Benoldi and Jos

**Adam43** · 5 Oct 2001, 08:13 (Ref:156151)

I always considered Jos to be pretty good, but Bernoldi has out-qualified him this year more often than not (just). Does this make Bernoldi good or Jos bad?

Bernoldi has had his share of negative reaction (DC at Monaco) and without wishing to go over this again, is he any good? and will he be in F1 next year. Presumably Jos will?

The arrows has looked quite good in the race at times this year, but has normally been flattered by a light fuel load. Although I think I would be right in saying that it has normally been "the boss" doing the running in these situations.

Jos has had 90 races and Bernoldi 16 making the experience difference very similar to Ralf (82) and Montoya (16). I used this comparison as there is great debate (maybe debate is the wrong word

) over who has the upper hand Ralf or Montoya, but I get the impression that it is just accepted that Verstappen is better than Bernoldi.

Would you sign him?

f1manoz · 5 Oct 2001, 08:45 (Ref:156161)

Bernoldi has received a lot of unjustified criticism this year, most stemming from the Monaco debacle involving DC and himself.

But lets look at the facts: Bernoldi has outqualified Jos more often than not this year, Verstappen has only scored one point to Bernoldis zero (but that's not saying much), Bernoldi has a good finishing record when mechanical failures are not taken into account and he's proving to be quite a neat and efficient driver.

The extra incentive to sign Bernoldi would be the fact he comes with sponsors, which equals more money.

To be honest, I didn't think much of Bernoldi when he first arrived in F1, but he's kept the car on the track most of the time, qualified and raced well, so I'd feel sorry for him if he didn't get a ride for next year.

steve nielsen · 5 Oct 2001, 10:33 (Ref:156184)

Whan you look at the races, Jos has 1 point(more than Enrique), is usualy ahead of Enrique in the races(Hockenheim beeing the only exeption), and Jos is ahead in fastes lap times in the races(14-2 for Jos), PLUS: Jos already has a contract with Arrows for next year!

steve nielsen · 5 Oct 2001, 10:34 (Ref:156185)

BTW: Trust, Los Boys and TCC are all dutch companies.....

**Bononi** · 5 Oct 2001, 12:54 (Ref:156235)

Anyway Bernoldi is out of Arrows. The guys never liked him there, so he better get another seat somewhere else...

Speedworx · 6 Oct 2001, 10:09 (Ref:156645)

In my view, this makes Bernoldi good. Sadly most people sasy he is a bad driver. He has one of the worst finishing records this season. This is mainly cos his cars usually gives up after a few laps.

I think Bernoldi should keep his seat at Arrows for 2002 and I hope he gets a car that does not break every 5 minutes.

Gt_R · 6 Oct 2001, 10:22 (Ref:156649)

Considering that Bernoldi is very much a rookie, he is doing fine. His pace compared to his teammate isnt all that terrible, and in fact, i think he is rather mentally strong in the sense that he do not make much mistakes under pressure (ie Monza, Monaco, etc). Unfortunately for him, the 3 other rookies in F1 are far greater in quality, and coupled with the fact he came to F1 with financial backings, make people think lesser of him as a pay driver. Well, we have yet to really see much of him, and i think it wouldn't be a loss to have him in F1 to see really how good he is next year. Maybe in Sauber?

Don K · 6 Oct 2001, 12:47 (Ref:156705)

The fact that Bernoldi has beaten Jos in qualifying is not strange.
As far as I know, Jos has been beaten in qualifying by all his team mates so far, except Rosset.

I think the problem with Bernoldi was that he wasn't a team player.
As far as I understood, he has been improving on that during the last couple of races. And his starts are getting better.

I would keep Jos, try to get Frentzen, and forget about Alesi.
In order of preference:
1. Frentzen & Verstappen
2. Frentzen & Bernoldi
3. Verstappen & Bernoldi
or Alesi & Bernoldi
5. Frentzen & Alesi
6. Verstappen & Alesi