Mark Webber Thread

[Shrub32]

I would rather DC go to Renault or Williams but he is too old now so i think Jaguar will be his only hope. Heidfeld to Williams pffff only reason is because BMW want a german to race for them, I rekn Davidson should get a ride with Williams instead.

[Snowman]

Heidfiled to Williams,

Not gonna happen. I've read too many reports of "we don't need a German driver" and IMO he's nothing special.

Still think it will be a rookie - either Piquet Jr or that Luzzi bloke thats kicking ass.

[Roy]

All this talk of Weber to Wiliams, think about the power that Briatore has at the moment. With Trulli to Toyota he can ask whatever money he wants for Weber, and worst case Frank tells him to pack his bags so Weber ends up at Renault, leaving Williams with even more driver dramas.

Not likely but stranger things have happened, i still think either Fisichella or Heidfield may end up at williams, but looking at their history of popping F1 driver cheries a rookie isnt out of the question....so basically i have no idea.

[Duncan]

yeah Briatore certainly made some wise investments a few years back...now he wins either wya...he either gets the pick of the drivers for his team, or the payout from selling them to someone who needs em.

bastard.

[Silver-Arrowz]

How about and all Aussie affair?

We have Webber and team him up with Brisco at Williams. Who already have Sam Michael. Then Stoddart buys out williams.....

It's already said that Patrick Head wants someone who can WIN a championship. That leaves Heidfiled a little thin, Truli sh*t out of luck. DC could win but not sure if Williams wants him back. He's not looking too good since he's struggled to keep up with with 2 flying finns.

[relicr31act]

Let's face it David Coulthard never had or will ever have the ability to win a championship. He has only ever driven Williams and McLaren and has won i think ( correct me if I'm wrong 6 Grandprix) Kimi Raikkonen has won more Grandprix finished second in the championship and started driving granprix cars after only 23 car races EVER !!!!!! Coulthard got where he got because of one thing. MONEY. His family own the largest transport company in the British Isles. He always had the best equipment and the resources to run it properly. He has been FLOGGED by Raikkonen for the last two years. If there is any justice in the world Coulthard will be driving his lawnmower next year with an outing at Le Mans the only competitive outing. Ppl have said that he will go to Jaguar. I don't think David Pitchforth is that stupid. One guy that has hardly been mentioned and who I think has a good chance of replacing Webber at Jaguar is Justin Wilson. He proved as quick as Pizzonia ( the most overrated driver in F1) and really didn't get a fair run first time around. All I know is that Webber ( read Briatore) turned down $22 mil to drive Toyota. You don't do that unless you have a fair idea where your going and how much you are going to get paid!!!!!!!

[Roy]

 One guy that has hardly been mentioned and who I think has a good chance of replacing Webber at Jaguar is Justin Wilson.  He proved as quick as Pizzonia ( the most overrated driver in F1)  and really didn't get a fair run first time around.  

LOL, im a DC fan so ill bite There is so much politics going underneath he surface of it all . Pizzonia struggled at Jaguar, could have been for any number of reasons, Williams aer very happy with him, then again it could be he is a good driver but poor racer?!?!?!

As for DC, it saddens me to see his performances. But its strange if you think back to when at Williams teaming with Mansell, he did a good job considering the circumstances in which he joined, Senna death and Mansell teamate. Following season he raced on equal terms with Hill before moving to the uncompetitve McLaren.

In the first few seasons at McLaren he was the dominant driver in the team. He won 2 GPs for Mclaren before Mika ever looked like winning. At the end of the 97 season at the Jap GP he was ordered to pull over and let Mika take his first win, remember what happened at the 98 Aus GP, same thing, pulled over to let Mika win.

From that point on he never seemed to have the same success that Mika enjoyed, rightly or wrongly i suspect team politics. Still has 11 Mclaren wins against Mika's 20 for the same seasons, add up the two wins he gave away and the count is 18 v 13 which isnt exactly one sided.

And just think if i am right about team orders and priorities, then he has done a great job, its strange that he was kept around in a competitive drive if the team thought for no good reason he couldnt match the teams other car and driver. It does happen, notice Montoyas result drop off early last season after agood start to the seaon, basically RS demanded new race engineer and he ended up with Montoya's, whilst Monotya had to go back to scratch and start developing a new relationship with his new engineer.

Guys like Rossi and MS are great as they have the ability to have the right ppl around them, it helps that they are great drivers/riders, but they motivate the ppl around them, and end up with the engineering behind them counts for a hell of a lot as well

Anyway that my thoughts, not going to change my mind, just like i wont change yours

[relicr31act]

I hear what you say about the 'team" behind the driver and obviously that plays a big hand in getting the thing to go quickly. But out of interest take a look at qualifying for tonights race. Raikkonen ahead of Coulthard (again) and Webber .3 behind Pizzonia in a far superior car, evidenced by the fact that his "teammate" Montoya is on the front row!!!! Now with all the bull**** surrounding qualifying these days draw from that what you will, thanks again Mr Mosley( can't wait for him to piss off and go and read a book on a beach somewhere). But I think that Pizzonia and Webber tonight may something to prove. So hopefully there might be some fireworks at the start!!!!!!

[Shrub32]

Raikkonen ahead of Coulthard (again)

Lay off DC that makes qualifying 8 to 4 in favour of Kimi this year, not that much in it! Also if your gonna bag him get his total wins right 13 which is second in the paddock behind M.Schumacher.

[Roy]

DC rules, and he openly admits he struggles with the new form of qualifying, he never used to be a poor qualifier, as for drivers that have on occasion passed MS on the track , well if it wasnt for DC and more recently Montoya it would be a fair bet that MS would get passed 1 every 2 seasons

Re tonights race, work sux at the moment and im scared what Monday has in store for me, and in light of the worlds problems, i was going to take it upon myslef to fly to Germany and martyr myslef by kicking MS in the balls so he cant race ever again...whereby hopefully making F1 more then the 1 horse race it is at the moment.

Todays V8 race was good though! :aroused:

[Snowman]

I have to say that the race last night was pretty darn entertaining as well (MS out in front excepted) Although it may have been interesting if kimi's wing had stayed on.

But watching Button and Alonzo have those side by side drags was awesome. Serious big hairy ones required to race that close at those speeds in those pissy little cars!

And some of Webbers passing moves right at the start (to go from 11th to 6th in the first lap) and the late move on Trulli were great to watch as well.

Although the power and easy at which Montoya went past Webber to me just showed how crap Pizzonia must be to finish back where he did - and I reckon Webber must have seen Montoya go past thinking "I can't wait til next year"

[Duncan]

you know, I've been thinking a bit about last night's race

Without a doubt it was the best race of the year.

But really, thats not such a great comment on F1 racing really, is it. We see, what, 10 overtaking moves between 20 cars over 70 laps (1400 laps = 1 exciting moment per 140 laps) Pretty sad for the pinacle of motorsport

[relicr31act]

Unfortunately that is the nature of f1. If you want close racing make everybody use the same engine, chassis etc. Then its indycars not f1. At the moment it is annoying watch michael win EVERYTHING, that is true, but to try and change the current situation artificially is not the way to go. Enjoy what is good about it. There was some really good racing last night, and no doubt Webber didn't do his stocks any harm at all by showing how piss weak Pizzonia really is. Don't think Trulli is on Briatore's christmas card list either.!!!!!!

[Beer Baron]

you know, I've been thinking a bit about last night's race

Without a doubt it was the best race of the year.

But really, thats not such a great comment on F1 racing really, is it.  We see, what, 10 overtaking moves between 20 cars over 70 laps (1400 laps = 1 exciting moment per 140 laps)  Pretty sad for the pinacle of motorsport

I second that... Best race in a long time. Webber made some great moves. Buttons race was outstanding too. So does anyone know if the Webber>Williams announcement has been made yet?

