Would a driver intentionally spin to take out a competitor
03-15-2006, 12:18 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Would a driver intentionally spin to take out a competitor
Would a skilled #2 team driver knowingly try to spin into
a competitor in an effort to take pressure off his #1
team mate and help assure a season opening win?
I've replayed Massa's loop at the end of the straight at
Bahrain last Sunday and I keep coming to the conclusion
that he dialed in full rear bias in a kamakazi attempt
to get Alonso at perhaps the one spot where this could
be done without being necessarily life-threatening.
.
a competitor in an effort to take pressure off his #1
team mate and help assure a season opening win?
I've replayed Massa's loop at the end of the straight at
Bahrain last Sunday and I keep coming to the conclusion
that he dialed in full rear bias in a kamakazi attempt
to get Alonso at perhaps the one spot where this could
be done without being necessarily life-threatening.
.
03-15-2006, 12:31 PM
#2
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Hmmm, maybe this is just who he is?
per Nikki Reynolds (2003-06-24)
per Nikki Reynolds (2003-06-24)
"Massa has the craziest driving style I've ever seen. He hurls the car
into corners fantastically on the limit; the back gets well shifty as he
hits the apex and you almost think it's going to beat the nose of the
car to the exit. Then at the last possible moment Felipe snatches it
back as he accelerates out. It's mental -- the first couple of laps I
thought he was just getting a bit out of shape, but he did it every
single time. The boy is a nutter! His car control is chaotic but
awesomely effective."
.
into corners fantastically on the limit; the back gets well shifty as he
hits the apex and you almost think it's going to beat the nose of the
car to the exit. Then at the last possible moment Felipe snatches it
back as he accelerates out. It's mental -- the first couple of laps I
thought he was just getting a bit out of shape, but he did it every
single time. The boy is a nutter! His car control is chaotic but
awesomely effective."
03-15-2006, 03:54 PM
#3
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From the angles I saw (the right side of the car) there was no indication of the tires locking up. The car looked fine, then he suddenly spun. It was as if he cranked the wheel while braking too hard. Done on purpose? I'm not sure, but it sure looked strange, and I did think he was going to nail Alonso.
03-15-2006, 09:46 PM
#4
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
One of the announcers, Hobbs or Varsha, makes excuses for him.
But Massa is well up the track when he starts to rotate and other
drivers were on that line later in the race with no sign of similar
chaos.
Besides, in my mind the characteristic behavior of TOO LATE! braking
at that point of the track in F1 is locked fronts and an understeering
car that goes wide or exits the track. I don't get out much but I
don't recall ever seeing a functional F1 car whip around like Massa's
- looked more like me in my C4 when I didn't have enough rear toe-in.
.
But Massa is well up the track when he starts to rotate and other
drivers were on that line later in the race with no sign of similar
chaos.
Besides, in my mind the characteristic behavior of TOO LATE! braking
at that point of the track in F1 is locked fronts and an understeering
car that goes wide or exits the track. I don't get out much but I
don't recall ever seeing a functional F1 car whip around like Massa's
- looked more like me in my C4 when I didn't have enough rear toe-in.
.
03-16-2006, 10:21 AM
#5
Melting Slicks
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You could make a case for a new car/driver mistake but after Ferrari's shameful make Rubens pull over for Micky move who knows?
03-16-2006, 03:30 PM
#6
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
Makes me think of the old days of hockey and a movie ' My Bodyguard.'
When Wayne Gretzky joined the Oilers in '78, a big plodding guy named
Dave Semenko was already on the team. Didn't score, just went out
and broke heads. A website about him says he even faced off against
Muhammad Ali
It became his role to protect WG. In doing so, Semenko picked up a lot
of good moves and became a pretty respectable player in his own right.
Hence my reference to the movie.
Perhaps Ferrari is taking a page out of an old hockey play book.
In any event, if rumours last season about Kimi Raikkonen moving to
Ferrari in '07 prove out then Massa doesn't have long to make an,
ahem, impact.
.
When Wayne Gretzky joined the Oilers in '78, a big plodding guy named
Dave Semenko was already on the team. Didn't score, just went out
and broke heads. A website about him says he even faced off against
Muhammad Ali
It became his role to protect WG. In doing so, Semenko picked up a lot
of good moves and became a pretty respectable player in his own right.
Hence my reference to the movie.
Perhaps Ferrari is taking a page out of an old hockey play book.
In any event, if rumours last season about Kimi Raikkonen moving to
Ferrari in '07 prove out then Massa doesn't have long to make an,
ahem, impact.
.
03-16-2006, 03:49 PM
#7
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Not unless Michael retires and Kimi takes his spot. That would be really wierd to see Kimi in a Ferrari battling Alonso in a McLaren, with Massa visualizing bull's eye's on it. 