The Ultimate FI Joke
Written by George Katinger · August 14, 2004
Whenever I begin to doubt in the existence of a Divine Being, I have only to look around at the ironies that surround us. And the Devine Being has a sense of humor if one is to believe that BAR and Jacques Villeneuve may get back together for 2005.
f1-live.com: BAR confirm Villeneuve contact
f1-live.com: Villeneuve linked with BAR return
As a result of the Jenson Button flap and his exodus to Williams, is David Richards that desperate to claim a top driver for 2005? Would he risk the ridicule of the paddock and the scorn of the fans by bringing JV back to the team? Would Jacques be willing to subjugate his ego and whining instincts to the needs of the team? No on both counts.
With all due regards to the fans who still respect and long for the return of JV, I don’t think so. Everyone is capable of making career altering mistakes and we should all have the opportunity of making a come back. And I will give Jacques the benefit of the doubt and concede he has changed his self centered ways and could perform to the benefit of BAR or any other contending team. But as the manager of that team, with so much on the line, would I take that risk? Would I take the chance that JV could slide back into his old finger pointing ways for all things gone wrong, or play mind games with Taku or whoever winds up as his teammate? I think not.
What I’m really hoping for is that JV is playing with Richards head, just to see what the chances are of his coming back. String David along, then at the last minute sign with Toyota! That would give Richards the back hand all of JV’s fans thinks he deserves for letting JV go, and team JV up with “Schuey The Lesser” for next year. Who knows, David could wind up with Jarno Trulli or Jos “The Loss” Verstappen as his second driver next year.
But can you imagine the pairing of Ralf and Jacques on the same lackluster team that Toyota is? And with technical Director Mike Gascoyne blaming Panis, da Matta and now Zonta on the teams poor showing this year, just think of the fire works next year with that trio at each others throats. The possibilities are endless, only if that Divine Being has the sense of humor I hope he/she has!!
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I’m trying to figure out whether George is a Villeneuve supporter or not. He asks 3 questions, and answers with a simple and incorrect “no” each time. Here are the correct answers:
1) “As a result of the Jenson Button flap and his exodus to Williams, is David Richards that desperate to claim a top driver for 2005?”
The real answer is: of course Dave Richards, Bar and Honda want the best driver available who’s not already signed. There are none better than Villeneuve. Trulli is not a World Champion and NEVER will be (besides, all in F1 believe he will be going to Toyota, if he hasn’t already signed). Are we talking about the next Michael Schumacher: Nick Heidfeld (I’m being sarcastic, in case you’re wondering)? Coulthard has been given more chances to win than anyone in F1, except Schumacher, and has always failed. Hakkinen QUIT because he no longer had the desire. He’s been gone 3 years
Wow Jeff, thanks for the comments,allow me to clarify and refine my thoughts.
1. I believe that Jacques is the ONLY top driver available for next year. My comment about Trulli or Verstappen winding up at BAR were sarcasm only. And a fate befitting Dave Richards. I am more and more coming to see the snakey side of Richards and have some sympathy for his Jenson plight, but not much.
2. Ridicule: I think Richards willingness to bring JV back is checked by his ego and the percieved ridicule he would recieve if he brought him back. As a team manager I would hope Richards could subdue his personal fears and feelings and do the right thing for the team. And don’t forget the trust factor. Having struggled with JV’s petty bickerings and complaining for five years, does he want to risk that again? Just when BAR can make a real break through? not likely.
3. Ego subjugation and Mistakes. JV LEFT Williams after 1997 for a HUGE contract at the newly formed BAR. Thank you Craig Pollock! He left for the money and his ego, which told him he beat Schumacher and thus, he should be paid Schumacher money. After selling out for money, he then whined and played mind games with EVEYONE on the team. Compare that to what Michael did when he went to Maranello. No public bickering or complaints about co-drivers or failures. Just helped make the team stronger. At least Jenson proclaimed his departure wasn’t over money, but the chance to win. Knowing how cheap Frank is I’ve no doubt that Jenson will not make huge money next year.
