Great Drive by Ralf

Mania · 28 Jul 2002, 15:19 (Ref:344583)

I thought this was a great drive by Ralf..coming into this weekend...everyone was talking about him, a bit unfairly too it has to be said.

Yet he fought back brilliantly. Easily out-classed his team mate all weekend - and lost a well deserved 2nd position due to a mechanical fault.

I think he may even have won had luck gone his way - Trulli was awful and Villeneuve cruising in the pit lane, plus the engine problem..was simply bad luck.

Still, I think this was a great effort by Ralf. Well done!

z2252314 · 28 Jul 2002, 15:28 (Ref:344591)

Why was he brought in at the end? Wasnt he 17 odd seconds in front of barrichello? I find it hard to believe he would have lost all that time with 4 laps to go. He deserved second today..... I wonder if Juan would have been called in for a 'safety' stop if the positions were reversed?Methinks Frank is still a bit pi$$ed off with Ralf.

Damon · 28 Jul 2002, 15:38 (Ref:344599)

Quote:

Originally posted by Mania
Easily out-classed his team mate all weekend - and lost a well deserved 2nd position due to a mechanical fault.

You mean the team mate that struggled for balance all through qualifying and the team mate that ran right on and at times quicker than him in the race? I'd say they were pretty damn close in the race, track position was only lost due to the fight at the beginning with Kimi. Yes, Ralf did drive well but no better than JPM in the previous 5 races when we have seen nothing but derogatatory comments from you mania.

Inigo Montoya · 28 Jul 2002, 15:41 (Ref:344601)

Great drive from Ralf! Good to see him bounce back after some shaky performances.

Mania · 28 Jul 2002, 15:49 (Ref:344606)

Thats a lousy excuse - "Suffering from balance problems" - give me a break. Just face the facts - Ralf was better and Montoya was damn luck to finish 2nd. As for being quicker than Ralf during the race, what race were you watching? Ralf was setting fastest laps of the race even when Montoya was in clear air - he was still not able to come close to Ralf's times.

And one more thing - either point out the so-called "deragatory comments" or keep your mouth shut. I dont recall ever making any such comment - so dont go making up stories.

Damon · 28 Jul 2002, 16:42 (Ref:344628)

All I'm saying Mania is that you are quick to praise Ralf for a good performance but seem somewhat more reluctant when JPM does the same or better.

Mania · 28 Jul 2002, 16:57 (Ref:344634)

Unlike some, I dont hate a driver. True, I like Ralf better and obviously I enjoy it better if he does well - but Ive also praised other people if they perform better. Im not a JPM fan but I dont bad mouth the bloke. Ive said it before and Ill say it again, in my book - he's a good driver, very evenly matched with Ralf - but he's not "great" as some of his fans believe him to be. Simple as that.

Anyway, the point of this thread was to congratulate Ralf on a great drive - a great fightback.

Ill leave the rest for some other time.

R · 28 Jul 2002, 17:44 (Ref:344662)

I don't know about the "easily out-classed" bit... I'm sure I saw a dark haired Colombian to the left of TGF on the podium (from the camera angle), and a blond German to the right...

Anyway, Ralf did great today, and was very unlucky in this race not to finish higher. I will concede that he (overall) did slightly better than Juan Pablo. No surprise really, since Ralf quite openly praised the track changes and clearly felt good about the track.

But, since the Ralf fans have always been so eager to point to the results when Ralf has finished higher than Montoya due to Montoya's misfortune, I will once again say: Juan Pablo 2nd, Ralf 3rd...

Sato san · 28 Jul 2002, 17:47 (Ref:344663)

I think alots of the critisim about Ralf has been fair , but he turned it round today with a very good solid drive and deserved better than he got . He had the measure over juan Pablo today , the only thing i would like to see is him catch and go head to head with his brother.

A very good drive , but luck wasnt on his side today .

R · 28 Jul 2002, 17:53 (Ref:344664)

I must say I was impressed when Ralf managed to keep up that well with his brother's pace. Clearly, Williams have made a good comeback since Magny-Cours, or this track suited them better. Unfortunately, McLaren went the other way.

Without doubt, the large gaps we saw from the 4 best to the rest of the field were due to the fact that this is a new track - limited amount of track time, limited amount of experience on the track.

freud · 28 Jul 2002, 19:08 (Ref:344699)

Ralf did a good job of keeping the car on track and hitting every corner exactly where he intended unlike some of the previous races. At one point in the race I was seriously thinking that Ralf will win as his car had the pace today to match TGF. I must mention that some of his traffic management skills are not really very good. The pitstop fiasco came much later when the dust was settled already and basically there was nothing left in the race.

