ATLAS TEAM F1


Not-So-Silly Season
by Bill Doolittle

Well, there isn't much of a silly season this year, is there? Silly season, as we all know, begins about midway through the actual racing season, and ends...well...at 8:59 a.m. local time on Friday morning preceding the first race of the year. It usually involves lots of rumors about who will be driving for which teams next year, and based on such hard evidence as a driver being seen glancing somewhat inquisitively at a car in a neighboring garage. Could it be that he is sizing-up the cockpit he'll be sitting in next year? What else could it mean?

Things are quite different this year, with all the big names signing contracts well before the rumormill began to churn. Oh, there was some talk of Eddie Irvine moving to Ferrari and teaming up with Jacques Villeneuve as far back as Montreal, but that dissipated almost as quickly as it appeared. There was always whispers from the back of the room, so to speak, that ol' Nige might be resurrected, but these were just that--whispers.

Before anyone knew what happened, Villeneuve signed with Williams and Damon Hill re-signed. Michael Schumacher signed with Ferrari and who amongst us doubts that Gerhard Berger will be alongside in number 2 (I almost added an 8). Jean Alesi will be in the Benetton where he well might win all the marbles. And, Mika Hakkinen ain't goin' nowhere. Well, that just about does it, doesn't it?

But, wait a minute! Who, you ask, will have the second Benetton seat? Who will drive for Jordan? Where will Reubens Barachello and Irvine wind up? And, who will team with Ron Dennis' fair-haired flyin' Finn? Well, in all likelihood, the two Irish Eddies and the young Brazilian will remain together for year three--it's a good combination on the way up and it is not in any of the three's best interest to change. As for the number two drivers at Benetton and McLaren, who the hell cares, other than the two drivers and their mothers? And even the mommas probably won't get too excited. In fact, discussions of the second McLaren ride have just gotten worse than silly.

Were you as surprised, nay, shocked, as I was to learn that Alain Prost will be testing for McLaren? Here is a 40 year-old, three-time world champion, with absolutely nothing to gain, other than perhaps 15+ million dollars. Could he really need the money, or at least be tempted by it? And what about his honor and his word? At Ayrton Senna's funeral he proclaimed publicly (I saw it on TV in the U.S., so literally everyone else in the world, including rice farmers in Bangladesh, must have seen it!) that in honor of his great fallen rival, he would never again drive an F1 car. Come on, professor, give us a break. You had your days in the spotlight and they were some of the best. Your image is sterling. Don't tarnish it by putting on your old driving suit. You won't be able to compete with Schumacher, Alesi, and some other young hot shoes who, not inconsequently, will be driving better equipment. Trying to do so, will be nothing short of stupid, a term that shouldn't be linked with "professor," a term of high respect and, in your case, endearment as well.

As stupid as Prost in a McLaren for 1996 might sound, discussions of who will be driving for the rest of the teams will be equally, if not more so. Try these on for size. Could Andrea Montermini possibly move up to Sauber? Will Roberto Moreno continue to provide experienced leadership at Forti? Is Ken Tyrrell willing to sell his other seat to an equally slow, but well-funded driver with all the skills of a kamikaze pilot? If he is, Jackie Oliver will probably do likewise at Arrows or Footwork or whatever it is or will be called. And, finally, will Johnny Carwash (as Derek Daly refers to Lavaggi) find himself working in one, driving a Pacific through one, or, perhaps, buying out Keith Wiggins and Bertrand Gachot altogether, and hiring Nelson Piquet to be his number two driver?

Things can only get worse than silly unless some drastic changes are made very soon. First of all, Formula One needs to revise its licensing system (if the term system applies). The sport and the business cannot tolerate incompetence regardless of how wealthy it may be. Inexperienced drivers cannot be allowed into the highest ranks of motor racing. Second, guys who prove to be slow need to be purged. I'm sorry to break the news to you Coulthard, but Frank Williams clearly doesn't want you and even though you are under contract with Ron Dennis, his consideration of Prost doesn't bode well for your future at McLaren. Hey, maybe you can get a ride...back in Formula 3. Third, I've said this before and I'll say it again, Formula One needs an influx of new and innovative technologies. The engineers seem to have put themselves to sleep at the same time the fans were nodding off.

Everyone agrees that 1995 is dull. So dull, in fact, that even the silly season has become lackluster at best. Could 1996 be more of the same? Perhaps so. New years usually pick-up where the previous ones left off. Will it get better, as it should? Or, will it degrade even further? That is hard to say, but not so much as a definitive word about the purported 1996 season finale at Las Vegas has been uttered since it was announced. Indeed, rumors of reviving the U.S. Grand Prix next year may well be the silliest thing of 1995. We'll have to wait and see, however, as there is still a lot of time to go in this not-so-silly season.


Bill Doolittle
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