Montoya's the man in the wet

[Damon]

As other topics have already said it was yet another dominent performance from Ferrari today and a well deserved win. However, in the early laps Montoya showed he even has schus number in the wet as, while both were on slicks, montoya pulled clear of schu until he was forced to bolt on those abismal michilin inters.

On that note I think Michilin really have a lot to answer for as we saw teams that are usually no where crusing past the michilin shod cars.

Barrichello and Schu's drives were outstanding but they were both on the best tyre/car combination on the grid. In the opnening laps montoya more than proved his worth in the wet and continues to go from strength to strength.

[BootsOntheSide]

Yeah I think Montoya was the driver of the day by a long way, although Schumacher was faultless I'm sure that on Bridgestones Monty would've taken it. Every elemnt of Monty's driving is improving, tis very similar to how Senna was around 85, when the Lotus couldn't match his skill.

[R]

You said it, Boots. Montoya is Senna reborn.

[Inigo Montoya]

Not taking anything away from JPM, but how can you possibly come to the conclusion that he is better than TGF in the wet? That was a good, close battle they had. Besides, it wasn't really wet at that point, it was "moist."

As for comparisons to Senna, I will wait a bit longer before I start making comparisons of THAT kind. That being said, he's done nothing but prove me wrong every time I have doubted him thus far.

[steve nielsen]

the Michelin "wet" tyres are just awfull!!, none of the Michelin drivers where able to do the times the Bridgestones where doing.

and R : did you know that J(unkie) XL is from Amsterdam.

[enemy-ace]

From my experience in karting, and from what I have heard about Formula cars, driving in moist or changable conditions is much more difficult than driving in full wet conditions. Precisely for the fact that they are unpredictable, while full wet conditions are somewhat stable. Having said that, Montoya did an excellent job, but so did Raikkonen. Saying that Montoya did a better job than Michael is debateable considering all the variables present.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by enemy-ace
Saying that Montoya did a better job than Michael is debateable considering all the variables present.

Have to agree! Both drove well, but the Ferrari is so much better than anything else that a better drive (possibly?) by Montoya over TGF will be disguised! However, dispite having the best car/tyre under him, Barrichello's drive was awesome!

[Sodemo]

Yes! Montoya in the wet was a demon, did you see his confidence when he overtook Rubens into Priory? Brilliant! I always thought that wet weather driving would be Montoya's bogey as he hasn't had the wet weather experience in CART, but he proved today he is very good in the wet. Oh and of course I am totally unbiased

When I go karting, I find that wet conditions enable the kart to slide around a hell of a lot more, so much more that the back end becomes very easy to catch when you get a big oversteer, though you tend to get understeer into corners (which is very annoying) and oversteer on the exit when you put the power on.

[Speed]

Frank Williams loved Montoya´s wet driving style, back in F3000 (Spa). That´s the main reason why JPM is in F1 these days...

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Speed
Frank Williams loved Montoya´s wet driving style, back in F3000 (Spa). That´s the main reason why JPM is in F1 these days...

Wasn't that Hockenheim?? overtaking 4 cars on the grass, and when people showed surprise at the manoeuvre, JPM just shrugged his shoulders and said something like "they were slower, so why not" as if this sort of thing happened in every race!

[Damon]

Todays conditions rewarded drivers who were able to throw the car into the corner and sort out any drama's as they come up as they won't have known the grip levels of each corner from one lap to the next. That is exactly what JPM did today and I was as surprised as anyone to see montoya pulling away from schu (while Kimi got right on his tail, incidently) while everyone was scrabling for grip on slicks.

[Speed]

Originally posted by mr v
Wasn't that Hockenheim??

Hmmm, I think you´re right, or maybe both were wet races...

[Number Juan]

i reckon he did himself proud - kept plugging and going for it, had a few slip ups but really showed he can pull off a great drive whilst not having to win...a valuable asset he will need if he is going for the championship in the not-to-distant future...

[MrTTraces]

Montoya did well and is a huge talent and future champ without a doubt.

However if you put micheal and Montoya in the same cars with the same set ups and fuel load etc... i think micheal would perform better in the wet.

[Jack racer]

Not as bigger slip ups as you think, when you run to the edge of the track there is more grip in the wet as the race line has rubber on it so it was more delibrate than you think. Monty great drive

[R]

Originally posted by mr v
Wasn't that Hockenheim?? overtaking 4 cars on the grass, and when people showed surprise at the manoeuvre, JPM just shrugged his shoulders and said something like "they were slower, so why not" as if this sort of thing happened in every race!

I didn't see that! Does anyone have a copy of that race on tape?

Originally posted by steve nielsen
and R : did you know that J(unkie) XL is from Amsterdam.

I knew that he was Dutch, but I didn't know that he was from Amsterdam.

[freud]

JPM drove like a demon at Silverstone. By far he was the driver of the race. I was amazed by his car control and precision. Watching him block Schu on the wet/dry track in a 2 seconds/ lap slower car reminded me of the 1993 British GP when Senna did exactly the same to Prost. Fantastic driving.. very gutsy.

Before Silverstone I had doubts over JPM's abilities in the wet. He still has a long way to go and if he fulfils the potential he has, he can win many World titles. For now I can safely say.... the next 'Phenomena' has arrived.

[Inigo Montoya]

You guys and your blind worship of JPM. Its hilarious. Driver of the race by far? LOL! Barelyfellow came from last place to second. And TGF was flawless. JPM was also fantastic, but not like you make him out to be...

[Speed]

Barrichello spun with no pressure !, definitely not the man of the race...

PS: When you have a 2 seconds faster car than the rest of the pack, it's easier to overtake 19 cars... (I mean 17 'cause Massa and McNish were out of the way early).

[Mr V]

Rubens was man of the race imo, but, the admiration for Juan's race is well deserved when you consider these points.

1.......He was on a one stopper to the Ferrari's two, so did admirably in holding up TGF for as long as he did!

2.......He was on Michelins that are c*** in the wet, and the Ferrari's were on the "outstanding" Bridgestone inters!

3.......He had some sort of engine/fuel glitch towards the end of the race (according to Peter Windsor of Sky Digi+)

4.......He's in a Williams, TGF and Rubens are in proberbly the best Formula 1 car ever built!

As i said, Rubens was the driver of the day, but Juan drove an outstanding race, and it's not just blind worship!

[freud]

Inigo, I am not a hardcore JPM fan. I have often criticized him for some of his antics & his statements. Before Silverstone I was not sure whether he is the best driver. Though one can argue since he is giving pole positions in a car that is slower than the Ferraris by a second & half in race conditions.

JPM is convincing me day by day that he is the best driver in formula one. His car control & reflexes are just exemplary. Combined with that he's completely balls-out. He's young, he's driving fast and he's giving it his all. Unlike Michael who's down the hill. Did you notice that Michael didnt have the balls to overtake Juan in the dry/wet-dry conditions? In wet when the car difference became huge, he did so easily, which was no big deal.

Michael is still the benchmark since he has all the records. Much like Prost in 1987. Though I believe once Williams gets its act together, Michael may be thoroughly beaten by JPM.

[Inigo Montoya]

Freud, I'm with you. I also was full of doubt at the beginning. I said very bad things on this forum about him when he first started - that columbian hothead, cart-guy, etc etc. He made me eat every single word (or, as the late great BBking would say, humble pie), and I now agree he is the best young driver out there.
I just think the hysteria around this guy is getting out of control in this forum. We have people here justifying his blocking of Heidfeld in qualifying "it happens" "its part of the game" etc... Hmm, I wonder if the reaction would be the same if it was Heidfeld (or worse, TGF) who did it to Montoya on his last flying lap? And now people are trying to tell me Montoya was the man of the day, when the Ferraris were 1-2, and there was a guy who went from last to second...

Your point about TGF not messing with JPM on the dry-dry. This is the reason why TGF is so damn good - he's smart. He knew that there was a good chance it was going to rain, so why bother tangling with him, when he knows the Michelin intermediates are a joke? Why risk losing the 6-10 points. He knew Juan sometimes aggressive when defending the position, so he just waited. Patience... makes the champion... Even Juan is now learning that you don't win races on the first corner.

Speed - Barelyfellow did spin out, but when you push like that, its bound to happen. Did you really think the Ferrari advantage was 2 sec. lap? Shouldn't TGF have finished quite a bit farther ahead?

Sorry, but my driver of the day is the (ever-unpopular) TGF... JPM will have lots of opportunities to be driver of the day, when he actually wins a race (this year). Any yes, I think he'll be the dominant force in F1 when TGF retires at the end of next season.

[Jordi]

Drivers of the day, the ones that made no mistakes (neither him nor his team), say TGF, Juan, Jacques, Heinz-Harald..

Rubens came from the back, but he's in a car one second faster than everyone, and he spun, like DC, like Massa, like Sato...

[freud]

Inigo, TGF (as usual) did a good job in the wet. Though he was far from being 'spectacular'. I think the few fast laps he gave when Rubens was following him and couldnt really match him, hence spinning, were great. TGF is a wonderful driver in wet and I wont take anything away from him. But just as DINO IV mentioned in a post in another thread with these lucid words :

"Given the fact that Montoya finished third behind the Ferrari's at reletively close distance, in a classification of only Bridgestone-teams and a few remaining struggling Michelin's, including his teammate who was easy prey for even Bridgestone-shod backmarkers, at the bottom of the list, for any observer he must have performed almost the impossible. Class act, Juan, an outstanding drive."

Ditto above.

[Inigo Montoya]

Ralf had other problems (i.e. his refuelling jig).