Jv ... Bmw, Bar... A1 Even !!??

[KoolMonkey 0]

Jacques being doing very well of late and getting better results as the season goes on. The media hounding has died out completely concerning him which I'm sure is nice for him. Today Heidfeld got he official nod for seat #1 at BMW. I like Heidfeld and hope he does well. So this leaves us with the question of who get's seat #2. One thing that really unsettles me is Mario Theissen. For one his moustache is just plain scary , but more than that, I get the feeling he dislikes JV alot for some reason not known to us. I gonna approach this from the angle of who else other than JV would be suitable.

- Sato > no chance. and as far as him staying with BAR, I think he's got a 5-10% chance of that.

- Pizzonia > possible but highly unlikely. I don't think BMW will want Williams table scraps as Pizza boy is prob not gonna be in the Williams next year either. I feel sorry for the poor guy. Time to head to A1 or Indy cars for him.

- Davidson > possible but the fact he hasn't been able to get a seat over Sato says something. His best bet looks like Jordan.

- Monteiro > dont' know on this one. he's got some skill but I'm still p**sed at his celebrating at the USA Grand Prix.

- Karthikeyan > no chance at all.

- Liuzzi > no. he's either gonna be in the RB car #2 or the RB Minardi car #1 seat.

- The french Renault driver (forgot his name lol) > I doubt it very much.

- The dutch Minardi duo > hmm, one will prob end up at Jordan most likely and the other as a test driver or heck I have no idea lol.

So then this leaves us with some other choices...

- Speed > he's gonna get the second seat at either one of the RB teams

- Rosberg > Williams bound probably. At least as a test driver.

After typing this all in, I have no idea whose gonna get the seat lol. But it would be idiotic not to retain JV. His technical input is miles ahead of any of the other mentioned drivers. His performances are getting better with each race and no doubt his confidence is gaining as well. If JV does not get the drive at BMW, where will that leave him.

Well, Williams perhaps. A longshot but he did win his WDC with them. BAR could be an option if they don't get Button. I'm sure Honda would love him back and him and Barrichello would be an awesome team. Jordan maybe if they havn't signed their 2nd driver as yet. Renault if Flavio finally boots Fisi out of the team. Though I'd hate to see him go there as Renaults treatment of the #2 driver seems a little off to me. What about Toyota? Well they are notorious for their driver turnovers. Both Trulli and RS have been quite unhappy lately with Trulli bizarely attacking the team concerning tyre choices at SPA. Not a good sign. If JV ends up not getting a drive in F1, I sure as heck hope he gets a shot with the Canadian A1GP team. Why not eh! I think A1 is gonna be huge. It'll never top F1 but it will certainly top GP2 and Indy Car. Then there's Cart/IRL that he could goto. I'd hate to see him go there. If there was still just one series before they split up, then it'd be a different story. But now it's mediocre and heck I havn't watched it at all since the split.

Anyway, I hope JV get's some good luck/karma and other such things coming his way.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

If BMW don't keep JV, I can't see any other team taking him. But you're right that there aren't exactly any suitable alternatives - Wurz would like to race again but I doubt bmw would take that risk

[CC 0]

They should use Jacques for one year to help develop their new car then just not renew his contract after that, unless he pulls a rabbit out of a hat and does remarkably well for them. If he does leave F1, then A1 would be the more likely destination, after that going back to America perhaps.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

I dont think any f1 driver would go to A1 straight from f1. A1 appears to be for far-inferior drivers. I think JV should join the ex-f1 star gang in the DTM, they all seem to love it there - I don't blame them, it looks fun!

[KoolMonkey 0]

If BMW don't keep JV, I can't see any other team taking him. But you're right that there aren't exactly any suitable alternatives - Wurz would like to race again but I doubt bmw would take that risk

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hmm, I forgot about Wurz and de la Rosa. Odd as this sounds, for me the 2 most exciting things to happen in F1 races this year was PDR's racing in Bahrain and Kimi's heroics with the flatspotted tyre. If PDR got the seat over JV I wouldn't be as sad, but he's older than JV so it would be odd. Plus the fact he's not had a proper race seat for quite sometime would make it a real strange choice over JV who is putting in some very good performances in a mediocre car.

