Wurz Retires

[stephen300o]

A pity he didn't go earlier Kazuki Nakajima could have raced in his home GP.

[spectatorsam]

what did he ever do in f1 to be worthy of a drive??
as for being a nice guy I had the misfortune of meeting him a couple of times and find him to be complete and utter Jerk
Michael Schumacher was friendly as was Salo[ DC was a god as was Mika etc etc Wurz thought he was great and he wasn't
Happy retirement
I use the word crap in F1 terms as that is what we are discussing he may be ok in other stuff but in F1 he is CRAP



quote=Piglet]I always love the idea that a mid-field GP driver is "crap"!!

These guys do something that most of us couldn't do with all the training and simulator work in the world. Most of them, including Alex, are technically superb and are able to translate what they feel the car doing into meaningful words that the engineers can use to improve the car.

I'm glad he's going out on a high and maintaining his links with the team, I'm told he is very popular within Williams. This way it allows Williams to put someone else in the car for the last race to generate some interest amongst other drivers and give someone else a chance.

Good luck to Alex in what he does next, hopefully we will see him back at Le Mans - he's one of the nice guys
[/quote]

[uktrailmonster]

spectatorsam said:

what did he ever do in f1 to be worthy of a drive??
as for being a nice guy I had the misfortune of meeting him a couple of times and find him to be complete and utter Jerk
I use the word crap in F1 terms as that is what we are discussing he may be ok in other stuff but in F1 he is CRAP

Honestly, you couldn't meet a nicer guy. Maybe he thought you were a jerk? From your post, I can imagine why he might think so.

[spectatorsam]

prick

[groomi]

uktrailmonster said:

Honestly, you couldn't meet a nicer guy. Maybe he thought you were a jerk? From your post, I can imagine why he might think so.

spectatorsam then said:

prick?

Yep, that's pretty much what I was thinkng too. So that's Wurz, uktrailmonster and me all concurring...

[spectatorsam]

groomi said:

uktrailmonster said:

Honestly, you couldn't meet a nicer guy. Maybe he thought you were a jerk? From your post, I can imagine why he might think so.

spectatorsam then said:

prick?

Yep, that's pretty much what I was thinkng too. So that's Wurz, uktrailmonster and me all concurring...

so temping... but should I???

why do you tts seem to need to insult people coz you dont agree with their point? ( made from a possition of having met the person in question,) I even said wurz waz prob ok in other stuff, but crap in f1 which he clearly is otherwise why is he offski??


so groomi have you met wurz ever?

Edited by spectatorsam on Wednesday 10th October 08:15

[rubystone]

spectatorsam said:

groomi said:

uktrailmonster said:

Honestly, you couldn't meet a nicer guy. Maybe he thought you were a jerk? From your post, I can imagine why he might think so.

spectatorsam then said:

prick?

Yep, that's pretty much what I was thinkng too. So that's Wurz, uktrailmonster and me all concurring...

so temping... but should I???

why do you tts seem to need to insult people coz you dont agree with their point? ( made from a possition of having met the person in question,) I even said wurz waz prob ok in other stuff, but crap in f1 which he clearly is otherwise why is he offski??


so groomi have you met wurz ever?

Edited by spectatorsam on Wednesday 10th October 08:15

I've met him twice and he came across as a nice guy both times. I guess you just caught him on a bad day? In his Benetton days, he was extremely fast and was considered a star of the future. I'd agree that he really hasn't fulfilled that promise, but he's a long way short of a "crap" F1 driver.

I've met his wife Julia too - she's a very nice person FWIW. I haven't met his parents though; they could be right bastards for all I know.

[Marki]

Piglet said:

These guys do something that most of us couldn't do with all the training and simulator work in the world.

I just do not belive that , with the right training and opportunitys i think most people with an interest could be competitive in F1 or other high level of motorsport

Or do you think its a genetic thing that has enabled various Fittipaldis , Rosberg, Hill ,Piquet, Andretti, and Villeneve
(to name a few) to compete to some of the highest levels in Motorsport, no its just having the right doors opened for them and a good practicle knowledge of sponsorship , a famous name and a financial leg up from the start

[mark69sheer]

I think its obvious now that F1 is in a position to have a sweep out of the old guard. Sure some will still hang around as young kids might not bring big sponsor money. Certainly Trulli , Giancarlo and co have had their 15 minutes of fame and now we need some of Lewis's contemporaries bringing the race to him.

There has been a great rise of talent over the last five years with many potential F1 stars of the future.

I don't like the old guard going because it makes me feel even older than I am but it is time to make those changes.

Dare I say even button isn't the fresh faced entrant he once was.

[rustybin]

mark69sheer said:

Dare I say even button isn't the fresh faced entrant he once was.

Please don't go retiring 27 year olds on the grounds that they are past it. Schumacher retiring made me feel old enough as we are the same age but retiring 27 year olds will have me reaching for the sanatogen. Before you know it the big debate will be whether the current world champion can get time off from revising for his GCSE's to compete in the Monacco GP.

[Piglet]

Marki said:

Piglet said:

These guys do something that most of us couldn't do with all the training and simulator work in the world.

