84 replies to this topic

[Daemon]

Why do so many people have such an intense dislike of Eddie Irvine. I know he's got a big mouth, which he shoots off at each available opportunity, but hey wouldn't you If you drove an F1 car, earned millions of $$$ a year and had a different model girlfriend each week?

Seriously though, what do so many people find infuriating about him.

Easy tom

[Pacific]

Daemon- Good call, I've never understood the intense dislike for Eddie Irvine. Yes, he does shoot his mouth off, but if his team hadn't failed him on a couple occassions, he would have won the World Driver's Championship! I like Mika Hakkinen better than Irvine, but, I think Irvine did a godd job rising to the occassion for a team built around Michael Schumacher.

Eddie Irvine has been a bit of an underdog for a while, and it was good to see Irvine have a little success for a change. It'll be interesting to see how Irvine compares to one of my favorites; Johnny Herbert. Hopefully the Jaguar team can put together a good chassis. They've been putting in some interesting times with Herbert and Luciano Burti at the wheel. We'll have to see how the Jaguar 2000 chassis and the Jaguar engine go together. Hopefully both Herbert and Irvine are in the top 10 in qualifying each race. That should be the goal for the team I think.

I think if Irvine keeps his Jaguar in the top 10 in all of the F1 races this year, he'll have reason to shoot off his mouth if he wants, because he'll have backed it up with performance.

Some people may say, whoop de doo top 10, but remember the following teams look to be highly competitive: McLaren, Ferrari, Jordan, and Stewart. Then there's a second tier of teams that have the potential to be competitive: BAR, Prost, Williams, and Sauber. If BAR can just produce a decent chassis, Honda will do the rest. I'd expect BAR to be in the top 5 as teams go, and that is the goal the team has set. Prost and Peugeot, however, are looking to be more competitive. Prost has a great design team, Peugeot has developed a lighter engine, and if it's maintained the power of the old engine, it should be good to keep Jean Alesi and Nick Heidfeld pretty competitive. Williams will likely have a pretty good chassis, but BMW has to keep on evolving. Plus, Williams needs to get that second driver decided. Chip Ganassi has said there is no way Juan-Pablo Montoya is going to be racing in F1 in 2000. I believe Chip, so it's down to keeping Zanardi (the best idea) or trying Jos Verstappen, Jorg Muller, Bruno Junqueira, or Darren Manning. Obviously Verstappen would have the edge with his experience. Muller has a lot of experience with the BMW engine and some Williams technology. Even BMW driver J.J. Lehto has been rumored, and giving Lehto a few tests couldn't hurt. Lehto has performed well this year in everything he's driven. I'd have no problem with three Finns in F1: Hakkinen, Mika Salo, and Lehto.

Sauber has the potential to be competitive with the Ferrari engine. They need to develop a good chassis and actually do a good job of developing it as the season goes on. Mika Salo gives Sauber a driver with some speed AND consistency. Pedro Diniz gives Sauber a second driver who is F1 worthy is skill and brings in $10 million with Parmalat sponsorship.

The last tier is Minardi, Benetton, and Arrows. Now, Benetton has a good driver pairing in Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz, and they've added some Honda personnel. The most notable of those two is Tim Densham and Rupert Manwaring. They aren't the only ones though. Arrows looks to have a good design team in Eghbal Hamidy, Dan-Parry Williams, and Dr. John Davis. The only problem these two teams will have is that they will be using the Supertec engine. (Proving the '97 Renault is one of the greatest engines in the history of racing, it's still somewhat competitive after 4 seasons and just a few minor changes!!) Minardi have the '99 Ford engine, which will be a good thing for the team, and Gustav Brunner and crew will look to develop the Minardi chassis some more. It should end up good enough to compete with Benetton and Arrows and I'm sure they're hoping to challenge Sauber. The problem is, Sauber has a larger budget, and the Petronas engine is slightly superior to the Ford engine. Plus, Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz will be superior to whatever Minardi put out on the track. It's looking like Marc Gene and Norberto Fontana are the likely candidates. Gene is confirmed of course. Arrows of course have Pedro de la Rosa confirmed. It looks likely that Jos Verstappen or Tom Coronel will get the second seat, since Baan is a Danish company. Mark Webber will race in F3000 for the European Aviation team in 2000, and will likely end up Arrows' top test driver, unless of course Arrows have de la Rosa and Verstappen as their two drivers with Coronel and Webber in F3000!! That'd be impressive for the Arrows team. We can probably look forward to seeing the European Aviation decal on the Arrows car somewhere as an exchange for services, which would be a welcome sight on the car.

