Excuses, excuses

neilap · 10 Mar 2002, 16:00 (Ref:232219)

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines02/03/s8751.html

So now we see why Trulli was slower than HHF in races but quicker in qualifying. He said the Jordan would become tail happy. I have always been of the opinion that fast drivers prefer a little oversteer, just a little. Then again what do I know. Why will no one say that Trulli made a mistake... he did!

Mania · 10 Mar 2002, 16:28 (Ref:232231)

Well, Trullis got big-mouth Gascoyne to do his talking for him. That itself should send alarm bells - Gascoyne himself is a classic case of all talk and no walk.

By the way, does ANYONE accept responsibility for ANYTHING in F1 these days?!

BBKing · 10 Mar 2002, 16:35 (Ref:232235)

Not if you believe stories like "Saving my engine"...LOL

Speed · 10 Mar 2002, 16:44 (Ref:232238)

Or... "the radio was broken"... LOL

Mania · 10 Mar 2002, 16:48 (Ref:232243)

Well, if your boy was quick enough he should have been able to pass instead of getting Uncle Patrick to move the other chap over..."LOL"!

paulzinho · 10 Mar 2002, 19:44 (Ref:232377)

Nick heidfeld admitted to his mistake.... so there you go!!!

Dr. Austin · 11 Mar 2002, 06:36 (Ref:232612)

If Trulli doesn't like a tail happy car, he might want toset it up to be nuetral on enpty tanks. Of course it might have too much understeer for him on full tank, but he is going to have to find a compromise somewhere if he wants to win grands prix. Of course, if the car changes that drastically as the fuel load goes down, it probably is not any good anyway.

Coach44 · 11 Mar 2002, 11:35 (Ref:232741)

Quote:

Originally posted by Dr. Austin
...Trulli...is going to have to find a compromise somewhere if he wants to win grands prix...

Trulli winning grand prix.....

Glen · 11 Mar 2002, 12:32 (Ref:232765)

Give him a couple of races! Lets see how good these new Michelins are before we pass judgement.

I have to say that those comments about the Jordan are consistent with HHF's remarks about the Jordan agenda - ie that it was very heavy on the tyres and very much optimised for qualifying rather than racing.

av8rirl · 13 Mar 2002, 13:27 (Ref:234224)

I think that Trulli will probably out-qualify Button at most races, but will still finish behind him in the races. He's not a racer. He showed this at Melbourne again.

EERO · 13 Mar 2002, 13:34 (Ref:234233)

Quote:

Originally posted by av8rirl
He's not a racer. He showed this at Melbourne again.

Austria, '97 when in a Prost, he led a good portion of the race and held off everyone.

Racer? You bet.

neilap · 13 Mar 2002, 16:38 (Ref:234330)

Well if Trulli blames the car again (or oil) for him falling off during the races then his inabilities might become more apparrent.

**Peter Mallett** · 13 Mar 2002, 19:33 (Ref:234467)

Unfair to the boy.

He's good but not that good. I never understood all the support he got just for the "Prost" thing. Still, he did deserve more than he got in Melbourne. At least he made an effort to keep MS behind, unlike a certain Columbian who conceded a hard won position apparently gracefully.

neilap · 13 Mar 2002, 19:43 (Ref:234476)

I know exactly what you mean. JPM is a wuss! He should have crashed out of the race too and blame it on oil. That is a racer. That is what the team loves to see, potential points turned to used food!

**Peter Mallett** · 13 Mar 2002, 19:48 (Ref:234481)

Tee Hee.

Mania · 14 Mar 2002, 01:06 (Ref:234673)

LindaC · 14 Mar 2002, 02:05 (Ref:234694)

I think the explanation for the spin was a reason, not an excuse. If you recall, when interviewed after the race, Trulli said they weren't sure of the reason, but that it could have been oil on the track. I haven't heard Trulli himself comment again on that subject. At the end of last week, Mike Gascoyne said that they had watched Michael's in-car camera and there was definitely oil on the track and that had caused the spin. The oil had been there every lap, but Jarno had hit it on that particular lap because he had taken a different line out of the corner while defending his position. Why is this an unacceptable explanation for some of you? And isn't that racing?
If you listen to the drivers' radio transmissions (as posted on Atlas and F1 Network Forums) you will see that DC mentioned oil on the track before Jarno's spin and suggested the team let the organisers know so they could clear it up. After Jarno's spin, the McLaren team told DC to watch out for it and DC said he wasn't surprised someone had gone off there and again suggested it was dealt with. Later in the race, Montoya said he had caught the oil and had a dodgy moment.
Surely the oil should have been dealt with before the race re-started after the first safety car? If the organisers had done their job properly, we wouldn't be having this discussion and Jarno would have had a longer opportunity to show that he can race. He didn't have much chance in last season's Jordan as the car didn't have the capability, having problems with the chassis and the tyres. This is now fairly well documented, although HHF got the sack for saying it at the time, and didn't have better racing results with it either, contrary to popular opinion.
This is the first time Jarno has had a decent car to drive and maybe we should all reserve judgement until a few races in.

mac · 14 Mar 2002, 02:12 (Ref:234697)

Trulli is good. Just you wait and see. And he CAN race. I also remember another cracking drive of his in the Prost at Nurburgring '99 in the rain. His driving against Barrichello for 2nd place was brilliant.

