Schumi drove brilliantly and the Ferraris were definately the two fastest cars on the track. Only 5 points difference in the Constructors Championship, that's just too close. Of course I would have liked to see Alonso fail to finish, and Schumacher to win, but it was a great victory for Massa none the less. I hope he doesn't get penalized for grabbing that Brazilian flag from one of the marshalls.
Next year is going to be very interesting indeed. Everyone on Bridgestones and no Schumacher! It doesn't seem right.
Formula 1
Moderator: Priests of Syrinx
Hi Luv,schuette wrote:well that's it.....F1 has not got (what I consider) the greatest driver they've had.....and if you dont agree with that you have to agree that he was the greatest driver of this era...
he might not have won and he might not have got his 8th WDC but he did me proud....he couldnt go back out in the last qualifying due to a car problem so started from 10th on the grid.
he made it upto 6th position in just a couple of laps then the safety car came out cuz of a dillion of a crash by Rosberg....after the safety car went in Schuey immediately tried to overtake Fisi.....whether it was contact with Fisi (when he did get passed him) or debris on the track Schuey got a puncture which eventually put him in last position....70 secs behind Massa (the leader) and about 30 secs behind the 2nd last driver....this is when he did me proud....with the brilliance and speed that made him the best driver he fought back to eventually get 4th along with a brilliant pass on Kimi!....he was 5secs behind Button for a place on the podium....although he still wouldnt have got the WDC if it wasnt for the puncture he would have definitely won the race.
And yes I did cry......I've always admitted I'm a sap when it comes to F1 and Schuey
I watched a little of it with ya and thought about you. It was a rough ride for him huh? They showed it on The Speed Channel here.
I had to go just after Schuey had to pit and went back to 17th...The Webber wreck was AWESOME!!! Glad he's okai.
I loved the coverage, and understand how you feel now. Sorry for all the kidding. It was an emotional ride. I was impressed. Hugs.
((((((Schu :*))))))
Don't start none...won't be none.
-
Walkinghairball
- Posts: 25037
- Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2004 9:42 pm
- Location: In a rock an roll venue near you....as long as you are in the Pacific Northwest.
Mellow Montoya enjoying smooth NASCAR ride
Juan Pablo Montoya wasn't fazed by the
fiery crash that ended his Nextel Cup debut. And
if Ryan Newman wrecked him on purpose,
Montoya doesn't care.
The brash Colombian is taking a "no worries"
approach to his first season in NASCAR, which
is shaping up to be one crazy ride already. His
switch from the country club Formula One lifestyle
to the campfire NASCAR culture has so far
been smooth, despite an overwhelming interest in
his every move that is quickly overshadowing many
of his new rivals.
"From what I understand he's bigger than a rock
star in his country," said Newman, a rival Dodge driver.
"Just seeing him, he's got a great character, a great
attitude. I think he's got a learning curve ahead of him;
obviously every rookie does. But I think he's capable of it.
"If I had to pick a winner of rookie of the year off the
top of my head right now, I'd say it would be him."
Newman and Montoya have already had one on-track
run-in, in November's season finale Cup race at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. Montoya was having a
decent first race until contact with Newman sent him
hard into the wall and caused his car to burst into flames.
Although observers feared that Montoya, a veteran
of open-wheel cockpits, could not quickly extract
himself from the car, he deftly maneuvered through
the safety equipment and climbed to safety. Two months
later, he scoffs at those who wonder if that harrowing
initial experience has made him question his move
to NASCAR.
"There was a lot of fire ... but if you look at it from
where I am sitting, it was nothing," he said during
testing this week at Daytona International Speedway.
"I looked in the mirror and there were flames
everywhere and I was 'OK, you know what you've
got to do.' You can't rush it. If you tried to rush, you
are going to get out slow. Make sure you unplug the
radio ... make sure you shake your head enough to
pull the "Hans" (head-and-neck restaining system)
out, steering off, nets down - that's a new one for
me - and get out."
Although many thought Newman's contact with
Montoya was intentional, Montoya said he never gave
the incident a second thought and never expected
any sort of apology.
"There is nothing to apologize for," he said. "We are
racing there and racing hard and things like that will
happen."
But as the two came face-to-face this week at a
Dodge function, Newman still felt the need to explain
himself.
"I think the world of you and would never do that,"
Newman said. "And if I did, I'd come talk to you about
it after."
"I just do it. I don't talk about it," Montoya replied with
a grin.
Montoya indeed has been that way in the past, when his
aggressive nature caused many incidents through his
days in CART and Formula One. But he's
trying hard to rein in that ultra-competitive streak and
approach each new day in NASCAR as a learning
experience.
He wants to be patient, and convince his rivals that he
can be that way. He's also intent on showing respect,
not forcing anything and paying his dues. Just don't
mistake that approach as a built-in excuse to fail, or
as an acceptance of mediocrity.
"Do we want to win races? Yes. Is the Chase in sight?
Yes. Are we going to make it? I don't know," he said.
"I'm not used to the top 10 being good. You know, in
Formula One, you finish fourth and you suck.
You're always going to have that open-wheel mentality."
"I need to get to the point where I realize that if we
finish in the top 10, that's a good day. But we need to
set higher goals, too."
That's been evident during the three days of testing at
Daytona, where Montoya has been consistently quick and
near the top of the speed charts. He even paced the
field in Tuesday's session of single-lap runs. The success
of his No. 42 car has trickled to teammate David
Stremme, who has also been fast this week and trailed
only Montoya as the Chip Ganassi Racing team went
1-2 on Tuesday morning.
But there's a flipside to Montoya's arrival and the enormous
spotlight he brought with him. There doesn't seem to be
much interest leftover for teammates Stremme and Reed
Sorenson, and sometimes even the more established
NASCAR stars can be overlooked in his presence.
