Ralf wins.... AGAIN!

**Adam43** · 6 Jul 2003, 13:38 (Ref:653868)

A great win. but a dull race.

BTW I didn't see the end because ITV decided to have some ads.

And coverage has failed now. Just the ITV logo. Nearly as exciting as the GP!

Well done Ralf

EERO · 6 Jul 2003, 13:39 (Ref:653870)

Adam, you took the words out of my mouth...or err... off my keyboard.
It makes the question posed a week ago bout ralf as WDC as not such an odd one. A great drive.

Irv the Swerve · 6 Jul 2003, 13:57 (Ref:653881)

very snoozy race to be honest. But Ralf had them all covered for the second time in a week.

Inigo Montoya · 6 Jul 2003, 14:00 (Ref:653882)

Zzzzzzzz.... Oh, another Williams 1-2... Zzzzz...

Seriously though, fantastic drives by the Schummy brothers. So, if Patrick and Frank are "racers" as everyone says, then why didn't let let Monty and Ralf scrap it out to the end? I guess Ralf is the number one driver now, eh?

Jay · 6 Jul 2003, 14:02 (Ref:653886)

After watching the great Cart race from Cleveland last night, I wonder why I bothered to get up...

Good for Ralf though...

**Adam43** · 6 Jul 2003, 14:05 (Ref:653891)

Quote:

Originally posted by Inigo Montoya
Seriously though, fantastic drives by the Schummy brothers. So, if Patrick and Frank are "racers" as everyone says, then why didn't let let Monty and Ralf scrap it out to the end? I guess Ralf is the number one driver now, eh?

Well despite what James Allen made up there was no orders. Ralf had it covered and Montoya decided to cruise (sometimes looked like he was cruising too much too). James Allen made a stupid point at the end about what is a team order without a)knowing if there was one at Williams and b) it being relevant.

BootsOntheSide · 6 Jul 2003, 14:15 (Ref:653902)

Ralf was the better driver today, and all weekend, no doubt about it. Other than the third stint of tyres, Ralf had Montoya covered all weekend long.

Patrcik Head claims that there were no team orders, it was a case that Montoya eased off after realising he couldn't catch Ralf. If Ralf had made his final pitstop a lap later, it might've been a different (but probably unjust) result.

Damon · 6 Jul 2003, 14:17 (Ref:653904)

Montoya had the pace to get Ralf today, making up the time the team lost him on the first stop but he couldn't quite make enough. I did find it odd that he backed right off straight after the last stop though, makes Head's claim that it was Montoya's decision look a little odd as I can't see him doing that unless he'd been told. None the less, great win again for Ralf and a another Williams 1-2 has really set the title fight up nicely.

**Adam43** · 6 Jul 2003, 14:18 (Ref:653906)

I agree with that summing up Boots.

I thought it a shame that Montoya didn't get out ahead because Ralf would have been all over him IMO and we might have had more of a race. But can't complain about the result really - just the way it got there

neilap · 6 Jul 2003, 14:23 (Ref:653913)

Yawn, shrug... whatever...

**Adam43** · 6 Jul 2003, 14:23 (Ref:653914)

I disagree with that Damon. Montoya was closish to Ralf and could have done it, but Ralf had the speed generally. Montoya backed off, he knew that while he could perhaps keep with him there was not much point. Saving his engine, perhaps

But no team order to do so. I suppose there might have been a "make sure you finish", but that goes without saying.

Just as an aside that may be interesting. I seemed to notice that it was nick and tuck in the 1st sector, Montoya quickest in the second and Ralf much quicker in the third. Generally.

R · 6 Jul 2003, 14:25 (Ref:653916)

I don't like the fact that at every single pitstop, Montoya's was longer than Ralf's. In Montoya's first pitstop, he lost 3.5 seconds. That could have made the difference after the final round of pitstops, when Ralf was just ahead coming out of the pits.

But well done Ralf. I'm disappointed Montoya eased off after the final pitstop. Watching the race, it seemed as if Montoya had problems after the final pitstop when he lost so much time to Ralf in the final stint. It was disappointing to hear in the press conference that he just decided to slow down. He should have stuck on Ralf's tail (or at least tried to), then maybe he would have had an opportunity to pass Ralf when Ralf outbraked himself at a corner in the final stint.

Damon · 6 Jul 2003, 14:59 (Ref:653931)

Yeah, a bit like Canada it seemed to build up to an anti climax. Montoya said he wasn't comfortable with the car in the first stint and that showed but he was able to reel Ralf in during the second stint for it to all come to nothing. Oh well, at least it was another Williams 1-2, if not in the order I'd have liked. Where's Red btw??

.

pole2pole · 6 Jul 2003, 15:25 (Ref:653953)

What a great 2 weeks for Ralf 2 races and 20 points in the bag. What a job Williams have done. I would say they are strong favourites to win the contructors championship and looking at the performance from the team as a whole i dont think this is a flash in the pan and who knows maybe come the end of the season one of those Williams drivers will be crowned champion.

NiceGuyEddie · 6 Jul 2003, 15:32 (Ref:653958)

Reminds me of Damon Hill. Can't race if their life depended on it, but once their out up front, they're very hard to catch. Hate to say it, but great drive.

z2252314 · 6 Jul 2003, 15:40 (Ref:653965)

Great drive by Ralf today. Im convinced that he has more raw speed than JPM, he just lacks the racers edge. If the Williams car remains competitive, watch out for Ralf in the WDC.

P.S It was about damage control for Ferrari today, and considering they increased their lead in the WDC, things arent so bad. The future however, does not look promising.

Damon · 6 Jul 2003, 15:54 (Ref:653975)

It wasn't so much Ralf's speed that is giving him the edge, it's his ability to set the car up that's doing it. It's the one area where JPM lacks. If both cars are handling poorly (like at the beginning of the year) then JPM has beaten Ralf as his car control allows him to drive round the problems. When there are no problems to drive round they are just as quick as each other but Ralf is finding the optimum setup more quickly at the moment.

**Adam43** · 6 Jul 2003, 15:58 (Ref:653979)

Patrick Head said as much this weekend, according to ITV. (I can't remember if James Allen said this or not so I don't know how reliable it is

) Seems to make sense though.

z2252314 · 6 Jul 2003, 16:02 (Ref:653982)

It could be that, but surely after 3 years JPM should be up to scratch with car setups. Why doesnt Kimi have the same problems?

Lee Janotta · 6 Jul 2003, 16:07 (Ref:653989)

Quote:

Originally posted by NiceGuyEddie
Reminds me of Damon Hill. Can't race if their life depended on it, but once their out up front, they're very hard to catch. Hate to say it, but great drive.

Yup, I've gotta pretty much agree.

I _hate_ this track SO DAMN MUCH!

Damon · 6 Jul 2003, 16:08 (Ref:653990)

I heard a story that in Montoya's Cart days he'd tell his engineer to "get the car as close as you can and I'll do the rest". That worked in Cart because it is possible to man handle speed out of those cars. Modern F1 cars are all about being smooth and having the car well balenced, if that's not the case there isn't much the driver can do about it. I'm fairly confident that JPM has come on a long way in his setup skills over the past three years. However, Ralfs extra 3 years of experiance in this area is showing this season as it is more crucial than ever to get the best possible setup quickly due to the limited running they now have.

Red · 6 Jul 2003, 16:48 (Ref:654010)

That's precisely the point. But I don't think that 3 years of extra experience explains everything. Actually Montoya did his fair job of F1 testing before, and CART cannot really be excluded from his resume. It's more a problem of attitude. "Get the car as close as you can and I'll do the rest" should hint towards it.

JohnSSC · 6 Jul 2003, 17:25 (Ref:654024)

Well I guess I should leap in and say that I have been impressed with Schumi Lite. He has had the advantage these last couple of races and showed the pace he needed to finish at the top.

JPM's body language said it all in the post-race interview: he sat turned somewhat away from Schumi Lite. Don't have the exact quotes but he was not at all pleased with the pit stops and he implied that he backed off because he had used too much of his car up early in the race making up the 3.5 sec stop. He seemed more than a bit cheesed-off!

I still want to see Schumi Lite duke it out for a win, but I am truly impressed with his ability to run fast, consitent laps through the race distance.

krt917 · 6 Jul 2003, 17:29 (Ref:654026)

Quote:

Originally posted by Damon
I heard a story that in Montoya's Cart days he'd tell his engineer to "get the car as close as you can and I'll do the rest". That worked in Cart because it is possible to man handle speed out of those cars. Modern F1 cars are all about being smooth and having the car well balenced, if that's not the case there isn't much the driver can do about it.

That's true, but isn't that a shame. I rather like the idea of a driver being able to 'man handle' a decent time out of a less than perfect car. I know that you have to get a perfect set-up in F1, but I sometimes wish it wasn't QUITE so knife-edge. I want the best driver to win, not the best technician (though realise this is obviously part of a driver's job).

Just a athought!

Lee Janotta · 6 Jul 2003, 17:33 (Ref:654027)

Yup, very true. Juan might've won on the day were it not for the bad pitstops, but... That's life. And once he came out of the pits behind Ralf, it was all over... Not a single chance to pass him at Magny-Cours.

Did I mention I hate this track?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
He who wins in Melbourne wins WDC	Yoong Montoya	Formula One	6	12 Jun 2002 20:30
Ralf WINS ! What a RACE!	Mania	Formula One	103	19 Mar 2002 17:28
Ralf is at it again!	Full Boost	Formula One	105	19 Nov 2001 21:21
Those of you who said Ralf would never win a GP	LYM	Formula One	25	17 Apr 2001 21:50