I'm thinking just what CC mentioned. Keep him one for the remainder of his contract to help their new team, cause lets face it, they're gonna more than likely struggle or even worse just plain suck for awhile until the development money starts paying off.

As far as A1GP goes Jem, well yeah why would any driver go from F1 to A1. Well unlike GP2 which will never get a following since it's hardly televised and has this stigma of a poormans F1, A1 has country against country and will goto tracks F1 doesn't goto, will get airtime GP2 only dreamed of and so on. A1 is gonna be successful no doubt. JV is not old enough to goto DTM just yet. Sure he'll have some fun there, but he could still put in 2-3 years in F1 before then.

[C.A.L. 0]

BMW may want to trade J.V. to Renault for Fishichella or to some other team for cash/test driver etc.

I think Renault could be in alot of bad future waters if Fishi wants out like Rubens wanted out from Ferrari even though he had a year to go on his contract. Sometimes a driver just needs fresh air on a different F1 Team to clear his head.

Rubens is going to be happy no matter what on BARF1 , his time at Ferrari showed future as closed ended. Fishi may see the same at Renault and BMW may just think this is better for their own interests - what ever they are.

BMW are looking at their preceived options, I think they almost want J.V. to do well in the remaining races so he can be more marketable in trade for next year.

Would be odd to trade away a driver that has more points presently than Massa whom Ferrari grabbed. ...more oddly still that J.V. has 4 points since Montreal compared to Heidfeld's 3 pts with Williams being the better car. Webber of course doing little better either. So is it just the car?

[nojvnof1 0]

I think JV will be at BMW in 2006. I'm not 100% confident, but I think all will work out well, although the thought of what happened to him in 2003 is in the back of my mind. Should BMW not retain Jacques, I think JV's best chance to remain in F1 would be with Williams or Renault, although the latter is a very remote chance.

I think he could go to Williams if Button stays at BAR. He has a past association with the team and there wouldn't be all too many drivers ahead of him in a prospective race seat list, although Rosberg would provide stiff competition.

The only way I see JV at Renault is if BMW swap JV for Fisi. Should JV not stay in F1, then the only way I won't remain very bitter by the experience would be if a driver such as Klein, Wurz or Rosberg were to take his seat. I'd be mightily angry if BMW threw in a donkey as BAR did when they replaced JV with Sato. To ditch a driver for another who is of equal or superior talent is one thing, but to ditch a driver for another who is significantly worse is another.

[cavallino 2]

Jv is not going to Renault I can assure oyu. itwill either be Fizzy having another miserable season or Webber getting thrashed by alonso.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Flavio seems like a guy you don't want to get on his bad side lol. You know his mafioso family etc. lol. Just kidding. Seriously I wonder why Fisi went back there. Flavio has been guarded but if you look at some of the things he's said about Fisi, he's not happy. I'd be happy with Webber being in the team as Alonso would annihilate him lol.

If it was the only seat avail and it was an option, sure I'd be happy for JV to get it, but if he has choices, then hell no, it woud have to the last possible option avail to him. But I just plain think it's not gonna be an option.

[cavallino 2]

[quote]You know his mafioso family etc. lol.[/quote]

I know people too

[Jem of the Shire 0]

JV to Renault?? Thats a wild rumour!! Flav admitted last year that it was a mistake to put jv in the car and dump Trulli, I don't think flav would want him back, and I'd be absolutely amazed if williams took him! Its got to be BMW or nothing. BMW should be careful cos if they do drop him they're going to have to release a damn good statement to the media that explains how and why they've done it. It would create bad publicity, but then they've had a lot of that during 2005 anyway

[blueboots 0]

JV to Renault?? Thats a wild rumour!! Flav admitted last year that it was a mistake to put jv in the car and dump Trulli, I don't think flav would want him back, and I'd be absolutely amazed if williams took him! Its got to be BMW or nothing. BMW should be careful cos if they do drop him they're going to have to release a damn good statement to the media that explains how and why they've done it. It would create bad publicity, but then they've had a lot of that during 2005 anyway

Flav is a man who changes his mind every minute, so don't ever dismiss the possibility that JV could drive for Renault once again. (even though it's remote at best).

