Three CART guys in F-1 now

[Joey Jo Jo]

If DaMatta runs in F-1 there will be three past CART champs in the currently stuck up series.

These guys are used to the fans being able to communicate with them.
Perhaps the more guys that go to F-1 from CART the better F-1 will be.

How many IRL champs have gone to F-1?

[paul-collins]

Originally posted by Joey Jo Jo
These guys are used to the fans being able to communicate with them.
Perhaps the more guys that go to F-1 from CART the better F-1 will be.

I've heard JPM talk about the difference in paddocks, and he's been quoted as saying it's easier for him to do his job in F1 because there's no distraction of having to inadvertently run into someone who had paid JPM to race (i.e. the fan). So it may be that the cloistered existence is more corrupting than the open attitude cultivated in CART can handle.

OTOH, that was in an F1 publication, so it may have just been a partial quote to bolster F1 in the eyes of the reader. "Oh, they're so much more professional in F1!"

[f1manoz]

Goes to show how much talent is in the CART field.

[Jay]

JPM was one of the most fan-unfriendly drivers in the Cart. He hated the fans, and frequently let them know it. As much as I appreciate his positive statements towards Cart, after witnessing his behaviour in the Cart paddock two years in a row I can't support him as a driver.

OTOH, you have guys like Zanardi who hated F1 because of the lack of contact with the fans...so it goes both ways.

[macdaddy]

Jay's right about Montoya. I remember frustrated fans at Belle Isle yelling that he's perfect F1 material. Villeneuve was much the same way.

[f1manoz]

But JPM and JV were/are F1 guys through and through, they just happened to be in CART.

I've never been fortunate to go to a CART race, but the guys who are there today appear to be perfect for the series - they all get along, leave what happens on the track where it should be and are completely fan-friendly.

[Liz]

That is very true, OzDude. And Jacques was a snob even in the lower formulae unless you got him clear away from the racing scene.

Today in Invisible Country there's a roundy rounder weeping into his Cheerios because his boss promised him an F1 seat and now he sees that his boss was lying ... and while he will be staying at the Holiday Inn in Kansas, other people whose loyalty was not to their wallets are dining in Monaco.

Hurrah for Cristiano!

[Russfeld]

Where's all the criticism for Christiano's two faced comments? He signed almost 2 months ago, and just at Surfer's he was saying how it was such a difficult decision and he was still deciding

[Tiresmoke]

Originally posted by Russfeld
Where's all the criticism for Christiano's two faced comments? He signed almost 2 months ago, and just at Surfer's he was saying how it was such a difficult decision and he was still deciding

Perhaps it was the only way he could think to keep the media interested in him until Toyota went ahead with the announcement.

McNish isn't driving the #1 car next year is he?

[Bizzo5000]

Because we are used to the fact that if you win, you go to F1.

[paul-collins]

Also, while he may have signed, it doesn't mean the deal is done. The determinant in this would be securing the release from Newman-Haas. Obviously Carl and Paul have settled on compensation from Toyota, now.

[Liz]

I believe that is in fact what Cris said -- that there were "details to be decided" which most people took to mean that it was the compensation details (or players to be named later) that were in negotiation.