Michael Schumacher

The Vettel thread surprised me as such that when I searched for a Schumacher thread, I could not find one. So I propose this thread for Schumacher because regardless of your opinion whether his return is succesful or not, I think we can all agree that there's always something to talk about whether he's had a good or bad race.
Historical Discussion may be allowed on the thread as long as it's on topic.
Enjoy! :)
 
For some reason (and I know I have no proof and maybe sound a bit ridicolous) I think Ferrari did not want Irvine to win the 1999 WDC. The "committee meeting"-mess at the Nürburgring was so awfully stupid, I can't believe they really supported Irvine 100%.
And to those who would say "Why did they make MSC help Irvine out in Malaysia then?"...I think they just did that to give the impression that they (incl. MSC) were great sportsmen, even though they were probably not...

I remember 1999 well because first race Schumacher has a gearbox problem and finishes 5th whilst Irvine takes a surprise win and Jean Todt tries to dampen Eddie's enthusiasm by mentioning his place in the team in terms of contract. Then it began to spread that would Eddie be allowed to race Schumacher - apparently a contract clause of Eddie will only get support if he was 40pts ahead or so

There was some niggly comments from Eddie regarding the championship standings.

What came to head was when at Silverstone when there appeared to be bit of needle especially when Eddie was sacrificed in France to protect Schumacher and lost out on a possible podium.

The incident on lap 1 where apparently Schumacher and Irvine did not acknowledge the red flag and Schumacher made his infamous dive on crashed into the tyre barrier

then Jean Todt accused Eddie of throwing the race away by overshooting his pitbox..Eddie hit back saying Schumi gets away with crashing into a wall (Canada) whilst he is blasted for messing a few metres.

Eddie won the next few races and led and then had another slump which included the team not ordering Salo to pit or move over from a podium position at Monza when ahead

Then came the farce at Germany which neither Todt or BRawn was held accountable - typically Ferrari fashion is to fire the pit crew. Luca took matters in his own hand and rang Schumacher's home to see if he was coming back. Luca spoke to Schumacher's daughter who said "Daddy is in the garden playing football" that prompted his return in Malaysia

Come Japan it was obvious Eddie was not going to get help if he was not fast enough

Luckily for Ferrari /Schumacher/Todt/Brawn they delivered the title in 2000 to start the run but things may have been different if they did not as no driver or manager has lasted at Ferrari that long without delivering
 
I remember 1999 well...

Luca ... rang Schumacher's home ... spoke to Schumacher's daughter who said "Daddy is in the garden playing football...

:D

"Daddy is in the garden playing football" ROFL

Aha ha! Gahahahahahaaaaa! LOL

Priceless, Il Leone'. Absolutely priceless!

:thumbsup:

Anyway, I have no idea how some people think that the 1999 McLaren was a "dominant" car.

At best, it was co-fastest with the Ferrari.The Ferrari may even have been the better car. Salo even could have won with it in Germany had he not been obliged to move over for Irvine. It was *that* good!

Hakkinen, however, was a much better driver than Irvine and therein lay the differentiating factor.
 
The McLaren was dominant on raw pace at the start of the season, but they didn't rack up the points that they should have due to reliability issues. As in '98, Ferrari started well behind but were able to close the performance gap over the course of the year, though even then McLaren had plenty of opportunities to close it out (Hakkinen spinning out of the lead at Monza; DC being allowed to win ahead of Mika at Spa).

In this case, as in many others, the championship standings don't tell you very much on their own.
 
99 was a good year I rememeber but bringing it back to the present.

Schumie is getting more and more consistant with his results and is even starting to mix it up with the tail end of the front runners(before I'm jumped on I know Rosberg is too) he slowly slowly catchy monkey seems to be returning to form. Now if Merc turn out a decent car next year do you think at some of his better circuits (Spa, Monza etc) we might see old Schumie in the mix for wins? I think since Canada this year he's really started to look the part again.
 