JV will be at BMW next year, there is no sane reason to dump him when the first year is just going to be a development and transition year. All the Sauber staff want to have him drive for 2006. They have Nick and thats all they really care about (Except getting MS).

And JV going to A1 would be interesting but it won't happen.

[nojvnof1 0]

Flav is a man who changes his mind every minute,

reminds me of a current driver on the grid, any guesses?

I think I better be off before the backlash starts

[Jem of the Shire 0]

Now you must perish!

[Senna 0]

I dont think any f1 driver would go to A1 straight from f1. A1 appears to be for far-inferior drivers. I think JV should join the ex-f1 star gang in the DTM, they all seem to love it there - I don't blame them, it looks fun!

Indeed.

[KoolMonkey 0]

True Senna, but A1GP is gonna be in the F1 offseason so it will get coverage GP2 does not get. It'll be exciting and I think within a very short time it'll get a huge following and be second only to F1. Can't wait.

[nojvnof1 0]

I wouldn't totally rule out Williams for Jacques. What with Button reportedly staying at BAR, Williams unhappy with Webber and BMW seemingly having minor talks with Webber about joining the team (it was a story on a motorsport show here on the weekend, Webber said Mario enquired about his services and would have welcomed him to join BMW, why I have no idea...), then there could be a Webber/JV swap in the offing. It's a remote chance, but this is F1 remember.

With these latest developments, if I were Jacques, I'd be right on Mario's back demanding to know where he stands, so he can get in contact with Williams if it's not good news. Yes I know some will say if Williams wanted JV they'd have had him in '04, but you never know if you don't try. JV needs to learn from his error in 2003 and talk with other teams, cos in 2003 he talked with BAR exclusively, then got dumped.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Webber to BMW? Man that's a hard one to swallow . But I agree nojv, CP better be doing his job on behalf of JV as far as talking to teams go. If JV did get a seat at Williams on a say 2yr contract that would be ok I guess since we'll get to see more of JV. But he'll be in a dud car in a team that for some reason doesn't know what they are doing anymore.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

I'd like to see JV at williams but if paired with rosberg he will be expected to dominate his team-mate, so could end up getting showed up! Probably better than Webber though

[nojvnof1 0]

I'd expect Rosberg to provide a challenge to Jacques, just as Jacques did with his far more experienced teammate in Damon Hill. Rosberg is a very talented kid and JV is basically about at the end of his career. Whilst I'd expect JV to win that battle, I'd say it would be close than most will predict it to be.

[Senna 0]

I'd expect Rosberg to provide a challenge to Jacques, just as Jacques did with his far more experienced teammate in Damon Hill. Rosberg is a very talented kid and JV is basically about at the end of his career. Whilst I'd expect JV to win that battle, I'd say it would be close than most will predict it to be.

He would be doing ok if he could offer similar competition but the battle between the 1996 Williams team-mates was not particularly close as I explained some months ago:

Damon got twice as many victories (winning 50% of the total races in 1996) and three times as many pole positions as his Canadian team-mate. Damon also finished the season 19 points ahead and had two perfect weekends (pole/win/fastest lap), Jacques had no perfect weekends. Furthermore Damon retired from 4 GPs, Jacques retired from 3. Damon led the World Championship of 1996 from start to finish (from Australia to Japan). Damon was utterly dominant and he would have won even more convincingly if it weren

[nojvnof1 0]

19 point gap, pretty respectible for a rookie up against a far more experienced teammate. Hill had two scrappy races in Hungary and Belgium, prior to him being dumped so you cannot use that excuse to solely explain his drop in form at the end of the year, Suzuka apart. I think we will just have to agree to disagree on this topic.