Michael Schumacher not as adaptable as previously thought?

[DaveKillens]

There is one incident that questions my belief in Schumacher's competency. I believe that as a wheelman, Michael is just so-so, because of his age. As far as being a tactician and having the will and ability to maximize situations, I considered him the best. But a few weeks ago, at his home GP, in Hockenheim, a weird scenario developed. Rosberg qualified 9th with Michael 11th. At the start Michael managed to advance well, in fact found himself in front of Rosberg. Cool, the old master still has some tricks up his sleeve. But as the race progressed, during the pit stop cycles Rosberg managed to slip ahead of Michael, to finish 8th, and Michael 9th.

And that, to me, is huge. This has always been one area Michael has excelled at, being able to put in the quick laps when needed, and pit at the perfect moment to manage a pass executed purely by strategy and pitting. But this time, the roles were reversed and Rosberg did to Michael what he has done to many others in the past.

To me, this is very relevant and I will be closely scrutinizing Michael's skills as a tactician. Is this a one-time thing or a portend of the future? I always considered this as Michael's domain, and what happened at Hockenheim has really raised a red flag.

[bettonracing]

There is one incident that questions my belief in Schumacher's competency. ...

To me, this is very relevant and I will be closely scrutinizing Michael's skills as a tactician. Is this a one-time thing or a portend of the future? I always considered this as Michael's domain, and what happened at Hockenheim has really raised a red flag.

Wasn't Brawn known as "the tactician" behind Schumi's success?... Schumi was perfect for pulling off the strategies because of his consistency (i.e. predictability). Not to mention the added variables of running midfield vs. running at the front...


Regards,

H. Kurt Betton

[ringo]

There is one incident that questions my belief in Schumacher's competency. I believe that as a wheelman, Michael is just so-so, because of his age. As far as being a tactician and having the will and ability to maximize situations, I considered him the best. But a few weeks ago, at his home GP, in Hockenheim, a weird scenario developed. Rosberg qualified 9th with Michael 11th. At the start Michael managed to advance well, in fact found himself in front of Rosberg. Cool, the old master still has some tricks up his sleeve. But as the race progressed, during the pit stop cycles Rosberg managed to slip ahead of Michael, to finish 8th, and Michael 9th.

And that, to me, is huge. This has always been one area Michael has excelled at, being able to put in the quick laps when needed, and pit at the perfect moment to manage a pass executed purely by strategy and pitting. But this time, the roles were reversed and Rosberg did to Michael what he has done to many others in the past.

To me, this is very relevant and I will be closely scrutinizing Michael's skills as a tactician. Is this a one-time thing or a portend of the future? I always considered this as Michael's domain, and what happened at Hockenheim has really raised a red flag.

I still think he has the tactics, but you need the all out speed to execute them.
Take for example the redbull at hungaroring; any strategy could have worked one since the car/driver was quick enough. Without the speed Micheal will fall short of his plans.

He has the racer in him, but the sharpness is just not there.

[DaveKillens]

What stood out in my mind is how Rosberg did better than Michael. It's not a case of comparing apple to oranges, or Mercedes to Red Bull, because both of these drivers were in identical cars, started close together, ran the entire race close together, and finished in the same manner.

[marcush.]

again:if you have preconceptions about schumacher everything that happens in every direction will just feed your views:
if he remains struggling he´s past it and he was never that good anyways.
if he improves (compared to rosberg) ,the team has tailored the car and team around him and rosberg gets second best.

in the same context people say cars are not made for drivers...so the second theory is impossible to happen,yes?

[RH1300S]

Spot on Dave - people seem to forget Nico. I recently heard/read (I forget) Norbert Haug telling us that all Michael needed was more grip, then we would see him perform better.............erm, my guess is that Nico will also go faster with more grip (as would everyone!).

Nico is a very good measure of where Michael currently is - i.e. not where he was.

[marcush.]

you are ignoring the simple fact that most current drivers have seen seasons when they looked less than convincing compared to their teammate ,without coming back out of retirement ....so you can read anything in current results but if you are right ,only the future will tell .there is no proof pro or con to be found yet if Schumacher lost something or never had a special adaptability ,ther ei sonly proof that he struggles compared to Rosberg this year.for reasons we do understand even less then the people directly involved.

