Lotus

da F1-live.com: <Ralf si separa da Willi Weber Dopo 13 anni di collaborazione Ralf e Willi Dopo un lungo periodo di collaborazione, Ralf Schumacher ed il suo manager Willi Weber, il quale si occupa anche della carriera del fratello Michael, hanno deciso di separarsi per una divergenza di opinioni. "Abbiamo trascorso dei bei momenti assieme, oottenendo il successo assieme," ha commentato Ralf parlando dei 13 anni trascorsi con Weber. Weber, che trov? il primo volante a Ralf in F1 nel 1997 a bordo di una Jordan, continuer? a lavorare con Michael Schumacher. Descrivendo alcune delle ragioni che hanno portato a questo divorzio, Ralf ha commentato : "Non c?? animosit?, siamo sempre amici."> Inizio della fine per Ralf? Che ne pensate?

Magari! speriamo bene...

E' giusto, sono d'accordo su tutto!

da www.andretti.com: "The 1950s Mario's love of cars and the sport began at an early age in his native Italy, when he saw the great Alberto Ascari race at Monza. Influenced by this legendary driver, Andretti began his own racing career with his twin brother Aldo, at the age of 19, in 1959 in Nazareth, soon after he and his family emigrated to the United States and discovered a dirt track, virtually in their back yard. The first of Mario's victories came in the very first race he entered in Nazareth, at the wheel of a 1948 Hudson Hornet Sportsman Stock Car. In the next three years, Andretti won 20 events in the Sportsman class. The 1960s Andretti's "first victory of consequence" came on March 3, 1962, a 100-lap feature TQ Midget race at Teaneck, NJ. On Labor Day in 1963, he won three midget features on the same day ? one at Flemington, NJ and two at Hatfield, PA. After joining the United States Auto Club in 1964, Andretti finished third in the sprint car point standings, capped by a dramatic victory in a 100-lap race at Salem, IN. He also drove in his first Champ Car event at Trenton, NJ on April 19, 1964, starting 16th and finishing 11th in the 100-mile race, and earned $526.90 in his professional debut. Mario won his first Champ Car race in 1965, the Hoosier Grand Prix, and finished third in the Indianapolis 500, earning him Rookie-of-the-Year honors. He went on to win his first Champ Car Championship that year ? with 12 top-four finishes ? and became the youngest driver (at age 25) to win that title. In 1966, he won eight Champ Car races, his first pole at the Indy 500 and a second straight national championship. In 1967, Andretti's passion for racing saw him compete and win in the Daytona 500 stock car race, take his second pole at the Indy 500, claim his first of three career victories in the 12 Hours of Sebring endurance race, finish as runner-up in the Champ Car national championship and be named Driver of the Year for the first time. He even tried drag racing in 1968 ? driving a Ford Mustang ? and earned eight more Champ Car victories en route to second place in the Champ Car point standings. Realizing a lifelong dream, Mario qualified on the pole in his very first Formula One race at the 1968 U.S. Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, but was forced out of the race with a clutch problem. But Grand Prix racing was in his blood and the decade of the Seventies would see his dream come true. Mario's celebrated win in the Indianapolis 500 came in 1969. He led a total of 116 laps and established 15 of 20 new records set during that event. Mario scored a total of nine wins and five pole positions that season and went on to win his third national Champ Car title. He ended the decade with a total of 30 victories and 29 poles out of 111 Champ Car starts. The 1970s The 1970s proved to be a decade of successful versatility for Andretti, beginning with his second victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1970, followed by his first Formula One triumph in South Africa, driving for Ferrari in 1971. His mastery of endurance racing was at its zenith in 1972, when he co-drove a Ferrari 312P to victory with Jacky Ickx at the 6 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, BAOC 1000 km at Brands Hatch and Watkins Glen 6 Hours. He continued his attack on the open-wheel series, winning a total of seven Formula 5000 events in 1974 and 1975, while finishing second in points in both seasons. He also took the USAC National Dirt Track Championship title in 1974, with three wins. Andretti returned full-time to the Grand Prix circuit in the mid-seventies. His quest for the world title began in earnest in 1976, racing for the legendary Colin Chapman at Team Lotus. Their first taste of success came in the year's final Grand Prix in Japan, a race Andretti won in a monumental downpour. Conditions, in fact, were so bad that Niki Lauda pulled into the pits and forfeited his chance to attain the championship. In 1977, Mario was third in the world standings with seven poles and four wins, including Grand Prix victories in his native Italy (Monza) and again in the United States (Long Beach). The culmination of his international career came in 1978, when he won the World Championship driving for Lotus, making him the first driver in motor racing history to win the Formula One and Champ Car titles. Mario dominated the scene with nine poles and six wins in the revolutionary "ground effects" Lotus, which he had worked so hard to develop, and joined Phil Hill (1961) as the only American ever to capture the world title. He was again honored by being selected Driver of the Year, in recognition of his accomplishments. Andretti topped the sport's best again in 1979, taking the International Race of Champions (IROC) series. As the decade came to an end, his full-time return to Champ Cars was imminent. The 1980s In 1980, Mario competed for one last season with Team Lotus but was plagued by mechanical problems. He switched to the Alfa Romeo team in 1981, in what was to be his last full-time stint as a Formula One driver. When the call came from his old friends at Ferrari to replace the injured Didier Pironi in 1982, Andretti put the car on pole at Monza and finished third, much to the delight of his Italian fans. The final Grand Prix start of his career was in the last race of the season at Las