| Author | Message | ||
| Jack Habits (Ferraristuff)
Intermediate Member Username: Ferraristuff Post Number: 1145 Registered: 4-2003 |
Latest rumour from the Suzuka pit lane... SHOULD Schumacher decide to quit F1 if he clinches his sixth title tomorrow... IF.. THEN... Bernie Ecclestone will try to squeeze Villeneuve into a Ferrari for 2004... Nice one! Jack | ||
| Jim Muise (Writerguy)
New member Username: Writerguy Post Number: 24 Registered: 9-2003 |
You may be right. I can't say as I have never met the man, only what we journalists choose to print or broadcast. That being said, and take it from me, there are ways of quoting a person that can be less than nice. As a Canadian (born living in US now) and as a Race Fan Jaques could have handled his lip better. I am sure some of the things you say about Kicking his mechanics and engineers were more a public attempt to modivate by embarassment, Not the most diplomatic or team building way aroud things but The french are not always known for their tact and diplomacy (french heritage here so I know from personal family experience) After all the French government once tried to handle a pesky group of envirmentalists who were keeping them from testing some weapons by sinking their boat. Not really relevant but in the Gallic mind sometimes Passion is directed in inaproprate ways. Just look at how Adrian Renard and the rest of the BAR brain trust have handled things and assume that an ill handeling car with inconsistant power was probably the least of Jaques headaches. | ||
| Hubert Otlik (Hugh)
Intermediate Member Username: Hugh Post Number: 1530 Registered: 1-2002 |
Jim: You're free to defend him, but one of my most prominent memories of JV are his comments after the 1st USGP "..the car is slow in the corners, slow on the straight, and slow everywhere else..." Now, if that's not the most sterling example of kicking your engineers, mechanics and everyone else squarly in the balls, then I don't know what is. That's his problem, he's a whiny, selfish brat. | ||
| Jim Muise (Writerguy)
New member Username: Writerguy Post Number: 23 Registered: 9-2003 |
WOW I have to take up the little guys defence for a second. One thing you all seem to forget is he was let go from an underperforming team, but he still had the job that you all would give your left leg just to try. Also the fact that he could not drag the disorganized and overstuffed BAR team up to his potential was not necessaraly his fault. The team has had too many chiefs and not enough indians from the beginning. As a development driver who could pull the team members to him and be able to intuitivly get all the neuances of a 1/4 turn here and a bit there like Sheuy can, you have to remember Jaques came into this later in his life than many. Sheuy and others are very much like Wayne Gretzky or Michal Jordan, they have been the stars of their sport from just after dipers came off. There are things they all learn from all those years of Hockey B'Ball or Driving that can't be taught. It is just part of the way their brain works. For someone who came into Motorsport later Wee Jaques has done pretty well for himself. How many other current drivers can say they have won a CART championship INDY AND F1 Race let alone F1 Title. The decision he made to go to BAR was a mistake, looking back, but at the time he was saddled with an ageing and underpreforming Superteck Engine. Yes Shuey is better as a driver but remember when Jaques is saddled up in a competitive car he somehow could manage to pass Mike outside on corners. Calling him a washed up whiner is not fair to him, his talent, or his effort. | ||
| Darrell Pardy (Dpardyferrari)
New member Username: Dpardyferrari Post Number: 35 Registered: 8-2002 |
Andreas: The Canadian fans will adopt another driver - maybe Michael Schumacher or JP Montoya - both are very popular up there. Prior to Jacques arriving on the scene they had strong support for John Alesi who won his only F1 race in a Ferrari in Montreal. Bottom line is they love racing and will feel the loss of the GP more than the driver. | ||
| Andreas Forrer (Tifosi12)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi12 Post Number: 2497 Registered: 10-2002 |
I wonder what that will do to the Canadian GP once it is back in the calendar. Loosing the race and their driver might be just too much for our Northern friends.  | ||
