01/06/2004
NEWS STORY
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Looking back at the European GP weekend, a couple of points come to mind.
Firstly, Takuma Sato. The Japanese youngster has been performing well this season, though in terms of results he has been largely outshone by his English teammate Jenson Button. Sadly, there is a widespread belief that Takuma is only in the second car because Honda wants him there, rather than on merit. Personally, and I stress this is my personal opinion, I think he's an excellent racer that simply need a little more time. He's a former F3 champion, and that alone should count for something. Furthermore, many of the accidents he had back in 2002 were not of his own making.
This season he has been superb, and at the Nurburgring he moved up to the next level. Sadly his enthusiasm finally got the better of him and it ended in tears, cue the usual recriminations from fellow drivers, journalists and of course race fans.
Talking of recriminations, for the second successive weekend, a Schumacher exits following a close-encounter of the JPM kind. Seven races in, indeed a couple of seasons in, is Juan Pablo living up to expectations?
Finally the green light has effectively been given to a new qualifying format which will see drivers complete a minimum of 6 laps in two twenty-minute sessions, the aggregate times deciding the grid order. Meanwhile, it looks as though Formula One - sadly in my opinion - is to become a 2.4 litre formula, with all cars running V8 configurations.
We'd like your opinion on these, and indeed any other points raised over the European Grand Prix weekend.
To send your comments, click here
Chris Balfe
Editor
Please note: We must have your name, no name - we don't publish
To check out our previous Talking Points, click here
Joe Angers - Ayer, MA, USA
I'd like to express some of my opinions regarding the Talking Points brought up during the European GP.
Firstly, Takuma Sato. This guy is definitely the real deal in my view. Now admittedly, you can't argue that his being with Jordan and now B.A.R. had nothing to do with Honda. I would say the only reason he even got a shot at F-1 is because of Honda. With that said though, let's remember, he's no Satoru Nakjima. I've been very impressed with his sheer speed, even compared to Jenson who he somehows has managed to overshadow on occasion (that must be akin to the bombing of Pearl Harbor for the British Press). If he can temper his aggression a little bit, and couple that with some reliability from his Honda engines, and I see a very bright future for him. I only wish Ford would do for an American driver what Honda has done for Taku. As for Ruben's comments, I'd wish he'd show half the competitive spirit Taku has, instead of running around making up the numbers as Schuey's blocking back.
Secondly, has Juan Pablo Montoya lived up to expectations. On the face of it, it could be argued that no, he hasn't. But delve deeper into it, and the argument could be made that JPM's lack of progress can be attributed to extraneous forces. It doesn't help that at times Williams-BMW partnership looks more dysfunctional than a Britney Spears marriage. You add to that a team with a history of questionable pit strategy (and botched pit stops), and a management that's never seems to realize when it's produced a dog of a car, and you can see why on paper it looks like JPM (and in fairness Ralf) have not produced. Hopefully, the promotion of Sam Michael will go a long way towards rectifying those problems. As for Juan, when he's been competitive, he's been the only driver who's been able to make Michael's life difficult. Now that's something that cannot be said of any other driver currently on the F-1 grid. Whether or not that situation will improve at McLaren remains to be seen. Ron seems to have a soft spot in his heart for Kimi, and we all know what happened to driver number 2 the last time Ron had a soft spot for a Finn.
As for qualifying, it's become patently obvious to me that the clowns who run the F-1 circus frankly have no idea how to run the show. Why make something more difficult than it needs to be!? When I was in engineering school, we had a principle drilled into us...K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple, Stupid! I'll be in Montreal in 2 weeks for the Canadian GP, and I'll attend all three days. Admittedly, I want to see F-1 cars on the track as much as possible. But I shouldn't have to spend my Saturday afternoon with flow charts trying to figure out who qualified where. I know the show needs to be improved for Sunday, but deal with the race as a seperate issue. Qualifying should be simple, whoever's the fastest should be on pole and so forth. Whether it's one lap or a one hour free for all really doesn't matter to me. If the FIA wants fuel restrictions, fine, let everybody start on the same amount of gas on Sunday afternoon. You know, CART had the best way in the late 90's. Qualifying was a free for all, but come Sunday afternoon, everybody had to start on 35 gallons of fuel, and it made for some fascinating, and ultimately extremely competitive, racing.