So that's what Irvine's up against in 2000, it looks to be a VERY competitive season.

[Schumi Fan]

They are all jealous! I mean, how many can say "I got kicked out of the Miss World judging panel because I slept with some of the contestants", and "I came closer to winning the WDC with Ferrari than Michael Schumacher"? Not many...

Personally I don't see him as an outstanding driver, but I have nothing against him. I wish him all the luck in the future.

[Indian Chief]

Well put, Schumi Fan.
I don't really like him too much, but I have nothing against him.

[StuffedBeaver]

If a novelist was going to sketch out the traits and personality of a hellraising, devil may care, I'm gonna shag everything in a skirt F1 driver I bet the outcome would describe Swirve almost perfectly.

I personally like him lots, although I have no particular favourites in F1 anymore (RIP Mansell) but tend to cheer for chaps like Swirve, Schui, Hakkers and any underdog who is doing well in a race.

------------------
The Beav

[Agi]

When I first started watching F1 I thought Eddie was okay. Then, when I read/heard about him I started to change my mind. Not that I dislike him or anything...but I don't much care for him.

Not many people on this BB seem to like one of my faves, DC. Oh well, c'est la vie. I like him, which is the important thing.

[Agi]

When I first started watching F1 I thought Eddie was okay. Then, when I read/heard about him I started to change my mind. Not that I dislike him or anything...but I don't much care for him.

Not many people on this BB seem to like one of my faves, DC. Oh well, c'est la vie. I like him, which is the important thing.

[Pacific]

Agi- I like David Coulthard too. I really would like to see Coulthard put it all together and outperform Mika Hakkinen. I mean, I like Hakkinen a lot, when Hakkinen started winning I was so ecstatic. I rooted for Hakkinen due to his Lotus connections. Same with why I became a Johnny Herbert. I feel so bad for DC that this is the way things have developed. This is probably his last year with McLaren, I'm willing to bet Ricardo Zonta will do okay with BAR this year and end up a McLaren driver in 2001, and then Nick Heidfeld joins in 2002 after a two year stint with Prost, similar to Zonta's two year stint with BAR. That's going to be a dangerous pairing in the future, Heidfeld and Zonta. McLaren doesn't look to be uncompetitive on the driver front for the next 10 years either.

As for Eddie Irvine, sometimes he bothers me with some of his personal decisions, but as a race car driver, he's pretty damn good. I mean, Eddie is one of the drivers on the series I like the least, but there is no driver on the grid I dislike. I'll always root for Arrows and Minardi the most. They've been underdogs so long. Damn I wish Damon Hill would have won Hungary in 1997.

Here's hoping Robin Herd can put up the money to get back into F1 and convince F1 to allow 13 teams. I'd love to see March back on the grid.

I wish Dome could get it all together and join F1 too. CART has no trouble fielding 28 cars a race, F1 could do it too. Any track that can't, should just upgrade. It'd be hard for Monaco, but, in a few years Europe may not matter so much with Asia, South America, and America allowing tobacco sponsorship. I'm not quite sure why everyone is so anti-tobacco when alcohol causes a lot more damage sooner than tobacco. I dislike both tobacco and alcohol personally, but alcohol causes a lot of damage to the brain.

[Linus27]

I think he is unpopular because he came closest to winning the drivers title for Ferrari than Schumacher and also giving Mika a hard time when it should have been a walk in the park for him. People slag him off for his mouth because its the only thing you can slag him off for and it seems to be a popular thing to do and an easy thing for people on this forum to do who can't actually think of any thing constructive to say about him. We all know he isn't the fastest driver around or the best at handling a car. He's not the fastest qualifier nor the best in the wet. All these facts are true and we all know this and apart from Tom, nobody really gives him much grief about these points but everyone seems to slag him off for his mouth and his off track antics. Sad really when that should not matter but its obviously the only point of attack.

