85 replies to this topic

[Jerem]

Your French is rubbish.

 

It should be:

 

le word final

le perch au prat

 

I just have this penchant for getting it right! 

FYI it's "le muret des stands", literally the pitwall... but I kinda like how "le perch au prat" means absolutely nothing in French. And "le final word" is more correct, since we say "le dernier mot", literally "the final word". Pretty unusual order in French, but hey, you also have some weird stuff.

[BillBald]

Merci Monsieur le pedant.

 

Shouldn't there be an accent on the 'e' ?

[BillBald]

FYI it's "le muret des stands", literally the pitwall... but I kinda like how "le perch au prat" means absolutely nothing in French. And "le final word" is more correct, since we say "le dernier mot", literally "the final word". Pretty unusual order in French, but hey, you also have some weird stuff.

 

We're not interested in real French, mercy very much.

[Maustinsj]

Merci Monsieur le pedant.

Monsieur Pedantique

[Buttoneer]

Shouldn't there be an accent on the 'e' ?

Oui. Peut etre.

[Morbus]

Mai qu'et de cette off topique de la mere? Letteau ce geau béque tu disceau c'ingue Eirc Boullier s'il vou plaise.

[tifosiMac]

If this management re-structure has indeed got rid of Whitmarsh with Boullier filling a leading role on the pitwall, where does that leave Sam Michael as he is Sporting Director? Hopefully he's already out of the door as I can't see why they would need him.

[Maustinsj]

Mai qu'et de cette off topique de la mere? Letteau ce geau béque tu disceau c'ingue Eirc Boullier s'il vou plaise.

 

That's easy for you to say 

 

Edit: I just got it 

Edited by Maustinsj, 30 January 2014 - 10:04.

[as65p]

I still can't get my head around how Boullier has landed a top position in a top team. He must have some brilliant qualities deeply hidden form the public eye.

[MikeV1987]

I still can't get my head around how Boullier has landed a top position in a top team. He must have some brilliant qualities deeply hidden form the public eye.

 

What is wrong with EB?

[Shiroo]

What is wrong with EB?

 

Beats me.

I actually think he is probably top 3 TP at the very moment, with Horner and Brawn being better or on par with him. Domenicalli is gutless (with all due respect, i like Ferrari, but Domenicalli is not fit to be TP imo). And same with MW.

 

The amount of bullshit EB needed to go through in his Lotus years is over 9000. I still wonder how the heck he didn't laugh in Mansoor face when he was standing next to him, eventho he was pretty aware of whole deal being a ****.

 

He acted really good also, when Permane went mental towards Raikkonen. He apologized in place of Permane, eventho he wasn't at fault over there. He really kept the **** together and is rather likeable chap.

Edited by Shiroo, 30 January 2014 - 10:04.

[Nigol]

Baguette. Baguette. Fromage, fromage!

[Maustinsj]

Baguette. Baguette. Fromage, fromage!

 

Mange tous, mange tous!

[tifosiMac]

What is wrong with EB?

That is my question too. He's guided Lotus for 4 years with immense pressure and in recent times, very limited funding. He's well regarded in the paddock so not sure why he wouldn't be considered eligible by fans?

[SophieB]

Things I have disliked about EB although not to the extent of caring all that much either way:
 

• Throwing a big strop about Vitaly Petrov saying how Lotus got the strategy wrong on Russian TV, letting it be known he'd made him apologise to everyone in the team... sacking him soon afterwards anyway.
• Responding really callously after Heidfeld's car caught fire and injured a marshall, also trying to pin all the blame on Nick for not driving it properly.
• Kind of crappy way the team handled Heidfeld's dismissal.

[Rinehart]

Should have just moved MW up to the role between RD and EB. Too simple.

[pacificquay]

It's fairly obvious they'll give Jonathan Neale that role full time once Whitmarsh's future is sorted

[BillBald]

I still can't get my head around how Boullier has landed a top position in a top team. He must have some brilliant qualities deeply hidden form the public eye.

 

It sounds like he's going to be responsible for race operations. At Lotus, they were far from RedBull-standard, but on the whole they were better than McLaren.

 

If he messes up, I will have to brush up on my French swear words.

[as65p]

 

Things I have disliked about EB although not to the extent of caring all that much either way:
 

• Throwing a big strop about Vitaly Petrov saying how Lotus got the strategy wrong on Russian TV, letting it be known he'd made him apologise to everyone in the team... sacking him soon afterwards anyway.
• Responding really callously after Heidfeld's car caught fire and injured a marshall, also trying to pin all the blame on Nick for not driving it properly.
• Kind of crappy way the team handled Heidfeld's dismissal.

