An F1 mechanic has spoken out about one of his team’s drivers and has been quoted as saying: “It’s about time he retired, isn’t it?”
So who might this be?
Was it Ralf Schumacher? He’s an obvious choice. Thoroughly outclassed by Jarno Trulli all season, his sacking (sorry, ‘departure’) from the Toyota team should spell the end of his career.
How about Giancarlo Fisichella? Renault has an abundance of drivers looking for a berth at the French marque, with Heikki Kovalainen, Nelson Piquet Jnr and Fernando Alonso all hoping to get a seat. There is speculation that Fisichella’s willingness to roll over and die for the team is what may save him in the face of faster, younger opposition. If you heard that was all that was keeping you in a seat, would you want to carry on?
Or maybe it’s David Coulthard, the eternal number two and the man that Ron Dennis forgot he could sack. Resoundedly beaten by Damon Hill, Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen, the Red Bull retirement home gave him some respite - but what is he trying to prove by beating Christian Klien and the unluckiest man in F1 (since Johnny Herbert), Mark Webber?
Unlikely, but it could even be Fernando Alonso. Forget the fact the points tally says they tied the season, Alonso was beaten convincingly by Lewis Hamilton. Formula One champions aren’t supposed to be beaten by their team-mates and certainly not by rookies. Though no doubt Alonso will race on, he’ll be the first F1 champion to be beaten by his team-mate and still be racing at the beginning of the next season since Ayrton Senna was beaten by Alain Prost in 1989. The last three F1 champs to be beaten by their team mates, Mika Hakkinen (by, shockingly, David Coulthard), Jacques Villeneuve (by Jenson Button) and Damon Hill (by Ralf Schumacher) all retired at the end of that season. I hear NASCAR is a popular option, these days.
In fact, the driver who his own mechanic wants to retire is Rubens Barrichello. There is even talk that Barrichello may join Honda’s other reject, Takuma Sato, at Super Aguri next year, surely a pretty big hint that he isn’t welcome anymore.
It is a little unfair to condemn Barrichello’s driving this year, considering driving the 2007 Honda must have been like running a marathon with a stone in your shoe. And he certainly isn’t the only one who should consider calling time on his F1 career, is he?
