How Will Zonta go in Hungary?

[sonic]

Judging by his Friday pace you'd expect him to be an improvement over CDM.

Do you reckon he could be quicker than Panis?

if he does a good job, do you reckon Toyota will say 'thanks but no thanks' to Trulli?

Leaving Jarno to go where?!

[ASCII Man]

I hope he does a good job this weekend, i quite like the guy. Trulli can leave for all i care!

That's nice

[steve_r]

Lets put it this way, I havn't put him in the top 8 in the predictions comp!

[Dan Fielden]

has it been confirmed c.d.m. is on his leaving

[Adam43]

FWIW I read today that Trulli has a contract, but he won't reveal who with until September.

[ralf fan]

cant seen Zonta doing any better than CDM IMO

[BootsOntheSide]

He won't match his Friday pace - the cars they run in those sessions aren't set up for race-distance performance or reliability. All the same, I think he can run Panis close, but not really put up a good claim for a 2005 drive.

[Kicking-back]

Zonta will be closely matched with Panis, I believe.

[006_007]

I do not believe Zonta is going to be faster then CDM. Yes, on the Fri practices he is faster, but several of the reserve drivers are faster then the race drivers on that practice. They do not need to make the cars last all weekend.

I think Toyota does have 2 good calibre drivers in CDM (had) and Panis. When Panis was testing for McLaren he was always right on the pace of their lead drivers, and when he was at BAR he was on pace (for a BAR). CDM came through indycars much the same way Montoya and Villeneuve did. I just do not believe the Toyota is a front running car, and Toyota keeps shuffling drivers rather then sorting out the car. But I am sure hiring Ralf and Jarno will fix it all!

[BootsOntheSide]

da Matta was nowhere near as impressive in CART. He took 4 seasons to win the title, compared to JV's 2 and Montoya winning it as a rookie - also, the previously-dominant Penske team was gone.

[paulzinho]

He'll do OK I think.

Can't really expect much as the Toyotas a bit of a rubbish car.

[Kicking-back]

How will Zonta go in Hungary?

Out of the pitlane, down to the first corner, turn right.....

[luke]

It would be great to see him score in the points but i doubt it, seeing as thaed have to qualify near anoth in the top ten because its very slowish and difficult to overtake and seeing as toyota's best feature is the engine I very much doubt it. Any way why has Da Matta been replaced, theres nothing wrong with him, it's the cars that's slow.

[Knowlesy]

I think he'll do alright. Zonta is a very good driver IMO, but he hasn't unlocked that potential at an actual race weekend in the past.

I hope he does this weekend.

[santori]

About as well as he did for Jordan at Hockenheim.

[alesi95]

he'll go like a toyota driver.

[DKGandBH]

Why wouldn't the cars for Friday be set up for reliability ?

The 1 engine rule is for the whole meeting...?

David.

[Turbo_Era]

I think he will do well... what many people don't seem to know is that Ricardo was acting as a team leader (doing the choice of basic setup and tyres) even when he was a 3rd driver.

He was set to replace Panis in Germany, but then the frenchman outperformed CDM and CDM didn't do himself any favours in arguing with Mike Gascoyne... The result everybody knows.

He was just unlucky to have started his career at team JV. Hope he does well this weekend.

Needless to say how much Mike Gascoyne is impressed with Ricardo... and although the Trulli deal is about to be signed, he still has a chance for a drive next year.

[spider]

I’d be surprised if Trulli hasn’t already signed with Toyota for next season, but CDM was just a tad lacklustre, and as the team will have all the data and know all the facts re. fuel loads, tyres, setups etc, if they’re putting RZ in the car above Da Matta, they believe he’s capable of doing a better job. Zonta was sensational in Dallara Nissan, so lets see how he gets on. If he qualifies around 10th he’ll be doing mighty well!

[N I Tram]

I can see Hungary being one of Toyota's worst meetings of the year, consdiering that their chassis isn't great. If Ricardo can get within 2 palces of Olivier on the grid he's done well - beat him in 3 of the last 6 races and he's got to be in with a shout for the race drive. he can still be their Friday tester next year after these races as well, which might be what hhe'll do if he fails to stun.

[Fuzzyfelt]

Zonta's clearly a quick driver but his confidence must be in question - he has had some terrifically bad luck with the F1 teams he's driven for. It could be that speed alone won't keep him in the seat anyhow.
Toyota's revolving door policy reminds me of the farcical Jaguar situation a few years back. The Jordan he drove wasn't much cop, and as for his time at 'team JV'... There are some interesting stories about that in this weeks Autosport!

[BSchneiderFan]

Toyota seem to be misdiagnosing their problem, as they did at the end of 2002. Changing drivers then didn't do much for their fortunes, nor, in all honesty, do I think it will now. The problem (at least the major one) is an aero one, and until that's sorted (perhaps with the TF104B) they will struggle. That said... da Matta has been less impressive that I expected in his season-and-a-half, and while questions remain over Zonta's psychological strength, I have no doubt about his innate speed - F3000 and the Mercedes-Benz sportscar team showed that. If he's pumped up and trying to impress, he may go well, or the pressure could be too much, and he may crumble. We'll need to wait and see. I hope he goes well - he deserves a break.

(Pause to reflect on the disappearance of Stephane Sarrazin's career...)