Gene - worthy?

[Wrex]

Let me start by saying, I like Gene.

BUT, 2 races in a row now, Marc has finished behind that other guy in the Jag. While the Williams is no F12003, its better than the damn Jag right?

We cant even say not enough track time, because if Gene does'nt know Silverstone by now he just has'nt been paying attention.

Williams are in trouble, and Gene is'nt helping. I hate to say it, but he is in no way up to the talk of race driver. If they really cant get Webber in next race, they seriously need to look at Pizzonia instead.

[jj2728]

agreed...after monza last year i thought he'd show better than he has....at this point what does williams have to lose by giving pizzonia a shot at it?....

[deeks6]

I like him too and I thought he was better than this. But that is it for him as a race driver. Webber's performance was another standout and just confirmed that he is the man for the job.

BTW, if Pizzonia runs Germany, then Webber can't be at Williams THIS year si I think Gene will get yet another try.

[Spudgun]

Simple answer. Nope.

He really has not performed. I let him off in France to settle in, but as you say Wrex, he should know Silverstone pretty well by now.

12th? In a Williams? I know (only too well) that there are problems at Williams at the mo, but 12th? The car isn't THAT bad.

A 5th to 12th deficit, with no obvious problems can't be good.

[Ralf]

Gene/Pizzonia..... What's the difference?

Get well soon Ralf!

[Gt_R]

Well, Williams had said that Ralf's absense is causing Williams to slip down ( i suppose points wise) hence i don't think Williams put much hope in Gene doing more than the minimum.

I'm quite neutral on this guy, and honestly, this is a brilliant opportunity for him to get back to racing full time.. All he needs is to get close to JPM and calls will ring..but he's shown pretty average performance.

[JohnSSC]

I could take Gene or leave him and apparently most of the grid is leaving him! I thought he did well last year filling in for Schumi Lite but not so now. The couple of interviews I have seen by him he has sort of a "deer in the headlights" look to him - it is like he is overmatched or something.

Pizzonia may not be the answer, but maybe Williams needs to sell their trees that they take to the track and get Webber in the seat like yesterday!

[jetsetter]

Gene hasn't helped his cause by being beaten by Webber in both of his races & i don't think that Frank Williams will put up with those sort of results for too long.

[JohnSSC]

At age 30, we may just have seen the last of Marc Gene - it is a shame as I thought he did have potential.

[Snrub]

Keep in mind that lately Jaguars and Saubers have been harasing Montoya! In a lot of the races the Williams has been good enough for ~4th place finishes but lately they've really gone backwards.

I really don't think Ralf's absence has had such an immediate and massive effect that it has translated to poor recent performances. Recall that last year Gene did quiet well when subbing for Ralf. What I will point to is that through the first part of the year Ralf was doing quiet poorly. I think that may have happened because the car was so difficult to drive. One of JPM's special talents is getting more out of a poor car. It may have taken Ralf a while to get to grips with the lousy Williams and perhaps since the car has recently gone backwards Gene is struggling for the same reasons Ralf was.

[Paarma]

As a test driver, Gene should be more than familiar with the car already. The lack of race experience is certanly one thing, but I would not be surprised if Montoya was getting more attention from the team, as I noticed some people at Williams didn't really have a lot of faith in Gene's racing abilities in the first place.

[esorniloc]

Could this harm his future as a tester at Williams?

[spearce]

I thought he did a good job at Monza, with only 1 day practice, very quick in last stint in race etc. In France he should have been better prepared, but out of the points. At Silverstone he was an 'also ran' - very disappointing, and seems to be going backwards. Williams have a good opportunity to try drivers out for next year(don't think Marc G will be one of them) in race conditions, I can't understand why they aren't making better use of it.

[BootsOntheSide]

They probably were consdiering Gené as a possible inclusion for next season, but I think he's now showed the limit of his talents. Montoya has been well ahea dof him twice, even with the neck problemn at Magny-Cours which may not be 100% better yet. When you've got the whole weekend, ina car you already know, there's no real excuse for beign so far back.

