Glock was running dry tires in the rain, that's why Hamilton passed him. The quality of the car had nothing to do with it.

P.S. I agree with you on Trulli. All he can do is qualify well, but come race time he just holds everyone else up. Why that guy still has an F1 ride is beyond me.

 

I agree that dry tire wet weather combo is how Hamilton was able to make the pass but what I'm getting at is if the Toyota had more in it during the race and had been able to put as little a 5 more seconds between Glock and Hamilton over the course of the previous 50+ laps then Hamilton even with his advantage as the rain fell would not have been able to close the gap and make the pass in time.

Overall it was a heck of a race with multiple variables impacting all facets of the outcome.

 

Well he seemed to explain that Toyota hasn't done much for its money and that's largely true. If he wants them out of F1 then that’s his opinion and he entitled to it. I don’t share that opinion and hope Toyota does stay especially now in the wake of Honda’s decision.

But throwing out there that Detroit Iron can't do any better when none of the brands currently compete is either trolling or ignorance of the topic. For your sake I don't believe it's the latter.

 

Maybe I did take it the wrong way - it just struck me as odd that he seem so glad that Honda was out and was hoping Toyota would follow; the obvious connection between the two companies are that they are both Japan-based.

But you are right; I don't claim to be a and F1 expert by any means and of late, have only watched a race here and there...the last Europe based race I saw race I saw in person was Monte Carlo in '77 and in the U.S. I went to Long Beach in '81.

That aside, what U.S. nameplate has ever had much success in F1? American driers sure but what American manufacturer?

 

I made no mention of glee that Honda was leaving F1 but rather suggested that Toyota follow their lead. Yes there is satisfaction with regards to Toyota. Your doing it again Robert. You know the whole speculation thing.

Regarding the success of an American manufacturer in the F1 please do some homework. Ford under the Cosworth banner or not has won championships. In F1. Should I mention Le Mans as well and a little Henry/ Enzo rivalry that left Ferrari with plenty of egg on it's face.

Here's some speculation on my part and take it for what it's worth. Why do you get so much satisfaction from putting down your own fellow American industries and propping up those of a foreign competitor? Competition is great it makes us all better but which flag do you stand in front of or rather behind?

BTW your welcome to address me directly instead of through quoting things others have said in relation to what I have said.

 

I didn’t suggest “glee”.

You did say "I look forward to seeing Toyota follow Honda’s lead" Which seemed to indicate to me that you were at least somewhat pleased Honda had pulled out. Since I apparently misinterpreted your feelings about Honda; how do you feel about Honda’s withdraw; are you pleased, disappointed or simply don’t care one way or the other?


I wasn’t really thinking of that far back but point taken.

As to Cosworth; I realize that Ford and Cosworth have had a long association but I wouldn’t consider “Ford” and “Cosworth” interchangeable names in terms of “who” gets credit for Cosworth's success in F1.


I stand behind the flag I’ve bled for.


I’ve replied to specific questions posed by 99SilverSS…I don’t see your problem with that.

 

Only one American born driver has ever won the F1 WC, Phil Hill in '61 for Ferrari. Mario has also won but as an Italian-American in '78 and is the last American to win a GP. Dan Gurney won 4 times and I think only his Eagle and Penske have ever won a race as an American constructor.

As for engines Ford-Cosworth I think has won the second most GPs behind Ferrari.

But when talking about F1 and the US I always like to bring up a story I heard a while back that the 1991 F1 race at Phoenix was out-attended by a local ostrich festival the same day.

 

FWIW, Gurney's AAR Eagle was powered by a British built Weslake V12.

 

Not pleased or indifferent maybe a little disappointed. For 2009 they had it seems put together some of the right people to make a difference and progress up the scale. Would have like to seen that play out and we still might with the correct buyer.


Perhaps not but IMO you can still tie much more success in F1 to the Ford name than the Toyota name since Toyota has achieved very, very little.

I assume you are referring to our flag and I will never make mention of this again. You have the utmost respect for this alone.


Just felt like you were commenting by proxy with regards to items I brought up. Communication through the net can be difficult to interpret at times.

 

Wow we have some real F1 historians on board. I only go back 18 or so years though I am familiar with the broader strokes of F1 history. Just not all the details. Either of you guys attend any of the Indianapolis GP's?

 

Well if Toyota is spending $600M per year, they haven't done too badly compared to Honda...

The huge annual budget doesn't automatically gain you championships... but it does allow a focused team to better harness the technologies available and conduct the necessary tests.

F1 has always had the problem of cost containment. That's why manufacturers come and go as the economy ebbs and flows.

 

I'm just a racing fan in general and try to keep up with many forms of motorsport. I attended the 2003 USGP in the rain. And back when I lived in he Detroit area I saw F1 race downtown in the early 80's. Being close to Indy I've made the trip to see the 500 4 times and the US Nationals twice.

The only reason I remember the American F1 info is because there is so little of it. I don't know how many championships Renault or Auto Union won without looking it up. But I'm a fan and have an interest in the sport. The internet has helped a lot. I think seeing them in person like I have on a few occasions helps because they are simply amazing!

 

Geez. Didn't know Honda was spending that much on F1. How much of that 500 mil is part of Brawn's salary.

 

I attended 3 USGP's in row the last being the year of the 6 car grid when the Michelin shod cars couldn't take the banking without serious risk of blowing out their tires. Always a good time.

 

Like I said, it's immaterial what each manufacturer spends. Whatever money they spend, they'll have very few dollars left over.

I'm sure that even the weakest team in the field would have some positive outlook on the season ahead. But even a largely unsuccessful season would be an expensive exercise - driver crashes another car; engine/transmission self destructs again; electronics failure of some description; major sponsor pulls out mid-season; engineer/team manager resigns... all costs the team squillons - it's a tough business in any language. It's bloody expensive just to participate and I'm sure the weakest team in F1 would outspend the best team in Indycar by a fair margin.

Year after year F1 officialdom attempts to reign in overall costs but the teams are forever finding new ways to spend the available money.