| Mike B (Srt_mike)
Member Username: Srt_mike Post Number: 365 Registered: 12-2002 |
I can't imagine why Williams would want him at all. He is not as good a driver as Ralf is, and he is way worse than Juan Pablo. Mark Webber would be a better driver in a Williams than Jacques would be. JV is not a driver who cares about the team or the car or setup or anything. He just wants to show up and drive. He may be a reasonable talent, but when you are competing against guys like MS who will work their asses off to develop the car and who live and breathe racing, and guys like Alonso and Raikkonen who are fearless AND very fast, and guys like Barichello who is a pretty good driver in an amazing car, and even guys like Webber who is good, or Truli who can have moments of genius, you can't be the type of guy who just shows up after 12 hours of PS2 that day to drive the car. Jaqcues is out of F1 forever. Good riddance! There is a reason none of the teams want him - because he's not valuable to any of the teams. In other words, he sucks! He can move in with Irvine and keep commenting on F1 like anyone cares about either of their opinions. I think Button should fly a banner quoting Jacques comments at the start of the season about how if he didn't outperform his teammate, he should quit F1. | ||
| John T (Tifosi_4)
New member Username: Tifosi_4 Post Number: 31 Registered: 10-2003 |
OKay the good news is that he's not with BAR anyone and the bad news is that he doesn't have a F1 seat for next year. I hope Williams will go get him if ever JPM goes to McLaren. | ||
| Andreas Forrer (Tifosi12)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi12 Post Number: 2477 Registered: 10-2002 |
It looks like JV's last race was Indy. Not only did he get fired, but there is a good chance, that Sato will replace him for Suzuka. Adieu! | ||
| Andreas Forrer (Tifosi12)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi12 Post Number: 2476 Registered: 10-2002 |
PSK, yes Piquet was gifted. No question. I just mentioned him in the context of loud mouths and whiners. He was very cool while he was leading the championships, but should have retired afterwards. His last few years in F1 were more like JV. Many complaints and not too much action. Not sure on this, but I think he was one of the first to bring psychological games to the table to destabilize his competitors. Tried it on Senna ("he is gay"). Prost learned it from him, probably and so on. I think JV was brilliant in his first two years in F1 as well (also loved him while he was racing in the US). He just turned into a whiner and has-been once he was with BAR. Bummer. | ||
| James Lee (Aventino)
Junior Member Username: Aventino Post Number: 128 Registered: 6-2003 |
I think he is doing British F3 at the moment. All this talk of JV has reminded me of his dad and the '79 Championship when he played the #2 driver and supported Scheckter as I believe that's what the old man wanted. Then the crap with Pironi and the 126 coming good in '82 and then Zolder...... I had just started following F1 when he arrived on the scene, hard to believe it was two decades ago. Anyone remember that picture of the grid about 10 sec after the green lights where it's all orderly apart from a lone Ferrari thats about 3 feet off the ground and flying level in the middle of the pack. :-) Monaco? 1980? Or getting black flagged for the front wing being bent up at 90 degrees, claiming he couldn't see the marshals because of it and attempting to carry on. Mmmmmmm getting misty eyed. Is it just me or were the old days a lot more fun? | ||
| PSk (Psk)
Intermediate Member Username: Psk Post Number: 1010 Registered: 11-2002 |
James, No I have not really heard much about Piquets son ... other than a good Williams (I think) test drive. I bet his Mother is not real keen, with Nelson suffering all those injuries from that Indy crash ... What level is he currently racing at? Pete | ||
| James Lee (Aventino)
Junior Member Username: Aventino Post Number: 127 Registered: 6-2003 |
Was very fortunate to get a drive at Williams IMHO and it is a pity he didn't display the hunger of his father, or maybe he never really felt he needed to. Hey Pete, have you been watching how Piquet's son is doing? Could be some potential there. | ||
| Mike B (Srt_mike)