 

The first attempt to lure back Kimi (a year earlier than it actually happened IIRC) was a mess too. But what's more, I personally don't have the impression he did all that much for the team, I think Lotus temporary successes were more down to brilliant engineers and good drivers.

[Rocket73]

SO who is going to take this last position at McLaren? RB says he is retired so that rules him out at least for 6 months.

 

It seems to me that it will be someone in McLaren who takes this position and I just find it strange what has happened to MW. They havn't announced anything about him at all. Here is a very longstanding employee who was reared by RD all the way up to TP which he has held for 5 years and then all of a sudden it's like he never existed.

 

If you ask me I think there is still a chance that he will take this role. It may well be that they decided to give him a proper break for a few months while RD implements some changes and then will announce him in this new position before the season starts.

[SpaMaster]

Racing Director? Never heard of that before. What is sporting director then? Is he now in-charge of McLaren Racing or would there be another team principal? Confusing..

[SophieB]

Eric Boullier has given an interview to the Formula1.com website in which he talks a bit more about his role.

 

 

Q: You were team principal at Lotus, now you are racing director. It’s arguably not such a cool title, but at the end of the day is the job description the same?
EB: It is one hundred percent the same job as with Lotus - it’s just another job title. We have discussed that with Ron (Dennis): the title ‘team principal’ is heritage - something of the past. It was the team founder or the team owner. Today F1 teams are organizations. They have grown massively in the past 30 years. With 19 races and testing I will be away from Woking quite a lot and you cannot run a business if you are away for so long - especially not an F1 team where you have to be on top of every little detail every day if you want to win. The idea is more to split tasks between Jonathan Neale and myself. IT, legal and finance is under Jonathan’s scope, racing and engineering under mine. So at the track I am acting one hundred percent as the team principal. Back at Woking I oversee one part of the organization.

 

[SophieB]

Autosport has a little more context to the hiring of Eric Boullier, from Ron Dennis today:

 

Ron Dennis:

 

Strangely enough outside of the company, meaning not in any capacity, I made contact. Pretty much in parallel Martin made contact, so there was a bit of overlap. With all of the changes you make, you don't suddenly go to everybody and say, 'guess what, these are the changes.'

For some time I have been discussing with the shareholders and with everybody that this is not working. So inevitably Martin had to face the facts and it was not working. It is not surprising that there was a reach. "It [the talks] became singular some time before [Boullier] joined the company."

 

Oookay, Ron.

 

I wonder in what capacity Martin originally wanted him aboard?

[mclarensmps]

You think he's lying?

[SophieB]

No. It just furthers the picture I've formed of Martin Whitmarsh and Ron Dennis endlessly fighting over control of the team like the blind hags in the original version of Clash of The Titans did for possession of the big glass eye to see with.

 

"The Eye! Give me the Eye!"

[SpeedRacer`]

McLaren had some truly abysmal seasons under Ron, the only difference is the opposition were a lot weaker save for 3 or 4 other teams. I'm sure the McLaren of '94 and '95 was slower than last years from the ultimate pace. He's a hypocrite for firing MW.

[pup]

Autosport has a little more context to the hiring of Eric Boullier, from Ron Dennis today:

 

Ron Dennis:

 

 

Oookay, Ron.

 

I wonder in what capacity Martin originally wanted him aboard?

Probably in the same role he's in now.  He knew the team had operational problems, and that his head was likely on the block because of it.  Best solution - not just for him but for the teams as well - would be to split his job.  Bring Boullier in as TP to run the team while he stays home and runs the factory as CEO.  

 

If I had to guess, I'd suspect that Ron just co-opted Whitmarsh's plan.  Ron seems gracious toward Whitmarsh, but it seems to be a graciousness afforded a defeated enemy.  I've always thought that Whitmarsh stepped up to the plate a bit too eagerly when Ron was pushed out, and I'm sure there's more to that story than we know.

[Lazy]

Indeed and there are some words from Ron there hinting that FOTA may have been one of the points of contention between them.

[mclarensmps]

No. It just furthers the picture I've formed of Martin Whitmarsh and Ron Dennis endlessly fighting over control of the team like the blind hags in the original version of Clash of The Titans did for possession of the big glass eye to see with.

 

"The Eye! Give me the Eye!"

 

Oh, I can't argue with you there haha. 

