Montoya...the best driver to come to F1 in years!

Montoya is far from the best driver to come to F1 in years, IMO.
He is perhaps the most overrated in years. It really annoys me how much the SPEED announcers drool over his capability... even right after he makes some bonehead move.

Montoya consistently makes the most basic of racing mistakes... such as going into early corners way too deep... perhaps passing someone, but only to lose it right back as he has to completely lift to save an off... or just goes right off.

He also makes hyper aggressive moves relying on the hope that the competitor is going to back down rather than get in a collision. I do not respect a pass completed via intimidation rather than technique.

Montoya is very good. But he is not a great driver. I'll be surprised if he ever wins WDC... in fact, I'll be a bit surprised if he ever even gets close again.

 

Agree with Brian on that.
JPM is not in the class of a true World Champion.
I must admit that he has talent, but im tired of his attitude.

One last thing, his wife is a a fine looking honey..............she deserves to be with me!!!

(Bit of Jealousy????)

 

I agree 100%

But most of the guys here hate JPM.

So let me try to break it down.... If you have a Ferrari or watch F1 does that mean you are careful? love rules? don't like surprises? Maybe a guy that gets rich and becomes a Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer... is not the type to enjoy watching a balls-y driver, or some-one who is wild or crazy?

You spend a lot of time in the library, you are careful and a thinker, to get to the top professions that earn enough money to bye a Ferrari and go watch F1 races, and travel to Europe. What is the household income of the American F1 fan?

PSK was right. That's why guys on F-chat like their F1 full of careful thinkers ... "races are like watching a University exam sitting"

Maybe that's what this crowd enjoys? JPM go away! We like are races Dull!!! LOL

Me?
I want a balls-to-the-wall wild-man from South America. Now that's what I call a sporting event!!!

really guys... you want the real truth?- sports fans can't be sports fans without hating someone.
(And you can take that to the Bank!)

 

I don't think that's it at all. For example, I like Sato. I wouldn't want him on my team right now any more than I'd want JPM, but I like having Sato in the field. He's ballsy and makes similar mistakes as JPM... but he doesn't run into someone and then make a hand gesture at them as if they should have gotten the hell out of the way... he doesn't give a post-race interview whining (literally, annoyingly whining) that someone ran him off the road when it is clear that he braked too damn late, locked his wheels up, and couldn't possibly have made the turn. Rather, Sato never points his finger at other drivers for his mistakes.

I like Alonso. I've had a good laugh as he makes a bold passing maneuver (not moronic intimidation, but a bold move)... only to be re-passed almost immediately because his move left him way off line for the next corner. But Alonso doesn't point to bad tactics or underperforming car for his screwing up the line... I've yet to hear Alonso whine anything... let alone whine his way through a whole damn paragraph.

The engineers I know all like entertainment that gets far out of the rigid and logical... they want a good fight in their hockey games... they want lots of "excessive demonstration" at their football games... and they want ballsy passing in their motor races. But they don't want to listen to a grown man whine about how its the other guys fault that he didn't make the goal, or didn't make the pass.

 

Brian,

Rewind the race in Monaco. Take a look at Alonso's ill-informed pass of Ralf Schumacher in the tunnel and how he was shaking his fist at Ralf after his (Alonso's) car finally came to a halt and Ralf motored by. It was all purely Alonso's fault yet he succumbed to the actions you fault JPM and some others for.

Personally I like most if not all of the drivers in the top ten. I especially appreciate JPM's candor and lack of political-speak. Too often Rubens or Michael will just plain make me puke. I love Ferrari and am pleased with the last five seasons, but enough is enough. The sport needs colorful personalities too but sadly Ferrari doesn't have much of this.

Andy

 

Good counter-argument. I wondered what Alonso was thinking there. He could have been gesturing good naturedly, "I'll get you next time"... or stupidly, "You caused this!" But I didn't hear Alonso whining about Ralf after the race... maybe I just missed it. If so, then I'll lose a notch of respect for him... that was a bold but super-risky move on his part... he was rolling the dice on what traction he'd have out there... and he lost that bet. Ralf had nothing to do with it.