Member Username: Srt_mike Post Number: 355 Registered: 12-2002 |
Wait a minute... For those that are complaining about the "crappy" car that JV was using, don't forget that one of the reasons he supposedly went to BAR was not for the money (yeah right) but rather to help them build a team and a car that could win. Frank Williams even said almost that exact thing in a recent release. Now we all know JV's rep for leaving the track early, not wanting to be "bothered" with anything other than showing up and driving the car. So what value does he have to BAR? Not a heck of a lot. Consider also that his teammate has outperformed him this year - for which JV cannot have any plausible excuse, and you have to wonder why they WOULD keep him around? Why would anyone? | ||
| PSk (Psk)
Intermediate Member Username: Psk Post Number: 1007 Registered: 11-2002 |
Heh Andreas,
Piquet was a gifted driver ... does not deserve to be bagged in with Mr Negative JV. I must say that Hubert really hit the nail on the head. These guys have a dream job and they have no course for whinning ... sh!t, I would cut off a few fingers to be in JV's position. The difference would be that I would take a huge pay cut and put that money into MY car ... like any REAL racer would! Pete | ||
| A.Tonokaboni (Senna1994)
Junior Member Username: Senna1994 Post Number: 162 Registered: 9-2002 |
Hubert right on the money. I like Irvine's personality as well, but he was a very good driver not a great like MS or Senna. I always thought JV was a very good driver but never on the level of MS, when the car was good he was good. But he could not raise a team from scratch. Its Jacques personality the last few years that have made him a whinner, his attitude that if your not a Millionaire your a loser type stuff. | ||
| Hubert Otlik (Hugh)
Intermediate Member Username: Hugh Post Number: 1508 Registered: 1-2002 |
For every guy out there that likes a given driver, someone else thinks he's a pillowbitter; the ammicable solution is just to like who you like, but that requires some "blind faith." I liked JV, who his father was and his driving "panache." But what I simply couldn't get over was his never ending tirades, his complaining and his general "bitchy little princess" act, he's a grown man,not a catholic school girl (although he may like to "role play"). As for Irvine, well, there's a man who can say that getting bitchslapped by Senna was one of his more memorable carrer moments. Way to go, Eddie. And the remainder of his notable verve was his james hunt-ish playboy escapades; I think Irvine tried to match wits with Hunt by shagging more birds than him, but as for driving, well, he "could have been." Hey, you go Eddie. I don't really have a hard-on for anyone these days, but I respect Senna and MS, but the reasons why I do go beyond driving skill... it's about their determination and level of commitment. MS is in that car night and day, and has been since he got to Ferrari. Senna struggled through a puncuated history of poor chassis, but shone nonetheless. I adore people with work ethic, and the strength of character to shut up, put their head down and work (whining , last time I checked, just excercised your tounge). At any rate, I'm not an F1 driver (nor will I be...), but if I ever were to become a prodriver, the only "unloading" of whiny bullshit would be to my engineers, and I wouldn't leave the test track until I got something done, or ran out of tires/fuel. Drive and commitment, that's all it should ever be about. | ||
| Andreas Forrer (Tifosi12)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi12 Post Number: 2473 Registered: 10-2002 |
Ok Jon, on that basis I agree with all your statements. Kinda like Piquet, but that guy won at least some WCs. | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Intermediate Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 1104 Registered: 8-2001 |
Andreas, I am a big fan of Eddie. I have the same Bieffe Irvine helmet you do (w/out the Marlboro logo). I always liked Eddie and wish he had won the title but I don't think that is what Ferrari wanted. That being said I never really agree with Eddie's assertion that he was the second fastest driver in F1 (sans MS). He is much like JV but I feel that JV is too negative. No doubt Eddie and JV liked to stir thinbgs up a bit with their comments and this was at times a welcome relief from people like Heidfeld, Raikkonen, Mika, and other F1 drivers that seem to have no social skills whatsoever. Regards, Jon | ||
