I have followed closely Scott Speed's career, if only because I like the odd people.
He has several statistics that have impressed me. In 2006, right until I posted here a long post about engine usage, he was the driver that used less engines AND extracted more kilometers per engine, way better than anyone, on a car that you could only classify as crappy.
This speaks volumes to me about his smoothness as a driver, something I regard highly, but I'm a guy that loves cars as much as chocolate, if you follow my drift. I'm the kind of person that reserves judgement about drivers until he has a chance to dissasemble engines and clutches and check the tires AFTER the race. You know the motto: love the machine, she will love you eventually.
I have the impression that britons and americans provoke in each other the idea of arrogancy. I'd like to think is the accent.
When you learn to speak both "britonese" and "americanese" you find them to be excellent chaps and wonderful guys, except when drinking beer. Yeah. Indeed. Maybe it's because I can relate with a gringo born in Manteca, California. Totally.
I like to think of him as the guy that catched my eye in the Barber Saab series, with a honest face.
I like to think of him as the guy that blew the Formula Renault and Formula 3000 guys in Germany and France, sort of Lance Armstrong without the drug allegations.
I like to think of him as the guy that earned a point in his third race to be, perhaps unjustly, robbed of it by David Coulthard or the stewards, I don't know. Mr. Coulthard had a congestion (same as Tom
) with the f-word Scott Speed pronounced after the race, a word used so widely in the American subcontinent. It is the same congestion any briton would have about it... before living in Harlem or San Diego for a while. Speed would return the favor at the French GP, where I guess nobody, but his secret fans, noticed he ran with a back pain from his accident and contained Mr. Coulthard for the race... a thing easier said than done, as David knows his office.
He is the same guy that was taken out of the Indy GP, where he had qualified 13th for the first time in his F1 career. Of course, it was JPM (sorry, Mr. Speed, Colombia sent a madman to compete... we don't have any other kind of drivers). To his chagrin, Liuzzi used the high attrition rate usual at Indy (... men, some european drivers have problems with sustained high speed. Sorry, sorry, the devil made me said that...
) to finish eight, a first for STR.
He lives in Austria. As his other "record", that is, to be the first american in F1 since Andretti, back in 1993 (that's 13 years, you, UE people), he is probably also the first american to live in Fuschl am See since the Second World War.
This year has been his "year of the cat": seven retirements don't look good. He is a guy I would support in any other series. In F1, it hurts to see him compete, and not because of lack of abilities, let me tell you.
It's not OK to hate an employee, like Mr. Tost apparently does. I only hope for Mr. Speed to get a good drive in Europe. That'll teach some people something.
