Mondini replaces Sharp at DPR

[BootsOntheSide]

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/050727/13/cjsr.html

Giorgio Mondini will take over as DPR's second driver for the final 4 rounds of the season, afetr Ryan Sharp was released from his contract. A shame, but Ryan has largley failed ot be competitive.

[Kicking-back]

Indeed, Ryan has been a total disappointment.

Yes, the team had problems at the start of the season, but lately he's been considerably slower than Olivier Pla his team-mate.


In general, Sharp wasn't much cop in British FRenault, went over to the less competitive German series where he got results, then drove in Renault V6, where general driving ability was mixed - and now in an uber-competitive series, he's not shone.

[Kidzer]

Wasn't much cop in Britsh FRenault? Look at the car he was driving, no-one else in a JVA car has been near the top 6 really since Ryan!

Edit: And mondini drove Jenzer's FRenault car a few years before Ryan, he wasn't much cop in it, can't blame the car or team, they are both fine

[Kicking-back]

All credit to you for defending Ryan - for what its worth I don't think Mondini will do any better.

But it's a fact that Ryan has been disappointing this season.

[Mekola]

At least Ryan could have been back at his Jenzer seat at World Series by Renault, where he was in the last round of the series at Bilbao, finishing 14º and 9º in the weekend races.

[sceptic]

Originally Posted by Mekola

At least Ryan could have been back at his Jenzer seat at World Series by Renault, where he was in the last round of the series at Bilbao, finishing 14º and 9º in the weekend races.

And why is finishing 14th and 9th in WSbyR races better than finishing 14th and 9th in GP2 races?

[Gaz]

I think Kidzer you have to take a step back and consider that although Ryan has had some bad luck this season, that kind of luck doesn't extend over a full season and from the beginning till now he hasn't once strung together a competitive result (i.e. a podium) whilst others including his team mate have.

K-B has it totally correct, he was very average whilst racing in the UK and ran to the sanctions of a very dubious domestic championship to salvage results that might rescue his career. To an extent up to this point they had but back with the big boys he's not been in the same league and has been completely blown away.

In terms of the UK Formula Renault series, he was outshone on a regular basis by drivers such as Green, Hamilton and Watts. These are the real "star" drivers whilst Sharp is just pretty mainstream in all honesty. His pretty pathetic season in Formula Ford prior to his graduation to Renault proves this.

In all honesty I don't see Mondini doing much either but perhaps if Sharp has any hope of making a career from this, this was in his best interests. Perhaps he should looks towards sportscars from now on?

[flexible-flyer]

i thought ryan did ok this year. at barca he was well in line for a podium and in gp2 thats some going. the fact pla has now won a couple of races has reflected badly on ryan obviously. i think had rayn got that front row start at either the hock or silverstone he would have held on and won just like pla did but while pla was lucking into to top 8 results ryan was having car failures. car failures.

i dont rate sharp as one of the best in gp2 this year but the fact he is the first driver to lose, or walk away from his seat will make some people look at it asif he was the worst performer in the series when he was clearly better than alot of drivers out there.

[Kidzer]

Originally Posted by sceptic

And why is finishing 14th and 9th in WSbyR races better than finishing 14th and 9th in GP2 races?

He never said it wasnt.

[Kidzer]

Originally Posted by Gaz

a very dubious domestic championship

To what championship do you mean?

And why is it dubious?

Sorry for double post, missed edit time!

[Mekola]

Originally Posted by sceptic

And why is finishing 14th and 9th in WSbyR races better than finishing 14th and 9th in GP2 races?

With a 9th place, Ryan has earned 2 points in World Series.

[Kidzer]

He got 2pts in one race, while in the whole of the season Mr Mondini has...5

[Gaz]

German Formula Renault is hardly a hotbed of talent! All the talented guys who go through Renault will either go through UK, Eurocup or the Italian series so racing in the German series and winning that title can hardly be seen as a major achievement.

[BootsOntheSide]

Finishing 2nd in the Eurocup without knowing most of the tracks is more of an achievement though. I guess he jsut wasn't really ready for GP2, and the reliability problems appeared to affect his morale more than Pla's. The points gap between them flatters Olivier slightly, but he's made the most of his chances and held the field off in those 2 races he won, while I'm sure Ryan would not have been able to. I just hope hisc areer can survive this setback.

