I'm biased because I've attended the Monaco GP far more times than any other, but I honestly think it's a real spectacle! Watching Senna pass Mansell with 3 laps to go ('92) was just great. Have you ever watched that tape of Senna doing a qualifying lap at Monaco? Sheer magic!
You probably missed it because you were in Monaco, but Speed aired precisely that tape as part of the Saturday qualifying show. And yes, it was sheer magic. Time for a commercial: Do yourself a favor and get a copy of "Laps of the Gods", part 1 and 2. Spectacular in car footage of F1 cars in the past. You even see some of the foot work involved in a lap around Monaco. Unfrigginbelievable!
Ummm if JPM can't drive in tight condtions why did he win the event in 03? We agree on one thing though there should another USGP, lol
IMHO JPM showed what a great driver he can be by winning Monaco. But I still think he is of the DC type: Great in some races and asleep at the wheel in others. Highly inconsistent and not what it takes to win a title.
Indeed, Silverstone should NOT be removed. For that matter I prefer all the traditional European tracks to Bahrain, China, Turkey etc. Everyone who feels the same way should vote as such in this poll. F1's heart should always stay in Europe and pay visits to the tracks that have produced it's past champions in legendary races, IMO of course.
Every other year Monaco hosts the Ferrari historic races; next year is the year and I'm planning to go. Every time I watch the GP there I pray someone doesn't get hurt or killed, because that would be the beginning of the end for that GREAT track. A part of F1 is about tradition, and places like Monaco, Spa, and Monza (even with its chicanes) are the last bastions of the sport. The newer, 30 yard wide tracks are slick and have great air-conditioned facilities, (God knows they need it), but there's still only a few ideal lines around them! Long straights, heavy braking into a hairpin, accelerate onto another long straight... That's boring! Where are the sweeping, high-speed curves that separate the men from the boys? Bring back the Curva Grande and the Hella Light Bend! Monaco is a driver's track, demanding concentration and perfection lap after lap, otherwise, look at what happened to poor Bandini. Is it a spectacle? Yes. Is it hard to pass? Yes. So what! Its only one race on the calendar year and the driver that wins will always remember it.
Agree, more often than not Monaco is won by a multiple World Champion. I remember watching Mario Andretti in 77 and 78; despite the all conquering Lotus, he didn't do well in Monaco, yet he won Long Beach in 1977 (Mario lucked out that Jody Schecter's Wolf had a puncture a few laps from the end). '77 Long Beach GP was a great race in that Schecter, Andretti and Lauda were with within 3 seconds of each other the entire race and there was room to pass. The fact that Mario didn't do well at Monaco shows how tough the circuit really is.
I too believe that today's F1 has outgrown Monaco as the track is now too narrow with no real place to pass safely, even if the driver in front makes a mistake, as long as he is able to hold his lines, the passing driver will likely have to back off as it is way too tight. However, that is part of today's F1 and racing at Monaco and to not have a race there would be completely sacrilegious. As it should and forever be part of F1, just as Le Man is to endurance racing, and Indy is to oval racing.
I think he's braver than DC but he does have his shortcomings. He had a good shot at the title in 03 though. That year he became a consistent finisher and was in the title fight for a long time.
Agreed. JPM has a lot of potential just like KR and FA, except that they were all a little too wild and did not know how to win a title. Race winners they were, but it wasn't until this year that FA and KR seems to have learn how to calm down and finally learned how to fight for the title. PS: Also, it is a little unfair to judge him right now as he is at a completely new team with a well established team mate. I would give him a year and then decide if he is better or not even close to KR.
Not sure I agree about Kimi: He too already fought for the title till the end and only in Suzuka Michael was finally able to outdo him (and at one time in the race Kimi was already WC, but then lost it again).
