FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[The Second Coming]

Juan Pablo Montoya

Respect him for:
1. His incredible hand speed in an openwheel race car. It's a rare talent that only a very few drivers today or in the past possess...Senna being one.
2. JPM added real character to the F1 circus. Said what he wanted, did what he wanted (and ate what he wanted) despite the criticism or stick.

Honorable mentions:
1. My favorite JPM moment was watching him drive the Walrus-nose Williams. He really made that car look amazing!

Weak points:
1. JPM spent a lot of time flogging the engineers, often times in public, when the car was bad. I'm never one to be queazy about peppery language but he let some real doozies fly over the radio on a number of occasions.
2. Juan's brash way leaked over to how he handled his career...the way he left Williams and McLaren was less than majestic.

Giancarlo Fisichella

Respect him for:
1. His ability to move the car around like a kart but remain in full control...especially when the cars were bad.
2. Fisi had a refreshing attitude, even during very difficult times, he always remained "very appy."

Weak points:
1. His struggle was setting up cars, especially for fast flowing circuits. Suzuka, as an example, was a nightmare for him.
2. Fisi's obsession with one day driving for Ferrari may have taken his focus off other teams/environments which may have been better suited for him and his F1 career. With that said, can't blame anyone for chasing their dreams, right?

I'm just saying...

[What's Burning?]

He's still driving for Ferrari, just not in an F1 car. Maybe he's happy there.

[Hammer278]

Just to comment on Fisi a bit...he reminds me of Heikki very much indeed. Great guy, very good driver but for some reason just can't cut it at the sharp end. In bad cars ,they are both fantastic...but the pressure of being in the front end is just not suited for these two, they never performed when they had the chance to.

[The Second Coming]

Just to comment on Fisi a bit...he reminds me of Heikki very much indeed. Great guy, very good driver but for some reason just can't cut it at the sharp end. In bad cars ,they are both fantastic...but the pressure of being in the front end is just not suited for these two, they never performed when they had the chance to.

Agreed, Hammer. They both show flashes of brilliance every once in a blue moon and then fade into the shadows for long stints. Missed opportunities really.

I'm just saying...

[Jabberwocky]

Do you not think that all the greats have one thing in common. The insatiable need to win, it drives them on to do amazing things. However the flip side is that that need to win knows no limits. That is why people like MSC do things they do that are classed as bad.

[Denthúl]

Just to comment on Fisi a bit...he reminds me of Heikki very much indeed. Great guy, very good driver but for some reason just can't cut it at the sharp end. In bad cars ,they are both fantastic...but the pressure of being in the front end is just not suited for these two, they never performed when they had the chance to.

I don't quite think it's a fair comparison; Fisichella's chance in a top team came later on in his career, whereas Kovalainen was thrown in to McLaren pretty early on and that's not always best for some drivers (admittedly, those aren't usually the ones that end up as champions...). I'd have liked to see him have another shot after Caterham but, well, looks like that's not going to happen.

Rubens Barrichello

The Good
1. Very fast on his day, skilled and great in mixed conditions.
2. A genuine nice-guy in F1, who most people were happy for when it came to winning.

The Bad
1. Wasn't consistent enough throughout an entire season, sadly.
2. As Sir Frank put it, had to be mollycoddled.

Nick Heidfeld

The Good
1. Very solid, consistent driver who could bring the car home reliably in the points but still with good speed and racecraft.
2. Very PR-friendly in terms of not saying anything controversial about the team (the only real outburst I remember was when Kimi was picked over him by McLaren).

The Bad
1. Too "quiet". I can't quite put my finger on it, but he never seemed to get noticed for some reason, which I think has made him perhaps one of the most underrated drivers I've ever seen.
2. Not quite the fastest - lacks something in terms of raw pace that the top drivers have.