| Andreas Forrer (Tifosi12)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi12 Post Number: 2461 Registered: 10-2002 |
Actually that Spa accident was not his nor Zonta's fault. The team got the setup wrong. Twice. Duh! Aside from that I agree with most of your comments, Jon. Except for Irvine. My all time favourite.  | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Intermediate Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 1102 Registered: 8-2001 |
I still remember him crashing at Eau Rouge jumping out of the wreckage running back into the spare and went back out minutes later. Just cause he was dumb enough to try Eau Rouge flat out doesn't make him a great racer. Ricardo Zonta did the same thing and I wouldn't call him world class. Maybe I would like JV more if he kept his mouth shut and stopped complaining all the time. He's not a winner, he's a whinner!!!! He takes all the credit when things go right and takes everyone down around him when things go wrong. That is not the mark of a world champion. He's was basically Eddie Irvine with a better car. Eddie could have won the title as well losing out at the last race by a couple of points. I don't think many here would argue that Eddie Irvine is one of the greats even had he won the title. He just happened to be at the right place at the right time. Same with Hill, same with JV. MS built Ferrari, JV built nothing at BAR. He is nothing like his father. Regards, Jon | ||
| G.Peters (Wfo_racer)
Junior Member Username: Wfo_racer Post Number: 209 Registered: 5-2002 |
To those that bag on Jacques, remember he has won Indy and a WC you have not, nor will you you ever. Michael was real noble when he drove into Jacques and Damon and took himself out when he was fighting for the WC. Admired his dad and I like Jacques balls to the wall driving style . I still remember him crashing at Eau Rouge jumping out of the wreckage running back into the spare and went back out minutes later. How do any of you know how his car is prepared . Perhaps Button has better treatment on the team and his car reflects it. Remember if your not on the inside you don't know the real story. How can Michael's car be so good and Ruben has his problems. Look it up and you will see when he had his last major mechanical, none of the Ferrari's I have owned have ever remotely approached that level of reliability. | ||
| A.Tonokaboni (Senna1994)
Junior Member Username: Senna1994 Post Number: 161 Registered: 9-2002 |
Jon, I have a feeling he will be back, where I don't know but 05 might be the year. Remember Panis will probably retire in 05 and Villeneuve has a good relationship with the Japanese. | ||
| Jon P. Kofod (95f355c)
Intermediate Member Username: 95f355c Post Number: 1100 Registered: 8-2001 |
He's going to be driving next year's Ferrari....... ON PSII............. Now he can play PSII 7 days a week (remember a few girlfriends ago, one left him because she says he played PSI 12 hours a day.) You got your gift (F1 title)..... ...please don't let the door hit your ass on the way out!!!!! Regards, Jon P. Kofod (obviously not a big fan of JV) 1995 F355 Challenge #23 www.flatoutracing.net | ||
| A.Tonokaboni (Senna1994)
Junior Member Username: Senna1994 Post Number: 156 Registered: 9-2002 |
Even though I have been critical of JV in the past I don't think Jenson has blown him away. He has been quicker in Qualifying but he has been on a different race strategy, and I am sure Dave Richards is probably favoring him at the moment. JC also did very will against Hill and Frentzen as teammates. I don't think that Button would have the better of Villeneuve if they had very competitive cars and qualifying was the same format as 02. JV should have gone to Renault when he had the chance a couple years ago. But "F1" spelled backwards is IF. | ||
| MFZ (Kiyoharu)
Member Username: Kiyoharu Post Number: 343 Registered: 2-2003 |
