261 replies to this topic

[RacingXO]

I have yet to see any media ask Renault why they have chosen a back marker from GP3.

 

She was a back marker in GP3 for 3 years, loosing almost a second in every turn she takes. When Stoneman took over her car, he landed 1st and 2nd places from the start and not 28th place etc. like Carmen    I just read that the danish driver Marco Sorensen was 12 seconds faster than her in the simulator

 

Why would Renault say the are serious about their comeback, when the have a joke as development driver? How can that be great for Renault, Palmer and Magnussen.

 

How can she develop anything when she can't drive competitively?

 

Is there any logic to this?

 

If you know anyone in the media, pls ask them to poke Renault about this as it seems like a joke, although not very funny.

 

 

What's your take on this?

Edited by RacingXO, 09 February 2016 - 16:24.

[Marklar]

Ehm...I thought it was clear that she is there for PR reasons?

[RedBaron]

As far as slow drivers go she is more PR friendly, that's why. Maybe she brings in some cash too, why would Renault turn down money for a role that has little to no importance anyway?

[Ross Stonefeld]

Yeah she's just there as a PR magnet. To the best of my knowledge she's never driven their car other than the simulator so what's the harm, other than being overly focused on in the TV coverage(which is more annoying than anything). 

[CountDooku]

Ross Stonefeld, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:27, said:

Yeah she's just there as a PR magnet. To the best of my knowledge she's never driven their car other than the simulator so what's the harm, other than being overly focused on in the TV coverage(which is more annoying than anything). 

 

Speak for yourself.

 

Pretty risqué topic for a first post OP.

[RacingXO]

Well.....I actually thought that development drivers were supposed to test new parts, updates etc. in order to make the car faster   So maybe in my mind the importance of her job is exagerated?

[RacingXO]

CountDooku, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:32, said:

Speak for yourself.

 

Pretty risqué topic for a first post OP.

 

Really......why is that? I'm just curious as the facts is out there for all to see.......and nobody says the emperor has no clothes on. I'm not trying to start a flame war. I mean c'mon 12 seconds in the sim is ridiculous. I'm sure there are people here on the board who is faster         

Edited by RacingXO, 09 February 2016 - 16:40.

[sopa]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:33, said:

Well.....I actually thought that development drivers were supposed to test new parts, updates etc. in order to make the car faster   So maybe in my mind the importance of her job is exagerated?

 

Maybe the key here is not car development as such, but more like "image" development. Especially if she is shown a lot in TV coverages, and hence catches some attention for the Renault Sport F1 Team. 

[Counterbalance]

She's fit, hot, a very good looking woman. TV camera's focus on the good looking woman in the Renault garage, and as a result more air time for them.

 

It's really not that hard to figure out when you put a bit of thought into it.

Edited by Counterbalance, 09 February 2016 - 16:43.

[Marklar]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:33, said:

Well.....I actually thought that development drivers were supposed to test new parts, updates etc. in order to make the car faster   So maybe in my mind the importance of her job is exagerated?

Well, Sauber called de Silvestro a "affilated driver" (and Silvestro is classes better than Jorda), says it all, really.

 

Force India just appointed a 16 year old Russian as an "development driver", the guy finished outside of the top positions in every junior series he compete so far. They also appointed a Mexican driver who is just awful, as a test driver.

 

The teams have real development drivers, who are doing the job you are describing here and then some teams who need money or attention, have additional to that some drivers who are not deserving to be there. Thats the case with Jorda and Renault. And that is case also with teams like Force India.

[RacingXO]

Counterbalance, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:40, said:

She's fit, hot, whatever you want to call her, a very good looking woman. TV camera's focus on the good looking woman in the Renault garage, and as a result more air time for them.

 

It's really not that hard to figure out when you put a bit of thought into it.

 

Well if her job doesn't matter I agree, but I actually thought she would have a purpose.......developing the car.

[stewie]

Maybe it's a contract rollover from Lotus? I.e. they had too?

