43 replies to this topic

[Derbris]

In 1 day this man has managed to pump out 3 new stories. All are the ridiculous Lauda trash, but this one stands out:

From F1racing.net
Former Jaguar Racing boss Niki Lauda has tipped Ralf Schumacher to get the better of his BMW WilliamsF1 team mate in 2004.

The three-times world champion believes that Montoya's links with McLaren could see him suffer this season at Williams.

This year Ralf and Juan Pablo have been evenly matched," Lauda said. “But I expect Ralf to have an advantage in 2004 as Juan Pablo has manoeuvred himself into a strange situation by flirting with McLaren.”

Ralf and Montoya will be back behind the wheel when testing kicks off again for the BMW WilliamsF1 team on November 25th at Valencia in southern Spain.

This man never shuts his mouth. When he was fired by Jaguar it was one of my happiest days in F1. Has he ever admitted to his clear bias towards the Schumachers? Because he's clearly obsessed.

[tifosi]

Originally posted by Derbris
In 1 day this man has managed to pump out 3 new stories. All are the ridiculous Lauda trash, but this one stands out:



This man never shuts his mouth. When he was fired by Jaguar it was one of my happiest days in F1. Has he ever admitted to his clear bias towards the Schumachers? Because he's clearly obsessed.

I'm not sure about his bias (I always got the impression he didn't like Michael), but he may very well be right. I mean if Williams knows JPM is leaving who will get the most testing miles and support?

[Ghostrider]

Originally posted by Derbris
Has he ever admitted to his clear bias towards the Schumachers? Because he's clearly obsessed.

Juding by this post and your avatar maybe you and Lauda share something?

[F1Johnny]

Originally posted by Derbris
In 1 day this man has managed to pump out 3 new stories. All are the ridiculous Lauda trash, but this one stands out:



This man never shuts his mouth. When he was fired by Jaguar it was one of my happiest days in F1. Has he ever admitted to his clear bias towards the Schumachers? Because he's clearly obsessed.

I'm not seeing any problem with what Lauda is saying. It may not be what you agree with but it makes sense.

You need to expand some more on your critique.

[Cociani]

Originally posted by Derbris


This man never shuts his mouth. When he was fired by Jaguar it was one of my happiest days in F1. Has he ever admitted to his clear bias towards the Schumachers? Because he's clearly obsessed.

Yeah these damned multiple world champions-team principles know absolutely nothing about motor racing at all. Guys like Jackie Y. Stewart and Jack Brabham or John surtees are such wankers compared to the internet experts of today. What unmitigated gall they have expressing opinions on subject so far from their own expiriences...

[AndreasF1]

Hate is a very strong word, I think if you really hate Lauda you need to get a life. Secondly, Lauda can say whatever he wants, thats the privilege of living in a free society. Third, if Jaugar's fireing of Lauda was your happiest day in F1 you need to go back to point one and get a life.
Just for your info, it was Lauda that put the infrastructure in place that allowed the developement of this years car, it was also his decision to hire Mark Webber, so in hindsight it might have been a bad decsision on Jaguar's part to let him go. So far Lauda's concept has worked well for Jaguar and next year will be the true test if they made the right choice by kicking him out.

[Cociani]

Oh and one more thing for those of you who are sarcatically challenged, I did not use emoticons in my last post but you were reading sarcasm.

[Chevy II Nova]

What makes Lauda more qualified to make these statements than let's say... me?

[Cociani]

Originally posted by Chevy II Nova
What makes Lauda more qualified to make these statements than let's say... me?

Nothing, are you a three time world champion driver and former team principle.

I am an avid fan, read pleanty of news stories etc. but of course respect the opinions of those who are directly involved in the sport above my own. Rubishing someone like Lauda is ludicrous IMO. There is another thread which tries to do the same to Jack Brabham and sorry but I find it pretty pathetic that a sit at home computer jockey, such as myself would honestly think they know more about F1 than Lauda or Brabham or Stewart or Luca Badour for Ch#$sts sake.

[BuonoBruttoCattivo]

Originally posted by tifosi


I'm not sure about his bias (I always got the impression he didn't like Michael), but he may very well be right. I mean if Williams knows JPM is leaving who will get the most testing miles and support?

Having had the pleasure of briefly meeting him many years ago in Italy, I got the feeling NL doesn't like anyone.
But he has tonnes of respect for MS, and maybe saw in RS something this season he feels RS will capitalize on '04 vis-a-vis JP.

As far as tipping Wills for dominance next year...maybe, maybe no...but this season there were many parallels with Wills 1991 season. Yes, I agree [according to NL] they [Wills] did have the best package this year.

[Pilla]

I think you will find that Lauda doesnt go looking for a reporter to talk to they come and find him. So maybe you should redirect your anger to the reporters who keep asking him his oppinion.

[FNG]

I think Lauda makes perfect sense!
If JPM is indeed jumping ship I would think Williams would put all their support under Ralf.

[dan2k]

Originally posted by FNG
I think Lauda makes perfect sense!
If JPM is indeed jumping ship I would think Williams would put all their support under Ralf.

Your wrong.
Frank Williams and Montoya are very close. And Juan has never been afraid to say what he feels to Frank. If Frank asked him have you signed for McLaren? Juan would awnser onestly. Frank had always believed in him, and got him started. Juan will never forget this.
I think Juan has had some interesting discussions with McLaren, but nothing is signed yet.
The team love him, and they will support their man till the end. You can bet on that.
They will not betray him, and Juan will not want the team's last impression of him as been a traitor which he is not.

Still, I believe its very important that Juan makes sure he strings together some very good results early in the season to stamp his authority.
Juan likes to think he is in charge of things, and Ralf will always be a number 2 to him.

[RJL]

Nothing wrong with what NL said. Someone asked him his opinion, he gave it. No big deal, and certainly no reason to go off about it.

[Vanquish]

Originally posted by FNG
I think Lauda makes perfect sense!
If JPM is indeed jumping ship I would think Williams would put all their support under Ralf.

As opposed to what they did this season?

[alesifan46]

nikkie lauda = AJ.Foyt only thing he's eaten LESS way less donuts

[masterhit]

I can see the logic of what Lauda said in this instance.

Looking at it from the journalists' point of view, this is the quiet time, so they are going to rely on people such as Lauda, who have been in F1 before, outspoken people who have, after all, won multiple world titles, braved and survived a very dangerous and deadly period of the sport's history. When those who are currently active in F1 are taking a well deserved break, at least we have people like Lauda who can take a view on things, right or wrong, it's more of an insider's opinion than you or I.

On the flipside, sure Lauda has made some big gaffes in his time, and that's part and parcel of being a human being.

With regards to the bias thing, at one stage Lauda backed Montoya to win the title, so he says what he thinks. It isn't Schumacher bias. He comments on a specific thing pretty openly regardless of the driver or the issue.

With regards to Lauda at Jaguar, I think there is still a strong case for saying that the Jaguar/Ford higher level make the big decisions by committee. So in reality, whether it was Lauda, Rahal or Steiner is pretty irrelevant, they never were given full rein due to political indecision at the purse strings end of things, something evident to this day.

[Derbris]

Originally posted by Vanquish

As opposed to what they did this season?

JPM fans.. never fail!

[Vanquish]

Originally posted by Derbris




JPM fans.. never fail!

Yeah, we never do. But seriously, did you ever read the press releases they put out? They always had glowing remarks for Ralf, even when he was mowing the grass at the start of the season. Montoya and his achievements were dismissed in deference to BMW's "golden boy".

[Chevy II Nova]

Originally posted by Cociani


Nothing, are you a three time world champion driver and former team principle.

And this makes him more qualified to make stabs in the dark?

[karlth]

I especially liked this bit: "This year Ralf and Juan Pablo have been evenly matched", but then again Lauda probably didn't watch the 2003 season preparing his startup car rental and airline.

What Lauda and Stewart have proven time and time again is that they have absolutely no idea what they are talking about when it comes to drivers. Both former world champions made extremely bad driver choices for their respective teams and their predictions are about as accurate as a carrot.

[baddog]

Originally posted by Chevy II Nova
What makes Lauda more qualified to make these statements than let's say... me?

his intimate personal experience of the internal workings of f1 and its teams, his personal knowledge of many of the people involved, and his direct personal experience of managing a rival team while the drivers concerned are driving.

those things make his opinion 'more qualfied' than someone whos information about f1 is all second hand.

however, thats not to say he is right, or your opinion is worthless, just that yes, his opinion has some weight to it compared to yours, or mine.

Shaun

[ARing]

I too intensely dislike Lauda, however I have a great respect for his opinions. They have been uncannily accurate over the years I have been an F1 fan.

I began following F1 in 1995 while living in Germany. In those days Lauda did a pre-race show from a studio. He was always decked out in all the Ferrari/Schumacher crap you could by. He was admittedly biased. I think he still does that show, but I have not seen it since I left Germany in 99.

He was arrogant, uncouth and condescending. As a southerner those are traits I cannot tolerate, so I hated him. I still don't like him very much although my understanding of Germans has developed a better appreciation for how he acts.

On the flip side, he had amazing insight into the sport and could predict both long term and short term developments in the sport neither I or your average commentor could. He was flat good as a prognosticator of the sport, no matter how detestable his personality.

Think back to 99 when at the completion of the season, he said, Hakkinen either needs to retire or switch teams immediately. Everyone thought Lauda was just being an arrogant loud mouth, but I believe history has borne him out.

karlth - I think you are mistaken, I believe Lauda has been right more than wrong. Someone should go back and do an analysis of Lauda's headline grabbing predictions over the last ten years.

Like him or not, you have to listen to what he says if you want to better understand the sport. Besides he wears his own badge of dedication to the sport in scar tissue across his face, and in his WCs.

Besides, like MS, he is fun to "hate."

ARing

[catfigs]

i think it's great lauda still divides people though. hasn't he always? from th ebeginning of his career he's always been in some kind of way an unfeeling bastard who does what he can to get where he can. some people hate this, some people sit back and enjoy the show. since reading his to hell and back autobiography i've always been the latter. incredibly entertaining guy. unique really. i like people who although they may be irritating and annoying stick out fro the crowd a bit. he's always pissing somebody off. annoying or boring somebody. i like it.

[eoin]

Lauda is right... if JPM isn't 100% focused on willams, and willams not giving JPM 100% then Ralf will beat him.
Just look what happened to KR at sauber after he was linked with mclaren.

[Robbie]

Originally posted by Derbris
This man never shuts his mouth. When he was fired by Jaguar it was one of my happiest days in F1. Has he ever admitted to his clear bias towards the Schumachers? Because he's clearly obsessed.

Lauda says many things, not all of them in MS's favour

Check out

Montoya is Title Favourite, Says Lauda

He does also praise MS frequently, as does anybody with even the slightest understadning of F1.

[tifosi]

Originally posted by Chevy II Nova


And this makes him more qualified to make stabs in the dark?

It does give him a little more insight than say.......you. Im fairly certain he is on closer terms with Frank Williams than you are. Not saying your opinions aren't valid as well, but he would have a little more knowledge than the rest of us on the outside.

[tifosi]

Originally posted by ARing
I too intensely dislike Lauda, however I have a great respect for his opinions. They have been uncannily accurate over the years I have been an F1 fan.

I began following F1 in 1995 while living in Germany. In those days Lauda did a pre-race show from a studio. He was always decked out in all the Ferrari/Schumacher crap you could by. He was admittedly biased. I think he still does that show, but I have not seen it since I left Germany in 99.

This shows you just how knowledgable he is. In 1995 Schumacher was driving for Benneton. Yet the Great Lauda already knew he would be with Ferrari. Man JPM is screwed if he's this good.

[taran]

Originally posted by dan2k


Your wrong.
Frank Williams and Montoya are very close. And Juan has never been afraid to say what he feels to Frank. If Frank asked him have you signed for McLaren? Juan would awnser onestly. Frank had always believed in him, and got him started. Juan will never forget this.
I think Juan has had some interesting discussions with McLaren, but nothing is signed yet.
The team love him, and they will support their man till the end. You can bet on that.
They will not betray him, and Juan will not want the team's last impression of him as been a traitor which he is not.

Still, I believe its very important that Juan makes sure he strings together some very good results early in the season to stamp his authority.
Juan likes to think he is in charge of things, and Ralf will always be a number 2 to him.

I wonder why some people believe that Frank Williams walks on water (if he could still walk) and is as honest as the day is long. Frank Williams cares about Frank Williams and his team. And only about Frank Williams and his team. He has shafted drivers left, right and center and has been doing that for decades. Clay Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann, Nelson Piquet, Damon Hill and Alex Zanardi to name but a few.

How has he done this?

By lying to them. By promising things he could not deliver or didn't want to deliver. If he wanted to get rid of a driver he would lie and tell him his seat was secure until it would be too late for that driver to get another competitive drive. That would weaken that driver and prevent another strong combination fighting against his own team.

And just to bust another myth about Frank. He has had the MOST EXPENSIVE drivers driving for his team over the years. All that crap about Frank preferring to invest in his team instead of drivers is just crap. Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell (second time around), Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and even Ralf Schumacher have been either the top earner or very high on that list when they drove for Williams!

So it is not entirely beyond the realms of possibility that Montoya will be shafted in 2004 if Frank knew for certain that he would be leaving and BMW leaned on him to support Ralf instead. Zanardi was also 'denied optimum support' in 1999.

The smart thing for Montoya to do is smile a lot and keep very quiet about his future, just like Frank does himself when considering the welfare of his team.

It ain't pretty but that's F1 for you.

[scdecade]

Originally posted by ARing
I too intensely dislike Lauda, however I have a great respect for his opinions. They have been uncannily accurate over the years I have been an F1 fan.

I began following F1 in 1995 while living in Germany. In those days Lauda did a pre-race show from a studio. He was always decked out in all the Ferrari/Schumacher crap you could by. He was admittedly biased. I think he still does that show, but I have not seen it since I left Germany in 99.

He was arrogant, uncouth and condescending. As a southerner those are traits I cannot tolerate, so I hated him. I still don't like him very much although my understanding of Germans has developed a better appreciation for how he acts.

On the flip side, he had amazing insight into the sport and could predict both long term and short term developments in the sport neither I or your average commentor could. He was flat good as a prognosticator of the sport, no matter how detestable his personality.

Think back to 99 when at the completion of the season, he said, Hakkinen either needs to retire or switch teams immediately. Everyone thought Lauda was just being an arrogant loud mouth, but I believe history has borne him out.

karlth - I think you are mistaken, I believe Lauda has been right more than wrong. Someone should go back and do an analysis of Lauda's headline grabbing predictions over the last ten years.

Like him or not, you have to listen to what he says if you want to better understand the sport. Besides he wears his own badge of dedication to the sport in scar tissue across his face, and in his WCs.

Besides, like MS, he is fun to "hate."

ARing

I have to pretty much disagree with most of this. Based on past public statements I think Lauda's crystal ball is pretty hazy. Put simply he's a reactionary pragmatist. When he was a consultant at Ferrari before the arrival of Jean Todt, Lauda was one the people who made the case that John Barnard should be set up with a Ferrari funded F1 design factory in England. During this period Ferrari still ran the race team from Italy. It was Lauda's opinion that it was impossible to design a winning F1 car in Italy (because it hadn't been done in a long time). Reactionary pragmatist. It took Ferrari almost 5 years to recover from this fiasco. One of the first things Jean Todt did was getting rid of Lauda. I see Lauda as a person who trumpets the current winning formula (whatever it maybe) as him own.

[Vrba]

Originally posted by dan2k


Your wrong.
Frank Williams and Montoya are very close. And Juan has never been afraid to say what he feels to Frank. If Frank asked him have you signed for McLaren? Juan would awnser onestly. Frank had always believed in him, and got him started. Juan will never forget this.....

Noone is honest in the business, Frank Williams isn't honest, Montoya probably isn't as well. A quick insight into "My Championship Year" by Damon Hill raise the curtain a bit off the honesty of Frank Williams. In today's world it's simply impossible for one to be honest if one wants to protect his own interests and pursue his goals. No driver and no team owner is an exception. They are all dirty bastards.

Hrvoje

[Nasty McBastard]

Originally posted by tifosi


I'm not sure about his bias (I always got the impression he didn't like Michael), but he may very well be right. I mean if Williams knows JPM is leaving who will get the most testing miles and support?

it all depends on if frank is willing to cut off his nose to spite his face.

if frank thinks jpm and rs are equal in teams of fighting for a c-ship, or thinks jpm is more likely to win him a c-ship in 04 than ralf, why would he put jpm at a disadvantage....even if he knew jpm was leaving in 05?

also, frank is one of those 'the WCC is more important than the WDC' types.... therefore itd be against his interests to hobble any driver in any way.

DH won him a c-ship in 96, eventhough frank had decided to arse him before the c-ship was settled. if your loginc were true, then surely JV would of won in 96.

[tifosi]

Originally posted by Nasty McBastard


it all depends on if frank is willing to cut off his nose to spite his face.

if frank thinks jpm and rs are equal in teams of fighting for a c-ship, or thinks jpm is more likely to win him a c-ship in 04 than ralf, why would he put jpm at a disadvantage....even if he knew jpm was leaving in 05?

also, frank is one of those 'the WCC is more important than the WDC' types.... therefore itd be against his interests to hobble any driver in any way.

I agree with your first point, it would be stupid. If JPM can win the WDC then Williams will hopefully support him 100%.

On the second point all I can say is "yeah um okay right". Frank Williams has demonstrated in the past and has used number 1 driver contracts, and ordered drivers to let other drivers through. He also colluded with another team to change the result fo a World Championship Grand Prix. Actions ALWAYS speak louder than words and FW was shown repeatedly that he wants the WDC despite what he may say.

[soubriquet]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by taran



I wonder why some people believe that Frank Williams walks on water (if he could still walk) and is as honest as the day is long. Frank Williams cares about Frank Williams and his team. And only about Frank Williams and his team. He has shafted drivers left, right and center and has been doing that for decades. Clay Regazzoni, Carlos Reutemann, Nelson Piquet, Damon Hill and Alex Zanardi to name but a few.
[/QUOTE]

Yes. It is a team called Williams. It is Frank William's team.

[/i]

How has he done this?

By lying to them. By promising things he could not deliver or didn't want to deliver. If he wanted to get rid of a driver he would lie and tell him his seat was secure until it would be too late for that driver to get another competitive drive. That would weaken that driver and prevent another strong combination fighting against his own team.
[/QUOTE]

Were you at the meetings where Frank Williams lied to his drivers? Or is this assertion of fact really a matter of opinion? My opinion is that for the past 20 years, Williams has mostly, but not always, been able to deliver a competitive car.

[/i]

And just to bust another myth about Frank. He has had the MOST EXPENSIVE drivers driving for his team over the years. All that crap about Frank preferring to invest in his team instead of drivers is just crap. Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell (second time around), Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and even Ralf Schumacher have been either the top earner or very high on that list when they drove for Williams!
[/QUOTE]

You have the inside information? You have copies of the contracts of all these drivers? Fantastic. Please present these data. There are a lot of people here who would really like to know what a contract looks like, and how much one is worth.

[/i]

So it is not entirely beyond the realms of possibility that Montoya will be shafted in 2004 if Frank knew for certain that he would be leaving and BMW leaned on him to support Ralf instead. Zanardi was also 'denied optimum support' in 1999.

The smart thing for Montoya to do is smile a lot and keep very quiet about his future, just like Frank does himself when considering the welfare of his team.
[/QUOTE]

Agree. If you want kissie kissie cuddle smooch, then go to f@ckingonline.com. Don't apply for the F1 world championship, because this is for grownups. If you believe that you are the fastest and the best, then Williams offers 2 out of 6. JPM should think very carefully about jumping ship. Historically, Mclaren have been more consistent than Williams, but less brilliant.

