Dear Heretic, Your comments on the season are very
sensitive.
One thing I always find intriguing is to underestimate drivers in weaker cars.
I think the drivers at Williams and McLaren did quite well, Montoya and
Raikkonen being particularly entertaining.
For a driver like Juan-Pablo or JV it is particularly hard to accept that the
car makes it impossible to win. Together with Michael they are the lions of
the field. Montoya will be the strongest match for MS in 2003, Jacques is
showing signs of getting tired of his uncompetitive car and I wish him to
profit from the new system.
One driver that is underestimated a lot has to be Rubens, who matched MS most
impressively. The race in Austria was a compliment of his potentials and the
fact that he equalled Michaels speed was the real sensation from there not the
team tactics, which are overestimated in respect of their influence on the
team result of the Ferraris. Anyway the level on which RB matched the champ in
equal cars was unheard of before and it has never been proven that Barrichello
is actually inferior to anyone else but MS.
The Toyotas in my opinion did very well as a rookie team. I'm sure they would
be really strong with top drivers, which they didn't and possibly still don't
have. DaMatta did very well in CART but....., and OP-being tired?
Oh, no doubt the Jaguars were the greatest disappointment of the year, good to
change the drivers.
I would like to disagree on Your judgement on Felipe Massa though, in my
opinion he showed what great talent he really is and I wish him all the luck
in the future. May the race go on - Tomas - Czech Republic (Reference Heretic
4-29 - The year of the prancing horse)
The Heretic replies:
Tomas,
Thank you for your comments.
Taking it from the top, yes it is all too easy to
underestimate and judge drivers unfairly when they do not have the equipment
to show what they are capable of.
JV has wasted his best years with BAR. Not a criticism
– he could not have known that they would flounder for years. I suspect that
he is very close to retiring. He drives with passion and when that goes he is
unlikely to let it peter out like some drivers do. He will just bail.
Compared to Irvine, Rubens is brilliant. It must be hard
for a man with his talents to follow team orders, but he does and with good
grace.
Toyota will get there. It is a matter of time.
Massa may be a very talented driver, I’ll grant that in
a technical sense. To be a competitive driver takes more than just being fast,
it takes judgement. Massa still has to learn this before he can show his real
ability. Remember the old adage: ‘To finish first, you first have to finish.’