Vegas; however, a mechanical failure caused his day to end early. All told, Mario earned 12 victories and won 18 poles in a total of 128 Grand Prix starts. As he returned to the States in the early 1980s to concentrate on Champ Car competition, Andretti teamed with his son Michael and Philippe Alliot to compete at the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1983, where they qualified and finished third, the highest finish for a non-factory team. It was also Mario's first season with the newly-formed Newman/ Haas Racing team. The 1984 Champ Car season proved to be a memorable one for Andretti, who at age 44, won his fourth national championship by winning six events, eight pole positions and setting ten track records. The season was capped with his third Driver of the Year selection, bestowed for the first time by unanimous vote, making Mario the only man to ever win the trophy in three different decades (1969, 1978, 1984). As the 80s progressed, Andretti continued to make racing history with some personal milestones. With Michael, they established the first-ever, father-son front row in qualifying for the 1986 Phoenix Champ Car event, a feat they accomplished a total of ten times before the close of the decade. Two months later, he edged Michael by .07 second at Portland on Father's Day, marking the closest road course finish in modern Champ Car history. He also won the Pocono 500, with Michael on pole, the same weekend as son Jeff started and won his ARS (Indy Lights) race from the pole. In 1987, in the debut of the Chevrolet-powered engine, Mario sat on the pole eight times, including his third pole at the Indy 500. He went on to lead 170 of the first 177 laps before engine failure cut his day disappointedly short. Mario won his 50th Champ Car race at Phoenix and his 51st at Cleveland in 1988. As the decade came to a close in 1989, Andretti took on what would be the ultimate teammate ?his son, Michael. It marked the first father-son team in Champ Car history. The 1990s With his two sons (Michael and Jeff) and his nephew (John Andretti), Mario made another "first" as the four family members competed in the same Champ Car race at Milwaukee, June 3, 1990. The following year, the four Andrettis raced against one another for the first time in the Indianapolis 500. Jeff was voted Rookie of the Year, joining Mario (1965) and Michael (1984) as the only three members of the same family to win the award. That year ? 1991 ? would also prove to be Michael's dream season, as he won his first Champ Car championship and was voted Driver of the Year. In 1992, Mario achieved two new milestones. He became the oldest Champ Car pole winner when he earned his record-setting 66th pole at the Michigan 500 and, at Cleveland, he set an all-time record for most Champ Car race starts with 370 (Mario finished his career with 407 starts). He was also named Driver of the Quarter Century by a vote of all former Driver of the Year winners and a panel of 12 journalists. As he began his 35th year of professional racing in 1993, Mario continued to make headlines with his 52nd Champ Car victory at the Phoenix 200, making him the first driver to win Champ Car races in four decades and the first driver to win races in five decades. This race also marked his 111th major career victory. Records continued to be made in 1993, when Mario set a world closed-course speed record (234.275 mph) in qualifying for the Michigan 500, as he earned his 67th pole. This record stood intact until 1996, a year after the track was repaved. Mario decided that 1994 would be his final year of competition as an Champ Car driver. The season-long farewell campaign, entitled Arrivederci, Mario featured special tributes, salutes and honors at every race venue. As he sped around a Champ Car track for the last time on October 9, 1994 at Laguna Seca Raceway, the legend of Mario Andretti assumed its place in the record books and in the hearts of his many fans. Even though officially retired, Mario continued the next few years to seek the one major trophy missing from his mantle. He competed eight times in the world's most prestigious endurance race, the 24 Hours of LeMans, finishing as high as second in 1995. Mario?s Success Continues Today Today Mario is a successful businessman off the track and serves as spokesman, associate and friend to top executives around the world. His legacy continues with the Andretti Winery in Napa Valley, the Mario Andretti Racing School in Las Vegas, four car dealerships, a petroleum business, two books about his life, the Andretti Indoor Karting and Games facility near Atlanta and an IMAX movie." 1)at the age of 19, in 1959 in Nazareth 2)The first of Mario's victories came in the very first race he entered in Nazareth, at the wheel of a 1948 Hudson Hornet Sportsman Stock Car. In the next three years, Andretti won 20 events in the Sportsman class 3) Andretti's "first victory of consequence" came on March 3, 1962, a 100-lap feature TQ Midget race at Teaneck, NJ 4) in 1964, Andretti finished third in the sprint car point standings, capped by a dramatic victory in a 100-lap race at Salem, IN 5)He also drove in his first Champ Car event at Trenton, NJ on April 19, 1964 Mario won his first Champ Car race in 1965, the Hoosier Grand Prix, and finished third in the Indianapolis 500, earning him Rookie-of-the-Year honors dopodich?... The 1970s proved to be a decade of successful versatility for Andretti, beginning with his second victory in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1970, followed by his first Formula One triumph in South Africa, driving for Ferrari in 1971. His mastery of endurance racing was at its zenith in 1972, when he co-drove a Ferrari 312P to victory with Jacky Ickx at the 6 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, BAOC 1000 km at Brands Hatch and Watkins Glen 6 Hours etc. etc. Tipico esempio di vero pilota e campione che (in quegli anni era normale!) non si "ghettizzava" in una serie o campionato ma , all'occorenza, passava dalla 24 ore di Le Mans a Monza o Sebring. Per? non dirmi che era un pilota di scuola "europea"... P.S. coplimenti per l'avatar e Nelson, uno dei piu GRANDI di sempre!

