Grand Prix Rejects

I am a faithful listener to the podcast, so I figured the F1 Rejects site is the place to help me with this problem. I have a new (to me) 1978 Mercedes 240D which needs a nickname. Those of you familiar with this powerful 60+horsepower, 3300lb. car will not be surprised that I am thinking that a German driver who is SLOW might fit the bill. So far I am leaning toward "Ralf" (need I say it? Schumacher). Any other suggestions?
Thanks!

I think you hit the nail on the head there with Ralf. Might I suggest Markus Winkelhock? After all, he does qualify for reject status.

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:I think you hit the nail on the head there with Ralf.

Yeah, naming a slow car after the second most successful German F1 driver...

Well, you could name it: "Rial 2.0" or "The Adrian"

Klon wrote:Yeah, naming a slow car after the second most successful German F1 driver...

Third, Jochen Rindt managed to win a WC, albeit posthumously. Ralf was pretty decent, I must admit, but all I'll ever remember him for is his godawful 2007.

Stefan ? (like Stefan Bellof)

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:

Klon wrote:Yeah, naming a slow car after the second most successful German F1 driver...

Third, Jochen Rindt managed to win a WC, albeit posthumously. Ralf was pretty decent, I must admit, but all I'll ever remember him for is his godawful 2007.

Jochen Rindt was Austrian .

Irisado wrote:

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:

Klon wrote:Yeah, naming a slow car after the second most successful German F1 driver...

Third, Jochen Rindt managed to win a WC, albeit posthumously. Ralf was pretty decent, I must admit, but all I'll ever remember him for is his godawful 2007.

Jochen Rindt was Austrian .

He was born in Germany.

BlindCaveSalamander wrote:He was born in Germany.

I don't dispute that, but in all the books I have ever read, and over at Formula 1's website, his nationality is listed as Austrian, so I don't think he counts as a German World Champion for that reason.

Hans. Heyer.

If its a heavy, slow Merc and if it doesn't need to be a driver, it sounds like Norbert Haug

Also, wasn't Zakspeed German? They were pretty slow, too.

How about Karl, as in Karl Wendlinger? I know, I know, he's Austrian and not German, but he wasn't exactly the fastest driver out there and Sauber did use Mercedes engines when he drove for them.

Not exactly a snappy name, but slow and powered by Mercedes... MP4/24!

Congratulation on the car. A guy I know used to drive one; brilliant machine! he needed to wind up to overtake, and overall it was so painfully slow, you'd be going flat out everywhere.

Unsurprisingly, we realised we couldn't name it after a person. That thing was a tank. We called it the Tiger.

Volker Weidler?

Didn't succeed in F1 with Rial (10 DNQ/DNPQ and no starts) but was Le Mans winner before he retired because of tinnitus

How about Zakspeed?

Faustus wrote:How about Zakspeed?

Or Zak-no-speed.

How about "Nigel Mansell", after the McLaren-Mercedes MP4/10 fiasco?

The car is from 1978? Then it should be named after a driver from the 1970s. I don't know in what series Mercedes was involved during the 1970s. I'm sorry I can't help you.

But here's an anecdote. When I was on holiday during the mid-90s, I rented a bike. I named it Fifti because it was so slow it had to start further back than the cars of Forti Corse.

If the car is from 1978, then it's got to be Kauhsen.

I whole-Heartedly Second Hans Heyer

Or umm...Hermann.......after another Fat German....

Faustus wrote:If the car is from 1978, then it's got to be Kauhsen.

I have a feeling that Kauhsen raced in 1979 not 1978.....(nips off to check).....Looks like I'm right, I can only see them listed in the non-qualifiers for a couple of races in 1979, but not for 1978. Have I missed a result somewhere?

Regardless, I rather like the suggestion though.

CarlosFerreira wrote:

Faustus wrote:How about Zakspeed?

Or Zak-no-speed.

Actually, in Dutch (my native tongue), "zakken" means "to sag", or "to decrease", so I've always found their team name quite ironic.