Nico to Ferrari ?

But, *nobody*, with the possible exception of Ayrton, was as good as Michael at his best. [We'll leave the earlier guys out for now. ]

He was quite simply head & shoulders above the rest of his era IMO.

That dear ol' Rubens was able to get close on occasion was quite an achievement!

Cheers,
Ian

 

I consider Rubens to be a damn fine driver. Good in the wet, gave Jenson all he could handle, Crushed Hulkenburg, most experienced driver in F1 history. Certainly no slouch IMO

 

Austria was the exception to every rule, but as i said, Michael didn't needed that to win the title, it was more a poor decision from Todt than anything else.....and Michael repaid that twice, at Monza and at Indy.

 

Yes,Lorenzo is faster, and so is Marquez but still,he led all the championship,untill the last race.....and this year he is also in the mix....obviously he is slower than 10 years ago, but stilla top driver,just like Kimi...

 

+1

Loyal & trustworthy too.

Another of the reasons he's been around so long.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Yes, Rossi is still very good, but now more drawing from his experience and ability to think ahead, than from outright speed. Of course there are still flashes of brilliance, but Lorenzo and Marquez are faster than him at this point.
It's not bad at all from someone who has been racing for so long, but even at 37, age takes its toll. I think Yamaha thinks he is still very good for them, and re-signed him.
Beside that, he is the crowd favourire at many tracks.

I predict that Rossi will dominate Vignales next year at Yamaha, but Vignales will learn from "the best".

 

I have never been a Schumacher fan, but I have to admit that you are right on that account. Personally, I think Schumacher was a better driver than Senna, whom many have idolise since his demise.

I will even say that Schumacher gave the Scuderia a sense of false security.
Too many at Ferrari and among the fans have lived under the illusion that this would carry on for ever, and that the team was invincible. Reality was hard to accept when they came back to earth!
Raikkonen's title was well deserved but came a bit by chance compared to previous domination, and since 2008, the Scuderia has been struggling to retain its domination.

Must try harder !!!

 

Hang on...how many races did they do together? How many of those times was Barichello ordered to let MS past?

Let's face it, like in any sport, on any given day any one of the top guys can win, but overall there was no doubt MS stamped domination on any team mate he had until he retired the first time.

 

I agree that Barichello wasn't very often seen in front of Schumacher to let him go past, but when he did, it was very obvious

Most of the time Barichello was probably just following Schumacher and observing team order not to challenge him, but protecting his rear like a tail gunner.

 

As I recall it, most of the time Barichello was following Schumacher (at quite a distance back!), and struggling to keep up!

Let's not try and re-write history here - Barichello didn't spend his entire Ferrari career dutifully tail grabbing Schumacher's arse in every race because the team told him to!

9 races out of ten he was too far back (often behind rival teams drivers), to even see Schumacher's arse!

 

An aside from the thread but anyone know how to start polls on here or is it subscribed members only

 

No, we don't think Hamilton is the best driver currently or ever.

There, I just saved you the trouble.

 

Well said!!!

 

Lol (for moretti)

 

Wasn't even gonna ask that was just wondering

 

Yes.

 

Oh... you know...
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yep...hammer meet nail.

No doubt about it no matter WHAT the poll would have been, that would have been the underlying aim.

 

Lewis Hamilton wants his future to be at history-making Mercedes | F1 News

LH saying all the nice things about his status. Nico probably staying as well

 

Furthermore...Maurizio Arrivabene, during the last two races, has already made quite clear that if Kimi's game stays on the same level, he could well be granted another season. Knowing how adept the italians are at these declarations, I imagine that it is a serious option indeed. For instance, here:

Maurizio Arrivabene - Kimi Raikkonen's future in his own hands

Rgds

 

LOLOLOLOLOLO, post of the year right here guys!!!!!

 

A typical open invitation that states the obvious. If Kimi drives well they retain if not he is replaced. How often he faces this is the nature of his inconsistent driving normally blamed on the car. Im ok if he stays, if not he has not really produced spectacular results since Lotus. He appears stronger this year so far.

 

Yes, he can be quite puzzling at times. This year, at least so far, everything seems to fall in place again; but, as I have said time and again, nothing short of a Grand Prix win will convince me (even if I admit I am a fan of Kimi); anything less than a win would not be acceptable.

Rgds

 

It may be Vettel who Ferrari wants to replace - not Kimi. Kimi is ahead of Vettel with points this season. Also, Vettel's mouth and attitude are close to the line. Kimi just drives and doesn't complain much (good or bad). But in the end, I really think this open, media-covered meeting between Nico and Ferrari is so Nico can beef-up his Mer contract in line with his teammate's contract.

 

A touch of 'leverage' to help Nico....interesting. His best hope is to win the title to gain further on LH in terms of money.