Vijay Mallya suggests Force India may change their driver line-up for next year:
Links
Force India Camp: Mallya’s Indian talent hunt (Gulf News)
“Well…everyone out there wants to drive for Force India. [Giancarlo] Fisichella drove for us last year and he left and we didn’t miss him. There is no hard and fast rule that an Indian team has to have an Indian driver. The drivers we have now are really good and we are happy with them. However, we sit with the team and decide in the next couple of weeks who our new drivers are going to be for next season.”
“To those of you who care, thanks for your support, am on here for you. To all you haters… I just don’t give a **** haha.”
Lewis Hamilton has only recently joined Twitter and it looks like he was unimpressed with a series of comments from users calling him a “chav from the ghettos” and making other remarks about his writing style.
India eyes Moto GP in 2012 (Reuters)
“We have been talking to Dorna as we have been talking to others to explore various other opportunities. Yes, MotoGP might come to India but it’s definitely not before 2012.”
Barrichello expects ‘aggressive’ design (Autosport)
“I feel good. I feel that the team is doing a good job on what they’re doing for next year. It’s an aggressive style – the approach for next year’s car seems to be quite aggressive, which is good. I’m up for it, I like it.”
“Formula 1 United States developers announced today that Dallas-based HKS, Inc., a leading global architectural design firm and the premier architects of American modern sporting facilities, and Germany-based Tilke Engineers & Architects, the world’s leading designer for racetrack and test facilities, will lead the local and international team assembled for the construction of the world-class, multi-purpose facility in Austin, TX, that will be home to the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix.”
NB. No direct link
Ho-Pin drives an IndyCar (Renault)
"I can only imagine how amazing it would be to race there in the Indy 500. There has been growing interest in motorsports in China and it would be incredible to be able to add to IndyCar’s international appeal."
Reds on parade in Valencia (Ferrari)
“Opening the parade, which gets underway at noon, along the street that cuts right through the very heart of the city will be Luca Badoer, the official test driver for Scuderia Ferrari, at the wheel of an F60, the sixtieth car built by Ferrari to take part in the Formula 1 World Championship.”
Comment of the day
Yesterday Populous shared their vision of a revised Yas Marina track – but as Ray points out, a track that’s barely a year old shouldn’t need tweaking so soon:
This just proves that the initial design by Hermann Tilke is flawed. First, Bahrain and now, Abu Dhabi. It’s a real pity but I think investors in Abu Dhabi would have the finances to improve their circuit.
Ray
From the forum
Plans are afoot for an F1 Fanatic meet-up in London – post here if you’re interested in joining us.
Happy birthday!
The poetically-named Heart of the Sunrise has their birthday today, so happy birthday to you!
On this day in F1
Four years ago today McLaren revealed who would join Fernando Alonso in their all-new driver line-up for 2007.
It was, of course, Lewis Hamilton. This was an unusual move for McLaren, who don’t make a habit of putting rookies in their cars.
The last before Hamilton was Jan Magnussen in 1995, and that was only as a one-off replacement for Mika Hakkinen. The last rookie to start a season for them had been Michael Andretti in 1993 – with little success.
Read more: McLaren will race Hamilton
f1yankee
24th November 2010, 0:19
Well…everyone out there wants to drive for Force India.
everyone? i can name over a dozen that don’t, before i get to the guy that left
Fisichella drove for us last year and he left and we didn’t miss him.
except that you did
There is no hard and fast rule that an Indian team has to have an Indian driver.
except that you already said you wanted an indian, and it makes business sense
The drivers we have now are really good and we are happy with them.
except they aren’t, and you’re not
However, we sit with the team and decide in the next couple of weeks who our new drivers are going to be for next season.
see?
Seysel
24th November 2010, 12:09
My sentiments exactly f1yankee!
Dev
24th November 2010, 13:41
i think he does not want an indian driver for now, cause of some politics involved in local motorsport members…
they are happy with sutil & his sponsors it seems but tonio has a contract & it would cost em money to get rid of him… and the current court ruling are giving em more headaches… they need to pay aerolab, ethihad & Van der Garde
so they are really in a fix with millions going out for these court settlement…
f1yankee
24th November 2010, 17:17
do you think eddie jordan will dump another pile of concrete in front of the team’s doors for not coming up with the rent?
