Hehe.. yes and no he was simply amazing no doubt, but I figure all the planets lined up just right for him including the FIA's I agree his dedication was unmatched.. and also his achievements will be remain unmatched. I really like him more now then when he was racing ..don't ask me why just one of those things..
Alonso has great talent as a racer and as a developer but he brings too much baggage. Like Max he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut and has demonstrated an inability to coexist with a co-driver who has any talent. Any team that signs him has to feel that they can compete with, what is in effect, a one car effort.
LOL 2005: to stop Ferrari being incredibly dominant, FIA introduces a new rule which allows no tire changes during a race. Michelin tires where fantastic, where as the Bridgestones were useless. 2006. VERY close between the two. With 2 races to go they are tied. Schumacher suffers an engine failure after LEADING the race and alonso wins. Last race, in quali 3 schumachers car has a fuel pump issue and has to start 10th. After a good start schumachers tires get slashed by Fisichella (Alonso's team mate) and has to pit. Manages to get up to 4th place, just 6 seconds behind Alonso.
I tend to agree with you Dave arrghhh ...but maybe he has changed now ..midpack driving my have humbled him a bit..well a little ickle bit.. well WTF I don't know..
How great is Schumacher? ! He has been retired for 3 yrs. there are only 20 cars on the grid...and hundreds of thousands of people trying to get a drive in F1 ...and people still believe, 1) he is a possibility.2) he could actually help the team....
Given some of his comments to the press this season I just don't see this cat changing his spots. As far as the Number two driver question goes, well let's just say that Jr. hasn't raised that issue this year has he?
Totally 100% correct. No one should forget these events that occurred if attempting to slam MS for 2005 and 2006. But I think most of those who slam him for these two seasons do not know these facts, or choose to ignore them hoping others will not notice.
Ok,,,in that case,,,why ONLY Alonso could do it??? There are 2 drivers on every team...so: Why the other drivers in the Renault team at that era couldn`t beat Schumi,with in your opinion,a fastest and better car than Schumi?? I wait your answer..... May be crack,may be heroin,,,but when all this happened Schumi knew there was his relief at tracks:Alonso,then Schumi finish his career like race driver,he was clever on that decission,because against Alonso he would lost a loooooot of times,and he knew that,this is the real world,no the fantasy of myths,please. The other big Schumi racetrack history fact was Senna,Senna was died,If not,Schumi would be only a Senna`s shadow.Only that,a shadow. If you compare TALENT,nobody had the TALENT of Gilles Villeneuve at Ferrari team,EVER,,,and he never could be Champion my friend. May be a lot of you starts to become interested in F1 from Schumi era,thats the problem.
If I had choice, it would be easy. Alonso no question. MS hasn't even driven this year's car. FA would adapt to the F60 far quicker than MS could at this point in time due to the fact that he has driven the cars with the new regs and MS hasn't. Plus no one really knows if MS is still in race shape. That said I doubt FA would be allowed to go to Ferrari even for one race.
Umm, it wasn't only Alonso that did it. In 2005, the Ferrari was just crap. It was DNF'ing every other race. MS had 6 retirements, Alonso had 1. Kimi also beat Schumacher. Why did MS beat Alonso in 2003 and 2004? Because the Renault simply wasn't fast enough. You can't have it both ways, either it's about the car or it's about the driver, or it's the combination. I say it's the combination. In 2005 and 2006, the Renault was the class of the field. In 2003 and 2004, the Ferrari was tops. To say Alonso is a better driver because he beat another guy in a different car that was slower, just makes no sense. In 2006, the Ferrari started out as crap. Mid-season things turned around, and MS caught up to FA... actually you will remember that MS was on the verge of winning, had it not been for an engine failure in the second to last race, giving Alonso a +4 point delta, and ending MS's chance for the title. Schumi didn't quit because he was afraid of Alonso - that's ridiculous. It's well known why he quit. It was because Luca wanted to hire Kimi, and pushed MS to make a decision. MS had to either race with Kimi and lose his #1 status, or retire. So he retired. He retired on top - he is the most successful F1 driver that has ever lived. His records are far, far, far in advance of anything Alonso has ever achieved or will ever achieve. MS didn't win every race, or every WDC, but he won more than anyone else that has ever come before or so far after him, including Alonso. Uh huh, sure.... I like Senna too, but everyone remembers the dead with fondness. Just like we all think John Lennon was the greatest Beatle, when we all know it's Paul McCartney . Claims of what would have been are utterly irrelevant, because it didn't happen. See above. Numbers don't lie and aren't subject to emotionally charged biases that cloud our view of reality.
I to would like to see schumacher race again,even if for the one race in valencia, it would bring back fond memories of watching him race in monza,spa germany. but if push came to shove i think ferrari would opt for alonso,due the to strong rumours that he will take kimi,s place in 2010,and giving a slight advantage going into next years season.