Randy Lyon
I think Sato is definitely a keeper. Maybe he did get his seat because Honda wanted a Japanese driver but that doesn't mean they didn't get the best Japanese driver or that Japanese drivers are inherently inferior.
Sato has made some mistakes but he has also made as many brilliant moves and you have to look at the big picture. Its been said that its easier to tune out a little over exuberance than dial in some more speed that isn't there. From where I sit, I think Sato can learn from his experience and stop making the mistakes. Time will tell.
It also seems to me that he isn't the first or only driver to be a little incident prone in their early career. And some of those went on to greatness. Senna comes to mind; I believe he had nearly 20 twenty coming togethers in his career and most were while trying to overtake someone.
As for Montoya, I don't think he will ever learn to not run into people. I'm not saying he is overly prone to it but he isn't likely to change. So I see him as an entertaining driver with great car control but he will never win a championship unless he has a car far superior to anyone else and has a mediocre team mate. Too many of the current drivers could beat him with similar equipment just because they would have fewer comings together. He might win more battles (races) but he would lose the war (championship).
As for the qualifying changes, just about anything would be better. But I've seen much better suggestions in the Pitpass forums than this latest change.
Peter Wells - Cape Town, South Africa
I think certain of the established drivers have developed this prima donna image (one in particular) bully for Sato - I luv the youthful exuberance and his uninitimidated approach - let no man stand in your way - this is after all what motor racing is all about.
As for JPM the man wears his heart on his sleeve. Seems to be in no mans land at present tho and whilst he may be quick to throw in the towel when he sees his chances slipping away I do enjoy his no nonsense approach. A true charger and great to watch when he is in the mood n the groove. Again not a prima donna unlike MS. Personally me thinks he would blow MS away on most given Sundays in the same equipment.
Format format format - the whole things has got so boring that I am beginning to sway toward MotoGP. Combined average times !!!!!! Bull#@#t. Let them all out there for an hour and get on with it. All this nonsense bout engine size is bollocks - throw away traction control auto launch & semi auto boxes. Bring back fat slicks a clutch and a manual gearshift then see some action. Will reduce costs too.
Adam Artis
Well, in truth Taku can be just a little scary at times, but no doubt the same was said of Senna, and do forgive me for mentioning them both in the same breath. I just hope he doesn't prompt a really serious accident in his future. As for JPM,his career will no doubt be defined by how he performs when he competes against a real racer, not a petulant example of the not quite up to it younger brother.
Martin Sørensen - Denmark
As enough people already have pointed out, Sato could grow into a real great. Given the difference in experience, he certainly isn't being overshadowed by Button this year. If he's in F1 because of Honda, so what? He's hardly the first top driver to have strong ties with sponsors (Senna and Nacional, e.g.).
What struck me this weekend is the number of very good, very underrated drivers in F1 at the moment. Heidfeld, Fisichella and Sato are prime examples. Klien, Bruni and Baumgartner might also qualify, I'm not sure. It seems absurd that Williams would consider running absolute newcomers when they (very cheaply, I think) could have a combination of Fisichella, Heidfeld and Coulthard. Heidfeld seems an absolute shoe-in: he's german, he's fast (Remember his time in F3000 vs. a certain colombian), he'd be delighted to be in a car with even a prayer of winning (which would make a nice change for the 'team proper' (i.e mechanics)) and by now he MUST be cheap. Coulthard has won 13 races so far and I think he would love the chance to prove a point to McLaren. Fisichella is a mystery to me. Year after year he does incredible things in very bad cars, yet nobody signs him.
As for the rest of the 'event' (I cannot in good conscience call it a race) that was the Europe GP: How can a car (Raikkonen) be 2 s. slower than the 5 or 6 cars behind, yet not get passed??? Mr. Mosley, over to you.
Mark Marsh
While I understand that engine manufactorers will always make Formula 1 their top priority I can't help but feel that if they drop to 2.4ltr V8s that they will suddenly have to contend with a huge performance gap elsewhere. Take the Audi R8 for instance with it's 3.6ltr V8 or for a
more relevant example Champ Car with their 2.6ltr V8 Cosworth, I'm sure with more displacement at hand they could very easily out perform an F1 car in its future guise as it would only take one enterprising executive at CART to commission a more powerful block surely and then not only would they have the fastest car but could use that as an argument for being the 'pinnacle' of motorsports.
