Hill on DC......

[Glen]

His reluctance to adapt his driving style to suit wht is happening at the time - eg when the car is oversteering, either live with it, or (even better) exploit it to your advantage - is either some sort of mental block or a lack of skill... either way it is far from ideal and way behind the kind of attitude guys like Montoya bring to job.

[Rennen]

Worn tyres + less rear downforce...DC better get used to it then!...Couple a cans of Red Bull should add the ole 'thousand yard stare'!

[Adam43]

Yes, the last few Jaguar Racng cars had a reputation for being unkind to their rear tyres too (and each new car didn't seem to make much difference). Have they managed to solve that this year?

[bosch!]

DC's problem has never been his driving skill, but psychology. He's a sensitive chap who reads too much into things - he thinks too much.

I think that all drivers are like that. Convidence is king if you are going to be going into corners at 160kph. Being told to pull over because your boss loves your team mate more than you is more than a trivial thing.

I think that Hill was right in his comments.

[Pitstop]

This has been an interesting read. I wonder how Damon thinks JPM's role will pan out over the coming season and thereafter?

Just an observation you understand.

[Mr V]

Hmm, depends. Ron obviously thinks alot of Kimi, but whether he thinks as much of Kimi as he did of Mika i'm not sure. The other thing is, JPM ain't DC, and i can only guess at JPM's reaction should Ron ask him to pull over for Kimi first time it is asked

[krt917]

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

Perhaps so, but I always thought that Mika's bad luck was worse almost every year they raced. Especially in '97, '99 and possibly '01.

Definitely true of 1997 and, perhaps, '99 (which was pretty calamitous for all the main contenders!), but I'd have to check 2001 as it seemed to me the year that Mika's heart wasn't really in it. DC seemed to perform better than before, perhaps because of Mika's situation, but then couldn't challenge Schuey due to various silly things happening with the car.

Originally Posted by Glen

His reluctance to adapt his driving style to suit wht is happening at the time - eg when the car is oversteering, either live with it, or (even better) exploit it to your advantage - is either some sort of mental block or a lack of skill... either way it is far from ideal and way behind the kind of attitude guys like Montoya bring to job.

That certainly seems to be DC's main limitation. As for Montoya, he might have a better appraoch as regards oversteer, but there are lots of things Montoya hasn't really convinced me about yet - such as his ability to sort a car out - which we know DC can do. Having said that, I think McLaren have made the right move - Kimi Vs JPM should be one of the joys of '05.

[Glen]

Montoya has the opposite problem, I agree - he drives around the car as he finds it, whereas DC usually cannot drive the car as he finds it and either makes the set up better or fails. McLaren seem to have Montoya's failings pretty well worked-out I have to say, and have even specifically stated that they know how to look after him and get the best out of him.