Rod
24th November 2010, 0:19
There’s a lot of snobs and hypocrites in the UK. I guess they are furious because the “wrong” brit is the best! The guy is trying to keep his fans updated with what’s going on in his life but now, because of some stupid people, he might leave twitter.
“LIVE AND LET LIVE”
J_LH (@)
24th November 2010, 0:25
We do seem to have a habit in this country of making things/people we dislike as bigger part of our lives as possible, of rather than taking the obvious decision “I dislike Lewis Hamilton, therefore I will try to avoid him… oh there he is on twitter, I wouldn’t want to follow him cos I don’t like him”. Oh people do P*** me off.
Electrolite
24th November 2010, 1:41
Absolutely J_LH. Really gets to me. If you don’t like it leave it alone is what I say!
Christian
24th November 2010, 1:54
Rod, I don’t know what you’re talking about with the “wrong brit” is the best? I certainly hope it’s not racism.
People don’t like Lewis Hamilton for a variety of reasons, in this case, his writing style.
Mike
24th November 2010, 2:41
He is accusing people of being racist, Which based on Keith’s article,
and other events in the past year. He seems perfectly entitled to make that accusation.
… Racism is disgusting and stupid.
What annoys me, is many people I know are in the “I’m not racist, but” group.
Pinball
24th November 2010, 2:53
I don’t really know much about what Chav’s are, but as far as I can tell it has nothing to do with a person’s race, but rather the way they act.
For the record, I follow Hamilton on twitter, and I find his tweets entertaining.
DeadManWoking
24th November 2010, 3:30
Keith’s characterization of that quote is not quite accurate, the linked tweeter was not ‘calling him a “chav from the ghettos”’ but saying that his writing style made him sound like one.
Mike
24th November 2010, 3:34
Shows how much I pay attention… Btw, What exactly does “Chav” mean?
DeadManWoking
24th November 2010, 3:44
Not being a Brit, I’d never come across the term before but if you Google it, it comes up being very derogatory.
Sush Meerkat
24th November 2010, 7:23
Mike
It means Council House And Violent, basically violent idiots on welfare in the UK.
Feynman
24th November 2010, 7:47
It is not an acronym, or even a backronym.
The correct etymology is almost certainly from the Geordie ‘charver’ meaning ‘rough child/hooligan’, which comes most likely from the Gypsey ‘chavo’ meaning boy.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
24th November 2010, 8:26
That’s just splitting hairs.
Maciek
24th November 2010, 10:24
@Sush
Saying things like “violent idiots on welfare in the UK” is kinda toeing the line on unfairly painting many people with a really ugly brush.
Ned Flanders
24th November 2010, 12:32
Yeah Chav definitely isn’t an acronym, it derives from what we in the North East call a ‘charva’
Dave
24th November 2010, 7:57
I use a lot of acronyms when i’m texting too. I dind’t know F1 was for “upper classe” people. I take the bus to go to class, can i still watch it?
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
24th November 2010, 8:31
I don’t like the knee-jerk ‘any criticism of Lewis Hamilton is racism’ response. From what I’ve seen of it I’d characterise the reaction as snobbery rather than racism.
I think what’s interesting here – and what a lot of people have commented on – is Hamilton sounds awfully different on Twitter to how he comes across on TV.
Frankly I think it’s good to see more of his real personality and character coming across. It’s something we could do with seeing more of from him and many of the other drivers.
Feynman
24th November 2010, 9:01
Obviously no-one believes (at least one would hope) that the Lewis stood in front of roll-up sponsors backdrop, with a team PR dictaphone and TV microphones is anything at all like the real Lewis; that’s a necessary but fictional character called “sponsor friendly Lewis”.
I think the problem for some, is that “Hip Hop Lewis” on Twitter seems just as artificially contrived. Trying just that little bit too-hard to be down with the street, it doesn’t sit right or fit right. The tone is off just slightly.
I think it’d be nice if there were eventually a happier medium to evolve.
Hanging round the older (looser) Button on Vodafone duties might enable him to more easily loosen up himself (“for real”), get a bit more comfortable in himself.