[tom]

i don't like him , and i don't think i ever will , and i've only really started to hate him this year, last year i didn't think much of him but i didn't hate him...........

this year he's just had luck,luck,luck and some more luck............
and i don't think slow drivers deserve luck!

just why does everyone think jaguar is gonna be so great next year cos the way i see it , even if their car is the fastest on the grid [doubt it] , they've got the slowest driver in f1[eddie] and the most unlucky driver in f1 [johnny] for there driver line up!

have a think about that ay...........

sorry but eddie's just been such a slow and boring driver to watch this year!

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irvine = w@nker

[Toxicant]

Go watch the race in Canada again Tom, Eddie drove a briliant race.

I know, I was there.

Tox!

[MarcGregoire]

Irvine has a daughter from a woman he got pregnant in Macau while he was in F3.

[Pascal]

My opinion of Eddie Irvine is somewhat complex...

I remember the first race he drove in Japan, and then I thought that even though he was arrogant, it was refreshing to see a young driver not afraid of upsetting the great Ayrton Senna. During the few years that followed, I thought that Irvine would become a consistent race winner once given the right equipment.

But then he joined Ferrari, and he seemed quite comfortable with being Schumi's N°2. I just couldn't recognise the young ambitious driver that he was at the start of his career. At the same time, he still had the same old tendency to open his mouth a lot, and the media got increasingly interested with what he had to say. That became tiring after a while, since I tend to like drivers for what they are able to demonstrate on a track and not in a press conference.

I now hope that Jaguar will give Eddie enough challenge to show to the world that he still has the same hunger for victories he claimed to have when driving a Jordan...


P.S.: Pacific, Monaco will remain since there is no ban on tobacco advertising there...

[tom]

tox...

"Go watch the race in Canada again Tom, Eddie drove a briliant race."

i watched that race and it wasn't that great

eddie overtook some slower cars than his ,
woopy doo!
-- ferrari was the best car at montreal i reckon....
so ofcourse when you've got the best car and your behind slower cars your gonna do some overtaking......
and he had to cut the chicane to take johnny , so wasn't that special was it....

and come on 1 decent race out of 17 ,,,,, geez that must meen he's the best driver in the world!

if you think irvine's fast, i suggest you get your eyesight tested before you watch next season , cos i reckon your eyesight must've been a bit useless this year , you must've been watching the ferrari of schumacher thinking it was irvine's!

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irvine = w@nker

[Toxicant]

Actually Tommy I think Eddie set fastest lap in that race also.

Tox!

[Linus27]

Toxicant

Don't bother with Tom. He is arrogant and has no clue about F1 and say's one thing and then changes his mind the next to suit his argument. He is biased towards Eddie because he knows Eddie had a good year and upset his darling Mika who should have walked it this year but never because Eddie put to much pressure on him.

[Daemon]

Hey Linus, relax a little man. I started the thread to get people's opinions on why they don't like Eddie, not BB posters on other people. While I don't agree with Tom, I can see his point. Eddie was boring in SOME races, and I have to say I prefered his driving style in '97, '98.

I'm a big fan of Eddie's, mainly because I like his charachter and attitude, being so different to the mainstream F1 drivers.

[tom]

looks like you need to get to the eye doctor too linus!

the way i sore it , it wasn't eddie putting pressure on hakkinen , it was hakkinens wheel falling off/ hakkinens tyre blowing up/ dc taking hakkinen out , hakkinen leading by 8 seconds and taking it so easy that he lost concentration and selected 1st gear while irvine was getting a hiding by SALO ......
eddie sure was putting on the pressure wasn't he...........ahahaha......


tox ,
i know he set the fastest lap at montreal , but , that doesn't mean anything , cos at that time when he set that fastest lap hakkinen was leading COMFORTABLY , so hakkinen didn't really have a reason too push......

are you trying to say that cos eddie got the fastest lap at montreal that he was the fastest driver there?
thats rediculous!
why was dc all over the back of irvine at the start of the race and schumi/hakkinen waltsing off into the distance?

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irvine = w@nker

[Rich]

Daemon, if Eddie hadn't been Michael's team-mate last year, then his mouthing-off, sexual activites and everything else about him would be laughed off as the hallmarks of a lovable rogue and 'F1 character.' Unfortunately, Michael Schumacher happened to Eddie, and it forever changed the way people think about him.

When MS crashed at Silverstone, the season appeared to fall flat. Surely no-one would be able to challenge Mika now? Fortunately Mika and McLaren chose Michael's absence to practise their 'let's see how we can blow our chances this race' technique. The nett result was that Eddie, through sheer dogged consistency and reliability, was dragged into the limelight of WDC contention.