The circumstances you say Jacques is a victim of are all of his own making. I have no sympathy for him as he made his own bed and REFUSED to sleep in it QUIETLY! Your point that he toughed it out for five years couldn’t be more off the mark. There was no where else to go at 20 million dollars a year. Do you have any doubts he would have gone if another door had opened for the same money? I will say that given an equal car Jacques would carry the fight to Schumacher. But so would Jenson, Fernando, Juan or Kimi. Or any driver for that matter. Yes, JV is probably one of the few drivers who has passed Michael in anger (Mika also comes to mind, but I agree his time has passed).
My dislike for JV is centered on his self absorbed notion of his own greatness, as propagated by Pollock and perpetuated by JV himself. If he had stayed at Williams, or gone to McLaren there is no doubt in my mind that Schuey would not have six championships in a row. JV would undoubtedly have won a couple of more titles and made all of our spectating lives that much more enjoyable.
One championship to show for all that talent, but a healthy savings account. What a waste!!
George,
First, I agree with your feelings about Richards. I probably find him more despicable that you do. But Jenson Button seems to have made an attempt to outdo him. And, in the end, if Villeneuve can get back in a top car by joining BAR, I’d forget about the rest.
Villeneuve did in fact leave Williams for a huge contract. However, he left a Williams team that had fallen apart, at least as far as the car was involved. Just seeing a picture of that red Williams makes me ill. I can’t say I would have made a different decision than Villeneuve. I agree that Villeneuve got sick of driving for the BAR team with its underperforming car (which top driver wouldn’t), but I disagree that he could have stopped Mika and Michael had he stayed in the Williams. He would have had to beat Mika with the red Williams (you don’t really believe that car was competitive). The only year that the blue Compaq/HP car might have stopped Michael was last year, when Juan Pablo made a run for the championship. Nevertheless, Ferrari has been the dominant car on the grid since Mika’s 2 World Championships. You, yourself have stated what a mistake it is for Button to go from BAR to Williams. Your exact words are: “I think it’s Juan pressing a crapwagon to the ragged edge and keeping it on track through sheer skill and reflex. Jenson, you poor bugger, you have no idea what you’re in for next year!” I agree with you there. So, in the end, which was the better move? The only problem is, as you’ve stated, that JV can irritate people. Richards got rid of JV for some reason. Maybe that was his reason. It wasn’t future contract money, as JV stated he would take quite a cut to keep driving. (He wouldn’t go to a lousy team, but he’d not worry about the money any more
I know a lot of people think JV has no shot at all of driving for BAR next year. A fairly extensive interview with Jacques appears now in Autosport. Feel free to go to Autosport and read the entire article. Jacques admits there are some at BAR who still may have problems with a JV return. But a return is certainly not out of the question.
If F1 does not work out next year, he’ll apparently go to NASCAR, and in my opinion, take a lot of fans with him. NASCAR will gain the international interest that it does not currently have and I, who have never been a big stock car fan, will start watching every race. A JV move from F1 to NASCAR will HURT Formula One in the United States, and will have some affect elsewhere as well (certainly Canada).
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One of the questions in Autosport is about Jacques supposed “poor attitude.”
Q: In the past there was some criticism of your attitude. How do you feel about that?
“There have been a lot of criticisms about my attitude, but a lot of it has been perception more than reality. I don’t think anybody could see from the outside the amount of work I was putting in, and the amount of internal pressure and stress that there was, because I didn’t make it apparent, and I didn’t use the media to bitch about it. I tried to keep it all internal. If you talk to the marketing people inside the team they’ll tell you all the PR side was done professionally, and well.
“There was never a problem with that, and I’ve no idea where this perception came from. Over the last few years I’m one of the drivers who did the most testing and the most work for the team. The only thing is I didn’t spend my time with the media trying to cure it, because I was busy driving and racing, and there were enough troubled internally that I didn’t have time to sit down with the media during the day. That’s when it started, and then it festered.
“Now everybody believes that I was the biggest devil in F1