words are no longer enough

[Ciro Pabón]

This Ferrari is maybe a new team, for all practical purposes. A team starting, with a lot of mistakes and things to learn. They still need to find a way. They will, they're Ferrari, for the love of Pete.

You don't have to patronize other people in this forum for them to comprehend that. Actually, I have no idea how many multimillionaire operations will manage or have managed Mr. Adam or Mr. Foz here present. I don't even know how many operations has managed Mr. Domenicali (Ferrari excepted, of course).

Perhaps it is the total opposite what should be our conclusion. That we love racing because, in racing, it is innovation, hunger for making a mark in the world and enthusiasm what it is required, not experience. It's the field of exceptional intelligence, not of exceptional wisdom. Of course, wisdom is important, but in the long run only.

Why do I conclude that?

For starters, it is Brawn GP, Ferrari's "technical offshoot" (if I'm allowed to call them in this way) the one that is winning. Even McLaren is taking a good, hard look at this championship, watching how Brawn has used their Mercedes engines.

I'm pretty excited about the inevitable conclusion this situation brings: given the current levels of money around, nothing like a good shakedown of the rules to put some spice back into F1. Well done, FIA. Oh, and thank you, Mr. Withing and the geniuses at the Overtaking Working Group, now disbanded. You managed to make the championship fall head over heels.

Not even medals were necessary. Suddenly, a burned-out young star, like Jenson Button, shines brightly. Rubens Barrichello (Rubens Barrichello, omg!) calmly explains how he wishes to win. Fisichella and Toyota are not happy with third place. C'mon.

And you did it without having to resort to "lame figures" like reversed grids or huge changes in the point system.

Actually, what a magnificent demonstration that those ways, like medal systems, are not the ways of a sportsman... or of a truly good "competition" engineer. Oh, the points are OK. Shutup, Bernard, it's not the driver's will what can make you win in modern Formula One. All the drivers are good, that's proven, sealed and closed. It's not the experience of the technical director, be it Domenicali or anyone else. It's all about aerodynamics (well, OK, and tyres).

Besides, the grid is OK. The qualy (after so many years!) is OK. Even Ferrari and McLaren are OK. The rules... wow.

It is not Ferrari, it is the rules, stupid! I'm not going to entangle myself on discussions, so I won't say that the rules are OK, OK? But the rules were shaken in "an OK way", if I might say so.

Actually, the rules were changed in such a way as to give rule-makers a lesson.

For example, this is a pretty good (and pretty "official") interview with Mr. Withing that some of you may have already read: http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/pr ... ech09.aspx

What can catch your eye in that interview? Well, the irony. The OWG was formed by... yes, you guessed: Mr. Whiting, of course, and by the technical directors of Ferrari, McLaren and Renault. The very directors of the very teams that have been left behind in the change to the new rules.

What was Domenicali thinking when he wrote the rules for the diffusser? That's what I want to know, not his experience... Engineering is a b*tch, don't you agree?

In the end, I'm not the one complaining about how the "traditional teams" are not winning. Actually, I'm happy about it and I'm sure Ferrari will survive with or without Domenicali. Ferrari is Italy, that is, the sons of Nuvolari, Ascari, Brambilla, Fagioli, Lamborghini, the Maserati brothers, Lancia and a few more. They do not have to prove to us anything. Actually, most of us are happy they exist, even if we do not agree some times with their tactics or with the people around.

So, I like what is happening at Ferrari. They're scratching their heads... that's what's happening. And that's good.

[Giblet]

I see where you are going here. The powers that be essentially have shot themselves in their respective feet.

My first though of the slow Mclaren was this: The new rules were developed on the Mclaren simulator, using Pedro De La Rosa as the test driver. Testing things like following closely, using the flap, the KERS etc.

I wonder if Mclaren, having not so much inside information, but 'inside insight' into the new regs, felt they had a large advantage over the other teams in the understanding of the new rules.

not so much resting on their laurels, but maybe just leaning and taking the weight off.

While the big teams were afraid to lose what they have learned, all seem to have more aspects of the old car (Mclaren front wing for example), while the midfield/lower end teams had nothing to lose going all out with a redesign.

The old teams, Ferrari included, seemed to see this as more of a redesign, but teams that are doing well, like Red Bull, BRAWN, etc, saw this as more of a Paradigm Shift, and their success reflects that.

[Ciro Pabón]

Well, yes, and rereading what I wrote, perhaps a generational change at the "old" teams.

Good point about De La Rosa, I haven't thought of that.

I think that this point of view is more positive than calling Domenicali names. He's calling names himself, I'm sure: I would.

[natef1]

So, I like what is happening at Ferrari. They're scratching their heads... that's what's happening. And that's good.

Another excellent post, Ciro.

I have to agree with you on this last point ; whatever silly (or not, depending on your point of view) rules the FIA may bring in to stifle innovation and engineering, if a team is in direct competitive trouble, ala Ferrari and McLaren right now, surely a bit of head-scratching will end up with new ideas. New ways of thinking. New approaches to old problems that have not been seen at these teams for a while. And as you say, perhaps this is a new generation of racing. Perhaps it is far-fetched to say so, indeed it is too early, but the seeds are there - now the teams just have to grow them.

