Disappointing stories of a successful season (Part 2)
Sir Frank Williams: "Us for not being so competitive again. That is the fundamental requirement."
The founder and manager of the WilliamsF1 Formula One racing team, Williams believes that the performance of his team represents the worst tale of 2010 season. The team was unable to deliver any good races all through the year. With its 69 points, it stands
at sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship, almost a hundred points behind Renault, which ended the season a place ahead of Williams. Both its drivers, Rubens Barrichello and Nico Hulkenberg struggled hard but due to an uncompetitive car, were not able
to perform well all through the year. The very surprising pole position taken by Hulkenberg at the Brazilian Grand Prix was the biggest achievement of the team all through the year.
Mark Sutton: "I guess Michael Schumacher's return was a big disappointment to many people around the world."
The official photographer of Formula One and one of the best professionals in the business, Sutton believes that the most disappointing story of 2010 is the return of Schumacher on the track. Undoubtedly, this is also the opinion of most of the Formula One
fans, because seeing the seven times world champion perform so poorly all through the year was not only shocking but also very sad for everyone.
Most of the former racers and sport’s analysts believe that his decision to return was the biggest blunder made by the racer all through his career. The seven times world champion and (statistically) the best racer ever in Formula One, came back to the sport
at the start of the season, after staying away from the track for a period of three years. Although his return was embraced whole-heartedly by everyone yet it was not very long when the fans, as well as the race experts started criticising and condemning his
comeback. All through the year, the German has not been able to win a single race nor has he stood on the podium even once.
Despite having bagged only 72 points and finishing at ninth place in the charts, the driver is still adamant to return next year. However, many believe that he must retire once and for all, and should not further damage his repute and legacy.
Laurence Edmondson: "Felipe Massa barely put up a fight against Fernando Alonso this year and watching his gradual decline in confidence and performance, was hugely disappointing. He appeared to lose all hope and interest after the incidents
at the German Grand Prix and he clearly took the Ferrari pit wall's decision to heart. He could have adopted the Mark Webber mentality and come out fighting after that but instead he let his head drop and went on to score less than half the points of Alonso
in the remaining races."
The season started off nicely for Massa, who bagged second place on the podium at the season opener Bahrain Grand Prix. However, the latter races saw the driver and the team lull away, owing to their uncompetitive car. At the German Grand Prix, because of
the modifications in the car, the team scored its second 1-2 finish of the year but did not refrain from using the old Ferrari strategy, ‘team orders’. At the final laps of the race, Massa was asked by the team to hand over his lead to his teammate Alonso
and finish behind him at second place. This not only made the driver loose morale but also his performance, as the rest of his races saw a continuous decline.
Tags: