Just read on Autosport.com that Jacques Villeneuve has quit BAR just one day before the Japanese Grand Prix.

I say good for Villeneuve. BAR is the most useless team in F1 when you consider their massive budget and factory Honda engines. It's no wonder his motivation was shot. Latest rumor is that he will decide to take a break next year then come back with Williams in 2005 after Juan Pablo Montoya leaves for McLaren. Frank Williams and Patrick Head still have a soft spot for Villeneuve, so the idea is not that crazy.

I really hope this happens. Formula One is crammed with boring, robotic drivers like Michael and Ralf Schumacher and, yes, Takuma Sato. We need more bad ass mo-fos like Villeneuve, Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, and Mark Webber. :alright

Kimi, not boring??? I don't think so...He's one hell of a driver, no question about that. In fact, I'd rate Kimi as most likely to become the top guy in F1 once Schumi steps down. But one thing the Iceman is not is interesting.

Also, JV didn't 'quit' BAR. He opted out of Suzuka out of sheer bitterness after learning that BAR had decided to replace him with Sato for '04. Sucks for JV. I really would like to see him in a good car. He should have opted to drive for Ferrari free for a season like Bernie suggested. Not like the man needs the money.

Kimi talks like a robot.

Interviewer "So Kimi, how was the race?"

Raikkotron "I drove the car in the race. The race had a car. blah blah blah, I'm an android."

I think Williams is very happy with the JPM/Ralf duo. I don't see why they would split that up, especially if they win Constructor's this year.

Takuma Sato is crap. I put him in the same group as Alex Yoong.:rolleyes:

I have to agree that Kimi is not very exciting in any interviews. I think some of that probably comes from him not being very comfortable with english yet.

I don't have much of an opinion on JV as I started following F1 as he started with BAR, but my impression is that he is interesting in the way eddie irvine was. That is not a good thing as EI was basically just a jackass.

Jason

"I think Williams is very happy with the JPM/Ralf duo. I don't see why they would split that up, especially if they win Constructor's this year."

If Montoya wants to leave in 2005, he will be free to do so. As much as it saddens me, Montoya has no specific loyalty to Williams and will likely leave for McLaren if they pay him more.

Originally posted by AAM429
Latest rumor is that he will decide to take a break next year then come back with Williams in 2005 after Juan Pablo Montoya leaves for McLaren.

I'd love to see that. I thought he should never have left in the first place.

Originally posted by AAM429
Frank Williams and Patrick Head still have a soft spot for Villeneuve, so the idea is not that crazy.

Interesting since it took them a while to warm up to him. They originally wouldn't allow him to set the car up the way he wanted. They thought he was nuts (he did things like asymetrical set-ups).

I guess they should have a soft spot for him since he brought them their last driver's championship. :D

Originally posted by AAM429
I really hope this happens. Formula One is crammed with boring, robotic drivers like Michael and Ralf Schumacher and, yes, Takuma Sato. We need more bad ass mo-fos like Villeneuve, Montoya, Kimi Raikkonen, and Mark Webber. :alright

Yep.

I remember Patrick thinking Jacques had gone around the bend when he wanted to use an assymetrical set up on his car. That is, until Jacques passed Schumi on the OUTSIDE of the Parabolica at Estoril in 1996. No one thought that was possible, but he had the cast iron cojones to try it, and that bizarre set up helped him do it.

And there is one big difference between Eddie Irvine and Jacques Villeneuve... Jacques can drive!

If Montoya wants to leave in 2005, he will be free to do so. As much as it saddens me, Montoya has no specific loyalty to Williams and will likely leave for McLaren if they pay him more.True. I think had he won the Driver's this year he would have a bit of loyalty. I don't think JPM really cares about the Constructor's title too much. Sure he hears Head and Williams telling him how important it is for the team, but he really wanted the Driver's this year. Then again, I don't see him just running of to Mercedes if he feels that Williams.BMW will give him a better chance at winning a personal Driver's title. I honestly don't see how you could leave Williams.BMW - they are putting a great car out there every race weekend.

And there is one big difference between Eddie Irvine and Jacques Villeneuve... Jacques can drive!I couldn't agree more. I'm tired of him complaining about BAR, but then again I don't think any real contender would be happy with what Honda is offering.

