When is a driver good enough to drive for Ferrari?
Jul 27, 2015 22:31:30 GMT
racechick and CookinFlat6 like this
Post by Wß on Jul 27, 2015 22:31:30 GMT
What if? Sometimes I find myself thinking about the what ifs in life. I can't help think of Ferrari actively rejecting Jules Bianchi in favor of Kimi Raikkonen. This entire weekend, it seemed surreal in a way with Jules' death being announced just a week prior. I couldn't help but think about the time back when... The time when Felipe Massa was leaving the team, the end of season 2012. Ferrari looking for a driver and the web sites, the forums and trade rags & pundits alike where going crazy with speculation. Speculation as to who Ferrari will bring in to replace the driver that clearly needed replacing at the time. Who would assume the greatest of all honor, that is to be a Ferrari driver in Formula One. The dream of every race driver according to legend.
Was it going to be Nico Hulkenberg? Valteri Bottas? Jules Bianchi? Even Kamui Kobayashi who happened to be in the very same Ferrari driver's academy that Jules Bianchi was a member of. There was buzz about all of them, they all had their credentials and were proving their talents race weekend after race weekend. In the end we know what happens but could the story be different? Would the narrative have changed? It's all in the past and the tragedy that's befallen Jules Bianchi and his family is something the sport will live with for years and perhaps do something more about it still. The Virtual Safety Car is a direct safety implementation stemming from the tragic accident. Perhaps we'll never see that situation again because of the VSC implementation so there is that silver lining even if not solace enough.
My thoughts this weekend were sparked by the nearly commercialized feel of the services around Jules by Ferrari. The shrine built in their garage, the hashtags, the decorations and this morning the official race win dedications. It's all well and good now, but the fact remains that Ferrari felt that Jules Bianchi wasn't good enough to drive for the team then. But posthumously, he would have clearly been a Ferrari driver, a Ferrari winner and a Ferrari champion. Back then however, they felt that a driver Ferrari had previously discarded and given his exit papers to once before. A driver that had consistently shown a lack of motivation, being twice handily defeated by his teammate and Ferrari driver they'd just let go would be more capable behind the wheel than Jules Bianchi. Kimi in the two years since, for a reportedly 38 million euros has given Ferrari one podium and performed worse than even the naysayers back in 2012 predicted. First it was the comparison to Alonso, the fact that the car, the steering weren't built around him and his talents. Then it's a situation of being paired with Vettel, yet another world champion but Kimi is simply unlucky or mistake prone. There is always an explanation of why and it's the prerogative of the Scuderia to make such a decision. Yet here we are in his mid second season expressing the same type of doubts and innuendos Ferrari had about Massa previously and Kimi before that. Making decisions perhaps made by in men with passion or men understanding nuanced intangibles that those outside Maranello, those outside of Ferrari are unable to see.
In that same time frame however we've seen the continued success of Valteri Bottas, we've seen the metronome steady performances of Nico Hulkenberg, we've seen teams bring youngsters into their ranks that have created a stir in the sport because of their age and inexperience but drivers who's teams felt had the maturity, talent and were wicked fast. Danil Kvyat, Max Verstappen for Red Bull. Kevin Magnussen for McLaren. Top teams choosing young drivers, drivers within their development programs, they felt had what it took to get behind the wheel of an F1 car. Behind the wheel of a top team's F1 car. All of which were drivers with less experience in the sport than Jules Bianchi.
I can't help but ask the question that there may not be a rational answer to... why? Why would Ferrari not feel the same then, but today we are to believe with all the pomp and circumstance that Jules Bianchi would have been an F1 driver for the team all F1 drivers want to drive for; Scuderia Ferrari.
Was it going to be Nico Hulkenberg? Valteri Bottas? Jules Bianchi? Even Kamui Kobayashi who happened to be in the very same Ferrari driver's academy that Jules Bianchi was a member of. There was buzz about all of them, they all had their credentials and were proving their talents race weekend after race weekend. In the end we know what happens but could the story be different? Would the narrative have changed? It's all in the past and the tragedy that's befallen Jules Bianchi and his family is something the sport will live with for years and perhaps do something more about it still. The Virtual Safety Car is a direct safety implementation stemming from the tragic accident. Perhaps we'll never see that situation again because of the VSC implementation so there is that silver lining even if not solace enough.
My thoughts this weekend were sparked by the nearly commercialized feel of the services around Jules by Ferrari. The shrine built in their garage, the hashtags, the decorations and this morning the official race win dedications. It's all well and good now, but the fact remains that Ferrari felt that Jules Bianchi wasn't good enough to drive for the team then. But posthumously, he would have clearly been a Ferrari driver, a Ferrari winner and a Ferrari champion. Back then however, they felt that a driver Ferrari had previously discarded and given his exit papers to once before. A driver that had consistently shown a lack of motivation, being twice handily defeated by his teammate and Ferrari driver they'd just let go would be more capable behind the wheel than Jules Bianchi. Kimi in the two years since, for a reportedly 38 million euros has given Ferrari one podium and performed worse than even the naysayers back in 2012 predicted. First it was the comparison to Alonso, the fact that the car, the steering weren't built around him and his talents. Then it's a situation of being paired with Vettel, yet another world champion but Kimi is simply unlucky or mistake prone. There is always an explanation of why and it's the prerogative of the Scuderia to make such a decision. Yet here we are in his mid second season expressing the same type of doubts and innuendos Ferrari had about Massa previously and Kimi before that. Making decisions perhaps made by in men with passion or men understanding nuanced intangibles that those outside Maranello, those outside of Ferrari are unable to see.
In that same time frame however we've seen the continued success of Valteri Bottas, we've seen the metronome steady performances of Nico Hulkenberg, we've seen teams bring youngsters into their ranks that have created a stir in the sport because of their age and inexperience but drivers who's teams felt had the maturity, talent and were wicked fast. Danil Kvyat, Max Verstappen for Red Bull. Kevin Magnussen for McLaren. Top teams choosing young drivers, drivers within their development programs, they felt had what it took to get behind the wheel of an F1 car. Behind the wheel of a top team's F1 car. All of which were drivers with less experience in the sport than Jules Bianchi.
I can't help but ask the question that there may not be a rational answer to... why? Why would Ferrari not feel the same then, but today we are to believe with all the pomp and circumstance that Jules Bianchi would have been an F1 driver for the team all F1 drivers want to drive for; Scuderia Ferrari.