[Marklar]

stewie, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:46, said:

Maybe it's a contract rollover from Lotus? I.e. they had too?

She announced just a few weeks ago that she will leave Lotus, so nope   

[Burtros]

Shes never going to get near an F1 car on a track. Thats pretty clear. Shes not the first, and certainly not the last driver with not much talent to be hired for non-sporting reasons. 

 

A woman out of place in F1 must get a thread started about her where lots of people slag her off.

 

A bloke out of place? No one bats an eye lid.

[Gareth]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:37, said:

and nobody says the emperor has no clothes on.

Yeah, the lack of criticism of women in motorsport is really a big issue.  I mean, no one would ever shit all over a woman driver's retirement thread because they were getting too much praise.

[Counterbalance]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:44, said:

Well if her job doesn't matter I agree, but I actually thought she would have a purpose.......developing the car.

 

She does have a purpose - increasing Renault's airtime. Her entire racing career consisted of 5 podiums prior to arriving at Renault. No wins, pole positions or fastest laps prior to joining the team as their test driver.

 

She's 100% PR for Renault, nothing more!

Edited by Counterbalance, 09 February 2016 - 16:55.

[stewie]

Marklar, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:49, said:

She announced just a few weeks ago that she will leave Lotus, so nope 

Fair enough, I can't say I pay much attention to her career progression...

[RacingXO]

Burtros, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:49, said:

Shes never going to get near an F1 car on a track. Thats pretty clear. Shes not the first, and certainly not the last driver with not much talent to be hired for non-sporting reasons. 

 

A woman out of place in F1 must get a thread started about her where lots of people slag her off.

 

A bloke out of place? No one bats an eye lid.

 

I honestly had no idea that other teams had hired development drivers who was 12 seconds slower than an ok driver like Marco Sorensen......it has nothing to do with sexism, so pls don't play that card.

[YoungGun]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:55, said:

I honestly had no idea that other teams had hired development drivers who was 12 seconds slower than an ok driver like Marco Sorensen......it has nothing to do with sexism, so pls don't play that card.

 

So simulator work is only about being fast?

[Afterburner]

Burtros, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:49, said:

Shes never going to get near an F1 car on a track. Thats pretty clear. Shes not the first, and certainly not the last driver with not much talent to be hired for non-sporting reasons.

A woman out of place in F1 must get a thread started about her where lots of people slag her off.

A bloke out of place? No one bats an eye lid.

Holy crap--you must be the one person on here who's never heard of Pastor Maldonado.

[Ross Stonefeld]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:37, said:

Really......why is that? I'm just curious as the facts is out there for all to see.......and nobody says the emperor has no clothes on. I'm not trying to start a flame war. I mean c'mon 12 seconds in the sim is ridiculous. I'm sure there are people here on the board who is faster         

 

Eh? Jorda is criticised constantly. 

[maximilian]

 

There.  Any further questions?

[Counterbalance]

Ross Stonefeld, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:00, said:

Eh? Jorda is criticised constantly. 

 

That she is, no doubt.

[LuckyStrike1]

It's a question that has been asked. Consistently. 

 

She's there with money. Got a nice but meaningless title. Can hang around and travel around the world. End of story. 

[RacingXO]

Ross Stonefeld, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:00, said:

Eh? Jorda is criticised constantly. 

 

If true.......even more reason to ask Renault what the are doing, right?  I mean it's not Manor, it's Renault....a factory team who wants to win championships.

[JHSingo]

I think most people know full well why she's there, and it sure isn't because of her driving abilities.

 

I actually feel quite sorry for her, that she's comfortable with being nothing more than garage eye candy. It doesn't really send the right message to aspiring female racing drivers.

 

It's a ridiculous situation, but sadly one that's unlikely to change. All we can do is call a spade a spade and hope that eventually she goes away.

[Timantti]

Afterburner, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:00, said:

Holy crap--you must be the one person on here who's never heard of Pastor Maldonado.

 

GP2 champion and a GP winner. Sure, Pastor is not the greatest, but out of place? 