People still need to look out for Renault.

not to sound rude, but if i didnt know better i would think kimi had downs or something... he has this 1000 yard stare and mumbles incoherently, i like him cause hes a good driver, but i dont like how he has the personality of a triscuit... also... i think hes albino (maybe its just me)

It's true that Kimi is somewhat lacking in the personality stakes, but you can chalk that up to a few things: 1. He's still not as comfortable with English as Mika Hakkinen was, and simply doesn't have Hakkinen's dry sense of humor. 2. He's still very young and not used to the kind of attention he's getting. 3. He doesn't give a shit about anything other than driving the wheels off the car.

All that being said, I still think he would be an exciting world champion, if for no other reason than that it would be someone OTHER THAN SCHUMI.

Anyway, I'll be staying up late tonight to watch final qualifying, praying that Schumi spins on his flying lap and has to start from the back of the grid.

Another thing about Kimi's lack of personality is that he still may not actually believe where he is and what he's doing. I mean he turns 24 next weekend and he's the number 2 driver in F1 by points. He may just be scared to death that he'll screw up in an interview and it will all come crashing down.

Hell, I'd be awfully careful about that stuff in his position.

Jason

Originally posted by jsaunde2
He may just be scared to death that he'll screw up in an interview and it will all come crashing down.

Nah...to have made it to this level, he's been coached and taught how to do interviews. Besides, in order to be a great driver, one needs a certain amount of ego...certainly enough ego to prevent him from being worried about screwing up an interview. He's only 24, but he's been training for this most all of his life.

Besides, there are 24 year olds all around the country in consulting firms telling business verterans how they can do things better...if anything, someone with the drive to make it to F1 is more likely to shoot off his mouth at a young age than to hold back. ;)

Originally posted by BMWRacerITS
Besides, there are 24 year olds all around the country in consulting firms telling business verterans how they can do things better.

Yes, yes there are;)

I still miss those old Mika Hakkinen press conferences...

Overly excited interviewer: Mika, that was a fantastic qualifying effort. It looked like conditions were particularly bad with traffic, but you seemed to deal with it extremely well. Could you walk us through it? Was it as difficult as it appeared?


Deadpan Mika: Yes.

(cue total silence)


:jump:

Raikkotron "I drove the car in the race. The race had a car. blah blah blah, I'm an android."

Raikkotron I love it! That's my new favorite nick-name for Kimi

Originally posted by vjlax18
Yes, yes there are;)

Everyone I know here in Charlotte outside of commercial real estate or racing, is one of either a banker or a consultant. I think there are more consultants walking around uptown Charlotte than actual employees of the companies headquartered here. :)

Reading about JV's first years in F1 reminds me so much of what I like about Montoya. From Formula 1 magazine, October, 2003 issue:

He burst on the scene in a blaze of publicity, this daredevil son of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve. Yet far from riding on his late father's illustrious reputation, Jacques Villeneuve quickly made a name for himself. In those first two seasons with Williams he won 11 times in 31 races, endearing himself to race watchers with a tremendous fighting spirit, a pure passion for driving and a penchant for risk-taking that were wonderfully reminiscent of his old man.

Yet Jacques Villeneuve was very much his own man, a quirky character whose idiosyncratic ways were often at odds with conventional F1 wisdom, though they made him both a media darling and even more of a hero for the fans . . .

I think about how Montoya upset the establishment with daring moves on MS, the pass at Brazil in 2001, seven pole positions last year, including Silverstone and fastest single F1 lap, at Monza, etc . . .

Williams remembers what they first saw in him (JV) when he tested for the team during the winter of 1995-1996, prior to their hiring him for the coming season.

"He clearly had outstanding car control and speed," Williams recalls. " . . . and we always believed that any man who's raced around Indy at over 200 miles per hour, and also run 800 to 900 horsepower turbo cars and won consistently with them, was a bit of a winner. So we thought we'd give him a bit of a go."

And go he did, hiting the ground running when he made his F1 debut with Williams, the year after he had won the CART championship, when, at 24, he also became the youngest ever winner of the famed Indianopolis 500."

Reminds me that Montoya was CART champ his rookie season, and JPM won Indy on his first attempt the next year. But there's more . . .

