thisisyourdriverspeaking

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

I know this isn’t a revolutionary take or anything but it’s sad and honestly horrifying how social media has turned activism into a competition of who is the most morally pure person rather than it being about creating genuine, positive change for society as a whole

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Morskie Oko. June 2024

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

US border customs almost denying Yuki entry into the country and interrogating him for 2-3 hours is fucking insane-Mind you he's a Japanese citizen with a clearance for US travel and entered the country multiple times this year for other events. And then not letting him call the team or F1 officials to prove his reasons for entry.

Ban US races on god.

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

[YUKI] media day, vegas gp 2024

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Press con questions that weren't shown:

Q: (Jenna Fryer – Associated Press) George, were you guys blindsided by this or have any idea that it was coming or under consideration, that a change in Race Director was coming? GR: No, no idea whatsoever. So, yeah, as I said, it was a bit of a bit of surprise.

Q: (Luke Smith – The Athletic) George, has there been any response from the FIA or the FIA president to what the GPDA put out? GR: No. Not at the moment, which I'm a little bit surprised about, to be fair. But maybe there'll be something to come. Who knows?

Q: (Ben Hunt – Autosport) It's obviously very disappointing to learn from you that there's no transparency at all from the FIA. Was there any response about where the money's going from for all these fines and all that sort of stuff? Because that's another key element which we would quite like to know as well. GR: No, I think ultimately for us, when we were hearing from the FIA a couple of years ago, when it came to the Presidential elections, they were talking about transparency, talking about where the money is going to be reinvested into grassroots racing, which we're all in favour for. And of course, when it comes to some of these large fines, there's a number of drivers on the grid who can comfortably afford these fines. There's maybe some rookies on the grid that if they're handed a $1 million fine, you know, they can't afford this. But if we know where that's being sort of reinvested and if it's going into grassroots or into some training programs, then we get it. As I said, I think we just want the transparency and understanding of what was promised from the beginning.

Q: (Kevin Scheuren – Motorsport-total.com) A question to George as well on that topic. Isn't it a bad sign that you need to open up a social media account to make your voices heard as a collective? Because it sometimes seems, looking from the outside, that the individual, if the individual has an opinion on stuff, he faces repercussions. Now you have to work as a collective. Are you more or less a pawn in this game? Do you drivers feel sometimes more or less as a pawn in this game, not taken serious? GR: I think we've probably learned from the past that whenever we have spoken up, let's say internally, it hasn't gone anywhere. And as I said, as drivers, we only want the best for the sport. We want to improve it, especially on safety grounds, but whenever it comes to, you know, decisions in the race, we only want to help. And it's been a couple of years now that not much has changed when we have sort of given some views forward. And I guess we all wanted to show that we are collectively united. And maybe that will show how seriously we feel as a whole on the subject.

Q: (Andrew Benson – BBC Sport) George, it's been seven years since the GPDA had put out a public statement of this kind about something they were concerned about. What level of confidence do the drivers have in the leadership of the FIA at the moment? GR: I mean, I'm not too sure to be honest. We recognise everybody's working as hard as they can to do the best job possible. There is obviously a huge amount of change within the FIA quite regularly, so it's clearly not the most stable of places. And maybe that's why it's been a bit challenging to get some of the changes that we've wanted implemented. Of course, everyone has their own side to their own story. But as I said, I think if we feel that we're being listened to and some of the changes that we are experiencing, requesting, are implemented, because ultimately we're only doing it for the benefit of the sport, then maybe our confidence will increase. But yeah, I think there's a number of drivers who feel probably a bit fed up with the whole situation. And it only seems to be going in, to a degree, the wrong direction.

Q: (Jordan Bianchi – The Athletic) For all three drivers: you returned to Vegas this year. A year ago, there was a lot of hype and excitement about this race. I'm curious, now that you come back here for a second time, what's the atmosphere like that you guys have kind of experienced so far? Kevin, let's start with you.

