Excellent example of the BS PR these days

[NewtonMeter]

Compare:
http://www.f1technical.net/news/15801

With:
http://planetf1.com/news/18227/6636084/ ... or-season-

Thats basically two different statements from the same team. And I think this is a very good example of the crap the fans are fed up with, I know I certainly am. And we get this often from all the teams, so I'm not picking on ferrari, they just provided a neat example.

It just breeds mistrust of the teams from the fans pov, where every statement is questioned. They're like politicians...

[timbo]

One is from Massa and the other one is from Domenicali.
Are those two allowed to have different views on the subject?=)

[vall]

I think they can have different opinions... But what Domenicali says is, if Massa has another season like that, he will be gone. In top team in a hunt for WDCs, both drivers should perform and beat their opponents on a regular basis. Massa failed to do that much too often and he needs to up his game.

[marcush.]

I think you need to consider that both domenicali and Massa are NOT speaking english as their native language ..and possibly the statements were translated from third parties.
I know from personal daily experience how much does get lost of the finer points but also on major points of conversations when dealing with italiens when you try to have a conversation in english...and i remember that Senna once siad that he is well aware of the fact that he feels unable to express himself properly in english even after all those years in F1...it is a point to consider especially when looking at non technical statements.
On top of that i feel it is quite normal for a guy like Massa not to put doubt on his confidence in an official statement but reversing it by stating there is always enormous pressure to perform but you need to not let it get on top of you...as that pressure will Not make you better or quicker.

[vall]

that's right, but still, Massa underperformed and will be gone after ano more season like that

[NewtonMeter]

Well, my point just basically was that of course Massa knows it's a crucial year for him. Surely he's not that blind. When your team boss says he gives you a -7, you know you'd better perform to keep your seat.

But to the press, it seems the drivers and/or teams just have to flatly deny any negativity to the press. So they just go ahead and pretend that everything's dandy, which it obviously isn't.

It's a bit annoying.

[donskar]

Well, my point just basically was that of course Massa knows it's a crucial year for him. Surely he's not that blind. When your team boss says he gives you a -7, you know you'd better perform to keep your seat.

But to the press, it seems the drivers and/or teams just have to flatly deny any negativity to the press. So they just go ahead and pretend that everything's dandy, which it obviously isn't.

It's a bit annoying.

Here's how PR often works: (During my "15 minutes of fame" I represented a Fortune 50 company on TV, radio and in print.) Very little in PR is unrehearsed. Your PR rep sets up an interview and establishes the topic and general direction of the interview (as much as possible). You are "media trained" to never be negative, to never touch on contoversial topics and to always deliver "the message." My PR rep told me "If they ask you what you had for beakfast, tell them that "this project shows that ABC Corp is a word leader in Internet technology."

Massa will have been told to be confident, determined, upbeat, etc, etc. Domenicali, on the other hand, plays a different role and has a different message to deliver. No one is really offended or disappointed; it's all part of the game. (When negative news is released it is often one-on-one between the PR guy and the individual media rep. "According to a reliable source . . .")

(Like Ferrari or hate them, they do a good job in PR and branding.)

[Pandamasque]

Besides all the points above, how is this important in any way? Every day I open my RRS feeds and get a load of headlines like "<InsertName>: this year we must show all we're capable of", or "<InsertName>: this is the transitional year for us", or "<InsertName> wants to forget the <insertvenue>-ian weekend and is looking forward to <insertvenue>" etc etc etc etc. It seems these stories are generated automatically by PR people or the media themselves whenever there's a slowish day. Some sites go as far as to create a dozen of news stories spread over a few weeks from 1 small interview to some Spanish tabloid.

As for Ferrari (and probably any other team), we all know what such statements mean. i.e. nothing. They will change their mind as to what's crucial and what's not when the next contract is to be signed (or not).