I, too, like most of the drivers... just not JPM... and the primary reasons are that he whines about others being at fault for his mistakes AND his complete lack of any notion of "team". I'm a big fan of team sports and that's a lot of why I like F1.

 

Alonso did say some choice words to Ralf. What people classify as whining is loose it seems to me, but it very much was similar to what JPM does.

 

Arrogant? Yes!
Best driver to come to F1 in years? a joke!
Make no mistake, JPM will be never a World Champion. He lacks everything a true champion must HAVE. There are in order (and with the proper car, or at least a car like JPM drives) 3-4 drivers that will win the champioship before him.
Rubino, (yes with that car and team and if Michael gets satisfied with 7 crowns) then keep your eyes on Kimi, Jenson and Fernando. Except for Rubens all are young and have everything JP does not have. I mean, talent.
Enzo Ferrari was, always,convinced that a driver to be a champion must be above all intelligent. And he was, always, right.
Look at the numbers, please. How many races did he win in about 4-5 years of racing in F1? What did he accomplished before winning Indy? At what age did he get in F1?
Don't mesure a driver by how much does he talk, but from how many races he win instead.

 

These comments could be just as applicable to MS as well. Intimidation is a powerful tool MS uses, IMO.
At least JPM makes it interesting when he is running well. What F1 needs are a few more personalities, and fewer robots in Nomex suits. I don't root for JPM, but I am glad he's there.

I read that same article and got a good laugh. Maybe Button should actualy win a race before popping off comments like that. I find it difficult to believe considering he has had trouble even outqualifying his own teammate lately.

 

Oh so true.

 

Insert Irvine and JV here...

Or is listening to JPM whine about driver conduct or Justin Wilson, Ralpf Fir... oh wait I mean Klein thank his supporters and then say how neat he thinks his team is progressing, uhhh yawn.

RocketBoy

 

That I can agree with... I like having people to cheer against as well as people to cheer for!

On that note, I think there's still a lot of excitement in F1 if you care about more than 1st place. I cheer hard for RB to get 2nd; and have been pulling for the BAR twins this year. I cheer against JPM and for RS to at least beat JPM. I cheer against Renault (they are French ). And of course, overriding all that, I cheer for my F1tipping picks!

The problems is the stupid TV coverage spends too much time watching MS preserve his engine and not near enough focused on the real battles going on. More in-car footage of those battles would be awesome.

 

Whatever JPM does moving forward is all factor in already.

My vote for the next star is SATO, did anyone noticed how he passed half the field from 11th place at Indy to 3rd place? MS and RB barely had to pass anyone in the whole race to get their 1st and 2nd place, Sato earned his 3rd place. He's got balls and am not afraid to challenge the senior guys. He is exactly what the sport needs, screw what RB said about his ill-advised pass attempt in Montreal, at least he had the balls to try it.

Go Sato!

 

I like JPM, but i think Kimi is a better driver, its just terrible that the Mercedes cars are horrible right now. Also, im very impressed with Trulli and the whole Renault team. It is really suprising. Dont get me wron JPM is terrific, sometimes i question his attitude when he is out on the track, but i guess thats just his game face.

 

Hi guys,
THe latest quote from the Whinny one, " I do my thing, I've done my thing, now the team needs to do their thing." THis is Juans version of a teamwork pep talk to help turn around the fortunes of the hapless hammer head Williams. Good job Juan! I would follow you into battle - just say the word!!!!

I view Sato as a possible work in progress. Some of the things he does amazes me. Then he does something so assinine that I put him in the same league as JPWhine (such as taking out a Sauber IN A PRACTICE SESSION - WITH A VERY VERY STUPID MOVE!!!!!). I think there is improvement from his Jordan days, but I have no idea if he can move forward from here. We shall see.....

