Posted on 08/05/2009 7:57:45 PM PDT by Chode
I owe Hambone an apology.
I posted details from a story claiming Didier Pironi held the record for the longest streak of not finishing on the podium for Ferrari. I did double-check the author’s math and found he’d given Pironi credit for one too many non-podiums (the actual number was only 18, not 19). But I didn’t check (because it would have been too time-intensive) to confirm that Pironi did indeed hold the record.
So it was with great interest I read this article this morning:
How Kimi Raikkonen failed to score a podium for Ferrari during the 2014 Formula 1 season
On seeing this, my first question was, how many races was the 2014 season?
Answer: 19.
2nd, Did Kimi actually fail to podium the entire season?
Answer: Yes.
But that only leads to the further questions, did Kimi drive for the Scuderia in either 2013 or 2015? And if he did, did he either finish 2013 with non-podium finishes, or start 2015 with same?
Answer(s): No, and Yes.
He drove for Ferrari in 2015, but Lotus in 2013.
And he didn’t podium in 2015 until the fourth race, which makes for 22 starts in a Ferrari without a podium. And I can’t say to a certainty that’s the record, but it definitely surpasses Didier Pironi’s 18/19.
So racingnews365.com published a mistake, and I failed to vet their information. So I apologize to Hambone for besmirching his record, and to my fellow Freepers for misinforming you.
But this season will see 24 races. And Hambone is on pace to surpass Räikkönen’s 22 successive non-podiums at Qatar. And if he completes all 24 without a podium, I would argue that’s an even more devastating record because Kimi was seven years removed from his one and only WDC, and Hambone will be just four years from his most recent of seven WDCs. And 24 is 26% more than 19.
And Hambone still has 2026 to score even more non-podiums.
Could Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton’s declines diminish two illustrious F1 legacies?
Ferrari has once again become the subject of ridicule, as repeated failures have seen the team and Lewis Hamilton unable to produce results in their debut Formula 1 season together.
2025 should have heralded a new era for Ferrari. Hamilton made his blockbuster move from Mercedes, with Ferrari only just missing out on the Constructors’ Championship in 2024. Hopes were high that form would continue as the competitiveness of the SF-24 saw an upward trajectory, bringing it into championship contention...
...It is now the only top team in 2025 not to win a race, and the SF-25 shows no signs of producing a win in the closing races. The Scuderia is now trapped in a dangerous spiral of shedding credibility.
The arrival of Hamilton, at the cost of firing the in-form Carlos Sainz, should have improved the quality of work at Ferrari. Instead, the team has become about as reliable and dependable as a 2017 Honda power unit shaking itself into failing. Hamilton must, behind closed doors, be wondering how Fred Vasseur convinced him to join.
Ferrari’s struggles boil down to driver performance, strategy and communication, and an inability to learn from past errors. All will impact and possibly destroy hopes for beyond 2026, with its driver situation far from clear cut. These factors are threatening a new, dangerous legacy for F1’s most famous marque...
...Talk of Hamilton openly struggling at the Scuderia began immediately, with insiders citing the change of brakes and car build blocking progress for the seven-time world champion. Limited testing exacerbated an existing confidence problem with ground-effect cars, and adapting to a new car philosophy...
...His rapid decline is attracting the ire of former drivers, with former 1980s driver Marc Surer branding the seven-time world champion “a “spoiled child”, capable of only winning in the best car.
Limited upgrades and time with his team have not resolved a difficult situation. The result is a qualifying whitewash to Leclerc, trailing 12-5 to the Monegasque, and no Grand Prix podiums to date. Leclerc meanwhile, has five rostrum visits to his name this season. A way forward must be found if the history of Vettel and Alonso is to be avoided...
...Hamilton is entering the twilight of his career. With Oliver Bearman waiting in the wings he needs to up his game to avoid a humiliating firing. Part of the Ferrari Driver Academy, Bearman known to the team after his substitute drives last season and is the next hope for Ferrari, once Hamilton fulfils his use...
...Ferrari’s board have a history of twitchy fingers, acting on impulse. As the waters roughened earlier this season, Vasseur was re-signed on a multiyear deal to steady nerves in Italy. But as the mistakes mount up, the board will not tolerate failure for long. The arrival of Hamilton came with the demand Ferrari’s 18 year title drought would show signs of ending.
Instead, the opposite is threatening to emerge. No one wants to see F1’s most famous team return to the nadir of the early 1990s. Nor does anyone want to see the team reduced to memes online after repeated strategic blunders. Memories of the catastrophic title implosion of 2022 are resurfacing....
“...Mark Webber...”
???
The F1 driver?
Forcing a dog to comply with your self-indulgent, sanctimonious, un-natural and un-healthy "vegan diet" is straight-up animal abuse. Period. Full stop.
Next question?
Note the date. The 2008 season ended on 2 November.
Published: Nov 24, 2008
Formula One driver Mark Webber, who races for Red Bull Racing, is in hospital in Hobart, Australia, after suffering serious multiple injuries in a road accident. He was competing in an extreme endurance event for charity when the bicycle he was riding collided with a motor vehicle. Reuters reported the car as a four-wheel drive model.
https://au.motorsport.com/f1/news/webber-hurt-in-extreme-race-bicycling-accident/2840829/
It was a segment of an off-road race over an unimproved road. Webber was on a mountain bike.
Bicycle accidents rarely involve serious injury unless there’s a motor vehicle involved. And regardless of the bike/motorbike, the most common serious injury is a broken collar bone.
As to mountain biking in particular, if you aren’t crashing once in a while, you simply aren’t riding hard enough.
The same goes for dirt biking (motocross, enduro, etc). This time it was another Red Bull alumnus:
16 Aug 2025
Daniel Ricciardo has reportedly undergone treatment in hospital after a motorbike accident in Queensland.
The retired Formula 1 star has been back in Australia and made a rare public appearance last week, speaking at a conference about moving on from his “crazy, high-speed life” in the sport.
But a run on a dirt bike earlier this week seemingly went wrong.
Ricciardo was riding outside Cairns when he crashed and suffered a collarbone injury, according to PlanetF1.
Yes. He got hit by a car and broke a bunch of bones in a charity race back in 2008.
https://au.motorsport.com/f1/news/webber-hurt-in-extreme-race-bicycling-accident/2840829/
Verstappen king in a Ferrari says Italian media
Max Verstappen made history at the Nurburgring at the weekend, winning his debut GT3 race in the Endurance Series in a Ferrari.
Driving with fellow sim racer Chris Lulham in an Emil Frey Racing 296 GT3, the reigning F1 world champion and back-to-back Monza and Baku winner crossed the line after four hours with a 24.5 second margin.
Italian daily Corriere della Sera hailed the sight of the Red Bull star triumphing in a Ferrari.
Verstappen was the king of the Nurburgring, in a Ferrari, the paper said, adding it was fantastic publicity for Maranello and could even fuel speculation of closer ties in Formula 1.
Who knows, it might even herald a closer relationship that also includes Formula 1....
https://www.corriere.it/sport/formula-1/25_settembre_27/verstappen-ferrari-nurburgring-67f907c2-5b5c-4c92-9474-a9f896572xlk.shtml
Max Verstappen SCHOOLS rivals with dominant Nurburgring victory
Anticipation built on Saturday in Germany, as Verstappen prepared for his first race in the number 31 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 after earning his DMSB Permit A, setting the third fastest time in qualifying.
However, the four-time champion managed to take the lead on the opening lap of the ADAC Barbarossa and led the race every subsequent lap.
Verstappen completed the first two hours with the team, while Lulham led the last two of the four-hour event, with a strong performance from both securing them a maiden victory.
Not only did the Dutchman manage to win on his GT3 race debut, but also led with such a margin even the commentators were left in awe.
“At this point, he’s really in a sweet spot in that Emil Frey Racing Verstappen.com Ferrari, 43 seconds clear and going away," they remarked.
"Is there a problem in terms of performance for anybody else? No not really, it’s just simply the pace of the flying Dutchman at the moment. The Mustang’s now in second and third positions, they can’t match him.”
The Dutchman had qualified only third after traffic and mixed conditions, but surged to the lead with an aggressive outside pass. He quickly built a cushion of over a minute before handing over to Lulham, who managed the gap....
Marko took shot at Hamilton post Verstappen's Nordschleife milestone?
Helmut Marko:
"Yes, it was impressive. And also the commitment he shows [to motor racing.] And you know, the others all go to some kind of, I don't know, fashion show or something. And he goes to the Nordschleife. One of the toughest circuits we have. I think it's a very good sign how involved Max is in motorsport."
The "fashion show" remark was aimed at Hambone for his efforts to make himself one of "the beautiful people" rather than being a "car guy." How very metrosexual of him.
It also bears mention Hambone recently sold his car collection so he could buy "art."
Three of the cars were true "car guy" cars, the '66 AC Cobra, the 67 Shelby GT500 and the original Mini Cooper. The other dozen are all Rich Guys Showing Off cars.
Unless you're Rowan Atkinson. He's the only Rich Guy Showing Off car owner I've ever heard of who trashed a supercar, had it rebuilt, and kept driving it until he'd crashed it again. He did finally sell it, but only after a second $1 million+ rebuild, and several years pondering the move.
But he didn't sell it so he could buy a painting of ballerinas by Chagall.
Lewis Hamilton's arrival at the Scuderia this year was intended to get the team over the hump and help them secure a first constructors' title since 2008, and a first drivers' title since Kimi Raikkonen's in 2007.
The iconic team finished last year as the best performers in the second half of the season, finishing just 11 points behind McLaren in the teams' championship, forecasting a strong 2025 just in time for Hamilton's arrival. Unfortunately, things have worked out...differently.
In fact, Hamilton has yet to stand on a grand prix podium for his new team after 17 races, with McLaren overwhelmingly likely to clinch the constructors' title with six races to spare next weekend.
Hamilton's Ferrari spell a disaster so far
F1 commentator Carlo Vanzini has now warned that there is little light at the end of the tunnel for the famous Italian team, and suggested that they might be approaching the time of year when they throw their whole focus into next year's car.
Writing for Sky Italia, he said: "I see a very complicated and complex situation at Ferrari. Should we only think about 2026? Perhaps the race pace simulation in Bahrain suggested that we should think about next year, based on the difference in race pace with McLaren.
"They have changed a lot in this car, but it hasn't worked. If I were a fan, I would be worried because I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel, even though new regulations can open up a new cycle. But I don't see Ferrari in that position today."
That lack of a bright future for Ferrari is bad news for Hamilton specifically, with the clock ticking on his F1 future since his 40th birthday in January.
https://sport.sky.it/formula-1/video/2025/09/21/f1-gp-baku-ferrari-vanzini-commento-video-1037616
Villeneuve accuses Ferrari of slowing down post Sainz's exit
“If you look at his career, when he’s joined a new team, it has taken him a while, half a season maybe, to get up to speed. He works at it.
"But in that period, he makes the whole team go better. That’s what happened in every team he’s joined.
"And at some point, he’s often had a teammate that maybe was just a few hundredths quicker. But that teammate was quicker also thanks to the work that Sainz was doing.
"But then Sainz became quicker than his teammate. Even when you look at Leclerc, Leclerc wasn’t ahead of Sainz at Ferrari like a lot of people want to think.
"And every time he left a team, that team went downhill. Every time. And it’s the same with Ferrari now.”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.