[marcus]

a huge shame really.

I like Gene , I think he is a quick driver and is obviously a good tester (otherwise williams wouldnt have kept him for as long as they have)

I dunno what the drama is but he hasnt been impressive as I thought or hoped he would be.

But I doubt Pizzonia would do any better.

as for the 4 drivers rule , I hate that , I like seeing a bit of seat swapping during the year , kinda mixes things up a bit.

But I guess they wanna stop an endless amount of pay drivers buying one off GP's.

Oh well give him germany and then put Webber in the car and see what he can do.

[NiceGuyEddie]

This shows Gene is a testdriver and not a racedriver for a reason. It´s only natural that Gene is not as good in the race as Ralf or JPM. So, this is no surprise really, and taking everything into consideration, it wouldn´t be realistic to expect much more from Mark. That isn´t to say I am impressed. Not at all, but I am not surprised either.

I also don´t see this is threatening his daytime job at Williams. He obviously is doing a good enough job in that departement and you should judge testdriver at their abilities in testing, not in their abilities in racing.

Having said that, I firmly believe Pizzonia should have a go. Williams had always big plans for Pizzaboy, and they weren´t discouraged too much by Antonio´s miserable time at Jaguar. Williams got him back in the car before the season was over, and it didn´t take Antonio very long to be the quickest of the Williams-drivers at Jerez. Other than Jaguar, a stint at Williams should be a fair assessement of his racingabilities. If he succeeds in making a name for himself, than it could be probable that he lands a seat for the 2005-season (Williams are gonna need two!). If he doesn´t, than he will never return to F1 racing again.

[Kicking-back]

Marc was never great in F3 or F3000 so I'd not expect him to be a top-class F1 driver.

However, he must be a decent test driver, and I'm sure his future at Williams isn't in doubt.

[Logrence]

I really rate Marc Gene, but for one reason or another the Williams cars aren't happening at the moment.

Pizzonia survived his brief foray into obscuredom, so there's no reason to think Gene will be dropped as a test driver, but he's driving for a race seat he won't get at the moment.

[Aysedasi]

Did Gene take part?

Must have missed him........

[Attila]

Marc Gene is not a bad driver, just not in the same level as JPM. This just showes everybody how good those guys are. One can really bash Ralf, but it is a fact that he is a very very quick driver who is not killed by JPM. This is the reason for Toyota wanting him.

[Bononi]

I would like to see if Pizzonia does make a difference from Gene... but in all good faith I think not.

Just put Webber there and let's see the man race !

[QuickSilver]

Agree completely with Bononi. Neither Gene or the Pizzaman would be anywhere near JPM on the track. Looks like we're going to have to wait until next year for Webber (and the jury's still out there too).

Here's my 2 cents ... points are points and Gene's total is 0 for 2 so why wouldn't Sir Frank throw Jacques, Jos or even Mika Hakkinen in the tusked beast for a few races and see what happens?

I'm even available for Hockenheim, but I'm on vacation for the Hungaroring ... sorry Frank.

-

[climb]

I have to admit IO expected more from Marc, nonetheless JPM's performances show that FW26 are not helping the spaniard to figure out better.

[Snrub]

Originally posted by Paarma
As a test driver, Gene should be more than familiar with the car already.

True, but the car seems to have recently gone bad. It took Ralf months to get to grips with car before the recent changes, perhaps Gene is working on coming to grips with the new changes.

Here's my 2 cents ... points are points and Gene's total is 0 for 2 so why wouldn't Sir Frank throw Jacques, Jos or even Mika Hakkinen in the tusked beast for a few races and see what happens?

I completely agree, good idea.

[garcon]

Or even Pizzonia, seeing as that wouldn't actually cost as much...

I think it's been a difficult two races for Gene. He's evidently a little race rusty - bit like a reserve footballer who's been going to training and so on but still needs an extra edge to get fully match fit. The word seems to be that FW is considering giving Pizzonia a go next time. But it'd be a shame if these odd two or three races in a Williams are what define Gene's future in F1.