The worst team principal? Sassetti. Or someone similar...
Poll The Worst Team Principal?
- Thread starter Il_leone
- Start date
Il_leone
World Champion
I was wondering when Pollock was going to be voted because he really had his mind poisoned by Jacques Villeneuve and went along with it
Asked if his job was under pressure in 1999 when the team had no points , his response was " There will be a few heads rolling before mine" - hardly motivating the already stressed out engineers - apparently they were working 16 hours a day and JV and Pollock showed no gratitude
There was an article in Autosport on the failure of Honda going right back to BAR days a few years when Honda pulled out of F1, the engineers apparently got drunk at Monaco one night to relieve some of the stresses and intense pressure they were under
One of the engineers had enough and wanted out and he spoke to a lawyer just to make sure he would be compensated for being forced to quit due to unreasonable work demands, stress , pressure and bullying etc and got his clause sorted
Two days later Pollock sacks a host of engineers .
Sponsors BAT could not understand how BAR overspent by $20m or so
A harsh lesson in humility and showing respect to the establishment and not to mess with Bernie
No one was sorry Pollock left
Loads of people thought Pollock would be brill but he was just a fish out of water, as soon as the team started floundering he just seemed to be pouting all the time.
But Pollock was very good at being JV's manager. He got JV what was probably the second highest rate on the grid (shame that JV had to give some of it to his manager) whilst being one of the worst drivers.
I simply do not understand how the money providers can fail to spot has gone on at a number of teams. To me it looks like one of the biggest blot on F1.
I simply do not understand how the money providers can fail to spot has gone on at a number of teams. To me it looks like one of the biggest blot on F1.
Can we add Niki Lauda to the list?
I agree with that, I don't think Briatore, Dennis, LdM, Todt, Horner, Sir Frank or Ken Tyrell should really be up there because they're all World Champions; and EJ punched above his weight too.
If I was an eccentric rich guy who wanted an F1 team, I wouldn't get Briatore into my team because I would always think he was acting for his own interests. But that doesn't mean he's not won 3 Constructors' titles...
Il_leone
World Champion
I only ask for people's view to see out of his interest as F1 has had its interesting characters of team principals and some that turned up to be absolute muppets and some absolute scoundrels and other words not appropriate here
He is up there under Rahal (Bobby Rahal) and Neil Ressler I've put them together on the poll because Jaguar changed their team principal nearly every season
i've sent a request to the admin guys to add Lauda - I did not think he did anything wrong so care to share your view
Il_leone
World Champion
That was the problem at BAR for a start JV got away with anything no matter if he was right or wrong he always had Pollock to back him
Spare a thought to those stressed out engineers trying to get the car right no wonder it was brittle if they were working under severe pressure and using the wrong practices despite warnings
Just ask ZOnta when he and JV tangled at Hockenheim 2000 ...Pollock was obviously going to side with JV on that account
Pollock to JV/BAR is like Briatore to ALonso/ Renault the difference was Renault knew it was a five year plan and were working towards it each year despite setbacks .... BAR tried to do things in 1 year !!! it was never going to work
BAT - the sponsors cared about was exposure so if Pollock came along saying we are going to run a new team with the world champion of 1997 plus we want to market the cars in both brands 555 and Lucky Strike.... money talks obviously that is until they realised it was against the rule book - whoops.
However Pollock was stubborn about it and wanting the cars in both liveries and was overruled before the cars even turned a wheel at its first GP -- some attention already for trying to take on the establishment and losing - not really endearingyourself into the F1 circus by getting off to a rocky start
Pollock was JV's school teacher if I remember rightly and their closeness was always going to affect the way the team performs and cloud his judgement
Pollock did get JV a ridiculous salary something like £10 - £15m a year based on his world champion status and when BAR under Richards wanted JV to take a pay cut to spend more money on development it was met with " Get Lost" and the start of JV's decline
He is not a team principal as in being given the title of but he might as well be the way things Red Bull and Toro Rosso are run
My reason behind it is Horner and Tost are just two puppets on a string at Red Bull and Toro Rosso and Helmut is Dieter's right hand man.
Every time there is a mention about drivers driving for which team who decides it ? Its Marko just look at Toro Rosso who spoke about replacing Buemi and Alguarsauri not Tost but Marko saying they aint good enough
Horner just seems to follow what Helmut says and never dares to cross him ...I point to Turkey last year when Vettel and Webber crashed into each other. At the race Horner said the blame was on Vettel - a few days after Helmut Marko suggests Webber should have given more space , Horner changes his tune to yeah maybe it was Webber's fault
Obviously Horner has made one or two other bungling decisions which is why he is on this list
It surprised me how Tom Walkinshaw never achieved the success had with Jagaur in F1 although he was responsible for making Benetton more organised whilst Flavio was sitting on the pitwall before taking over the Ligier team
His ambitious venture into Arrows did not pull off although getting Hill was a big coup and then John Barnard.
The promised money from Prince Malik did not materialise in 1998 . A resurgence from 1999 saw them getting close to the front teams a few times but never quite getting the results. His biggest mistake was firing Verstappen when Frentzen was free after Prost team folded. He obviously failed to remember Orange sponsored the team based on Verstappen being there
His other dealings were getting Cosworth engines in exchange for giving Jaguar a wind tunnel instead of £10m lease fee
I actually met one of his cousins on holiday in Majorca a few years back and she did mention his failed ventures in Rugby and Motor racing and apparently he had an extra marital affair as well
I take your point that they've been proven winners but they 've made a few poor decisions and bad management along the way
up until crash gate which made me realise Briatore has actually left a trail of drivers where he benefitted financially but ruined their careers. I would have probably gone for Todt or Pollock.
Its interesting to see that despite the success that Todt bought to Ferrari it has not been universally appreciated at Maranello as Luca carefully started to dissamble it starting with asking Schumy to be equal status to Kimi for 2007 then not letting Brawn be promoted to succeed Todt and Stepney obviously was not happy his job changed as well before spygate
landogeorgelewis1
Champion Elect
Has to be Horner for me, he's a joke of a team principal. I just can't take him seriously at times and he doesn't handle controversey well. It's not that i hate him i just don't like him.
Il_leone
World Champion
that is why I put him on here he is absolutely useless without Adrian Newey and has no backbone in his decisions and especially when Helmut gets involved.
The only thing I wished happen last year was Webber actually pass Vettel at Silverstone and then say 2 years in a row over the radio or some reference about No 2 driver again at Horner
landogeorgelewis1
Champion Elect
TBH Sly - I think Helmut Marko is the one thats really in charge at Red Bull, i think Horners just there because their want someone to look pretty.
Il_leone
World Champion
I am saying he is puppet on a string and without Newey the team would not achieve much to be fair. I don't think Horner can manage Hamilton and Vettel in the same team to be honest if that did happen
it is his good fortune he is surrounded by good people that do not need much inspiration from him much like Flavio Briatore
I don;t see Horner getting ruthless with his drivers over mistakes and accidents like Turkey last year.
Red Bull were a midfield team and its only when they got Newey they suddenly leap to the front
Il_leone
World Champion
that is why I put Helmut on this list - see the recent handling of STR drivers - Helmut decides who drives and why ? then Horner like a dog licking his boots says " STR is an opportunity for young drivers under Red Bull to get a chance of F1 etc"
If Helmut had his own way Mark Webber would not be at Red Bull this season
I voted Flavio although I can't stand Horner due to his tedious mono tone voice but that doesn't make him a bad manager I don't think you can beat Briatore for his pure bloody arrogance
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