There are basically only two types of F1 fans. Those who support MS, and those who don't. For the supporters, Eddie's sudden status leap was a wake-up call that just maybe Eddie was going to steal Michael's thunder in the biggest way. For the non-supporters, an Eddie WDC was the stuff of dreams, and justification that MS is no more than 'average, overpaid and highly over-rated'.

Either way, Eddie's performance on track suddenly became vitally important for virtually all fans. Of course, he didn't deliver. For the many fans who desperately wanted to see EI beat MS to a WDC for Ferrari, that was a bitter let-down. And for the MS fans who had to endure a half-season of 'Hey look, Eddie's just as good as MS when he gets the same equipment', Eddie's failure was a reason to let off some steam. Both resulted in some nasty things being said about Eddie.

For what it's worth, I think Eddie drove a stunner of a season. So he finished ninety seconds behind the leaders at Suzuka, so what? I don't rate him in the same league as MS or MH, so that didn't surprise me in the least. Any man can only do so much with the talent at his disposal. If Eddie had Ayrton's talent, and didn't develop it through laziness or whatever reason, then I'd be critical of him. But he clearly doesn't have Ayrton's talent.

He was shunted into the WDC limelight, got his fifteen minutes, and gave it his best shot. When he saw that he could not defeat superior talent in the same level of machinery, he did what any sensible man would do - made sure he got to the finish, and hoped that Mika's car would break. Eddie finished fifteen out of the sixteen races in 99, a commendable achievement in itself. If that was his secret to success, good for him. Not every driver can have the talent of a MH or MS. If a lesser driver optimises what he is given and manages to compete with the superstars, then he's done exceptionally well.

Eddie may have shot his mouth off at some stages of the season. That's maybe not ideal, but it's also the driver's call to make. Ali chose to do the same. When he could back up his statements, it increased his legendary status. In fact, it was probably Ali's mouth that made him a legend.

Also, I believe Eddie could have been a lot more vocal. In my opinion, MS writing off Eddie's chances was unforgivable. Eddie was fully entitled to have a go back at MS, but seemed quite restrained and mature about it.

The media love controversy, and I suspect Eddie's words were often taken out of context, if not manufactured entirely by some hack wanting to sell more newspapers. Of course, this makes no difference to those who wanted to hate Eddie for whatever reason. If we read in the 'News of the World' that Eddie had made an alien pregnant, some people would pour scorn on his actions, simply because it suits their agenda.

In my opinion, Eddie is not the greatest talent in F1, and never will be. But he grasped his only opportunity with both hands, gave it his all, and eventually lost narrowly to the better driver. He could have jumped on the anti-MS bandwagon, and slammed 'Team Schumacher' for screwing his chances. He could have tried, like so many anti's, to turn his WDC effort into an 'Oooh look, I'm as good as MS' campaign. Instead, he has poured praise on MS and Ferrari. That is both humble and classy IMHO. In a world full of sour losers with a million excuses, Eddie offered none. What a refreshing change.

He had his fifteen minutes of fame, probably enjoyed every moment, and will have some great stories for his grandchildren. Good for him.

[Daemon]

Very well said Rich.

[Linus27]

Rich

That was a fantastic post. This is exactly the same opinion I have of Eddie and his season and its what I have been saying on this BB all along. Unfortunatly some people on this BB are to narrow minded to accept this or just simply like to fight. Who cares, the rest of us know the truth. Once again great post Rich

[614david]

Agi and Pacific;
As you have probably realised, i am a huge fan of David Coulthard, he is my absolute favourite driver, i would love nothing better than to see him lift the drivers crown, there is no doubt in my mind that he has the ability to do it, and if he does, i will be the happiest girl in the world!!

Okay, yeah, to answer the otiginal topic, i don;t like Eddie Irvine because he is arrogant, it is pure and simple, i know it is a common and typical reason, but it is the most honest one i can give you, i don't like him for his attacks on other drivers abilities and their integrity,having said that, i am able to admit that Ed drove SOME sparkling races this reason and managed to put SOME pressure on Hakkinen, but, at the end of the day the best man won.
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McMerc

[This message has been edited by 614david (edited 12-29-1999).]

