What do you think of Ralph Firman??

[Ed- the MG fan]

On a lot of other forums many people are slagging him off. But I am reallyim impressed with his driving. Although he has struggled slight in qualitfying his race performance has been really good

Austalia- He got ahead of Fisi before he crashed

Malasia- Did a really good job, especially that brave monve on Trulli

Brazil- Stuck right behind fisi until he has suspension faliure.
Could have been a Jordan 1-2

Imola- Struggled a bit

Spain- great showing out qualifying fisi, and showed great opertunitism by followin MS who was lapping Fisi to over take his team mate

Austia- Was going to out qualify Fisi in qualifying 1 on pure pace if it had not been for the last corner accident. In the race, I thought it was great that he over took Coulthad at the re-start, and kept him behind him till he pitted. He was also able to stay with Fisi


My own opinion is that he is an excellent driver. He is able to match Fisi's pace which past team mates as Button couldn't do till the end of the season, eventhough he had an extra season in F1 compared to Firman. Also Wurz was never a match to Fisi either

[Reynard]

IMHO Ralph is one of the many drivers who has made it to the top as a result of having endless cash supplied by parental unit, who also being in the racing business, has knocked on the right doors to get Junior up the ladder.

While Ralph isn't a bad driver by all accounts, there are far more talented and far more deserving drivers out there who should be in F1. OK, winning the FNippon series is never easy, but he was in the best team with the best car and the biggest budget which certainly tipped the balance comprehensively in his favour.

At UK level, he was slightly above average in terms of ability, but nothing to write home about and nothing that would generate major interest if he hadn't been who he is.

I'd class him alongside Jenson Button and lable them both as consummately overrated.

[Nikki P]

Do you not think he sounds like an airline pilot? Everytime I hear him being interviewed I expect him to tell us what our cruising altitude is!

[cos]

...and looks eerily like Pierce Brosnan as well.

[touring fan]

He wasn't the obvious choice for the seat but i think he's doing alright considering. There are drivers on the grid that have been hyped up much more and aren't doing anything special, plus he's got a tough teammate to be compared to.

[Ed- the MG fan]

Apprantly Massa was never even a candidate fir tghe Jordan seat. Eddie Jordan said that he could have offered the team alload of money thinking that it was getting him into the team.
But Eddie was having none of it.

I also remeber Martin Brundle saying that Rirman didn't actually bring money to the team, but that a british drvier was always going to be favored due to the Benson & Hedges sponsership

[Stuart]

Ralph is clearly a good driver, but has always lacked the sparkle that true F1 greats have.
Fernando Alonso is exciting to watch, and brings an F1 car to life in a way that the top drivers do
And you only have to look at the body language of a BAR being driven by Jacques Villeneuve to see an F1 car "enjoying itself"
Ralph just doesn't make a car come alive like these guys do.

As Reynard says, there are plenty of more deserving drivers out there, although I do think Jenson Button deserves his place in F1 (if only he'd grow up a little)

[The Stig]

Ralph is probably no better and perhaps quite a lot worse than a great many recent F1 drivers. Sato, Wurz, even Alan McNish. I think Jensen Button isn't the right comparison If he hangs around and the BAR keeps improving, Jensen is a possible race winner. A few mid-table finishes, earning some confidence might do the trick for Ralph.

[kevin ritson]

Ralph's definitely getting better, however I do remember him being a pretty handy driver in his Paul Stewart racing days, he just needed to mature a bit at the time and I can see this in his F1 career - just look at the way he throws the Jordan into the corners (and often through the gravel;) )

[The Stig]

What many F1 drivers in the Ralph Firman mould need, is a couple of seasons to develop their talent in the formula. Unfortunately, there's the rub. F1 isn't that patient. With the vast sums of money invested in F1, teams rightly or wrongly, demand an instant return in terms of podiums and points. All of these things generally means exposure, which for them means satisfied sponsors and hopefully re-investment.

[Stuart]

The great drivers instantly made their mark when they arrived....Senna, Schumacher, Prost... while Villeneuve and Montoya had already gained experience of top line Motor Rcaing in Champ Cars and were ready to set the world alight.
Maybe Firman does need some time to settle in but as The Stig says whether F1 will wait that long is questionable - look at the problems Pizzonia has had and he was being described as the next Senna a couple of seasons back.

If Alonso and Firman were both to have a go at taking the lead of a race away from Schumacher, which one is more likely to succeed?
Anyone you fancy to make such a pass stick must be considered a future super star - it's just a matter of time before Alonso is gives Schuey a fright.
Anyone who you really can't imagine trying it is relegated to the "Very Good driver" league - which is where I see Ralph.

[The Stig]

Eddie Irvine once allegedly got a fat lip for having the temerity to unlap himself from the late great Ayrton Senna in Japan. Can't see Ralph, "hooking and jabbing" with Schumey in the near future.

[Peter]

I think Ralph Firman has received some extremely harsh and unfair criticism from the press and fans. It is true that he has not covered himself in glory during single lap qualifying, however I think it is important to bring his lack of experience into consideration.

He was only signed up as Jordan's second driver a month before the start of the season. Hence, he only completed a couple of tests before being thrown in at the deep end- with a weight on his shoulder.

He gets little opportunity to develop his knowledge of the car between races, as Jordan only get 10 days of testing this year.

I think he has steadily improved and has been extremely impressive during races. I take my hat off to him..

[Claw]

Firman's getting better.

He's got awful skin. Any one know why?