[LuckyStrike1]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:05, said:

If true.......even more reason to ask Renault what the are doing, right?  I mean it's not Manor, it's Renault....a factory team who wants to win championships.

 

 

Having Carmen Jorda in the team won't stand in the way of that ambition, if they actually have that ambition medium term which I doubt they have to be honest. 

 

But it won't be having Carmen Jordan in the team that is the reason for failing that ambition. Possibly the contrary as she brings a budget with her and she does not do anything that harms the team. It's not like they are developing the car and the team based on inputs from her, and she is their only "development driver" in their simulators. 

[sopa]

JHSingo, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:06, said:

I think most people know full well why she's there, and it sure isn't because of her driving abilities.

 

I actually feel quite sorry for her, that she's comfortable with being nothing more than garage eye candy. It doesn't really send the right message to aspiring female racing drivers.

 

It's a ridiculous situation, but sadly one that's unlikely to change. All we can do is call a spade a spade and hope that eventually she goes away.

 

As long as marketing is important in F1, these things remain. And obviously marketing is important, otherwise sponsors wouldn't be prepared to spend so much money.

 

Of course... another matter is that if racing abilities are non-important in this "job", they could hire any pretty woman to fulfill that role...

[Timantti]

Burtros, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:49, said:

Shes never going to get near an F1 car on a track. Thats pretty clear. Shes not the first, and certainly not the last driver with not much talent to be hired for non-sporting reasons. 

 

A woman out of place in F1 must get a thread started about her where lots of people slag her off.

 

A bloke out of place? No one bats an eye lid.

 

Has there ever been a worse male driver than Carmen though? 

[Jonnycraig37]

She is there because Bernie Ecclestone is paying for her to be there. Simple as that

[Marklar]

It's also worth to note that the guy who is doing the podium ceremonies, Alexandre Molina, is apparentely dating her for some time now. Might be a reason, besides the PR, that she is there in F1....

[Imateria]

YoungGun, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:57, said:

So simulator work is only about being fast?

It's about development verification, but if your that far off the pace then the only thing your capable of verifying is which way the track goes.

 

Jorda has always been a waste of space at any level of the single seater ladder, but I wasn't aware that she was still with the team now.

[RacingXO]

LuckyStrike1, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:07, said:

Having Carmen Jorda in the team won't stand in the way of that ambition, if they actually have that ambition medium term which I doubt they have to be honest. 

 

But it won't be having Carmen Jordan in the team that is the reason for failing that ambition. Possibly the contrary as she brings a budget with her and she does not do anything that harms the team. It's not like they are developing the car and the team based on inputs from her, and she is their only "development driver" in their simulators. 

 

I guess in my mind, the development drivers importance is exaggerated.......I would have thought she could slow down development if not performing well.

[Marklar]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:13, said:

I guess in my mind, the development drivers importance is exaggerated.......I would have thought she could slow down development if not performing well.

Again, they have other drivers for the developing part. And letting her occasionally use the simulator is no harm. The teams are even allowing journos to use the simulator....

[Ross Stonefeld]

It depends on how often she's in the simulator, I doubt they're sacrificing 'value' time for her. She's a part of the marketing team effectively, not the driving squad. 

 

Marklar, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:11, said:

It's also worth to note that the guy who is doing the podium ceremonies, Alexandre Molina, is apparentely dating her for some time now. Might be a reason, besides the PR, that she is there in F1....

 

I'd heard manager, maybe things got confused in the gossip mill of the paddock. 

 

 

[Imateria]

Timantti, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:08, said:

Has there ever been a worse male driver than Carmen though? 

Channock Nissany.

[ezequiel]

Jorda wasn't as terrible in IndyLights or F3 as she was in GP3. I always wondered why she insisted so much in that championship instead of focusing in something else where she could be competitive (competitive as in not qualifying last by a marging all the time)

[thegforcemaybewithyou]

We lost Jennifer but got Carmen!

