Sports Random, Random

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

[Fastbackss]

I see Alfa Romeo has hired the first full time Chinese driver.

Interesting timing given what we have been discussing RE: tennis...

[Deuce]

I see Alfa Romeo has hired the first full time Chinese driver.

Interesting timing given what we have been discussing RE: tennis...

Well... the word is that he comes in with a significant amount of sponsorship money. So did Alfa hire him, or did he hire Alfa?

It's sad that money often decides which drivers are given an opportunity in F1 these days. These 'pay drivers', as they are called, are all good drivers - and I think that Zhou will be good in F1 if he's got a decent car to drive... but there are other drivers who deserve a chance in F1 before these 'pay drivers' do, because they've shown more ability. That they get overlooked simply because they don't have a bunch of sponsorship money is not right.

[ponchi101]

I see Alfa Romeo has hired the first full time Chinese driver.

Interesting timing given what we have been discussing RE: tennis...

In F1, the teams do not "hire" drivers. It is well known that the driver has to bring in some sponsors, and not minor ones; F1 does not go for small potatoes.
Venezuela had one good driver: Pastor Maldonado. He was good enough to win one GP, with the Williams team. Why was he hired? He brought in a sponsorship from PDVSA, our national oil company. The moment PDVSA dropped the sponsorship, he was dropped too.
Just watch which sponsor this driver will bring in. Being China, he should have a very good one behind him.

[ti-amie]

A bit off topic but one of the reasons being given by those in support of tennis, specifically the WTA, not drop China is because of the difference in money China pays participants in the YEC. They feel the players will go for the dough rather than what everyone is seeing and enjoying from Guadalajara.

[Suliso]

Are we confident China will want to be back full force in tennis sponsorship once the pandemic is over whenever that might be? That country seems to be turning inwards again as it has often done in its long history.

[ponchi101]

Interesting question, but China wants to project its power. They can split into two societies. They do have 400MM people that are middle class (and upper), and the rest still linger. I don't see them dropping the MS1000 they have, and they have been successful in the WTA.

[ti-amie]

The one thing tennis people keep saying over and over is that unlike next to no one turning up for the events in Asia here the players have have been greeted by enthusiastic, knowledgable fans and that in turn has made this the most enjoyable YEC since the ones that took place in Turkey. The WTA has a lot to think about.

[Deuce]

Watching Sakkari - Kontaveit... but also watching Mexico - Canada soccer game, being played on a frozen field in Edmonton, where the air temperature is minus 10 Celcius (14 degrees Fahrenheit).
It'll be interesting to see how the Mexican team handles the conditions, which are obviously quite foreign to them.

Some Mexican fans in the stands are wearing sombreros, which are of very limited practicality in temperatures below freezing.

[Fastbackss]

Cable here not showing the soccer game, regretfully, so stuck watching guadalajara

[ptmcmahon]

Wow...now 2-0 for Canada... what a win this would be. Love the backdrop of the snow.

The funny thing is even with this win - we'd be first in the table, but only two points clear of 4th (only top 3 automatically qualify - team 4 goes to a play-in series.) So even with a win, still lots of work left to do next year.

[ti-amie]

[ti-amie]

In English on Canadian TV