Of course most of this will just naturally come as he gets older (he’s still just a lad, we all still forget). And then if we’re lucky, we get to see a little more of the true Lewis, who I’d safely bet is neither as bland or as bling as PR Lewis or Twitter Lewis.
Maciek
24th November 2010, 10:38
I don’t know if you’re right, but certainly Hamilton wouldn’t be the first ‘child star’ whose sense of self-perception would have been distorted. I think very few people would even know what it is to be ‘natural’ in any public setting when your live your life in front of cameras and every word you utter is publicly dissected.
For my money, one of the best lines on the difficulties of maintaining a healthy ego in professional sports comes from Jacques Plante, legendary goal keeper for the Montreal Canadiens hockey club in the 50s and 60s: “How would you like it if, at your job, every time you made the slightest mistake a little red light went on over your head and 18,000 people stood up and screamed at you?”
Red Andy (@red-andy)
24th November 2010, 12:03
I think this hits the nail on the head. The fact is none of us know what Lewis is “really” like. As you say, Real Lewis is probably somewhere between Corporate-I’d-Like-To-Thank-The-Team Lewis and Hip-Hop-Fo-Shizzle Lewis, but none of us know for certain. The difference between the two is striking, though, and that’s what people are commenting on.
Those crying “RACIST!” are just clutching at straws.
Manuel
24th November 2010, 11:21
Mark Webber most of the time uses australian slang when he talks, nobody make any fuss. Now people are debating about lewis because he talks urban? Well, i’ve shouldn’t be that surprised, i’ve noticed he is more loved worldwide than in his own country. Isn’t funny though his own compatriots considered him inferior? lol To think most of those people accused Spain in the past… sigh.. at least in Spain they dislike him because he’s a threat to Alonso just like real madrid fans don’t like F.C. Barcelona’s footballers.
f1yankee
24th November 2010, 17:20
urban? in america that’s a euphemism for “black, poor and stupid”
Ayo
24th November 2010, 21:39
lol, he has other close relatives to do it for him and actually was registered by another person than him. I really can’t believe you guys would believe his 100% commitment to twitter. These guys only involve themselves if they are getting paid in 6 figures, rather than exposing themselves to the public with the said comments and participants.
Calum
24th November 2010, 0:19
Surely De Resta has done enough to merit an F1 seat, he shone in free practice, beat everyone at last years young driver test, showed up his teammates in the Pirelli tests, and has got himself into contention for the championship in DTM, if he does win that said title, and still doesn’t get the Force India race seat, I feel it will be a great injustice.
TommyB (@tommyb89)
24th November 2010, 11:31
You must be joking. I don’t see what the buzz is around him.
He’s been racing saloon cars for the past few years instead of single seaters.
GR
24th November 2010, 12:58
I think it’s that Sutil and Liuzzi might be fast, but they’re hardly inspiring. Whereas I think Di Resta comes across as highly motivated and I would like to see what he could do with that motivation in an inferior car.
james_mc
24th November 2010, 13:31
In all fairness Di Resta beat Vettel when they were team-mates in F3, the next season Vettel was in F1. As the sole criteria for Lizzi’s continued involvement in F1 seems to be his early karting/F3000 record, surely this merits a go for Di Resta?
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
24th November 2010, 0:27
not everyone!…
Well, of course those that cannot go to: Red Bull, Ferrari, Mclaren, Mercedes, Renault and Williams in that order.
So that’s everyone but 12 guys.
The thing is Fisico outpaced Sutil almost all season long last year, and Liuzzi did rubbish this year. So I guess you did miss him.
DeadManWoking
24th November 2010, 0:34
That Lewis Tweet is gone and replaced by this one:
Can we assume that it was you that inserted the asterisks Keith?
TommyB (@tommyb89)
24th November 2010, 0:57
Yeh he did actually say the F word.
I think he is quite possibly drunk. It’s so funny seeing him behave the way he really is though. He is a bit like Jaime on Twitter!
Hamish
24th November 2010, 1:36
Oh one must love the ongoing presence of the McLaren PR machine.
Let the kid be himself
Burnout
24th November 2010, 10:25
Haha, I bet the McLaren PR department is going to be on high alert from here onwards. This ought to be good :D
Todfod (@todfod)
24th November 2010, 15:16
The PR team just had a code red situation. Lewis didn’t open his mouth without a script.. but instead just typed a tweet out. Bet they didn’t see that coming.
