Am doubtful that this scenario will play out. Pat Symmonds was pretty caustic about JPM in an interview in F1 Racing mag. So he isn't a fan for sure. I think Renault is pulling out all the stops to grab Raikkonen and recruit Kovalainen as the tail gunner. Fisi isnt team leader material. Neither is JPM. Substituting one for the other isn't going make much difference.
I like that picture. Can somebody photoshop a WWII style F1 car with two drivers and one gunning backwards at the competition?
Make it WW1 and the Finns in a Sopwith Camel in a duel with the Red Baron and Robin in Fokker triplane.
Nico is doing a good job but he's not in the top five drivers yet, much less 4th. Who even knows if Kovalainen will be any good. Beating MS in a 360 in France does not a world champion or a top 5 driver make. JPM is still a 4 top driver and should get a good seat. It's not his fault that this year McLaren is a poopmoblie.
I agree, JPM has been in the top five for his entire F1 career. I'd take a top 5 rating in the NFL, PGA, NBA, or any pro sport in the world. It means that your the best in the world...depending on your team and team-mates, who will win the championship. But, there have always been some "haters" on Fchat, mostly because JPM was the only guy for years that wasn't afraid of MS Wouldn't it just be fun to see - if Montoya and Alonso swap seats, I'm betting Montoya scores more points next year than Alonso also. 2007 might suck if you're Alonso, not Montoya
JPM's first 3 seasons in F1 were great. After that there was a very severe drop off in performance. I put him in the top half of the field - but I can't even say he is better than the likes of Webber/Button/Trulli at this point.
who said anything about afraid of MS? montoya is sometimes, or most of the time, foolish, not brave. and that arrogant attitude of him is what make ppl dislike him.
Oh yay. Another catalyst to start a Montoya bashing thread. If Montoya goes to Renault, and they continue on their current path, then JPM WILL WIN A WC. If Fisi is still there, he will embarrass Fisi. He is still one of the most wanted drivers out there. Let me ask you Montoya haters this.............is Kimi really doing that much more at McLaren over Montoya? What do you think Kimi is able to do that Montoya cannot? If you are about to respond that he can start from the back and make his way to the front, then just save us both the time. Montoya is as capable at doing whatever Kimi can. The car has been a piece of junk, and affects both drivers at different times. The points difference between the two right now is largely due to the lack of reliability at McLaren, pure and simple.
During the MS/ferrari dominate years, it was only Montoya's bold or aggressive driving that kept F1 from being a complete sleep-walk for most races. I get a kick out of the guys that say Montoya is not talented enough to be in F1. MS and JPM finished what 3rd and 4th last year? And MS is your darling and JPM is someone who shouldn't be on the track? Sorry that logic doesn't hold up.
i never did say monty had no talent. brazil 2004 and silverstone 2005 proved that he has something. i dunno, but maybe, with having a finnish teammate, kinda ' calmed ' monty down, comparing to hsi williams days. my point is, he sucked big time during his williams days. but at mac now, i think he's doing good. if u looked at my prev posts on diff threads, i actually pointed out that it's monty this year, and not kimi, thats workin his @$$ off at mac. kimi looks pretty demotivated, but not jpm. i'm sorry if u misunderstood my whole concept. have a nice day.
Well if my engine blew up during Monaco practice (costing me 10 grid places), then I wouldn't be too excited with the team either...
Originally Posted by Mark(study) During the MS/ferrari dominate years, it was only Montoya's bold or aggressive driving that kept F1 from being a complete sleep-walk for most races. I get a kick out of the guys that say Montoya is not talented enough to be in F1. MS and JPM finished what 3rd and 4th last year? And MS is your darling and JPM is someone who shouldn't be on the track? Sorry that logic doesn't hold up. Sorry, the second part of my original post was not meant for you. I was responding to a few other people that never give JPM any credit. I should have made it more clear. Have a nice weekend.
Hmmmm, and if Montoya had any talent he wouldn't have presonally cost McLaren the manufacturers championship last year. Very talented, especially with the lead/up in the leaders, you can sure count on him to spin/**** it up....... Wasn't he also the same talented driver who crashed into MS in the tunnel at Monaco during a yellow. I really like the spin on the parade lap too, really shows off his talent, good call guys. Man you guys are right.....a lot of talent. Ron Dennis is very pleased with that hire....................he could have gotten the same results with Sato and Ide, let's call all of these talented drivers the three muscateers.
The tunnel accident was a 50/50 call at best if not even more blame on MS' side. MS spun behind the safety car during a race last year. I'm no JPM fan myself and think he is way past his zenith, but to bring up individual examples rarely serves a purpose. Look at the overall picture: 2002 title challenger and downhill since then.
Are you one of the 4 people in the world that is faster than JPM? (maybe you are?) I think I remember MS crashing a few people over the years also. MS had his own bag of dirty tricks and brake-checking at Monaco in the shadow of the tunnel was his classic. I'd rather see a guy spin his car going for-it, than play it safe under team orders and play for the points everytime. If you watch F1 on TV for the points...you might be more like the baseball fan that watches Baseball for the stats. As a fellow TV viewer, I'd rather see Alex Zanardi's corkscrew pass tried again, if I had a choice between that or who wins the Mfg pionts. You've been here for a few years.... so you remember the post from F-chaters about falling asleep durring F1 races? ( I think Rob posted one of those himself LOL ) F1 needs a guy like JPM to keep it interesting. MS vs JPM has been responsible for more debate and chat at Fchat than any other drivers in the last 10 years.
I still feel that JPM is better than an average driver in F1. Under the right condition, enviroment, and if he can keep his ego and temperment in check as FA, he has the potential to win a title. However, I do feel that his time is running out. I would say that in the current field right now, MS and FA are in a class of their own, followed by KR then JPM.
Wow, strong statement, taking KR out of the MS/FA class. I so hope you're wrong or the Scuderia will be screwed next year. We need a top driver.
How did he suck "big time" at Williams? He came aboard in 2001 and stayed til 2004. The 2004 FW26, both A and B chassis weren't the greatest at all. The A was terrible at best. His rookie year, 2001, he had a win and finished 6th in the points, 2 spots down from Ralf. 2002 was when Ferrari walked away and he still finished 3rd in DC ahead of Ralf. 2003 he finished 3rd in the DC behind Michael and Kimi where he actually had a legitimate chance at getting the driver's championship, he was 9 points away from Michael. Could you please explain to me how he "sucked big time" because I don't see it? Edit: Even with the crappy 2004 Williams, he finished 5th in DC. 4th in the McLaren for 2005. Pretty similar performance imo.
IMO, FA has proved himself as KR has not as of now, good package or not. Interestingly enough, I find both KR and JPM lacking in the maturity department as oppose to FA. They are both chargers, but FA appear to be just that little more cerebral than either one.
what i meant was, his carelessness at times. if u compared it to williams, and his mac days, i dunno, but personally, i think he's improved at mac. i mean, he doesn't take anyone out while he's overtaking now, does he? i mean silverstone last year was a clear example. comparing to his williams days, when he and ralf tangled, he tangled with schumi in germany and in malaysia. bottom line is, i personally think he's a calmer, better driver now.
Here are some drivers quotes from Monaco that might put things into perspective... Driving Monaco for the first time in a Formula 1 car was a very intense experience. Very tough." Scott Speed "Thursday in Monaco is always a day more for the drivers than the engineers, as we run a lot to get used to the circuit again and feel comfortable." Fernando Alonso [Commentator:] What would you say is the most difficult corner at Monaco? [Raikkonen] There are no difficult corners at Monaco.
