FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[Snugs]

That is absaloutley rediculous.... but to be honest with the way F1 is going at the moment, can you really not see anything really stupid happening? i mean please...we have just about seen everything we would never dream of happening, next were going to see Villenueve givven a race race seat at Ferrari

J.

[racechick]

I just read in the Sunday times that Lewis has refused to join the GPDA making him and kimi the only drivers who are not in it. He says he is not joining because he has a "lot on this season".

I cant say I blame him after last year. Keep your head down, keep your nose clean and do what you do best - which is drive cars very fast. That way people who want to moan about you or find a way of twisting your words will have far less to attack you with.

[onelapdown]

I think the GPDA role can be quite a time-consuming one on race weekends so I can see why an experienced test and race driver such as Pedro has been chosen. The main area of interest is safety matters, such as the yump which cause Glock's crash, so I don't see De la Rosa's involvement last year is that relevant to the role. I can see how the politics is bad, but I can't believe the GPDA would elect a chairman Ferrari weren't reasonably happy with. It just wouldn't happen.

[8-ball]

I think the GPDA role can be quite a time-consuming one on race weekends so I can see why an experienced test and race driver such as Pedro has been chosen. The main area of interest is safety matters, such as the yump which cause Glock's crash, so I don't see De la Rosa's involvement last year is that relevant to the role. I can see how the politics is bad, but I can't believe the GPDA would elect a chairman Ferrari weren't reasonably happy with. It just wouldn't happen.

The GPDA meet at every race but what exactly is accomplished? I see no need for it

[onelapdown]

I think the GPDA role can be quite a time-consuming one on race weekends so I can see why an experienced test and race driver such as Pedro has been chosen. The main area of interest is safety matters, such as the yump which cause Glock's crash, so I don't see De la Rosa's involvement last year is that relevant to the role. I can see how the politics is bad, but I can't believe the GPDA would elect a chairman Ferrari weren't reasonably happy with. It just wouldn't happen.

The GPDA meet at every race but what exactly is accomplished? I see no need for it

If it didn't meet at every race circuit safety standards would dip, and THEN you'd see the need for it.

[Gibraltar is Spain]

De la rosa is a great driver and a great professional..."his wicked ways" you better put the blame on his boss...

[racechick]

De la rosa is a great driver and a great professional..."his wicked ways" you better put the blame on his boss...

And why would that be? Ron Dennis is a great professional

[McLaren Fan]

De la rosa is a great driver and a great professional..."his wicked ways" you better put the blame on his boss...

Let's compare de la Rosa and Ron Dennis in their particular roles: de la Rosa was average in his time at Arrows, and embarrassingly pathetic at his time Jaguar. Then, despite being a test driver and knowing McLaren's cars inside out, he still could conjure up some points-paying positions, whilst Raikkonen was winning races. As for Ron Dennis, brilliantly successful car before Formula One in Formula Two and Three, getting on well with his sponsors, notably Marlboro and negotiation a merger with McLaren. After this, he used his excellent business acumen to bring TAG into the fold and get a US arms company to build the carbon fibre chassis for the cars. After McLaren's dominance faded in the early to mid 1990s, Dennis then managed to get Mercedes onboard and improve the team. There is more I could list. The conclusion: a poor driver at the best of times; and the most successful team boss in Formula One history.

[Denthúl]

I just read in the Sunday times that Lewis has refused to join the GPDA making him and kimi the only drivers who are not in it. He says he is not joining because he has a "lot on this season".

What kind of excuse is that? Other drivers manage it easily enough...

[8-ball]

I just read in the Sunday times that Lewis has refused to join the GPDA making him and kimi the only drivers who are not in it. He says he is not joining because he has a "lot on this season".

What kind of excuse is that? Other drivers manage it easily enough...

Jackie stewart condemned lewis for not joining up saying that he is receiving bad advice. I think he is right. Once you get complacent an accident happens and just because nobody has died since Senna on the racetrack doesn't mean that the risk is not still there.

[Denthúl]

I'm with you on that one. And seeing as Senna was Lewis' hero, I would've thought the lad might have been a bit more enthusiastic about maintaining and improving safety levels.

[bud]

De la rosa is a great driver and a great professional..."his wicked ways" you better put the blame on his boss...

I take it ALL Spanish can do no wrong hey mate?

[Lem]

I think the GPDA role can be quite a time-consuming one on race weekends so I can see why an experienced test and race driver such as Pedro has been chosen. The main area of interest is safety matters, such as the yump which cause Glock's crash, so I don't see De la Rosa's involvement last year is that relevant to the role. I can see how the politics is bad, but I can't believe the GPDA would elect a chairman Ferrari weren't reasonably happy with. It just wouldn't happen.

The GPDA meet at every race but what exactly is accomplished? I see no need for it

Exactly. If it was deemed important then surely there'd be a bigger figure than De Le Rosa. I agree to an extent that it's time consuming, but surely if the drivers felt strongly enough about it they would take a more active role.