This guy flip flops more than a fish out of water! http://planetf1.com/driver/18227/7744253/Lauda-Schumi-will-win-a-race
...because Niki knows. It's possible, but everyone knows that. I mean, the car's already swept the front row and won a race. So in the world of provocative statements, it isn't one of Niki's best.
Niki Lauda is full of nonsense. Just 2-3 races and MS struggles, he'll be the first one in line calling him to retire for good, and being a constant critic. Just because the Merc is better this year, suddenly he's in MS's corner.
Exactly. His "who he thought was going to win the WDC" changed like every week in 2010, it was hilarious.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/05/fresh_questions_over_mediocre.html Should he leave at the end of this season?
He has yet to have a really good clean race, and most of the time it was no fault of his own. But unless a miracle happens by mid-season, he needs to retire. He is extremely aggressive which I like about him, but it's bordering reckless.
Dang the guy makes his first mistake of the year and the hounds are out for him. Had he scored what he should have had his car/team not let him down, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'm holding out for some good results, they will come. However, while he's amazingly competitive for his age, it's plain to see that his reaction times and decision making are not what they once were. The pre-comeback MS would have never had a crash like that with Senna.
When the company insiders are throwing words around like those in the story linked, things are not going well. He had his time. More than enough time. Its nice to him race. When he is gone he wont be missed....again. I didnt miss him or Kimi. We have new talent and a new generation to make their mark. F1 has great history but its all about what is going on now.
I'd like to see proof of the "comments" made by some guy on the Mercedes team. Newsflash to them, but he was about 100 yards behind Rosberg when the crash happened and their car wasn't exactly a rocket this last weekend so maybe they should look inward before making such remarks...
Mercedes want him to stay, but I see this as a problem as Michael comes from a generation of drivers where this level of aggression is more common. In modern-day F1, this cannot work though. Modern F1 would seem to fit a driver like Prost better than anyone from past generations. It's very calculating now.
I don't know, I just think it's a bunch of **** how he has one poor race and then everyone is out to get him again. If he podiums at Canada or something everyone will shut up for a couple weeks until he makes (GOD FORBID) another mistake in which case they will be calling for him to retire again. Newsflash people, he's out-qualified Rosberg twice and was running in a podium position twice when his car failed, was hit from behind at one race and still managed to beat Rosberg etc. etc. he hasn't had a poor year pace wise.
You know I'm a stupid huge Schumacher fan. I'll give him a few more races to podium or win one and we'll see. I hope he stays for a couple years to really see if Mercedes can pull out a WCC and a WDC but otherwise I fully believe Vettel is going to replace him whenever he does decide to pull the plug, whenever that may be. And you're right, he has out-qualified Rosberg a couple times. He only stopped outqualifying Rosberg because he went with setups which favor the race rather than qualifying, otherwise I have no doubt he was to continue to trounce Nico. Schu also remains a far far far superior race-pace driver as his lap times and general tire prowess prove. He's just plain better, but he is a victim of his own aggression which is going to be the end of him, but I hope not.
I feel that MS speaking publicly against the Pirelli tires is his way of setting up a graceful exit. If MS has another horrible season (and I think it is still too early) he can retire and he can justify it by saying that his comeback failed not be because he is old and doesn't have the skills anymore. It will be because F1 is just not the same sport anymore. MS can argue that he is/was the pinnacle of F1 drivers when F1 was the pinnacle of motorsport. Now that F1 has become something else, he cannot and does not want to be part of it. MS can say "I have not changed. F1 has."
I suspect Schumacher won't win the WDC and I might owe Andreas a case of beer. He's been the recipient of a lot of misfortune this year... some of which wasn't his fault and some of which was, as aforementioned, probably a result of his own aggression. But, more than that, I think the field is stronger now than it was when Schumacher was utterly dominant. Back in his prime, it was usually a 1-on-1 challenge to his supremacy while the rest of the field slotting in behind the two titans battling it out at the front. These days, race results are far more varied. Part of this is the FIA tweaking the cars to make passing easier and part of it is that many of the current line-up of drivers actually watched how Schumacher won titles and so have been shown the way forward. Having said that, I hope we still see Schumacher take a race victory or two in the rest of the season. All the best, Andrew.
It changed the day he quit, it changed the day he came back. It continues to change and without him the world will still turn. As I posted its fun to see him compete again. His peak has past him. He is not what he was, because he himself has changed and for the worse in terms of speed and agility. He has gotten older. Period. The minute differences are now being magnified with respect to the actual faster drivers. There is a measureable peak. He is well past it. Most of us know deep inside this is true.
I will agree that he had a poor year in 2010, but I think 2011 was far from horrible. He should have beat Rosberg but his car either let him down or he got involved in silly accidents. This year he has really been driving well, just hasn't caught a break yet.
Obviously. MS was past his "peak" after winning the title in 2004. Probably actually a little earlier than that.
