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The Perfect Plan

FEATURE BY MAX NOBLE
03/03/2015

What could possibly go wrong?

When have the plans of mice and men ever gone awry and careered down an unexpected path to a totally unplanned ending? Quite.

So what of young Max Verstappen (who in the world of email naming assignments could end up as VMax, which is yet another indicator of raw speed I'm sure) when he turns a wheel in anger next week in Melbourne? Will it be the birth of a new genius behind the wheel who is set for a decade of global domination when he graduates to Red Bull for the 2016 season, or is it going to end in a first corner fireball, removing half the grid less than twenty seconds into the new season? Or, more probable, some unknown path between these two extremes.

Well as with most of life's puzzles, just give it time and the answer will reveal itself. In the meantime no harm in a little speculation in the spirit of cheerful debate.

If it goes all too well for young Max, then it makes all those 'old' drivers on the grid look like they protest too much about the pains and complexities of driving a modern Formula One car. Here is a kid, who does not yet hold a license for the public road, running rings around them. Who looks silliest then? The FIA for proving PlayStation generation kids are better than experienced drivers? The older drivers for not admitting it's easier than it looks? The manufacturers for making cars that any young chap (or chapess?) can drive flat out? Or the circuit designers for removing all the corners that actually required any skill to navigate?

Well it would all depend on just how impressive Max's performance is. At the modest end of the scale out-pacing his team mate by a fraction is not going to do too much harm to anyone other than his team mate. At the extreme of finishing on the podium (dare one say winning his first race, for the sake of our mind exercise?) then all the above horrors could come to roost for their worried owners.

If it goes badly for Max? Well crashes at the first corner (especially Melbourne, the season opener) are not that uncommon. As long as everyone walks away with no more than a mild shake-up and the need for a make-up call prior to the TV interview then no major harm done; yet Max for causing it, and the FIA for allowing it would be clear losers in this scenario. If Max were then to have 'an attack of the Grosjean's' and find new and unexpected ways to snap carbon fibre at every race start... well, we all know where that would end around mid-season.

So, the only common group to suffer if Max does really really well, or horribly badly, is the FIA. They are the only people with it all to lose and nothing to gain (other than all the global headlines about this young Max chap gaining them air time and column inches).

It is most probable that neither extreme (thankfully) will be visited and some, currently unknown, middle path will be forged by young Max. He beats his team mate, finishes midfield with no major dramas. Job done. World not collapsing. Same if he is just behind his team mate. This is the only scenario in which the FIA will neither win nor lose.

Wait! We have one more group to consider dear reader. Us the fans.

Do we win or lose more in one outcome than the other? Well for once it looks like us poor fans have been gifted a win-win scenario. Max pulls off a flyer, and other than complaining that the cars are clearly too easy to drive (as we all know from our Playstations) we win the delight of a new talent dancing around the old boys. Max shreds carbon fibre faster than Romain Grosjean can say "Sorry, didn't see you", and we all have the smug delight of saying 'I told you so!' as there commences much hand-wringing and grinding of teeth about how foolish the FIA was to ever let this happen. Max drives the middle path. A robust "OK". We then get to watch the increasingly interesting interviews as he and the team speak of their respect and love for one another, before a mid-season exit and a glowing introduction for the next great new thing. Goodness. I cannot see a way in which we the fans can lose from this.

So one assumes that when they asked themselves "What could possibly go wrong?" and stamped his super-license, the FIA was confident he would be OK, nothing more, nothing less. If that turns out to be true, it could all go wrong for young Max, as Red Bull supply him with personal, very speedy, mid-season exit wings, or this time round, did the FIA sit back and say "You know, this one we are going to do for the fans!"

Max Noble.

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READERS COMMENTS

 

1. Posted by Vinicius, 04/03/2015 17:13

"The kids playing racing simulators today knows much more than F1 specialists about driving a car. We have to give credit and listen to them."

Rating: Positive (1)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by cricketpo, 04/03/2015 2:43

"I suspect that young Verstappen will career off on lap 37 as his tyres go off the boil, with the realisation that no amount of gaming prepared him for the moment he randomly loses grip half way through a corner. "

Rating: Positive (2)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by FormulaMcGruff, 04/03/2015 2:02

"You bring up some interesting points here. I especially enjoy the possibilities you proposed at the conclusion.
Great read, keep em coming!
-FormulaMcGruff "

Rating: Positive (3)     Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by alfsboy, 03/03/2015 22:21

"Max picked the wrong team for f3 and has now done it in F1 .The first deal is not always the best ."

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5. Posted by Steve W, 03/03/2015 11:49

"Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen seem to have turned out OK. Oh, I forgot, they were 'old guys' when they started... "

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6. Posted by FormulaFun, 03/03/2015 11:31

"Some very strong points here max, I think we should really consider the idea that the new generation may have a slight upper hand thanks to gaming such as Playststion and all the racing titles it gives gamers to run the tracks for themselves and keep honing their skills. Another very well written article with some key points that raise good issues in the F1 community -FormulaFun "

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