scusandomi ancora per averti dato del "ragazzino saccente e presuntuoso" (e con malcelata invidia nel caso tu lo fossi... ) ti domando: Sai qualcosa di un certo Mario Andretti e del campionato che vinse nel'77 con la Lotus? A, certo era un'auto trooppo superiore (minigonne) alla concorrenza... non mi ricordo se vinse all'ultima gara il mondiale, per?

Con questa storia di Villeneuve incapace e l? per motivi economico-politici (!) abbiamo toccato il fondo... Io posso capire l'antipatia per un pilota che spesso a "sparato" sulla benemerita rossa ma paragonare un campione F1, Indy, vincitore di 500 miglia di Indianapolis (Michael non si ? mai fatto un ovalino... ) a gente come Karthikeyan e Sato ? il massimo Ma LOL! Adesso Bidneuve ? meglio di Schumi perch? ha corso sugli ovali!? A me non interessano le sparate invidiose che il canadese faceva quando impantanatosi nell'esperienza BAR vedeva il campione tedesco vincere a ripetizione con la Rossa ; ma al fatto (CHE TU +/- IN BUONA FEDE NON CITI ) che nel 1997 il "figlio d'arte" ha vinto il Mondiale all'ultima gara (penultima ma tanto Schumi era squalificato nell'ultima) con una macchina immensamente superiore alla Ferrari del Kaiser. Questo andrebbe detto visto che, giustamente, sottolinei che nella F1 moderna la vettura fa troppo la differenza per poter giudicare bene i piloti. Poi le vittore oltre-ocenao hanno IMHO un valore relativo: ? un dato storico che il livello dei piloti delle serie americane ? inferiore a quello delle europee e questo ? stato pi? volte dimostrato dai successi immediati riscossi dai nostri quando andavano a correre negli USA (dalle prime esperienze di Graham Hill e Jim Clark, fino a Zanardi e gli ormai pensionati Fittipaldi e Mansell), mentre le "carriere" di colori che hanno fatto il salto opposto sono state piuttosto fallimentari (Michael Andretti, Montoya...). Anche sulla storia dell'elettronica che livella i valori hai purtroppo di nuovo torto: questa "cantilena" era particolarmente sentita nel 2002 quando la FIA gett? la spugna e liberalizz? nuovamente i dispositivi automatici: c'era un pilota che vinceva tutto senza elettronica ed ha continuato con essa. 222694[/snapback] Io non mi permetto di dire che tu +/- in buona fede spari un sacco di frescacce, dico solo che sei saccente, supponente e arrogante "commenti unu pippiu" (come un ragazzino) come diciamo in Sardegna. E' proprio vero, ognuno lega il carro ai buoi che vuole, se poi parli di Schumacher, che hai la coda di paglia? CHI TI HA MAI DETTO CHE BIDNEUVE, come lo chiami tu, sia superiore? Questo tuo acredine ? la riprova che per quelli come te, chi tocca "il Kaiser" muore!

