If it is me, please tell me and I will attempt to get help. Patrick basically stated that his driver lineup of Ralph and Juan is a better driver lineup than MS and ________(You choose, anyone in F1).Ralph or Juan have not even come close to doing what MS has done. He makes bad teams good and slow cars faster. Jaun and Ralph walked into a quality team with a fairly quick car and went quick. No magic there. Both seem to have very good potential but have not shown(yet) that they have what it takes. Shuey put a pitifal Jordan on the seventh spot of the grid his very first race. Brought Benetton team two championships and the ailing Ferarri two. Most wins, 4 championships and has a reasonable chance to come close to Senna's pole record. Ralph and Juan are better, probably not. Am I alone on this thinking?

 

I don't think Schumacher's outstanding ability is questioned only Ferrari's driver line up. Williams is "doing the talk" pre-season. What Patrick's trying to say is that with Ralph & Montoya he's got a stronger line up than Ferrari. Maybe he has a point, maybe not, it depends on where your affinities line I guess.

 

I have not seen his comments in the context that they were made, however I would guess that what he is getting at is ..... if they have the No.2 and No.3 drivers in F1 (assuming everyone agrees that MS is No.1) they are in a better position than Ferrari. It is important for a team to consistently finish high in each race. Ferrari may be seen to be putting all their eggs in one basket with MS, which means that if he crashes out, or has some problem, they are left with "a.n. other" to put in a good performance. Williams, on the other hand, have two drivers cappable of winning or coming close, which gives them better odds should something happen to one of their drivers.....

(This is not necessarily my opinion, just my take on what Patrick Head could be referring to )

 

Williams have always favoured spending their money on the cars rather than the drivers - look at what happened to mesrs Mansell, Prost and Hill when they asked for pay hikes.... A fairly good driver in a top flight Williams can see off the best driver (Williams Hill/Schumacher Benneton) enough to glean them the championship. I also feel that Williams look more to the constructors championship than some other teams so having two race winning opportunities is best for them...

I would say that their driver line up is more than capable of winning races but given the infighting between them a concerted attack on the drivers championship is less likely.

 

Tif made a good point

I get the impression that Frank Williams (remember it is his team with his name) never wants anybody to think that they alone did the winning - the total package wins, chassis, engine, driver, tyres - However some drivers are inspirational and generate a lot more opportunities than just a fast lap time. I think that's the difference Senna/MS has over the team - their focus and intensity to get everybody to improve - which can also makes them look selfish/spoilt etc etc. I like Damon a lot, but what did he do at arrows/jordan apart from collect cash?

 

You might be right about the interpetation. And it was a magazine reporting this so.....If you care to read about it I saw it on Autosport.com. If they would absolutely not welcome MS to the team, they have got to be one of the only teams not too. Well McLaren probably would not either, Dennis probably would not allow that no matter what. Too many persanal issues between the two.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by carace
[B]You might be right about the interpetation.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by carace
[B]Well McLaren probably would not either, Dennis probably would not allow that no matter what.

 

I might be wrong there also. Peoples views can change drastically and make concessions when it will get them what they want. Dennis is very hard headed and has alot of pride. I say the chances for Shumacher are still very good at making it five this year because the Williams duo seem very intent on "one upping each other. MS usually just morally crushes his teammate and just accepts the team will be behind him for the most part unless something exceptional happens(ie. a broken leg and Irvine very close in the championship). Rubens has actually handled it better than probably any other teammate I can think of. Probably one reason there will never be top driver teamed up with him. Not likely anyone else in F1 would be able to consistantly beat him in an identical car. This is gonna be a very good season for the fan, except that ESPN will probably end up with the boradcasts. Well, no more televised qualifying