I would have to disagree with you on that one. He was "fighting" for title in 2003 only because of the point system. If you recall, he only won either one or two races that year versus Michael's six or something like that. The race you were referring to was probably the one that he lost to Michael with one or two laps left when he went off line because of both pressure from MS and oil on the track, which I think was a sign of a young driver. This year would have been an entirely different story as I think they have both matured a lot. I think KR's crappy 2004 was actually a blessing as he learned how to get the team behind him and become more humble. Talent he has, patience he has not, until now (I am beginning to sound like Yoda.....not good). I would have loved to see MS go at it against KR and FA, only if the F2005 wasn't so much off the pace
Plus the fact that he sucks at Suzuka didn't help him, DC was always faster than him there. People standing at the esses were saying something about him being on and off the throttle and at one point coasting. Sounds like he doesn't have the hang of that circuit yet.
I have never been to Suzuka, but from what I read and heard, it is both a driver's track and a track to showcase the best equipments. Unlike Monaco, a great driver may be able to get away with an inferior car, but not Suzuka. Besides, it is usually ran at the end of the season, the teams have pretty much max-out what they can do with the cars already. PS: I still find myself wishing that Senna didn't take Prost out in the 90's season, it could have had been one of the greatest race ever, considering you have two great drivers and two cars from two different teams.
It's tough track, no question. Kimi's problem seemed to be in the esses which I only tried in a video game and went off so many times I lost count. I think the video game corner workers were laughing at me. People close to the track where listening to him going though there and he sounded like he was having a really hard time, while DC was smoother on the throttle. I also wish Senna hadn't done that but i guess Prost had it coming. He pretty much took Senna out the year before. That, plus Balestre's meddling made it an easy choice for him to make. Not that i'm saying it's right but justifiable in his own mind. I wonder if MS would have done the same.
Suzuka was built as a test track and it shows: It is very technical and you have to be top notch to get it right. Some guys did have an advantage because of their stints in Asia (Irvine), but still didn't get it right when it mattered (99). From playing the game on the PC I can say, that it took me (and my nephew) a long time to get the hang of Suzuka. E.g. the series of compromise esses after the start is one of the hardest things to find a good line through. But once you get it right, you can actually start to enjoy your dominance over the AI cars. Same holds true for Spa. PS: I still find myself wishing that MS had taken Hakkinen out in 99.
*LOL* I know you are an EI fan, not sure why but you are but I have to say, I don't think EI was ever as good as MH or MS. More colorful, but I don't think he was one of the elite drivers that ever paced up and down the pit-lanes. Did he ever really beaten Hakkinen on the tracks?
For some reason i have no trouble at Spa. Hell, i think i took pole first time out there, but Suzuka messes me up every freaking time. I think it's just a case of me going into the first turn of the esses too hot then trying to save the car after that. Maybe I'll do a Kimi and just coast though it.......
No and you're right of course. Top 10 reasons for why I adore Eddie: 10) Last guy of the old style of racers (read Hunt) 9) Still speaks his mind and doesn't give a darn about PC and PR 8) With a 4th tire at Nuerburgring would have broken the 20 year drought for the Scuderia 7) I always root for the underdog 6) I can't stand all the F1 collectors of real cars turning their Irvine (and now Barichello) cars into MS cars for profits, give the man some credit 5) He did some great racing and was darn quick and always underrated 4) Despite his big mouth one of the most honest and realistic people in pitlane putting himself BEHIND MS 3) If $$$ is the measure of all things, he ranks #2 of all drivers 2) I don't mind rich people, but I do think they have an obligation to "entertain" us with their antics. I always prefer Paul Allan over Gates and playboy Irvine over family father Schumacher. ...and the number 1 reason for why Eddie is my hero: 1) I spent an evening in Imola after the GP getting piss drunk with his father. (sorry for the lingo, ban me now)
Andreas, You would have loved Innes Ireland and James Hunt, they were two of the really bad boys as well. You forgot to mention how many beautiful women Irvine always had a round him.
One of the great things about Monaco is that it's probably the only track that isn't dull to watch cars by themselves, rather than fighting it out. If you really pay attention to the on-car footage, you almost start to get myopic with all the barriers and buildings flying by! Silverstone should stay. It's the spiritual home of F1, and I've always thought the track was pretty cool. What I find ironic is how, back in the 80s & 90s, there was so much criticism about the nomadic USGP being set up in some parking lot or flat city grid of streets. So now they build boring tracks out on flat pieces of land in the middle of nowhere, using a layout that seems almost an afterthought to all the amenities that need to be built into the circuits nowadays.