GR: Yeah, I mean, it definitely feels strange, this Grand Prix, just living in the night. And like Kevin says, the atmosphere builds up during the course of the weekend. So, yeah, let's see how it goes.

Q: (Anna Cordera – Momentum Racing) George, I'd like to ask you, you've been racing with Lewis for almost three years. What do you think is going to be different now you being the veteran of the team racing with Kimi, regarding the development of the car? GR: Yeah, I mean, ultimately, for most F1 teams, you have near on 1,000 people who are working towards building these two cars, yet you only have two drivers driving it. So, I think, let's say, in Lewis, in my case, it was never that Lewis had a stronger voice. The team listened to us both equally because both of our opinions were extremely important. And the same going into next year. You know, Kimi's new. He's fresh. And I'm sure he's going to have a lot of great ideas to bring to the table. So, you know, I am the more experienced of the two, but we will both get equal voices the same way, and we will both equally contribute towards the development the same way as it was with Lewis and I.

Q: (Ian Parkes – New York Times) Sorry, another question to you, George. George, is it that difficult to try and get a sit-down face-to-face meeting with the President of the FIA to discuss all these issues, that you have to go down the route that you did with that message? GR: It's definitely not difficult to get a sit down, but I think getting things to change or getting promises upheld seems slightly more challenging. So, it's maybe the FIA or the president didn't recognise how seriously we all felt. So I think that's why over the course of 20 races this year and also even last year we spoke about a number of topics, all of the drivers, we all feel pretty similar. We all know what we want from the sport and the direction it's been heading and we probably feel that we want to do a small U-turn on a number of topics and just want to work together with the FIA on this. And that's just what we've felt has not been happening at all, at least directly from the President.

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Me reaching what looks suspiciously to be the end of my rope: oobh i got plany off rope

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

I feel like Vegas is either gonna be completely dead or be a complete shitshow. No inbetween.

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Part 2 of the 'Indy 500 tunes' posts. This is the 1997 edition, with 35 entries because an extra 2 drivers were allowed to start the race (I didn't know that I'm new okay). Enjoy 😊

Arie Luyendyk (Car 5) - Monica - For You I Will

Tony Stewart (Car 2) - Hanson - MMMbop

Vincenzo Sospiri (Car 8) - Paula Cole - Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

Robbie Buhl (Car 3) - Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack

Scott Goodyear (Car 6) - Savage Garden - I Want You

Jim Guthrie (Car 27) - Sheryl Crow - Everyday Is A Winding Road

Jeff Ward (Car 52) - Billy Lawrence ft MC Lyte - Come On

Davey Hamilton (Car 14) - 112 - Cupid

Eliseo Salazar (Car 7) - Az Yet ft Peter Cetera - Hard To Say I'm Sorry

Buddy Lazier (Car 91) - Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina

Eddie Cheever (Car 51) - Westside Connection - Gangstas Make The World Go Round

Robby Gordon (Car 42) - Mint Condition - You Don't Have To Hurt No More

Stephan Gregoire (Car 77) - Yvette Michele - I'm Not Feeling You

Affonso Giaffone (Car 17) - Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing

Kenny Brack (Car 4) - Jewel - Foolish Games

Buzz Calkins (Car 12) - The Verve Pipe - The Freshmen

Jack Miller (Car 40) - Montell Jordan - What's On Tonight

Mike Groff (Car 10) - Rome - I Belong To You (Every Time I See Your Face)

Roberto Guerrero (Car 21) - Bruce Springsteen - Secret Garden

Steve Kinser (Car 44) - Michael Jackson - Blood On The Dance Floor

Robbie Groff (Car 30) - 702 - Get It Together

Billy Boat (Car 11) - B-Rock & The Bizz - My Baby Daddy

Sam Schmidt (Car 16) - Changing Faces - G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T.