Mark(study) - I'm sorry but I think you have it all wrong. I scrimped and saved and was blessed with a very understanding wife to realize a lifelong dream of F-car ownership. I am a manager in a manufacturing field. I am not "rich" (only in family!) and the car will sit if something goes wrong until I can afford to fix it myself. It may also have to go to fund some college coming up (sniff...sniff...) I think the majority of owners that I have met are exactly the same. Yes, I am a Ferrari fan. But I would love to see even Zoldt drive a Minardi to a win using driver ability and teamwork over some of the crap Montoya pulls. I've said this over and over - we are talking about the supposed pinnacle of racing, the best of the best of the best. If you think an analytical approach to driving is boring, you should watch something else! If you think big balls and taking people off with gorilla tactics is entertaining, watch IRL or NASCAR. I thought the USGP was terrific this year! Lots of great passing moves - it really showed off the abilities of the drivers. I think that is what F1 is all about - ability! Not only of the drivers, but also the cars. Always has been, I hope it always will! Heck, one of the coolest moves of the weekend came from the 16yr old kid who passed Montoya's 18yr old brother in the Beemer minikart. He shadowed him the whole race watching for weaknesses. On the last lap he set him up with a perfect move and slick as can be, passed him for the win. This is the kind of stuff that keeps me coming back - not the crashes or the fingers and fists thrown up. Heck, anybody can do that.

Just my .02
Jim

 

We want the same stuff Jim. Currently though in F1 we have few drivers that have the balls or ability to even try a passing move. JPM has the balls.

Note: I do not rate JPM as a great driver but I am glad that somebody is atleast prepared to try and pass ... instead of just waiting until the next pitstop.

The driver that most excites me at the moment is Sato, a driver with raw speed and balls and if the right team manager can just hone his abilities we may have a great driver again in F1 ... who atleast wants to race on the track.

Pete's opinion

ps: IMO the title of this thread should have been 'Montoya ... the most interesting driver to come to F1 in years!'

 

Kamakazee Sato who would not be in F1 without the sponsorship of Honda. Thank you Mr. Japanese poster boy who has only finished 3 out of the 9 times due to rash driving and mechanical failures, contiue to sell your Honda t-shirts in Japan.

Montoya the Mad Midget who take out his teammate at turn one and ends the hopes of his entire TEAM for the race. Thank you Mr. Montoya for being the idiot you are and making things for Ferrari easier.

You want to praise drivers for making f1 exciting then praise Michael, Rubens, Jenson, Ralf, Trulli, and Timo Glock. At least Timo is not paying his way into F1 like Sato is through Honda. At least Rubens is smart does not knock out his own teammate on turn 1. Thank God for smart drivers and intelligent people.

 

We've only heard you say this same venemous opinion...oh...50 times? Sato's a crazy Japanese Kamikazee and Montoya is a Mad Midget. Okay, said and done. We get the point!

 

I would say a majority of fans are getting bored with Ferrari 1-2 finishes, especially without any challenges by RB. At least JPM and Sator are not afraid to challenge the elders, that makes for exicting racing.

Look at all the races this year and how little passing was done by MS and RB to earn their victories. They are hardly being challenge by anyone.

It's Sato's rookie year, cut him some slack and see how he develops.

 

You are wrong. This is not Sato's Rookie year!!!
He first debuted for Jordan in Australian GP 2002. Get your F1 facts straight. He then moved to BAR Honda in 2003 driving for BAR in Suzuka to become Honda's poster boy to sell more T-shirts in Japan when JV quit BAR.

All I am saying F1 is already very interesting due to great racing drivers like Michael, Rubens, Kimi, Ralf, Trulli, and Jenson. Maniacs like Montoya and Sato do not make F1 interesting, they make F1 dangerous for the other drivers, crowds at the race tracks and the marshalls at the race track. Montoya and Sato do not deserve to be driving an F1 car.

Compare them to Kimi, who has earned the respect of people through intelligent and professional racing without putting the lives of other racers in danger.

 

You are correct, he did a season in 02 with Jordan-Honda. Nevertheless, just because he is aggressive does not make him a dangerous driver.

I disagree with your statement that F1 is already very interesting, in fact, why don't you take a poll on the most dynamic and interesting drivers that is a draw to the sport.

You can continue to live in your fantasy world of homogenous textbook gentlemen racers, meanwhile I will continue to enjoy the dynamic action offer by these "dangerous drivers".

 

FINALLY, someone with some sense, I agree with you wholeheartedly, dangerous driver whose anger and lack of maturity very well could kill someone some day, I only hope it will be him alone.

 

I forgot to say that this too is correct.