I just do not belive that , with the right training and opportunitys i think most people with an interest could be competitive in F1 or other high level of motorsport

Or do you think its a genetic thing that has enabled various Fittipaldis , Rosberg, Hill ,Piquet, Andretti, and Villeneve
(to name a few) to compete to some of the highest levels in Motorsport, no its just having the right doors opened for them and a good practicle knowledge of sponsorship , a famous name and a financial leg up from the start

I don't think it's something that most could do, I've seen quite a few drivers in lower formula who have all the opportunities that money can buy but are still mediocre at best (including some sons of famous fathers and brothers of very acomplished established drivers)

Clearly having the ability to open doors is a huge leg up and there are many very very good drivers who's careers stall at a low level because in most cases lack of funds equals lack of opportunities.

Nature or nurture? who knows - that's a whole debating point of its own!

I think it's going off topic though from the point I made which was that writing off mid field F1 drivers as crap is not really recognising the talents that they have.

[Marki]

Piglet said:

I think it's going off topic though from the point I made which was that writing off mid field F1 drivers as crap is not really recognising the talents that they have.

I aggree

[uktrailmonster]

The thing with driving is that nearly everyone drives a car daily, so lots of blokes fancy themselves as potential racing drivers. But the reality is much the same as any other professional sport. You have to be extremely talented to make the top grade, regardless of how much money is thrown at you.

[996 Nobbys]

uktrailmonster said:

The thing with driving is that nearly everyone drives a car daily, so lots of blokes fancy themselves as potential racing drivers. But the reality is much the same as any other professional sport. You have to be extremely talented to make the top grade, regardless of how much money is thrown at you.

I agree. when im instructing on track days you always get the 'i could be in f1 if i had the opportunity ' drives who come along for the day and they quickly realize that they are not that good.

[The Hypno-Toad]

It does amaze me that a lot of people on here don't get the idea that these drivers or any celebrity for that matter, are people too. They have off days, days when they have a headache, days when they've just had a row with the girlfriend, days when they've been messed about by a builder and they have to get people to sort it out. Just like us. Just because they are earning a fortune doesn't mean they are immune from pressure and problems. As well,in our jobs we don't have web sites where a bunch of mongs come on and debate how rubbish we are. And I'm guilty of that as much as the next man.

I know people who think Ralf is the biggest ck in the history of F1. I know other people, especially who have met him this year (pressure off?), who think he's great.

People who met Michael on a race weekend said he was rude and arrogant. People who have met him at a charity event (especially to do with kids.) say he is kind and caring.

I think it depends when and how you meet them.

P.S. The only exception is a certain British driver. I have been fortunate to meet a number of young ladies who have worked with him and they all say he suffers from wandering hand syndrome and is a bit of a creep.

Edited by The Hypno-Toad on Wednesday 10th October 12:41

[Marki]

996 Nobbys said:

uktrailmonster said:

The thing with driving is that nearly everyone drives a car daily, so lots of blokes fancy themselves as potential racing drivers. But the reality is much the same as any other professional sport. You have to be extremely talented to make the top grade, regardless of how much money is thrown at you.

I agree. when im instructing on track days you always get the 'i could be in f1 if i had the opportunity ' drives who come along for the day and they quickly realize that they are not that good.

Im not talking about the odd day out , im talking about these new kids on the block who have been imersed in motorsport since being children

[uktrailmonster]

Marki said:

Im not talking about the odd day out , im talking about these new kids on the block who have been imersed in motorsport since being children

"Talent" is a rare combination of the right genetic characteristics, training and, perhaps above all, single minded obsession. Not many people get all their ducks in a row and become a world champion. If you happen to be the son of a previous world champion, then obviously you have a very useful head start over Joe Bloggs, but it by no means guarantees ultimate success.

[motormania]

996 Nobbys said:

uktrailmonster said:

The thing with driving is that nearly everyone drives a car daily, so lots of blokes fancy themselves as potential racing drivers. But the reality is much the same as any other professional sport. You have to be extremely talented to make the top grade, regardless of how much money is thrown at you.

I agree. when im instructing on track days you always get the 'i could be in f1 if i had the opportunity ' drives who come along for the day and they quickly realize that they are not that good.

Interesting point, as I've been to a track day before and there was a guy who turned up in a flashy sports car, had the overalls and helmet and was talking himself up with others who'd turned up for the day. There was a young woman, not trying to stand out, but she listened to the instructor, learned from her early mistakes, but by the end of the day she was running rings around the prick with the cash...

At the end of the day the 'flash prick' left the track very quietly as he'd been shown that no amount of money could give you talent

[patmahe]

spectatorsam said:

what did he ever do in f1 to be worthy of a drive??

-Developed championship winning McLarens for years.
-Was consistantly fast enough in testing to be considered for a race drive.
-Challenged Schumacher at Monaco in '98 when most other 'drivers' were diving out of his way
-Raced well for benetton in his early career
-2005 Finished third in San Marino GP deputising for Juan Pablo Montoya
-oh and this


But I'd say he'd rather forget that and I dont know if it makes him worthy of a drive

[woof]

The Hypno-Toad said:

P.S. The only exception is a certain British driver. I have been fortunate to meet a number of young ladies who have worked with him and they all say he suffers from wandering hand syndrome and is a bit of a creep.

Irv ?