Montoya to McLaren in 05. Is it a big mistake?

slapnuts

Now that its official that JPM is going to McLaren do people think that this is a mistake and he should have stayed at williams or gone else where?

I am hoping that it is not a big mistake but going by McLarens recent performances its not looking too good.

Any thoughts?

Carol · Grand Prix Winner Joined: 23 Feb 2004 Posts: 1431

When the speculation started last season I couldn't understand why (apart from the money angle) Montoya would want to go to McLaren when Williams were clearly on the way up. And it seems to make even less sense now that McLaren have produced such a dud of a car - it's going to take them quite a while to get back into contention.

What's more, if Montoya doesn't win the title this year he's not likely to do it next year at McLaren, however good the car is. Kimi will have all the advantages of having spent several seasons there, while Montoya will have to get to know the team - and that's always assuming he can fit in with the McLaren way of doing things. Their styles are so different, I'm afraid it could be the start of the way down for JPM, which would be a big big shame.

Armco · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 23:33 Post subject:

I would hazard a guess Monty is feeling a trifle edgey right now and beginning to wonder about life at McLaren. Personally I'm starting to wonder just how good Newey is. Once all the toys came off the Williams back in '94 he provided them with a evil handling car with terrible consequences. His record since then has been pretty patchy, especially given the vast amount of funds at his disposal. Last years cars was such a pile of poo that it never made it to the grid. Despite having a year of testing and being first to the track with the new car it remains a total dog. Isn't it about Ron stopped choosing curtains for his new factory and turned his attention to the future of his design team?

I don't reckon Monty should stay at Williams, his relationship with the team is pretty iffy and I reckon the time's right for him to earn a bit of respect. I guess the only option is McLaren, although it would amazing to see him alongside Alonso at Renault.

Herb Tomalski · Kart Champion Joined: 04 Mar 2004 Posts: 70 Location: Fiji

Whats the betting JPM spits the dummy when things dont go his way.....and ends up at Ferrari when Schumi retires. Cool

speedy01 · Posted: Wed Mar 24, 2004 23:49 Post subject:

i think that it was not a smart move from jpm becouse i see the williams team make better steps forward then mclaren that has made a step backwards
but it is a little early to say becouse the mclaren team is testing like crazy
here are the results from a test at aul ricard in france
1. A. Pizzonia Williams-BMW 1:11.501 (94)
2. A. Davidson BAR Honda 1:11.728 (127)
3. T. Sato BAR Honda 1:11.806 (115)
4. M. Gené Williams-BMW 1:12.060 (89)
5. P. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.126 (67)
6. A. Wurz McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.317 (98 )
7. R. Zonta Toyota 1:12.740 (134)
8. F. Montagny Renault 1:12.989 (113)
9. R. Briscoe Toyota 1:14.987 (23)

the number between the ( ) are the number of drivin laps
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alguien · Kart Champion Joined: 09 Mar 2004 Posts: 61

he should have stayed at williams, pitty that since i admire most williams and now defunct lotus. but at the time maclaren seemed like a good idea, lets hope they will raise their game for next year, and hopefully get a decent engine

nojvnof1 · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 08:35 Post subject:

At the moment it looks like a big mistake, but we'll judge that properly next year.

shaun
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juan_pablo_allen · F2 Racer Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 486

slapnuts · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 10:29 Post subject:

i don't think that newey is to blame. there is no individual in team. anyway newey has done great jobs with every team he has been with. He can't be a genius every season.

White Lightning · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 19:44 Post subject:

He's made a VERY big mistake.

At the time i thought that it may have been a good move, for him, McLaren and F1 (Kimi and JPM Very Happy

).

Now I see that he probably has gone for the money, no matter how many times he denies it.

If McLaren do produce a decent car, and I believe Newey is a total whizz, and Merc come up with a fix for the engine woes, then JPM may have a crack. If they don't it may be the end of a potentially dominant career.

Having said that, if he does a Schumi and turns McLaren around, he will be the greatest driver for years!

texanF1 · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 21:29 Post subject:

At the moment, it may seem like a bad mistake but it could pay off. McLaren could have the strongest driver line up since its Senna-Prost days. And unlike Ferrari, Ron will let the teammates race each other.
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slapnuts · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 21:41 Post subject:

yeah it would be a great racingpartnership. lets just hope that the team see sense and sort a decent engine out

Pete1025 · Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2004 22:52 Post subject:

Strange as didn`t they hire one of the BMW engine designers last year ??

JP Racing · Kart Novice Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 11

It will indeed be interesting to see who is the fastest of the McLaren WDC candidates next year, Kimi or JPM.... 2 different styles and temperaments...

Slightly Decent · Posted: Fri Mar 26, 2004 01:47 Post subject:

he made his choice based on ego which may be costly.

Not because I don't think McLaren will be competitive, but because I am certain they would rather have Kimi win the championship.

Signing early has written off his 2004 chances of the title. And I would expect Kimi to be more of a handful for JPM than Ralf ever was.

But it's a three year deal, isn't it? so hes secured his career and does have the opportunity to prove his worth.

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