RIISE (@riise)
24th November 2010, 0:41
Haha I did notice Lewis’s somewhat bad grammar. It’s not that bad and I certainly wouldn’t call him a chav.
Anyway if Di Resta doesn’t get that seat from Liuzzi something is definitely wrong. Why look for an Indian driver?
And they didn’t miss Fisichella? Haha yeah right.
Hamish
24th November 2010, 1:42
I don’t think the Liuzzi case is as clear cut as one thinks:
From another site
“On paper it appears to be fairly simple. Adrian Sutil does not have a contract for 2011. Tonio Liuzzi does. Paul di Resta, the team test driver, may also have some arrangements in place, but the details of these are not clear at the moment. Liuzzi is protected to some extent by the Contract Recognition Board as his contract will be lodged with this body in Switzerland and if there is a dispute he can exercise his rights. Thus Mallya would have to pay him off, probably in full because despite appearances Liuzzi has had a decent year and the team has been to blame for a number of the poor results. He has been the victim of a string of incidents that were not of his making, notably being crashed into by Felipe Massa in Canada and Japan (the former being particularly damaging as he had qualified fifth); being punted off by Nick Heidfeld in Singapore, and having Michael Schumacher spin in front of him in Abu Dhabi. Add to that the suspension failure which caused him to have a big accident in Brazil, a five-place grid penalty caused by the team at the British GP, where he was told not to get out of the way of Nico Hulkenberg and a poor strategic call in Monaco, which dropped him down the order. Despite all these problems Liuzzi has remained very positive even though there have been rumours for months that he might be replaced by Mercedes blue-eyed boy Paul di Resta, a move that would do not harm at all for the team, as Mercedes would like to see the Scottish driver in F1.”
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
24th November 2010, 1:57
Another site= Joe Saward’s site
Joe Saward being the founder, chairman and most enthusiastic member of the Tonio Liuzzi fan club. He’s been backing him for years, and, stubborn chap that he is, does not want to admit what the rest of us already know: he ain’t that good
james_mc
24th November 2010, 2:17
I’ll admit Ned, I can now see what you mean. Well either that or my ambivalence to Liuzzi has transformed into outright dislike, combined with my preference to see PDR in F1. Liuzzi has been pretty poor this season. I differentiate between “average” and “poor” because if it was average there wouldn’t have been this great emphasis on excuses.
BasCB
24th November 2010, 7:44
It really shows here, doesn’t it. Liuzzi just did not show much to cheer about, even if the team or accidents he did not cause (Canada is doubtfull there) were partly to blame.
This it top sport, and the good get replaced by the better prospects. Bring Di Resta to show Sutil some competition again.
I also think Saward mentioned that Mallya would not be too much into getting an Indian driver, as it would put the spotlight away from himself in India. That actually makes sense.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
24th November 2010, 23:31
That’s a bit selfish though. The spotlight should always be on the drivers first, the team second, and the management last.
Dev
24th November 2010, 4:18
those are just list of excuses by Tonio lovers… but i don’t know why he performed poorly in qualifying except couple of races i guess. he was blown away by Sutil & i don’t think Sutil is really that fast… as Fisi showed…
Tonio is gotta be very very lucky if he retains his drive. he clearly lost force india the 6th place in the championship.. when the car was good, in the first half of the season… he scored very little points compared to his teammate.
i really don’t like to see drivers like tonio who make things easy for their teammates…
Hamish
24th November 2010, 6:01
I was more pointing at the fact he has a contract next year, and the implications of getting out of it.
Katy
24th November 2010, 1:05
I think Lewis’ tweets have been hilarious tonight! I assume he’s drunk or something? He’s now stated again he has ‘a lot of love’ for his ‘people’ and that the people who don’t like him can ‘picture me rollin’ haha. Gold.
