Hey GV

[mnkywrch]

Honda's only going to provide engines to one team in 2003, right?

It's come up on the IRL forum and I was wondering if what I'd read was true.

You may want to comment in that thread.

SIGG!

[GrandView]

Originally posted by mnkywrch:
Honda's only going to provide engines to one team in 2003, right?

It's come up on the IRL forum and I was wondering if what I'd read was true.

You may want to comment in that thread.

SIGG!

Sorry I didn't get back here earlier, wrench.

Yes, Honda is going to be with one team in 2003.

Villeneuve is making that decision easier with his recent blasting of BAR.

I expect BAR to be sans Honda and Villeneuve come 2003.

If they are even in fact "to be".

GV

[mnkywrch]

Interesting.

Jordan, with their hiring of Sato, is sure doing all the right things to end up with Honda power. However, I'm not sure if they've got the driver they need to compete for wins with Fisichella. I would think Honda would want someone like a Schumi or Montoya - a top of the line driver.

Where does Villeneuve end up, in that situation? Perhaps with Jordan? I doubt it. He hates doing publicity, so he'd be a poor fit at Jordan.

JV's stock has seemed to drop a lot in recent years, especially with Panis pretty well matching him for speed.

Unless Raikkonen bombs, I'm not sure if there would be a seat for him at any of the "Big Three" (McLaren, Ferrari, Williams). Well, if Montoya continues to drub Ralf, maybe a seat would be open at Williams. But I can't see Villeneuve being a second banana.

It would also be interesting to speculate as to what would happen with that BAR "franchise", if the team were to cease "being". There's been those GM rumblings, but I don't have faith they will come to fruition...

[PDC]

If you don't mind my butting-in here, but after Montoya and Villeneuve's 'disagreement' at the driver's meeting early in the season
(Montoya made some comment toward JV about killing a marshall in Australia), this pairing would make the Montoya/Ralf pairing look like a love affair.

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by PDC:
<STRONG>If you don't mind my butting-in here, but after Montoya and Villeneuve's 'disagreement' at the driver's meeting early in the season
(Montoya made some comment toward JV about killing a marshall in Australia), this pairing would make the Montoya/Ralf pairing look like a love affair.</STRONG>

As the #1 driver for that team, I doubt it would keep JPM up at night.

[PDC]

Originally posted by mnkywrch:
<STRONG>

As the #1 driver for that team, I doubt it would keep JPM up at night. </STRONG>

Wait a minute, I thought Ralf was demanding that #1 designation.

[Joe in LA]

The Montoya/Villenueve pairing (not that I think it will ever happen) might not be all that bad. JPM was just cited JV's agressive approach as what is needed--something to the effect of "if Villenueve is in you mirrors, you know he's going to try to pass".

It'd be interesting to see if JV performed with a good car again. He was drubbing Zonta so thoroughly that he might have gotten lazy. I can't help think that he isn't at his best after 3 years of BAR. It will be interesting to see if a year with Panis will result in a better JV next season.

As to his development skills--there is no evidence that he has any. He needs a strong team where he can focus on racing, not development.

[PDC]

Joe, do you think JPM/JV would be as bad as Piquet/Mansell?

[Joe in LA]

Originally posted by PDC:
<STRONG>Joe, do you think JPM/JV would be as bad as Piquet/Mansell? </STRONG>

It would be hard to match Mansell/Piquet in terms of internal unrest (with Senna/Prost a close second). I think that would take someone being paired with M. Schumacher and being fully competitive with him to unleash the same level of internal battling. Montoya or Villeneuve paired with Michael would have the "personality" to cause the disruption if they have the speed.

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by PDC:
<STRONG>

Wait a minute, I thought Ralf was demanding that #1 designation.
</STRONG>

He was.

Of course, given his performance at the end of the year, the team would have gone with JPM as the #1 driver for 2002.

I'm pretty sure that's why we haven't heard that refrain from RS lately.

[Joe in LA]

Lets just hope that McLaren and Williams don't fall well behind Ferrari over the winter. The end of the year got quite interesting, and I'd like to see it continue. Ralf and Juan put on a nice internal matchup, and It would be fun to see them regularly battling Coulthard, MS and Rubens (I'll assume Kimi won't be up to speed at the outset even if the car is).

[mnkywrch]

The various speculation I've seen leads me to believe that McLaren will have a "down" year this year, gearing up to be one of the top teams in 2003.

Of course, a down year for them is not being in contention for either championship, though still competing for podiums.

Of course, Williams said they were gearing up for 2002, and look how good they were (at times) in 2001.

I think the top two teams will be Ferrari and Williams. Then McLaren, then whoever is Best of the Rest.

For best of the rest, I'd say either Sauber or Renault (former Benneton). Maybe Arrows if the motor is good. Perhaps Jordan?

[Joe in LA]

I have to agree with your assessment of the relative stength of the Top 3, but we can always hope McLaren is in the mix.

As to the rest--this could be a make or break year for a few teams. BAR and Jordan really need to perform--I think Jordan may be able too. Arrows will be put to the test as well--last year the chassis was assumed to be good because no one thought the Asiatech was any good. Arrows should perform with Ford power. I'd be willing to guess they will embarass the Jaguar technical staff. Renault started to look good at the end of the year, I'm expecting Trulli to do a good job. As to Sauber--I have to wonder if they can hold their position. Medium budget and customer engines are usually not a great formula. They did it last year, but holding on could be tough.

[mnkywrch]

Originally posted by Joe in LA:
<STRONG>I have to agree with your assessment of the relative stength of the Top 3, but we can always hope McLaren is in the mix.

As to the rest--this could be a make or break year for a few teams. BAR and Jordan really need to perform--I think Jordan may be able too. Arrows will be put to the test as well--last year the chassis was assumed to be good because no one thought the Asiatech was any good. Arrows should perform with Ford power. I'd be willing to guess they will embarass the Jaguar technical staff. Renault started to look good at the end of the year, I'm expecting Trulli to do a good job. As to Sauber--I have to wonder if they can hold their position. Medium budget and customer engines are usually not a great formula. They did it last year, but holding on could be tough.</STRONG>

Sauber did get a good chunk of change - enough to pay their engine bill - when Raikkonen left the team. Considering their engines, and Heidfeld was pretty motivated and started beating Kimi by a good margin after he got passed over for the McLaren seat, I wouldn't count them out. (Of course, I'd suspect Kimi wasn't getting the same treatment he was before his announcement, either.) I think Heidfeld's better than anyone Arrows has in their seat, for sure. Arrows could make a splash, but Jos is notoriously uneven and I'm not sure Bernoldi has it. But on paper, that car has much promise. Maybe they'll get Frentzen if/when Prost collapses?

As far as BAR, they HAVE to perform - Honda will only supply one team in 2003, and I think Jordan has the inside line b/c Sato is their #2 driver.

The joys of the off-season...

[ November 16, 2001: Message edited by: mnkywrch ]