1994 (And all that.....)

Was 1994 Schumacher's most dominant season?

  • Yes?

    Votes: 2 10.0%
  • No?

    Votes: 18 90.0%

  • Total voters
    20
Off into the realms of conjecture here, would Senna have had his crash if the Bennetton wasn't running TC/Launch control, as he wouldn't have been quite so on the limit trying to keep up?
 
Off into the realms of conjecture here, would Senna have had his crash if the Bennetton wasn't running TC/Launch control, as he wouldn't have been quite so on the limit trying to keep up?

Senna was ahead of Schumacher though wasn't he when he crashed?
 
Never really looked at that way Artist, but it does look like complete dominance, only thing that has let the dominance down in 1994 was the reliability compared to the 2002 season.
 
Off into the realms of conjecture here, would Senna have had his crash if the Bennetton wasn't running TC/Launch control, as he wouldn't have been quite so on the limit trying to keep up?
I've heard many people going on about this point as a possible cause of Senna's death, and I bet it's something that has troubled Herr Schumacher as well. My honest view is that although Senna was driving his heart out and and driving beyond the perceived level of the car, (outdriving it) it didn't lead to his death. Tamburello is a corner that should not worry an F1 car, in fact the only time a driver saw it as a corner is if something went wrong (Alboretto, Berger, etc.) It was definitely something on the car that caused it initially, the reason that stands out most to me is the combination of the ridiculously low ride height of the cars at the time, and the tyre pressures were still going to be lower than normal due to the stupid Opel Cavalier pace car they were using. I'm in no doubt that Senna was pushing harder than he possibly should have been to make up for the inadequacies of his own car (and/or the supposed cheating of the Benetton) but at that corner, it shouldn't have mattered
 
I'm in no doubt that Senna was pushing harder than he possibly should have been to make up for the inadequacies of his own car (and/or the supposed cheating of the Benetton) but at that corner, it shouldn't have mattered

And that is probably true at any given point in the previous 10 years.
 
And that is probably true at any given point in the previous 10 years.
You're possibly right, I suppose that's the only way to out-perform the perceived level of a car. I mean, how else do you go 1.5 seconds quicker than Alain Prost in the same car over a lap that takes 80 seconds?

Edit: That's why so many people (myself included) count him as the best ever
 
The 1993 traction-control software was legal in 1994 until the Monza race, due to the ban coming too late to give the teams enough time to re-write their software before the start of the season. Therefore, its presence is quite understandable. As is Senna's claim about Benneton cheating. Senna was SO convinced that he was the best driver that he would naturally think that any driver beating him would have to be cheating. IMHO, Senna had to drive so hard because the Williams had the most perfected driver aids in 1993, and the cars were, therefore more dependent upon them on the design level. When the aids were banned for 1994, it effected Williams the most and it took them more time to optimize their new car which had to do without the aids. McLaren and Arrows were found to have accessible TC and LC software, with McLarens working off the transmission.

Pyrope,
If it makes you feel better to call Schumacher a cheat, go ahead, but at least be man enough to also apply that term to Senna as well, since HE pioneered all of Schumi's misdeeds.
 
The 1993 traction-control software was legal in 1994 until the Monza race, due to the ban coming too late to give the teams enough time to re-write their software before the start of the season.

That's a new one on me! I was always under the impression that the START of 1994 was when traction control was banned. I mean, Ferrari were hauled across the coals for having a form of traction control on their cars in the first 2 races, and were told to remove it..... McLaren were guilty of having an automatic up-shift device....
 
Artist,

The software was legal because it was so deeply embedded in all aspects of operation. The actual traction control aspects of It were supposed to be firewalled off. What determined whether it was traction control or not was if it had some means of monitoring tyre rotational speeds and adjusting performance perameters in response to differences in rotational speed (slippage). All vestiges of the old software had to be eliminated by Monza
 
Benetton were asked to provide their code and various other telemetry data and it took them over three weeks to comply. You think what they let the FIA look at was their actual code? In comparison, Ferrari and McLaren complied within a couple of days.

Hang on, you said that traction control WAS discovered (It wasn't), then said that the code provided to the FIA wasn't that used on the car (which is it? If they provided fake code, launch control would not have been an option, would it)? They faked the car's telemetry data too? Bloody hell they were good!

Benetton were asked to provide their code and various other telemetry data and it took them over three weeks to comply. You think what they let the FIA look at was their actual code? In comparison, Ferrari and McLaren complied within a couple of days.

I think you are conflating two issues. As far as I know nobody has ever worried about Schumacher's win in the context of Senna's death. It was clear that the two were going to be nip and tuck all season and Senna's loss was just one of those things that happen in racing. The reason many people have tried to discredit Schumacher's 1994 championship is because he's a cheat.

McLaren were warned over delays in providing their source code. Ferrari were not. Benetton (actually Ford Electronics, as it was their IP), were also warned for the same reason. Are you suggesting that McLaren also provided fake code and telemetry data?

The controversy over the way Schumacher won the championship was always overshadowed by Senna's death. There are even suggestions (on here and other fora) that "Schumacher's illegal Benetton" caused Ayrton's fatal crash. That is a hideous suggestion to make, and totally unfounded - not that you suggested that, I hasten to add.

I'm not even particularly a fan of Schumacher, although I think he's better than some give him credit for, and find some of his tactics, particularly Jerez 97, unforgivable, but I think he gets a lot of bad press that Senna escapes.

Has Schumacher cheated? Yes. Has Senna? Yes. Has Hamilton? Yes. Have many others? Yes.

Why does Schumacher cop the flak?
 
To be honest....I will have many disagree with me on here...

I didn't see much wrong with the crash at Adelaide, Damon Hill got too excited and dived down quite late, Schumacher may have turned in a bit, but Hill was too over-enthusiastic.

As for Jerez 1997, different story...

The traction control thing...been done to death.
 
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