The F1 season 2004

Anyone want to speculate about the decision of the contract recognition board over JB's next drive tomorrow? The German media today are saying that BMW has set aside a nice little sum in case they lose and have to buy Button out of his contract with BAR.

Doesn't exactly indicate complete confidence in Williams' argument.

If I were Dave Richards, I would want quite a few million quid before I'd let JB go, unless he is really as positive about Pizzonia's prospects as he has been trying to appear.

 

I wonder if Dave Richards now wants to hold on JB? Surely the atmosphere in the team will have already deteriorated. So perhaps he should milk the situation, even if this was of his own making (if you believe the press).

 

I don't know. Enough time has passed since the initial fiasco and Button (at least outwardly) seems to have been working professionally (same with Richards) and delivering the results so I'd expect the atmosphere to have warmed quite a bit. I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't just a hint of second thoughts coming to Button about his decision. If BAR do end up with Button next year I think the relationship would still work well.

Michael.

 

My impression, too.

 

No news yet. I take that to mean that the board has voted in favour of BAR and the two teams are still negotiating over the terms of Button's transfer.

 

It appears BAR have won. Williams are now talking about Button for 2006.

Paul

 

Yep, all very interesting. If Button does better than either of the Williams drivers next year it will be very ironic indeed. Wonder if Pizzonia will now get the 2nd Williams seat?

Michael.

 

I hope Pizzonia gets the drive. I still think if he can get his head sorted out, he is a fantastic prospect. Let's not forget he is the only person to have had a better F3 record in the UK than Senna. He clearly has the natural talent - quite possibly more than JB. I just keep hoping the mental issues are a temporary loss of confidence due to the Jaguar fiasco.

As for Button, his body language has been suggesting this result for the past month or so. I feel sorry for him. It has to stall his progress - there is no way he will better this year's performance at BAR next season IMO.

 

Anyone think Coulthard has a chance at Williams?

 

Fw and PH prefer racers and I don't think Coulthard is a racer, so I doubt it, besides they've had him before and he didn't really show then, he has always had a good car but fails to capitalise on it.

 

Oh, and if I was Jenson, I'd have a few questions to ask of my management.

 

I can't really understand why Jenson would want to have made the switch to Williams from BAR in the first place, unless it was purely based on the lure of the ££££. BAR have had a much stronger package all round this season and, barring any major upsets, you'd expect them to only improve on it next year. Williams haven't been exactly competitive, with either driver/mechanical/conditions conspiring against them for much of the season and surely have a way to go to even get on a par with the BAR package of this season, let alone what next years should be like. Of course, Williams possibly have much greater development capital, but that doesn't necessarily mean success, just look at McLaren.

 

Coulthard should just retire with some dignity, he's had more chances at a World Championship than most drivers get and he hasn't grasped any of them.

Merlin - if Ferrari are still the team to beat next year, and there's no reason to think that won't be the case, then Jenson would indeed have trouble bettering 3rd in the WDC, whether with BAR or with Williams. I still think it's pretty open which of Williams and BAR will perform better next year. I wouldn't rule BAR out that easily. I do think Williams are going to be doing a lot better than this year though.

I too hope that Pizzonia gets the Williams seat. I just hope that if he does he doesn't get a mental block about having Webber as his team mate again.

Michael.

 

Michael,

I have little doubt that Ferrari will remain the force next year, and every other the current superteam retains the exclusive use of Bridgestone tyres.

I was not writing off BAR. More if he finished fifth next year in a Williams, at least it could be seen as a development year. Finishing any worse than 3rd in the BAR will surely lose him some momentum.

 

I can. Williams Grand Prix Engineering is one of the best-equipped teams around, with facilities that most of the others can only dream about. One can never discount either Williams or McLaren, and, as Michael Schumacher clearly recognises, one or both of them will come to the top again. If I had the choice between BAR and Williams, I'd choose Williams as the better long-term prospect.

 

But is it one of the best-financed, too? I have my doubts. Apparently, Frank Williams said (half-jokingly) to Ralf S. after his 2nd place in Japan that he could stay with the team if wanted, to which Ralf is said to have replied that Williams didn't have anything to sell anymore to pay him for next season.

The new wind tunnel apparently went way over budget. BMW seems to be faced with a decision to either take a financial position in the team or to get out of F1. The nay-sayers seem to have the upper hand right now, which may explain the persistent rumours about BMW pulling out of F1.

Also, I think Williams is the perfect example to show that having excellent facilities is not enough, you must also have excellent people and motivate them to give their best for your cmpany's goals.

If Messrs. Williams and Head are as good at motivating the rest of the team as they are at motivating drivers, I fear for the worst.

 

I think Frank Williams has always taken the "team first" attitude, Markus, so I don't fear for the team motivation - it's only the poor drivers who have to watch out. I don't know about the team finances, but the Williams record of success speaks for itself. Frank could emulate Arnie Schwarzenegger - "I'll be back".

 

Looks like he agrees with you. From AtlasF1.com:

"Jenson Button is set to replace his manager with Jaguar Racing's current head of communicatios, Nav Sidhu, after the Contracts Recognition Board's decided in favour of BAR today."

A good move IMO. I don't know anything about Nav Sidhu but John Byfield has made Jenson look like an idiot so he had to go.

Michael.

 

Hi Merlin,

"I was not writing off BAR. More if he finished fifth next year in a Williams, at least it could be seen as a development year. Finishing any worse than 3rd in the BAR will surely lose him some momentum."

Glad to hear it!

We have made big a step in performance this year and expect to make another big step next year vs some of our competitors.

Normally rule changes benefit Ferrari but in this case I think it won't alter things too much. As Bridgestone haven't been as good at dealing with change in the past. Therefore it is a reasonable expectation that next year Michelin will have the better tyres.

Ian

 

"I can. Williams Grand Prix Engineering is one of the best-equipped teams around, with facilities that most of the others can only dream about. One can never discount either Williams or McLaren, and, as Michael Schumacher clearly recognises, one or both of them will come to the top again. If I had the choice between BAR and Williams, I'd choose Williams as the better long-term prospect." Tones

Williams are struggling internally. The writing was on the wall last year when the previous years McLaren (they couldn't get their 2003 car to work!) almost won the drivers championship. The reason Williams looked good for half the season was because Michelin made a fantastic tyre in 2003. This years car has under performed throughout, despite having arguably the best driver pairing in F1.

For sure they have over the years done a very good job in F1 and they shouldn't be written off. But recent past performance suggests it wil require a massive managerial change at Williams to sort it out.

Whereas BAR went through the pain of making quite a few people redundant in 2002 and then rebuilt with the people it required to start challenging at the front.

Ian