Brundles webchat
Posted by LS.
makes for interesting reading, enjoyed reading his opinions 
ITVF1 commentator Martin Brundle answered your questions in our latest live chat at Wednesday lunchtime.
Here is a transcript of what he had to say
Lee: I read on the ITV F1 web site that you thought Montoya would win the championship this year. Having seen Michael's brilliant drive and Ferrari's brilliant comeback, do you still see Montoya as the favourite to win the title?
Monza was a setback for Montoya, he should have won the race but failing to get pole position and then carrying too much downforce into the GP compromised him. On the other hand, Michael qualified brilliantly and ran a good strategy. I do think the Ferrari works particularly well in the low downforce configuration. The final two races are not like this. However if one of them is wet, for me Michael now has a slight edge. With a three point deficit and 20 points on the table it could easily go either way.
brun03: do you think kimi can win the championship?
I think it'll be very hard for Kimi now with the points deficit. Also quite clearly McLaren is slightly behind Williams and Ferrari on pace and reliability. He is now surely in a position where he needs others to have problems to enable him to take the championship.
zippybungle: Hi Martin,i know you're supposed to be unbiased but truthfully who would you like to win the drivers championship this year?
Truthfully I'd like Montoya to win it. With my ITV cap on, we could do with a change of world champion and more importantly, watching Michael in 2004 in his attempt to regain the crown and his sixth world title would be nothing less than spectacular. It's not a personal issue for or against either of the drivers.
Hot Space: The thing with the tyres and Ferrari's anger at them seems very petty - Would 4mm really make that much difference?
Extra tyre on the track unquestionably can help. It's very complex because there are many other factors. If Ferrari believe Michelin were outside the rules then they are perfectly entitled to raise the issue. For sure, Williams and McLaren would have done the same thing. The timing was unfortunate as it looked like sour grapes after a very poor Ferrari performance in Hungary. Michelin are also saying that they raced that type of tyre for 38 races so why now? There's a lot of paranoia with regard to regulation interpretation which stretches back over many years.
Nostradamus: Is the grip of Ferrari on Bernie and the FIA so strong? What's next? Declare schumacher the wc before the start of the year?
There is a camp that suspects the FIA would fall down on the side of Ferrari. The biggest feeling about that happened after the famous barge board incident in Malaysia a few years back when Ferrari declared their cars to be outside the regulation but purely by error and they were subsequently declared to be inside the regs by the FIA. It is true that Williams and McLaren tend to have an alliance and there is an enormous amount of underlying activity going on regarding the future of Formula 1. I honestly feel the FIA play with a straight back but from time to time would be concerned that personality issues may affect their judgement.
jody: with all the hype surronding the tyres right now, how do you feel about Ross Brawn still proposing to take the matter to court should Ferrari not win the title this year ??
I would be very surprised and disappointed in Ross, Luca Di Montezemolo and Jean Todt if they followed that course. It would be a disaster for Formula 1 which is just in my view in the ascendency again and would lose Ferrari an enormous amount of credibility too.
MarkyB: Do you think the fia should have left the tyre clarification till next season?
Not sure they would have been able to given that it was officially raised by another team. They would be duty bound to investigate. Take it from me, none of the teams in F1 are whiter than white and nor have they ever been.
princess von Nurburg: I can´t believe that "headheaches" was the real cause for Ralf to pull out from the Italian Grand Prix. Do you think something else added to that decision? - Thank you.
Lack of incentive springs to mind. His championship was effectively over and having to help his team mate become champion, particularly at the expense of his brother, is not motivational. I don't understand this philosophy of not wanting to be in the car, if humanly possible. However, I'm not Ralf and I don't have the medical information so it's not possible to say he was skiving. It's all just a bit disappointing.
jpm4champ: hi martin, when frentzen was being lapped by michael and juan, do you think he was told by ferrari to hold juan up, only it looked very suspicious......... maybe sauber had to consider their engine deal........
We're getting some political ones today! No, they wouldn't have been told that, any radio transmission can be heard by the FIA. It would be easy to be concerned that a German driving a Ferrari powered car may have preferences but I don't subscribe to that. I think it was luck of the draw where the traffic was encountered and JPM had slightly lower top speed compared to Michael, making it more difficult to pass.
Jac: Hi Martin, As a trainee marshall, I am becoming increasing concerned with the lack of notice the drivers take of double waved yellow flags. As you pointed out at Monza, the whole field passed de Matta's car, under double waved yellows, without even slowing down a faction, never mind preparing to stop as the rules dictate. Is this the drivers making their own judgement on an incident or simply not being prepared to slow, regardless of the potential consequences?
