Montoya

[Dean T]

If Montoya is in a williams next year (which of course seems
very likely) how do you think he will get on? I think he will
be sensational or will suffer the same situation as Zanardi.
From what I have seen him do in CART and in F3000 I think he
will be sensational. I remember seeing some test times from
monza a few years ago and I think he was quicker than
te regular williams drivers.

[Dino IV]

Welcome to 10-10's, Dean.

My bet is on the sensational part.
He's shown some amazing capacity of coping with ever changing driver circumstances and I can think of only one other driver which is praised for that ... some fella named Schumacher.

I reckon he'll be the next Mr. Super-Genius Demi-God of F1 ((c) Liz ).

Can't wait!

[Jay]

I have seen him race in Cart in Toronto in the wet, and he was on the ragged edge much more than the other drivers were. He would power slide through almost every corner. These skills would pay in F1 to an extent, however he will have to learn that the F1 cars cannot be swung around like Champcars. He has also shown to make silly mistakes and have a hot head, which will not help in F1.

If I were Williams I would stick with Button, who has proven to be good, and is only going yo get better.

One thing that Montoya has going against him, is that he will be expected to be with or better than Ralf from the start (ie better than Button), which is an awful lot of pressure.

Montoya will be the biggest question mark next year. I think he will need some time to get used to the cars, which he might not be given. A lot of people expect him to be competitive from the start, which I doubt he is capable of. If he does as well as Ralf did this year, it will be spectacular.

[Minardi fan]

Given that Ganassi have yet to release Montoya, and Button has undoubtedly signed for Benetton, does anyone else think Frank may have dug himself a little hole here???

[Jay]

Yes

[Minardi fan]

Excellent...

[Liz]

Montoya did not need any time to get to know the CART machines - and remember he had spent the past year driving Formula One cars - before winning races on tracks he had never driven before, even on ovals which he had never even been ON before.

Incidentally, I suspect the contract is already signed. The look on Montoya's face after he had a *&^%$ race today (a sort of "S*&&8w you all, I am going to Formula One" look) when Gary Gerrold was asking him how he felt about having such a rancid season, seemed to say it all.

[EERO]

All hail the coming of the MontoyaGod.


He will knock yer sox off.

[Valve Bounce]

I remember Andretti Jr. came to F1 after some pundits thought was a sensational capability in CART. He then started chucking the car into the Mulga during races, or running into other cars. Z-Man also flunked, even though he was sensational in CART. I can only hope that this guy comes out better than the other two. If Gannasi declines to release him, Frank can always check Bruno out. It was touch and go between him and Jenson, so he might prove to be another Williams discovery.
If, on the other hand, Momtoya comes, and is as good as you guys tell me, then Williams BMW might have trouble with two drivers trying to squeeze onto pole at quals next year.

[Jay]

I wouldn't mind seeing him in F1, as his ego will be more appreciated there than in Cart. But, unless Williams get back their form next year, I would very surprised to see him with Ralf on the grid.

I will enjoy seeing his ego get crushed . For the guys who don't know it is somewhere between TGF and Andretti JR.

[ma]

Jay, you don't know sh!t about Juan - he's not arrogant at all. He IS damned sure of his skills - a prerequisit of his trade, but actually a bit bashful & not at all talkative. Even his father describes him as "too quiet for his own good".

[Peter Mallett]

Frankly, I think its a little early. We don't really know if he's signed for Williams (F1) or not and as far as I know, the promised anouncement never came.

I hope he does well, if he does move to F1. If only because so far the recent converts have been less than spectacular. Only JV has shown the right level of talent to cut it with the "best"(?).

[Jay]

ma, I have seen how he deals with people in Toronto the past 2 years, and he is VERY ARROGANT.

He doesn't sign ANY autographs for anyone, unless it is at the autograph table during the 30 min autograph session. He pushes people out of the way (literally!!). He ignore reporters unless they have a TV camera. He is always yelling and complaining to his crew that everything isn't perfect. He was even pushing hid girlfriend around in team motorcoach area. They eventually made up and kissed.

When he is on the track he always complains about being held up by backmarkers. Then when he is a backmarker, he acts like he isn't and tries to defend his position. Adn worst of all, they don't penalize him! Just ask Gil De Ferran.

He really stands out in Cart, because most of the drivers (not Andretti Jr) are quite nice and talk to the fans. He is going to get some big surprises when he gets to F1, and people won't bow down to his every whine like they do in Cart.

[Ralf's Girl]

I fail to understand all the comparisons the 'experts' are making between him and TGF - bearing in mind the fact that Montoya has never competed in an F1 race. I think it would be in Williams' best interest to keep Button to avoid having another driver learning tracks, and have two, rather than just Ralf, concentrating on scoring points. And when Ralf gets that win...

[jb]

last season i thought of juan as smug and arrogant, but gradually this year have come to admire and respect him. he makes few mistakes and is awesome correcting those he does make. after seeing him tossing that bucking bronco around mid-ohio yestarday i can't wait to see him next year in f1