Rosberg expects a level playing field at Mercedes

[NewtonMeter]

...

Rosberg expects a level playing field at Mercedes, because he signed a water tight contract ensuring as much before Schumacher entered the fray. Schumacher would also probably have been made aware of this prior to signing on the dotted line.
And to suggest Haug went over Brawns head to get Schumacher is not realistic. Schumacher and Brawn are a double act, they know each other inside out and their partnership has yielded 7 championships.

....

Dear heaven, I SURE hope not!!!!!

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

@Zeph
Very true,

But there was alot of speculation how Mercedes would handle it. Cynics would say there would be no chance of fair play with Schumacher at Mercedes. I disagree with that assumption based on what has happened on the track this year.

Schumacher hasnt lost it, he is just ring rusty. The car is also not where it should be.
Rosberg drives a mediocre car well, whereas Schumacher has not adapted as quickly as he would have liked.
My view is that the tyres havent helped Schumacher adapt, and they are the single biggest factor in F1 today.

When the stakes are raised, we will see what happens. But for that to happen Mercedes need a car capable of challenging.

@ Newtonmeter
I'm speculating but I have some flimsy evidence!

I mean you can actuially see the love.

[zeph]

Cynics would say there would be no chance of fair play with Schumacher at Mercedes. I disagree with that assumption based on what has happened on the track this year.

I am inclined to agree now, but I think I did see some Schu-bias earlier in the season, for example when they extended the wheelbase to accomodate Schu and Rosberg promptly lost his edge as a result (can't remember which race that was).

But Rosberg's consistent performance this season can not be denied, so even if there was some Schu-bias at first, I am sure that will have dissipated by now.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

The wheelbase change was for both drivers.
The assumption that it was only for Schumacher was shot down in flames by Rosberg himself.

Problem is Rosberg has a similar style to Schumacher in that he prerfs cars with a sharp turn in. The extended Wheelbase was designed to help with that.
Its just that Rosberg was more adept at dealing with the problems of the shorter wheelbase car better than Schumacher.

The distance between Mercedes GP and the top 3 increased after the change you may remember, this due to the fact that all manner of updates had been added to their rivals from the onset of Europe, and that Mercedes where still having to fathom thier own balance problems which were still prevalent in the longer wheelbase car.

[WhiteBlue]

Mercedes F-duct wasn't in the same class as the systems of most other teams. Both drivers had different approaches to deal with that.

I believe that Rosberg gets equal treatment at Mercedes and that he simply is the more adaptable of the two drivers in the W01. He tolerates a less predictable car and still goes quick in it. Many people have said that Schumi has lost the edge in feeling the limits of adheson. That may be the case and would not be so surprising at that age. But it could also be possible that he simply cannot commit comfortably in a car that denies him the feed back.

[Just_a_fan]

Many people have said that Schumi has lost the edge in feeling the limits of adheson. That may be the case and would not be so surprising at that age. But it could also be possible that he simply cannot commit comfortably in a car that denies him the feed back.

I think his problem is the lack of testing. Historically he would pound around Fiorano testing every little thing on the car and knew his steed inside and out. Now they get in the car on a Friday and have to learn the new parts and set up the car in a short time period.

It appears that he is only average (for an F1 driver) when it comes to dealing with a car's foibles "on the fly". Rosberg appears to be better at it anyway.

As Schuie did "quite well" in his early years, one must assume that he has lost something as he has aged (understandable when one considers that he used to rely on feel and reactions to keep the car closer to the limit than his team mates managed) - and he may have been "softened" by the Ferrari years.

Part of me that was never a Schuie fan finds it quite amusing. But part of me still finds it sad to see a legend tarnished.

[marcush.]

to me Schu was never the car developper .that is all myth .
He was able to get the most from cars other capable drivers could not drive quick in .
examples:Herbert ,Berger ,Alesi at Benneton.
For sure he could wrestle results from impossible machinery.
But it is well known that it was Irvine and Barrichello doing the setupwork with the other testdrivers ...
So we have to fear Schumacher has lost the edge in terms of outright speed ,and maybe exactly this is the challenge to him now to win a wdc on his ability to develop a car?