Ned Flanders (@ned-flanders)
24th November 2010, 2:05
I wish he spoke like that in press conferences! Imagine it:
“Sup money… Aight, dis is how it goes, homie. I was just cruising, man, flashing my bling to the peeps in the stands, just chilling it in my ride. Some cats don’t like how I roll but I just don’t give a ****. I’ll put a cap in they ass! Peace out dawg”
rfs (@rfs)
24th November 2010, 2:45
LOL you make him sound like Riley from the Boondocks.
codesurge
24th November 2010, 4:34
Reminds me of the portrayal of Coulthard on Sniff Petrol!
http://sniffpetrol.com/2010/11/16/crazy-d-in-abu-dhabi-2010/
Regis
24th November 2010, 7:17
:) He does sound like a pimp from the guetto, all he needs now is gold teeth.
Ned Flanders
24th November 2010, 12:29
Haha, full on Ali G speak!
Hallard
24th November 2010, 17:27
He does!
and +1 for the Boondocks reference.
Hairs
24th November 2010, 7:07
I’ve just checked his twitter feed, and that’s not an actual tweet, but it’s not far off.
codesurge
24th November 2010, 8:59
I think he deleted the original tweet with the vulgarity in it.
Hairs
24th November 2010, 23:15
I was referring to Ned’s “sup money” tweet, actually. :)
Charlie
24th November 2010, 7:26
He tweets from his blackberry phone its not a high prority to spell everything properly on a phones keypad. You on the other hand have made an assumption of how a black thug would speak and Lewis isnt a black thug.
Ned Flanders
24th November 2010, 12:36
Er, no, he really does speak a bit like that. It’s way more than just bad grammar
Not that I have a problem with it- I quite like it actually!
Hairs
24th November 2010, 7:06
Lewis’s tweets have been unintentional comedy gold from the moment he stepped foot onto twitter. I love it. I am 100% certain that if it were technically possible, he’d be flashing the “westside” sign on twitter, without a trace of irony.
The problem is that when you look at him, he has the demeanour of a very fierce labrador puppy. So while he can tweet all he likes about bling, and “rollin” and peeps, and the like, I’m just going to end up laughing like a drain.
ohsnap
24th November 2010, 7:22
He doesnt even tweet like that all of you should get a grip.
TommyB (@tommyb89)
24th November 2010, 11:36
I like seeing the drivers act how they are on Twitter. It’s great to see him just be himself.
He could quite easily tweet about how awesome Vodafone and Santander are but instead he just makes us all laugh and seems to be enjoying the crazy world of Twitter.
Alguersuari is the same kind of person, it’s like he writes first and then thinks about it second before it’s too late.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
24th November 2010, 23:37
I agree. I wish all the drivers were on Twitter and as open and honest as those two. I was genuinely touched by Alguersuari’s tweets this summer after he found a wild pig that had been run over by some careless driver. He’s definitely a friend to wild animals.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
24th November 2010, 1:14
I’m a bit concerned about Williams’ “aggressive” approach – the promised th same for 2009 and for 2010, and look how that worked out for them …
damonsmedley
24th November 2010, 1:24
To be fair, the 2010 car was a significant improvement from last year’s. In fact, I’d even go as far as saying it is their best car since 2004.
Prisoner Monkeys
24th November 2010, 5:24
By the end of the year, the Williams was as good as (or almost as good as) the Renault R30. but it was a terrible car to begin with – just look at how the Turkish Grand Prix went for Team Willy: so badly that Hulkenberg had to let Barrichello through just so that barrichello stood a chance at getting a point. It might have been a better car than the 2009 edition, but it was by no means a good car. The problem in all of this is that Williams keep promising an “aggressive” car, but the only way their cars could be descried as “aggressive” is “aggressively conservative”. They’re like a bunch of self-proclamied non-cofrmists who grew out of their rebeliious youth and now have conventional day jobs and mortgages, but still describe themselves as non-conformist because they listen to alternative rock on the radio when driving to work. Sure, Williams might be producing designs that are more aggressive than previous offerings, but they’re not a path on the good old days of the 1980s and 1990s.
BasCB
24th November 2010, 7:50
But I do think that with what Barricello says about the team getting the windtunnel reconfigured might help (he knows all to well how that can get the worst out of a car with Honda in 2008, and also what they changed under Brawn).
Barricello’s experience of getting the BPG001 out of the Honda team might be of big help here to show Williams where they took the wrong turn in the last couple of seasons.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
24th November 2010, 11:20
In retrospect, I don’t think Honda’s problem was a mis-configured wind tunnel. That sounds suspiciously like an excuse to me. I just think they had a bad car designed by a poor excuse for an aerodynamicist and had no idea what was wrong with it, much less how to fix it. It’s pretty telling that Shuhei Nakamoto was not involved in the development of the Honda RA109/Brawn BGP-001.
