Loris Kessel in 1977 (1 DNQ) and Geoff Lees at Ensign in 1980 (1 DNQ and one start in 24th for the Dutch GP, where Brambilla took him out after 21 laps).

It seems that back in those days, there were teams who'd enter one car at the start of the year, get given #14 for that one car and then, when they decided they wanted to run a second car anyway, they'd have to have a non-consecutive number because OH NO 13 *HYSTERICAL SUPERSTITIOUS SCREECHING* WE CAN'T POSSIBLY USE THAT (Moises Solana and Divina Galica were unavailable for comment, the former permanently). I suppose 41 was a logical choice - it's the kind of thing BTCC teams would do when the driver numbers are allocated by positions in the previous year's Drivers' Championship, and car 6 (say) gets paired with 16 or 66 if that driver had a new team-mate who wasn't driving the previous year. And if that driver's already in the teens, swap the digits round. It makes more sense than pairing 14 with 19 (Fittipaldi 1979), 31 (ATS 1984) or 29 (Zakspeed 1986).
Also, don't forget Yannick Dalmas taking over that #41 AGS in 1989 - he never escaped rejectdom either. As for Loris Kessel, may we never forget it was the fantastically-named Apollon Fly that had #41 on it.

No. 43 also seemed to bring similar misfortune, with Mike Thackwell in 1980 at Tyrrell (1 DNQ, qualified once in 24th in Canada but had to give his car to Jarier when the race had to be restarted), Leo Kinnunen in 1974 for Surtees (2 DNQ's), Nigel Mansell's Lotus 81B in 1980 (1 DNQ, 1 start in 16th and once in 24th, failing to finish on both occasions), Gerard Larousse in 1974 with a second hand Brabham BT42 entered by Scuderia Finotto (1 DNQ, started once in 28th but failed to finish) and, of course, Desire Wilson (1 DNQ).

At least #43 has a few starts in there, if no finishes...

I suspect the least successful number of them all statistically will be one of the triple-digits, say, for that one race in the 1950s where every car was 100-and-something, or Lella Lombardi's DNQ in the one race she attempted in 1974, with a privately-entered Brabham resplendent with #208 to promote Radio Luxembourg. I'll bet they were happy with their investment...
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Re: Re:

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dinizintheoven wrote:, or Lella Lombardi's DNQ in the one race she attempted in 1974, with a privately-entered Brabham resplendent with #208 to promote Radio Luxembourg. I'll bet they were happy with their investment...

I wonder if they could ever imagine people would ever consider talking about it still 43years later in 2017 on a thing called the internet?
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Re: Re:

Post by Bobby Doorknobs »

dr-baker wrote:
dinizintheoven wrote:, or Lella Lombardi's DNQ in the one race she attempted in 1974, with a privately-entered Brabham resplendent with #208 to promote Radio Luxembourg. I'll bet they were happy with their investment...

I wonder if they could ever imagine people would ever consider talking about it still 43years later in 2017 on a thing called the internet?

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dinizintheoven wrote:, or Lella Lombardi's DNQ in the one race she attempted in 1974, with a privately-entered Brabham resplendent with #208 to promote Radio Luxembourg. I'll bet they were happy with their investment...

Wasn't her official starting number 28 and the 0 just put in there for decorative purposes?
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