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PODIUM/PITS – Jenson Button – POP spent literally minutes agonising over whether Jenson’s recently confirmed move to McLaren should be a ‘Pits’ or a ‘Podium’ entry, and so for the first time ever, yes, EVER … POP is going to let you, the esteemed reader, decide Jenson’s fate! Arguments for PITS include the fact that he’s going to get royally whipped by Hamilton, he doesn’t exactly perform well under pressure (see the latter half of the 2009 season), and his track record in these sorts of decisions is really rather shockingly bad. Arguments for PODIUM centre around the fact that it will make McLaren a supremely patriotic all-British team, Jenson bagged a 3-year deal which shows they are serious about him, and his reported pay is higher than it would have been at Brawn GP blah blah. But consider this folks, we may even (if we’re very lucky) get to see a Daddy Button/Daddy Hamilton showdown! Anthony Hamilton needs taking down a few pegs, and POP is pretty convinced John Button could take him in a fight. Cast your votes for ‘Podium’ or ‘Pits’ in the comments section at the bottom of this page. Who said POP wasn’t democratic?
Podium or pits? Button and Hamilton scratch their heads in confusion...
PITS – Kimi Raikkonen – a sabbatical? Seriously? It’s a bad spin on a seriously bad piece of news for the Finnish former world champion. What starts out as a year-long sabbatical will swiftly turn into an ‘extended period of reflection’, to a ‘career break to focus on other projects’, and eventually to retirement altogether. Mark POP’s words, this spells the end of Raikkonen’s career in Formula 1.
Luca auditions for a new job at Butlins
PITS – Luca di Montezemolo – “I’m a man, not a machine!” is another of POP’s imagined insights into the minds of influential figures in Formula 1. This week, Luca di Montezemolo has said that he will be stepping down from his duties as FOTA president. Montezemolo was already Ferrari president, and general loud-mouth in the F1 paddock, when he took up the role as FOTA leader when the association of F1 teams was formed in the summer of 2008. But even though things are now rather quiet on the FOTA-front, Montezemolo cites the fact that he “has another job” and that he “can’t do everything” as reasons why he will be stepping down at the end of the year. Call POP cynical, but such frankly lame excuses for leaving suggest that Montezemolo had only one goal in mind when he took up the FOTA presidency: to oust Max Mosley from his dictatorial position as FIA president. Now the job is done and dusted, and an ex-Ferrari boss is in Mosley’s place (handy, that), Luca clearly feels that he has achieved his ambitions and can scurry back to Maranello.
PODIUM – Timo Glock - it may be Manor, but hey, at least the chap’s got a race seat!
F1's best couple?
PODIUM – The Ferrari PR team – this week, POP’s favourite Formula 1 PR team issued another ‘classic’ news story entitled, Montezemolo: “Felipe and Fernando, the best couple in F1″. This gem comes in a long line of infamously brilliant news snippets and press releases from the Ferrari team. There have been plenty slagging off the new teams arriving in 2010. That’s sportsmanship. Of particular mention and general amusement is the one about how F1 is like an Agatha Christie novel. Dear Ferrari PR team, POP salutes you!
PITS – Donington Park – after missing every deadline Bernie could possibly throw at it, the seemingly cursed British grand prix venue at Donington has officially gone into administration. No deal has been reached with Silverstone yet to replace Donington on the calendar for 2010, so the fate of the British grand prix still hands precariously in the balance. POP will have to go an lie down for 20 minutes now to regain composure. Even the thought of no British grand prix makes POP go all weak at the knees!
PODIUM – Spa Francorchamps – POP reported back in September about the 17-year closure order slapped on the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit, the host of the Belgian grand prix. Thankfully the Belgian government has come to its senses and acknowledged that great racing should always come before whiny local residents… and has granted the circuit a brand-spanking new licence. Now if only POP could find a way of making Gordon Brown, the British Prime Minister, stage a similar intervention to get Silverstone back on the calendar … well now there is a way! Sign up to this Number 10 petition to save the British grand prix by clicking here. POP is all about the democracy this week, whether you damn well like it or not.
how many times in F1 history has the new F1 world numero uno gone to a team and been a clear number two driver?(no puns intended Jenson, we all love you lol).
Podium for Jenson, just because I can’t wait to see John vs Anthony in the garage. But seriously, what is he thinking? And I blame him for Kimi’s departure too.
I hope you’re wrong about his sabbatical being the end of his career. Come on Brawn, hire him!
I hadn’t considered that.. with Mercedes behind them, former-Brawn may well be able to afford Raikkonen. After all we had Ross saying he was 99% certain that Button would be driving for them in 2010, and then Raikkonen saying that he’d only drive for McLaren. Maybe the deal’s done already!
I don’t see how taking a sabbatical is a bad thing. If he announces his retirement then that makes it look like he was forced out of the sport before he was ready to leave.
Of course it is PITS that Kimi (probably) won’t be on the grid next year, but in a year’s time everyone would’ve forgotten about him anyway and it won’t be such a big deal when he decides he’d rather do other things. Like spending quality time with his wife and a case of Finlandia.
I’m not even going to waste my (hypothetical) breath or your page space on my thoughts of Luca dM!
Thanks for the info regarding Belgium being allowed to continue. This is brilliant news! We may have (probably) lost one of the most charismatic drivers and we may yet lose the British GP, but we’ve still got the best race on the calendar to look forward to.
Hmm.. PODIUM/PITS for Button?
Bear in mind the first thing that was said in an interview with Martin Whitmarsh was “This move wasn’t motivated by money”. In the way that F1 works says that it was motivated by money. So PITS for that. But i’d still say PODIUM overall for the move since it gives the bandwagon fans the chance to see who really is the top British driver in F1. Of course they won’t care about that since they’ll magically switch allegiance the moment the truth becomes clear.. but still.
Also PODIUM for McLaren being that even though Jenson won’t be as fast outright as Lewis, he’ll still be somewhere around the points and able to achieve a decent team result should Hamilton have problems. McLaren didn’t really have that with Kovalainen.
Yeah if it does come to fisticuffs in the garage then JB could take AH but Anthony may well have a rapper/hiphop guest loitering nearby who is packing a piece in his sock.
I think they should sign a pact that if they do get up each other’s noses they have a showdown only in Valencia. It’ll give the fans something exciting to watch during the race.
Podium for Jenson for believing he can compete with lewis.. even if he does get crushed at least he will net more points than kovi
Podium for Jenson. He will get beaten by Hamilton but it will be more like comparing Vettel to Webber, beaten but not far behind, and will get up for a win every now and then. Plus with the new rules regarding fuel who knows…
Good riddance to Kimi, I hope he never comes back. I certainly won’t miss that dick with the personality of a brick wall.
[...] our regular ‘good week / bad week’ column POP (Podium or Pits) this week was Kimi [...]
Well done, you made good point in the first part of your post and then invalidated it with a needless personal attack. Grow up.
I ’spose it could have done with out me calling him a dick… But still, it will be nice not to have to see him walking around looking like his mother had just died. Having said that though, I will miss him on the track – he’s a fantastic driver.
Re how many tomes has a F1 world champion gone as number 2 to another team, – well Nigel Mansell didn’t even get a drive and went off to the retirement home known as CART
You all seem to think Hamilton is a super hero but I don think he has proven anything yet. (Almost) anyone can win in the best car, its like having a home game at football, – even England could win the worldcup at home (ok with help from ther ref), Jenson is good although probably not great, – will be good to have a measure of where Hamilton is.
BTW what is the rule about using a drivers first name against his surname? Strange how some are alwys known by first names “Kimi” and others by their surname, in fact I have forgotten Hamiltons first name, – its definately not Ayrton Jim or Michael is it?
Re : the government should help save (pay for) the British GP , if the government even spend one penny of tax payers money on the GP (i.e. gove money to Bernie) then I think the lunatics have taken over the asylum. I am a F1 fan but really, to suggest the poor tax payers (and anyone left in Britain paying tax is probably too poor to pay for a tax accountant) should be passing their hard earned cash over to Bernie Ecclestone has lost the thread.
The solution is not to ask someone else to pay for our sport but to change the way it is run. If the so called owners think the sport is just theirs to earn as much cash as possible out of then we have to show them it isnt. Bernie has undoubtedly done a lot for the sport but now he is definately putting his interests first and so we dont need him. The long term future of F1 should take into account the traditions and look to the future with a healthy mix. We need a governing body that would sponsor (help pay for) the Silverstone upgrades not grant races purely on a commercial basis and Bernie who is the biggest earner should pay his share.
I would ask all true fans to not even consider asking the government for money but to look to changing the set up of a sport that doesnt support it own traditions.
I was a great Jackie Stewart fan until I heard him (a fellow Swiss Tax payer) suggest the governement (i.e. the poor of Great Britain) should pay for the sport, – Jackie was president of the BRDC at the times, was still earning millions from britain (unlike me) but payng his tax like many british formula one big earners outside the UK.
Dont do it Gordon!
Re Dave H and rappers,
I dont want to suggest your comments were racist but …. you seem to forget the worlds greatest rapper is white, – and the worlds top golfer black. My money is on AH, – because he was a bus driver, they knwo how ot fight dirty.
Why do we think McLaren will have a competitive car next year? This is a serious question, what has changed there? or was the 2009 car just a blip?
Same goes for Ferarri I guess, have either of them got a new designer who will come up with the goods?
I am worried that McLaren will are going the way of many major teams in past such Williams, Lotus. Tyrell. I suppose it is an advantage that the manufacturers have all but left (smart move by Mercedes going against the trend) however Mclaren are facing a year without Mercedes and having to downsize the team bigtime. Hope they can do it.
By the way Ron now is the time to build that road car with Honda motor, even if it is a hybrid :)
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