Put yourself in Ron's shoes

[Tris]

If you were Ron Dennis would you let Coulthard have equal status with Hakkinen for 2001?

[RP75]

No he's not a potential winner.I think next season will be his last in Mclaren.
I might be wrong but i still think Mclaren needs a new driver they have the best engine and i think that anyone can win with the car.

[LYM]

Originally posted by Tris
If you were Ron Dennis would you let Coulthard have equal status with Hakkinen for 2001?

No. Sorry DC fans but he's just not as good and quick as Mika.

[neutral]

Since when has he had equal status?

[LYM]

Originally posted by neutral
Since when has he had equal status?

According to Ron Dennis: since this March, 'til late September.

He didn't lie, did he?

[Dhru]

Equal status?!? In Ronspeak: "All drivers are equal, but some are more equal than others."
Dhru.

[Billy_Hunt]

I really do not understand why DC is getting so much stick from a few, in this forum,could it be just from the TGF and Ferrari fans .
Please give us some instance's of his poor driving ,he and TGF have had some really great battles on the track(is this the reason ?), F1 would be less exciting with out drivers like him around.He had the balls to apologise to TGF for being out spoken during the year .so whats up with the guy .He's certainly a better driver than R..... sorry I'm not going down that road .I'd just be falling into the same trap as the few in the forum.

Yes I would give DC equal status he may have made a better challange than MH this year given half the chance

[Billy_Hunt]

Should RB have equal status at Ferrari
Would it it make any difference ?

[chow wei hsien]

OH COME ON TRIS...............
I wouldn't put myself in RON's shoes, I am sure his shoes smell very bad....



Ron's shoes smells as bad as his mouth

[Liz]

If I were in Ron's shoes I would quit whining and moaning about how every time his little boys don't win it's somebody else's fault (backmarkers, aliens, Italian race stewards, voodoo, conspiracies of all stripes and colours) and I would get rid of both of those boys and hire Helio and Ricardo and let them race each other.

But I agree that DC is not the worst pilot on the grid and perhaps if he drove at BAR with Jacques he would ... oops, see "Zonta" above for what would happen then....

DC, if you want to have equal status, you'd better drive for Minardi. Bring your own money.

[RussianFriend]

Remember DC and MH before the start of 98 season. They really were equal. But once DC gave his win to Mika, and it decided to stay with him. F1-Cinderella became twice WDC.

Lesson for poor little boys driving MClaren: never lend your luck to your team-mate, he could dispose of it better than you.

[Airhead]

and I would get rid of both of those boys and hire Helio and Ricardo and let them race each other.

Now that sounds like a really great idea. Liz, has someone been playing with your medication?

Can DC drive - remember the French GP!
Can Mika drive remember any race of the last three years.

Can Ricardo drive, on results to hand I don't know.

Can Helio drive, what in F1, this is a joke right?

Billy_Hunt, go down that road to salvation brother, someone out there must have blood that ain't scarlet!

[Ron Dennis's Mum]

DC simply has not done enough to justify the No.1 position in McLaren.

Ronnis "system" seems fair, i.e. they are equal until one driver gets into a pretty much unassailable position, and then they get supported by the driver not doing so well.

This is how it's been for the last few years, and DC is ALWAYS found wanting. So they do get equal treatment, but MH consistently outperforms the lacklustre Scotsman.

[Gt_R]

kind of like Ferrari basically...if we look beyond what the media has put it...

When has Eddie or Rubens drive better then Michael Schumacher to justify the No.1 position?? Both the drivers get the same car as MS, but they are not as fast...thus Ferrari PREFERS MS...but the treatment is basically very much the same..No drivers can beat MS to make him the 2nd driver..!~

[Carla O]

Originally posted by Tris
If you were Ron Dennis would you let Coulthard have equal status with Hakkinen for 2001?

yes

[Liz]

Erm, what was the question. "IF YOU WERE IN RON DENNIS' SHOES" what would I do.

I am not saying that Ron Dennis should fire his pilots and hire Zonta and Castro-Neves. I said that is what I WOULD DO IF I WERE IN HIS SHOES.

All I think Ron Dennis should do in his own shoes is get a grip.

