Honda Withdrawing From F1
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 491
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From: Florida
Don't have a Mercedes right now...
Not sure I can agree with this comment, I think JPM is a better driver than Raikkonen and Shumacher and near equal to Alonso. You have to remember equipment has EVERYTHING to do with a drivers succes in F1 and Montoya was never on the best equipment in F1. Do you really think Schamacher would have all those wins if he was driving for Williams all those years? How many times did Micheal take a win because of team orders? Think about it? I remember many a races in which Micheal was gettting beat by his team mate, sometimes on experimental or inferiror equipment and they just pulled over or purposely botched a late race pit stop to give Micheal the win. Anyone that says Micheal was the best is nuts...Micheal had the best team, the best equipment and the most $$$. IMO Alonso was the class of the field back when the four above mentioned drivers were competing together, he managed some wins and great finishes with equipment and a budget that was greatly inferior to Ferrari, remember when Alonso came to Renault they were not nearly the team they are today, Alonso did by driving his heart out.
Member
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 174
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From: San Diego, CA
2008 BMW 335i Coupe (Six-speed Manual)
Not sure I can agree with this comment, I think JPM is a better driver than Raikkonen and Shumacher and near equal to Alonso. You have to remember equipment has EVERYTHING to do with a drivers succes in F1 and Montoya was never on the best equipment in F1. Do you really think Schamacher would have all those wins if he was driving for Williams all those years? How many times did Micheal take a win because of team orders? Think about it? I remember many a races in which Micheal was gettting beat by his team mate, sometimes on experimental or inferiror equipment and they just pulled over or purposely botched a late race pit stop to give Micheal the win. Anyone that says Micheal was the best is nuts...Micheal had the best team, the best equipment and the most $$$. IMO Alonso was the class of the field back when the four above mentioned drivers were competing together, he managed some wins and great finishes with equipment and a budget that was greatly inferior to Ferrari, remember when Alonso came to Renault they were not nearly the team they are today, Alonso did by driving his heart out.
I would say Michael is the best. That doesn't mean I like him, though. Flavio Briatore and Eddie Jordan knew he was something special and unfortunately for the latter, Benetton had the money to pick him up. He also was able to convince Rory Byrne, Jean Todt, and Ross Brawn to leave Benneton and go to Ferrari, and give him the best car. You have to remember that they are also a huge part of his success, and when he left Benetton those three knew they had to stay with him. His ability to take tires to their limits was apparently higher than almost anybody else's; hence he needed the engineers that can match his limits.
He has had a contraversial career, especially with the No.1 status bit, but everybody believed he had the talent. There is no denying that. He is going to go down in this sport as a legend regardless of what people think. Remember that Ayrton Senna too was not without contraversy.
I like Alonso... in fact he is my favorite driver. He became a little more outspoken ever since he won the championship, but when I watch him drive the sh*t out of his car after clinching the 2005 title, and getting 4th in this year's Australian GP, I remember why I like him.
Good drivers will be much more nit-picky with setup and post-race results about their car than an average driver; hence w/ an appropriate budget they will get a much better car. This is apparent with Renault's last two seasons.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: Naperville, IL/Chicago
2008 CLK63 Black Series 2012 C63 Black Series 2014 SLS Black Series
Guys, I'm not saying Micheal is not an awesome driver, obviously he is one of the greatest of all time, I'm just saying he was not alone talent wise, early on in this decade Ferrari was at the top of their game, but there was alot of other talent with skills equal to Micheals but was racing on sub-par equipment compared to Ferrari...but that's racing I guess, at least F1 racing.
