Great Drives by 'Non-greats'

[Airhead]

yep Panis in '96 at Monaco.

[Smokey 6 litre]

Panis at Monaco!

and (although i dont like it) Fisi at Brazil!

[Bleu]

Barrichello, Donington 1993
Katayama in many races 1994.
Salo, Brazil 1995
Warwick in Canada 1989.

[BootsOntheSide]

Katayama is quite frequently overlooked in my view. 1994 was an impressive season from him, and there were somegreat qualifying efforts (such as 5th in Germany and Hungary) which went unrewarded through no fault of his own. It's a shame he had some health problems and poor cars after that, because he's probably Japan's greatest talent so far.

Panis did well at Moanco that year, but don't forget that he rudely punted Irvine off mid-race, and only won because Hill, Alesi and Berger all broke down. He was impressive in teh wet, and would've deserved a lower points placing, but let's not go overboard. Spain and Argentina 1997 were much more impressive in my book.

[NiceGuyEddie]

I thought Sato was awesome at Monaco 2002. Shadowing Fisico, brilliant pass on Salo at Mirabeau.... and then the most bizarre drivermistake I´d ever seen........

[krt917]

Wow, thanks guys. I think it's good to highlight some of these.

I'd forgotten about Capelli at France in 1990. That certainly was a surprise as everyone expected him (and Gugelmin, who retired) to stop. It was a shame that Prost got him before the end!

Deeks, I agree with you about Pedro Rodriguez - he'd be on my 'greats' list too.

Watson's three winning 'burns from the stern' in 1982 and 1983 were pretty incredible too.

[Yoong Montoya]

Originally posted by paulzinho
4th!!!

Yeah, sorry. That would have been Minardi's best result if the car hadn't broken wouldn't it?

[x_dt]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
Katayama is quite frequently overlooked in my view. 1994 was an impressive season from him, and there were somegreat qualifying efforts (such as 5th in Germany and Hungary) which went unrewarded through no fault of his own. It's a shame he had some health problems and poor cars after that, because he's probably Japan's greatest talent so far.

I second that. When Ukyo was given a decent package in 1994 he was highly impressive but unfortunately hit misfortune whenever in a position to deliver a first rate result. Where would he have finished in Hockenheim without his early troubles - surely 2nd would have been within his reach?

Recall also how he tailed Berger and the Williamses (admittedly with a lighter fuel load) at Monza - perhaps a podium there as well (?) Then there was Jerez where he charged from the back of the field to almost take 6th place off Frentzen's Sauber by the flag.

[Patrese256]

Originally posted by climb
Patrese Monaco 1982

Certainly memorable but I'd put Mexico 1991 and his pole lap at the '91 Portugese GP ahead of Monaco, and perhaps South Africa 1978. Great drives

[NiceGuyEddie]

Patrese was having the better of Mansell in early 1991.

[stevebrown]

Peter Gethin at Monza '71. Probably one of the greatest races ever.

Steve B

[ozrevhead]

Panis '96 in Monaco
Webber's 5th in Melboune 2002
Mark Blundell, Adelaide 1995 - stil came 4th after what happend his team mate (Mika Hakkinen)

[Mr V]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
Katayama is quite frequently overlooked in my view.

I was watching some of the races of 1993 the other day, and i never realised that he actually ran as high as 3rd in races. Definatly surprised me. Unfortunatly for Uko, the only thing about him that sticks in my mind is his Estoril 1995 start line accident, that could have been very serious.

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide

It's a shame he had some health problems

What health problems did he have? I thought he gave up F1 to go and climb mountains, that doesn't sound the sort of thing a guy with health problems does.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by ozrevhead
Mark Blundell, Adelaide 1995 - stil came 4th after what happend his team mate (Mika Hakkinen)

For this very reason, Nigel Mansell at Imola 89 and Damon Hill at Imola 94 always impressed me.

[ASCII Man]

Boutsen in Hungary 1990 was quite an impressive drive.

[deeks6]

Originally posted by ASCII Man
Boutsen in Hungary 1990 was quite an impressive drive.

Yes, he also drove a fantastic, smooth race in the wet at the Australian GP in 89 ( I was there, you could hardly see a thing) ... not one mistake while the rest of the field disintegrated themselves.

[deeks6]

Come to think of it, Pierluigi Martini did a good job in that race too in a Minardi. He qualified 3rd in the dry(wow) behind Prost and Senna no less (and his teammate didnt qualify at all) then nursed the thing home for a point.
Nakajima probably had his best race that day too (fastest lap).

[krt917]

Originally posted by NiceGuyEddie
Patrese was having the better of Mansell in early 1991.

This is true, although I'm surprised by this choice:

Originally posted by Patrese256
Certainly memorable but I'd put Mexico 1991 and his pole lap at the '91 Portugese GP ahead of Monaco.

I watched that quite recently and it was clear that something wasn't quite right with Nige's car in the first half of the race. In the second, he really went after Patrese and was a bit unfortunate not to get him.

Having said that, the early part of the 1991 season probably did see the best of Ricardo.

[bdhansen]

Yeah, Bellof was the man, my personal hero after Gilles. Lets not forget Lombardi somehow getting 1/2 a point at Montjuich in 75. Sure there was less than ten cars left when they called the race but she was one of them. Same Race, Cheers to Jochen for being in the right place at the right time getting his only win, from then on he was alway in the wrong place at the wrong time.

[RWC]

I'm really pleased that others remember panis at monaco '96.I thought i was the only one that remembered that.
Not that we got to see any good driving on TV....it was just his lap times in trafic and how many cars he passed

[corkholio]

Monaco always seem to gives non-greats a chance to shine - Tarquini 89, Foitek 90, Modena 91, Moreno 92, Panis 96, Coulthard 02, JPM 03.

[DENIS G]

Jean-Pierre Jarier Interlagos '75 (Shadow) and Watkins Glen '78 (Lotus)
Giancarlo Martini Estoril '89 (Minardi)

Yes I agree Patrese Kyalami '78 ( Arrows 2nd GP) and Capelli Paul Ricard '90 (Leyton House March)

[Patrese256]

Originally posted by krt917
This is true, although I'm surprised by this choice...
I watched that quite recently and it was clear that something wasn't quite right with Nige's car in the first half of the race. In the second, he really went after Patrese and was a bit unfortunate not to get him.

In Mansell's own words "I decided to go for it. I was driving 110%. I couldn’t go quicker." Nigel had a mysterious overheating problem early on in the race which cleared itself. After that he was flat out but unable to beat Patrese. That's why I think it was a great win.

Riccardo considers Monaco '82 (his first GP win) and San Marino '90 (at home, and after what happened in 1983) to be the victories most special to him.

[ASCII Man]

Originally posted by DENIS G
Giancarlo Martini Estoril '89 (Minardi)

Shouldn't that be Pierluigi Martini?

[Kicking-back]

Originally posted by Mr V

What health problems did he have? I thought he gave up F1 to go and climb mountains, that doesn't sound the sort of thing a guy with health problems does.

He was very fit but he had a growth removed from his back which, I think, was cancerous.

This affected him during the 1997 season and is why he decided to quit F1 that year.

But he fought back and drove several times at Le Mans and, as you say, climb mountains.