Am I the only one who thinks Fernando Alonso is overrated?

Schumi apart ... its difficult to rate all of them w/o identical cars.

I would put him on potential future WDC list along with Kimi and Montoya.

He is certainly an exceptional driver and has shown a couple of drives this year where he nursed a sick car to a goods point finish.

All the three drivers mentioned above are instinctive drivers with an natural ability to drive anything fast. If they have weaknesses, its that they are not too inclined to spend a lot of time over fine-tuning set-up. That's what will hold them back a little. I think of them as I would of Ronnie Peterson - supremely fast but can be out-driven by an Andretti who was fast but meticulous in his approach.

Alonso and Kimi are less given to emotional manipulation versus say Montoya who can be easily addled to a temper tantrum. And Yeah .. I am aware about Kimi's fits after his car expires on him during races....

For them to get a WDC they would need
A) Schumi to retire
B) A fast car
C) A very good race engineer to help sort their car out - something like what Frank Dernie did for Williams last year....

And about being overrated - well F1 racing seems to be going on and on about these three. But its just a ploy to sell magazines. I mean which of the two covers would prompt you to buy the mag

a) Kimi Raikonnen - Why I am faster than Michael and the next WDC

or

b) Kimi Raikonnen - I am fast but till Michael quits I can't do s*** about the WDC.

See what I mean

 

The next world champion after Michael retires in 2008 will be Kimi, and then possibly Jenson Button.

Alonso and Montoya will never be world champions. Alonso might have a strong couple of seasons, but Montoya is nothing but talk. He is disrespectful, he is a dangerous driver and most of all he is not talented enough.

 

OK I think we will agree to disagree here. Sure he is a bit immature in his comments but where has he caused an accident that would rate him dangerous. He is an aggresive driver for sure - like Schumi and Alonso. And not talented enough - c'mon you must be joking - he has done a swell job with that rust bucket FW26....

 

I used to think Alonso is the 2nd coming, but I'm starting to loose my belief. Since his victory in Hungary last year I haven't seen too much action from him and in some places Trulli outclassed him.

Similar thing happened to me with Jenson Button: He impressed me thouroughly in his rookie year at Williams. Thereafter there wasn't much action from his part. Now this season all of a sudden he got his act back together.

So I'm still a bit unclear now over Alonso and Button. They have potential though.

Montoya I like to watch and I think he is hugely talented, but too erratic to go through an entire season ending up as WC.

Kimi, well, there you have the next WC once MS retires. The guy was always top notch and superfast and has a car control that is close to a miracle Remember how he managed to stop the Sauber WITHOUT a steering wheel?

Hopefully Alonso soon proofs me wrong.

 

But last year when Montoya had a much better car, he still did a not so swell job. Last year's Williams car was an absolute gem and they cheated with tyre specifications. It was also probably the closest Montoya will ever get to the world championship. Anyways, Michael won last year and that is all that matters.

Montoya will obviously win more races in the years he as left in F1. Alonso too will have a couple of strong seasons. But nothing more than that. So we agree to disagree.

 

In a season that was decided by just 2 points, one drive through penalty and one hydrualic failure is the difference between 1st and 3rd. F1 is a team sport, its the car and driver package that matters. Montoya and BMW Williams could not deliever.

Will there be any difference with Montoya at McLaren? I think it would take one single engine failure for Motoya to blow up and assault someone in the team or on the track. You think he can show patience and determination like Kimi has? No way!

 

Out of Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo-Montoya, I'd say Raikkonen is the quickest, followed by Alonso and then Montoya.

This is when looking at it from a 'raw speed' or talent point-of-view.

One of the reasons Michael is so good is he does a huge amount of work off the track with the engineers and mechanics - something which he would be very familar with having worked for a BMW garage after he left school.

Webber is similar in this respect - he does a huge amount of work behind the scenes.

 

The way I see it Kimi, JPM, Alonso and Webber (in no particular order) are the best of non-MS drivers

 

In my opinion Kimi Raikkonen will be a WC one day. Look what he did last year...and now the car starts working and he's FAST. (just look at how he drove last race before the car broke) Unbelievable.

As for Alonso, he hasn't convince me yet that one day he could be WC. But he's still 2nd of my list.

Montoya...Maybe changing to McLaren next year will be the beginning of something good for him.

Webber and Button...I can't see them winning a championship.


Liuzzi...I hope he makes it to Formula 1 and be a future champion.

 

The ironic part is that Trulli was also seen as "the next big thing" as a rookie. Years of not having a shot seems to have taken some of the fire from him by the time he had one ... enough that red cars intimidate him, but not enough to let Alonso consistantly out-perform him.

Potential world champs are like potential energy ... no flash until they convert from "potential" to "kinetic".

 

I do think that Alonso is over-rated.

The reason why I think is not one of the best comes from the fact that I have noticed that he has a rather abrupt way to steer into a corner. This is very noticeable from the in-car footage of his driving style.

I believe in the racing adage "smooth is fast".

Alonso does not look very smooth to me.

BTW, I think Kimi and McLaren will come out on top at Hungaroring this weekend.