[ringo]

Interesting article about Micheal's teammate.
http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/63199 ... As-Vettel-

"For me, Nico runs on the same level as Sebastian Vettel," Berger told Auto Motor Und Sport.
"He's just never had the right car to win."

"Nico has shown this year that he makes very few mistakes, his setup is mostly correct and that he usually finishes in front of Schumacher. If Rosberg and Vettel would sit in the same car - I would not know to whom I should put my money," the former Ferrari man added.

Nico is earning his well deserved stripes off shumi.

[BMW_F1]

but Vettel cannot beat Webber .. Lewis, Alonso and Kubica are one step above these drivers.. Shumi this year is like a tier 3 driver.

[lolzi]

but Vettel cannot beat Webber .. Lewis, Alonso and Kubica are one step above these drivers.. Shumi this year is like a tier 3 driver.

From what I have seen, Vettel can very much beat Webber - the only reason Webber is in front is because he has been more lucky. Vettel lost 25 well-deserved points in Australia, as well as 13 in Bahrain. He has also consistently out-qualified Webber.

[mp4-19b]

Could someone please explain as to how Michael did this? adelaide,jerez,spa,monaco all fade in comparison to what he did on this day. How is it even possible to celebrate is beyond me.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pihhu5H-X9I[/youtube]

[marcush.]

you may look into the other vids ,the interviews and you can say he was not aware or could not grasp what had happened ..
Believe me I sat in front of the telly and all went by like a film.. you realised somehow it was severe..but the blood you only saw years later.. so don´t judge the young boy just of his uncontrolled reactions directly after the race..these are extreme situations you need to be mature and seasoned to be able to come up with the proper reaction for TV.

[andrew]

mp4-19b - please be consistent. Nicola Larini is pretty happy at finishing 2nd and Hakkinen seemed happy also. So why single out one guy? [-X

One can only really reach 2 sensible and reasonable conclusions:

1. The drivers were not aware of the extent of what had happened. If I remember correctly, Senna's death was not announced until the evening in the UK (a couple hours after the race) so they would not have know.
2. Sheer relief of being able to escape the track after what had happened that weekend.

Bringing things upto date, a 19 year old rider(Shoya Tomizawa) was killed yesterday in a horrific Moto2 accident. The MotoGP and Moto2 riders all celebrated after the race. You gonna have a dig at them also?

[mp4-19b]

you may look into the other vids ,the interviews and you can say he was not aware or could not grasp what had happened ..
Believe me I sat in front of the telly and all went by like a film.. you realised somehow it was severe..but the blood you only saw years later.. so don´t judge the young boy just of his uncontrolled reactions directly after the race..these are extreme situations you need to be mature and seasoned to be able to come up with the proper reaction for TV.

But he could have avoided it if he choose to, if not out of respect for Senna( if he didn't know the news by that time) but for Roland Ratzenberger, who unfortunately succumbed to head & neck injuries during the previous day quali.

Nicola Larini scored the only podium of his entire career, that too driving for the famous #27 Ferrari & it happened to be Imola,but he looked pretty subdued & Mika looked devastated to say the least.

Very unsporting of Schumacher to have done what he did. Not to mention Flavio who seemed as happy.

[zeph]

From what I have seen, Vettel can very much beat Webber - the only reason Webber is in front is because he has been more lucky. Vettel lost 25 well-deserved points in Australia, as well as 13 in Bahrain. He has also consistently out-qualified Webber.

I agree that Vettel could beat Webber, but he hasn't yet found the mental fortitude. Webber was constantly outpaced last year by his younger teammate, but he gritted his teeth and somehow found the little extra he needed to be better. I don't think it has anything to do with luck.

Seriously, I find Webber a worthy and deserving champion. Not because he is the most talented, but because he has shown F1 what true sportsmanship is.

If Alonso had been similarly flexible in 2007, he would have taken his 3rd championship. But he let the pressure from a younger teammate get to him and lost out big.

End off-topic rant. Back on, Schumacher could never tolerate a younger and faster teammate. I think this year must seriously piss him off.