Interestingly he set fastest lap of the race last week, so not really sure what being nice has to do with going fast, can you help explain that to me? Last I checked he was still second in the championship ahead of Alonso, Hamilton and Kimi, all world champions. Thanks for playing. MB
If you read about what happened there, he was driving with three brake calipers working for about 1/3 of the race, so I would hardly call driving in a downpour with three corners stopping you in an F1 car a disappointment - I would wager many others would have spun off in the first lap or two with those conditions.
Too bad "setting fastest race lap" means.... well... nothing actually. If it was relevant, it would be worth points. It's not. Yep, he is 2nd in the championship, 1 point ahead of Vettel, 12 points behind his teammate in equal equipment. All drivers must be judged on relative performance to their teammates. RB has had a couple of good years in his career on that point, but this year, he is getting trounced by Button. Sorry. But thanks for playing.
True, Ruebens was one of the highest paid drivers for a number of years while at Ferrari. Even a back marker like Coulthard is said to be worth something like $70-$80 million (part of that due to business ventures he was able to be a part of due to his F1 money. Irvine used his F1 revenue to build much more wealth for himself), so these boys aren't ones to cry for.
Not according to Ross a few weeks ago, when he said he regretted why he didn't sign up JB during his days as Ferrari technical chief.
The fastest lap comment was brought up specifically to counter this quote from you..."there is just no possible way a 37 year old has the same skill and reflexes as a 23 year old". Apparently being 37 has nothing to do with having the same "skill" or "reflexes" as he clearly demonstrated he can turn a lap faster than Button and everyone else in the entire field this year. I didn't imply that doing so meant a hill of beans, but being in the field this year clearly has nothing to do with his skill to drive fast, as he has demonstrated this year that he can indeed to that. MB
http://globoesporte.globo.com/Esportes/Noticias/Formula_1/0,,MUL1098860-15011,00-SITE+OFICIAL+DE+RUBENS+BARRICHELLO+E+INVADIDO+POR+HACKERS+APOS+CORRIDA.html
While I disagree with the lack of credit you give to Massa's driving abilities, I do agree that last year was as close as he's probably going to get for a WDC.
+1 To be honest, Ferrari F1 team stinks at the moment. So much know-how, and yet they are humiliated by a new team.
To be fair Brawn GP isn't a new team, they've been around a long time in various guises. They were in a position to do more development work on this year's car than Ferrari, so for Ferrari to be a bit behind them at this stage is hardly humiliating.
I think Rubens would be very heartened to hear that people still think it is 'early days' for him! Personally I really like him. I have met him a couple of times and he is a really nice guy. He is obviously a great driver as a poor driver would not have survived so long in F1. Is he one of the greatest? I don't think so. Should Brawn replace him with someone younger, more hungry, talented, and as cheap? Probably.
Okey, so far, out of four races: http://www.formula1.com/results/team/ Pos Team Points 1 Brawn-Mercedes 50 2 RBR-Renault 27.5 3 Toyota 26.5 4 McLaren-Mercedes 13 5 Renault 5 6 BMW Sauber 4 7 STR-Ferrari 4 8 Williams-Toyota 3.5 9 Ferrari 3 10 Force India-Mercedes 0 Ferrari is only better than Force India and losing against all the other teams. Can you still say "not humiliating at all"??
Its not like he is giancarlo fisichella though. Rubens is a good driver and can still deliver however he is not great. just like mentioned somewhere else, a strong midpack driver. end of. Besides, brawn is a pretty strong contender for the title this year and it'd be stupid to mess it up by giving both drivers a nr1 status (see mclaren 2007).
There is an interview with Rubens on page 20 of GP Weekly. You can read the magazine here: http://mag.gpweek.com/
+1. They did show yesterday without a diffuser some, not alot of improvement but some. The lack of time in development is the real problem and coupled with a continuing lack of reliability overall. Not every year will be banner. Its just racing. Im enjoying the new order of things for now even as a Ferrari fan. Its a great season so far. When Ferrari do improve and show results even better at that point! Id like to add who ever thought they would see JB challenging for the title this year? Like last year with Massa. F1 proves again how UN-predictable it is. I had written him off as smooth driver, and probably a never win a title guy, like so many others before him.
Motivating / "polishing the ego" / making him feel good etc would be his point - "Damn Jenson, your data brings back fond memories of working with Michael - I reckon you could have done what he did in his position....." etc. [He may or may not actually believe it, but it's got to make JB feel good about himself - Which has got to be a good thing.] Cheers, Ian
I don't think how quick a lap one can turn relates to skill or reflexes.... maybe Button sets the car up to where it is a little slower but more consistent? Barrichello has had more than his fair share of scraped and bumps this year. He has actually been HUGELY lucky to finish all the races considering all the contact he has had. And the question would necessarily be, if he has the skill to drive faster than Button, then why isn't he doing just that? Lack of desire? I think he's doing everything he can do... I think all the drivers are. But some are much more skilled than others. Piquet can run 10/10ths but he just doesn't have the skill Alonso does. I think Rubens is giving it his all, but despite that, his result has been lacklusters compared to Button who is also giving it his all.
That comment prompted me to go a look at just how "poorly" Rubens has done - The fastest qualifying laps (from Q2) are: Aus: JB: 1.24.855 RB: 1.24.783 Mal: JB: 1.33.784 RB: 1.34.387 Chi: JB: 1.35.503 RB: 1.35.556 Bah: JB: 1.32.842 RB: 1.32.842 So, 2 to 1 in favor of Jenson (by 0.05 secs) and one tie (!) Hardly what I would call "lackluster"..... Cheers, Ian
"I don't think (know) how quick a lap one can turn relates to skill or reflexes" - SRT Did you really just say this? Seriously?
Yes I did. In terms of how two drivers compare, saying that one is more skilled because he turned a faster qualifying time is silly. Rubens is outclassed by Jenson. All I have heard to counter the idea that he "stinks" is that he's a nice guy, that he has had a great career, etc, etc. Great. You guys can feel bad for him then, but I don't. He is rich off F1, and I don't feel the need to sugar coat my opinions of the man. He needs to be replaced by someone younger and more capable. That he turned a faster lap is not proof that he is really the more capable, because his performance where it counts - winning races - says otherwise. If how quick a lap one can turn was what counted, they could just skip the race and hand out tropies after qualifying. If being able to turn a quick lap one time was important in terms of winning races, then Rubens wouldn't be getting his ass handed to him by his teammate, and Kimi woudln't have got his ass handed him last year by Massa.
I think Rubens does not have delusions as to where he fits in at this point. Ross had to flip a coin to decide between RB and Senna Jr. and from what I saw of him in GP2; Ross made the right decision. RB brings years of experience that cant be bought at any price, a proven working relationship within the team, and a dependable finishing record to back up a WCC bid. And if Buttons luck changes he's in the perfect place to pick up a WDC that fell off the back of a truck. Senna is an unknown and team Brawn does not need to be developing drivers at this point.