[F1razor]

I don't like Eddie Irvine because he SHOULD have won the WDC for Ferrari. He knew he was out at Ferrari very early on, well before we did. In light of that fact, knowing as early as Brazil that he was gone from Ferrari, his antics in the press look very, very juvenille indeed. Certainly not the expected behavior of a professional Formula One driver in a red car.

If he wanted the WDC, he should not have been bad mouthing his team mate and his team. His only motiviation IMO, is centered around his ego. In his never ending attempt to add controversy to F1, he left behind his integrity. I lay the loss of the WDC directly at his feet. Funny that hardly anyone else does.

he whined and whinged, and then the unthinkable happened. He got his wish. What followed was not very impressive.

[Nasty McBastard]

"
I think he is unpopular because he came closest to winning the
drivers title for Ferrari than Schumacher"

Maybe if all the people who hated eddie were ferrari/schumacher fans, then youd have a point.
Not that ive counted or anything, but the general impression i get from the ferrari and schumacher fans is that on the whole they dont mind him.

personally i reckon eddies a laugh. he mightnt be the best driver out there, but thats got nothing to do with it.....
otherwise thered be no alesi fans, but theres heaps of them.

i like the guy coz hes a bit of a bloke. if he wasnt some globe trotting f1 star, and had been born "average" like the rest of us mugs, i could picture him as the kinda bloke id get quite a giggle out of down my local pub on a friday night.
Face it.. hes just there havin a bollocking good time, hes rich, famous, drives a bloody fast ferrari, and pulls the birds...good luck to him.

but maybe thats the reason. people prefer their F1 drivers much more anal.
I couldnt say i could picture myself at the pub with senna, schuey, mika, and prost

[Linus27]

I am glad Eddie has the ability to stand up for himself and say what he thinks. I am not interested in listening to puppets and drivers that toe the company line. There is enough bullshit in this world as it is.

[RacerX]

Eddie is a breath of fresh air that F1 desperately needs. He's intelligent, he says what he thinks, right or wrong and seems to have a wicked sense of humor. I prefer his attitude to those of Hakkinen and Schumacher. Lets face it before last season started who would have predicted he would have a chance to win the WDC in the final race? He had a good steady run through the season and made fewer errors than other, more respected, drivers. He's not the best or the fastest, but he's not the worst either. As far as his perceived arrogance, these guys are the best drivers in the world, they're supposed to be arrogant.

[This message has been edited by RacerX (edited 12-30-1999).]

[tom]

why are all you guys sucking up to eddie?

we're allowed to say what we want.
don't hold back, if you think he's slow/useless/no brains.. just say it.
i do.

i bet you a million bucks eddie will be beaten by johnny next year and that will make him decide to quit f1,
5 races in a row with eddie being outqualifyed by johnny will make eddie too imbaressed to carry on , it will be a humiliating season for eddie.....

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irvine = w@nker

[Todd]

Eddie is a pretty decent driver. He has accomplished more than all but three active drivers. DC has had the best car during 4 seasons and never finished 2nd in the championship. I like it that Eddie pisses off the thin-skinned and can enjoy his status without cheating on his wife. He is a character and F1 badly needs one. I'll be pretty surprised if he doesn't do to Herbert what Schumacher, Alesi, and Barrichello did.

------------------
Forza Michael Schumacher,
Todd

[The Swerve]

As much as it hurts me to agree with Tom I reckon Eddie's going to get his arse kicked by Johnny Herbert next year.

Johnny is on a roll at the moment, he's going well in testing which will help his confidence and I think he genuinely believes he will be quicker than Eddie, and that is half the battle really. Eddie has had some bad things to say about Herbert and I reckon that will spur Johnny on.

Go Johnny!!!

[tom]

ahahahahaha

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irvine = w@nker

[F1razor]

Still...I don't really see it that way...Yeah, Eddie is missing an X factor that Hakkinen, Schumacher and Villeneuve clearly have. But I will be quite surprised if JH out performs him. EI's tenure at Ferrari has got to count for something.

My complaints about him this year is his over-the-top statements about his talent as a driver. Tom is right, when you come out and declare yourself better than both Mclaren drivers, and then blame a lack of pace in the race of your career on the car, something that is frankly a bit out of character for him, that's where I have to blow the whistle.

Nice guy and charisma notwithstanding, EI stabbed his team in the back and twisted the knife, then wondered out loud why the chemistry of his team was affected during crunch time. The missing wheel at the 'Ring to me is cliche, that pretty much sums up what irresponsible 'tooting one's own trumpet' at the expense of your team can do. The psychology of Ferrari in it's bid to end the WDC drought is too fragile to withstand that kind of public attack from one of it's drivers. I think that fate slapped in the face..."OK, loudmouth, here you go. Here is your wish. Show us what you are made of." The irony is that shortly before MS' accident, Eddie was publicly musing about how things would be for him if MS retired.

What some of you see as refreshing honesty and candor, I see as the primary destructive force in the failure of his bid for WDC.

I don't expect RB to fall into the same rathole.

[Spinoza]

Irvine had to be "over the top" with some of his comments last year about the Ferrari team - and the car. The team had been so focused on Schumacher - and so dismissive of Irvine - that he had to shout loud to make himself heard - and make it as public as he could to try and force them to respond. This was all part of his strategy to get them to focus more on him.

Whether it worked or not is now clear. It didn't. Basically the Ferrari team is dedicated to Schumacher only - and that's to their detriment. It's also why RB will get a kicking from Schumacher in 2000.

If Irvine stabbed Ferrari in the back it is because he knew that Todt and others had already stabbed him in the back by the time he was a possible WDC contender. There's no way the team - including Schumacher - wanted Irvine to win the WDC. If Irvine was a loudmouth it was his only way of appealing to the team to support him. A quiet word in the ear would never have worked in the cloistered and corrupt atmosphere at Ferrari. Remember their response to events at Jerez? What world are they living in?

As for RB, I'm afraid he's an innocent abroad. I hope he enjoys his time testing the Ferrari in Schumacher's absence. There's no way Schumacher will tolerate competition from within the team. And from their time together at Jordan, Irvine has already shown how easy it is to get to RB.

As for EI. He'll get it together for 2000 - probably finishing 4th or 5th in the WDC - and certainly ahead of Herbert.

[Spinoza]

Irvine had to be "over the top" with some of his comments last year about the Ferrari team - and the car. The team had been so focused on Schumacher - and so dismissive of Irvine - that he had to shout loud to make himself heard - and make it as public as he could to try and force them to respond. This was all part of his strategy to get them to focus more on him.

Whether it worked or not is now clear. It didn't. Basically the Ferrari team is dedicated to Schumacher only - and that's to their detriment. It's also why RB will get a kicking from Schumacher in 2000.

If Irvine stabbed Ferrari in the back it is because he knew that Todt and others had already stabbed him in the back by the time he was a possible WDC contender. There's no way the team - including Schumacher - wanted Irvine to win the WDC. If Irvine was a loudmouth it was his only way of appealing to the team to support him. A quiet word in the ear would never have worked in the cloistered and corrupt atmosphere at Ferrari. Remember their response to events at Jerez? What world are they living in?

As for RB, I'm afraid he's an innocent abroad. I hope he enjoys his time testing the Ferrari in Schumacher's absence. There's no way Schumacher will tolerate competition from within the team. And from their time together at Jordan, Irvine has already shown how easy it is to get to RB.

As for EI. He'll get it together for 2000 - probably finishing 4th or 5th in the WDC - and certainly ahead of Herbert.

[F1razor]

Eddie Irvine signed the contract. He made his bed. People seem to forget that he was contractally bound. Why should we have sympathy for someone who went into it with full knowledge of his situation? His early season reaction to Ferrari was plain and simple, a result of realizing that this was his last season at Ferrari. Of course it 'didn't work' because what you are describing is the behavior of someone who needs to clearly mature.

Let's please not forget that Eddie started his character assisination before he became the #1 driver. Then all of a sudden, he was thrust into a position of having to gel with the team he back stabbed. I think it's clear that a WDC requires complete unity. Again, Eddie really blew it early in the season with his whining. It came back to haunt him big time. And one single event started the snow ball rolling. His victory at OZ. It went to his head. He really was simply unprepared for the success of his first win for Ferrari, and he simply did not handle it well. His perspective became warped, and what followed was the lowest point in his career, that is, biting the hand that feeds.

As to your strong statements about Schumacher and Ferrari...may I suggest you review Malaysia 1999?

[This message has been edited by F1razor (edited 12-30-1999).]

[wheelsonfire]

Eddie Irvine... how surprising to find a thread about such a boring driver!

I'm amused when people seem to know what goes on in an F1 driver's head, know what he's thinking, his intentions... psychic hotline.com should fold up its URL.

I like Irvine. I'm a fan. He's Irish. I like Irish humor, and Eddie is loaded with it. Too bad it's lost on many ears. My bias. Nothing to do with F1.

Irvine had a fantastic 1999, luck or no luck. He has steadily improved in his career year after year. He pointed in more races in 1999 than any other driver, including Hakkinen, who was the best driver of 1999 even though he suffered from a lack of enthusiasm after his nemesis crashed out in Silverstone.

Irvine set the fastest lap early in the season at Ferrari's own track, and MS could not beat it until after he came back from injury. Irv was irking MS the first half of the season and was just as fast in many instances, and almost equal in points at the halfway mark.

Irvine has a steady, perhaps not too aggressive, driving style, and I think lacks the killer instinct found in the likes of MS, MH, JV, and little Ralf. But Irv is still an excellent driver... better than many on the grid. I hope 99 was not his peak... but the new Jag is a question mark.

I like Johnny Herbert too (there is really no driver I dislike... come on - this is a great sport!) I hope the rivalry between the two of them benefits them both in 2000, and benefits Jackie Stewart as well!

cheers!
wheels

[HighTower]

One word for Eddie STYLE! The man has style. He is not a bland product of a single minded goal.

After THAT race in Japan(it was reported that) Senna came out swinging, but to Eddie's credit he didn't retaliate with his fists. I have been a fan ever since.

This last year has only served to strengthen my resolve.

But I must say I am conserned with his testing times. It seems he has only been concentrating on settling in and getting used to the car. But his time with Ferrari I seem to remember his lack of testing with the cars being designed around MS(understandably).

Eddie now needs to get to know his car, and play a major role in the development program.

[614david]

so he has said many a humorous line, and it is well accepted that he isn't the best driver out there, his driving has nothing to do with this, this is about whether or not Eddie Irvine is a complete Arsehole, which in my view, he undoubtedly is. I will admit it when Eddie has done well, but my basic opinion of him is that he is a self ritious arrogant arsehole, and though he will sometimes do alright, this part of him will never change. Despite what i said earlier, the gods honest truth is that i think he is completely shite, and even if he does amuse me, most of the time i can't stand the sight of him- no offense to any of his fans- happy arguing!!

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McMerc

[This message has been edited by 614david (edited 01-03-2000).]

[RedFever]

Eddie would have arrived at least 2nd, if DC didn't do another of his punting exercises in Canada.....

Anyhow, I like Eddie. I know he was 1'20" slower than Schumi in Suzuka, but we all knew he wasn't super fast. However, he is also a lot better than Schumacher and Hakkinen at avoiding crashes. I have never seen Eddie kissing the wall in a silly way like MS in Canada and Hakkinen in Imola, both in isolated solitude in front. Or inserting first gear at a chicane and lose a secure victory. Eddie has at worst arrived a little long at the breaking losing a position with Hak or DC, small mistakes compared to the other 3 drivers at Ferrari/MacLaren. So, yes, he is slower, but he is consistent, he finishes races and that's why he contended for the title until the last race, while DC gave one more wanker performance in Suzuka and had no chances. With a better car, DC was never ahead of Eddie in the rankings. That is remarkable.

Finally I agree 100% with wheelsonfire.... Eddie has a personal style when it comes to humor. Maybe because Italian, maybe because I love the Irish, I enjoy Eddie's humor. People that get offended simply don't understand he is joking. But is it his fault people get offended for nothing??? I am sure Herbert will not kick his ass, Eddie will become the leader in his team. Just give him a little time.

[This message has been edited by RedFever (edited 01-03-2000).]

[tom]

614 david,

" my basic opinion of him is that he is a self ritious arrogant arsehole, and though he will sometimes do alright, this part of him will never change. Despite what i said earlier, the gods honest truth is that i think he is completely ****"

ahahahaha, thats fantastic, couldn't agree with you more.
wouldn't it be great if eddie actually read this forum..
heh,......

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irvine = w@nker

[614david]

Only being truthful!!
Hope he's prepared to lose big style next season to Johnny Herbert!! in which case it'll be bye bye Eddie- good ridance!!

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McMerc

[RedFever]

I bet you any money Eddie will have at least 8 points more than Herbert by year end.