Electrolite
24th November 2010, 1:44
I think either their cars have ended up being too conservative, or perhaps the livery make sit look conservative. Either way, I’d agree that this car is the best they’ve had since the BMW split, perhaps not 2004. But with Rubens on board they can hopefully try and be aggressive and innovative whilst keeping on track.
Scalextric
24th November 2010, 4:45
OTOH, milquetoast cars would presumably not work in F1. What Williams probably need is a bigger budget and a better engine. [And Adrian Newey].
Tango
24th November 2010, 8:34
Seems everybody needs Adrian Newey… And another guy to make the bits stick together so that the car can complete at least 16 GP a year.
Burnout
24th November 2010, 10:30
+1
I can’t remember the last time Newey built a car that didn’t have a spectacular failure at least once in a season. Okay the FW14 was head and shoulders above everything around it, but everything since then.
AlonsoWDC
24th November 2010, 1:39
“Well…everyone out there wants to drive for Force India. [Giancarlo] Fisichella drove for us last year and he left and we didn’t miss him…”
What?
The upward trajectory of Force India was clear whether or not Fisichella remained alongside Sutil or with Liuzzi or even di Resta.
The car was in pretty sore shape to develop after the first European summer leg. They might want to worry about that, and the teams that have more momentum going into 2011 (even letting alone the fact that new seasons mean new cars and FI is not guaranteed to remain midpack next spring) than getting mean over a former driver who did a lot with this car in 2008 and 2009.
Sammy
24th November 2010, 1:52
Wow, everything Lewis does or says is taken apart..sheesh. Just twitter.
Abhi Shah
24th November 2010, 1:54
The Great Dario Franchitti should have driven for a top team but he never even got a first break. I hope FI doesn’t dash the hopes of his kin, the possibly-just-as-talented Paul Di Resta…
Scalextric
24th November 2010, 4:48
This site is so cool, I had no idea they were related. Thanks for the knowledge, Abhi.
Prisoner Monkeys
24th November 2010, 5:26
As far as I know, Franchitti never seriously considered a move to Formula 1. And if he did, he did so only briefly.
ohsnap
24th November 2010, 7:23
He wanted to come to formula 1 yes but he was never interested in signing with a team that wasnt capable of winning.
Ned Flanders
24th November 2010, 12:38
He was linked pretty strongly with Jaguar back in 2000/ 01, but Luciano Burti got the seat
Abhi Shah
24th November 2010, 16:14
Just to add more background:
Dario definitely wanted to be in F1. The man idolizes Jim Clark (see an article by him and video of him driving Clark’s 1965 Indy 500 winning Lotus 38) and knows his grand prix racing history better than almost any other active driver I can think of.
He was a demon in carts and even snagged the McLaren Young Driver of the Year award in 1992. He was eventually kicked over to ITC to “stay active” while waiting for an F1 drive that never materialized due to bad luck and lack of financial resources.
wasiF1 (@wasif1)
24th November 2010, 1:59
I just hope that both Barrichello & Williams gets some good result in 2011.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
24th November 2010, 23:45
I wish Barrichello the best, but I can’t say I’ll be cheering Williams next year after the way they unceremoniously dumped Hülkenberg.
Mandev
24th November 2010, 2:27
The meet-up sounds great. I live in South Kensington so anywhere in London’s easy.
DavidS (@davids)
24th November 2010, 5:22
I’m not the biggest Lewis fan, but I’m willing to give him benefit of the doubt.
He’s probably using a phone, so using correct spelling and punctuation is not a high priority. He sounds educated when he speaks, so he should be able to write. Maybe the enthusiasm of joining Twitter made him temporarily forget that he wasn’t sending a text to his mates.