It's a perennial problem that starts at grass roots where drivers don't respect the flags. But sadly in the cold light of day, you will be heavily disadvantaged should you lift the throttle because it's sure that some others will not and it's not sure they will be penalised. It is also a grey area that with data acquisition it can be demonstrated a driver did fractionally lift or was slower in that sector of the lap and get away with it. Clearly, as you say, nobody was respecting the double waved yellows to the letter of the law. I know that race director Charlie Whiting was in a very difficult position and considering the safety car. Jarno Trulli's Renault was moderately safe but as we saw with Da Matta, a car can career out of control even in a straight line.
JR: hi Martin, thanks for the great job you do commentating the F1 races. following the fiasco over Silverstone, and the threat to the British GP, what is the long term future for this great circuit?
Fundamentally it will be ok but if everybody sits on their hands doing nothing, it will eventually go. In Monza last weekend there were entourages from Bahrain, China, Turkey and two from India, working very hard on their grand prix projects. They are spending hundreds of millions to attract this race and simply we are not.
Owenw: What's the latest news on Silverstone? Is all the funding in now in place for the neccesary upgrades? will this include a new pit complex?
There's a remaining £14 million of the original masterplan which will include mostly pit and administration areas. However, it's a never-ending process and some work is being carried out to try to put the next phases and ideas into place
Connor: Be honest Mr Brundle when do you think the British public will next see a British Formula 1 World Champion?
I'd like to think I'm always honest and I am very concerned about this situation. Jenson has yet to be on the podium and David has limited years available to him now and I am concerned that Ralph and Justin may not even be in Formula 1 next year. At the moment there is not the talent behind them but I see several young skills coming through three to four years from now.
Bev: do you belive DC really has the skill these days to win the championship, even if he is given a great car again?
David has the skill, knowledge and experience to win a world championship but will not do so until he finds a way to deliver his potential all weekend, every weekend.
pete: When DC finally retires, would you think about taking on another driver?
Probably not. I hope I'm perceived as impartial and fair but it does complicate life a bit with my various roles. The upside is that being very closely involved with a top line driver gives me a tremendous amount of up to date knowledge, some of which I can pass on to the viewers. If I found a young Brit that I really liked and believed in, I would consider it but probably not until David has retired, whenever that might be.
Anna: Why did you decided not to take the job at Jaguar and stay with ITV?
I seriously considered the Jaguar job and we had a discreet meeting or two. I read in a few places some key people saying I was too expensive but that is absolutely not true in my view. My decision was partly because I was unhappy with the proposed management structure and reporting procedure and probably more so that I very much enjoy the television work and the other opportunities that appear to be heading my way. In time, I would certainly consider a key management role in Formula 1 but only if it felt right.
suzee: Who's the most interesting person you have spoken to on your grid walk?
Ozzy Osbourne springs to mind, more unusual rather than interesting! I always enjoy talking to Bernie. The King of Spain was good value and on the technical side, I find Ross very helpful, given that it's just a few minutes before the start and he can be slightly more open at that time.
snoozi: What do you make of bernie's wish to have more celebrities at the GPs? Do you think it's a good way of popularising the sport?
Not sure whether that's driven by Bernie or more likely the celebrities. Formula 1 became very unsexy last year and we saw virtually nobody. All of a sudden, with a great championship, everybody wants to be seen to be there. I try to balance the grid walks between Formula 1 and other celebs to keep it varied but let's face it, the superstars and politicians are there for their own benefit, not for the good of Formula 1.
tonyk: Hey Martin, What do you make of BAR's 'fame accademy shoot out'? F1 doesn't need to be turned into a reality TV show, there's no credibility in that. What a way to top off JV's year - poor guy.
I agree and I just hope it's somebody being misquoted or misunderstood. I have seen tests before where drivers are measured for their speed, input, brakewear, tyrewear, and directly compared to make choices but a man of Villeneuve's callibre should never be subjected to that. It's for the junior ranks and if it's true, presumably designed to make him choose the exit route willingly.
Alexwar: Martin have you take a look on the new racetracks for 2004, Bahrain and China and putting Interlagos as the last race..what is yur opinion on those changes?