Mark (The 'Worm' - as we Jr. Fans call him) Martin,
himself considered one of NASCAR's greatest drivers, said
it's all par for the course with Montoya.
"He's a world class champion. World - Class - Champion,"
Martin said. "I know that he can do this and he will do this
and he will be a great asset to NASCAR and he will have
a very wonderful career. He's going to win big in this
sport, just like he has in everything else that he's done."
The one thing Montoya would like to do this season is
widen his fan base. He's already got a loyal U.S.
following from his CART days, and has a fanatical
Latin American base. Before he's finished, he'd like to
add NASCAR fans to his club.
"I'm a guy that likes driving the wheels off the race car,"
he said. "I'll race hard. I'll have a little respect for the
guys I'm racing against, and I think the fans will like that.
I think we're going to see a lot of 'Oh yeah, he's nice.'
"You're going to see some fans that think it's a
great thing and some other good ol' boys
(NASCAR has THOSE???)
that say, 'We don't want you.' "
Juan Pablo Montoya wasn't fazed by the
fiery crash that ended his Nextel Cup debut. And
if Ryan Newman wrecked him on purpose,
Montoya doesn't care.
The brash Colombian is taking a "no worries"
approach to his first season in NASCAR, which
is shaping up to be one crazy ride already. His
switch from the country club Formula One lifestyle
to the campfire NASCAR culture has so far
been smooth, despite an overwhelming interest in
his every move that is quickly overshadowing many
of his new rivals.
"From what I understand he's bigger than a rock
star in his country," said Newman, a rival Dodge driver.
"Just seeing him, he's got a great character, a great
attitude. I think he's got a learning curve ahead of him;
obviously every rookie does. But I think he's capable of it.
"If I had to pick a winner of rookie of the year off the
top of my head right now, I'd say it would be him."
Newman and Montoya have already had one on-track
run-in, in November's season finale Cup race at
Homestead-Miami Speedway. Montoya was having a
decent first race until contact with Newman sent him
hard into the wall and caused his car to burst into flames.
Although observers feared that Montoya, a veteran
of open-wheel cockpits, could not quickly extract
himself from the car, he deftly maneuvered through
the safety equipment and climbed to safety. Two months
later, he scoffs at those who wonder if that harrowing
initial experience has made him question his move
to NASCAR.
"There was a lot of fire ... but if you look at it from
where I am sitting, it was nothing," he said during
testing this week at Daytona International Speedway.
"I looked in the mirror and there were flames
everywhere and I was 'OK, you know what you've
got to do.' You can't rush it. If you tried to rush, you
are going to get out slow. Make sure you unplug the
radio ... make sure you shake your head enough to
pull the "Hans" (head-and-neck restaining system)
out, steering off, nets down - that's a new one for
me - and get out."
Although many thought Newman's contact with
Montoya was intentional, Montoya said he never gave
the incident a second thought and never expected
any sort of apology.
"There is nothing to apologize for," he said. "We are
racing there and racing hard and things like that will
happen."
But as the two came face-to-face this week at a
Dodge function, Newman still felt the need to explain
himself.
"I think the world of you and would never do that,"
Newman said. "And if I did, I'd come talk to you about
it after."
"I just do it. I don't talk about it," Montoya replied with
a grin.
Montoya indeed has been that way in the past, when his
aggressive nature caused many incidents through his
days in CART and Formula One. But he's
trying hard to rein in that ultra-competitive streak and
approach each new day in NASCAR as a learning
experience.
He wants to be patient, and convince his rivals that he
can be that way. He's also intent on showing respect,
not forcing anything and paying his dues. Just don't
mistake that approach as a built-in excuse to fail, or
as an acceptance of mediocrity.
"Do we want to win races? Yes. Is the Chase in sight?
Yes. Are we going to make it? I don't know," he said.
"I'm not used to the top 10 being good. You know, in
Formula One, you finish fourth and you suck.
You're always going to have that open-wheel mentality."
"I need to get to the point where I realize that if we
finish in the top 10, that's a good day. But we need to
set higher goals, too."
That's been evident during the three days of testing at
Daytona, where Montoya has been consistently quick and
near the top of the speed charts. He even paced the
field in Tuesday's session of single-lap runs. The success
of his No. 42 car has trickled to teammate David
Stremme, who has also been fast this week and trailed
only Montoya as the Chip Ganassi Racing team went
1-2 on Tuesday morning.
But there's a flipside to Montoya's arrival and the enormous
spotlight he brought with him. There doesn't seem to be
much interest leftover for teammates Stremme and Reed
Sorenson, and sometimes even the more established
NASCAR stars can be overlooked in his presence.
Mark (The 'Worm' - as we Jr. Fans call him) Martin,
himself considered one of NASCAR's greatest drivers, said
it's all par for the course with Montoya.
"He's a world class champion. World - Class - Champion,"
Martin said. "I know that he can do this and he will do this
and he will be a great asset to NASCAR and he will have
a very wonderful career. He's going to win big in this
sport, just like he has in everything else that he's done."
The one thing Montoya would like to do this season is
widen his fan base. He's already got a loyal U.S.
following from his CART days, and has a fanatical
Latin American base. Before he's finished, he'd like to
add NASCAR fans to his club.
"I'm a guy that likes driving the wheels off the race car,"
he said. "I'll race hard. I'll have a little respect for the
guys I'm racing against, and I think the fans will like that.
I think we're going to see a lot of 'Oh yeah, he's nice.'
"You're going to see some fans that think it's a
great thing and some other good ol' boys
(NASCAR has THOSE???)
that say, 'We don't want you.' "Don't start none...won't be none.