[SeanValen]

3 People have put Ralf's name as a contender for 2004 title, Willi Webber who believes it alot, Michael has talked about it, now Lauda. Just opinions, yes, however my opinion is, whenever Ralf is confident like knowing his Williams team leave 2003 already stronger then Ferrari, something he has stated himself, a confident Ralf has shown to get the job done, it's when he's demotivated with the car he loses it, Ralf with a good car I think is strong, it's ashame his accident towards the end of 2003 took him out of the title hunt, Juan had chances this year, and he didn't make the best of all of them, Ralf was sidelined after his accident, so 2003 was unfinished business, we never saw Ralf have the chances to take it down to the wire, I'm not his biggest fan, he's not exciting as Montoya, but I think he's good enough when he has the car, but it will be close, maybe Juan will improve, nothing wrong with Lauda's opinion. I think the way F1 is now, with the points system, I can see Ralf string together many podiums, if he's not winning, he's picking 8 points etc, and then a dnf from the other car, puts Ralf centre stage, he's not the best driver, but he's a good driver in what maybe the best or as good as package to have in 2004. I personally also think it's even stevens, if Juan capitalises on everything when he has chances, be close, but probabley dnfs and reliability will decide it between the two, or accident like Ralf in 2003.

[glorius&victorius]

Originally posted by Derbris
In 1 day this man has managed to pump out 3 new stories. All are the ridiculous Lauda trash, but this one stands out:



This man never shuts his mouth. When he was fired by Jaguar it was one of my happiest days in F1. Has he ever admitted to his clear bias towards the Schumachers? Because he's clearly obsessed.

How can you hate a man who has achieved so much under so difficult circumstances? What a spirit this man is! You should admire and love him.

[holiday]

Lauda ranked Kimi to be second best of the field BEFORE the season, so I'd attach some importance to his opinion on Ralf and Juan.

[DOHC]

Originally posted by glorius&victorius


How can you hate a man who has achieved so much under so difficult circumstances? What a spirit this man is! You should admire and love him.

Maybe there are people here who never saw Lauda on track in his heydays. He was impresive! And f-a-s-t as well. And we he talked on the PA system, he certainly didn't make an imression of bragging.

But it has been a long time since he sat in and raced a car. Maybe his business experience changed his attitude? I agree that he nowadays, when quoted, sometimes sounds like he's not entirely in touch with today's F1 racing. Perhaps it's his wishful thinking that shines through?

[flyer72]

I see nothing wrong with Lauda's comments at all and I think that the people who are not agreeing with him needs to start using the small grey ones.

Lauda is just pointing out that JPM is doing himself no favours by flirting with other teams as it creates uncertainty within the team. In order to win the championship he needs the full attention and full motivation of the team - with no questionmarks or hesitations.

If you think that the personell at a team are so "professional" that they can leave their personal feelings aside not affecting the quality of their work - well, take a management course. Some can work very well under those circumstances, but far from all. People are not machines and can't be treated as such.

[karlth]

Ralf's teammate scored 40% more points than him last season in spite of Ralf not retiring from a single race due to a mechnical problem. How many good races did Ralf manage? Frankly I think it would be stretch to praise more than 3 out of 16.

How on earth is he then supposed to manage a consistent enough championship challenge? He is fast enough, no question about it but he simply falls apart when things are not going his way.

Now I really don't care who Lauda thinks will be world champion next year because he has zero credibility in my opinion. Or as Michael Schumacher said a few years ago: Lauda doesn't know how things work in F1 anymore.

[checkonetwo]

to claim lauda has zero credibility is ridicolous. 42 days after having received the last rites he finished a grand prix in fourth place and was, after the race, not satisfied with the car. when he took off the helmet, small parts of his fresh skin came with it.
in his days he simply revolutionised the way drivers were approaching their job. plus, after a three year break he came back and become world champion against alain prost in the same car, by half a point, as you all know.
him beeing sacked at jaguar was a political move, and most of the relevant f1 people see it that way. he laid a groundstone and he wanted webber. i`ve heard really bad things about him as an airline boss, though . if you`re a pilot you don`t want to fly for him.
the ferrari fiasco in england was mainly down to the fact that both departments refused to communicate with each other properly. in maranello everybody shot in the back of everybody which was the main reason why lauda thought it was impossible to get a proper car done there.
sometimes he gets on my nerves too, but if you understand german better you will find he`s actually a very funny guy sometimes. it`s a very austrian way of humour, if i may say so.

even if he may not be totally involved in nowadays f1 he still knows a shitload more than any of us. in my book, he`s untouchable and i, for one, take his comments seriously.

amen

[taran]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by soubriquet


Yes. It is a team called Williams. It is Frank William's team.