The powers that be need to stop tinkering and actually think. Cut testing by 80% or just allow three 'official' test weekends during the season where all the teams either test at the same track or not at all, which would not only allow the fans to see the cars more than usual but
also potentially allow more "meet and greet" type sessions. This would (I guess) no doubt free up enough cash to keep 3 litre one race powerplants and the majority of people would be content.
Hope at least some of that made sense.
Mike Zimmermann - Johannesburg, SA
1. Sato is great, so is Montoya.
2. The Williams is a dog and should be put out of its misery.
3. I must be the only person who likes the one car at a time qualifying process but it should be three laps with the toal time determining grid position. Not original I know but it works in other forms of racing.
4. The size of the engine is not important, neither is it important whether it has 6, 8, 10 or 12 cylinders what matters is that overtaking must be possible. For that aerodynamic effects must play less of a role in cornering speed and braking distances must be lengthened by returing to steel brake disks. If you want to see good racing watch Formula Ford, no wings and relatively little power. Also track design must be such that overtaking is at least a possibility.
Mike Zimmermann - Johannesburg, SA
1. Sato is great, so is Montoya.
2. The Williams is a dog and should be put out of its misery.
3. I must be the only person who likes the one car at a time qualifying process but it should be three laps with the toal time determining grid position. Not original I know but it works in other forms of racing.
4. The size of the engine is not important, neither is it important whether it has 6, 8, 10 or 12 cylinders what matters is that overtaking must be possible. For that aerodynamic effects must play less of a role in cornering speed and braking distances must be lengthened by returing to steel brake disks. If you want to see good racing watch Formula Ford, no wings and relatively little power. Also track design must be such that overtaking is at least a possibility.
Madeleine Carusone
You asked for it, so here is my take on Montoya. He is a dangerous, whining infant. He is a reckless driver who is going to get someone killed - not a question of if, just when and who. And at every new Montoya-created disaster, he whinges about how it's this one's fault, or that one's fault, NEVER his own fault, or it's the mechanics fault, or Ralf's fault, or....... and on, and on, and on. Assigning blame is not how you fix problems and win. Just a snarky creep. I actually feel sorry for Ralf! Wait for the fireworks when he gets to McMowers next year! Kimi will flatten him, and a good thing too.
As for Montoya's vendetta against Michael Schumacher..... it's hard to be surprised at it. Michael is all positive energy, Montoya is all negative energy. Michael is the greatest driver I've ever seen, and I saw Fangio drive when I was a kidlet. Of course Montoya hates Michael.
Michael is everything Montoya is not and can never be, and Montoya knows it. Montoya is acting more and more like a homicidal maniac on the track, it's twice he's brutally smashed into Ralf in the last three races, and he smashed into Michael in the third........ no wait, I get it, he alternates between the Schumacher brothers, one race he smashes Ralf, next race Michael, then Ralf..... Let's see, by my calculations, it's Michael's turn again in Canada..... time will tell.
Montoya is a thug. His speech and his racing moves are equally thuggish. Formula 1 has never been a place for thugs. Montoya should take this to heart: thugs don't win. All the hate and anger he is spewing will come back to him. It's a law of Physics, and it never fails.
Greg Cunneen - Tokyo
Sato tried too hard to get by. Having said that, it should not go unnoticed that he actually tried to get by. It's been a good long while since I've seen that.
I don't know if Montoya could have avoided his first-corner bingle. As for Monaco, I dole out the responsibility equally between MS and JPM for the coming together in the tunnel. Neither had their eyes open.
Yet another variation in qualifying rules. This one should be slightly fairer in the sense that weather and track conditions will affect all teams a bit more equally. If parc ferme is still in place, then I am still unhappy. And two 20-minute sessions is not sufficient for single-lap running, so are we back to the free for all? And presumably now we will often see the absurd situation of the fastest driver not taking pole at all. Aw, god!
