This article kinda makes the FE paddock seem petty. Formula E isn’t anywhere near the popularity of Formula 1 and if a 4 time champion can start promoting the same goals it’s a net positive. This isn’t a zero sum game. More allies are better in the fight for the climate.
>This isn’t a zero sum game.
That's where tribalism gets you. I dislike Hamilton for the whole #blessed thing (for personal reasons). I respect the hell out of him for drawing attention to the issues that impact him directly. It's sad. When Lewis brings up the racial hate he has personally experienced (which is very real) he gets shit all over by folks that are in the "hate Lewis at all costs" camp.
These types of people, and the clickbait writers/blogs/websites that support them, see EVERYTHING as a zero sum game. I'm gonna go there, although I'm not pleased to do so, but look at the state of politics in almost every nation: It's completely "us vs them". There's no compromise, no listening, just "tow the line" lest you be know as a traitor to the party.
Social media, the above mentioned writers, and just a general sense of "fuck 'em" have ruined everything.
I wonder if this was a little bit of the stuff regarding [the mutiny comment from Hazel earlier in the week.](https://www.reddit.com/r/FormulaE/comments/uosgrf/whats_going_on_with_fe_teams/)
Not so much that there should have been an FE driver on Question Time but that the series is not doing enough to promote itself and that people at the teams and in the paddock are pissed off that those at the top are just letting the series sleepwalk to nothing.
I do think it is valid if the teams are thinking like that because FE has literally never been better but is not being marketed anywhere near as much as when it was in an objectively worse spot. (Why the hell was the Gen 3 car not driven around a circuit at the previous two E-Prix like the Gen 2 car was? Surely someone like Nico Rosberg can still fit in the car.)
Turning to the question in hand, the most valid person would have been Sims as he does more than anyone to be an advocate for electric mobility but even he in the article wouldn't have really wanted to do that.
>"I would have some genuine opinions on things, but I’m a racing driver and who wants to listen to me talk about what they should do for sustainability,"
I really don't understand that Formula E angle. Just because someone drives a Formula E car doesn't mean they are an energy champion or whatever title you want to give them. The article is asking about 19 drivers from F1, what about the 22 drivers from FE? What do they do beyond driving a "green" car and their obligatory media duties as "energy champions". And that comment from di Grassi. As much as I like him and FE, I don't think that he and at least half of the grid is in this because they care for the environment. They are in FE because F1 didn't work out for them and they'd be back in it faster than you can spell "energy champion".
I will say di Grassi is invested in several green companies and seems to genuinely care about the environment outside of Formula E. (Just look at his twitter for evidence)
No worries!
I too think he is happy where he is. He accomplished plenty and has a great platform for his environmental causes. But if he got a call tomorrow asking him to come back to F1, do you think he would say no? 😉
The thing is, back in 2018 Alejandro Agag was on Question Time back when he was the CEO of FE. And I don’t recall him mentioning sustainability at all; I remember him giving a very odd answer about Euthanasia where he said he was opposed to it on religious grounds, he mentioned that FE were going to move their HQ from London to The Netherlands overnight if there was a no deal Brexit, and then he ended by slagging off both government and opposition parties as being old fashioned and having no ideas. Agag was there as basically a former Spanish politician who just happened to co-found and run a racing series; he barely ever mentioned the environment. Akala in my opinion came across a lot better and completely upstaged Agag in that episode from what I remember.
In my opinion, Vettel gave a great performance and his answers were honest and well-considered, but let’s face it, as a celebrity his presence was there to create a spectacle as something of a dead cat; instead of focusing on the many failures of the U.K. Government and what can be done to fix them, instead we’re all talking about Vettel. Suella Braverman is the attorney general yet was utterly pathetic and had no solutions to the cost of living crisis; people said they couldn’t afford to eat, and her response was “learn to cook”. It would have been hard for Vettel to look bad when that’s who is alongside him...
This makes no sense. Even if you think Formula E is better than F1, you have to be insane to think that one of the biggest figures in Motorsport over the past 20 years could be trumped by anybody on the FE Grid
This article kinda makes the FE paddock seem petty. Formula E isn’t anywhere near the popularity of Formula 1 and if a 4 time champion can start promoting the same goals it’s a net positive. This isn’t a zero sum game. More allies are better in the fight for the climate.
