With regard to team-mates and their respective cars, and long-term differences which may appear typical of each, I think there is a subtlety which is easy to overlook. It is something beyond ordinary measure, which therefore tends to be left out discussion because it evades the 'absolute truths' (FACTS!) favoured by most in debate. It is something true of all inter-team rivalries, although the dynamic will be different for each and every case. Teams are managed differently. This truism is so obvious that it seems not worth saying, but it has profound implications when quantifying the end result. It is true not only for a whole team but also its sub-structure and internal compartments. In F1, results are readily (but more often than not, wrongly) associated with one person because it is the driver who the public tend to focus upon – but it's pure folly to think a bee-hive exists to serve its queen, or equally, that a queen is only there to serve the hive. The enigma of F1 is that despite the impression given by the Drivers' Championship which preoccupies most of the public, it is essentially a team sport. In terms of F1, the knock-on effects of organisation and hierarchy within each team its departments will vary. Over time, different styles will evolve internally before emerging into the public domain. Despite the impression given by a single pit-crew for tyre-changes etc., all modern F1 teams come in two halves. Each car is engineered by a different 'sub'-team. There are inevitable differences in personnel and the end product will not be the same on both sides. Even Ron Dennis knows that when dividing an apple by slicing precisely down the line of best symmetry, the two pieces can never be identical. I emphasise that dynamic differences are present within every team to a greater or lesser extent. However, for the sake of this discussion, it is necessary to focus on Red Bull. And when considering this new and highly successful team, we should bear in mind that the goal was to 'out-Ferrari' Ferrari right from the start, essentially modelling itself on their template. So…– 'Rocky' (Guillaume Roquelin) and his cherry-picked team sit on one side of the Red Bull garage, whilst on the other sits Ciaron Pilbeam who replaced Simon Rennie at the start of this season. Without going into further detail, it is sufficient to say one side of the garage has had more stability amongst its personnel for a long, long time. Perhaps it would be unfair to liken it to a football club's A and B teams but I think it's safe to say those who come and go at Red Bull tend to do so through one end of the garage… And now I'm going to be a bit cruel: would you let someone of great influence, who also can't see straight, pick your cherries or cut your apple?* - - -o0o- - - *Dr. Helmut Marko is, unfortunately, like Cyclops with a misplaced eye. His apple-cutting is equivalent to passing a bowl of cherries to Michael Schumacher whilst hoping to get more than a few pips in return. No chance of either… P.S. When considering Schumacher's astonishing achievements, I hope this whole post will provide ground for reflection there too. Indeed, the same might be said of Ferrari, as well as the team now determined to emulate their success in every way. Obviously this includes their star driver, so it should also be clear it is no coincidence Vettel is doing his level best to out-Schumacher Schumacher. It's exactly what the doctor ordered long ago…
My thanks to you, Bando, as well as dhel. I'm presuming you must have waded through the quagmire I wrote last night. Following your response, I had a quick glance and was so embarrassed that it's now Stocktake 2! Cheers.
I thought your analogy of an apple explaining the 2 sides of a team garage was spot on. Im guessing some peoples side of the apple may not look as juicy and favoured for the first bite. EDIT: But..... with 2 halves of an apple... We would technically be comparing apples with apples
We will watch Vettel and Webber this weekend to see how things go... Webber says he wants this race. Maybe he will see a pig flying too..lol