[donskar]

to me Schu was never the car developper .that is all myth .He was able to get the most from cars other capable drivers could not drive quick in .
examples:Herbert ,Berger ,Alesi at Benneton.
For sure he could wrestle results from impossible machinery.
But it is well known that it was Irvine and Barrichello doing the setupwork with the other testdrivers ...
So we have to fear Schumacher has lost the edge in terms of outright speed ,and maybe exactly this is the challenge to him now to win a wdc on his ability to develop a car?

Really? Do you have sources for those assertions? IIRC, Schu's teammates often complained that he got the lion's share of test driving. And again, IIRC, the image I have is of Schu pounding endlessly around Fiorano and Mugello, testing, tweaking, developing.

[marcush.]

Ross Brawn in 2007 about his former driver Michael Schumacher ,from James Allen:
That said there is a rather worrying comparison with the old Schumacher. For my biography of him in 2007, Ross Brawn talked about his ability to drive around any problem or imbalance in a car,

“One of the problems with Michael is that he has such great raw talent that he can drive around an imbalance. So you have to be careful with that because you can make a change and he will compensate for it very quickly. He might be doing similar lap times but it doesn’t throw the changes into focus so you can go the wrong way (on set up). There is never the disparity with Michael between a car which is perfect and one which is not so good, as you would get with other drivers.

“This is also a weakness because it makes the difference between a good car and an average car less discernible in testing and you can easily misread how competitive a car really is.”

[ahmedvortex]

the 2011 season will definitely answer a lot of question , a season with a weight distribution madded for over-steering , if they said true , Schumacher and all the drivers relaying on over-steer ( Webber,..) will be on his territory , will see ,...

[marcush.]

On all the drivers circuits :Monaco,SPA,Suzuka Schumacher matched or beat Rosberg.
Maybe he just lacked a bit of motivation elsewere due to the fact he had no chance of winning.
in the ol days he won in a dog of a Ferrari ,yes ..but then were different times.
Now its a lot harder with RedBull,Mclaren and Ferraria ll on a good level.
Back then Benetton struggled with Berger and Alesi ,Mclaren not winning with Hakinnen and Coulthard..so only Williams putting a constant winning combo with Villeneuve and Hill into the battle.

[Pup]

On all the drivers circuits :Monaco,SPA,Suzuka Schumacher matched or beat Rosberg.

Faint praise. Schumacher wasn't special in any of those races. He jumped Rosberg at the start in Monaco, was passed by Rosberg at Spa, and couldn't get around him at Suzuka despite having 20 less laps on his tires.

[JohnsonsEvilTwin]

A little harsh pup.

Schumachers starts have been very good this year. In fact I think he may have passed more than anyone on the grid from the start. This indicates to me that his reactions are still playing ball.
I agree he dissapears at times during GP, I cannot answer why.

Give him a decent "wagen" and the guy will no doubt up his game.

[Pup]

I agree that he seems to be the best starter on the grid. But apart from that, I've seen nothing that would make him stand out from any of the other drivers. Were he a rookie, we'd say decent season, no real disasters, kept pretty close to his team mate and even challenged him on occasion. But nothing to make anyone take notice. Interestingly, we'd probably have said the same of Rosberg before this year.

No doubt that he'd do better in better car. So would Nico.

The fear for Schumacher this year wasn't that he would be slow, but that he would destroy the myth surrounding him. And unfortunately for him, I think he's done just that. Schumacher was the great qualifier, great team builder, always fighting, most adaptable, etc. We've seen all those myths destroyed.

[xpensive]

On all the drivers circuits :Monaco,SPA,Suzuka Schumacher matched or beat Rosberg.

Faint praise. Schumacher wasn't special in any of those races. He jumped Rosberg at the start in Monaco, was passed by Rosberg at Spa, and couldn't get around him at Suzuka despite having 20 less laps on his tires.

MS was passed in great style by a Force India at Spa, was he not?