Michael Schumacher crashes after tire blow out

The history of professional racing is full of names of drivers who died going for "just one more". And besides think of the contributions he could make being a consultant to F1 to make it better and more competitive

 

drivers drive!!! only they can stop themselvs from stepping into a race car.

quote from Mario " racing is the most selfish sport, people are willing to leave their familys to pick up whats left to do it"

 

Yeah, but I think even though guy Mario packed it in after his fly over in the Indy trials. He got the message.

Swiss F1 journalist Roger Benoit has his own metaphor for this: He says every GP driver is given a check book. After each big crash you tear out one cheque. Once you're out of checks, you're dead. Problem is: You don't know how many cheques there are in the booklet.

De Angelis and Ratzenberger's booklets were thin. Michael's is pretty thick it seems.

 

Ralf isn't in too bad a shape either and he almost ended up a paraplegic this year.

I wonder what conversations are going on right now in that villa in Vufflens.

 

The most important thing after a crash of this size of impact is AM I ALIVE...and as you can see Michael is alive as he climbed out of the car under his own power. to lay down is a safe thing to do as it helps you relax and also helps with the shock and trauma that has just happened to the body. Yes, we can all say that Michael has had a few accidents as many who drive at this level do if they are pushing the car as hard as it will go. Michael will hang his helmet up when he is ready and at this point he is not ready to do so. We can all say many things about these accidents but NONE of us have actually been "there", it is something that has to be experienced first hand to understand the entire feeling of going that fast and then coming to a sudden stop. The current F1 cars are the safest cars period. The saftey features that have been discovered in F1 could be put into everyday use if it wasn't for the public not understanding what REAL SAFETY means in a car. cars are not menat to be mobile offices with CD players, mobile phones, DVD players etc. Cars are menat to be driven and so many people are actually unaware of what real driving means and to what concentration it takes to drive at these speeds. Driving fast is just as much a mental exercise as it is physical. People like Michael are and have to be very mentally sharp to do what they do and do it time after time during a 50 or 70 lap race. Just remember these words: Calm, cool, collective. This frame of mind will allow you to live thru whatever happens to you. I have been in racing accidents before and they all seem like "time" has slowed down. This to me, comes from the three C's and the ability NOT to panic once the "accident' begins. Sometimes it can't be avoided as at these speeds things happen really fast and there are times where there is no time to make a change. I can asure you that Michael is fine and will be ready to race again.

 

Well said. I think i learned this lesson quite early in my Motocross days. The first big crash i had i shattered my collar bone and i can honestly say it was because i tensed up before hitting the ground.

Later on before i got out of the sport i was at a Supercross and my foot peg broke off mid flight when the bike landed i went rocketing off into the concrete wall of the stadium. I bent my bars into a "L" shape got back on the bike and finished the race with bent bars and one foot peg. Looking back if i would have gone into a panic on that crash i would have ended up in the hospital not on the bike at the end of the race.

Michael knew that the up comming hit was going to be a big one and more than like likely just relaxed in the tub knowing that it was going to be a huge hit but in relaxing he would come out quite fine. This quality is one that seperates the amature racers from the pros early on.

Rob

 

The Williams is built every bit as well at the Ferrari. The Dynamics behind Ralf's indy shunt is what caused the injury. If the tire would have failed a second sooner or later than when it did Ralf should have been able to walk away fron the crash.

I saw the same thing happen to Nigel Mansell his first year in Indy cars. He lost control of the car going into Turn 1 at Phoenix if he would have lost control at any other point of turn 1 he would have made it out fine. Instead he spun 180 and slamed into the wall backwards. the impact was so huge that the transmission punched a hole thru the retaining wall!!!

 

Well really, in a racing car what else can you do other than take your hands off the wheel? You're strapped in tight and are going to have to ride the crash through whether you like it or not! You just have to assume (hope) the car will do its job safety-wise.

 

Thats a great Avatar, I never seen him smoking a Cigar. Seriously, the guy knows what to do. He will be fine.

 

*ahem*.. Kroymans F399 *ahem*

 

I think you need to have a read of this thread.

 

"*ahem*.. Kroymans F399 *ahem*"

not this again.

hey james, I have september 6 marked in my calender, so you better come up with something soon .

george

 

Not to hijack this thread (although I think it has run its course by now anyway), but one thing I noticed about the Kroyman Ferrari:

He put those Kroyman stickers on where it used to say Marlboro. I think that is legally a big Nono. I read that article (in F1 racing?) about the guy who just bought an ex Schumacher F1 and part of the corse clienti program is that you're not allowed to change any of the ads.

 

That is 100% correct information. You are not allowed to change any of the ads.

 

Well, then most of the Corse Clienti participants violate the rules because they put their own decals on (Modena Motorsport, Viessmann etc). And allthough I like originality, the Kroymans decalls aren't that bad, looking a bit like Marlboro decals.

 

Ferrari could get their head out of the noose now by saying Kroyman altered the car and hence violated the contract.

 

I'm not allowed to go into this too deeply, but let me say that the noose is getting even tighter with new found information on the crash. Can't say anything more, so please don't ask. Perhaps Admiral Thrawn is able to talk tomorow.

 

Oh my!

I hope you guys keep us posted. Could this be already the beginning of the end of the clienti corse program?