I've got a drivers mentality on this that wherever the races are is where we go. Races have come and gone over the years and there's no point putting a lot of thought into something you can't have any influence on. You score 10 points and you go as fast around them as you can. With my Silverstone and ITV cap on, you begin to think about conflicting sports, fixtures, climate, race time when broadcast into Europe etc. Also you wonder how anybody has been selling tickets for next year, not fully knowing the dates. It really compromises the promoters. I know from a few years back at Silverstone, it costs a quarter of a million pounds to reprint tickets for another date. It really looks bad for F1 compared to say Wimbledon, which I'm sure has its dates fixed for several years to come.
max: What do you think Eddie Jordan is going to do to get his team back in contention for winning races? Do you think he will pull a title sponsor out of the bag for 04 or will he sell a majority stake to one of the car manufacturers?
I suspect Eddie will have to sell some or all of the company. It's going to be a long haul back from here and something will need to be introduced into the system as a catalyst because the haves and have nots are now light years apart in Formula 1.
shane: Martin, Who has impressed you most this year Mark Webber or Fernando Alonso?
Both of them but Alonso the most. I think he's been more spectacular more of the time in a better car than Mark, but he really has been sensational on key days.
Qwaar-Jet: Does Michael Schumacher have a massive ego? Or is he down to earth?
He's very down to earth and a man with good family values in my experience.
James: Do you agree with Damon Hill, that Schumacher will crack under the pressure of JPM's chase, and possibly try the same trick as he pulled in 1994 in Adelaide or failed in 1997 in Jerez?
In the heat of the moment Michael has demonstrated he can cross the line of reasonableness. During the race in Monza I commented that Michael looked less flustered than Juan Pablo and he certainly didn't crack in qualifying or when JPM was closing him down in the middle of the race. He has five championships in his pocket so he shouldn't be getting too bent out of shape. However, Michael is massively more affected by the press than JPM appears to be.
I don't think either of them will crack but it could depend on a specific event or circumstance making that happen. I was surprised that JPM appeared to back off towards the end of Monza rather than keeping Michael under pressure even though a win was unrealistic after the traffic. It demonstrated a small weakness for me.
LS's Tip of the week
ESSENTIAL OILS aren't essential unless you're an engine, a gearbox or a twat
ITVF1 commentator Martin Brundle answered your questions in our latest live chat at Wednesday lunchtime.
Here is a transcript of what he had to say
Lee: I read on the ITV F1 web site that you thought Montoya would win the championship this year. Having seen Michael's brilliant drive and Ferrari's brilliant comeback, do you still see Montoya as the favourite to win the title?
Monza was a setback for Montoya, he should have won the race but failing to get pole position and then carrying too much downforce into the GP compromised him. On the other hand, Michael qualified brilliantly and ran a good strategy. I do think the Ferrari works particularly well in the low downforce configuration. The final two races are not like this. However if one of them is wet, for me Michael now has a slight edge. With a three point deficit and 20 points on the table it could easily go either way.
brun03: do you think kimi can win the championship?
I think it'll be very hard for Kimi now with the points deficit. Also quite clearly McLaren is slightly behind Williams and Ferrari on pace and reliability. He is now surely in a position where he needs others to have problems to enable him to take the championship.
zippybungle: Hi Martin,i know you're supposed to be unbiased but truthfully who would you like to win the drivers championship this year?
Truthfully I'd like Montoya to win it. With my ITV cap on, we could do with a change of world champion and more importantly, watching Michael in 2004 in his attempt to regain the crown and his sixth world title would be nothing less than spectacular. It's not a personal issue for or against either of the drivers.
Hot Space: The thing with the tyres and Ferrari's anger at them seems very petty - Would 4mm really make that much difference?
Extra tyre on the track unquestionably can help. It's very complex because there are many other factors. If Ferrari believe Michelin were outside the rules then they are perfectly entitled to raise the issue. For sure, Williams and McLaren would have done the same thing. The timing was unfortunate as it looked like sour grapes after a very poor Ferrari performance in Hungary. Michelin are also saying that they raced that type of tyre for 38 races so why now? There's a lot of paranoia with regard to regulation interpretation which stretches back over many years.
Nostradamus: Is the grip of Ferrari on Bernie and the FIA so strong? What's next? Declare schumacher the wc before the start of the year?
There is a camp that suspects the FIA would fall down on the side of Ferrari. The biggest feeling about that happened after the famous barge board incident in Malaysia a few years back when Ferrari declared their cars to be outside the regulation but purely by error and they were subsequently declared to be inside the regs by the FIA. It is true that Williams and McLaren tend to have an alliance and there is an enormous amount of underlying activity going on regarding the future of Formula 1. I honestly feel the FIA play with a straight back but from time to time would be concerned that personality issues may affect their judgement.
jody: with all the hype surronding the tyres right now, how do you feel about Ross Brawn still proposing to take the matter to court should Ferrari not win the title this year ??
