System 1 can degenerate into a stunning illusion: many appearances, little reality. Shameful excuses and outright lies will follow us throughout the 2025 GP season – always politically correct.
There was a time when we were able to approach a Formula 1 driver, like that, and ask him a quick question and actually get an important answer.
Today, many pilots run between the pits and the team building as if the real thing were behind them, so as not to be approached by rebel journalists.
“Iceman” Kimi Räikkönen liked to hold his mobile phone to his ear when he needed to be left alone – even if no one was around. It worked every time.
We live in an age of media censorship. These ladies and gentlemen have been assigned the job of media representative (for reasons I sometimes don’t understand), but instead of putting their drivers on display, the pilots are carried and even carried, or they directly drag out drivers who seem overwhelmed. at the next appointment. We are always told in advance which questions we would like to avoid asking.
The scene where the GP winner (his name just escaped me) gave a very good answer was unforgettable, and in the middle of the answer a media lady standing behind him interrupted him without looking up from his social network typing on his mobile phone. : “One more question, please.”
The Formula 1 star turned very slowly and said with a raised eyebrow: “Here I’m still deciding how long I’m going to talk, if that’s okay.”
The lady’s face changed to a deep burgundy and she searched hard for the hole that would open for her. Unfortunately it didn’t work out.
The age of verbal provocation began roughly with Michael Schumacher.
When asked about the vote change, he was saying: “We changed something back.” – “Yes, well, but what, Michael?” – “In suspension.” – “Ah, and what about suspension?” – “We went a little harder with the enhancements.”
Well, that’s right, why not now?
At the same time, with Michael, a good question also gave a good answer. And the record champion was patient enough to deal with the media representative carefully when it became clear within seconds that he (or she) might be on his first GP weekend.
The same applies today to stars like Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen. That’s just class!
Many drivers and team bosses have made repeating platitudes an art form.
They become politicians: talk a lot, say nothing.
Others give TV interviews only on certain days, while newspaper and Internet journalists watch on the tube. The media release from the race team doesn’t help.
“Today was a good day,” said the driver, when everyone could see that he was generally following suit and, in particular, today he was driving his car very skillfully.
Major engine damage is often silenced. Maybe then no one will notice!
Does anyone at a car manufacturer seriously believe that they would sell even one small road car if the defect was accepted on a regular basis?
In any case, I have never met a person who said: “It is a shame that Pierre Gasly stopped because of an engine failure. Now I will not buy a Renault, I would rather buy a Kia.”
It is also interesting when representatives of the media are told what they already know. For example in testing: “Driver XY drove 87 laps today and achieved a best time of 1:37.656 minutes.”
Could the racing teams be under the impression that the writers had spent all day in the pub? We’ve known that for a long time!
Why don’t they tell us right away that the sky was blue today too or that the tires were round and black and exactly what road we were on?
Jelly is worse in the cold, and it will be the same in the coming weeks and months – remember my words from the first impressions and then during the cold tests.
Everyone is showing cautious optimism. Anyone who scored a few points in 2024 will want to score points consistently in 2025. Anyone who scored consistently in 2024 is talking about a podium finish in 2025.
Racing teams often talk about how things should be better the next day. Stop printing! It would be a surprising observation if one accepted that a crawling pace could be expected again the next day.
It’s like a racing driver saying he’ll do anything. Yes, for heaven’s sake! In one of the hottest jobs in the world, with absolutely no pay, I wouldn’t expect anything else.
Or: “I’m looking forward to the next race weekend.” I hope so! Otherwise he would have a bad job.
Here, too, we would just sit back and consider if someone would be refreshingly honest: “I’m afraid of Monte Carlo. I can’t stand strong defense.”
Want a few more examples of what we hear and what it really means?
“The vehicle is still in the early stages of development.”
(We made a very bad car and we don’t know what to do with it.)
“We had a small technical issue that prevented us from driving at times.”
(It’s burning! It’s burning! All hands to the firemen!)
“Problems did not stop us from preparing.”
(It’s no better than it is now.)
“Friday times are meaningless.”
(Times mean a lot, and we probably won’t get past qualifying 1 on Saturday.)
“The feedback from our new driver XYZ is excellent.”
(Not only is the guy quick, he’s also a bit stupid. After all, he’s rich.)
“Obviously there is room for improvement.”
(No room for improvement.)
“We’re still trying to understand the tires.”
(We don’t understand tires and never will.)
“The density of play in the midfield is very high.”
(We will be eighth in the World Cup, most likely ninth.)
“The Bahrain approach is not representative.”
(We will be worse in Barcelona.)
“Today was a good day.”
(Today was a disappointing day.)
“We’ve collected a lot of data.”
(Unfortunately, we don’t know what to do with this.)
If we heard half-truths, down-to-earth information in Formula 1 in 24 hours – THAT would be a good day.
