Reading between the lines

[Louis B.]

Don't you feel that the f1 medias are used more and more to pass indirectly messages to other people than the public? See for instance:

http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=1&nid=117017

I suspect that Jenson is essentially indirectly saying again to FW: Don't even think about it Frank, all my hearth is with BAR and I will do all I can for driving with them next year.

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=33782

Here we are in fact told that nothing has been confirmed yet with JV and that: I am motivated, I want to race with you next year, please... (a smiley with Bamby eyes would have been more accurate here), I have been told by Pollock to say that I am not looking for another drive such that the longer you remain silent, the more it will be used against you should you f*** around with my contract.


http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=33774

This one is likely to be perceived as another way for PS for saying that it was a mistake to hire JV. IMO, I see it as meaning: Fisi, why don't you give a call to Mr. Theissen, he might have something for you.

I am convinced you can all find better ones.

[chillibowl]

the art of spin is ever becoming the way of things and "never tell anyone outside the family" is the new mantra for corporations and governments alike. personally i just assume the exact opposite of any story i read.

im sure you'll like this one louis, JV praises massa and here ithought he hated everyone
http://www.planetf1.com/news/story_20653.shtml

[Don K]

Originally Posted by Louis B.

Don't you feel that the f1 medias are used more and more to pass indirectly messages to other people than the public? See for instance:

http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view...d=1&nid=117017

I suspect that Jenson is essentially indirectly saying again to FW: Don't even think about it Frank, all my hearth is with BAR and I will do all I can for driving with them next year.

Looks to me as if he is saying:
"I don't know whether or not I will still be driving for BAR next year.
But for now, I will do the best I can for my present employer, even if that would mean helping them for next season, while I may be driving at a rival team by that time. Contract is contract."

So it's essentially the same thing as he did early last year (when he had told BAR he was planning to leave them).
And essentially the same thing as he did later last year (when BAR had forced him into a contract he did not want).

[Louis B.]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

the art of spin is ever becoming the way of things and "never tell anyone outside the family" is the new mantra for corporations and governments alike. personally i just assume the exact opposite of any story i read.

im sure you'll like this one louis, JV praises massa and here ithought he hated everyone
http://www.planetf1.com/news/story_20653.shtml

He has always been a good friend of Panis (btw, JV was the only one who went to see him at the hospital after his crash in Montreal in 1997) and of DC. After a bad start (to say the least), he also got along well with Irvine, Jenson and, now, Massa. Your impression is unfortunately part of the negative aura he is dragging with him since his character assassination by DR and some members of the press.

I would not want this to become an exclusively JV thread though. I just find extremely interesting what we hear during the silly season and I wonder to what extent propaganda or manipulation of the press has now become a negotiation tool in f1.

[Logrence]

I see this quite a bit in the media, I feel like it's my 6th sense.

It's important in F1 because it sets you apart as a competitor, it's basic psychological warfare.

[BootsOntheSide]

The idea of Fisichella returning to BMW is interesting. A lto fo drivers have had 2 spells and Sauber (Frentzen, Lehto, Massa), and in general they've only done well if they didn't do well the first time. Joining a midfield team would be a big risk for him (and for Nick).

[Louis B.]

Originally Posted by Don K

Looks to me as if he is saying:
"I don't know whether or not I will still be driving for BAR next year.
But for now, I will do the best I can for my present employer, even if that would mean helping them for next season, while I may be driving at a rival team by that time. Contract is contract."

It's interesting the way you interpret it (and this what is fascinating with such declarations in the midst of the silly season). JB had at least two options when questionned about Rubens: 1. staying neutral saying something like "I am glad for Rubens, BAR is a very promiseful team" or; 2. threat the situation as if Rubens will probably be his team-mate next year. I think he just did the later to reiterate to Williams that he has not given up his intentions of driving for BAR next year. This is, obviously, pure speculations on my part.

[Louis B.]

The following from Sato comes straight from page 2 of the f1 drivers' book of standard platitudes:

http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s16....htm?fromrss=1

Come on Takuma!!! Don't tell us you had a restful break when you learned during it that your days in f1 were most likely counted.

[Oaksnaf]

It's the same in most areas. At a press conference you can predict what Michael, Rubens, Kimi, Alonso are going to say. There words are all sculptured to a fine art by their PR people. Look who stands beside them when they are getting interviewed out of shot, their PR rep. Giving signalls of "thats too much info" "thats not enough info" "give the team a thanks" and all the normalilty.