[/i]

How has he done this?

By lying to them. By promising things he could not deliver or didn't want to deliver. If he wanted to get rid of a driver he would lie and tell him his seat was secure until it would be too late for that driver to get another competitive drive. That would weaken that driver and prevent another strong combination fighting against his own team.
[/QUOTE]

Were you at the meetings where Frank Williams lied to his drivers? Or is this assertion of fact really a matter of opinion? My opinion is that for the past 20 years, Williams has mostly, but not always, been able to deliver a competitive car.

[/i]

And just to bust another myth about Frank. He has had the MOST EXPENSIVE drivers driving for his team over the years. All that crap about Frank preferring to invest in his team instead of drivers is just crap. Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell (second time around), Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and even Ralf Schumacher have been either the top earner or very high on that list when they drove for Williams!
[/QUOTE]

You have the inside information? You have copies of the contracts of all these drivers? Fantastic. Please present these data. There are a lot of people here who would really like to know what a contract looks like, and how much one is worth.

[/i]

So it is not entirely beyond the realms of possibility that Montoya will be shafted in 2004 if Frank knew for certain that he would be leaving and BMW leaned on him to support Ralf instead. Zanardi was also 'denied optimum support' in 1999.

The smart thing for Montoya to do is smile a lot and keep very quiet about his future, just like Frank does himself when considering the welfare of his team.
[/QUOTE]

Agree. If you want kissie kissie cuddle smooch, then go to f@ckingonline.com. Don't apply for the F1 world championship, because this is for grownups. If you believe that you are the fastest and the best, then Williams offers 2 out of 6. JPM should think very carefully about jumping ship. Historically, Mclaren have been more consistent than Williams, but less brilliant. [/QUOTE]


I am not sure what your point is?

Frank has always kept the interests of his team at the top of his priorities (and rightly so). To therefore assume, as dan2K does that Montoya would get 'preferential' treatment due to friendship is naive.

Secondly, I was not there when Frank lied to his drivers. I did read the numerous articles that have appeared over the years in which drivers say that their contract is secure and that Frank is just 'finalizing some sponsorship deals' or something, only to be shown the door very late in the season...Perhaps you should try reading some F1 articles yourself.

The same applies to driver salaries. Unless you are willing to disclaim anything mentioned in the F1 media (in which case, WTF are you doing here???), you will find enough information regarding salaries. If you ignore the implausable, you will find a lot of decent info. The German magazines are especially good. Nelson Piquet's $3.6 million in 1986 was well documented as that was the biggest salary ever to date. When Ferrari managed to get Jean Alesi out of his Williams contract, Alain Prost made some telling remarks about his own salary. Nigel Mansell has also been vocal about his perceived worth.

Frank Williams is simply a difficult and demanding boss whose #1 priority is his own team. Any driver who forgets that will pay the price, sooner or later.

[lukywill]

Originally posted by checkonetwo
he`s actually a very funny guy sometimes. it`s a very austrian way of humour, if i may say so.

even if he may not be totally involved in nowadays f1 he still knows a shitload more than any of us. in my book, he`s untouchable and i, for one, take his comments seriously.

amen

indeed. and he is right tiping williams and ralf schumacher for 04.

but he is not telling it full: actually willliams will dominate the field and for us to have a great season we must have a fight between juan and ralf. that's why he rates ralf highly for 04. for f1 fan's sake.

[jimm]

Originally posted by tifosi


I'm not sure about his bias (I always got the impression he didn't like Michael), but he may very well be right. I mean if Williams knows JPM is leaving who will get the most testing miles and support?

Well JPM of course. How else can they be sure he will leave at the end of the year like all the other WDC?