I'm referring to next year, of course...

He's finished IMHO.

What say you?

yes, I definetly think they should pick up heidfeld.

Jacques has simply moved past his prime. Without a frontline car, he just isn't competitive anymore. I'd like to see him move into Champ Car or sportscar racing and free up that seat for one of the many young guns that are around. If they can get Heidfeld, that would be a good choice, but SFW has taken the option on him and I just cannot see him doing BMW any favors after they're relationship has soured so much this year.

-Paul

BMW ought to dump him and try and buy Kovalainen from Renault. He's going to be the next big star in F1, IMO.

he is an idiot, pretty much a joke, i think he is confused that f1 is bumper cars.

The guy's an ex-world champion. I'd like to see how he does in the first few races, and if he does poorly, dump him. I'm not sure he's finished yet.

he is an idiot, pretty much a joke, i think he is confused that f1 is bumper cars.
:confused All of the incidents he's been involved in recently were the other drivers fault, IIRC.

The guy's an ex-world champion. I'd like to see how he does in the first few races, and if he does poorly, dump him. I'm not sure he's finished yet.

I agree. You don't become world champion by being a hack. Many many drivers have had the best car in the field and still managed to screw it up. Eddie Irvine is a good example when Scummie was hurt. The world championship was Eddie's to lose and he found a way to do it. Many a good driver has done that. I'll take an ex-champion over a never will be most of the time.

I can remember when Jacque can Schumi all he could handle. I think what hurt Jacque the most was the year off from such a demanding sport.
Remember when Nigel Mansell returned from CART to F1? As I can remember it was not that pretty.

Hugo,

Please Tell Me About That 1990 Suzuki Samarai That You Have Listed As A Car You Own. I'm Not Hastling You About The Car, But To Have It Live This Long Is A True Testament In Longevity.

Dump the old fart. Get Kovaleinen, new blood, new hopes.

The guy's an ex-world champion. I'd like to see how he does in the first few races, and if he does poorly, dump him. I'm not sure he's finished yet.
I agree 100%. Give him a good car, and he'll finish well.

Williams Renault gave him *and Damon Hill* awesome packages, every race. Renault was at the top of their game then before they decided to leave for a short period. It also didn't help that Adrian Newey left for McLarenWest shortly thereafter too. And c'mon, Frank Williams is a difficult man to work with, everyone knows that.

He is going to do with BMWF1 like what he did with BAR Honda. He is going to help BMW get off the ground, but by no means will he be competitve in the BMW *nor will the other driver* right away. BAR Honda would not be where they are if it weren't for him. Strong words, I know, but I think he had a big part in it.

So my take is, give him a chance. He might surprise a lot of us.

Remember the end of last season when he was given a ride in the number 2 Renault and he still finished 10, 10, and 11? For whatever reason the guy is past his prime and has no business driving in F1.

Not a fair example to use for him, as he had missed the entire season up until those last 3 races.....and with the new rule changes and whatnot, 3 races was not enough for him to adjust.

That mid-corner save in Eau Rouge at Spa today should buy him the first three races next year itself. Nice!

I'm kinda conflicted on the Villeneuve issue.

I'd like to see some new blood in a BMW next year, but BMW is going to need a veteran to help with car development. It's going to be a really steep learning curve - just ask Toyota.

BMW has already signed Heidfeld for next season and I think JV will have some good input in the development of the new car. His driving this year has been poor, but I still think he can do good things for BMW next season.

Well, if anyone watched and listened to the race today at Spa, BMW has not confirmed anything with Jacques nor his agent Craig Pollack. But Jaqcues contract with Sauber is for two years. Not quite sure if anything in his contract has anything about it being void if there is a change of ownership...

Well, if anyone watched and listened to the race today at Spa, BMW has not confirmed anything with Jacques nor his agent Craig Pollack. But Jaqcues contract with Sauber is for two years. Not quite sure if anything in his contract has anything about it being void if there is a change of ownership...

Hmmm...If not, maybe they can buy him out?

I say out with JV...and make a run at Kimi...I mean if Ferrari can try, why not BMW?

I'd pick Kovalainen for the job, he's a brilliant driver. Villeneuve is over the hill, he has his mantelpiece already and is not hungry enough anymore. Bring in new blood.

I don't think he is finish, I would give him a chance to see what he can do with a car able to win a race (that makes wonder on one's motivation).

I'd like to see some new blood in a BMW next year, but BMW is going to need a veteran to help with car development. It's going to be a really steep learning curve - just ask Toyota.

Not really relevant, BMW knows how to make an F1 engine, so half of the job is done, as for the chassis, they are not starting from nothing either, Sauber always had descent car without having huge money for developement. I would expect to see them around the 7/8th place on the grid at the start of next year.

As a fellow Canadian, I pull for JV every week (even though he's a french Canadian ;) ) , and still he somehow manages to crap the bed. Massa is clearly better and is more consistent. I voted no. I am a massive BMW fan and want them to do extremely well from the getgo. Therefore, having Heidfeld in one seat is great. JV in the other is not. He is too much of a whiner. Yes, he did win the championship back in 97 and he is a great driver, but other guys are improving, shutting their faces, and putting in damn good races.

11 years ago he jumped into CART and then won the championship the second year, then moved to F1 and won the championship the second year there. Yeah he may be a bit past his prime and out of it since then, but who knows?

I wonder how his 2-year contract with Sauber is worded. i.e. could they still pay him, but just not let him drive, basically they eat the contract. Or does the contract say that besides being paid, he must be allowed to drive the car, absent an injury.

just wondering...

In F1, Points are all that matter.

Villenueve - 9
Massa - 8

Massa is a young gun with all kinds of hype and a Ferrari drive.
He needs the package to be set up in an unconventional way. For the first half of the season, his team fought him all the way and the results showed. Mid season, they let him have much more input and he was immediately more competitive. He should do a year at BMW and get his old BAR engineer, Jock Clear back. Things will go much better for him...

I would really like to see Villeneuve do well, but then again I'd like to see Juan Marichal pitch to some of today's MLB players - and that's not gonna happen either.

It's about time for Villeneuve to throw in the towel

Yea, anyone who wears a race suite thats 5 sizes to big needs to leave now! Only kidding, joke of old..but I don't think he's all that great anymore, but he does have more points then Massa so I think he'll probably have a drive next year.

But, if I was in F1 I would stay away from Villeneuve and Sato on the track..those 2 guys are just waiting to take someone out.