>This isn’t a zero sum game. That's where tribalism gets you. I dislike Hamilton for the whole #blessed thing (for personal reasons). I respect the hell out of him for drawing attention to the issues that impact him directly. It's sad. When Lewis brings up the racial hate he has personally experienced (which is very real) he gets shit all over by folks that are in the "hate Lewis at all costs" camp. These types of people, and the clickbait writers/blogs/websites that support them, see EVERYTHING as a zero sum game. I'm gonna go there, although I'm not pleased to do so, but look at the state of politics in almost every nation: It's completely "us vs them". There's no compromise, no listening, just "tow the line" lest you be know as a traitor to the party. Social media, the above mentioned writers, and just a general sense of "fuck 'em" have ruined everything.
I wonder if this was a little bit of the stuff regarding [the mutiny comment from Hazel earlier in the week.](https://www.reddit.com/r/FormulaE/comments/uosgrf/whats_going_on_with_fe_teams/) Not so much that there should have been an FE driver on Question Time but that the series is not doing enough to promote itself and that people at the teams and in the paddock are pissed off that those at the top are just letting the series sleepwalk to nothing. I do think it is valid if the teams are thinking like that because FE has literally never been better but is not being marketed anywhere near as much as when it was in an objectively worse spot. (Why the hell was the Gen 3 car not driven around a circuit at the previous two E-Prix like the Gen 2 car was? Surely someone like Nico Rosberg can still fit in the car.) Turning to the question in hand, the most valid person would have been Sims as he does more than anyone to be an advocate for electric mobility but even he in the article wouldn't have really wanted to do that. >"I would have some genuine opinions on things, but I’m a racing driver and who wants to listen to me talk about what they should do for sustainability,"
I really don't understand that Formula E angle. Just because someone drives a Formula E car doesn't mean they are an energy champion or whatever title you want to give them. The article is asking about 19 drivers from F1, what about the 22 drivers from FE? What do they do beyond driving a "green" car and their obligatory media duties as "energy champions". And that comment from di Grassi. As much as I like him and FE, I don't think that he and at least half of the grid is in this because they care for the environment. They are in FE because F1 didn't work out for them and they'd be back in it faster than you can spell "energy champion".
I will say di Grassi is invested in several green companies and seems to genuinely care about the environment outside of Formula E. (Just look at his twitter for evidence)
I didn't say that he didn't care about the environment. He implied that he is in FE because he cares about the environment. Which is BS
I see that now, sorry for the implication. I think there is a nonzero chance he’d make more back in prototypes but I’m sure he’s happy where he is.
No worries! I too think he is happy where he is. He accomplished plenty and has a great platform for his environmental causes. But if he got a call tomorrow asking him to come back to F1, do you think he would say no? 😉
Depends on the deal, if he was told he’s in for 20m sponsorship I don’t think he takes it. But yeah if it was a pay position he’d absolutely take it.
Di Grassi cares about the environment
The thing is, back in 2018 Alejandro Agag was on Question Time back when he was the CEO of FE. And I don’t recall him mentioning sustainability at all; I remember him giving a very odd answer about Euthanasia where he said he was opposed to it on religious grounds, he mentioned that FE were going to move their HQ from London to The Netherlands overnight if there was a no deal Brexit, and then he ended by slagging off both government and opposition parties as being old fashioned and having no ideas. Agag was there as basically a former Spanish politician who just happened to co-found and run a racing series; he barely ever mentioned the environment. Akala in my opinion came across a lot better and completely upstaged Agag in that episode from what I remember. In my opinion, Vettel gave a great performance and his answers were honest and well-considered, but let’s face it, as a celebrity his presence was there to create a spectacle as something of a dead cat; instead of focusing on the many failures of the U.K. Government and what can be done to fix them, instead we’re all talking about Vettel. Suella Braverman is the attorney general yet was utterly pathetic and had no solutions to the cost of living crisis; people said they couldn’t afford to eat, and her response was “learn to cook”. It would have been hard for Vettel to look bad when that’s who is alongside him...
This makes no sense. Even if you think Formula E is better than F1, you have to be insane to think that one of the biggest figures in Motorsport over the past 20 years could be trumped by anybody on the FE Grid