Montoya to Williams? I HOPE NOT.

[Minardi fan]

Listen up Juan...

1: Just because you are behind someone who is a bit slower than you racing for position, don't expect them to be blue flagged. What happens when you are in 6th in your Williams, and Alesi is in 5th in his Prost, and you think he is holding you up??? Nothing. You get on with it and RACE.

2: At this point you do not lose your temper and start shaking your fist at the driver. Do this to Alesi and his fist will be shaking into your smug face in the Parc Ferme.

3: Even when no blue-flags are being showed, you should still move over. Don't wait, and don't hold up the driver behind you. TGF won't wait, he'll have you off the track before you can say 'Button'...

Twit.

[kuchi]

I think you got it all wrong my dear fellow,you can´t compare Alesi with Marques, i mean, is like water and mud, and it is´nt just that, alesi is never going to be in front of Montoya, well he might be if he´s being laped down, but anyway if you´re faster and the other guy is just out pf pit secuence he has to be flagged.

[Minardi fan]

Of course Alesi could be ahead of Montoya in a race next season - Gene beat Irvine to 6th at the Nurburgring '99 - remember?

Stop assuming Montoya will do well as soon as he turns up in F1. Let him prove himself.

[Jay]

Yes, and he's also an an arrogant boob outside of the cockpit.

Although I don't deny that the boy has talent, and lots of it, he does not do the job at all outside of the cockpit. He does not get involved with the fans in anyway, he treats fans, small media reporters and even his own crew like dirt.

He is one boy I would take joy in seeing fail.

I am not saying he will fail, he does have more talent than Zanardi or Andretti ever had combined, but he also has a very hot head and has now become so full of himself, that I wonder how he will do when the team is not built around him.

Not to mention when he is in a series that has less of a double standard. I have been a pretty loyal Cart fan, but the special treatement for Montoya in the past 2 races has really soured my opinion on the series.

[Liz]

But what y'all are saying is that Montoya is EXACTLY LIKE A FORMULA ONE DRIVER. They have nothing to do with the fans, they all expect special treatment and whine when they don't get it, and they all (well, not all) treat the other guys and their own teammates like dirt.

This is considered extremely bad manners in CART and I am glad that we don't have to put up with it much longer except from Mikey. But it is exactly what he would have to do in F1 and he's going to fit in without a ripple there.

Not that I like this kind of behaviour. But think about it.

[Jay]

Very true Liz.

[angst]

Yup. Good point Liz, with a few exceptions it is almost compulsory to be arrogant and, especially, self-centred to succeed in F1. Sad, but true.

[Liz]

Well, perhaps he will learn not to behave like that when he is surrounded by it and sees what it looks like (showing scorn its own image). And he is well worth watching in a race car! Ralf may also be inspired to new heights by having someone to push against. I think Montoya in F1 is going to be good for everyone.

Including CART.

[kuchi]

I don´t think montoya is arrogant, he just knows what he´s capable of, and besides all journalist(no offense)are a real pain in the you know what, so it´s like a mechanism to avoid being crashed down by the media.

[Jay]

You would think he is arrogant if you met (or even encountered) him.

I think Sir Frank is right though when he says that Montoya relies to heavily on his talent. Although most F1 drivers are arrogant it is only a few (maybe only one) that feel that everything should be done around them. This is the way Montoya acts, and it is not something Frank will tolerate no matter how good of driver he is.

Although most Cart fans think that Montoya is the next Senna Clarke or Fangio, he is not thought of that way in F1, nor will he be treated that way.

This is how he is treated in Cart. I have to wonder how he will be able to handle this big switch.

[Jared]

Oh, Montoya is arrogant and does not interact with the fans. I thought only Michael Andretti did that. You actually mean another driver besides Mikey is rude and arrogant and shakes his fist to people he percieves as backmarkers and whines to the officials?

Seriously, I share your opinion, but I wish Montoya all the best. He is a tremendous talent, and I hope he does well.
(Gotta watch the "o" and "i" keys; one wrong stroke will turn the above "I hope he does well" to "I hope he dies well")

Although, in articles I've read about him, people close to Juan say he's a pretty nice guy, he's just either so shy or so determined that such things as the fan interaction don't work for him.

[Nuvolari]

I've long thought Juan Pablo and F1 will be a smooth fit. He's obviously got the talent and the attitude to go with it.

Still . . . I'll miss watching him blast around the CART circuits.