Comments on: F1 blogs & more: Bad sportsmanship

By: George

George — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:55:03 +0000

Internet – only those who fundamentally misunderstand the way that McLaren goes motor racing, much as Alonso did last year. Preferential treatment is not the McLaren way. There are certainly reasons why Montoya was not as successful as Raikkonen at the wheel of a McLaren, but ‘preferential treatment’ was certainly not one of them.

By: the limit

the limit — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:53:46 +0000

Hi guys.

As I said, I knew my comments were going to upset some of you, very interested in all of your opinions on Montoya. For some unknown reason, I have always harboured a deep personal dislike for him, as if it didn’t show right? I guess I am not all that good at hiding my emotions.
I suppose reading JPM’s comments about F1 made me lose my rag a bit, but my passion for the sport is so great that I take these things a little bit to heart.
Its just that when Michael Schumacher speaks, or Mansell, or Prost, you listen. You listen because they have won championships, achieved the greatest success.
If Juan Pablo had walked away in 2006 as a champion, I would have been the first to say, ok, you’ve cracked it.
The bottom line is that his F1 career ended on a huge sour note, and a once promising career was gone with so much unaccomplished.
To say that it ‘was EASY’. You race for two of the greatest teams in F1 history for five years and win seven races. And it ‘was easy’.
I’m sorry boys, I know you like Montoya and miss him in F1, but I find that comment hard to take.

By: Pink Peril

Pink Peril — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:09:17 +0000

Well, that article in the mirror is wrong anyway. McLaren were not found guilty of obtaining technical data from Ferrari, nor did Renault get Ferrari secrets from McLaren (although I am sure I don’t have to explain it to you guys again, so I’ll take it with a grain of salt.

I did think though, for a British paper & list that us Antipodeans featured heavily :/ Did we just win at the cricket or something?

By: Internet

Internet — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:19:15 +0000

@16 George:

Many would say that Kimi got better of Montoya only because he got preferential treatment at McLaren.

By: George

George — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:25:17 +0000

Keith – re post 3 – I’m glad to see someone else who thinks that Montoya was robbed at Indy in ‘03, and who shares my frustration that RACERS are discouraged from out and out RACING in F1. I felt the same way about the Hamilton penalty in France, and said as much – we moan that there is no racing, and then debate whether or not those who do race should be penalised or not!

Montoya remains, above all things, a racer – and a terrifyingly brave one at that with an immense level of natural talent(you only have to watch the footage of him racing wheel to wheel with Michael Andretti in the 2000 Michigan 500 to see that). It’s a tragedy that he is lost to F1, which is the poorer for it.

It genuinely pains me to watch Juan Pablo in a NASCAR, but if he is happy, then who are we to judge?

By: George

George — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:20:41 +0000

Internet – I hate to be pedantic, but Kimi won 9 GPs and touched the hem of the World Championship twice in a McLaren. I’m a massive Montoya fan, but even I have to admit that Raikkonen (for a variety of reasons) got the better of him in equal equipment over the long haul.

By: Internet

Internet — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:29:54 +0000

@ 2: the limit

Kimi didn’t exactly win anything during all his years in McLaren did he?

By: Rabi

Rabi — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:38:35 +0000

Number 5 on the mirror’s top 10 was just sooooo funny!

By: DG

DG — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:21:41 +0000

Thanks Keith, it was longer ago than I thought! I am going to Goodwood this year, so I will keep an eye out for any Mansell-esque activity

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:00:01 +0000

Greg & Leo aren’t still in Formula BMW are they? They were in F3 last year and they were supposed to be in Atlantics in America this year but since the IRL-Champ Car re-unification I’m not sure what happened with that.

By: DG

DG — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:50:10 +0000

Mansell was in the ‘GP Masters’ series, with Alesi and a few others, but I’m not sure that still exists. At the moment he is running the Formula BMW team which his sons race in – its even using his old colours!
I know thats not strictly racing per se, but its still more than old Schuey…

By: Jean

Jean — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:08:20 +0000

DG , where is Mansell racing ? Used to be a fan in the “Williams” days , and apart from the few GP masters races several years ago , I have not seen him race.

By: DG

DG — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:17:35 +0000

I think JPM means that he is getting better support from the fans and the team than he ever had in F1. Nobody believed in his ability to win races, and apparently there are those that still don’t. NASCAR has a different style of racing, and if you don’t do it properly you hit a wall at 150mph. If you don’t do it properly in F1 you can cut a corner a get another go. Real racing indeed!
To compare him to old Schuey is ludicrous. Where is Schuey now? Not winning the ROC, falling off motorbikes, nearly getting arrested for illegally driving a taxi, advertising FIAT vans, and pretending to be a test driver.
JPM is still racing, Villneuve is still racing, Mansell is still racing, and Hill is defending Silverstone from Bernie!
And with a quick reference to JPM, Schuey and even Hammy, surely ANY F1 driver has to be ’sure of his own ability’ to get anywhere near an F1 team, let alone get in the car. In interviews DC used to say ‘We go out there to win, otherwise whats the point of being here’.
Big Ron used to say something similar. If Schuey was modest off the track, it was only because he had good PR to speak for him. If JPM is being loud now, it is because he is feeling successful. If Hammy is being misquoted, mislead and undermined, thats down to who he chooses to have around him. He is there to win races, not sit at the back of the grid, but he needs to get his head straight again, even if that means either leaving his father or leaving McLaren, or both!
As for bad sportsmanship – I have already said that I think the current drivers are terrible and I would replace most of them with the next generation coming up from GP2 and other series.