I am not wholly opposed to a V8 formula; I didn't really see any reason for it being a V10 formula either. Clearly, Max is trying to trim costs that seem to be out of control. As a spectator, though, I am equally interested in the actual on-track racing, and it is those issues that I wish were being addressed just as tenaciously as costs.
Juhan Palm - Sweden
Sato reminds me of a young M Schumacher... Takes a lot of chances - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't... Anyhow it is a signum of a real racer who dares to make moves that are "not always so wise", so to speak, as a certain young German also did in his early career.
It is fun to watch Sato (and also Montoya sometimes) since they don't give up once they have decided to make a move or pass.
Of course he is in F1 because of Honda, but I think he shows that he belongs there with the performance he shows when things go right. He is certainly several steps above the average pay-driver and deserves a regular seat.
Robert York - Tokyo
A quick comment on the Takuma and Rubens incident, or rather Rubens' comments at the post race press conference.
Rubens stated that Takuma was faster and that he should have been more
patient and would have got by eventually.
What makes Rubens think that? Early in the race we saw Kimi, probably up to 2 secs slower than those behind him, hold everyone for lap after lap. Would Rubens have just given up his position just because it was apparent Takuma was quicker - I think not! Takuma was right to have a go when he did, he had to take advantage of Michelin's fresh tyre advantage and also surprise can be a big plus. So Takuma's attempt ultimately failed - at least he tried. The next round of the championship is Canada - do we not remember how passive Ralf, Juan-Pablo and all were last year when they caught up with Michael Schumacher suffering from brake problems.
Anton Zimmermann
Sato very definitely deserves his position at BAR. Anyone who saw him race in British F3 as I did wouldn't have been surprised to see him go for a pass like the one he tried on Sunday. And more power to his elbow I say. If only everyone in F1 would have the nutsack to have a go when behind a slower car perhaps we'd see some more passing. And the next time Barrichelo sees him coming up the inside he definitely won't turn in...
As for whether he is only in F1 because Honda wanted a Japanese driver... Remember when Button got the Williams drive straight out of British F3. Two drivers were tested for the position. At the end of it there was nothing in it. Both were consistently fast. One had just won the F3000 championship and was Brazilian. The other had finished 3rd in UK Formula 3 and was British. The Briton got the drive.
Tony Geran - Sydney
Someone told me that there was a motor race at the Nurburgring last Sunday. Well I tuned in and gee that track sure has changed over the last 28 years because the Nurburgring I saw in 1976 was nothing like the kart track they 'raced' at last Sunday. Ok point off chest. They should convene a committee to rename that track, in fact they're probably breaking some obscure Euro law because it ain't the 'Ring. Perhaps the good Dr Lawrence can investigate.
Anyway, three things to come out of Sunday's event. Both Montoya and Sato deserve to be in F1 because it would be bloody awful if they weren't there, having a go. Sato definitely not Satoru Nakajima, never forget Hunt's commentary in 1987 Japanese GP regarding Nakajima "Here is a shot of a racing car taking its driver for a ride". The third point? Ralf does not deserve to polish an F1 car let alone drive one.
Unfortunately Montoya is no Senna either, for although fast he doesn't seem to engage the old grey matter. He seems like another Peterson or Depailler to me always getting into scrapes. Still can't see Montoya and McLaren gelling but you never know. Here's hoping.
Was in Melbourne Pizza restaurant last night, the place was decked out in Ferrari gear. Am I getting old or does the merchandising of F1 seem to be getting out of hand? Ferrari gear dominated by Shell and Vodafone. I recall buying a Ferrari jacket at Brands which only showed the Prancing Horse badge. But that was 22 years ago.
Don't really care what motors they are going to run but I think less money would have been spent freezing the V10's than going down the track of developing new V8's which will probably have massive vibration problems.
As for the new qualifying, doesn't this mean less running in the other sessions as teams save their engines for qualifying? Will suit Schumacher as Rubens is Ferrari's third car anyway. May mean more work for the third drivers it seems to me. Was it any coincidence that MS lost a lot of time on Friday and then cleaned up big time Saturday and Sunday?
Yours in conspiracy.