[Kidzer]

Ryan did go into the eurocup asweel, and if the donnington race 2 wasn't red flagged, he would've moved up to atleast the top 4 in that championship - Scott Speed also raced in German FRenault, and won it. And yet no-one has said he's average..

[Kicking-back]

At least Ryan is well funded and has a new drive to fall back on.

[jondownunder]

What's a mystery to me is why Mondini has had such a dismal season after his Formula Renault V6 title last year. He's not exactly stepping up to GP2 on a high.

[Jock Loon]

Originally Posted by Gaz

I think Kidzer you have to take a step back and consider that although Ryan has had some bad luck this season, that kind of luck doesn't extend over a full season and from the beginning till now he hasn't once strung together a competitive result (i.e. a podium) whilst others including his team mate have.

K-B has it totally correct, he was very average whilst racing in the UK and ran to the sanctions of a very dubious domestic championship to salvage results that might rescue his career. To an extent up to this point they had but back with the big boys he's not been in the same league and has been completely blown away.

In terms of the UK Formula Renault series, he was outshone on a regular basis by drivers such as Green, Hamilton and Watts. These are the real "star" drivers whilst Sharp is just pretty mainstream in all honesty. His pretty pathetic season in Formula Ford prior to his graduation to Renault proves this.

In all honesty I don't see Mondini doing much either but perhaps if Sharp has any hope of making a career from this, this was in his best interests. Perhaps he should looks towards sportscars from now on?

That post smacks of the most bitter and twisted nature ever! Everyone has to start somewhere on the ladder. Some have sugar daddies who buy seats in top teams. Ryan didn't have that favour going for him unfortunately. His change of tact to the German FR series saw him driving for a top team... a team who had won the championship already. He trounced the field, often at tracks he had not raced at before.
Last season in FR V6 he did an amazing job again, only for certain drivers to 'take him out' when he was in with a shout of the title.

Like I say, some guys (Speed, Bruni, Lauda, Piquet Jnr etc) seem to be the 'golden boys' of GP2. No different to Lewis Hamilton who had he not the extreme fortune of having Ron Dennis as his mentor and guiding star, would be as 'mainstream' as Ryan (as you not so politely put it).

Jock.

[fantasytoca]

Jock

I'm unsure of your connection to Ryan and whilst I'd agree that Ryan is a good driver - I wouldn't say he is an outstanding driver - I think to say that he is equivalent as a driver to Lewis Hamilton is stretching things just a bit.

The sugar daddy bit is also not quite true is it? - as I understood it one of the main directors of Norco (Ryan's main sponsor) is Ryan's dad (or some other close relative)

I've seen Lewis and Ryan in action (both on and off the track) and would have to say that to compare the two is like to compare Michael Schumacher with Jacques Villeneuve - both good but one just has that natural shine

[Kidzer]

Well, mondini will start last tomorrow according to GP2series.com

[Jock Loon]

Originally Posted by fantasytoca

Jock

I'm unsure of your connection to Ryan and whilst I'd agree that Ryan is a good driver - I wouldn't say he is an outstanding driver - I think to say that he is equivalent as a driver to Lewis Hamilton is stretching things just a bit.

The sugar daddy bit is also not quite true is it? - as I understood it one of the main directors of Norco (Ryan's main sponsor) is Ryan's dad (or some other close relative)

I've seen Lewis and Ryan in action (both on and off the track) and would have to say that to compare the two is like to compare Michael Schumacher with Jacques Villeneuve - both good but one just has that natural shine

How can you say Lewis Hamilton is a better driver? He's had Mercedes and McLaren helping him all the way and a significant amount of help throughout his karting career. Ryan on the other hand has a drop in the ocean's worth of financial clout. In karting, it was his father that bought him his kit, drove him round the country etc. Same applied to his single seater ventures. Yes, Norco have helped him, but if you think that's in the same league as the likes of Hamilton, then you're wide of the mark.