Mmmm,,,I see you take your time to answer,and all my respect about your opinions,but: Of course all is the combination Car/Driver,,,you can not say one driver only wins because has got a faster car,because in that case all the champs winned by Schumi was winned easily by the same way:Only a faster car,isn`t it???,,,,so put myself or yourself there and let Schumi at pits,because the car is going to win alone:is better/faster than the rest jejjej,,,of course not,,,.When 2 scuderias are fighting for a F1 champ,all is very close,some tracks are better for one car,other ones are better for the oposite car: You can see again the qualifing times of that seasons we are talkin about,and the lap times between Ferrari and Renault was very closed,some tracks for Ferrari,some tracks for Renault,so Ferrari was plenty Faster as Renault,,, But if we are talking about the Schumi`s "BAD LUCK" at these seasons (final tyres compounds depending of the tyre brand choosed by the scuderia,mechanical failures,or any other failure not comming from the driver,etc etc etc etc etc),,,then,we can talk about very loooong time about Alonso`s "bad luck" in reanult( and McLaren) along(and from)he was a F1 champion.All the people in the world knows why Kimmi won the 2007 season,better say Mclaren lose it cause of internal fights,than Kimmi won.So F1 is not only a "faster car",of course.F1 is a jungle,and win a champ pedends of the car/driver combination,,,,and a lot of thing more,,,, Im not sayin that Schumi was afraid,I don`t think so,I only said that Alonso was the first/only one driver who could seriously beat Schumi at tracks.And you can make rounds and rounds thnking about why or why not,but the fact was this;Alonso was taken the Schumi`s relief at the track. Senna became the best F1 world driver because was the best to join himself with a car,Senna could beat faster cars easily driving worst cars,and dry,,,,on wet: Schumi may be piss himself only with think about to try to take a ride in a,,,for example the Lotus of 1985 turboera season in a sunny day,,,so in a "rainin" day better not comment,,,,is all can I say about Senna(and a lot of drivers of another eras). R.I.P Senna. Schumi(and all the rest of drivers) also make pipi himself,and "caquita" only with think about to try a ride in a Gilles 312 T3,,,,,,, R.I.P Gilles. You see the two R.I.P man? that means "something" about F1. For me this guys drop their lives there "no price to pay that" this people(and all who let his life there) was really the champions,the real ones,no way. No clouds to see that reality.
These are all great points. IMO the FI championship and many other TEAM sports are going to depend on more then one combination...The drivers input in F1 is greater off the track then on...much like a football game...Sundays game plan is in motion the weeks before in practice...So to me, all most any of the drivers in F1 today, could be the fastest on any given track, if they truly had equal equipment....Most teams depend heavily on the driver developing the car to their liking in order to pick up speed. This is were experience comes in...not laps on the track experience, but experience enough to communicate with the engineers and give them the feedback they need to make a combination of Driver and car go fast. Torro Rosso, and to some degree Renault, seem to be a bit of an exception. It seems pretty clear that Torro Rosso has no interest in bringing in drivers to develope their team. They have a clear driver development plan that preps drivers and feeds the big brother Red Bull programm, which then works more around Driver input and feed back. Renault has always done this this to some degree with it's second driver. They follow the lead of the number 1 driver, ( Alonzo ) and make changes to both cars based on his feed back. They seem to work more on developing the second drivers skills as opposed to the second car. This would explain why they are always looking for a young gun.
Good debate. It's had in many sports and often people try to compare todays greats with those of another era...it's a natural but futile exercise. Most guys in F1, compared to we fans, are in a different league literally and figuratively. Among even that group, there are the best of the best. I think Shumi and Alonso are - the best of the best. Schumi is no longer in his prime but I beleive that even at 70%, he's skills today are likely more than a match to most on the grid. I'd love to see him race again but I understand he is the past, and Alonso is the present. I think we older guys tend to cheer for the cinderella story and take great pride when the old stud comes in and shows up the younger bucks. I know I'd love nothing more but it would prove nothing given all the variables we all know to exist. Schumi will always be one of my favorites and I'd love to see him do this for Massa. It would be an emotional, temporary non threatening- popular situation. But the smart move for the scuderia- if there were any way to make it happen, would be to invest in a future/current talent given the testing ban and driver uncertainty. If Alonso is a possible future candidate for a seat- my head says I'd rather see him than Schumi..... But my heart will always side with Schumi.
To put it bluntly, you are so in love with Alonso that you are blinded by it. Alonso will never ever be the driver Mike was. In all your jibber jabbar, you seem to forget that Mike joined Ferrari when it was a P.O.S. He and he alone developed that car and pulled Ferrari out of the hole that they were in for 2 decades. Mike was not always in the best car but many Senna and Alonso fans conveniently forget that fact. In 96 when Mike jumped into a crap car he won as many races as Ferrari had won in the previous 5 years. I wonder why, as the Renault was by far the superior car that year and could easily have won every race. In the past few months I have had the pleasure of getting to know and spend much time with one of Mikes best friends and former mechanic for 6 years working with him in F1. Its amazing when you learn the real truth about the man. PS lets not forget the "rain in spain" drive in 96 one of the best drives ever in the rain by anyone.
Not afraid of Alonso, ok I agree but then by your rationale he quit because he was afraid of Kimi...at least racing against him on equal footing. If not, why not stay and prove he's still the best? As for Senna, well research the 1984 Monaco GP, what he did there is equivalent of say Sebastian Buemi, if he were driving a Force India, finishing second in Monaco this year; IN THE RAIN! Donnington 1993 (European GP) where Senna laps the entire field in a third rate McLaren using Ford CUSTOMER engines...Schumi and Benetton had the Ford factory equipment. Senna's mythological status is as a result of many Herculean type performances using lesser equipment, much like Schumi earining a lot of respect for his last year's performance especially his last race. Um NO that statement is incorrect, for someone who thinks of himself as an F1 historian how could you say that and dismiss Schumi's (admitted by Schumi himself) as his biggest challenger; Mika Hakkinen. By the way Hakkinen one of his two titles he beat Schumi and Ferrari even though Ferrari won the constructor's title. Back to original topic: IMHO Marc Gene is most likely Massa's sub, although Fisichella's name has come up on occasion.