[Todd]

RedFever,

I like that point spread. I have a bet for thousands of dollars(I'll find out the exact # for you if you're serious) that Eddie will beat Herbert over the course of the season. If you'll give me an 8 point spread, then I will have eliminated my risk and created the opportunity to win mucho if Eddie beats Herbert by 1-7 points.

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Forza Michael Schumacher,
Todd

[Todd]

BTW, I'm just kidding. I haven't accepted the other bet and it isn't with a fellow NYer, so collection could be an expensive pain. I'm not sure you're right about 8 points. If BAR-Honda comes good and Ferrari, McLaren, and Jordan are reliable, 8 points could represent a big chumk of Jagwart's total.

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Forza Michael Schumacher,
Todd

[tom]

yeah it is possibl;e that eddie will get 8 more points than herbert ,
but the only way he'll get those 8 points will be through , luck!

for example there will be races when johnny is in the points ahead of irvine, and johnny's car will fall to bits , and yet again eddie will get some more 'sketchy'/lucky points!
think about this jaguar team though , they may build a god car , but they've got the slowest driver [irvine] driving for them , and the most unlucky driver [johnny] driving for them!
......not a good sign is it....

johnny will definitely beat irvine in speed , eddie will beat him through luck....

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irvine = w@nker

[RedFever]

Todd, I was speaking figuratively: I think I am the only F1 fan who went to the Monaco GP 8 times and never bet a penny at the Casino. I don't like gambling, but you know what I meant. In any case, good point about other teams getting points. I guess I was thinking about the 99 performance, but you are right, next year Jaguar might score 8 points between the 2 drivers!!! anyhow, I am expecting Eddie to be a few points ahead, let's say 20% more than Herbert.

And Tom, luck happens in a race, it happens to everyone (Mika in Montreal, Schumi in Imola, etc). But being lucky in 17 races only if one believes in Santa Claus one can believe that. Eddie is simply the best at bringing the car home, unlike DC, Hak and SChumi. Not fast, but reliable.

[tom]

redfever,
yeah he's the best at bringing the car home ,yeah but i'm sure mika/dc/schumi would bring the car home everyrace if they drove that slow...

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irvine = w@nker

[RedFever]

probably. Nevertheless, they do crash and he gets their points. Is not luck, it's racing

[Linus27]

Redfever and Wheelsonfire

Bloody good posts. Spot on. Its because the other people don't understand the Irish humour. God I would hate not to inderstand something as simple as that.

One of the best starts I have ever seen is Eddie at Monaco last year. How FAST and gutsy was that. Never seen any other driver do an impressive start as that.

614 David

So what is it you really do not like about Eddie. Ok you think he is a shite but why, for what reason. Please explain with a bit more substance than he's a shite. For instance, I don't like Coulthard because he keeps punting other drivers, has the best car but does not back up the results with it and can't overtake a la the complaints about back markers at Imola, Also asking for support from the British public when he has done nothing to warrent this support.

[Psycho]

Just because he is very good looking and extremely rich - does that give Eddie the excuse to be an arrogant bastard? We wouldn't tolerate it if any of our mates was that arrogant - why should we tolerate it from Eddie? Plus he treats women like **** (going on what I've heard - I'm not claiming that is 100% reliable)
I really wanted Eddie to win the WDC up until Japan b/c he drove really reliably and put some interest into a season that could have been really dull after Shumie's accident at Silverstone. However, he drove a rubbish race at Japan and was relying on Schumie beating Hakkinen to win the WDC. That is not the way a championship should be decided.
His comments although sometimes very funny, are often unnecessarily unpleasant to other drivers and he frequently doesn't back up his claims in results.
Despite that, he is very charismatic and is an interesting character in a sport with so many very dull people.

[614david]

Alright- i'll tell you why i hate Eddie Irvine!!
1) He is perfectly pleasant about people one minute and then stabs them in the back by bad mouthing them in the press the next
2) He is an arrogant git, who thinks that just because he is rich, he has the god given right to do and say whatever he pleases.
3) The only reason people like him is because he makes them laugh occassionally, but notice none of these 'fans' say they like him because he is fast or has any talent- because they know he hasn't................................................................... i'd continue, but i've got more important and interesting things to do than talk about a man i dislike so intensely......................................................................


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McMerc