PSk, the only teammate to completely blow him away in races and qualifying is Jenson Button (Panis came close though). However, remember that Button is considered David Richards' pet project, and I think David favors Jenson more than he does JV. I do recall at Monza, when Jenson failed to finish and JV scored 3 more points, when the ITV F1 pit reporters spoke to Jenson about his DNF, you can almost feel the disappointment in his tone of voice, seeing how JV managed to beat him this one time. Personally, I'm sad to see him go, and I hope he does well at whatever he's doing next year. | ||
| Darrell Pardy (Dpardyferrari)
New member Username: Dpardyferrari Post Number: 34 Registered: 8-2002 |
A couple of points worth noting. 1. Villeneuve's salary is not paid by BAR - it is paid by BAT and they get plenty of mialage out of the promotional value of his name. 2. Villeneuve has demonstrated that in a decent car he is one of the best drivers - Indy 500 Winner, CART champion, Pole in first F1 race, 11 wins and WDC in first 33 races. 3. Like him or hate him his off beat personality and honesty will be missed (we all miss Eddie Irvine don't we?) I for one wish he was in a decent car and battling Michael for the championship. As much as I am a Ferrari fan I will miss Jacques and hope he finds something worthwhile and challenging. Salut Jacques ! | ||
| Thomas I (Wax)
Member Username: Wax Post Number: 480 Registered: 7-2003 |
From Jacques Villanueve's Official Site | ||
| PSk (Psk)
Member Username: Psk Post Number: 993 Registered: 11-2002 |
Guys, The point that needs to be made is that he thinks he is WC material and thus worth $20 / year and yet he is consistently blown away by his lesser team mates. Thus I do not care how good or bad the car is ... JV is no good because if a WC cannot consistently beat his team mate I would not be paying the big bucks to keep him in my team. Let JV retire we will not miss him ... and like I have said before he never deserved his WC. Pete | ||
| MFZ (Kiyoharu)
Member Username: Kiyoharu Post Number: 342 Registered: 2-2003 |
I agree with Patrick. Call him what you want, but the BARs that he's been racing with are pieces of scrap metal (carbon fiber?) only fit for the crusher. Look at the races he scored in this year. To me, all of them are great drives, considering the hardware he's in (particularly Monza). I wrote before that he can't develop a car, that might still be true, but surely some of the BAR testers feel the same way he does about the car and unless big changes are made, BAR will continue to be at most, mid-pack teams. | ||
| Warren Balla (West662)
New member Username: West662 Post Number: 47 Registered: 8-2003 |
Thats true Patrick. Sure, JV isn't hot •••• anymore, but also look at the peices of •••• he has been running with. I think its time he throws in the towel, but you cant blame his scoring (or lack there of) this year soley on him. How many races has there been this year where atleast one of those cars HASN't had a serious mechancial disfunction? | ||
| Patrick Denonville (Arizonaguy)
Member Username: Arizonaguy Post Number: 702 Registered: 4-2003 |
Seriously, if they gave him a car that could actually complete a whole race they wouldn't have this problem. | ||
| Andrew Menasce (Amenasce)
Intermediate Member Username: Amenasce Post Number: 1474 Registered: 10-2001 |
Finally...BAR now has 20m$ to invest in their cars ! | ||
| A.Tonokaboni (Senna1994)
Junior Member Username: Senna1994 Post Number: 153 Registered: 9-2002 |
The wildest rumor out of Europe is the following, J. Villeneuve returning to Williams to replace Montoya who will be going to McLaren and Coulthard going to Jaguar to replace Justin Wilson. | ||
| Hubert Otlik (Hugh)
Intermediate Member Username: Hugh Post Number: 1497 Registered: 1-2002 |
Woooooooo hooooooooooooooooo. Thank you David Richards for finally fiving that cry baby the boot. Maybe they'll be able to score consistent points, and liven up the development work with the money they would have wasted on JV. | ||
| Andreas Forrer (Tifosi12)
Intermediate Member Username: Tifosi12 Post Number: 2441 Registered: 10-2002 |
Yup. A has-been. IRL might be next. | ||
| rob guess (Beast)
Member Username: Beast Post Number: 389 Registered: 5-2003 |
Move back to Canada and whine!!!!!!!! I see JV as a has been. | ||
| Lawrence Yee (Ferrariguy)
Member Username: Ferrariguy Post Number: 321 Registered: 8-2002 |
Well, it's official. I wonder what he's going to do next? With quite a few talented younger drivers I wonder if he'll go back to Indy-style racing or possibly LeMans-style racecars? |