F1: Speed replaced at STR

[-pru-]

Bummer: http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/61233

[sidney]

I never drank Red Bull, but if I did, they wouldn't get another dime out of me. It sounds like driving in F1 can really suck unless you are with the upper tier of the grid. Berger and the rest of those guys just want somone who can filter dollars into their backmarker team. Vettel is a fool for leaving BMW for those guys.

All the guys who seem to have a good time and really care about racing have left F1 -- Jordan, Stoddart, Stewart, etc. I hope Speed finds his way to Champ car. Send Vettel and the frog to Torro Rosso and buy stock in carbon fiber!

Rant Over...

[Ted Idlof]

After what Scott said publicly, you almost ask, why'd it take so long? Guess it took a few days to pry Vettel away from BMW.

I would like to think that SeaBass will make an "American series" breakthrough next year but I'm not holding my breath.

[Keith Carter]

I bet we'll see speed in ChampCar soon unless he gets some kind of stock car offer and makes the same mistake that AJ Hum-dinger made. You can be a great driver in F1, but if you drive for a backmarker team and don't perform well because of the team/equipment you are perceived as being
a slow driver. DC and Rubino used to win races so I doubt they somehow forgot how to drive. Not really a fair deal, but someone has to be the scapegoat.

[greg pizzo]

he still gets paid !! thanks to his Dad ... who had the contract rewritten whether he drives or not he still gets paid .
Scott was good for F1 in the US ... maybe not the best politician but after all he is a driver and from what I hear good with fans .. F1 needs that too !!

if NASCAR does one thing well ..........it is its involvement of the fans and the perception that the driver are accessable and that makes NASCAR most of what it is ....... a GREAT show for the fans ....

I Hope Scott gets a GOOD ride here in the states !!! and SOON ... WITHOUT fenders !!!

second redbull car at RA ?????please !!!

[Thomas Copeland]

You need to understand the timeline on this story. Speed was brought into STR before Berger bought an interest in the team. From the moment Berger became part-owner of STR Speed was doomed. Berger hates American drivers and has never rated any American driver as being worth a damn. It was only a matter of time until this came to a head.

[dc]

Speed Hits Back



I don't think anyone could blame him for anything he said about that team. Torro Rosso seems to be a bit out of control at the moment...

[greg pizzo]

Berger is STILL A big time partier !! ......... seems he came to the track LATE (like an hour late) to the race ..... because he couldnt function ...... later Scott and him had a major shouting match about it...... and have not been on anything like friendly terms since then ........

From what I hear it is ALOT about the FUNNEL and not somuch about the RACING... I mean GEEZZ at Indy scott had the fasteset trap speed ...... an engineer MIGHT think .... maybe we need some WING in this thing for the OTHER side of the track ..... and give up a few MPH ...

[RacerDave51]

From one of the F1 sites:

"Sebastian Vettel has joined Scuderia Toro Rosso with immediate effect. The BMW Sauber F1 Team has agreed to release the 20-year-old from Heppenheim. He replaces Scott Speed, following the American's clash with team boss Franz Tost at the Grand Prix of Europe."

Now we'll see what a turd the Toro Rosso F1 car is when Vettel can't do anything with it.

[John Nesbitt]

From Planet F1:


"Toro Rosso have announced that Sebastian Vettel has secured a drive with the team for 2008.


Ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix team boss Gerhard Berger says that the young German is a long-term acquisition for the Italian team.


"There is no pressure at all on Sebastian," said Berger."



'Berger and Tost' -- sounds more like a diner than a race team.

[RacerDave51]

Quote from autosport:

Tost: Speed replaced over performance

By Steve Cooper and Pablo ElizaldeThursday, August 2nd 2007, 15:47 GMT

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost has said Scott Speed was replaced at the Italian squad because he wasn't performing as expected.
Speed has been replaced by German Sebastian Vettel for the remaining part of the season following the European Grand Prix, where the American and Tost were involved in an altercation.
Speed accused Tost of having grabbed him by the neck following a heated discussing after he had spun out of the race.
The driver said after the race that "you couldn't pay me enough money to race for those two people (Tost and Gerhard Berger) again".
Tost, however, has said that Speed was replaced because of his performances.


Ya right--he consistently out performed his team mate...

[sidney]

Obviously Vettel needs to be sacked, he is 20th after the second practice and clearly he should be in the top ten based on what he did at Indy...Oh wait, now he's driving Burger's pile-o-poo.

Not a Tonio Fan, but at least he's quicker than the kid so far.

[RacerDave51]

This link is to a piece if you're Scott Speed fan...

http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/mod...icle&sid=62005

[Mark H]

You had to wonder what was going on when STR took so long to get Scott in the car giving him almost zero pre season testing? That put him behind the 8 ball from the rip.

When Speed joined F1 last season I hadn't seen any live interviews of him, and got the impression that he was kinda cocky. But once I started getting his F1 interviews I thought wow this guy is kinda cool, always up beat, smiling and just down to earth, or well, as down to earth as you can be from Calf? (hey I take all the redneck stuff with a smile)

Remember this IS the old Manardi team, so what did you expect from the car? Liuzzi at least made it into the second knock out round today, while Vettel was only able to out pace the Spykers.
Vettel is kinda on the same program as Speed, being a Red Bull "Young Gun", but will Speed remain under the Red Bull tent following his fallout with STR? After all I'm sure Mateschitz pulls all the strings and has the final say?