I would be very surprised and disappointed in Ross, Luca Di Montezemolo and Jean Todt if they followed that course. It would be a disaster for Formula 1 which is just in my view in the ascendency again and would lose Ferrari an enormous amount of credibility too.
MarkyB: Do you think the fia should have left the tyre clarification till next season?
Not sure they would have been able to given that it was officially raised by another team. They would be duty bound to investigate. Take it from me, none of the teams in F1 are whiter than white and nor have they ever been.
princess von Nurburg: I can´t believe that "headheaches" was the real cause for Ralf to pull out from the Italian Grand Prix. Do you think something else added to that decision? - Thank you.
Lack of incentive springs to mind. His championship was effectively over and having to help his team mate become champion, particularly at the expense of his brother, is not motivational. I don't understand this philosophy of not wanting to be in the car, if humanly possible. However, I'm not Ralf and I don't have the medical information so it's not possible to say he was skiving. It's all just a bit disappointing.
jpm4champ: hi martin, when frentzen was being lapped by michael and juan, do you think he was told by ferrari to hold juan up, only it looked very suspicious......... maybe sauber had to consider their engine deal........
We're getting some political ones today! No, they wouldn't have been told that, any radio transmission can be heard by the FIA. It would be easy to be concerned that a German driving a Ferrari powered car may have preferences but I don't subscribe to that. I think it was luck of the draw where the traffic was encountered and JPM had slightly lower top speed compared to Michael, making it more difficult to pass.
Jac: Hi Martin, As a trainee marshall, I am becoming increasing concerned with the lack of notice the drivers take of double waved yellow flags. As you pointed out at Monza, the whole field passed de Matta's car, under double waved yellows, without even slowing down a faction, never mind preparing to stop as the rules dictate. Is this the drivers making their own judgement on an incident or simply not being prepared to slow, regardless of the potential consequences?
It's a perennial problem that starts at grass roots where drivers don't respect the flags. But sadly in the cold light of day, you will be heavily disadvantaged should you lift the throttle because it's sure that some others will not and it's not sure they will be penalised. It is also a grey area that with data acquisition it can be demonstrated a driver did fractionally lift or was slower in that sector of the lap and get away with it. Clearly, as you say, nobody was respecting the double waved yellows to the letter of the law. I know that race director Charlie Whiting was in a very difficult position and considering the safety car. Jarno Trulli's Renault was moderately safe but as we saw with Da Matta, a car can career out of control even in a straight line.
JR: hi Martin, thanks for the great job you do commentating the F1 races. following the fiasco over Silverstone, and the threat to the British GP, what is the long term future for this great circuit?
Fundamentally it will be ok but if everybody sits on their hands doing nothing, it will eventually go. In Monza last weekend there were entourages from Bahrain, China, Turkey and two from India, working very hard on their grand prix projects. They are spending hundreds of millions to attract this race and simply we are not.
Owenw: What's the latest news on Silverstone? Is all the funding in now in place for the neccesary upgrades? will this include a new pit complex?
There's a remaining £14 million of the original masterplan which will include mostly pit and administration areas. However, it's a never-ending process and some work is being carried out to try to put the next phases and ideas into place
Connor: Be honest Mr Brundle when do you think the British public will next see a British Formula 1 World Champion?
I'd like to think I'm always honest and I am very concerned about this situation. Jenson has yet to be on the podium and David has limited years available to him now and I am concerned that Ralph and Justin may not even be in Formula 1 next year. At the moment there is not the talent behind them but I see several young skills coming through three to four years from now.
Bev: do you belive DC really has the skill these days to win the championship, even if he is given a great car again?
David has the skill, knowledge and experience to win a world championship but will not do so until he finds a way to deliver his potential all weekend, every weekend.
pete: When DC finally retires, would you think about taking on another driver?
Probably not. I hope I'm perceived as impartial and fair but it does complicate life a bit with my various roles. The upside is that being very closely involved with a top line driver gives me a tremendous amount of up to date knowledge, some of which I can pass on to the viewers. If I found a young Brit that I really liked and believed in, I would consider it but probably not until David has retired, whenever that might be.
Anna: Why did you decided not to take the job at Jaguar and stay with ITV?