Tom Brunoski - Westport, CT, USA
Takuma Sato was the saving grace of the otherwise tedious European Grand Prix. Taking risks, pushing the limit, putting the unexpected move on the leaders, forcing a duel, going wheel-to-wheel, challenging the status quo, defying the odds, and going hell-bent for rubber. That's what racing used to be, and thank heaven for Taku or we’d have almost none of it. He’s a classy guy, easy to like, and someone you want to win. This race has made me a big Taku fan, which goes along nicely with my newly-acquired Jenson fandom.
Montoya, on the other hand, is a reckless lout, a hooligan on wheels. He has a foul mouth, a foul temper and for all I know he has bad breath. I found myself rooting for Taku, but wishing JPM would blow out an engine. His is a churlish, crude kind of aggression that is a danger to all others on the track. He has proven this point abundantly with his plethora of crashes, shoves and bungles. And all he does is whine, whine, whine. I suppose there are audience members who like to watch demolition derbies, but F1 bills itself as better than that. JPM is a boor, a chuff, a clodhopper, a mucker. It’s impossible to root for him.
As far as qualifying, it’s a total wash. I don’t even turn it on. Many good suggestions have been made to improve it, but none have been adopted. Earth to Mosley, hello! Qualifying stinks! Wake up and change it.
Engine size per se isn’t important, it’s speed and handling that count. There would be MUCH better racing with less (or no) aerodynamic trim and slicks. My favorite suggestion to improve races is BAN PIT STOPS! There’s no overtaking on the track, it all takes place in the pits. How exciting is that?! With no pit stops the drivers would no choice but to actually…race against each other. What a concept. Probably too much for Max and Bernie to consider.
I’ll still watch the occasional race, to see if my new heroes are doing something, but otherwise the "show" is currently about as exciting, and predictable, as watching traffic on an Interstate roadway.
David Turnedge - Sydney, Australia
Shock! Rubens wasn't expecting such an aggressive move from so far back by Sato!
Was he driving as hard as he could at that point in time? Obviously not, otherwise Sato would not have been able to outbrake him so dramatically.
I think this says a lot about Rubens ability to race - not to drive an F1 car competently, but to race an F1 car competently.
Racers don't (or at least they shouldn't) patiently sit behind lap after lap until the guy in front pits or makes a mistake or is driving far too slow - true racers can and will take a lunge whenever half-an-opportunity presents itself.
If Rubens doesn't think this is fair then he simply should not be racing cars.
Sure the move by Sato was risky - but it was also brave and exciting!
More power to Richards for not criticising his driver.
If Sato had pulled the move off he would have been the next hard charger and potential World Champion, at least until the press was distracted by yet another story on team funding or driver change.
Maybe it's time Rubens takes up a testing role where he can drive an F1 car with more certainty.
I am now, well and truly, a Sato fan.
Yehuda Sharabani
For Takuma Sato-in terms of a car potential and how much you get out of it I would give him high grade. from the viewpoint of top grade driver it's hard to judge. This season he is not under real preasure of expectations so it's hard to estimate how strong he is mentally. To reach the top you have to have personality and this point is not clear yet either. For now, maybe due to his young age, he is involved in too many incidents, he is not showing enough respect to the sport he is part of, and he is not accepting critisizm even if he can learn from it. My conclusion-there is potential , not alot more.
Fore Montoya - with me he lost the credit last year in the Indianapolis race. It was the first time he had a real chance with all the mental pressure on him and he failed, at the openning of the race he was fighting with Schumachet for first place but he folded, he had alot to lose so he wasn't as daring as in the previous races when he didn't have too much to lose and the mental pressure wasn't that heavy. The real fight , last year, at the end, was mental fight, Michael did cope Montoya failed. I'm quite sure Motoya will never be a great driver mainly because he is not strong enough mentally, this weakness explains his mistakes, behaviour, reactions after incidents etc.
For the new qualifying format: a) it looks promising and b) anything will be better than the existing one.
Anthony de Silva - Perth, Australia
I think that Sato is a little to aggresive to win at the moment. He hasnt raced a f1 for a year since 2002 and already wants to win. He needs to keep his cool and be patient. Sato will have to be at the top before he can win.
As for the race it was pretty dissapointing all these shumacher ferrari cleansweeps are boring my pants off. Monaco was the best race this year. Looking ahead to canada and indy i think the michelins wiil be strong in canada but won't quite have the edge at indy.