ferrarigod
08-18-06, 05:13 PM
Newton on Schuey
As he contemplates his likely exit from Formula 1, Jacques Villeneuve has taken the opportunity to slam his former nemesis Michael Schumacher, accusing him of “dirty tricks” and “lying to the fans”.
In a no-holds-barred interview for F1 Racing, the 1997 world champion said that Schumacher will never attain cult hero status like other champions because of his on-track antics down the years.
And JV, who now faces walking away from F1 for good following his acrimonious falling out with BMW, couldn’t resist one final dig.
"I think the day he hangs up his helmet people will just forget him,” said the Canadian.
"Ayrton Senna, by contrast, will never be forgotten.
“Some of that is the James Dean factor, of course, because he was killed in action at a young age, but not all of it.
“I don't even think Michael will live on in people's memories as strong or as long as [Alain] Prost has - certainly not as strong or as long as [Nigel] Mansell has. Those people attained a hero status that Michael never has and never will."
“Michael simply isn't a great champion because he's played too many dirty tricks and because he isn't a great human being.”
Villeneuve added that while Senna also famously crashed into Prost to take the title in Japan in 1990, it didn’t compare to Schumacher’s move on him at Jerez in 1997.
"Yes, Senna played dirty tricks too but he did it with more class, more integrity. When he took Prost out at Suzuka, he said he was going to do it before the race.
"So, unlike Michael, who ridiculously insisted he was innocent at Monaco this year, Senna said, 'Yes, I did it. But I told you before the race that I was going to do it.'
“That's very different from what Michael did at Monaco and Jerez [in 1997] and Adelaide [in 1994].”
Villeneuve reckons that Schumacher’s most recent misdemeanour, where he was punished for avoidably stopping his car on-track during qualifying at Monaco, is just another example of why the seven-times champion’s reputation is indelibly stained.
"Senna wasn't lying to the fans. Michael was," he said.
“And the sad thing is that, of course, the fans accept it - they swear black is white, in fact - just so that they can go on respecting the sport they love. And Michael takes advantage of that loyalty."
"But he lies not only to fans but to his fellow drivers, too," he continued.
"At the GPDA meeting at Silverstone he lied to us [about his qualifying incident at Monaco] and he didn't even have the decency to appear embarrassed about it.
“He just stared in our eyes and lied. And we all knew we were being lied to but very few of us bothered to say anything [Villeneuve, Alex Wurz and Pedro de la Rosa were the only ones who did] because most are scared of Michael or just wanted the meeting to be over so that they could go and watch the World Cup, which was a pathetic way to behave when there was such an important matter under discussion.
"It's quite sad, really - because the reason Michael did what he did is that he thinks he's better than the rest of us.
“He thinks he's bigger than the sport, too, but he isn't. And when he retires, and no one really remembers him, that will become clear."
Newton on BMW
Ousted former world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that his split with BMW shows a lack of ambition on the part of the German manufacturer.
The 35-year-old Canadian star reckons that BMW would have benefited from his experience of racing for wins, if it makes the leap in performance that Villeneuve expects it to next year.
“I’ve led races, I’ve won races,” he said in an interview with F1 Racing.
“I know how to do that. So I guess the question as to whether I’d drive for BMW next year was this: did BMW think they needed someone next year who could lead and win races? If they did, then they’d need me.
“If they didn’t then they wouldn’t. It just depended on how ambitious they were.
“But, for what it’s worth, I thought that the race of progress we were showing, which was very strong, suggested they would need someone who lead races and win races.”
Villeneuve admits that he wanted to continue racing for BMW next year and believes the team has made a mistake in replacing him with Polish sensation Robert Kubica.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a startling debut in Hungary, qualifying in the top ten and finishing in the points – before he was disqualified for his car being underweight.
But JV says that his lack of experience is likely to count against him in races to come.
“People should realise that doing a good Friday job isn’t the same as doing a good job on race weekends, and you won’t find out what any driver is really like until he does quite a few race weekends,” he said.
“So Robert is a question mark. I’m not criticising him – I’m just saying he is a question mark, because he is.
“Robert is very young. As of now, though, he doesn’t have much racing experience.
“And experience is always helpful, always important because racing involves getting yourself out of tricky situations – and it’s easier to get out those if you’ve been in them before and learnt from how you did and didn’t get out of them.”
The only thing I find interesting is how Jax deals with teams when he isn't going to be there the next year. This is the 2nd time in as many attempts that he's left early when faced with a bit of criticism and trouble.
Schuey may be a cheating cheater, but Jax is a quiter. Depends what evil is better.