[Burtros]

RacingXO, on 09 Feb 2016 - 16:55, said:

I honestly had no idea that other teams had hired development drivers who was 12 seconds slower than an ok driver like Marco Sorensen......it has nothing to do with sexism, so pls don't play that card.

 

I think the greater point is everyone knows why Carmen Jorda is here and you almost certainly knew why before starting the thread.

 

You need to ask yourself why you took such exception to this particular instance of a driver lacking the merit to be in the position they are.

[Jonnycraig37]

The bigger worry is at she said the other day that she would be racing in 2016, so where on earth are Renault going to put her?

On visit FR3.5 is out
GP3 is out having embarrassed herself there
Vasseur getting her an ART seat in GP2? She'd only be lapped once a weekend then!
One of the e-dams drivers being dropped in FE? Again she'd only get lapped once

[TyreSmokeDownshift]

Two reasons:

 

1. The size of her bank account.

 

2. Are any of you familiar with the phenomenon known as 'Something for the Dads'? Well this pretty much applies here. 

[Afterburner]

Timantti, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:07, said:

GP2 champion and a GP winner. Sure, Pastor is not the greatest, but out of place?

You don't read many of the threads in here, do you?

[Imateria]

ezequiel, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:16, said:

Jorda wasn't as terrible in IndyLights or F3 as she was in GP3. I always wondered why she insisted so much in that championship instead of focusing in something else where she could be competitive (competitive as in not qualifying last by a marging all the time)

That probably has more to do with the low level of competition and small grids in Lights and Spanish F3 than her abilities as a driver though, and she wasn't that competitive there either.

[Fastcake]

Development driver, or test, reserve, third, whatever driver, has no real meaning in of itself. It completely depends on the team as to what the role entails. Some might actually be employed for development work in the simulator, others might be paying for an apprenticeship of sorts with practice outings and team access. Some might even be designated as a reserve if a race driver misses a race. Plenty though are essentially paying to stand around in the back, and help attract sponsorship and media, which is Jorda's role at Renault.

Edited by Fastcake, 09 February 2016 - 17:20.

[Marklar]

Jonnycraig37, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:17, said:

The bigger worry is at she said the other day that she would be racing in 2016, so where on earth are Renault going to put her?

On visit FR3.5 is out
GP3 is out having embarrassed herself there
Vasseur getting her an ART seat in GP2? She'd only be lapped once a weekend then!
One of the e-dams drivers being dropped in FE? Again she'd only get lapped once

Roborace.

[Burtros]

Afterburner, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:00, said:

Holy crap--you must be the one person on here who's never heard of Pastor Maldonado.

 

Dude, I like to piss take out of Maldonado but the blokes quite obviously far superior to the drivers being discussed here. Lets be honest!!

[ezequiel]

Marklar, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:19, said:

Roborace.

 Every time I see this I can't avoid spelling the "race" part as in "Liberace"

[thegamer23]

Jonnycraig37, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:17, said:

The bigger worry is at she said the other day that she would be racing in 2016, so where on earth are Renault going to put her?

On visit FR3.5 is out
GP3 is out having embarrassed herself there
Vasseur getting her an ART seat in GP2? She'd only be lapped once a weekend then!
One of the e-dams drivers being dropped in FE? Again she'd only get lapped once

She would be a disgrace in any serie...

[RacingXO]

Burtros, on 09 Feb 2016 - 17:17, said:

I think the greater point is everyone knows why Carmen Jorda is here and you almost certainly knew why before starting the thread.

 

You need to ask yourself why you took such exception to this particular instance of a driver lacking the merit to be in the position they are.

 

pls don't try the mind reading thing......nobody can do it.

 

I knew just about nothing about her. I read an article where Marco Sorensen explained why he left Lotus. He was tired of her being 12 seconds slower and getting all the positive attention. He felt overlooked and was pissed and left. He thought it was a joke.

 

That's why I read about her driving/results and started the thread - simple......I don't understand Renaults decision

 

Remember.....I can't read your mind and you can't read mine or anybody elses....

 

Have a nice day