MS to Merc...

Yeah, does that engine development freeze ever end? It's been going since like 2006. Or is it just like a contract that the teams cannot update any engine parts for "x" amount of years?

 

It was a problem this season already. When mercedes engined cars had fuel for say 18 laps, and ferrari for 20, they both came in on the same lap in pretty much every time...

 

Good question and I'm the wrong one to answer.

I thought it was frozen indefinitely but apparently there are occasional improvement windows opened by the FIA. So really don't know.

 

Fair enough. Another thing I don't understand is, how come the Merc Engine came so good all of a sudden, I mean surely building a new engine in pre-season would clash with the engine rules. So it should be no better or worse that it has been in previous years, or is that one of those windows by the FIA you mentioned?

 

regardless of being a Schumi fan or not I can't wish for hardships on somebody, and as a fan of the sport itself I wish he is competitive just for the spectacle of seeing so many possible winners on the track at one time. Isn't that what we all want?

 

I will be cheering for MS and am so happy he is back and in a competitive car with a fast team mate

 

Sadly, now I know who I will be rooting for Sunday mornings if the Ferraris fails to be competitive. I am thankful that he signed with Mercedes and not McLaren, any team BUT McLaren.

IMO, we will now find out about two things: 1) If Alonso is good enough to be placed among the greatest F1 champions ever, by pulling the team together and be the most complete package of this current era, much like Senna and Schumacher did. 2) As great as Schumacher already is, we will now see how truly amazing of a driver he is, even after being away from the sport for 3 years and racing competitively in F1 at the age of 41.

Most importantly, I do wish him the best and hope that he will retire without incidents after the 3 years, and hopefully, it will be 3 years of watching Alonso and Ferrari winning races and titles. Forza Ferrari !!

 

From the man himself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGEALGdlWxw&feature=player_embedded

 

in 2007 (a year after the V8 introduction, and the start of the engine freeze) mercedes hit nail on the head. To save petrol (and heat) the engine runs on 4 cylinders when idle, it's reliable and it has the best power 'range', hence its so good at so many circuits.

 

Engine rev limitations helped keep the MB from blowing up. That said, why is cosworth allowed to introduce a clean sheet design while all others are frozen? They should have lifted the restrictions this year to allow updates to all the teams but we are talking FIA here, not common sense....

If ferrari are not competitive I'll pull for MS but I'm hoping that alonso shines.

if Schumey really wanted a challenge, he would have to prove he can win without brawn; ross has already shown he can win without michael...

 

Great news. It's been some years since F1 had 3 world champions on the track driving for competitive teams. Too bad Kimi is gone.

I root for Ferrari but hope MS does well.

 

All the engines are dynoed so the Cosworth will not be any better than anyone else's.

Mark

 

I'm not convinced I trust the FIA's current leadership to be impartial in this. My concern is that the FIA will decide that having Michael winning again would be a good thing from a marketing perspective and bend the rules to facilitate that. Given that he won many championships as part of the Schumacher, Brawn, Todt triumvirate, I'm a bit worried that one of those three is in charge of making/enforcing the rules. Particularly so because they've got a history of (there's no delicate way of putting this) bending or breaking the rules and getting away with it.

In the past we've seen strange rule interpretations that left me with the impression (incorrect surely!) that the FIA was trying to influence the outcome of the championship. Just a few examples- barge boards, mass dampers, tires, flexible floors, a driver getting a grid penalty when both he and his team-mate had been f**king around equally badly, drivers escaping penalties for having traction control when it was banned, some teams getting massive penalties for espionage while others escape censure and many others.

I hope we don't see that kind of thing again, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 

If Brawn's car is half as good as last year's car, MS will dominate. MS can communicate with the team in a way other drivers seem to not be able to which is why Ferrari was brought out of their rut.

 

I see... Thanks for the info!

 

What about the gas mileage? Will they be allowed to idle on 4 cylinders? Technology is always advancing and I agree the power gap between them will be nominal. The engine freeze regs are a joke....

 

Schumi is going to win his 8th WDC this year.


He is going to CRUSH Alonso and make Massa look like a rookie (like old times).

I like Hamilton, Button and McLaren but I hope they get their asses handed to them by MS.

MS is the greatest driver who ever lived - we are privileged to get to see him work his magic for another season.

 

Your just having a laugh arnt you Mike, this is a trick statement isnt it? You must be because Schumi will not win the WDC THIS year mate, thats been claimed already
As for next year, thats been reserved for Lewis

 

The Ferrari / Schumacher era will forever be the greatest F1 memories for me.
Senna a close second.

It's a bit confusing to me to see any separation of MS and Ferrari.

I hope all the best for MS and Ferrari.

Ferrari, NO...MS...CRAP...Ferrari, wait..MS... is where my heart is. *sigh*

 

I would like to see that as well, but I don't think it will be that straight forward for him. And he's certainly the greatest who ever lived on paper, but it's hard to say ever given that alot of the other greats came from very different eras.

 

what happened to hamilton ?

 

I thought mc was mec 's?Sorry for my ingnorance!

 

Are you ok Mike? Did something fall on your head?

Your statements used to make a lot more sense in the past, I'm afraid to say.

I remember you holding on to MS after the Rascasse incident, but eventually even you saw the light and weren't so pleased with the Almighty anymore. Reversal of opinion?

 

He has just been on the news here he is looking good and sounding pumped up and ready to rumble Mike..

Tricky one for me not his biggest fan I'm afraid, I think his years of domination did it.

He is and was without doubt a totally amazing driver and the best inspiration for many.

I'am really excited to see the outcome of this showdown of the great man he seems as fit as the young ones and probably is, can he keep it up for the whole season though...If or not or he gets beat on a regular basis I expect a hasty exit.

 

Not just on paper - he is the greatest who has ever lived.

F1 is harder now than it has ever been, more competitive than it has ever been.

And MS dominated in this sport.

He's the best ever.

He will win the WDC this year... why?

1) He's the best driver ever, and I think he is still in 95% shape... 95% of Schumi is still way better than 100% of a schlep like Massa or Rosberg.

2) The Brawn was good last year with an engine it was not designed for. It's going to be better this year, especially with MS-level feedback.

3) MS wants this more than anything or else he'd never have come back.

4) We forget that MS took Ferrari from crap to gold? MB is starting from a much better place... he has much less to carry them than he ever had to carry Ferrari.



My WILL win his 8th WDC in 2008 - count on it