Is Ferrari totally other-worldly or........

Quite simply it is Michael Schumacher that is making the difference. Look at RB performance with exactly the same car. MS is worth about 0.5 seconds on a qualifying lap and about 0.2 seconds per race lap.

Yes Ferrari and Bridgestone are doing a great, but the difference that makes the Williams look not so good is MS.

Take the last race for example MS on pole, RBs 5th. And yes I know they were on different strategies but the point still holds, MS does make that important little bit of difference ... and Ferrari know this hence they do everything necessary to keep him.

Pete

 

Bit o' both I reckon.

Ferrari is having a fantastic year, but at the beginning of the season I thought that at this stage Kimi would be putting some pressure on MS but he just doesn't have the car for it. McLaren are having a horrible time, much, much moreso than Williams.

Enjoy it while it lasts, I say.

 

All I have to say is: Senna.

 

You think Senna could put a traction control car, which is currently in last place in every race, on pole? With Schumacher driving a Ferrari? *How*?

 

No I will give you that, but I am saying, it is possible sometimes for middle runners with excellent drivers to make up even against the best at the time, as Senna did.

 

Not always.

The F2003GA was a piece of ****, with or without Bridgestones help. It was unbalanced and Ferrari were lucky to win the WC.

Williams do not have top rate drivers

I bet MS would put a Renault on pole ... and the BAR are definitely getting faster and faster.

Toyota do not yet understand racing and how to spend and where to spend, thus they just spend.

Good point, Jaguar has a very tight budget and is doing okay considering.

McLaren took a gamble a few years ago and went with the twin keel front. Since then they have struggled, but this year the Mercedes engine is a lemon. The rules changed about the materials they can use for engines and Mercedes has not been able to adapt.

No it is a reversal to the awesome F2002 with aerodynamic gains learnt from the F2003. It definitely is not an evolution of that piece of ****. Note the wheelbase has resorted back to the F2002 specs, etc.

Motor racing is not easy and trying to catch up requires taking risks, sometimes the designer gets it wrong, or in many cases they do not have the driver experience to develop in the right direction.

Tyres are very, very important but I do not agree that Bridgestone have picked their game up, it is the dumping of the F2003GA and the designing of another good Ferrari that has got the performance back.

I 100% agree with sduke, but others think that F1 is a TV show.

Yes but nobody will beat him in the same car, and he will beat others in a much better car. Mr Payne obviously did not watch the early Ferrari years and MS when he was in a Benetton.

Magazines have published the lap data and he does lots better than every other driver. He is simply faster.

MS is a brilliant test driver and knows what is happening when the car does X.

It is not only hard work (although that is a huge part of it), good test drivers understand the engineering of motor racing and thus can talk to the engineers.

Mr Payne for some reason thinks RB can keep the flame alive. The answer is quite simply RB can't and yes I am expecting an abrupt decline in Ferrari.

Otherwise I agree ...

Pete

 

Of course he will be beaten. Heck, he was beaten in San Marino (didn't get the pole). It shouldn't be the goal of an F1 driver to win every pole and every race (well it should, but this is not realistic). Just because he has won every race thisy ear doesn't mean we should expect him to win every race every year. 6 victories in one year is a feat in itself.

 