En route to winning the 1997 championship the upstart newcomer distinguished himself by daring at every opportunity to bang wheels with the sport's dastardly villain Michael Schumacher.

First time reading that article I was thinking, "Damn, JPM is the second-coming of JV."


Originally posted by AAM429
I remember Patrick thinking Jacques had gone around the bend when he wanted to use an assymetrical set up on his car. That is, until Jacques passed Schumi on the OUTSIDE of the Parabolica at Estoril in 1996. No one thought that was possible, but he had the cast iron cojones to try it, and that bizarre set up helped him do it.


Reminds me of Montoya passing MS on the outside of Turn 1 at Malaysia last year and again at Dunlop Kurve, Nurburgring this year.

As far as the way Kimi presents himself, perhaps it has to do with several things:

- Kimi's Finnish cultural background (some Finn karting buddies of mine have similar "dry" attitudes in conversation. Hang around long enough and you'll hear them laugh AND smile a lot.)

- Kimi's English proficiency. Hey, the kid's only 24 and English isn't his native language. Maybe he's still learning the vocab necessary to vocally express emotion. Let's see you 3rd year French or Spanish students find the words necessary with a mic in your face in front of millions of TV viewers :D :D

I dig Kimi's driving. Remember qualifying at Spa last year? When he kept his foot in it THROUGH the blown engine smoke after Eau Rouge? That excitement makes up for any lack thereof in any of his press conferences, IMHO.

p.s. Second the genius of "Raikkotron". That's classic, OPTIMO :handclap

This is off the topic but I don't think Kimi's english proficiency has anything to do with the way he comes across in interviews.

If you were at the USGP watching the post-race interviews: they didn't cut away when the drivers started speaking in their native languages like they do on TV.
Kimi speaking Finnish in an interview sounds EXACTLY like Kimi speaking english. Same monotone, but just completely unintelligible if you don't know Finnish.
It sounds more natural to hear monotone Finnish for some reason.

Also, I think Mika's interviewing style changed a lot over the last two years of his F1 career. He used to be just like Kimi but then his ability to deliver the best lines in an interview tok over and you couldn't wait to hear what he had to say!

Regarding JV - I'm not a big fan. I'll admit I wasn't watching F1 when he started there and won his championship. But everything I've seen at BAR shows him to be selfish and not able to drive a car on the limit as well as, say Montoya or M. Schumacher. I wonder how much his championship winning was down to the car.

He does not do PR events for his team yet he has been the second-highest paid driver for years. And it seems that every time he does manage a PR event, he says something completely asinine or contrary to logic. Much like Irvine, I think he just wants attention and will say anything to get it.

And leaving before the last race is just being a big baby. If you get paid that much to drive a car and you haven't seemed to have the effect on the team as they were hoping, well maybe it's time to go. But aparently he can burn all the bridges he wants because he's "so damned good." That's why nobody will pick him up for next season huh? Whatever.

I think BAR were hoping JV could do for them what MS did for Ferrari. Become involved with everything about the team, inspire people, help with PR and technical issues. That didn't happen.
They bring on Jenson Button and he often outqualifies JV and if it wasn't for rotten luck he'd finish higher too.

Obviously I'm not to impressed with JV.

Raikkotron "I drove the car in the race. The race had a car. blah blah blah, I'm an android."

... he has this 1000 yard stare and mumbles incoherently, i like him cause hes a good driver, but i dont like how he has the personality of a triscuit...

:biglaughb Awesome quotes. He needs to loosen up and enjoy himself.

As far as JV goes...I respect his decision. He was and, I think, still is passionate about racing, but his cars have just not been consistent. If he comes back with Williams, if they get a 3rd car, would be kickass.

OT: That new engine Hoda brought out with the extra 200rev button that can only be used 7 times is cool....

When does the qualifying and race begin here in NA? They usually start at like 10pm MT....

"OT: That new engine Hoda brought out with the extra 200rev button that can only be used 7 times is cool...."

You're talking about the Honda Spec 5? Both of them blew up at Indy, I guess JV and Button used them that 8th time...

1 AM EST is qualifying. MT, is that 11 PM?

Saturday practice 1 results show Ralf leading, but unfortunately MS is 2nd.