'Verstappen Backs Eccelstone's "Medal Points System"...'

[Panther_99FS]

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/081128132928.shtml

[wombat666]

Do we really care what Jos thinks?
Always a bridesmaid, never the bride.
:173go1:

[Ferry_vO]

Kinda like Mark Webber then... ;)

Both like to speak their mind, and both have a habit of being in the wrong team at the wrong time.... Jos did good in A1GP and great in the Porsche RS Spyder this year and it looks like he'll be around in sportscars next season as well.

[wombat666]

Call me cynical but I reckon Jos was dropped from Benetton after 1994 because he was a little too quick for Herr Schikelgrueber's liking!
Benetton to Simtek in the flickering of an eye.
And then Simtek went belly-up at Monaco to add insult to injury.
:banghead:
I don't think he ever had a decent F1 drive after that, he should have done the CART Series.
:kilroy:

[Panther_99FS]

he should have done the CART Series.
:kilroy:

Definitely...

[Ferry_vO]

Call me cynical but I reckon Jos was dropped from Benetton after 1994 because he was a little too quick for Herr Schikelgrueber's liking!
Benetton to Simtek in the flickering of an eye.
And then Simtek went belly-up at Monaco to add insult to injury.


It's a public secret that Schumi's car in '94 was quite different (Read: Illegal) from the ones his teammates drove. Jos had to use Michael's car during the qualifying for the Hockenheim GP but parked it in the gravel because the car felt and responded totally different then his own.

The Simtek car ('95) wasn't that bad but the team didn't have a good financial base unfortunately. The Arrows in '96 wasn't bad, but the Tyrrell in '97 lacked power from the Cosworth V8. He was supposed to drive for the team in '98 but Pollock bought the team and went for the big wallet of Ricardo Rosset (Who was crushed by Jos in '96). He did nine races for Stewart but retired six times due to a mechanical failure.

In '99 he tested for the new Honda team (He had a long-term contract), and their car showed a lot of potential during early test sessions, but the untimely death of Harvey Postlewaithe ended the project. I still believe this would have been his best chance for success in F1!

In 2000 he returned to Arrows to team up with Pedro de la Rosa and he scorede a fourth and a fifth place that year; not a Dutch race fan that will not remember the wet race in Montreal! He stayed with the team for 2001, and he should have stayed for 2002 as well but Tom Walkinshaw put Frentzen in the car despite Jos having a contract. He could have gotten a deal as a testdriver for Ferrari in the summer of 2001, but since he had a deal with Arrows for 2002....
In 2003 he drove his last season in F1 for Minardi, but without any success.

[Panther_99FS]

It's a public secret that Schumi's car in '94 was quite different (Read: Illegal) from the ones his teammates drove.

Where exactly was it illegal ?

[Ferry_vO]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benetton_B194

"Other teams suspected the B194 was not legal, due to the high competitiveness of such a comparatively underpowered car. The FIA launched an investigation and indeed banned software was discovered in the cars' onboard computer systems, but the governing body could not prove the systems had been used so the complaints were dropped."

I know it had traction control and launch control:

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=655&FS=F1


BTW for almost $700,00 you can buy one here: http://www.race-cars.com/carsales/other/1157661450/1157661450ss.htm

"Car is run exactly as "in the day" with paddle-shift, shift w/o lift and traction control. "

[wombat666]

Typical of Benetton, one of the illegal tweaks used on Herr Schikelgrueber's car was an hydraulic suspension 'balancing' system (read-suspension lowering system, banned as far back as 1983!) that allowed the rear of the car to settle below the level of the front end thereby keeping everything at the optimum angle of attack in a straight line.
Just one of many sneaky tricks from 'Team Cheaters' ................ :banghead:

[Ferry_vO]

I doubt they were the only ones with illegal components on their cars though; the only reason the FIA finally allowed TC is simply because they couldn't prove the teams didn't use it! :isadizzy:

It was rumoured a few years ago that a team (IIRC either Renault or Ferrari) had a fully automated start system that could detect the red lights and would launch the car when the lights turned off.
Using certain combinations of switches, pedals or levers the drivers could switch certain drivers' aids on and off during the race so the car would appear legal when the FIA tried to check. At least with the standard ECU system this seems to be a thing of the past..

[wombat666]

BTW, Mark Webber was out of hospital today (Thursday) getting himself around on a pair of elbow crutches.
Seems as if he'll only miss two days testing!
:applause:

[Panther_99FS]

BTW, Mark Webber was out of hospital today (Thursday) getting himself around on a pair of elbow crutches.
Seems as if he'll only miss two days testing!
:applause:

Good news! :jump: