Just_a_fan wrote:
Not sure when Hamilton had No. 1 status. I think he and Heikki were treated as equals. He's also holding his own against a WDC in an equal status team currently.
To say that Hamilton and Kovalienen were on equal terms is laughable. There were numerous occasions when Hamilton was given updates first and had superior machinery.
Just_a_fan wrote:Alonso does seem to want to be treated as No.1 particularly after getting his arse smacked by a rookie at McLaren. I don't know what his position is with Ferrari/Massa but he seems to be driving away from Felipe most of the time anyway.
Alonso clearly has No 1 status ion Ferrari. You would have to be blind not to see it! He did not get his arse smacked by a rookie, but Lulu’s Uncle Ron certainly help smooth things for their golden boy.
Just_a_fan wrote:Schumacher was the stated No.1 in Ferrari (there is even talk of driver contracts being written to implement this). That's a big difference. Also, Ferrari had the benefit of a very close relationship with Bridgestone at the time (indeed the tyre rules were changed partly because of this). So he had a compliant team mate in arguably the best car with bespoke tyres and as much testing as you could physically do (Ferrari's huge budget helped here of course) on a private track next to the factory. Hardly surprising he did well. Of course, he still had to go out there and win, so I respect him for that, but 5 straight titles against limited opposition isn't quite as impressive as titles won against powerful opponents in my opinion.
There is no difference at all! At the time of signing for Ferrari, Schumacher was the youngest double WDC and reputed to be worth something like 0.5 second per lap. To not make him the No. 1 driver would be sheer stupidity of the highest order, especially considering who his team mate was (Irvine).
So what if they had a private track? It is perfectly reasonable considering Ferrari do more than just F1. There is nothing stating that teams can’t own a track? Remind me who owns Suzuka, Mount Fuji and the A1 Ring respectively?
To say that 5 straight titles isn’t impressive smacks of sour grapes! Sure not everyone enjoyed it (I did and hopefully Vettel does the same) but it is not exactly something that happens often. I for one felt honoured to see F1 history, given the last domination like that was in the 50’s with Fangio and was long before my time.
I don’t know why you are making a big thing about Bridgestone and Ferrari. Considering that the only Bridgestone teams during the tyre war were Ferrari and a few tail-end charlies, it was only sensible that Bridgestone concentrated on the best team using their tyres.
Just_a_fan wrote:Anyway, he's currently getting smacked by Rosberg and if he doesn't sort it out soon then, by the end of the year, the shine on his legacy will have been significantly dulled.
Not really. Sure if you are going to blindly bash for the sake of it then it is easy to say he is being smacked but the truth is he is not. If you look at outright pace there is very little to choose between the 2 drivers. Schumacher was never going to win anymore titles or races (ok maybe the odd one or two), that was just PR and crap written by media hacks and spoken my morons like Eddie Jordan. Looking beyond the headlines, Schumacher is clearly there to help develop a bucket into title winning car. I recall something about Merc having a 3 year plan being mentioned a while a go.
To say the shine is taken of his legacy is rubbish. All of the previous Schumacher achievements are written in stone and can not be undone. The Merc adventure is just another chapter in an extraordinary F1 career.
Just_a_fan wrote:Trying to find details of contracts is always difficult of course but Austria 2002 is usually held as a good indication of the relative status of Schumacher and his teammate. At race 6 out of 17 the team ordered the win be ceded to Schumacher to assist his title challenge. There is no other reasonable explanation for such an order so early in the season when both drivers were still capable of winning the title.
See also the following where Rubens tells of Ferrari's team orders situation:
http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/2037 ... am-orders/
Barrichello was hired as a No. 2 driver and has nothing to complain about. He was performing the task he was paid to do. Barrichello was never going to be a champion. He’s good but he is not championship good.
But just for completeness, watch the podium ceremony for Austria 2002. Schumacher pushes Barrichello onto the top step. I think that speaks volumes and I can’t see many other drivers doing that. And I think that Schumacher repaid Barrichello at the US GP didn’t he? Screwed up trying to get a photo finish and gifted Barrichello a win. Again I don’t think there are many that would do that.
Man that's a long post!
