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On this page we list a selection of reader's responses to the Heretic Issues with the latest listed first. Issue 4-29 (The year of the prancing horse) Alberto R from Paraguay writes: Sure we are seeing the demise of independent teams (although too slowly). In fact it's surprising how they afford to stay in F1 for so long. I think any competition must be among equals, I mean among car manufacturers, and that should be a condition to professional car racing The Heretic replies: Alberto, I cannot deny that you have a perfectly valid view. It is however sad to see the demise of the independents as traditionally they were by far the majority. At the end of the day they can’t compete Issue 4-28 (As the season is over, will we see a real race?) Warren L C from the USA writes: Hello,......I have to
agree with the Ferrari "owning" F1. I remember with more and more
fondness the Hell bent for leather duels that Ayrton Senna and my favorite
Nigel Mansell........That my friend was racing!!!!!! The Heretic replies: We have seen domination of a constructor to this extent or even greater before. What we have not seen with the other teams is such a big difference in drivers. When McLaren were dominant they had Senna and Prost driving for them, when Williams were dominant Mansell did have competition. Rubens Barrichello can be as fast as Michael but on selected circuits only and there are not enough of these to make a difference. Don’t worry the red cars will not be dominant forever. At Suzuka you got your way. There was little coverage of the leaders and massive coverage of Sato circulating by himself. I do wish that they can get it right. Watching close racing for tenth position is far more interesting than watching a lone leader circulate Issue 4-26 (Is it all Ferrari now ?) Frank from the USA writes: What is this absurd story
of BMW power? We have been hearing about the BMW power will keep the Williams
cars close at so many circuits now (Canada, Germany, Austria, Spa, now Monza).
this is a laugh! week after week the preview is that these "More Powerful
BMW Engines" will challenge the Ferrari's. Well it has not happened! Not
Even Close! Handling = Horsepower = Speed! The Heretic replies: Frank, There is not much in your note that I can disagree with. Rumours still have it that BMW have the most power and there is still the possibility that Bridgestone is superior (not supported by the performance of other Bridgestone teams, but then they are not strong) but it certainly looks as if Ferrari have won on all counts, including power. Issue 4-19 (I don't mind being right ...) Jeff S from the USA writes: This won't be one of those e-mails taking you to task for "Coming down on Ralf." In fact I think Ralf has had it too easy because of his name. He is no where near as good a driver as his brother, in fact I would rate him as an average F-1 driver. He has a huge advantage with the Williams team because they have one of the best cars currently. The crash with DC and JPM was a racing incident, but I think JPM had to know what kind of shape his tires were in and should have been less aggressive going into turn 1, maybe DC should have waited for a better passing opportunity but he was being held up. The Heretic replies: I think that Ralf could do very well in the right team – but in the right team most of the drivers will do well. I agree Ralf is average. Issue 4-17 (McLaren on the way up ?) Marius V from South Africa writes: On the question of McLaren getting faster? -Definately!. David might not have a realistic chance of winning this championship, but he definitely will take points away from BMW Williams. I truly believe that because McLaren got written off so early in the season, caused BMW Williams to get over confident as the only competitor for Ferrari. Ralph on the other hand did not have enough pace to overtake Kimi and neither could Montoya prove to be significantly quicker than David after his second pitstop. We will see more non Ferrari wins during this season. McLaren & Williams I am sure, will see to it!! The Heretic replies: I hope you are right. A Ferrari dominated season will get boring if Williams also dominates the second place Cooky from Australia writes: I believe this was McLaren's one and only win for the year, sorry Ron. The Heretic replies: There is always Hungary, but you are probably right. It will take a lot of luck to repeat this performance Issue 4-15 (A rare win for McLaren) John N from the USA writes: Why do you say that Ralf "was well off Montoya's pace in the other Williams"???? Both Ralf and Schumi were stuck behind Montoya until he retired. Montoya's driving was all over the place and certainly not fast. The Heretic replies: For the early part of the race you are very correct but during the last half he just gave up. He was over a minute behind his brother and the additional pit stop should only account for 30 seconds, which he should be able to shrink on new tyres. He did not seem to be going as fast as he can. Cooky from Australia writes: I believe this was McLaren's one and only win for the year, sorry Ron. The Heretic replies: There is always Hungary, but you are probably right. It will take a lot of luck to repeat this performance Issue 4-13 (Confusing corporate objectives with sport) Alberto R from Paraguay writes: You are right sir. Ferrari is mixing corporate objectives with sport. This time it is extremely hard to stand it. I wonder why the FIA don't change what is obviously a systemic issue: drivers can't be prisoners of the brands; they should be ranked based on their own talent, somehow like tennis players! Of course, brands could ban incompetent drivers too. Best regards The Heretic replies: Hi Alberto, “Hard to stand it” is pretty much how I feel too. I wonder if the FIA has the guts or power to change as much as you are suggesting. Dan T from R. of Moldova writes: The article is more or less in touch with the reality. The only thing I don't quite agree about is the distance between Ferrari and Williams. If we take into consideration the two safety-car periods that messed up Williams' one-pit-stop strategy we realise that it is not as big as it has been illustrated though surely notable The Heretic replies: Dan, I hope you are right, but it does not look good. This year Williams do not have the power advantage they had before and seem to not have a competitive chassis or aerodynamics. Issue 4-12 (The Ferraris will fly) Andre' from RSA writes: Absolutely - Ferrari (MS) has all the cards stacked for them - totally unbeatable - to give others a chance MS should drive the Minardi - will most likely earn a piont or two ???? The Heretic replies: If he drove a Minardi I wonder if Yoong would be expected to give him second last? Gregg T from Swaziland writes: I fully agree. Michael
Schumacher will win this race without a doubt. He will be five times world
champion. A lot of people do not like him, I personally think he is the
greatest, even better than Senna. It's not easy for one person to turn a 21
year losing streak into the top team to beat. The Heretic replies: Answering your second question first – it is well over US $100 million, the lion share from Ferrari. It appears that Ferrari had the same lack of doubt in mind. Schumacher has never been good or lucky in Austria – but I guess Ferrari could and did help Issue 4-11 (What does Barrichello have to do) Rob from Australia writes: Frentzen deserved that
point!! The Heretic replies: Somebody has to come up with challenge for Ferrari – it could be Ford, but I doubt it. Charlie from the USA writes: A boring race indeed! It has been a very long time since we had seen a car/driver combination look so strong. You could go back to the early 1990's with Nigel Mansell driving the all active Williams/Renault. What is amazing to me about the F1-2002 is how late it was coming out of the factory and the very little time the team had to test it. Fresh out of the shipping crates, the new car proved not only to be very fast, but very reliable. If I were a team principal, I would seriously wonder if it's worth showing up at the next race. Because even if the F1-2002 have some major problem, Ferrari could always revert back to last year's F1-2001 chassis and still be competitive with the McLaren, Williams and the other teams. The Heretic replies: They sure are fast – I just wonder how much faster they could be if they wanted? George JZ from Lebanon writes: Q: What does Barrichello have to do? A: When he catches Michael looking the other way, he should swap cars. OR... borrow Michael's lucky rabbit's foot. The Heretic replies: It would probably be easier to swap podium positions when Michael is not looking. Issue 4-09 (A Cakewalk) Martin G from the UK writes: I agree with the comments on McLaren. They really seem to be in trouble. At their current rate of improvement, Renault should pass them both in race and qualifying within a few races. DC has always been over rated. The McLaren-Mercedes cars of '98 and '99 flattered his driving abilities. McLaren may make him one of the scapegoats for their failure in 2002. Expect to see DC in a mid field time like Jaguar or Jordan next year. The Heretic replies: A good driver in a very fast car can win races and that is where McLaren were for the past two seasons. I agree with you David Coulthard will not be able to make up for the weaknesses of the McLaren. If the car was slightly better Raikkonen may be able to. Issue 4-08 (Will Barrichello be allowed a F2002 ?) Paul from the USA writes: A very good article! I agree with it in all aspects, perhaps I would put even more emphasize on the danger of Montoya's driving and his philosophy and I would not be thus optimist that he is going to saddle down. The Heretic replies: Not much more I can add Issue 4-07 (Was Michael trying ?) GOP from the Netherlands writes: Though it could be true that Both Michael, Brown and Todt decided not to push too hard to risk breakdown, the question is, why they did not get the pole or at least try for? After watching the