I'm quite suprised Lewis wasn't given a punishment for it since you would see footballers like Wayne Rooney or Drogba getting something heading their way if they did that.
So BASICALLY hes saying we wanted to ban him but couldnt because of x y and z. Anyways lets move on, the Bahrain GP madness has taken the heat of this anyways.
so what are you talking about then? further more when lewis suffered racist abuse the FIA didnt take it seriously atall,it was like they didnt care.i wonder why.
Bernie and the FIA told the "Chairmen" of the Spanish circuits that it would be at the cost of their future if it continued abusing Lewis. Edit: Link http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/may/10/lewis-hamilton-racism-spanish-grand-prix Circuit officials in Barcelona were warned they risked losing their place on the calendar should there be a repeat. At the time, the Spanish fans' animosity was linked to Hamilton's involvement in a bitter row with then McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso throughout the 2007 season that culminated in the Spaniard's departure at the end of that year.
Toady got all miffed with Hamilton calling the stewards a joke. After all, up to now he and Max have kept that initiative to themselves. We don't want too many jokers in the sport, err sorry Bernie, I mean your business.
I think the whole point, was as the way Lewis first said what he said kind of accused the FIA of being racist. I think it was more a warning
I don't think Todt was actually being serious when he mentioned a 6 race ban. I find it difficult to take any of this "sport into disrepute" nonsense seriously. All drivers have a contractual obligation with the FIA to present themselves for interview by the media as and when required. Hamilton was actually threatened with a sanction when he tried to avoid the media after his Australia incident. So there must be a business or sporting reason why the FIA force drivers to agree to be interviewed. Maybe Hamilton should just fulfil his obligation by just thanking his list of sponsors. Would that make everyone happy?
Hang on a sec' folks. As anyone who has read my opinion of Todt will know, I'm no fan if his and I was firmly in favour of Vatanen when the presidency came down to a contest between the two. Todt has recently made a gross error of judgement (in my opinion) with the Bahrain Grand Prix and I have been openly critical of him for what I see as his incompetence in leading the FIA to its very wrong decision. However, I feel that what has happened here after Hamilton's foolish remarks has been slightly misconstrued. Let's be clear about this: Hamilton made some very ill-conceived remarks, and reference to the colour of his skin was akin to the foolish remarks we sometimes see in the debate of fora - even quite recently here in not606! This sort of fly-away comment is completely inappropriate, regardless of his state of emotion at the time and public figures simply cannot go around saying things like this. Now, even though it was inexcusable and has given ammunition to any would be racist, I believe it was fundamentally meant in jest. It is clear that Todt was not happy with Hamilton's comments, and I confess that I too felt very uncomfortable at what was said. Even joking about 'the race card' (as it is often referred to), is in my view, a very foolish thing to do, since it leaves everyone looking over their shoulders. But fortunately Todt appears to have understood the careless rather than deliberate nature of this and decided not to make a far bigger issue of it. I do not believe that Todt was at any point actually suggesting that he ever considered taking the route towards what could have resulted in a maximum penalty of a six race ban for Hamilton. So, in this instance I believe that Todt chose the correct route; that is: to avoid making a big thing of it, which would not have served the best interests of the sport in the long term in any case. It is therefore a shame that he chose to speak about the matter afterwards in such a way as to give the impression that he ever really considered such a draconian route, for as I have already said, it is my firm belief that he did not. His comment afterwards - which I believed was meant somewhat ironically - lends itself to being seen that he gave it serious consideration, giving the appearance that he has at some point contradicted himself, at least in his own head. In this sense, silly old Toadt has once again shot himself in the flipper. Todt needs to make a decision and stick with it without being drawn into discussion of what might have been or what he could have done, since this is bound to be 'spun' by the press and is very easy to misconstrue. Hamilton needs to watch what he says and does. On the other hand, so does Todt! They both need to consider the bigger picture: their positions carry lot of responsibility. - But at the moment they both just keep putting their flipping feet in it…
Cosi, it's the cheeky kids and old man thing all over again, the generaion gap and all that, Lewis is of the modern Ali G type of humour, which I admit I dont get, Toad, well who knows what the hell sort of humour he understands, if any. The problem is, old fool Toad can affect Hamiltons career so Lewis needs to curtail his cheeky off the cuff remarks because that's all they are.
Yes Ernie. I agree. Of course it is vital that any member of what might be termed 'younger generation' is aware that 'the establishment' - the status quo of what they are young to and which is inherently unfashionable - is afforded due respect, otherwise they will surely fall foul of misunderstandings at some point. It is the way of the world that its newcomers are bound to lead the way of evolution and that what has become established before will always lag behind in adopting new ideas; indeed it has to, since it tends not to generate its own ideas; at least, certainly not anything 'radical'. There is therefore a responsibility on both sides: any establishment needs to be tolerant; similarly the youngster needs to grow within what already exists before any evolution can be effected. This is part of what I was hinting at when speaking of 'the bigger picture'. And it's reassuring to see that at least you (Ernie) understand!
Yea, I agree, Toad is clearly incompetant accompanied by a fair dose of ignorance which will inevitably lead him eventually to a point where he can no longer sustain control. In the meantime, Lewis, indeed anyone, needs to be wary of the wounded lion, not sure lion is the right word, is snake more appropriate. Incidentally, just how did the guy survive at Ferrari, surely such bad management and decision making would not have been tolerated, maybe it explains a lot.
I think Todt was just part of the machine. There were some very strong characters around during 'the dream team' and he had an easy time. All he needed to do was go with the flow of other's ideas and keep them all communicating. He is a middle-man if ever there was one. But I do not think he is particularly good in the face of weakness, where he needs to take a leading role to give a proper sense of direction. Vatanen would have been far better. But in a sense, this was his downfall, since Mosley knew that he was a strong character who could have really made some changes and 'sort out' various mechanisms which Mosley himself took years in crafting (for his own ends?). I do not mean to offend anyone here but in my view, Todt is a salesman.
Definitely not been a good week for Todt with the Bahrain fiasco and this throw away comment. Ironic really that he should add a bit of fuel to the fire regarding Hamilton's rash comment by making one of his own.
Ari was really the right man and would have without doubt sorted the fundamentals, but as you say he was doomed before it started. I think your "salesman" description of Toad is over complimentary as far as Toad is concerned, however you may have inadvertantly upset a few used car salemen by being compared to the Toad.
Haha. Yeah, I know it's likely. No insult intended to the motor trade although I do wish Ferrari would believe that I really have no interest in buying one of their cars!! But Toadt's obvious compliability was the very reason he was chosen by Mosley - a man whose ego requires immortalisation. For that reason he would never have entertained the possibility of being overshadowed by his successor. And I think there was a very real chance that had Vatanen got in, exactly that would have happened and we'd be witnessing a new order emerging, rather than a gentle petering out of someone else's legacy which will show Him as its leading light.
Salesmen? - convincing us to buy what is not needed? In that capacity Toady is hopeless. Now, Bernie sells a race for zillions - THAT is selling.
In reality its 24 cars for 100 minutes for a cost of £20 million per race. Thats £8333 per car per minute or £138 per car per second, Bargain
