|
I've GOT to respond to that!
The dirty tactics that Senna popularised are without a shadow of a doubt the WORST thing that happened to Formula 1.
Closely followed by the evolution of a style of Formula 1 car which simply does not suit the flamboyant driver. There have always been meticulous drivers in the top flight of motor racing. Fangio would corner so precisely that his tyre would touch the same piece of straw on a straw bale at the apex of a given corner EVERY SINGLE LAP.
But there were also the Villeneuves, the Clarks, the Behras, who went quickest when they were exhibiting armfuls of opposite lock, and drifts which could be measured in yards.
Trouble is, if you gave them a modern F1 car, they would be totally outclassed, because the cars today do not reward that. It is as though we have legislated the charisma out of the drivers and given ourselves a grid full of Alain Prosts. This is not to denigrate Alain. His nickname "The Professor" was precisely because his meticulous nature was notable and distinctive. It was also very, very fast. But he had foils in Mansell, Piquet, Alboreto, whose driving was so very different.
In another thread, we have been discussing the relative point standings of Hakkinen and Coulthard at given places in their career. Has anyone noticed that Mika gained the ascendancy over David at roughly the point that grooved tyres were introduced? Mika's precise point-and-squirt style is naturally suited to the current generation of cars. David is more of the kart racer still, and will use opposite lock to help him around a corner. That is not rewarded by a car with grooved tyres.
And the cars would be able to take the sort of driving which we all remember so fondly from the '79 French GP, when Villeneuve and Arnoux spent those laps happily banging wheels and swopping places and paint. But nowadays, one would be in the gravel with smashed suspension. And while Gilles and Rene stepped out of their cars, and shook hands, and clapped each other on the back, in mutual appreciation for a cracking duel, Senna's response, as Eddie Irvine might well attest, would be a clenched fist and a swift right to the jaw.
So to respond directly, Neutral, you don't have to give up your aggression to be fair. Determination and caution are not mutually exclusive. But while the cars remain in their present configuration, the only driver who will be distinctive is the driver who doesn't give a damn for sportsmanship.
And that is a shame.
|