[Mania]

David has really been out paced by Hakkinen for a long time now. When he came to Mclaren I expected him to get the better of Hakkinen because David had already tasted success with Williams Renault and I felt he would only get better. That has not happened. Instead he's turned into a whiner. He doesent deserve equal status and even Ron Dennis can figure that one out. Speaking of Ron, I wonder if we'll ever see him smile on camera? Maybe that'll happen one day -just like Marc Gene will become WC for Ferrari

[Tris]

OK.

Since I posed the question I will put my two penny worth in! Ever since 1996 McLaren have never had it’s two drivers going well at the same time. If Coulthard was going well, Hakkinen was struggling and vise versa. It has been put down to the characteristics and balance of the car. Thus, if the team is backing Hakkinen mores strongly that Coulthard it makes perfect sense to strip Coulthard of his equal number 1 status as he will not be able to deliver in the car (ala Barichello.)

[julesdw]

Billy_Hunt...

You asked for an instance of DC's bad driving... Australia 2000. Quakifying. Spun. Lost Control. Wrote off his Mclaren. Red flagged the session.

Pretty conclusive to me...
Jules...

[Billy_Hunt]

Originally posted by julesdw


You asked for an instance of DC's bad driving... Australia 2000. Quakifying. Spun. Lost Control. Wrote off his Mclaren. Red flagged the session.

Pretty conclusive to me...
Jules...

Is that all you could come up with from the whole year ??,(did he do it again all season ?)
All that prove's is that he was on the absolute limit and just pushed it a little bit too far,to me it's the sure sign of a good racing driver who finds and drives to his absolute limit which the man himself TGF often does and sometimes also goes beyond it.

[Ron Dennis's Mum]

I believe DC managed to stack his car on the warm-up lap in recent years, and I've certainly got ootage of him ploughing into the wall whilst entering the pits.

The man is an imbecile

[Billy_Hunt]

Thought we were talking about this year ?.
DC is a bloody good racing driver and I don't think he deserves all the stick he gets mainly from the tifosi because he gave TGF a run for his money and called him some names, oh and gave him theFINGER(how could I forget that).
Remember Silverstone where he took RB on the outside of stowe that was a gutsy move and he pulled it off He's not scared of giving it a go and he doesnt jump out of the way when he see's a scarlet Ferrari in his rear view mirror.
He is world champion material and I believe he could have won it this year if it was'nt for some bad calls in favour of Mika.
I am not a DC supporter I'm just saying it the way I see it alot of the criticism is unfounded on this years performance

[Mania]

Actually the only reason why he was able to take Rubens into stowe was because Rubens was already having problems with the Hydro leak. Thats how he was able to pick up the slip steam and shoot past. It was'nt because he was 'oh so quick' it was simply because Rubens was slow due to a problem. David Coulthard, quite frankly, is simply not good enough to be a World Champion. Unfortunately, average drivers like DC CAN become World Champs due to other reasons such as the competition not being strong enough as it was in 1996 ..which is how Hill walked away with the title..even though Villunerve nearly pulled of a stunner!
So all DC can do is cry and whine and moan about Schumacher swerving at him at the start, and Frentzen ruining his qualifying or the Minardis making life difficult etc - because thats the only escuse he can come up with. Dennis may be an ice cold s.o.b but he's not a moron. Which is why Coulthard will remain number 2 next year and Mclaren will give him a going away party before they throw him out at the end of next season. What the future holds for DC depends on how he goes next season...if he can pull of a couple of lucky wins then Jaguar may come calling and Irvine is likely to have a field day..if not then Coulthard is in big trouble.

[Billy_Hunt]

Originally posted by Mania

Actually the only reason why he was able to take Rubens into stowe was because Rubens was already having problems with the Hydro leak. Thats how he was able to pick up the slip steam and shoot past.

You sound like DC or Ron your self now .
The way I remember it was RB made a small mistake think it was coming out of chapel curve , DC was so much faster closing in on him every lap before hence taking him .
RB hydro leak happened at Luffield throwing him off into a massive puddle I saw it with my own eyes.

[julesdw]

Billy_Hunt... it was just one example in a whole string of bad driving. If he was good he'd go as fast (if mot faster) than Mika. I seem to remember Spa 98 as well ... it was his car piling in to the wall first... right? You can't just talk about on season or even one race. The whole picture of DCs driving is suspect when you look at all his races...