As he contemplates his likely exit from Formula 1, Jacques Villeneuve has taken the opportunity to slam his former nemesis Michael Schumacher, accusing him of “dirty tricks” and “lying to the fans”.
In a no-holds-barred interview for F1 Racing, the 1997 world champion said that Schumacher will never attain cult hero status like other champions because of his on-track antics down the years.
And JV, who now faces walking away from F1 for good following his acrimonious falling out with BMW, couldn’t resist one final dig.
"I think the day he hangs up his helmet people will just forget him,” said the Canadian.
"Ayrton Senna, by contrast, will never be forgotten.
“Some of that is the James Dean factor, of course, because he was killed in action at a young age, but not all of it.
“I don't even think Michael will live on in people's memories as strong or as long as [Alain] Prost has - certainly not as strong or as long as [Nigel] Mansell has. Those people attained a hero status that Michael never has and never will."
“Michael simply isn't a great champion because he's played too many dirty tricks and because he isn't a great human being.”
Villeneuve added that while Senna also famously crashed into Prost to take the title in Japan in 1990, it didn’t compare to Schumacher’s move on him at Jerez in 1997.
"Yes, Senna played dirty tricks too but he did it with more class, more integrity. When he took Prost out at Suzuka, he said he was going to do it before the race.
"So, unlike Michael, who ridiculously insisted he was innocent at Monaco this year, Senna said, 'Yes, I did it. But I told you before the race that I was going to do it.'
“That's very different from what Michael did at Monaco and Jerez [in 1997] and Adelaide [in 1994].”
Villeneuve reckons that Schumacher’s most recent misdemeanour, where he was punished for avoidably stopping his car on-track during qualifying at Monaco, is just another example of why the seven-times champion’s reputation is indelibly stained.
"Senna wasn't lying to the fans. Michael was," he said.
“And the sad thing is that, of course, the fans accept it - they swear black is white, in fact - just so that they can go on respecting the sport they love. And Michael takes advantage of that loyalty."
"But he lies not only to fans but to his fellow drivers, too," he continued.
"At the GPDA meeting at Silverstone he lied to us [about his qualifying incident at Monaco] and he didn't even have the decency to appear embarrassed about it.
“He just stared in our eyes and lied. And we all knew we were being lied to but very few of us bothered to say anything [Villeneuve, Alex Wurz and Pedro de la Rosa were the only ones who did] because most are scared of Michael or just wanted the meeting to be over so that they could go and watch the World Cup, which was a pathetic way to behave when there was such an important matter under discussion.
"It's quite sad, really - because the reason Michael did what he did is that he thinks he's better than the rest of us.
“He thinks he's bigger than the sport, too, but he isn't. And when he retires, and no one really remembers him, that will become clear."
Newton on BMW
Ousted former world champion Jacques Villeneuve believes that his split with BMW shows a lack of ambition on the part of the German manufacturer.
The 35-year-old Canadian star reckons that BMW would have benefited from his experience of racing for wins, if it makes the leap in performance that Villeneuve expects it to next year.
“I’ve led races, I’ve won races,” he said in an interview with F1 Racing.
“I know how to do that. So I guess the question as to whether I’d drive for BMW next year was this: did BMW think they needed someone next year who could lead and win races? If they did, then they’d need me.
“If they didn’t then they wouldn’t. It just depended on how ambitious they were.
“But, for what it’s worth, I thought that the race of progress we were showing, which was very strong, suggested they would need someone who lead races and win races.”
Villeneuve admits that he wanted to continue racing for BMW next year and believes the team has made a mistake in replacing him with Polish sensation Robert Kubica.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a startling debut in Hungary, qualifying in the top ten and finishing in the points – before he was disqualified for his car being underweight.
But JV says that his lack of experience is likely to count against him in races to come.
“People should realise that doing a good Friday job isn’t the same as doing a good job on race weekends, and you won’t find out what any driver is really like until he does quite a few race weekends,” he said.
“So Robert is a question mark. I’m not criticising him – I’m just saying he is a question mark, because he is.
“Robert is very young. As of now, though, he doesn’t have much racing experience.
“And experience is always helpful, always important because racing involves getting yourself out of tricky situations – and it’s easier to get out those if you’ve been in them before and learnt from how you did and didn’t get out of them.”
The only thing I find interesting is how Jax deals with teams when he isn't going to be there the next year. This is the 2nd time in as many attempts that he's left early when faced with a bit of criticism and trouble.
Schuey may be a cheating cheater, but Jax is a quiter. Depends what evil is better.