Schumacher won't be beaten again

[MADDOG-99]

Schumacher won't be beaten again - Montoya - 20 July 2004

Juan Pablo Montoya has all but given-up hoping for victory in '04.

The Colombian said a 'Safety Car' period at Silverstone masked what should have been a 'half a minute' win for pending seven-times champion Michael Schumacher.

'Think about it,' the BMW-Williams driver remarked.

'He qualified fourth with enough fuel to two-stop then goes and wins the race with time to spare ... it's amazing. [Ferrari] can do whatever they like.'

Montoya, who's off to McLaren next season, reckons the German could've run the fuel for a one-stop strategy and still won. '[His car] is just that good.'

He continued: 'Their package is so much better.'

Montoya never has much praise for Mr. Schumacher but he reckons, eleven races into the season, no driver is good enough to - on merit - claim ten victories.

'Michael's brilliant but he's not that good,' said Juan.

'The gap [to Ferrari] is too big to bridge.'

On the positive side, though, Montoya cruised to victory at Hockenheim a year ago and Michelin 'usually has [an] upper hand' in Germany, the Colombian noted.

[Cougar]

Originally posted by MADDOG-99
'Michael's brilliant but he's not that good,' said Juan.

I like that comment... He is good.. but he is bad

[MADDOG-99]

yeah, :lol: JPM is clever but he's not that bright...

[fog_shadow]

Originally posted by MADDOG-99
yeah, :lol: JPM is clever but he's not that bright...

lol,

couldn't have said it better myself. all the respect JPM gathers with his driving is lost the minute he opens his mouth. such a waste.

fog_shadow

[Kicking-back]

Why so harsh on Montoya's comment.

He said Michael is brilliant.

The not "that good" comment refers to the fact that the gap between Michael and other drivers is not as big as the results this season show.

He's not been critical of Michael at all.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Cougar21
I like that comment... He is good.. but he is bad

Imo, your all taking what he said out of context. Juan Pablo admits that Michaels brilliant, but couldn't have won so many races had it not have been for this years Ferrari.

The 04 car is better than the 03 car, and thats why hes won so many races with it where he couldn't win 10 races with the 03 car, simple as that, and what he said has substance.

A comment about Michael from someone like Juan Pablo will always attract critism for non JPM fans

[BootsOntheSide]

Exactly right KB. Montoya simply said what he thinks - that Michael isnt' good enough to win 10 out of 11 on his own merits; that no driver is. This is just an examnple of how slective quoting and hidden agendas can combien to distort reality.

Does anything other than the title actualyl say that no one can beat Michael? What's been quoted (and, incidentally, can you display the source for these articles in future?) merely says that Williams can't win.

[Cougar]

Originally posted by Mr V
...A comment about Michael from someone like Juan Pablo will always attract critism for non JPM fans

and JPM fans will always defend him But you are right! It is easily taken out of context!

I did not intend this as a JPM bash! If M had said it about JPM id have commented the same! I did the whole Wrex "Would i have said the same if it was my guy" thing.

But its good to have a chuckle every now and then!

[Kicking-back]

But Cougar, your interpretation of what JPM said as "he's good but he's bad" is clearly inaccurate.

[garcon]

That depends how you interpret his interpretation, K-b!

Good for JPM - as often seems to be the case, he says what the others are just thinking. And then gets quoted out of context for his troubles.

My own interpretation of what he meant is pretty much what Boots said - no-one is so much better than the rest that they could win 10 from 11 on their own merits. The car has a role in it.

[jj2728]

'Michael's brilliant but he's not that good,' said Juan.

an oxymoron if i ever heard one.....and that coming from a moron.....

[Adam43]

Originally posted by jj2728
an oxymoron if i ever heard one.....and that coming from a moron.....

The interesting bit in this story is surely the bit about Ferrari's pace and how an F1 driver thinks it'll continue to the end of the season.

We've been here before. Obviously some will see it as a Michael bash from Montoya. They'll either like it because they can put MS down or like it because they can turn it around and put Montoya down.

So if we are just going to bash either of these drivers I suggest we close it now.

[Adam43]

Anyway.

I think Montoya has called it fairly well. I can't see any beating Schumacher and Ferrari for the rest of the year. They did dominate at Silverstone (apart from the first few laps at the begining of each stint). And apart from maybe the odd GP I can't see it changing either.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Cougar21
and JPM fans will always defend him But you are right! It is easily taken out of context!