Motorsport is full of drivers of real talent who simply don't have the money to make it up the ladder. Then there's the likes of Nikki Lauda's son who would struggle to win a race round the M25! Ryan has raw talent, I can assure you of that. This season has been dissapointing for both him and his team. But like I saw someone else comment, winning is about the whole package, the team, the car, the driver. You also need a liberal sprinkling of good fortune.
Ryan got a fastest lap in one race and was heading for a podium in the next. I would put my hand on my heart and say there is only 2 or 3 driver in GP2 that are seriously better 'racers'. The rest have had better luck, equipment or engineering input. Pla, good driver yes, but two wins from having the luck of finishing 8th in the main race.

For the record, put Schumacher in a Minardi and let's see how he does!!!

[Kicking-back]

Every driver who fails to deliver has a bookful of excuses - and an entourage who're prepared to trot them out.


Yes, Hamilton has been well backed, but he still has to drive the thing.

Slagging off Lewis won't make people think Ryan is any better.

[Jock Loon]

Originally Posted by Kicking-back

Every driver who fails to deliver has a bookful of excuses - and an entourage who're prepared to trot them out.


Yes, Hamilton has been well backed, but he still has to drive the thing.

Slagging off Lewis won't make people think Ryan is any better.

No, I'm not 'slagging off' anyone. For the record, I rate Hamilton, but was simply defending the notion that he is light years ahead of Ryan when quite obviously, he is not.
As for trotting out excuses, better that than to let people post messages saying one thing, when there's mitigating circumstances that others may not know about. I am giving an insight into some of the reasons that led to him leaving DPR. It had nothing to do with not being able to handle GP2, but more to do with having his reputation tarnished by driving a car that quite simply was not doing the business.
In addition to this, there are many other teams around in the World that one driver has all the luck and the other somehow manages to have failure after failure after failure. I'm not saying it's planned, more a bad coincidence. However, DPR knew of certain situations, such as the down on power engine, but still made Ryan qualify and race with it instead of sending it back and saying GTF.

[fantasytoca]

Originally Posted by Jock Loon

How can you say Lewis Hamilton is a better driver?

Errm, he won the British FR championship and Ryan didnt.

Yeah yeah yeah tell me all about how Ryan had a poorly engineered car from JVA - I know John Village very well and his cars are as well engineered as any other FR team with the possible exception of Fortec - and Lewis wasnt a Fortec driver.

You cant always lay the blame on the car. I'm not saying Ryan is a poor driver, I said he's not an outstanding driver, or maybe he's not as good at giving feedback to his engineers as some other drivers (dont mock - it wasnt Ryan but I am aware of one FR driver (who is still in FR) who confused his engineer for ages until one day his engineer realised that when the driver said the left side of the car he actually meant the right and visa versa )

Yes Lewis has been fortunate with his Mclaren backing but at the end of the day any amount of money without driving ability and racecraft won't make a winner.

I wish Ryan all the luck in the world with his career and I take my hat off to any driver at his level because he's doing something far beyond my ability, but constantly looking for excuses and griping about what might have been does little to convince people he has the potential for future stardom.

[Jock Loon]

Originally Posted by fantasytoca

I wish Ryan all the luck in the world with his career and I take my hat off to any driver at his level because he's doing something far beyond my ability, but constantly looking for excuses and griping about what might have been does little to convince people he has the potential for future stardom.

I'll be the 1st to confess that prior to Ryan heading for Germany, he wasn't the most complete of drivers. But the self confidence grew rapidly when he was getting good results, good service from a good team and it all started to come together. That season was the making of Ryan and he took that through to last season's FRV6. I really thought he would do well in GP2 but the car wasn't there for him. I need not make up stories either.... it's been well documented (by their, DPR's, admission) that they struggled with technical glitches. Not only throw their own fault, but obviously through the teething problems of a brand new series with brand new cars. But the teams with the most money to through around, and the most pulling power (ie Piquet, Rosberg etc), got their cars sorted out first. It's not rocket science... it happens in every form of motorsport, even though it shouldn't, seeing as GP2 is a one make series.

So, looking for excuses - nope. Merely pointing out the facts. That my friend, is the major difference in my messages.