Schumacher's neck ***SPOILER***

+100000 some naysayers should be eating their words. he did well

 

That was more than enough for me:

Good start, kept the pace with his teammate, held up webber and Button.

So, no, he is not above the others like he used to be, but yes, he is on the same level than the others, wich is really good after his 3 years break.

So, the come back is already a success.
Now, either he keeps that "normal" pace or come back on his ex-level.

 

I'd be more inclined to think that if Varsha says something, it's more than likely NOT to be true, considering that man is an utter dunce and a sniveling little toad who should go back to lawyering.



Did you too roll your eyes about his CONTINUED excuses for USF1?

 

I'm not writing him off that quickly... once he gets the car to his liking, he will only improve.

I think he is in the hunt for the lead this year... the Benz is clearly slower than the Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, but Schumi did very well with what he had to work with.

 

MS has always liked a car with a very sharp front end with no understeer as he carries more speed from turn in to apex then other drivers. If Merc develops the car in this direction, he will get stronger especially compared to NR.

 

I read somewhere that the tiny wheels on the front aren't helping with that.

 

Michael might win it..Dont sleep on him.

 

Respectable finish. It's in everyone's best interest that he at least look like a contender. Seems like the bloom is off the MS mystic at any rate. Oh well, good luck moving forward MS.

 

It's pretty depressing when some of you guys EXPECT a guy to come out of retirement and immediately Q in the top 3 and finish in the top 3, let alone win.

Can't you give him (and the entire team) some races to figure things out?

 

Still it's amazing his fastest lap was greater than Rosberg's:

fastest laps:

Michael Schumacher Mercedes 2′00.204 (after 3 years! wow)
Nico Rosberg Mercedes 2′00.236 (this is one of Nico's fav tracks)

 

its just great to see him back in a f1 car, GIVE IT A REST,non of you guys could even lap a track 1/2 as fast as mr schumacher

 

it's just when you see the fastest la p of the race (alonso 1:58.something)

that you see Mercedes is in trouble.

 

Finally a sensible person has something to say. Thank you!

 

Could be. maybe it was just this track

 

I can see Michael quitting soon, only because retirement was more exciting than racing. The only thing missing from the parade during the Bore-rain GP were floats....

 

Very true. Schui put in a stunning first performance, and had the pace vs Nico. Whilst the race was on, I was tracking the lap times and sector times of both. I noted the following points:-

1. Nico was more consistent - his sector and lap times had less variation lap to lap. Is this age catching up with MS?
2. Schui was consistently slower in Sector 1 (0.2 - 03 second) - but consistently faster in Sectors 2 & 3
3. Nico was better on fresh tyres - he consistently got up to speed faster than MS did, and this was the primary reason why he ended up a few seconds ahead at the end. This would suggest that MS has yet to get fully dialled into the 'feel' of the current gen F1 cars.

It's too early to draw any firm conclusions, but it seems clear where MS needs to find speed vs Nico. Australia should be good indicator of progress as MS has lots of experience here - so if he is going to 'turn it on', he will start here...

Just my 2c.

 

I don't get it. To anyone who thinks this season is going to be soooooo boring: Why be against having the most accomplished driver in the history of the sport coming out of retirement, facing his old team?

 

You said it. I will give Michael a few races to see where he is at. If Michael is clearly ahead of Nico by then, but off-pace with leaders then I believe the issue is car related, not driver. A perfect example is Fernando Alonso with Renault the past couple seasons. Fabulous driver in a not fabulous car. Another example is Button. Good driver, fantastic car = championship. Nothing one can really do about that sort of situation other than wait for engineers to update the car to be competitive, if it's possible. The F60 suffered from being impossible to be updated enough to make it right.

 

+1

Why they don't open the circuits a day ahead of schedule for testing is completely beyond me! Getting there a day early won't add much to the cost, and you're free to do whatever you want on Thursday (including not show up!)

The no testing rule has gone way too far IMHO - If you're crap out of the box there's very little you can do about it - OK, I know Mclaren caught Brawn last year, but they were really the only ones who did, and they *are* one of the most experienced teams out there.

I don't want a return to the days of a "race team" and a separate "test team" (That got completely out of hand!) but let 'em test at the track on Thursday so at least they've got a chance to improve..... In fact, how about the podium finishers in any race can't participate on Thursday? [Just a thought....]

Cheers,
Ian

 

+1. Good points Ian.

Outstanding suggestion of allowing drivers not on the podium or at a certain pts cutoff (4th, 6th, 8th, or 10th place etc. just pick one) not being allowed to participate on Thursday but allowing the rest of the field maybe an afternoon practice session on Thursday.

The way the rules are currently, your laps are extremely limited, so you have to optimize what you have, and do not have the incentive to be creative or try alternate solutions unless you are really off the pace of where you need to be and are desperate to try an unconventional solution to put yourself back in the game.

Frank

 

Indeed. They've gotta go thru' scrutineering - Not like in testing - And the track is open all day....

As to the cut-off point, how about; "Any manufacturer that's on the podium" (?) - Neither Ferrari nor Mclaren could take part on Thursday in two weeks.....

Indeed. And they've also gone from 14 to 11 sets of tires / weekend.

Cheers,
Ian

 

Agree except I am rooting for MS (and Ross) as much as I am pulling for Ferrari.

It's just great to see MS on track. It adds a lot to the season from where I sit.

 

+1

Based on all the comments, I'm afraid of what will happen to him if MS starts winning. We'll have to put him on suicide watch...