As far as comparing Vettel and Schumacher goes, it's a very subjective business, but I think it might be equally difficult to win a championship against one guy who is equally as talented, as opposed to winning one against three or four guys who are each slightly less talented.

Lauda had to beat Fittipaldi, Reutemann, Hunt, Andretti, Peterson, Scheckter et al, whereas Senna's only real opposition for his first two titles was Prost. Yet history paints the two in rather different lights (rightly so, in my view). It can't just be a question of how many good drivers happen to be around at a given time, rather a question of the drivers' own strengths and weaknesses. If we're going to do a comparison at all.
 
As far as comparing Vettel and Schumacher goes, it's a very subjective business, but I think it might be equally difficult to win a championship against one guy who is equally as talented, as opposed to winning one against three or four guys who are each slightly less talented.

And, of course, its about the combinations you face with regard to teams. I'd think Damon Hill in a FW16 should be as difficult an opponent as Fernando Alonso in an F10, because I think the Williams was a closer match to the Benetton than the Ferrari was to the Red Bull.
 
With 4 races to go it will be interesting to see if him out scores him. Just 3 points difference now - might make all the difference in Nico's contract talks
 
From last year he was 4th in korea, let Nico through in Brazil and crashed in Abu Dhabi, on the other hand Nico crashed in korea was let through by Michael in Brazil and was 4th in Abu Dhabi, it comes down to India and if he lets nico through in Brazil again
 
From last year he was 4th in korea, let Nico through in Brazil and crashed in Abu Dhabi, on the other hand Nico crashed in korea was let through by Michael in Brazil and was 4th in Abu Dhabi, it comes down to India and if he lets nico through in Brazil again

Why did he let Rosberg through in Brazil? I can't remember...

If it rains in Korea, I do expect Schumacher to beat Rosberg, Abu Dhabi is an unknown as is India.

This is probably one of the most interesting team-mate battle right now, along with the two Toro Rosso drivers
 
Why did he let Rosberg through in Brazil? I can't remember...

This is probably one of the most interesting team-mate battle right now, along with the two Toro Rosso drivers

He let him through because he had a better chance of catching kubica in the championship and it's always the toro rosso's
 
If I remember correctly Rosberg was on fresh tyres and Schumacher was on old ones so he thought Rosberg would have a chance at catching the guys ahead and let him through rather than hold him up by keeping him behind.
 
Ya know I've thought about it and I think my money is on Schumi to pull this one off.

I'm starting to sneakly think that he will too. I wouldn't have even thought it at the beginning of the season but now i actually think it might happen.

Does anyone think that next season will be Schumachers last in the sport and he'll go and help out Mercedes at the back of the garage or join they DTM squad?
 
What a refreshing attitude to his several collisions with Petrov this season.'We're close to each other on track and this happens. We're racing, its racing.' I find mysef having a growing respect for Schumacher.
 
:D

"Daddy is in the garden playing football" ROFL

Aha ha! Gahahahahahaaaaa! LOL

Priceless, Il Leone'. Absolutely priceless!

:thumbsup:

Anyway, I have no idea how some people think that the 1999 McLaren was a "dominant" car.

At best, it was co-fastest with the Ferrari.The Ferrari may even have been the better car. Salo even could have won with it in Germany had he not been obliged to move over for Irvine. It was *that* good!

Hakkinen, however, was a much better driver than Irvine and therein lay the differentiating factor.

1999 Mclaren was the fastest car certainly in the hands of Hakkinen who notched up 12 poles ! However he binned a few races in the lead San Marino and Monza - the crying behind the trees was a classic scene

Irvine went missing when it mattered most although some of it was down to the lack of support he got from Ferrari namely Brawn and Todt.

I think the trigger point was France when he clearly could have had a podium but was told not to overtake M Schumacher and then it kicked off at Silverstone with Schumacher trying to make up for his poor start with an impatient passing attempt on lap 1 that put him into the barriers

Salo did sacrifice himself at Hockenheim...I was surprised that no one wanted Salo for 2000 after that performance
 
Back
Top Bottom