Regardless of his retirement, I won't be changing my avatar! :)
It won't be the same going to a race trying to get a glimpse of Michael as he walked by.....truly a living legend! However, F1 is now better than ever!!!! I love Ferrari and I'm pulling hard for Kimi (my 7 year old who loves Michael is now found screamng KIMI! at the the top of his lungs at the TV, heh). Massa is fine, and I don't think he should be criticised too much for blowing that pass....it has happened to the best of 'em. I do have to point out that despite loving Ferrari I am really liking the way McLaren is shaping up....good for Alonso having the sack to jump from the frogs to the struggling McLaren team, and to pull it off (at least so far). And good for Ron to believe in Lewis and bring him up to the point he can be put in that seat.....make no mistake about Hamilton will be a wrold champ some day....perhaps not too far off in the future either! BMW is hard on the heals which is pretty cool too. I just love watching Honda and Toyota sucking wind despite their combined BILLIONS in expenses, hahahahahahah. Scott Speed, you better do something soon....you're starting to become old news and boring. I look forward to watching Rosberg, Kubica, and Wurz....great stuff!!!! Boot Button, DC, Weber...soon. Keep Sato for the laughs. Now all they need to do is UNFREEZE the engine development and F1 will be rocking full steam ahead! Ciao!
I seriously disagree with F1 being better than ever. Everything is spec'd, almost all the cars look exactly the same, narrow track, control tires, etc. Look at F1 from 1960-1982 those were the years.
Same is true with me - I've been a Hamilton fan since he was in GP2. Yes, I am a Ferrari fan and own one and also own two Mercedes so he isn't necessarily on the wrong team. However, I'd like to see him on the red team in the future. As far as F1 not being the same anymore . . I think it's becoming another open wheel spec series and is losing it's aura of being "the pinnacle of motorsports". I tend to find the prototypes more advanced and a race with four class types a definite "test of man and machine". Even this being said, I will remain a true Tifosi even if I don't fancy many of the changes occuring in F1. No, I don't think F1 is better than ever, quite the opposite. Carol
Man, it is the complete opposite with me.... I hated watching f1 when schumacher raced, it was so bloody boring and un interesting, i'd rather have my toes broken then watch it in the "Golden years". For the first time last weekend i actually saw someone have to pass another person, that where not during a pit stop! I actually got enjoyment out of the last race, and now i don't have to settle for motoGP for some real racing.
My buddies and I were just discussing this during the race. We loved Shumi. He was just an incredible figure. I'd love to see him race somewhere again, even if not in F1. He just brought an awe factor to racing that I don't think we'll see again, at least for a long time.
+1 Read some history books about F1 and learn about the real sport. MS played but a very small part ... admittedly a fast one. Pete
It's so melodramatic to say that F1 won't be the same anymore just because one legendary driver left. That is the nature of all sports indeed life. The legends grow old (or die as in Senna's case) and the sport gets new heroes. What makes it tough is when the heroes we grow up with and identify with retire. You suddenly realize you aren't so young anymore. Lets look at a few another sport like tennis. When Andre Agassi retired it really made me thoughtful. That was it. Everyone I grew up with in the sport who was around my age has called it a career. Agassi was simply the last one to turn out the lights. Is the sport not the same anymore because Becker, Chang, Sampras and Agassi aren't around anymore. Course it's not the same, it's got younger, faster and stronger players ie the next generation that builds on the one before it.
I'm a big fan of Schumi and was disappointed with the manner in which he retired and I was glum for a tad after the season ended. Now though, nothing has changed for me. I still enjoy it as much as I used to, Schumi or no. I hope that he stays retired, there's too big of a risk of losing the legend by making a return and not being good.
I will always appreciate that I was there to personally witness the Michael Schumacher era, from his first race in '91 to his last. However, I never really could wrap my arms around the guy and, as a result, don't really miss him much at all. I'm sure it's a personality thing with me, and I found that I missed drivers like Berger and Alesi much more when they retired. Even Irvine.
The loss of MS is only part of why its not the same for me. With F1 having near military grade engineers, just think of the unique technology they could have come out with but are held back by the rules. I miss the old Williams of the early 90's with over the top technology, to me thats what F1 is all about, if I want low tech I'll watch Nascar. The magic of F1 is the technology and lately they're becoming ChampCar.
Oh, if only they could unleash the engineers! I agree--let F1 live up to its billing and free up the creative process. We've had threads that discussed this in the past, and I remember how exciting it used to be to see what the cars would actually look like every season. Although, the more that technology is used to design the chassis', the less likely it will be for great variance in the look of the cars.
i think since that day, it's much safer now, and Senna indirectly helped save many lives, Michael included.
Personally, I've always been a Kimi fan and it is 10x as rewarding to see him in a red car. I would still prefer Michael over any driver except for Kimi in a Ferrari. I find the races more exciting because there is actual competition, not Michael winning 12 of the first 13 races anymore.
I guess I'm in the minority but I loved that. It was good to see Ferrari that strong after 20ish years of mediocrity. Why does no one complain when McLaren or Williams were that dominant in the 80's or 90's?
McLaren in 1988 ran Prost and Senna as teammates with no team orders. Williams in 1996 ran Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve with no team orders. Having a dominant car with two WDCs fighting it out is exciting, having a dominant car with a contractual #1 and #2 is boring. That's why. Schumacher actively fought Ferrari's efforts to pair him with a competitive teammate. I think Ferrari with Schumacher/Hakkinan or Schumacher/Raikkanen sounds a hell of a lot more exciting than pairing him with Irvine, Barrichello or Massa. Too bad he didn't have the stomach for a straight-up fight with a top notch driver in the second car...
I have enjoyed the first two races. They didn't turn out how I would have liked them to (Ferrari 1-2) but competiton is good. Not only do McLaren And Ferrari look good but a couple of other teams may figure it out and make this season really good.
I liked to see Ferrari winning, but if they run away with every race then it gets boring. If Schumacher leads start to finish, I'm happy that Ferrari won but the race would have been boring.