Richard

[Roy]

It was a great race, i missed the last 5-8 laps though. The new rule concerning tyres may be interesting, images of Brock on hard tyres at HRT chasing down the fast starting Bowe (Shell Falcon) and Seton (Ford Credit) late in the races as his car/tyres were quicker over race distance, but Bowe would rely on blocking with a slower car towards race end....makes for interesting racing...and whilst i have read soem posts on SAU saying Brock is over rated, i think that is one area he was good; as he seemed to be able to look after his equipment.

Fisichella is confirmed at Renault, and apparantly Briatore agreed that Weber can go to Williams if they agreed not to chase Fisichella once their original offer was turned down. Well thats what i read on the net somewhere, i would love to know how much Briatore is asking for Weber as i have also read that Hakkinen is approachi9ng teams looking for a drive , as is JV

I find it highly unlikely that either will get the 2nd seat at Williams, bu ti love reading all the theories being bounced around.

[relicr31act]

For what it is worth I heard that Williams could have had Fisi but dicked him about wanting to test JV and Mikka (wtf?) so he got the shits and signed with Renault. Good move IMO as I think that Renault will be stronger than Williams next year (just a hunch). I don't rate Fisi anyway, but the rumour is that Webber will get to kick Heidfeld's butt next year as BMW really DO want a German driver even though publicly they deny it. AHHH F1 I wonder sometimes which is more entertaining the racing or the silly season. This year I think the latter!!!!!!

[Laurence]

...and whilst i have read soem posts on SAU saying Brock is over rated, i think that is one area he was good; as he seemed to be able to look after his equipment.

Brock is an oldschool racer, brought up on true production car racing.

I remember him in a VN Commodore(?) Flying over the top of Mount Panorama with the thing dancing on tippy toes. Awesome stuff.

That F1 race was by far the best this year. The new Hockenheim layout shows that a modern F1 track can still allow for good racing. Fast section with a tight corner at the end always makes for overtaking.

The side on shots of the BAR vs Renault were really interesting, it was like the BAR was running a CVT, on every BAR gearshift the Renault leapt ahead! The drive that the Williams and Renaults got out of that corner was amazing. The Renaults are definitely an anomoly, they understeer like a pig and have a low top speed but they are super competitive! Weird.

But back on topic. Webber drove really well but beating a Williams in a straight fight was just icing on the cake

[rsx84]

i think also the coverage of the race was alot better than some of the other races i've watched this year, not just following MS around. watching the renault getting out of those corners was a bit of an eye opener. good to know webber is in for a bit more compeditive drive next year! can you picture the smile on his face when he finished ahead of the BAR..

[Roy]

... good to know webber is in for a bit more compeditive drive next year!

We hope ...its been a few seasons since Williams has given the sharpset tool to its drivers...i think Williams wasted 6 year with RS, and drivers like Frentzen, Zanardi and Button etc didnt shine for one reason or another...my thinking is mainly they were asking drivers with little F1 experience to develop championship winning cars.

You look at when MS started doing well at Beneton, you had a vastly experienced guy like Berger helping develop the car (Expereined with Ferrari/McLaren etc). So by the time MS let Benton he too was vastly experiences and had been responsible for winning championships off his own back.

Even with the engineering might of Williams, you need an experienced driver with the ability to develop a car, something i dont think any Williams drivers have had of late, Montoya was a chance but i think internal politics played against him

F1 is always good for a laugh

[relicr31act]

I think that we easily forget exactly how Michael won his first 3 world championships. Illegal traction control with the Benetton which then found its way into the Ferrari. Also the fact that he had no qualms about taking anybody out that looked like taking "his" world championship. Ask Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve what they think of "Schuweave". No doubt he is a very talented driver in a very good car which will always be a difficult combination to beat. I just hope that when he has retired ppl don't forget there was a darker, less desirable side to his character. The only reason ppl are starting to forget about it is that the combination of him and the red car has been so dominant that he hasn't had to resort to "demolition derby" tactics to beat opponents. I hope that he doesn't retire for a while yet as I would like to think that M.Webber has what it takes in the right car to stick right to him!!!!!!! Go the boy from Queanbeyan!!!! It's official M.Webber Williams 05