 

McLaren had some truly abysmal seasons under Ron, the only difference is the opposition were a lot weaker save for 3 or 4 other teams. I'm sure the McLaren of '94 and '95 was slower than last years from the ultimate pace. He's a hypocrite for firing MW.

 

The difference between Ron and Martin is that one of them built the company up and one of them just had to run a section of it for a short period of time. That is a big difference between the two of them, and based on this, Ron had every right to wrest away control from Martin and take it upon himself to change things up. 

 

The circumstances under which he has done so can be deemed questionable, sure. 

[0Fritz]

Oh, I can't argue with you there haha. 

 

 

The difference between Ron and Martin is that one of them built the company up and one of them just had to run a section of it for a short period of time. That is a big difference between the two of them, and based on this, Ron had every right to wrest away control from Martin and take it upon himself to change things up. 

 

The circumstances under which he has done so can be deemed questionable, sure. 

 

You could also argue its because of Whitmarsh that Mclaren could grow so much. Others would point out it was mostly Mansour Ojeh's money what enabled Dennis to structure what there is today. 

 

Whitmarsh has been at McLaren for 25 years. I dont know what was said today, but sofar it doesnt seem to be very grateful words. The man deserves a little respect imo.

[Rocket73]

Probably in the same role he's in now.  He knew the team had operational problems, and that his head was likely on the block because of it.  Best solution - not just for him but for the teams as well - would be to split his job.  Bring Boullier in as TP to run the team while he stays home and runs the factory as CEO.  

 

If I had to guess, I'd suspect that Ron just co-opted Whitmarsh's plan.  Ron seems gracious toward Whitmarsh, but it seems to be a graciousness afforded a defeated enemy.  I've always thought that Whitmarsh stepped up to the plate a bit too eagerly when Ron was pushed out, and I'm sure there's more to that story than we know.

 

You think that MW was and still is pushing for that CEO position?

[Velocifer]

Eric Boullier on Ron Dennis: "He is a racer, I am a racer - and there is where it clicks, where it matches." http://www.formula1....14/2/15512.html

 

Can anyone explain what this means to be a racer in this context?

 

As I understand it a racer is a driver who has an all-or-bust approach, but that can't be the same in management terms since Boullier says things like this: "McLaren racing director Eric Boullier believes driveability and fuel management will be more significant than raw pace in the early stages of the 2014 Formula 1 season." http://www.autosport...t.php/id/112777

 

If Dennis clicks with 'racers' one would think Whitmarsh is more his man the way he went for a bold new design last year for just the single season before the big 2014 change when he could have played it safe with an evolution of the fast 2012 car?

[Boxerevo]

If Dennis clicks with 'racers' one would think Whitmarsh is more his man the way he went for a bold new design last year for just the single season before the big 2014 change when he could have played it safe with an evolution of the fast 2012 car?

Absolutely pig job with Hamilton in 2012,from the beggining to the end and he acted like it was a normal service.

 

Our car ends the year with Hamilton and Button winning as fast and faster than Red Bull ? Screw evolution.

 

A racer can make plenty of mistakes but a racer has a huge desire to improve his position,i didn't feel this with MW,this absolute desire for victory.

[sennafan24]

Strictly from a superficial level, I still cannot get over Boullier being at McLaren.  

 

It is like mixing chips with strawberries, they do not go together at all. 

[Velocifer]

Absolutely pig job with Hamilton in 2012,from the beggining to the end and he acted like it was a normal service.

 

Our car ends the year with Hamilton and Button winning as fast and faster than Red Bull ? Screw evolution.

 

A racer can make plenty of mistakes but a racer has a huge desire to improve his position,i didn't feel this with MW,this absolute desire for victory.

 

So you're not a racer if your reaction to the team's operational errors is not to lash out at people but try to remain calm? It's hard to fathom this logic when Boullier faced with operational errors and points-losing employee Grosjean used a patient and trusting attitude just like Whitmarsh and was duly rewarded for it..

And about the huge desire to improve his position, didn't as I say Whitmarsh go all out on an innovative design for 2013 when there really wasn't a need since he could have played it safe with an evolution of the 2012 car?

When answering, don't forget this thread is not about Whitmarsh, it's about Boullier thinking himself the racer like Dennis and by inference, unlike Whitmarsh.

[CHIUNDA]

Dennis has put his reputation out there with this political coup. He will brute force McLaren to success if he has to. That's how I know EB is going to be better for McLaren than MW at least in the short run.