Thats the thing i love about this site, the way "fans" defend their drivers. But a true fan will also critise their driver should he warrent it.

Originally posted by Cougar21

I did not intend this as a JPM bash!

I know

[Cougar]

I think the quote could do with some punctuation maybe?

'Michael's brilliant but he's not thÃ*t good,' said Juan.

for those of us with ferrari goggles on!! (including me)

I agree with JPM! Ferrari are miles ahead! and together with Schumacher they are a killer package! I dont see how he can be beaten to the title from here!

[Bononi]

Let's wait for the next season then...and pray for the others to catch Ferrari

[Cougar]

Would it not be great if Mclaren, Williams, Reanault, BAR and Toyota all peaked at the same time to catch Ferrari! Maybe not next season... but how about 2006??

hmmmm

[Mr V]

Well, thats what any fan of racing wants to see, and i'm sure that includes Michaels fans too.

The trouble is, by the time the other teams get their acts together, will Michael still be on the grid?

[Wrex]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
This is just an examnple of how slective quoting and hidden agendas can combien to distort reality.

Indeed. I suggest the JPM and Schumacher fans think about this before the respond.

The true sly dogs (usually called 'the media') have done their usual 'this should get them reading' BS, then true to form, the great cyber unwashed will lap it up. Dont fall for it.

Juan thinks Ferrari have a better package (he's right), he thinks thats the only reason Michael is beating him (he's wrong IMHO). Thats it, nothing more, nothing less.

[Red]

Originally posted by Mr V
The trouble is, by the time the other teams get their acts together, will Michael still be on the grid?

Sure he will. (and get his 12th title )

Anyway, the "and pray for the others to catch Ferrari" is good, however prayers are not exactly enough. Judging by the optimism seen in other camps (i.e. Montoya for BMW or Mercedes next year) the chances aren't exactly big, are they..

PS: Pfft, he's good but not that good, he's got a good car perhaps. He's only found it yesterday, growing in a tree.

[dcp2685]

I like the quote. The Ferrari is leaps and bounds beyond everything else out there. Not to say the driver of it is bad....that's not what he was going for as opposed to giving more praise to the entire package Ferrari has.

Actually i could care less if he wins any more. There is almost no action up front. I'm having a lot more fun following some of the mid teams and watching the battles back and forth. Unfortunately they don't show a whole lot of mid field action but it should be fun to watch Antonio have a go this weekend for instance and see if he and Webber can lock horns. I hope he does reasonably well.

I agree w/ Bononi...lets see what happens next year w/ all the rule changes and what not.

[N I Tram]

I suspect there's an element of JPM justifying himself to the world (and to himself) by thinking that the car and the team have a bigger effect on the magnitude of Michael's dominance than merely Michael's skill. Whether it's true or not, he's essentially jsut pointed ut that no driver is as good as the resutls make Michael look this year, and i think it's true - put Michael (or any other F1 driver) into a Formula Renault series and I doubt they'd dominate to the same extent.

[Glen]

Montoya coveniently doesn't consider how the Ferrari package gets that good in the first place. He's quite accurate in saying that ten from eleven is not an accurate reflection on just driving quality, but he ignores all sorts of technical considerations... If JPM were in Rubens' car he might have pinched one or two race wins from Michael, but Michael would still be ahead because Michael's car would be nicely set-up - Montoya's race weekends have been a disaster, especially since Ralf has been out and he hasn't had that extra input in getting the car right.

Which all boils down to the usual thing - Juan should get his head down and start becoming a complete F1 driver, instead of a superb hard-charger that whinges when he doesn't get the best car on a plate.

[Snrub]

It's crystal clear what was ment in the quote. What's funny is how people have somehow decided it means something else and then called HIM stupid.

Glen is one of the few who posted with a usefull point and while MS's non-driving contributions are clearly substantial I do not believe that MS's total contribution to the team alone is enough to win even close to 10/11.

I don't see how one can judge that William's increased woes are due to JPM's poor setup ability. I will mention that Williams added substantial new parts to the car since Indy. Also, while the driver plays a role in setup, most of what they do is communicate to the engineer what the car is doing so that the engineer can combine that with the data they're seeing. There is tweaking that makes the car more drivable, but it that alone is not enough to account for Williams' recent lack of pace.

[f1manoz]

Great car, driver in top form. Pretty much unbeatable package when you compare it to the rest on the grid.