For anyone to say that the crash in Melbourne was his fault, is clearly mistaken. Reasons being:

- Traction Control is meant to prevent the rear wheels spinning. Brundle stated that you should be able to gun it out of that corner with no worries.
- He had been on the gas for quite a while before he spun. Hell, he was practically on the straight.
- In case you have forgotten, there was a little bingle on the 1st lap, and a Renault spewing out flames and who knows what else, did drive along that section of the track.
- Maybe he didn't see the oil, but from what I remember he was a little busy at the time.

Last year's Jordan was a pig. Everyone has different driving styles. The tail-happy thing might not suit Jarno's driving style. Montoya might like to drive sideways, but I doubt JPM's set-up was anything like Hakkinen's.

Red · 14 Mar 2002, 06:51 (Ref:234811)

Quote:

Originally posted by neilap
[...]He should have crashed out of the race too and blame it[...]

Hee-heee.... ahem.... I say no more

Raoul Duke · 14 Mar 2002, 07:24 (Ref:234819)

Quote:

Originally posted by EERO

Austria, '97 when in a Prost, he led a good portion of the race and held off everyone.

Racer? You bet.

And he would have finished 2nd in that race had the team not short-fueled him during his final pit stop, and his egine blowing up near the end kind of ruined his chanced as well.

These types of things always happen whenever an underdog is about to get a good result. Austria 2000, Delarosa is on his way to a third place in an arrows and what happens?, his engine blows up.

. But that's just F1 I guess

.

neilap · 14 Mar 2002, 17:31 (Ref:235161)

I dont think Trulli was going to have that good a result. His car was not that fast. Considering the circumstances fourth would be the best he could have done. Now, if we were able to see oil on the track why did he not see it? If everyone else missed it what happened to him? I still think he looped it. He was out of his league. Traction control is not an end all. If the tail comes around it does with traction control or not. Since we are all giving opinions here, I might be proven wrong.

mac · 15 Mar 2002, 00:00 (Ref:235373)

You are kidding neilap.

As I mentioned earlier, he was defending his position, meaning he was taking at least slightly different lines (remember driving an f1 car is a game of centimetres).

How did he not see it? Well, if you remember he was kind of busy at the time (there was a big red thing behind him).

Have a look at the words - "traction control". It is a system that controls the traction, supposedly sufficiently enough that the back will not come around. You are supposed to be able to gun it, and the TC will kick in to prevent it spinning. There is a reason that f1 cars sound so bad coming out of corners now.

Out of his league my bum!

Valve Bounce · 15 Mar 2002, 00:18 (Ref:235383)

First of all, I'd like to welcome LindaC to our friendly and abuse free forum. That was a great first post, very impressive and detailed, and infinitely better than some of the nonsense posted here. Please come back to post a lot more. Don't forget that when you post 1000 posts, you qualify for the lucky draw for the Ferrari, which will be drawn when everybody posts 1000 posts or more.

As for Jarno's statement, he explained his race truthfully, and for guys here to rubbish his description, read the report again.
As for his explanation for not racing at the same speed as he qualifies, I accept his explanation also. It is one thing to go fast in a car for one single lap, after which the tyres might be shot. It is another to drive fast for half the race distance to avoid shredding the tyres. I have always wanted to see Jarno in a top factory team, and I certainly hope that the Renault will improve its roadholding and handling with the new aero package.
It seems that when a driver stops duelling with another car by easing on the lap times, it is often related to trying to conserve the tyres rather than slowing because of a lack of ability or engine power. (Although with Ralf, it is because he wants to conserve his engine).

calais · 15 Mar 2002, 06:18 (Ref:235482)

what a lot of people don't realise is that traction control is not instantaneous.just before he hit the oil, i doubt the traction control was in operation, so when he did hit the oil, that split second it took for for the traction control to cut in, that initial wheelspin would've been enough to throw him off

Valve Bounce · 15 Mar 2002, 06:23 (Ref:235484)

Calais, when you hit oil, or wet bitumen, nothing works. I remember going down to Tumut Ponds in a Holden Ute, and the temp was high enough to provide a nice wet bitumen surface, and it was only by the grace of God and some gravel on the edge that I didn't end up in the dam.

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