OK, thank you for clarifying your viewpoint. I had taken it the other way. There's no bad blood between us Dave... I was merely pointing out that there are often two sides and merely that you hold one and I hold the other... there is no right and wrong regarding the matter, merely different sides of the same coin... At no time was that meant as an attack. In fact I DO see your side and understand your emotions regarding it Frank
Very good point John. Also when this year's car was being designed during last season, the lead driver was Button, who, with his smooth driving style performs best with a car that is more prone to understeer and is easier on the rear tires as a result, as opposed to Schumi that prefers a very "pointy" car that allows him to attack corners more aggresively but is more wearing on the rear tires. Both drivers are on totally different sides of the spectrum w/regard to driving styles and the cars that they perform best in... It will be very interesting to see next year if MB produces a car that is heavily slanted towards Schumi's preferences, or if the car is more neutral in character and slanted more towards Rosberg's style as a result of his superior performance this year vs. Schumi... A lot of people are probably getting a lot of gray hairs having to decide which style to design their car around. The young talent that has had the better performance this year, or the old fox, that may have lost a step, but has all of the success and experience behind him... Frank
Rosberg was getting the upgrades first this year, rightfully so. If I had to guess, I would say the new MB car would be designed for Schu first, and Rosberg second. This type of chassis development plays well for both drivers as both prefer a tighter front end, although Schu certainly benefits from this more than Ros. It would make no sense designing a car that is a compromise for one driver, but good for the other. I'm hoping it's a Red Bull type situation where the car is just 'right' and it doesn't seem to matter who is driving the thing. Vettel and Weber have quite different styles yet the car is strong for both.
Not true: - In 2006 MS decided to leave the Scuderia. They had offered him a seat for 2007. - In 2007 to 2008 MS employed by the Scuderia as consultant and tested their road cars. - In 2009 MS decided not to drive for the Scuderia in Valencia. They had offered him Massa's seat. The team would have gladly seen him as a driver, but it was MS who decided not to drive for the team. Claiming that MS could only drive oversteer happy cars is simply not true as discussed in this thread: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292674&highlight=understeer+Schumacher&page=2 My OP has plenty of references to the contrary: http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showpost.php?p=139784055&postcount=1 This I fully agree with. They're gonna build another dog of a car in 2011. As in every subsequent year until the board pulls the plug and they remain as an engine manufacturer. PS: With the Suzuka race MS set a new personal record: Most races driven without a win. It was his 19th. Not even in his worst years in the nineties did it take him that long to win another race. My feeling is, he'll continue to expand this record.
I don't quite see these threads as keying in on what I was stating, which is mainly that he has been fortunate throughout his career to have cars which have not been so backwards to what his preferences are. This year's car was designed by an extremely busy 2009 team for a polar opposite style driver. Of course it's going to suck. He never had such conditions in the past. Not an excuse but rather a statement of fact.
Your posts state that MS can't drive well with an understeering car. My reference calls MS the master of understeer.
And you, a master of understatement Call them excuses, explanations or facts in the end they're all ways of justifying a sub-standard performance.
Well, it's not really proof now is it? Have a look into the history of cars he has driven and you will find he has never been shoved in a chassis such as this.
I have to say, Schu had a great race today and am impressed by his 180 degree in his ability to keep the intermediate tires from falling apart. Much improved, and the pass on Button was just poetry.
With a little help from a friend. BTW: He spun early in the race while Nico was in hot pursuit of Hamilton.