qualifying, it was obvious that Michael was slower in the first part but extremely fast in the second. And in my opinion, Ralf and his Bosses must have decided to content with a second and few points rather than risk a spin in a difficult track. Afterall, that's what is being counted (not the no. of fastest laps ;-) The Heretic replies: Going for pole with the only car there may be regarded as too high a risk by the three musketeers. The view may have been that being on the first row is good enough. Ralf, on the other hand, confuses me. I have seen him aggressively push Michael in the past – but it has been infrequently. If he had the pace why not at least try? Cooky from Australia writes: Yes I think Michael did enough to win and no more, Rubens blew up whilst clearing out in an uncompetitive car? Juan Pablo shot himself in the foot, even Patrick Head said so, but clinched fastest lap, only 0.2 faster than Michael's fastest lap and Michael was cruising. On to Imola. The Heretic replies: Hi again Cooky, Imola is about to happen. Will we see Montoya aiming at his foot again or has he been told that he is not to try his best to break everything he gets? I am sure that by now Frank Williams is pretty irate with his antics. What frustrates me is that he has the skill to do well, very well. I would love to see him race Michael because he has the courage to match this considerable skill. Instead we see incident after incident caused by his overaggressive pushing that has little potential for any good outcome and miss the close racing we want to see. Jeff S from the USA writes: I think MS was
trying just hard enough to stay in front of Ralf. How fast is the F-2002?
We'll find out during the season. The Heretic replies: Now McLaren managed to get to the podium – but almost a minute late. Not good. I am sure they will be back but I do not see it soon. Montoya could have done so much better if he used his head, but I am sure he will learn. He is a very fast driver and does not need that much aggression. Tom B from the USA writes: "Kamikaze" sums up JPM. He thrashes wildly and seems pretty skilful at hitting both moving and stationary objects. In person, too, he seems to collide with anything in a hundred meter radius of himself. I love F1, but JPM gives the sort of performance that's enough to put one off watching races with him in them. He lacks professionalism, any sense of respect for others and is just plain crude and offensive. And I'd guess that I'm not alone in noticing this. The Heretic replies: Tom, You surely are not alone in wondering what Montoya is going to run into next. But, he has the skill and speed to be very competitive. Give him another season (if he survives, which is a real concern) and I am sure that he will learn to play the cards that he is dealt rather than force the hand. Geoff from New Zealand writes: Your comments about Montoya are right on the money. He seems to have a chip on his shoulder almost as huge as his ego. It almost looks as if he's going looking for trouble with Michael. How can he possibly blame Michael for the incident in Brazil ? Did Montoya have his eyes closed at the time or something ? Judging from his driving he probably did. I can't deny that Montoya is a great driver, but perhaps the Williams management need to take him aside and tell him to pull his head in. It would be a real shame for all F1 fans to see this situation between these 2 great drivers resulting in regular race retirements or even worse, injury or death The Heretic replies: I could not agree more. It is bad enough to see one of them retire almost every race but the risk of injury is too great. A battle of wills it may be, but when it gets this personal someone is going to get hurt. Montoya is a great driver and if he did pull his head in just a little we could see great battles between him and Michael. So far this season it has mainly been incidents. Daniel B from Uruguay writes: Juan Pablo Montoya just continues to drive right up to Michael car and he expect the 4 times champion of F1 get out of the way, he lose the pole position because the best driver behind him made a better move. The guy is foolish, I hate negative comment but this attitude from JP Montoya must stop The Heretic replies: We have seen this sort of conflict before (Senna and Prost comes to mind) and eventually sensibility returns. I hope in this case it is sooner rather than later. Jaime B writes: Was Michael trying? What was Michael Schumacher trying to do in the Brazilian GP? He was trying to win. To win he had to finish the race with the 2002 car, which might still be unreliable. Had Michael pushed the car, set a series of lap records and then experienced some sort of mechanical failure and not finish the race, then that would have been a sad situation. My feeling is that Michael used due caution with the 2002 car. Someone pointed out recently that Ferrari has been wining by narrow margins, unlike the Williams and McLaren cars of a few years ago. At times the Williams and McLaren cars simple ran away