The pronouncements of Niki Lauda always amuse me. No matter what the story, the F1 journalist can rely upon Niki for a viewpoint and it's usually a dubious one. His latest foray as the expert with all the answers is stranger than most, however.
Niki in 1976
Dear old Niki thinks that, if the idea of racing without traction control scares the drivers, "they need to go back to driving school." Fair enough - that's an opinion held by many in the racing fraternity, I'm sure. But it does seem odd for Lauda to be in that camp.
Isn't this the guy who pulled out of the 1976 Japanese GP, saying that the track was so wet that it was dangerous to continue (and thereby allowing James Hunt the chance to come from behind and take the championship)? It seems a bit unfair for him to throw stones at today's drivers when he withdrew from a race for exactly the reason that concerns the GPDA. I don't recall any of the present drivers refusing to race at Fuji last year, when the weather was actually worse than it was in 1976. Does that mean that Niki is the wimp?
What Lauda is (probably deliberately) missing is that those drivers who question the ban on TC do so because they feel that it will make driving in the wet more dangerous. They have no problem with the idea otherwise; in fact, their leader, David Coulthard, has said that he enjoys driving without TC. They are merely making a fairly obvious point - that it will be easier to make a mistake when the track is wet and there is no TC to control wheelspin. It's a reasonable point of view.
So Lauda's statement is not a sensible contribution to the debate and it would be better if he held his tongue. But I suppose that would rob F1 of one of its sources of entertainment - as I mentioned before, he is always good for a laugh.
My own opinion is that the drivers have raced without TC before and should have no problems with it this time. I suspect that the GPDA is just making its presence known and covering itself in case there is a really serious accident in a wet race this season. At least then they will be able to say that they told us so.
But that is no reason to suggest they should go back to driving school. Insults are never very helpful in a serious debate.
Niki in 1976
Dear old Niki thinks that, if the idea of racing without traction control scares the drivers, "they need to go back to driving school." Fair enough - that's an opinion held by many in the racing fraternity, I'm sure. But it does seem odd for Lauda to be in that camp.
Isn't this the guy who pulled out of the 1976 Japanese GP, saying that the track was so wet that it was dangerous to continue (and thereby allowing James Hunt the chance to come from behind and take the championship)? It seems a bit unfair for him to throw stones at today's drivers when he withdrew from a race for exactly the reason that concerns the GPDA. I don't recall any of the present drivers refusing to race at Fuji last year, when the weather was actually worse than it was in 1976. Does that mean that Niki is the wimp?
What Lauda is (probably deliberately) missing is that those drivers who question the ban on TC do so because they feel that it will make driving in the wet more dangerous. They have no problem with the idea otherwise; in fact, their leader, David Coulthard, has said that he enjoys driving without TC. They are merely making a fairly obvious point - that it will be easier to make a mistake when the track is wet and there is no TC to control wheelspin. It's a reasonable point of view.
So Lauda's statement is not a sensible contribution to the debate and it would be better if he held his tongue. But I suppose that would rob F1 of one of its sources of entertainment - as I mentioned before, he is always good for a laugh.
My own opinion is that the drivers have raced without TC before and should have no problems with it this time. I suspect that the GPDA is just making its presence known and covering itself in case there is a really serious accident in a wet race this season. At least then they will be able to say that they told us so.
But that is no reason to suggest they should go back to driving school. Insults are never very helpful in a serious debate.