Comments on: Williams opt for mixture of innocence and experience

By: Malcolm

Malcolm — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:21:58 +0000

I heard that he agreed to a salary, and the after the contract was signed, he waived the entire thing and drove for free. I could be very wrong though!

Too bad modern drivers are concerned about a couple million Euros, and not about the competitiveness of their ride. Raikkonen should take a page from Senna’s book and just accept the lower rate for a competitive ride… but that’s a whole other story…

By: J

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:35:59 +0000

Oh, no, I didn’t mean *you* were Nico-bashing – please don’t think I’m having a go! It was just a tangential reference to the way your views have been…variously interpreted around the internet; your innocuous “Rosberg Feels he was Cheated of First Victory” post alone generated much discussion over his IQ, for example. But none of that has anything to do with you, I was just trying to express (badly, in retrospect) that despite my frustration over certain things, I’ve really enjoyed your blog.

By: Neil Williams

Neil Williams — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:01:50 +0000

I think he made the offer in 1992 when prost was rumoured to be heading to Williams after his sabbatical year. Such was the dominance of the Williams-Renault at the time, Senna was desperate to get his hands on one – even if it meant driving for free. Whether that would have panned out we shall never know.

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:53:58 +0000

Just my view point. Perhaps James can help us out with an insider view?

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:53:05 +0000

James! Please please please change your web hosting provider. Every time something interesting happens in F1 your web site goes down because it can’t copy with the traffic!

By: Williams4Ever

Williams4Ever — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:37:39 +0000

F1 is all about data, If you see a driver retire due to failed hydraulics/transmission issue, its wide open in front of everyone, where does the question of covering the engine supplier( a vendor) comes in picture

Tell me in world of business when does a client takes responsibility of vendor ???

So why would Williams( for that matter any team) cover its vendor ??

By: Martin P

Martin P — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:53 +0000

I agree there are a few question marks, but they almost don’t matter when you have a driver as solid as Lewis.

A driver like Heidfeld is what makes a team Constructor’s Champion without threatening the golden boy too much.

Surely Heidfeld is a no brainer for McLaren so I’m still at a loss as to why they’d want Kimi, Jenson or Nico first.

By: James H.

James H. — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:23:28 +0000

Wasn’t Senna driving the Williams for free? I seem to recall that at least he made the offer.

By: raffamuffin

raffamuffin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:59:36 +0000

Hmm, good to see Rubens is staying. I find it quite an odd choice to go to Williams. I know its been a long time now, but many Brazilians still blame Williams for being negligent and contributing to Senna’s death. But then again, I read an article in The Guardian I believe that stated that a lot of Brazilian fans don’t rate Rubens and want him to retire.

Either way, should be good to see Nico, against the their new Japanese young gun next year

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:56:53 +0000

Hmm, maybe… lots of problems with a car are attributed to hydraulics/transmission, etc, to avoid criticising the engine provider, especially if it’s a fragile relationship, or maybe contract clauses…

It’s politically easier for customer teams to blame their car and not their engine?