Ah, scusate, forse non si ? capito, a me piacciono i piloti che vengono dalle "series" americane perche son tutti accaniti LOTTATORI! E vai, Monty!

Ragazzi, non disprezziamo le series americane; li c'? ancora lo spirito sportivo che animava la F1 negli anni eroici, viaggiano a medie altissime su circuiti pericolosi con auto "pi? nervose" delle attuali F1 (quando la perdi, la perdi e il muretto ? la...). Secondo me un pilota mediocre ? tale ovunque, infatti di "americani" che han figurato bene in F1 c' ? ne sono pochini... e Villeneuve ? uno di questi... pensate solo se al suo debutto in F1 col botto... E chiedetevi se, dopo anni di m***a in BAR non avrebbe saputo sfruttare meglio di quanto fece Sato la super-BAR(alla fin fine sviluppata da lui e Jock Clear, suo ingegnere in Williams e da lui portato in BAR) del 2004 . Se invece di Jense ci fosse stato un altro pilota, forse D.R. non avrebbe avuto tanto accanimento contro chi col suo " troppo alto ingaggio sottraeva risorse e sviluppo" alla scuderia (BAT, 1 multinazionale del tabacco, Honda, "piccolo" costruttore giapponese ) se poi diciamo che un gran pilota deve anche e SOPRATUTTO sapersi gestire siamo perfettamente d'accordo, questa ? la grande pecca del figlio di Gilles.

Grazie chatruc, ti quoto in peno!

Su Rossi mi sono espresso pi? volte: di gente che non merita il posto in F1 c'? ne ? gi? tanta (Sato, Karthikeyan, Villeneuve, Webber...) e sono l? per motivi politico-economici che nulla hanno a che vedere con lo sport; per lo meno Rossi si sarebbe guadagnato il volante con i suoi meriti sportivi (anche se in un ALTRO sport ). Con questa storia di Villeneuve incapace e l? per motivi economico-politici (!) abbiamo toccato il fondo... Io posso capire l'antipatia per un pilota che spesso a "sparato" sulla benemerita rossa ma paragonare un campione F1, Indy, vincitore di 500 miglia di Indianapolis (Michael non si ? mai fatto un ovalino... ) a gente come Karthikeyan e Sato ? il massimo Il figlio di Gilles ha sicuramente toppato a passare i giorni migliori dietro ad una chimera (contribuire a fondare una scuderia che vincessa in F1) ma ha dimostrato di essere un pilota vero, anche su macchine di CACCA come questa Sauber, non per niente "sviluppata" da Felipino Massa (condoglianze alla Ferrari )! A proposito di Massa, uno che ? dove ? non per "motivi economico-politici" , neanche un MEGA ACCOZZO del super manager figlio di pap? gli ha permesso di "stracciare" il compagno durante la stagione con una macchina cucita su di se come un guanto. Allora, scusa lo sfogo, io seguo la F1 dal 1973, ma non mi permetterei mai di dare della pippa e o del finito ad un pilota che ha fatto + di 100 GP senza una vittoria, ma che dalla stampa (inglese) ? trattato come Achille pi? veloce! Purtroppo in questa F1 contano troppo fattori che annullano o per meglio dire "livellano" le qualit? di un pilota... (Ah si, mi dimenticavo, la solfa dei quattrini... "pilota che ha preferito i soldi alla gloria" ) In quanto a Rossi io, essendo un po' "vecchiotto" mi ricordo le "escursioni" su quattro ruote di un Signor Pilota che vinse 15-QUINDICI- titoli mondiali e che sulle suddette quattro vinse solo nei fotoromanzi... Trasformate la Moto GP in una "Moto F1" (elettronica, gadget e diavolerie varie etc etc) date a Rossi una "cagatissima" - con tutto il rispetto - Proton, e poi ne parliamo...