Qualifying Press Conference !!! ????

I think we have a RB fan here! And good for you and Rubens. He gets bashed a lot! He is fast but I'm not sure of his WDC chances if MS were not there. Kimi and Juan would be one and two in my eyes but Rubens could pull down wins and challenge. But a WDC is not for everyone and RB is a good driver in a great car. If he was in a good car, he may fall to the best of the rest.

 

I may have more respect for Zsolt Baumgartner {if he was a little better}.
RB is a yes man, and I can't stand yes men. Either fight or get off the damn track! I like RB, he doesn't rub people the wrong way but he is not in full race trim and that hurts me. He is in "my" car and he isn't pushing it. Too bad. It would go a long way to restoring F1 and Ferrari if RB and MS raced hard. If they took each other out, it would bring a deep breath to a "breathless motion."

 

I wouldn't be so hard on Rubens. After all, he still is close to MS in qualifying and he generally does well in the races, although with some annoying lapses of inconsistency. He may follow MS, but he has had some good races staying ahead of the rest of the field. Also, since he usually pits one or two laps after Michael, he starts with more fuel in his car. In equal equipment, Rubens would be better than most of the rest of the drivers, except possibly for Kimi and JPM.

I think that he fills the #2 spot at Ferrari better than anyone else has so far. It may have been a tough thing for a racer's ego to admit that he is always going to be #2 to Michael, but that is still not a bad spot to be in relative to the other 18 drivers.

John

 

That's one way to look at it. Or RB is a true team player in addition to being a true racer. If MS is out front, RB runs for 2nd place. If MS has problems and ends up further back, RB runs for the lead... and wins. Consider the closing race last year.

I'd much rather run for 2nd 2/3 of the races and have a legitimate shot at winning the other 1/3... than be running with no chance in the Minardis. Hell, I'd happily run 2nd to Michael every damn race to have a shot at winning qualifying every week (even if handicapped with a couple extra laps of fuel)... I love the solo runs.

He had 8 podium finishes last year! Its not like he's not getting to race... he races as much as the rest... hell, most of the rest can't catch up to MS to give him a race... so, what's the difference?

 

Zsolt in a Ferrari couldn't beat either MS or RB in Zsolt's Minardi.

 

Good point... and that disadvantage extends to qualifying as well! (Since your end-of-qualifying fuel load is your start-of-race fuel load.)

 

I think the Barracuda (Rubens) could possibly be WC material if Michael were to step down. let's say he finished tomorrow due to another broken leg - my bet is Rubens would be the man to beat, not Montoya or Kimi (at the rate they're going,t hey should get back one of the Mp4-17Ds and run that).

just because he's a team player doesn't mean he's not an amazing driver. Look at how well he qualifies and runs away from the field.

--Dan

 

HA HA HA For real!! No pit girls and podium rose-water spraying? I'm sure the drivers all ran not walked to the airport to get the hell out of Dodge!!

 

Not so fast: They did have the grid girls. They wore uniforms that made them look like TWA flight attendants from the fifties (Catch me if you can.).

As far as Rubens goes: He does exactly what he is supposed to and he does it well. If we had another 1999 Silverstone situation Rubens would actually clinch the title. *I* hate to say that, but he is better than Irvine was.

Did I just say that? I'm weak.