Really the drivers who speak their minds are David Coulthard who is coming out of his square. And Mark Webber has always been blatant and too the point. Jenson Button, we'll he's made a right old mess of himself thats for sure.

Also when you look at half the questions being asked to the drivers you already know the answer. You cant seem to ask much on the side of controversy as they just wont answer and next time they wont let you interview them.

As for most of the articles written, f1racing.net i find is pretty poor. Just recycles news item after news item after news item, which mind you they have payed for that service. And by the time you've read the first paragraph or the title you know whats next. A bit of a spiel at the top on the issue, followed by some quotes. And a short ending.

Sniffpetrol, F1 rejects, well they pretty much write what they like. I like the F1 rejects, because it is a pretty informative site, and at least they show a sense of humour and there is of course an air of truth of what they say.

Basically Formula 1 PR is coming the way of Polotics PR to a certian extent. You ask a polotic 5 different questions and you will only get 1 answer.

It takes a long time to become a respected, well known Formula 1 journo, interviewer etc. So most tread lightly for most of their time. Until the drivers feel more comfortable around them.

Its the same with press releases. Some teams actually give you information throughout the weekend, like what went wrong, what they are searching for. Others just give you the usual ramblings.

But you can take out of it what you want. In the end Ferrari never have grip, Williams are always looking for a better aero package, Minardi are looking for a better compromise between downforce and drag, Sauber have massive handling troubles, Red Bull Racing have stopped developing and are fine tuning their set-up, McLaren have a lot of pace, Renault tell of understeer and balance issues, Jordan tell of their driver mistakes, Toyota always say they are improving, and BAR always blame something. And its the same week in week out at the GP's.

[Louis B.]

Agreed. This is why we are essentially left with the "read between the lines" quotes for us to read with interest and guess their actual meaning / purpose.

[emjaya]

Button on Rubens:
"I think it's a great situation for him to be in a team where everything is equal. We'll see what he can do. We still really don't know what he can do in an F1 car when he's given equal equipment". from http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_vie...id=1&nid=117017

The usual spin on why a driver is beaten by his teammate.

[Oaksnaf]

Originally Posted by emjaya

Button on Rubens:
"I think it's a great situation for him to be in a team where everything is equal. We'll see what he can do. We still really don't know what he can do in an F1 car when he's given equal equipment". from http://www.crash.net/uk/en/news_vie...id=1&nid=117017

The usual spin on why a driver is beaten by his teammate.

Ill give this a shot:

"I think it's a great situation for him to be in a team where everything is equal"
translates to: He has never received equal treatment at Ferrari.

"We'll see what he can do"
translates to: He's not really that special

"We still really don't know what he can do in an F1 car when he's given equal equipment"
translates to: When and if im at BAR ill beat him for sure.

But thats just me, im sure everyone has their own opinion.

[Louis B.]

Pretty good translation Oaksnaf.

I also forgot another interesting category of "read-between-the-lines" quotes: the arrow ones

I haven't seen the actual quote yet but AFP (Agence France Presse) is reporting this morning that Rubens would have said, after Massa said that it was nowhere written in his contract with Ferrari that he would be relegated to a no.2 driver role, something like: "it wasn't written in mine either" meaning by that, IMO: "Calm down Felipe, don't even think you will be allowed to challenge MS at Ferrari!"

[Marbot]

Company:Ferrari
Name:Felipe Massa
Job:Racing Driver
Job discription:Rear Gunner and other duties.

If you read between the lines.

[Louis B.]

There is sometimes nothing to be read between the lines. The following is an annoted quote from Dr. Theissen. I used the smilies to depict how I felt as I was reading it. Please tell me what this means if there is anything which can be extracted from this extra light (in term of contents) blah blah:

"We will select drivers on the basis of performance : not nationality, nor religion nor based on whether or not they smoke . You can only market success and the driver is a very important part of the performance of the overall package . That is what you have to look for. We are quite busy putting corner stones in place to improve the facilities but we will talk about drivers soon - maybe at the end of August . There are a lot of issues to deal with because you want to develop young drivers to be really linked to the team but on the other hand you want experienced guys , particularly when you get to testing . You can go either way . It will take some thought and will include all the specific names available and we will see what could fit and what could work . I don't have a clear view right now but certainly some people are knocking at the door . We will be in a position to get the drivers we need for next year . It is absolutely clear that we will not challenge for the championship next year. "

[maximus]

Originally Posted by Louis B.

There is sometimes nothing to be read between the lines. The following is an annoted quote from Dr. Theissen.


"We will select drivers on the basis of performance : not nationality,

Yeah right, pull the other one Dr. Theissen.