**Peter Mallett** · 28 Jul 2002, 19:14 (Ref:344704)

He should have made better work of Trulli no doubt about it, but to lose a very well deserved second for a minor engine fault is terrible luck.
Of the two and no matter what your preferences, RS was the the class Team Willy driver this weekeend.

NiceGuyEddie · 28 Jul 2002, 20:31 (Ref:344742)

Well, I think the guy made an extremly stupid move today. He took off after (or rather during) his pitstop while the lollypop was still down. His explanation: the lollypop man lifted too late (so he chose to release the clutch anyway, seem to reconsider and than took off after the lolly was finally up).

Rookiemistake and a Ralfish explanation.

DNQ · 28 Jul 2002, 20:54 (Ref:344752)

Ralf in my eyes is nothing special, but yes today he was the quickest of the two Williams drivers, and it's a shame he didnt win the race.

R · 28 Jul 2002, 21:09 (Ref:344766)

Indeed, NiceGuy, that was a bad mistake which could have had serious consequences. Thankfully, nothing happened.

Mr V · 28 Jul 2002, 21:22 (Ref:344773)

Quote:

Originally posted by z2252314
I wonder if Juan would have been called in for a 'safety' stop if the positions were reversed?Methinks Frank is still a bit pi$$ed off with Ralf.

Depends if Juan's hydraulic's needed topping up (or whatever it's called)! Do you honestly believe that Williams would bring Ralf in to give Juan position? i don't!

However, i will concede that Rafe did a better job than Juan this weekend, it's about time!

f1manoz · 29 Jul 2002, 03:38 (Ref:344955)

Ralf was good, but what a coincidence that:

a. the race just happened to be in Germany

b. only this week Ralf was under pressure to perform after doing nothing for the past two months.

Still, credit where credit is due, it was a good performance and he lost a deserved second place through no fault of his own. But he'd better keep putting in these performances otherwise he'll find his seat not as safe as he thinks.

Mania · 29 Jul 2002, 05:33 (Ref:344980)

The lollipop man was asleep and took too long - it could also be that the team was telling him to move on the radio. Either way, it was another pit error by the team which is nothing new.

I thought Trulli was awful letting the leaders through and he deserved his penalty. Beyond that, Ralf was fine through the traffic easily pulling out a gap on Barrichelo.

Williams believes Ralf could have won this race had he not been held up at the first pit stop and the engine problem. I tend to agree. Still, a great drive to race the Ferraris all the way.

**Peter Mallett** · 29 Jul 2002, 06:38 (Ref:345010)

It was a pneumatic failure. The valve gear works on air pressure and there was a leak. Couild happen to anyone.

Another point to note is that the amount of support a driver gets at home must surely make a difference so putting that together with the "gee up" may have been the difference between the two.

Nevertheless it would appear that the tyres were not a factor this time.

tanalised · 29 Jul 2002, 08:13 (Ref:345065)

bad luc rafe
well done jpm

kdr · 29 Jul 2002, 08:26 (Ref:345080)

never have 2nd and 3rd seemed so anonymous...

R · 29 Jul 2002, 08:35 (Ref:345085)

Ralf could have won. He was held up by Trulli, and he was held up by Jacques coming in to the pits, when Jacques was moving very slowly due to a technical problem. And then there was the situation with the lollipop man. Without those problems, he could have been ahead of TGF after the second round of pitstops.

The engine problem at the end was the difference between second and third. And Michelin seem to have upped their game since Magny-Cours.

Ralf's Girl · 29 Jul 2002, 12:01 (Ref:345242)

I think Ralf could have won the race. It's just Ralf's luck to turn in a great drive and still not get the result he deserves - held up twice by Trulli (and Ralf wasn't the only one to suffer there, I read a comment by DC saying that Trulli held him up), and then by Villeneuve, and then the pneumatic problem near the end of the race.

I think the situation with the lollipop man was (yet) another pitstop mistake by Williams - the guy was obviously too slow in lifting the lollipop, because there were no tyres being changed and the fuel hose was out. He should have lifted it straight away. That was another typical error by a team that clearly needs to work on its pitstops.

Obviously I'm pleased that Ralf drove so well, but at the same time very disappointed that he should be equal 2nd in the WDC now.

Mania · 29 Jul 2002, 16:35 (Ref:345509)

Quote:

Originally posted by R
And Michelin seem to have upped their game since Magny-Cours.

I think so too. Ralf finished the race on his 2nd set of tyres and he seemed to be pretty quick even at the end with his engine problem..now lets hope they continue to improve..

Hungary will be another Ferrari track but Williams should hopefully be back up there at Spa and Monza.

Robert · 29 Jul 2002, 20:32 (Ref:345718)

FWIW I don't think big bro would have farted about behind Villeneuve, he would have just gone round him on the grass. Maybe that's the difference betwenn the 2 of them, Ralfy doesn't appear to have the ruthlessness of his older brother.

Robert

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