Malibu_GP
24th November 2010, 5:47
Greetings, I am a genuine F1 fanatic/addict, having followed GP racing tirelessly since the 70’s when Sir Jackie dominated American television advertising. So, w/that in mind please spare me all the new fan crap…I have tired of reading the endless negativity directed at L. H. and feel compelled to finally comment. I am a mixed African-American, not dissimilar to Lewis. By this, I mean I come from modest beginnings, though I’m more than comfortable intermingling with whomever. I’m good looking, very talented and often despised for others lack of panache. The racism issue, though tired certainly deserves attention and clarification in my view. Quite usually, people of color have a level of sensitivity oft misunderstood by those unable to grasp the subtle nuances of its insidious nature. To those of You that so quickly claim that Your deep seated hatred, disgust, intolerence etc isn’t driven by racism I say to You at the very least You’re racially insensitive. I have a theory I’ve formulated regarding a mindset termed the subliminal superiority complex. I’ve experienced this behaviour (mostly from whites) from My youth growing up in Santa Monica where being a better surfer than many of those that I dominated in the water seemed to really irritate.(Apparently, many of them have a problem remembering that the sport was invented by colorful Hawaiians) To My successful career in entertainment, where much of the same exists. Oh, the comments…” That chicks pretty hot for a (insert minority here) girl” or to me directly ” You’re so nice and smart, You can’t be black” See…, having a ss complex means that on an unconscious level one can’t stand it when folks unlike them are more successful, better looking, more articulate, or in LH’s case the best driver in the world presently. Whatever measure with which they gauge self worth, there’s a tendency to find any reason to hate the object of this hidden angst. When I say hidden I mean particularly to themselves. Sure they say ” He lied to the stewards” or “He’s arrogant” Let’s face it though, We know what really bothers em deep down. There’s a myth that racism is more prevalent here in the States and perhaps this is true, but one only needs to closely examine UK soccer fans to see the level of intolerance that exists there as well. So friends, let’s not dismiss the opportunity to call it as we see it when its poking us in the eye…
BasCB
24th November 2010, 7:56
I am afraid you are pretty close to the background of at least part of those comments. Thing is, it’s a 2 way thing as well.
Although the 2007 season went down badly with the Alonso fans moltly because Hamilton was an unexperienced rookie.
Ned Flanders
24th November 2010, 12:40
“I’m good looking (and) very talented”
You forgot modest
Samuel
24th November 2010, 21:17
I agree with you on some level. This is hardly a social forum but, I think such things wont change unless something momentously drastic happens.
Lewis in essence, has to win about 3 WDCs in a row, he has to totally wipe the floor with the competition, much like Jordan did(and even he has his detractors in the states) for that subliminal hate to be replaced by something close to admiration for the majority of his detractors.
Mike-e
26th November 2010, 6:06
I’m sorry, but this is “racially insensitive”
how would you react if I said something like, “I’ve been mugged once, and seen a few muggings, mostly by blacks”.
Racism goes 2 ways and I have experienced it first hand, yet you never seem to get called on it like we do. Well equal rights dictates I should kick off and its only fair that I do, so this is it, don’t use the term Whites, its offensive. If you use terms like this then don’t be shocked when people drop the ‘n’ bomb. By using a term that separates us from one another you are inadvertently promoting racism. You sir are no better or on morally higher ground than anyone else on the matter than someone who is of any other race who has lived in a mostly different raced community getting the same oppression, black, white, latino, eastern block, asian, it doesnt matter.
If you disagree, tell someone who cares.
Malibu_GP
24th November 2010, 6:05
As well…, Keith I have appreciated Your work for several years now and visit the site several times every single day! Your concise, fair and objective view is a refreshing change. Not just in F1, but in sports-writing and a great deal of journalism generally. I’m here to let it be known You’re loved here in L.A. where We may not be lead in motor racing history. But We’ve got something else the world is fascinated with: The Movie, Music and Television biz…
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
24th November 2010, 8:21
Thanks very much!
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn)
24th November 2010, 8:06
I’m a bit disappointed to hear Mallya say that he doesn’t miss Fisichella. After all, he was the guy who nabbed them a pole and a podium…
They do need some fresh, driven talent though. Sutil’s going nowhere and it would be too much of a risk to hope Liuzzi gets on better next year without the F-Duct.