with the races. Because of this situation, Michael simply focused on either winning or scoring points. What I find interesting about Formula One drivers is that they are relatively cool headed and self-restrained. The Heretic replies: I think you are absolutely right, but how much pace did the car really have? Is it just enough to stay ahead of Williams or will the Ferrari romp away once the bugs are ironed out? Giulio E from the USA writes: By Jove: I got it ! Some of my brethren F1 enthusiasts expect auto racing to be the modern-day "Circenses". Michael Schumacher drives to the finish - to finish first. (unexciting?) Ralf Schumacher has finished second - will have a chance to be first (uninspired?). That leaves "Kamikaze" Juan Pablo Montoya." (quoting from Heretic.). He will - at best - take himself - at worst -a group from the flotilla out! (what ?) " All or nothing", is not what racing is about!, .... if the format of Formula One is dull, seems like a parade of valedictorians marching in order of merit. Eureka: No Qualifying - Only Practice and Warm up. (One engine, less tyres, expenses, injuries etc.) Invert the order of start .(The points leader, No. 2., No.3, etc. starts) The Heretic replies: A radical though, but then other classes (mostly production cars) have tried it. It certainly will mean that overtaking will have to be a little more cautious. Issue 4-06 (Williams one, two again ?) Cooky from Australia writes: There will be a few Williams one two's, but I don't think so for Brazil. Michael should clear out and win at this track barring incident. Ferrari have had a few one two's in the past but they haven't had a car that dominated like the McLaren's of Senna and Prost or Mansell's car in 92 or the Mac's again 98,99.Even if the F2002 is stunning, is Rubino quick enough? The Heretic replies: Cooky, You
were right in respect of Schumacher winning. Barrichello did not look bad
either – but, when is he going to get a reliable car? But if the Ferrari can stay ahead on a circuit that obviously favours Michelin they may get that dominant, although I do not see it and hope they don’t. Roi M from Indonesia writes: I mostly agree with you and as a Ferrari fan I am. After having witnessed the qualifying results, I think it boils down to tires. Could Ferrari have made a mistake of sticking by Bridgestone. Or could 3 years of tire monopoly have resulted in Bridgestone being handed a gauntlet by Michelin. If the weather has anything to do with the results, and barring any mechanical failures or driver errors, I'm convinced that the Ferrari's will be trailing the Williams this weekend. It seems that lately, Schumi and Ferrari too are running out of luck too, which so often in the past three years they had an abundance of. regards, Roi The Heretic replies: Well, it seems that Schumacher and Ferrari on his side certainly did not run out of luck. Rubens would not have any luck at all if he did not have bad luck. The Bridgestones held up nicely – who knows how fast the Ferrari would have been if it was on Michelins. Issue 4-04 (Is McLaren on the way down ?) Jonathan S from North Ireland writes: David Coulthard is one of F1's best drivers, The car is now the best designed car on the track thanks to Newey. When the engine comes You will be looking at f1's newest champ. the Malaysian GP will tell a tale. The Heretic replies: Jonathan, Shouldn’t that be “If the engine comes”? Balram N from Malaysia writes: I felt so sorry for Raft, he is putting so much of pressure on himself that he was not even able to finish the 1st turn of the race. In what I see he has the same car as Montoya, but he is a much better driver. The big "Q" is now that is making him to do so well in one race and the other race he does so badly. This shows that he is trying to put his very best to beat his brother. Both of them have very similar style of driving. I think this year is going to be his, if only he can put his mind and fear of doing better than his brother. He should give 110%, in the race let thing come as it comes. The Heretic replies: Keeping up with Montoya will already be an achievement Issue 4-01 (The Season Preview) James from Australia writes: Nick Heidfeld is
too underrated and why isn't he in the same class as Raikkonen. Nick did
qualify him 10-7 and scored more points than him 12-9 in the same machinery
last year but the only reason Kimi got the McLaren drive instead of
Heidfeld is that because the media and guys like you crap on about him
been the next best thing but someone in exactly the same machinery beat
him. The Heretic replies: James, Taking it from the top. Heidfeld has been around for a while - certainly longer than Raikkonen. Although I believe that he is a very good driver I do not class him with Michael Schumacher, Montoya or Villeneuve. Raikkonen still has to earn his stripes too but there are some indications that he could one day be in the top class. I agree. One swallow does not make a summer
Short
Responses - 2001 Season
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