By: motion

motion — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:26:49 +0000

Montoya was good for F1 fans and F1 should have learned better how to encourage real racing rather than becoming involved in personality politics with what they decide as “upstart” drivers. This very much applies to Dennis, Briatore, Whitmarsh & Ecclestone.

By: Jean

Jean — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 06:05:46 +0000

One thing I missed never seeing in F1 is JP Montoya matched against M Schumacher , in the same car . They had a good few battles on track , of which both have won and both have lost , and it’s no secret there is little love lost between them .But in the same car would have been a better indicator as to who was king. Personally , I believe in speed and skill , they were evenly matched , but Michael had the edge on fitness and comittment which ultimately let him be more consistent over a GP distance .

By: Oddball

Oddball — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:59:16 +0000

You are spot on in your comments about “Top 10 displays of bad sportsmanship” and English patriotism; what about Schumacher’s move on Villeneuve In Jerez ‘97?

By: Sri

Sri — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:44:02 +0000

Sorry Keith, just thought will add this link here as well…. as an attachment to my previous post.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/68645

Senor’ Hill doling out some advice.

By: Sri

Sri — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:33:05 +0000

Interesting read that… Whitmarsh to blame!
http://fifthdecade.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/blame-whitmarsh-not-hamilton-for-recent-mistakes/

“Pre-race interviews with Lewis Hamilton himself clearly showed his over-confident, rap-star influenced ego poking through, and a strategy of light fuel load and soft tyres added to the disbelief that there was any focus at all on winning over the course of the season, rather than just at this race.”

“In one pre-race interview he was talking of a text message he received from a great friend before the race about how greatness comes not from winning a race from the front, but from the rear and fighting your way through.”

“Whatever, the situation certainly hasn’t been made any easier by McLaren who have completely mucked up Hamilton’s race stategies lately, perhaps because they are giving the second year rookie just too much slack. I mean, he even chose his own teammate this year.”

Any other driver in the house that Ron built, he/she would have swiftly shown the door(for 1st and 2nd quoted acts). Montoya comes to mind, when he used to run his mouth amok in the 2005 season.

Anyhoo, the choices like setup, fuel strategies are more down to the Driver/engineer(s), than the CEO of a company. CEO is to get his support. Lewis had it last year, even when he was with a back-to-back world champion. What more can a driver ask for, when he is being allowed to chose his own number 2 in the team? That too only in his second year in F1. It clearly shows how “the homeboy effect” in team McLaren, which was pointed out by Alonso, had(and still has) some substance to it.

This chappie though throughout the post is chiding Lewis, left right and center for all the mistakes that he’s made and yet choses in the end, to conveniently blame Whitmarsh. Lewis-mania of highest level .

Funny how the author failed to see that coming.

Also, i’d like to quote the limit:

“By God do I miss Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet. These drivers all used to talk up a storm too, but they all atleast won championships to back up their mouths.”

Gee gosh darn it! You said it mate(albeit a different driver is being referred to). Someone has some learning to do!

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:15:40 +0000

Limit – I cannot agree with you about Indianapolis ‘03. it was a disgrace he got a penalty for that. And when you look at some of the other stuff he got penalties for in F1 – Sepang ‘02 for crying out loud – no wonder he wanted to go somewhere racing isn’t discouraged.

By: the limit

the limit — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 21:51:32 +0000

Now, I am going to upset some people here, but so be it.
I am, personally, sick and tired of hearing about Montoya comparing NASCAR to Formula One.
The way Juan Pablo Montoya’s F1 career is portrayed in the American race media, it is as if he was a multiple world champion. The bottom line, despite Montoya’s undoubted talent, is that his five year stint at F1 delivered not one championship.
The dominance of Michael Schumacher during that time is extremely relevent, but Montoya did have his moments, like Indianapolis 2003 for example, that he pissed up the wall.
His time at McLaren was also patchy, considering that the 2005 Mercedes was the fastest car on the grid. And what was Montoya’s excuse that year for failing to challenge? A tennis accident, LOL.
And now, the legend in his own mind now considers F1 to be ‘too’ easy compared to NASCAR, so, so easy. So easy that he failed to win the championship, so easy that he was no longer wanted by any of the teams, sure!!
The real point here is you have a driver so sure of his own ability, so quick to criticise, but no trophies for nearly a decade to show for it.
And when I mean trophies, I mean championship trophies.
By God do I miss Senna, Prost, Mansell, Piquet. These drivers all used to talk up a storm too, but they all atleast won championships to back up their mouths.
Hype Hype Hype. Racing is about winning, not whining.