You guys really love the "what if." If you're interested in gauging MSand his driving , simply compare him to his team mate; similar equipment, yet MS outqualifies, and out races RB every time out. Re: "If MS was in a go kart, and I 'm in the f2004, would he get pole?" sort of questions really need to stop. I"ve said this before, but i'll repeat it: The reasons for the current domination are very , very simple : Ferrari have more track miles than any other team, they have more development hours than any other teams (save for, possibly, Toyota), and the greatest volume of data on the car. All this = a sumpreme comfortability b/w car/driver/team, and it is the result of years of hard work, dedication and commitment. This allows them to go to new circuits, and win (like they did @ Bahrain), and it allows them to develop racecars that, baring component maladies, deliver every race weekend without fail. The next team to commit in the way that Ferrari & MShas, will lead. Look back in history, and where you see longterm symbiosis w/in a team, you see a championship winning organization; i.e., Senna/McLaren, etc.
Re: Senna. Per RonDennis: "Alain was a genius at setting the car up, and his skill in that regard was superior to Senna; however, Ayrton could make nearly anything underneath him competative."
MS is somewhere in between, but if anyone here doubts his faculties, and his God given talent, you're delussional. Look back @ Monaco '94 and the '94 Spanish GP ;in the former MS was lapping the field by lap 6, in the latter he drove to 2nd place in a car w/only 5th gear. (Granted, there was a attrition to thank, but it was a feat that rested squarly upon his talent.) That race included completing a pitstop w/only 5th, and travesing that ridiculously tight tire barrier chicane they installed.
Would MS put a minardi on pole? Probably not. I would bet that he'd get a BAR on pole, and could get a Sauber into the top 5. Also, remember there were,IIRC, 14 cars split by one second. Things are a lot tighter these days.So,to pull off qual. times 0.5 seconds quicker than your nearest rival, is a substantial achievement.

 

Here is a question...do you think Schumacher in a BAR or Schumacher in a Ferrari would be faster? Do you think he would be cut and dry faster than JB?

I've asked this before as well. Does anyone think that Schumacher could put a Jag on the first row, like Webber did this year?

 

All my comments about Rubens were in reference to this season only. That last comment just served to show that Schumachers teammate was in 2nd place. Without Schumacher they would still be winning, just not by as much.

edit: My overall opinion of Rubens isn't that great. He isn't nearly as bad as some imply though...

 

Absolutely.

Yes.

Er, lets let RB's results this year tell the story:
Melbourne - 2nd.
Malaysian - 4th ... Oops, Ferrari would have LOST.
Baharain - 2nd.
Imola - 6th ... Oops, Ferrari would have LOST.
Spain - 2nd.

Thus it is NOT just the car!

Pete

 

PSk you seem to have a good knowledge of the dynamics human and technical of the sport. I agree shumacher is the better driver of the team. The numbers dont lie. But I must ad that barichello has demonstrated alot of class considering what he,s had to deal with (Austria 2 years ago)good example. And that Barichello is inferior ONLY relatively to whom I call the King of F1. Barichello certainly has to be the Kings brother. And by the winds of this fate is obliged to suffer the consequences inherent. I admire them both for their skill and determination, and class. and can only laugh to myself when someone trys to rain on their parade. This is going to happen to anyone who achieves immense success. I am grateful to be able to witness history when Schumacher goes to work.

 

Tuco,

Good post, and yes RB was impressive at Austria last year or the year before (?). I would not have behaved as well

Pete

 

100% correct there. Barichello is a phenomenal driver. You don't get a seat in Ferrari unless you've paid your dues in F1, and RB certainly shows his skill and class.

Well said. Years from now our grandchildren will be asking us about the days of Ferrari and Schumacher, personally I just hope to see a live F1 race before MS's contract runs out. I get the feeling that if I don't I will be kicking myself for a long time to come...

 

Or to put it another way and introduce another "what if....", if MS had failed to finish all GP's this year, the current pointscore would be -

Rubens 40
Button 32
Alonso 28
Trulli 27
JPM 23

25% more points than the next driver

John "don't knock Rubhino" Millard

 

Some of the best peformances I've seen in F1 were those of RB driving for Stewart in the rain. Even in a less than supreme car, RB got like 3 or 4 podium finishes the year before Ferrari snatched him up. Whenever it was pouring he really shined, and Schumi is the same.

Addendum:
Speaking of that, the 10 day forecast at the moment for monte carlo is rainy. Let's hope it keeps up!

 

Same car maybe, but same access to info and set up? same capable pit crew? same ability to call race strategy? In qualifying days past if Rubens had a quicker car Micheal got it, it Micheal had a quicker car Micheal got it.

No doubt when Brawn or Todt or Rubens write their memoirs all will be revealed.