 

True about his aggressive style and severe steering angle but note that this doesn't cause him to pit early due to tyre graining. I am also curious to know how he achieves this. He can be aggressive but not face any disadvantages.

And he is fast....

 

The only reason why Montoya did so well last year was because of the pace of last years Williams car. My arguement that he is a poor driver still stands.

 

Montoya has raw speed and gobs of talent and car control. What he lacks is consistency and a cooler head at times. But he is one of the few guys who hasn't given up on the MS dominance and is willing to challenge the status quo. In a way all of this reminds me of Gilles Villeneuve. Very fast and erratic.

On second thought though I think Gilles had more talent. It is more the way JPM drives that makes me reminiscent of the Canadian. Call it nostalgia.

 

Well, all I have to say is tha MS and RB has it alot easier with that car to be smooth than anyother on the grid. Is no good to judge the driving abilities of a driver just because he is agresive at the wheel.

Under that criteria any driver in the leser teams might look to you like terrible drivers, but in fact they are just fighting their cars ****y balance.

Alonso was a lot smoother past season, the reason why? better balance in the car. Just my 2 cents.

- Julio.

 

Gilles was a great driver. I see your point in comparing Montoya's style to Gilles. There is a difference in just accepting the status quo and respect. Montoya has a big ego and has no respect for anyone on the track. Montoya has no respect for other drivers, none for his own team, none for the race fans, none for the oficials, and certainly no respect for the media / cameramen. You need to give respect to get any from me. I will always be against the way the he behaves and against the way he drives.

Montoya's entire driving technique is based around the notion of erratic moves to put fear into the mind of a racer that he is racing against. That is why Montoya hates the Hungarian GP so much. There is no place for him to reach incredible speeds to threaten other drivers.

So the the result is that a test driver, Antonio Pizzonia, qualifies ahead of him in the same Williams car. Oh but wait, Mr. Montoya has another excuse for that. "I put in a fairly good lap without mistakes but the balance of my car prevented me from setting a quicker time."

It is always one excuse or the other for this Mad Midget! - I did a good lap BUT "The car was not fast enough", or "The track was not good", or "The grip was not there" or "The tyres did not perform well". Never ready to accept his own fault!

 

I agree that JPM has no respect for anybody whereas Gilles fault was actually too much respect: That's how he gave the title to Jody and didn't block Pironi in Imola in 82. However I like the no respect attitude from JPM.

As far as your fear argument goes: MS is not much different. Read the biography about him. And the one about Senna from whom he learned so much, especially the negative aspects of racing behavior. Senna and MS both made huge issues out of showing the rest of the field, that they fear nobody and that everybody should let them through. You don't see much of that on the track anymore from MS because he 1. got the best car, 2. has all the respect from everybody because of his achievements and 3. because he has learned a few tricks along the way, especially in Jerez...

So if you fault JPM for his aggressive driving, I may suggest you watch some tapes from 94 and 95 again and pay attention to the Benetton. The problem with JPM seems that he doesn't learn: He makes the same mistakes he made a couple of years ago, whereas MS rarely makes the same mistake twice.

 

There is a difference big between aggressive driving and driving meant to harm another driver or driving that could put the other driver's life in danger. Montoya's driving is probably going to hurt someone one of there days.

Even the Michael from 94 and 95 was aggressive but he was not out to harm any driver. Michael played the psychological mind games too, but Montoya has played them to the point where he is only harming his own reputation and no one else on the track cares what he thinks.

I don't remember the last time Michael complained or blamed the team or car for his lack of performance. Even with te early years with Ferrari, he struggled, but all his comments were positive on how much hard work the team does and how much the car is improving. Montoya just sits and whines about the car balance, the pace of the car and calls his own team "sh*t" on the radio.

Coming back to Alonso, there too we can see an aggressive hot shot young driver. The difference is that Alonso does not go around planting his car into his team mates car like Montoya does.

 

I think some of you folks tend to forget that MS has had his hand slapped on numerous occasions for being overly aggressive. Did he piss and moan for 2 seasons because of it? Or call it an FIA conspiracy? THe checks and balances are in the regulations for a reason - so no driver gets killed from someone else's self proclaimed greatness. That is why JPM will never get better, because he still does not get it (nor does he have it). "Gobs of talent and car control"? He is lost in anything but a near perfect car. That has been plainly evident throughout his career. When the car is good, yes he is fast. Next year will be interesting, paired with Kimi. Juan: no work ethic. Kimi: work ethic. Compairing Gilles to Juan? Man, do not even go there.

I think the real story will be Button and Weber. I really think MW will show us what he's got - IF sir Frankie can come through! And the same people high on JPM think Weber is a no talent bum. Yet, he consistantly brings that POS Jag home in the points, light years ahead of any teammate he has had. JPM just wears out the mic switch and makes excuses.

Alonso is really growing on me. After some early success, his head became EXTREEMLY big. Now that he has some F1 miles under his belt, he seems to be settling down and becoming more calculated. There was that lapse at Monaco, however!
Jim