PDA

View Full Version : Mikeys Conspiracy Theories


Trevor Longman
11-15-12, 08:28 PM
http://www.gordonkirby.com/categories/columns/theway/2012/the_way_it_is_no361.html

"Ron Dennis and Bernie Ecclestone conspired to make me look bad"

Michael believes Dennis and Bernie Ecclestone conspired to make him look bad.

"The international appeal of the CART series was strong in the mid-nineties and Bernie was worried about our series," Michael says. "I think I was used as a tool. I think Bernie and Ron were in it together. I think they wanted to discredit me because I was one of the big guys in Indy cars and they wanted to make me look like a wanker so they could say we couldn't make it in Formula One. That's what I believe happened.

"They were all in it together. They were all making millions, hundreds of millions of dollars. They were all in business together. Racing is secondary in Formula One. Nobody really cares about what's going on the racetrack. It's unbelievable!"

Adds Michael: "We tested in Spain the day after the race that year and both me and Ayrton were within a tenth of a second of each other and were running times that would have put us on the front row. Ayrton had qualified third and I was about 20th. So I was saying, 'I'm not doing anything different. How can this be?' And they were saying, 'Oh, Ayrton doesn't test that fast.' And I said, 'But our times are quick enough today to be on the front row.'."

Michael swears that a key McLaren team member deactivated his car's active suspension system for qualifying that weekend.

"Someone shut my beacon off in qualifying," he insists disgustedly. "I know who it was--a guy who didn't want me there at all. He shut my beacon off and those were all active cars and my car was just lost. The ride heights were changing and it was downshifting in the middle of the corners and I qualified 16th or something. That night Ron said, 'I want you out of the car after the race.'

"I finished sixth in the race. I passed Barrichello on the last turn on the last lap to get in the points and Ron called and said, 'I want you out of the car.' We fought from race to race. That was the sixth race and I made it all the way to Monza fighting to stay in the car. And finally they put Mika (Hakkinen) in who never was quicker than me in testing."

I guess at the end of the day saying:

"Ron Dennis and Bernie Ecclestone conspired to make me look bad"

is much better for your ego than:

"I got my ass handed to me because I am nowhere as talented as I thought I was"
Gnam
11-15-12, 08:35 PM
http://s12.postimage.org/d36lt06fh/michael_andretti_image_01_emailable.jpg
mapguy
11-15-12, 11:54 PM
:thumbup:
gerhard911
11-15-12, 11:59 PM
:thumbup:

Not the finger I would raise to the :cry: lesser...
Napoleon
11-16-12, 07:01 AM
:thumbup::thumbup:

And his theory makes no sense. Does anyone seriously think that they would bring Mike on board just to stick it to him?
chop456
11-16-12, 07:19 AM
Yeah, that Hakkinen guy sucked. :laugh:

No doubt Mikey could have won 2 WDCs after almost having his melon yanked off.
gjc2
11-16-12, 08:22 AM
I thought it was odd that he was fired after his first podium finish.
Andrew Longman
11-16-12, 10:16 AM
Seems odd that this version of his much reported tenure in F1 is being told only now.

No doubt though that F1 views the driver as the least reliable and most frustrating part of the very expensive and complicated engineering solution to the problem of beating the competition.

And Senna had much the same view of the politics in F1. Mansell, Zinardi, Fittipaldi, and others too. Seems odd though that Mickey didn't mention any consultation he got from his about how to prepare for F1. Fittipaldi yes, but nothing from his dad. IIRC everyone pretty much knew McLaren would struggle that year without Honda power. Why Mickey even took the ride is a bit of a mystery.
nrc
11-16-12, 11:49 AM
So if Mikey's problem in F1 was just his talent then the F1 folks are correct that the talent at the front of the Indy Car grid back in those days wasn't all that good.

I don't buy that. Mikey's problem was equal parts his attitude, approach, and politics. Mikey deserves all the disdain that he's earned over the years but he was one of CART's best drivers during its greatest period.
NismoZ
11-16-12, 12:50 PM
Geez, finally a couple that actually make sense. :thumbup:
Rogue Leader
11-16-12, 01:19 PM
So if Mikey's problem in F1 was just his talent then the F1 folks are correct that the talent at the front of the Indy Car grid back in those days wasn't all that good.

I don't buy that. Mikey's problem was equal parts his attitude, approach, and politics. Mikey deserves all the disdain that he's earned over the years but he was one of CART's best drivers during its greatest period.

I agree, such as his insistence to live in the US during the season. you can't be sharp enough to be competitive in F1 when you are taking across the pond flights weekly.

JV showed up in F1 from Indy Cars a few years later and was WDC by his second year, so there goes that theory.
JohnHKart
11-17-12, 03:34 AM
Yea and pouty Michael's insistence on flying across time zones after each race living in Nazareth instead of in Woking where he should have been was also part of the conspiracy. Jackass . :yuck:
JohnHKart
11-17-12, 03:36 AM
I thought it was odd that he was fired after his first podium finish.

A lap down , but still third. Could have won the race.
RTKar
11-17-12, 11:47 AM
Yea and pouty Michael's insistence on flying across time zones after each race living in Nazareth instead of in Woking where he should have been was also part of the conspiracy. Jackass . :yuck:

I'm trying to recall....was he still married to Sandy at the time? I think so. Maybe she had something to do with that decision. She was a piece of work.
Michael had the talent to be at the front of the grid but driving on a team with Senna, he probably wouldn't have had as much team support. I recall him being overly aggressive at every race, once the pressure was off, (him being fired), he performed.

The best part of his situation was we got to see Mansell drive in person.
mapguy
11-19-12, 06:33 PM
I'm trying to recall....was he still married to Sandy at the time?

Yep. Read that the team were not too pleased with her leopard print suit she wore in the team garage in Monaco. Also at Monaco her and Mikey wanted to watch different tv shows in their hotel room. So she bought an expensive tv and left it behind.