The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Disliked Driver of the Year

[teabagyokel]

Welcome to this year's Clip the Apex Awards! We have a lavish dinner booked*, Murray Walker booked to present* and a whole range of former World Champions to give out trophies*. All F1's greats will be there*.

A new format will be in place this year in which the average Apex Clipper will have 7 days to vote on each award before it is replaced by the next. There will be at least 10 awards to keep us going over the close season.

The first award is Driver of the Year. All 2009 F1 drivers are nominated; please choose based on good form in 2009 rather than personal driver preferences. In the case of a tie, a run off will be held.

The 2008 winner of this award (like most of them actually) was Lewis Hamilton. You will not be allowed to change your vote so X that box carefully!

*No we haven't; its just a load of straw polls

 

[teabagyokel]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Driver of the Year

Congratulations to Lewis Hamilton: Driver of the Year for the second year running.

For posterity, the results of the poll are:

L Hamilton 7

J Button   5

S Vettel   2

N Rosberg  2

Now Team of the Year, all teams nominated. Last year's winner: McLaren!

 

[Speshal]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team of the Year

I thought about Brawn but they had a race winner out of the box and didn't really improve over the season.

So, for team effort I have gone for McLaren for turning a sow's ear into a silk purse - tremendous team effort after the disaster that was pre-season testing and they realised they all had to pull it all together to get any sort of result (despite the loss of staff )

You can't polish a turd, but you can put a bow on it.

 

[fat jez]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team of the Year

I thought about Brawn but they had a race winner out of the box and didn't really improve over the season.

So, for team effort I have gone for McLaren for turning a sow's ear into a silk purse - tremendous team effort after the disaster that was pre-season testing and they realised they all had to pull it all together to get any sort of result (despite the loss of staff )

I'd say the same, for the same reasons. Brawn may have had the best car on the grid at the start of the season, but McLaren are clearly the most improved team. RB just didn't have the reliability and Ferrari just didn't have the drivers (not after Massa was taken out anyway).

 

[Speshal]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team of the Year

I would have voted for Red Bull as most improved from 2008 but they managed to enter the season with a very well designed car even though they were aware of the double defuser, Mr Newey (even tho he did destroy a GT40) designed a monster but like the brawns they only made incremental advances throughout the season and again it seems Vettel can only win from pole.

I'll still tick with the silver arrows

 

[cider_and_toast]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team of the Year

I was going to plump for Red Bull but with the number of Mechanical failures the team had and the fact that I felt they just didn't quite grasp the opportunities as they were presented made me rule them out. I also looked at the Mclarens but couldn't get over the fact that they had such a poor start and let's not forget the "telling porkies" incident in Australia. Dosn't matter who's fault it was, they win as a team and they loose as a team. So for me that ruled them out.

I just couldn't over look the Brawns this year. Yes they had the best car out of the box and yes it had the advantage of the double diffuser (but then so did Toyota and Williams) but that was only part of the story. Ok, so the rags to riches story the press like to tell is at best exagerated and at worse total rubbish but the turmoil the team found themselves in at the start of the season would have been enough to un-settle most. They came through that and started the season with car that was the class of the field. It kept winning across the season (even though not in the hands of the WDC elect) and made 2 drivers who a lot of people thought had had there best days look a cut above the rest.

 

[rufus_mcdufus]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team of the Year

I was going for RBR too, but Brawn simply couldn't be ignored and it would seem somewhat perverse not to vote for the, despite them not improving the actual car very much over the course of the season itself. I have the most admiration for McLaren for the massive improvements they made - but then to design a total turkey over winter drops their score for me.

 

[FB]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team of the Year

For me it could only be Brawn. The speed of the car at the start of the season was incredible and although they didn't improve the car as much as others through the season it was so far ahead they didn't need to. I agree with all the rags to riches stuf being complete guff but as others have said for the team to maintain their focus was brilliant, I just wish they erm, would get rid of erm, Nick erm, "Mr Bean" erm, Fry.

 

[teabagyokel]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team of the Year

Another 16 vote poll, and we move on with these results posted here for posterity:

Brawn 9

McLaren 4

Red Bull 3

So a first win in any poll for not McLaren.

Now the best race of the year, won last year by Belgium!

 

[FB]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Race of the Year

I'm gonna go for Brazil - the most exciting qualifying of the season which generated the most exciting race thanks to the topsy turvy grid.

 

[Boyle]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Race of the Year

It is a tough call between Oz and Brazil (sad that there are only 2 options IMO) but I am going to go for the season opener. The whole race was packed with incident and it was completely unpredictable with KERS, slicks and double diffusers!

 

[Muddytalker]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Race of the Year

I'd go with Brazil too. Real racing on a real track.

 

[fedupwithuserids]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Race of the Year

I voted Brazil, for the obvious reasons.

Since the fans vote on racing qualities it shows the truth about Tilke's/Bernie's money making tracks.

 

[teabagyokel]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Race of the Year

Brazilian GP beats the Australian GP 10-5; so is the race of the year 2009.

A bit of light relief from these serious polls now with Team Radio of the Year!

 

[Boyle]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team Radio of the Year

It's got to be FELIPE BABY!

 

[Enja]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team Radio of the Year

It's a shame there isn't a recording of Buemi/Vettel (I'm not even sure which one it is) who is reported to have said

"Nooooooooooo! I am in ze gravel!"

Although I can't actually verify this and haven't heard it myself.

That would be my vote, if it was possible.

 

[teabagyokel]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team Radio of the Year

If you had proof of such a recording, I would be delighted to restart the vote!

What a response to being in ze gravel though

It wins the Clip the Apex Award for Maybe Team Radio of the Year!

 

[McZiderRed]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team Radio of the Year

Provisionally, my vote is for Felipe Baby!

If, however, the lost team radio of "ze gravel" is found, then my vote will reside there!

 

[teabagyokel]

Re: The Clip the Apex Awards 2009: Team Radio of the Year

So the results are in for Team Radio of the Year, and the winner is Rob Smedley and his "Calm down" comment, although we'd like to mention "I am in ze gravel" which we don't know exists, but could well have won if it did.

12 votes were cast thus:

Calm down, Felipe Baby 7

We are the Champions 2

Car is a Monster 1

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes... 1

I think they should put glasses on 1

This week it is time for mistake of the year 2009, won so spectacularly by Lewis Hamilton in Canada!

 

[snowy]

Fail of the year



I am tempted to vote for Hamilton vs the Stewards, however there was a catalogue of mistakes involved in this incident. The catalyst being David Ryan's tragically misguided call to let Trully retake his position. Then compounding it with another mistake to deny ever having made that call. Then to brief his driver who had already gone on record to the media that he was told to let Trully past, to tell the stewards nothing that might help Trully keep his place. Then Lewis going along with that plan. Then thinking they had got away with it for a whole week. Then lying to the stewards a second time!

It woud definately qualify for "Catalogue of Mistakes for the Year" but isolate any one of those mistakes and they are not that great, it was the accumulative effect that made it so horrendous. Thank goodness we had PK and Crashgate otherwise we'd still be laughing and crying and sighing about Liegate today.

I have to vote for the monsoon.

But it was a really close call with Sutil nerfing Heidfeld, which was definately an appalling piece of driving.