I seriously considered the Jaguar job and we had a discreet meeting or two. I read in a few places some key people saying I was too expensive but that is absolutely not true in my view. My decision was partly because I was unhappy with the proposed management structure and reporting procedure and probably more so that I very much enjoy the television work and the other opportunities that appear to be heading my way. In time, I would certainly consider a key management role in Formula 1 but only if it felt right.
suzee: Who's the most interesting person you have spoken to on your grid walk?
Ozzy Osbourne springs to mind, more unusual rather than interesting! I always enjoy talking to Bernie. The King of Spain was good value and on the technical side, I find Ross very helpful, given that it's just a few minutes before the start and he can be slightly more open at that time.
snoozi: What do you make of bernie's wish to have more celebrities at the GPs? Do you think it's a good way of popularising the sport?
Not sure whether that's driven by Bernie or more likely the celebrities. Formula 1 became very unsexy last year and we saw virtually nobody. All of a sudden, with a great championship, everybody wants to be seen to be there. I try to balance the grid walks between Formula 1 and other celebs to keep it varied but let's face it, the superstars and politicians are there for their own benefit, not for the good of Formula 1.
tonyk: Hey Martin, What do you make of BAR's 'fame accademy shoot out'? F1 doesn't need to be turned into a reality TV show, there's no credibility in that. What a way to top off JV's year - poor guy.
I agree and I just hope it's somebody being misquoted or misunderstood. I have seen tests before where drivers are measured for their speed, input, brakewear, tyrewear, and directly compared to make choices but a man of Villeneuve's callibre should never be subjected to that. It's for the junior ranks and if it's true, presumably designed to make him choose the exit route willingly.
Alexwar: Martin have you take a look on the new racetracks for 2004, Bahrain and China and putting Interlagos as the last race..what is yur opinion on those changes?
I've got a drivers mentality on this that wherever the races are is where we go. Races have come and gone over the years and there's no point putting a lot of thought into something you can't have any influence on. You score 10 points and you go as fast around them as you can. With my Silverstone and ITV cap on, you begin to think about conflicting sports, fixtures, climate, race time when broadcast into Europe etc. Also you wonder how anybody has been selling tickets for next year, not fully knowing the dates. It really compromises the promoters. I know from a few years back at Silverstone, it costs a quarter of a million pounds to reprint tickets for another date. It really looks bad for F1 compared to say Wimbledon, which I'm sure has its dates fixed for several years to come.
max: What do you think Eddie Jordan is going to do to get his team back in contention for winning races? Do you think he will pull a title sponsor out of the bag for 04 or will he sell a majority stake to one of the car manufacturers?
I suspect Eddie will have to sell some or all of the company. It's going to be a long haul back from here and something will need to be introduced into the system as a catalyst because the haves and have nots are now light years apart in Formula 1.
shane: Martin, Who has impressed you most this year Mark Webber or Fernando Alonso?
Both of them but Alonso the most. I think he's been more spectacular more of the time in a better car than Mark, but he really has been sensational on key days.
Qwaar-Jet: Does Michael Schumacher have a massive ego? Or is he down to earth?
He's very down to earth and a man with good family values in my experience.
James: Do you agree with Damon Hill, that Schumacher will crack under the pressure of JPM's chase, and possibly try the same trick as he pulled in 1994 in Adelaide or failed in 1997 in Jerez?
In the heat of the moment Michael has demonstrated he can cross the line of reasonableness. During the race in Monza I commented that Michael looked less flustered than Juan Pablo and he certainly didn't crack in qualifying or when JPM was closing him down in the middle of the race. He has five championships in his pocket so he shouldn't be getting too bent out of shape. However, Michael is massively more affected by the press than JPM appears to be.
I don't think either of them will crack but it could depend on a specific event or circumstance making that happen. I was surprised that JPM appeared to back off towards the end of Monza rather than keeping Michael under pressure even though a win was unrealistic after the traffic. It demonstrated a small weakness for me.
LS's Tip of the week
ESSENTIAL OILS aren't essential unless you're an engine, a gearbox or a twat
lol, dagavú in the middle 
great post LS, thanks.
Very interesting read, I tend to agree with Brundle a lot, which is good when he's commentating!
Very interesting read, I tend to agree with Brundle a lot, which is good when he's commentating!
Brundle still thinks like a driver.
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Brundle is by far the best part of ITV's coverage
I don't know ITV, Bernie The Bolt...
But i'm sure that was the main reason...
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But i'm sure that was the main reason...
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Wonderful piece of stuff to read.
Brundle certainly used his words very well!
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Did your birth certificate come with an apology letter from Durex?
Brundle certainly used his words very well!
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Did your birth certificate come with an apology letter from Durex?
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