Dev
24th November 2010, 14:07
i agree with ya on that Fisi was doing well for force india, but maybe he is ****** about him leaving mid-season… with him on board they would have god more points last year.
i think Force India have too many questions to face… do they have enuf money to go for a good driver? do they have enuf money to keep strong upgrades on car all along the year? do they have any money left after paying Van der Garde , aerolabs & etihad? vjm-03 saw very little upgrades… the front wing & rear wing did not change all around the seasons… will they be competitive after loosing james key, mark smith and few other engineers moving to other teams like lotus??
i think their survival is at stake.
Calum
24th November 2010, 8:19
Up in Scotland we have ‘neds’ instead of chavs, so if Paul di Resta’s twitter grammar is being slated they would be calling him a ned – non educated delinquent – the irony being the correct term is un educated. :P
As for racism in Scottish and English football, it is nowhere near as bad as on the continent, it is nowhere near as bad as it used to be, and campaigns like ‘Show racism the red card’ show a positive move continuing in the right direction. F1 is high profile, and it is a very multicultural sport – they have the perfect opportunity to do justice with an antiracism programme.
ozzy
24th November 2010, 10:26
It would be real fun to see how good Alonso’s grammar is. Hamilton has a different style which really puts off all the elitist morons out there who have never “texted” or even used twitter. :P
As for Force India, I think next season will be much worse than this year and I expect them to be fighting with STR \ Lotus. I just hope Willaims do well next season, they really need a good season now.
PS: Force India is as “Indian” as Jaguar or Land Rover.
Alex Bkk
24th November 2010, 10:37
It’s the difference between a native English speaker and a Spaniard that has learned English.
I’d like to see Hamilton’s Spanish grammar?
brum55
24th November 2010, 11:46
Latest: “To my people(I prefer to say that than fans)I’ve got nothing but love for u guys..to the others…all I can do is smile..picture me rollin!”
At least his English has improved. That should please his older fans, sorry people.
Ayo
26th November 2010, 14:22
“Picture Me Rollin” must have been inspired by 2Pac Shakur’s sinf which can be found on youtube.
Timi
24th November 2010, 12:27
Oh I see how it works now!!!
We’re all superior to L.H and must correct him for his poor grammar. Are you guys having a laugh?
Get over yourselves, he’s allowed to speak however he wants.
Maybe some of you are jealous of his wealth and fame. You see that you have better grammar than him and decide to lord it over him?? That’s very petty in my opinion
Anyways, enjoy your day.
mvi
24th November 2010, 16:35
Maybe correcting his grammar is … just correcting his grammar. You’re reading a lot into it.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
24th November 2010, 13:27
Brilliant stuff from Hamilton last night. Following him is quite insightful and his language is just brilliant ;D
DaveW
24th November 2010, 14:35
Why is Hamilton writing his own twitter messages? Isn’t there someone in the VMM public relations department to do that? Seriously, this is a danger to brand, letting your prize public image asset be pelted with, and to feel obliged to respond to, random jerks sitting in their pajames eating cereal at 2pm. I know people want to think their heroes are not too vain to have a beer or trade twitpics with you, but that is just a fantasy. CEOs and politicians are all on twitter now, and their handlers do not let them wade into that swamp unattended.
Luizzi is toast. It’ll be sad to see him go, but he is just not good enough to survive poor luck.
Malibu_GP
24th November 2010, 23:52
I suppose I’m guilty of letting the build up from all the negativity aimed at Lewis throughout His storied career color My perspective regarding this article in particular. However, I definitely feel that there seems to be an air of disdain seldom directed at other drivers. That being said, as a “21st century Brotha” with a firm grasp on urban culture in the US (marketing and promotions for maJor recording labels) I gotta tell Yall that We often change communication style when conversing with different folks. I don’t speak to most executives in the same manner that I do to hip-hop artists… I speak to my rasta friends a bit different still. Even some of the most surfed out beach dwelling white kids I know use urban slang. I guess what Im saying is that in todays youth culture, one can say picture me rolling and still speak as eloquently as Lewis often does when being interviewed etc. Those are all very real facets to his personality, and We should celebrate the fact that diversity is more appreciated now than ever before… classism, sexism, racism, are all ugly… whatever the case, keep the negativity to Yourselves! The rest of us wish to live without their ugly implications. PEACE, OUT!
Dave
25th November 2010, 1:48
I actually love the “picture me rollin'” expression. Never heard it before and just find out it’s a 2pac song! One can learn with Lewis’s tweets :)