The liked and the disliked..does talent EVER matter?

[sgrok]

It seems to me, and not just in the single seater threads, that at the end of the day your popularity as a driver is down to your popularity as a person with the people that count - team members, media types, and 'stringpullers' (management).

I'm reading threads about James Courtney who seems to have fallen out of favour, then AD gets praise heaped on him, despite both drivers being similarly placed in terms of finanicial backing and, dare i say it, similarly talented.

In the ff top 5 thread the same names are repeated and the rest are ignored, people won't hear a word a gainst certain teams, and yet slag others off rotten.

Could it really be the case in junior level motorsport that it's not what you know, but who you know - and the the guys on the periphery should give up now - or head out of Britain if they want some recognition?

Just a thought. Before you all attack me...

[Clyde Ankle]

Of course you are right.

But no driver will ever succeed on talent alone, that's one of the facts of life.

[sgrok]

But I'm wondering what makes a driver liked one minute, and not so popular the next? Is it down to the press and who is mates with the right journos?

[rlinter]

There are several factors that affect a drivers success or otherwise.

The biggest one in Money:-
Put a good driver in a car run by a 'lesser/cheaper' team and he would rarely be more than an also ran, the same driver in a top (more expensive) team will do well and get some podiums and maybe even the odd win.

Talent :- Even a poor package can perform on there day and under the right circumstances when the pilot is really hot. But the inverse is also true however good the package is a less talented driver will struggle. ie Mark Taylor last year at Manor.

Manager:- The world is spilt between those believe a manager is required at the most Junior level and those that don't as a general rule of thumb the later group disappear. A good manager is worth 10 times what they get paid. A bad manager is a liablity. I really don't need an example here do I? Unfortunately there are so few top notch managers around they can be expensive and tend to be picky who they work for.

Media Profile:- To win something like the Autosport Award means some serious sucking up to the right people - in that case Autosport, that requires money (see above) and good results (see Above) as well as good PR to make sure that everyone knows how good you are and to keep you in the public eye. By way of an example:- there was one British F3 team who had no PR for the first bit of last season and barely even got a mention anywhere, then all of a sudden with a little PR help for a handful of races the motorsport press were full of that team and the results had not improved they were merely being commuincated more effectively.

The final and to be honnest most insignificant peice of the puzzle is what we the public think of any particular driver. The major teams look at results, budget and media savvy way before the drivers popularity. For everyone person on here that doesn't like a certain driver it is simple to line up a 100 or more that a fans.

So to summarise - Want to make it to the big time? you need the following - Fiscal Backing, Results, Good Media Representation and a good manager

[Clyde Ankle]

That's alot of info there Noel. But it seems that if you've got a GOOD manager he could supply everything except the talent.

How do you get a GOOD manager?

[Francesca]

Rlinter wrote: "So to summarise - Want to make it to the big time? you need the following - Fiscal Backing, Results, Good Media Representation and a good manager."

...and a funky hair cut!

[rlinter]

Originally posted by Clyde Ankle
How do you get a GOOD manager?

That my friend is the Million dollar question - From my experience the Good Managers find the drivers or they are at least put together by a middle man or woman.

[Sid The Manager]

ahem!!!!

[rlinter]

Present company excepted Sid

[Clyde Ankle]

Originally posted by rlinter


From my experience the Good Managers find the drivers or they are at least put together by a middle man or woman.

How do you find a good middleperson?

[zoomzoom]

A good Manager is the key to success. Look at Justin Wilson for example. Hes definately talented (has the F3000 championship under his belt... definate proof!) yet he can't get a decent drive!

He's not too tall - although E J would want us to believe. He has an unpopular manager who doesn't do enough work to get the offers rolling in!

Could do better myself!

[superbird]

who's his manager? PM me if you like

[Russfeld]

Jonathan Palmer.

Is there really much more Palmer could do? Wilson got his test, Wilson put in the laps. EJ using height as a reason makes me think its more than just people not liking JP

[rlinter]

The rumour doing the rounds is that Justin & the farmer have split...

[zoomzoom]

If only they would split, however I'm sure there's a little contract problem to contend with!

I think that the problem is that people don't like JP. It's annoying though, whereby Wilson suffers when he obviously has the speed and results to prove that he could be competitive in F1, given the right opportunity.

Wilson doesn't have the best sponsership, unlike Sato or Yoong for example. Teams like money.

A better manager is one step of the way, however better sponsership to offer teams (MORE MONEY!)is unfortunately what is needed.

:confused: