Zonta!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Liz]

Who is that gorgeous young Brazilian in the yellow overall? Who is that boy who brought home the only Honda in the race, brought it home in 7th place, drove a storming race and BEAT THOSE PRATS AT B.A.R.?

It was none other than Ricardo Zonta, who will win races again and who deserved the chance he got to show the world that it is not he who was the idiot at B.A.R. It was the Star Performer who completely ****ed up his weekend with no help from "idiot" teammates.....

YOU GO, ZONTA!*





*This is in no way a celebration of Frenzy's injury. I am sorry he was hurt and hope he will be well ... after Zonta gets a good chance to show what he can do ...

[mac]

I like Zonta. I reckon he's a good driver, who as a rookie couldn't match it with JV, so BAR decided that they would concentrate their efforts on Villeneuve and forget about Ricky. With a bit of luck, he and his old Merc sportscar teammate Webber can be duelling again ..... in f1 next year.

[EERO]

Liz, I got a nice promo pic of Zonta from the Jordan pits and PR people after the race-its yours for the asking.


It was a great race, and the pack of Trulli, Panis, Vestappen, Raikkonen, Zonta, Hakkinen, and PDLR was the best of the many great battles of the day. I was sorrowfully disappointed not to see HHF race, but Zonta is eminently deserving of a decent chance, for a guy with no Friday practise, it was a great performance. Go Ricardo!!!!!

[Jay]

It was good to see Zonta back in the car, and I must say he had a very solid race, and a good finish.

If he can post some good times in testing, I have no doubt he will be able to find a full time drive. Then maybe we can find out if he really does have the talent that he has shown in so many other series.

[RT]

I'm not sure I'd call him gorgeous butI'd certainly call him young and brazilian so two out of three ain't bad.

I'm glad your RRRico did well Liz.

It's also good to see you are concerned about HHF. I have a feeling that Zonta may drive the yellow thing for a while. I hope Heinz-Harald gets Dr Tanja's second opinion before trying his luck too soon.

[Kalevi]

Originally posted by Jay
It was good to see Zonta back in the car, and I must say he had a very solid race, and a good finish.

Solid??? Very solid indeed: In Canada this Zonta guy smashed his car into Raikkönens back on straight causing a potentially very dangerous situation. He did this with no apparent logical reason, guess he just wasn't looking where he was going. Very stupid thing to do when you're driving straight nearly 200 mph. And this stupid move was not the first one he has made this year (caused a testing accident).

Something is wrong in Zonta's 'cockpit'. Dangerous guy. Maybe that is why he is only a test driver. Get well very soon, Heinz!

[Liz]

So the Jacques fan club has now been heard from. I'm glad you were there and saw what happened, funny, I didn't notice Eddie Jordan agreeing with you, as he was very pleased by Rico's performance.

Eero, I would LOVE to have the Zonta pic! I have written him to tell him how proud I was to see him do well, and I hope he gets a chance to show the world (and B.A.R.(F) as well) that he is a good pilot who was stifled at That Other Place....

And Dr. Tanja should certainly remind Frenzy that he has a wife and child to consider now and that it is best to keep your brains so you can enjoy them both. Concussion is nothing to mess around with especially at 200 mph.

[Valve Bounce]

Well, I did thinkthat Liz would be over the moon when she realised that Rico would be driving. I would like to see Zonta in one of the top teams for next year. I just wish that Liz wouldn't be so negative about one of my favourite drivers - Jacques. Still, she is there, and she has every right to be disenchanted in him. I just don't understand why. I know Aussis like to knock Aussis, but not this seriously!!

[Liz]

I am not impressed with Jacques' attitude and I'm not impressed with his driving. And what else is there? I don't know the man off the track so can't say anything about that; I've heard from people who have met him in relaxed circumstances that he is quite a nice guy.

Alesi is driving a car far worse than the one Jacques is driving and he's fun to watch and seems to enjoy it. Jacques throws his off the track and then sulks. Difference in style, perhaps.

I like Zonta and always have. Great to see that smile again, and he does look better in yellow than he looked in Khaki.

[enemy-ace]

Not to rain on anybodys parade here, but the only thing that Zonta did well was to bring the car home in one piece. On a day where the quickest strategy for the race was a one-stopper, Zonta was beat by a Two-stopping Jaguar to sixth. This indicates nothing else, but that he was off the pace. Hell even a one-stop Prost beat him. Now i'm sure Zonta is a decent F1 driver, but this race isn't going to get him any top-line drives.

[Kalevi]

Originally posted by Liz
So the Jacques fan club has now been heard from. I'm glad you were there and saw what happened, funny, I didn't notice Eddie Jordan agreeing with you, as he was very pleased by Rico's performance.

JV fanclub? Where?:confused:

Yes, I was watching Zonta's stupid driving very close: through his incar camera. Perhaps EJ was only relieved Zonta didn't crash so badly he'd had to retire and that the only Honda lasted to finish was a yellow one.

[Liz]

Or perhaps his boss knows more about his driving than you do?

[Kalevi]

Originally posted by Liz
Or perhaps his boss knows more about his driving than you do?

I totally agree with you on that one. That is why EJ hired Rico as a test driver and HH as a racing driver. Less traffic on track in tests.

[Liz]

And once he got his confidence back, he knew Ricardo would be an able subbie for his guys - which he was/is!

It worked for Panis. It will work for Zonta too.

[economy_waffle]

well it just shows wot he can do without a prat of a team-mate!!!

not too controversial i hope.

[Guy Goddard]

Zonta is a very underrated driver and his performance with little track or set up time was very impressive. I do wonder if Frentzen will be out at the end of the year as he has been second rate compared to his 99 year.
Zonta deserves a second chance or should I say a first chance as at BAR he got nothing.

[RussianFriend]

Canada is not a easy walk. Most experied drivers used to mistake here. What on earth should the test driver,which got the chance to drive only the day before, show to be appraised? ð

Good race of him, and will see...

[DNQ]

Nice Effort by Zonta. Shame he couldn't get any points on the board. He drove a solid race, and I think he did well. Hope he gets a seat some where decent for 2002.

[Jay]

Kalevi, I didn't see the incident that you mentioned. I said he had a very solid race because he maintained his position, and moved up as others retired.

I must admit that Zonta was not very impressive on Saturday, when he spun once (at least), and brushed the wall once. He was generally all over the place, and car capable of the top 6 was fighting with the Prosts. But, he steadily improved, and drove a solid race to bring the car home in 7th.

That said, I don't agree with Liz's view of Jacques either. I think Jacques always has been a better driver than Zonta, and there is no evidence to suggest that he is better or worse than Panis. Some weekends Jacques seems to be ahead (Monaco), others olivier seems to have the better luck.

However, unlike Panis, Zonta was almost always way behind Villeneuve battling with the backmarkers. That is why, although I think the boy has talent, he will likely never make it any further than a Mika Salo or Jos Verstappen.

Back on Jacques, he is a great driver, he was much more fun to support when he was with Williams. BAR are lost in their current state.

[Valve Bounce]

Originally posted by Liz
I am not impressed with Jacques' attitude and I'm not impressed with his driving.

Actually, I was most impressed with Jacques' first year in F1, both his attitude and his driving. I a sorry that he is now with BAR and not with Frank, that's all. I am sure he would be doing better than JPM if he had his hands on that Williams.

[EERO]

Liz, send me your adress by PM or email and the pic will be in the post when you return from Le Mans.
-E.

[Valve Bounce]

Originally posted by EERO
Liz, send me your adress by PM or email and the pic will be in the post when you return from Le Mans.
-E.

Why can't you post the pic here? This is most unfair.

[EERO]

BTW, Mika commented in the press conference that Zonta hit Raikkonen and that Kimi drove the race in an evil handling car with a broken diffuser.

Not to say that I'm not thrilled for Zonta-and Jay, no one wins the World Sportscar Championship and the F3000 championship without talent. We don't know everything that happened at BAR, but I believe Zonta's insinuations to be close to the truth.

[Valve Bounce]

Originally posted by EERO
BTW, Mika commented in the press conference that Zonta hit Raikkonen and that Kimi drove the race in an evil handling car with a broken diffuser.

Mika said that Raikonen's car was weaving left and right down the back straight, and this made it possible for him to pass. This makes Kimi's achievement even more praiseworthy .