[Birel99]

maybe sign Alonso in future kimi lost the spark, alonso extracts the maxaium out of the car.

Yes because putting it in the gravel trap in MAlaysia was the way to extract the maximum!

Islamatron,

You mean like Kimi putting it in the wall in Australia?

[Giblet]

Snowboarding is hard for most on the 1st day, but after that most people quickly reach a plateau in a few days of riding where they can pretty much ride any run, albeit slowly, and not fall as much as you might think.

It's something that you can "get" pretty quick.

It's also commonly known that if you want to get better at snowboarding, you need to fall. To fall means you are pushing, learning to jump, ride switch, etc.

When I see a driver like Alonso going off track, I rarely assume it's for no reason.

[adam2007]

Islamatron: Yes because putting it in the gravel trap in MAlaysia was the way to extract the maximum![/quote]

yeh he went off beacuse of the bad conditions and resumed, how many times did the great schumacher go off and use the escape road.
have you just seen the poll. Most people want Alonso in a ferrari instead of kimi. I mean kimi is good but goes on the piss not really intrested in devloping the car. i dont think he smiles either. he needs to open his mouth when he talks aswel

[The FOZ]

Ciro: I apologize if you interpreted my tone to be patronizing. But irrelevant of my current employment, I feel my message retains it's validity, particularly the "relax, Ferrari doesn't have to win all day, every day" bit. Moving on.

It is not Ferrari, it is the rules, stupid! I'm not going to entangle myself on discussions, so I won't say that the rules are OK, OK? But the rules were shaken in "an OK way", if I might say so.

Or is it? Teams have shown that it's possible to win within the rules. Which is really a "duh" statement, but I digress. Ferrari, and several other teams, have not yet optimized themselves within the current rules.

The OWG was formed by... yes, you guessed: Mr. Whiting, of course, and by the technical directors of Ferrari, McLaren and Renault. The very directors of the very teams that have been left behind in the change to the new rules.

What was Domenicali thinking when he wrote the rules for the diffusser? That's what I want to know, not his experience... Engineering is a b*tch, don't you agree?

You've hit the nail on the head, though maybe not in the way you intended. It is ironic that, in effect, the big 3's eyes were bigger than their stomachs, but there is a bigger issue.

The intent of the rules were not cleanly transmogrified into the rules themselves. When non-lawyer types try to write laws, this happens. They wanted things to be a, but instead wrote the rules to allow a AND b, and are currently being beaten by b, all the while, they still are stuck on the original intent, a, that they had in mind, and haven't wrapped themselves around the possibility that b might also exist within the world they tried to devise.

[The FOZ]

Snowboarding is hard for most on the 1st day, but after that most people quickly reach a plateau in a few days of riding where they can pretty much ride any run, albeit slowly, and not fall as much as you might think.

It's also commonly known that if you want to get better at snowboarding, you need to fall. To fall means you are pushing, learning to jump, ride switch, etc.

When I see a driver like Alonso going off track, I rarely assume it's for no reason.

Bingo. When you go past your limit of balance, reflexes, coordination, you usually end up on your ass. But in the milliseconds leading up to going past your limits, you're learning where your limits are, and you're learning how to push those limits further.

When I first started ski racing, I fell. Constantly. But while everyone else was entertained, I was learning. Eventually, I wore the leaders bib for an entire season.

Alonso is a great racer to watch, because he is doing just that. Always. The lines he takes, the mistakes he makes...he is learning, and it's at a far faster pace than most are giving him credit for. He might be on a slower car at the moment, but the moment they sort their car out, and even a moment before then, he will start winning. Just like last season. Only, I suspect that will kick in sooner for them this season.

But then, you see Nelson, and my sense tells me he's not cut out for snowboarding on the black runs...he's just out of his depth, and keeps falling down, and isn't able to learn enough from the falls to improve.

[Chaparral]

Snowboarding is hard for most on the 1st day, but after that most people quickly reach a plateau in a few days of riding where they can pretty much ride any run, albeit slowly, and not fall as much as you might think.

It's also commonly known that if you want to get better at snowboarding, you need to fall. To fall means you are pushing, learning to jump, ride switch, etc.

When I see a driver like Alonso going off track, I rarely assume it's for no reason.

Bingo. When you go past your limit of balance, reflexes, coordination, you usually end up on your ass. But in the milliseconds leading up to going past your limits, you're learning where your limits are, and you're learning how to push those limits further.

When I first started ski racing, I fell. Constantly. But while everyone else was entertained, I was learning. Eventually, I wore the leaders bib for an entire season.

Alonso is a great racer to watch, because he is doing just that. Always. The lines he takes, the mistakes he makes...he is learning, and it's at a far faster pace than most are giving him credit for. He might be on a slower car at the moment, but the moment they sort their car out, and even a moment before then, he will start winning. Just like last season. Only, I suspect that will kick in sooner for them this season.

But then, you see Nelson, and my sense tells me he's not cut out for snowboarding on the black runs...he's just out of his depth, and keeps falling down, and isn't able to learn enough from the falls to improve.

Foz thats a damm good analogy - FA has the goods thats for sure - just hope the car catches up