Brightest (and not so bright) F1 drivers
Discussion
A bit of debate, hopefully, on the way to GP1001.
Who are the smartest GP drivers on the grid and who, perhaps, should not be allowed out on their own.
A comedy topic, as F1 is a physical skill. However in the increasingly complex hybrid world, some level of “smarts” must help in understanding how to get the best out of the car. Or does it?
Any views?...
Who are the smartest GP drivers on the grid and who, perhaps, should not be allowed out on their own.
A comedy topic, as F1 is a physical skill. However in the increasingly complex hybrid world, some level of “smarts” must help in understanding how to get the best out of the car. Or does it?
Any views?...
Evercross said:
Kvyat might have yo-yo form on the track but he's a bit of a brain-box out of the car. Very well read and speaks five languages.
That is interesting. I guess there are a good few of the drivers who are multilingual. Vettel’s Italian is pretty shocking, mind you. Rosberg seems to have form on a decent grasp of languages. I think all of the “English as a second plus” language drivers make a decent fist of it in interviews. I guess that is the requirement of international sponsorship. Back in the day some of the British drivers seemed to even struggle with English...
As an aside, has Danny Ricc learned French recently?!
Stuart70 said:
Rosberg seems to have form on a decent grasp of languages.
Being brought up in Monaco with German and Finnish parentage, it shouldn't be a surprise. He also has an engineering degree, and by all accounts was highly regarded by the engineers he worked with as a driver for his technical understanding.Language capacity isn't an indicator of intellect. We Brits are the only ones that struggle with a second languages. A lot - probably most - people around the world are at least dual language by default.
Marc Gene was doing an MSc in Accountancy or something similar whist he was completing in F1
Eddie Irvine was (and is) a very astute operator. Same with Jody Scheckter
Niki Lauda has to fall into this category too.
I think it fair to say that previous generations of drivers had a greater breadth of life experience prior to and during their time in F1. Drivers today start far younger and become completely isolated from much of the reality that shapes the rest of us. You see this in a lot of professional sports.
Marc Gene was doing an MSc in Accountancy or something similar whist he was completing in F1
Eddie Irvine was (and is) a very astute operator. Same with Jody Scheckter
Niki Lauda has to fall into this category too.
I think it fair to say that previous generations of drivers had a greater breadth of life experience prior to and during their time in F1. Drivers today start far younger and become completely isolated from much of the reality that shapes the rest of us. You see this in a lot of professional sports.
thegreenhell said:
Stuart70 said:
Rosberg seems to have form on a decent grasp of languages.
Being brought up in Monaco with German and Finnish parentage, it shouldn't be a surprise. He also has an engineering degree, and by all accounts was highly regarded by the engineers he worked with as a driver for his technical understanding.Also got the impression Schumacher was a very intelligent (or may just calculated) chap.
StevieBee said:
Language capacity isn't an indicator of intellect. We Brits are the only ones that struggle with a second languages. A lot - probably most - people around the world are at least dual language by default.
Marc Gene was doing an MSc in Accountancy or something similar whist he was completing in F1
Eddie Irvine was (and is) a very astute operator. Same with Jody Scheckter
Niki Lauda has to fall into this category too.
I think it fair to say that previous generations of drivers had a greater breadth of life experience prior to and during their time in F1. Drivers today start far younger and become completely isolated from much of the reality that shapes the rest of us. You see this in a lot of professional sports.
Speak for yourself, but I know plenty of Brits that speak more than one language. Marc Gene was doing an MSc in Accountancy or something similar whist he was completing in F1
Eddie Irvine was (and is) a very astute operator. Same with Jody Scheckter
Niki Lauda has to fall into this category too.
I think it fair to say that previous generations of drivers had a greater breadth of life experience prior to and during their time in F1. Drivers today start far younger and become completely isolated from much of the reality that shapes the rest of us. You see this in a lot of professional sports.
It’s hardly surprising that fewer Brits do than other Nationalities given that English is one of the most common first and, consequently, second languages in the planet. It’s currently the most studied, as a foreign language.
Brits are better at it than Americans, which is a better comparison than many other countries, given that they have English as their main language too.
It’s also the most commonly used language in international trade, sport and many other world wide industries. Ever heard a pilot speak anything else?
REALIST123 said:
Brits are better at it than Americans, which is a better comparison than many other countries, given that they have English as their main language too.
Are you sure? I’d wager a lot of Americans speak a 2nd language, given the number of immigrants there. Spanish seems an obvious onePeter Revson , Niki Lauda,, Nico Rosberg and Phil Hill are obvious examples of the former. And Martin Brundle is nobody's fool, nor was Mark Donohue .
Vittorio Brambilla was reputedly not that quick on the uptake but I suspect he is far from unique in that respect ...
F1 drivers' key problem seems not to be a lack of brains, but an inability to apply their own to anything other than their own self interest
Vittorio Brambilla was reputedly not that quick on the uptake but I suspect he is far from unique in that respect ...
F1 drivers' key problem seems not to be a lack of brains, but an inability to apply their own to anything other than their own self interest
coppice said:
Peter Revson , Niki Lauda,, Nico Rosberg and Phil Hill are obvious examples of the former. And Martin Brundle is nobody's fool, nor was Mark Donohue .
Vittorio Brambilla was reputedly not that quick on the uptake but I suspect he is far from unique in that respect ...
F1 drivers' key problem seems not to be a lack of brains, but an inability to apply their own to anything other than their own self interest
I had to look up Brambilla; “punch and crunch”. He sounds like a thug! Vittorio Brambilla was reputedly not that quick on the uptake but I suspect he is far from unique in that respect ...
F1 drivers' key problem seems not to be a lack of brains, but an inability to apply their own to anything other than their own self interest
'The Monza Gorilla' , he was called , and was the driver who , on winning his sole Grand Prix (Austria, 1975 in March 751) waved so deliriously to the crowd that he promptly binned it on the wet track .What a legend he was . .
Mind you , Mansell notoriously started waving to the crowd before he'd even won in Canada 1991 and stalled the car. Doubtless it was someone else's fault . It usually was .
Mind you , Mansell notoriously started waving to the crowd before he'd even won in Canada 1991 and stalled the car. Doubtless it was someone else's fault . It usually was .
coppice said:
Mind you , Mansell notoriously started waving to the crowd before he'd even won in Canada 1991 and stalled the car. Doubtless it was someone else's fault . It usually was .
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