Immediate contract termination - BMW & Villeneuve

It was expected.
JV was like a hot potatoe that everybody wanted to get rid off.

NASCAR next?

 

Insteresting to say the least.


http://www.formula-1.updatesport.com/news/article/1154882347/formula_one/F1gossip/NASCAR-teams-scoff-at-Villeneuve-gossip/view.html

(GMM) NASCAR teams have reportedly scoffed at claims in the press that departed BMW-Sauber Jacques Villeneuve could be headed for the series in 2007.

Canadian newspaper 'Toronto Sun' conducted an informal poll of teams at Indianapolis' 'Brickyard 400' and found that none of them have staged talks with the world champion of 1997.

''We would be looking for someone to step in right away at this level,'' said one NASCAR owner, who ruled himself out of following the example of Chip Ganassi by signing a grand prix star such as Juan Pablo Montoya.

A report in the 'Journal de Montreal' this weekend claimed that Villeneuve, replaced this weekend at Budapest by test driver Robert Kubica, had already signed a 'pre-contract' for a NASCAR team for next season.

 

Thank god! Like a bad odor, he lingered around F1 too long and with similar effect. The only reason he half-lasted this year is because BMW was looking for a way to get out of Saubers contract. Sauber only hired him because Bernie pushed them real hard. Flavio only gave him the Renault drive because Bernie pushed that through too - and he totally boned it at Renault.

He's been the walking dead of F1 for years now. Only Coulthard has managed to hang on so long with (almost as) severe lack of talent as JV!

 

As already announced last week:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=115910

 

He peaked too early, and killed his career by going to BAR, which I'm sure was motivated by $$$. Of course, $15M + / year is hard to turn down...

Despite the past crappy 7 - 8 years, at least he still has an F1 WDC to his name, and $100M + to retire on...

 

I think he'd be more likely to do Rolex, ALMS, or go back to Forsythe in ChampCar. Not likely, but with the new chassis in 2007, you never know.

Or, he could just retire.

 

'Bout fricken time!!!!!

 

And with that 1 title he has achieved more than his father. At least in the record books.

 

Only because of his father's untimely death. I doubt anyone seriously think Jacques can be compared to his dad.

 

Gilles and Jacques

- two different styles of driving;
- two different eras.

Unfortunately, in Gilles. case, an untimely death gave him legendary status by default.

Jacques....IMO, regardless of his 1 championship, will never be considered a legend.

 

Gilles could have won the title from Sheckter if he hadn't been a gentleman and would have won more titles if he had survived. All true.

But: Aside from the fact that he hasn't (some people only count success by the history records), I simply think Jacques is a more mature racer. Gilles was incredibly entertaining with his all or nothing attitude and endeared himself to fans and Enzo, but in order to finish first, you first must finish. Something Jacques did very well when he won his CART and F1 titles.

Two different times, two different styles, but IMHO Jacques is the smarter and in the end more successful driver.

Not to be cynical, but you could also measure successful racing drivers by being alive at the end of your career. Gilles' death was preventable to some degree. It was his rage against Pironi that got the better of him. The eighties weren't the sixties where it was sheer luck to survive or not.

 

I think Jacques alone is a study in two different careers and styles. I remember watching him race the Atlantics and up through the CART series. Even his first couple seasons with Williams. He was damn near untouchable, a pure racer. And he definitely served well to preserve the prestige of the Villeneuve name in racing. But it here is where I think we see the difference between Jacques and Gilles: Gilles still drove the wheels off of an inferior car, whereas Jacques' interest seemed to fade in accordance with the quality of his machinery. Now, it may have been easier in the 70s and early 80s to overcome lesser equipment with an extra dose of manhandling. But even so, you could say that it was a form of moodiness that was really the undoing of both Villeneuves.

 

i was already expecting this. i think ice cube got a lot more motivation and fire in him compared to JV. and to be frank, i'm glad to see the back of him.

 

I have heard Jacques described as many things, but mature is not one of them. He has managed to alienate himself from the entire F1 paddock with his attitude. His mechanics hate him, most members of most teams for which he has driven all speak poorly of him.

The fact that he has now been fired by 3 of the 4 teams he has driven for speaks for itself. F1 has seen the last of Jacques Villeneuve and I am willing to wager that more than a few people in the paddock are saying Good Riddance.

By that standard, Andrea deCesaris is a more successful driver than either Jimmy Clark or Ayrton Senna? I don't think so. Racing is inherently dangerous and drivers sometimes lose their lives in situations that they could not control. I think the ability to survive a career in motorsports is in and of itself meaningless when it comes to comparing drivers. I doubt Senna or Clark intended to die behind the wheel and I think DeCesaris is very lucky he didn't. Being lucky (or unlucky) should have no bearing on the discussion.

 

The maturity comment was in regards to the way he approached going after his titles in comparison to the way his dad drove. Outside the car his behavior is a different story.

The survival comment was in regards to his dad in comparison with other great drivers who lost their lives (great excludes de Cesaris). Without trying to start a debate here, I don't think e.g. that Senna or Clark's accidents were really preventable. They just happened. Gilles death' was a mixture of things (Mass doing a stupid move and Gilles being out of control in his futile attempt to knock Pironi from pole) and was ultimately senseless. It wouldn't have made much of a difference whether he started 2nd or from pole.

The point being, that Jacques drove with a lot more calculated risk.

PS: Just for the record: I was neither a Gilles nor a Jacques fan. But I think Jacques gets too much bad press on here while Gilles is being everybody's darling for having done his stunts in a Ferrari.

 

What a bunch of BS. I am not in favor of these mid-season driver lineup changes.

As with Montoya, here we saw their last race in F1 and didn't even know it at the time. Both Montoya and JV were not exactly nobodies in the sport, they deserved a little better than that. I am not impressed with how Ron Dennis handled Montoya, and I am certainly not impressed with how BMW handled JV.

 

As it's been said before, it's a pity Jacques was persuaded by pollock to go to BAR, who knows how good he may have been if he'd been in a front running car.......having said that at least Jacques won the world championship where the likes of Barichello or Montoya failed

 

Same here. It looks like team managers are under a lot of pressure these days and make rather harsh decisions on the spur of the moment.

Thyessen, the BMW boss didn't seem to like JV right from the start when he took over and only accepted to 'honor' the Sauber contract under sufferance. At the first occasion, he sacked him.

Dennis made it plain that KR was his favourite and left no alternative but to Montoya to look for new pastures. As soon as he heard the move to NASCAR, he sacked him on the spot.

I think JV would have been alright all his career, if he had been better at PR. He was notorious for criticising his team and engineers in public; not a good idea.

 

You sure got that right, I couldn't agree more.

 

The classic anti-JV tirade as given by SRT Mike. Honestly, you shred him with such efficiency, you give me something to strive for.

 

You should try reading all the JV coverage in the french Quebec press. The media makes the entire province smell JV's farts everytime he does something. In essence, that's why I can't take him anymore.

 

LOL

I can understand that. I remember the late eighties/early nineties when every Austrian newspaper was filled with what Gerhard Berger ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner, whom he saw, what he thinks (he does?), dreams, runs etcetc blablabla. I never had anything against Berger until media overexposure caused a chronic gag reaction. And that was long before the world heard of Paris Hilton.

 

Yeah, but at least Gerhard was a fairly interesting guy to read about!