Should Diniz even be in F1?

[Jay]

I may be overreacting, but this is the second time this season that I have seen Diniz pull a really stupid move by forcing a driver right off the track.

These are not the sort of things where one driver leaves another with nowhere to go, these are the sort of things where one driver intentionally drives the other off of the track.

He did it in Montreal to one of the Arrows (I forget which one) on the exit of the hairpin, and now he has done it to Alesi in Hockenheim.

I don't think the Montreal incident was shown on TV that well, but I was sitting infront of it, so it was hard to miss.

Nobody was hurt in either of these accidents, however they both resulted in bad crashes. The Montreal incident could have been much worse if there was wheel to wheel contact. And It was obvious where the car would have ended up if there was wheel to wheel contact - In my lap!

He has shown sparks of talent in the past, but he is still a pay driver who is only in F1 because his rich parents can foot the bill.

[angst]

£££$$$$$£££££
Why else would he still be in F1?
I hope the FIA take action on this, that was absolutely terrible.

[Ralf's Girl]

I agree. There doesn't seem to be any way that Diniz could not have seen Alesi. That was a smash at what must have been nearly 200mph, and a few years ago it would have killed one, if not both, of them.

[marcus]

oh no..Pedro is a good driver ..sure he is no TGF ..well he makes as many mistakes as him..but he deserves the right to be there as does every other driver

[Bononi]

I am not quite sure Diniz will keep a seat for the next year...
The brazilian TV commentator said that more than his struggle in the race, he's fighting hard to maintain his deal with Sauber... Mostly because he is being out performed by Salo in every way.
After a private talk with him (they're friends), the man said that Diniz are having problems negotiating with others teams, and Sauber had delayed to deal with him to the next race... wich means a bad sign.

[Ralf's Girl]

Originally posted by Bononi
After a private talk with him (they're friends), the man said that Diniz are having problems negotiating with others teams, and Sauber had delayed to deal with him to the next race... wich means a bad sign.

Diniz was probably always expected to be outperformed by Salo (have the 'experts' stopped saying he's a 'coming man' yet, because I think he's been and gone?). But yeah, by the next race, they might have a deal lined up with someone else. There's always been a seat for Diniz somewhere in F1 because of the fact that there's always a team who wants his Parmalat money.

[Liz]

Should Alesi's head stop spinning and someone tell him who hit him before they both leave the paddock, the question may become moot.

Perhaps he needs action such as was levied against the Bettenhausen pilote in CART last year - suspend his racing license until he takes some instruction and proves he actually knows what he is doing, to the satisfaction of people who are more interested in racing than money.

If there are any such people.

[Bononi]

That is the most strange of all... with all his money he can not be in any team next year. I think because the little teams are getting good deals with big companies ?
Anyway... Watch out Minardi !

[Minardi fan]

If Minardi keep Gaston then Diniz will have nowhere to go in 2000.

His little incident during the race was plain stupid.

[Danielsun]

Should Diniz even be in F1?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

How many crashes can you legally cause in F1 (Schumacher Snr aside) without being thrown out of the sport?! I mean, I have no idea what number he's up to or how many different drivers he's taken off in his time, but Diniz should definitely not be in there, endangering the lives of other drivers.

Alesi and de la Rosa have every right in the world to say as many bad things about him as they possibly can, after their respective 'comings together' with Diniz in Canada and Germany.

There must surely come a time when the FIA have to step in and say: "That's enough..."

Another driver, therefore, who's only there for the size of his bloody wallet...

[Ralf's Girl]

Well, they'll always be there as long as there are underfunded teams.

P.S. Funny story - Leanardo diCaprio (hotshot, too-big-for-his-boots filmstar, in case anyone didn't know) was dating the model Gisele - who then dumped him to get back with the billionaire supermarket owner. One Mr. Diniz, I believe...hehehe (Pedro's father, not Pedro!)

[Jay]

Lucky Billionaires!

[Ralf's Girl]

Aren't they just?!?

[Regs]

As long as Minardi and Arrows are out there Pedrio and his bag of money will always have somewhere to go. I doubt the Mazzacane has anything on Pedro as a driver, wrecks not withstanding. I think he just hit bad luck.

[Tristan]

Just a note: Schumacher at France/Imola = reasonable force. Cheeky, but legal.

Diniz at Montreal/Hokenheim = now THAT'S what I call dangerous driving. See the differentiation??!! One race ban please.....

[Liz]

Schumacher: Earns $35,000,000. Drives for Ferrari. Anything he does is legal, anything he says is entered into the Bible.

Diniz: Pays $35,000,000 for drive. Drives for Sauber. Everything he does and says is stupid.

See the difference?

[Jay]

Although we complain about TGF a lot, what he has done in the past is not nearly as dangerous as what Diniz has done in Montreal and Germany.

Compare:

Schumacher intentionally knocked 2 people off of the track when the WC was on the line. Schumacher knocked Damon Hill of the track in a slow corner in Adelaide. He banged into Villeneuve going through a slow corner at Jerez.

Diniz caused 2 high speed accidents. Diniz banged de la Rosa into a concrete wall (right in front of me!) at around 140 mph. I don't think most people know how close that car came to flying into my grandstand. Diniz bangs Alesi off of the track while braking from over 210 mph. Alesi suffers a massive accident.

[botsquad]

he almost killed jean. he should take his grocery money and buy a ride in neckcar. they would love to bang wheels with him.

[Tristan]

THAT'S my point, Jay. Well said!

[Marshal]

What beats me is the FIA give fines and penalties to Zonta for racing incidents, yet cases of extreme dangerous driving, as by Diniz at Montreal and Hockenheim go unpunished.

Surely the FIA should be throwing the book at Diniz. If Irvine was banned for three races in '94 for what I thought was a much less serious manoeuver in Brazil that year, we can presumably say ta ta to Diniz for the rest of the season.

[Minardi fan]

If Diniz gets banned or whatever, Sauber would be in serious trouble - the only reason they kept the Petronas engines for this season was Diniz's money.

[EERO]

Earlier this season I had started a thread about how much better Diniz seemed to be driving this season and that at this point in his career, he would be a credible No. 2 for any team.

I see that Pedro has done his best to support my arguement.
EERO slaps forehead in exasperation