Billy Roe (Car 50) - Richard Marx - Until I Find You Again

Mark Dismore (Car 28) - White Town - Your Woman

Tyce Carlson (Car 18) - Babyface - Every Time I Close My Eyes

Marco Greco (Car 22) - Toni Braxton - I Love Me Some Him

Dennis Vitolo (Car 54) - Da Brat ft T-Boyz - Ghetto Love

Fermin Velez (Car 33) - Warren G - I Shot The Sheriff

Greg Ray (Car 97) - The Brand New Heavies - Sometimes

Alessandro Zampedri (Car 34) - Heavy-D - Big Daddy

Claude Bourbannais (Car 72) - DJ Taz ft Raheem The Dream - That's Right

Paul Durant (Car 1) - The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotise

Lyn St James (Car 90) - Too Short & Lil Kim - Call Me

Johnny Unser (Car 9) - Spice Girls - Wannabe

Added to this Spotify playlist 😊

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Part 2 of the 'Indy 500 tunes' posts. This is the 1997 edition, with 35 entries because an extra 2 drivers were allowed to start the race (I didn't know that I'm new okay). Enjoy 😊

Arie Luyendyk (Car 5) - Monica - For You I Will

Tony Stewart (Car 2) - Hanson - MMMbop

Vincenzo Sospiri (Car 8) - Paula Cole - Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

Robbie Buhl (Car 3) - Mark Morrison - Return Of The Mack

Scott Goodyear (Car 6) - Savage Garden - I Want You

Jim Guthrie (Car 27) - Sheryl Crow - Everyday Is A Winding Road

Jeff Ward (Car 52) - Billy Lawrence ft MC Lyte - Come On

Davey Hamilton (Car 14) - 112 - Cupid

Eliseo Salazar (Car 7) - Az Yet ft Peter Cetera - Hard To Say I'm Sorry

Buddy Lazier (Car 91) - Madonna - Don't Cry For Me Argentina

Eddie Cheever (Car 51) - Westside Connection - Gangstas Make The World Go Round

Robby Gordon (Car 42) - Mint Condition - You Don't Have To Hurt No More

Stephan Gregoire (Car 77) - Yvette Michele - I'm Not Feeling You

Affonso Giaffone (Car 17) - Duncan Sheik - Barely Breathing

Kenny Brack (Car 4) - Jewel - Foolish Games

Buzz Calkins (Car 12) - The Verve Pipe - The Freshmen

Jack Miller (Car 40) - Montell Jordan - What's On Tonight

Mike Groff (Car 10) - Rome - I Belong To You (Every Time I See Your Face)

Roberto Guerrero (Car 21) - Bruce Springsteen - Secret Garden

Steve Kinser (Car 44) - Michael Jackson - Blood On The Dance Floor

Robbie Groff (Car 30) - 702 - Get It Together

Billy Boat (Car 11) - B-Rock & The Bizz - My Baby Daddy

Sam Schmidt (Car 16) - Changing Faces - G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T.

Billy Roe (Car 50) - Richard Marx - Until I Find You Again

Mark Dismore (Car 28) - White Town - Your Woman

Tyce Carlson (Car 18) - Babyface - Every Time I Close My Eyes

Marco Greco (Car 22) - Toni Braxton - I Love Me Some Him

Dennis Vitolo (Car 54) - Da Brat ft T-Boyz - Ghetto Love

Fermin Velez (Car 33) - Warren G - I Shot The Sheriff

Greg Ray (Car 97) - The Brand New Heavies - Sometimes

Alessandro Zampedri (Car 34) - Heavy-D - Big Daddy

Claude Bourbannais (Car 72) - DJ Taz ft Raheem The Dream - That's Right

Paul Durant (Car 1) - The Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotise

Lyn St James (Car 90) - Too Short & Lil Kim - Call Me

Johnny Unser (Car 9) - Spice Girls - Wannabe

Added to this Spotify playlist 😊

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

haunted by-you

instagram - twitter - website

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[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

Scenes from a late autumn walk.

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

silent reflections; mono lake, california

instagram - twitter - website

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]

george on his insta story 🩵

[thisisyourdriverspeaking]