From: martin.baines@uk.sun.com (Martin Baines - Sun UK - SE Manager Cambridge)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.british
Subject: Re: Mansell out ? [was Re: VNS: Mon 17-Aug
Date: 20 Aug 92 14:49:20 GMT
Reply-To: martin.baines@uk.sun.com
Organization: Sun Microsystems Ltd
NNTP-Posting-Host: bottomdog.uk.sun.com

In article 19166@cs.hw.ac.uk, neilp@cs.hw.ac.uk (Neil Postlethwaite) writes:
>In article <1992Aug18.083428.10239@osf.org> david@postman.gr.osf.org (David George) writes:
>>On French T.V. news last night it was reported that Alain Prost will be the Williams No.1. driver for '93.  This is at the insitence of Renault who supply the engine.  It was reported that Mansell is considering retirement.  Renault gave their reason as "Prost with 3 F1 World Championships has a better track record than Mansell".
>>
>>Personally I suspect this is another move by FISA to even up the teams - an old crock like Prost will be completely stuffed by Senna, even with a rocket powered car.
>>
>
>Mansell is a crap driver. He only won because he had the best car by a
>long stretch and he is a little better than Patrese.

I disgree strongly: Mansell is one of the most skillful and agressive
drives on the circuit. Where I feel he fails sometimes is in tactical
skills: he drives to win even when a 2nd or 3rd would still help
his champion position, as a result he "breaks" a lot of cars!

>Prost and Senna are far better and I really want to see both of them in
>a Williams next year. A real war on the track.

Arguably Prost *was* the best ever, but the last couple of seasons
he was driving (before his break) he seemed to have lost his
agressive edge. He is definately the best *tactical* drive
across a season, he is not one to hesitate to settle for a
2nd and guaranteed points, rather than battling for 1st and
risking his car.

Senna is (IMO) currently the best all round driver on the circuit,
early in his career he was brilliant, but too agreesive: he
*never* gave way to other drivers, even if it meant breaking
the car. In the last few seasons he has really matured, and
now seems to combine his old agression with a shrewd tactical
mind.

>Michael Schumacher, Martin Brundle and John Alesi are pretty promising
>prospects for the future. I would like to see all these three in 
>competetive cars aswell.

I quite agree: especially Schumacher, it wouldn't surprise me
to see him champion in the next couple of years if gets a
good car.

>Apart from the engines (though Cosworth/Judd make many of the rest),
>Formula 1 is one sport where the UK nails the rest of the world: McLaren,
>Williams, Benneton, Lotus (among others) are all British teams.

It's not just Formula 1: apparently over 80% of the US Indy 500
cars are British made as well (source: BBC Look East, so it must
be true...).

Martin

---
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"You might say that, but I couldn't possibly comment"

Martin Baines, Sales Support Manager,
Sun Microsystems Ltd, 306 Science Park, Cambridge, CB4 4WG, UK
Phone: +44 223 420421                 Fax: +44 223 420257
JANET:     Martin.Baines@uk.co.sun    Other UK:  Martin.Baines@sun.co.uk
Internet:  Martin.Baines@UK.sun.com
X.400:     g=martin s=baines prmd=sunir admd=mci c=us