Mandrake wrote:Unfortunately it doesn't work anymore today with putting a top driver into a lousy car and make it faster.RB7ate9 wrote:So no, we are not entering the "Vettel Era" because we haven't seen him be the determining factor in a team's overall success. Put him in a Lotus and see if he can push the team from the back to the midfield and beyond, consistently. We didn't see the "Alonso Era" because he kept jumping from team to team, not improving much from one to the other, and Ferrari is currently third in the constructors championship. Two WDCs does not make "an era".
MSC went to Ferrari and brought Ferrari back to the top. This was achieved through endless testing and massive amounts of money spent.
Today money is limited, especially for smaller teams, testing is banned, so innovation and development is slowed down. It can be clearly seen with MGP, Michael would not have lost his ability to build a team, to bring it back to the top end of the grid, but due to the outer circumstances he cannot succeed!
Put MSC, Ham, Vettel, Button, Alonso or whoever you want into a Lotus today and I'm sure they will not cut the mustard!
Weighing in a little late but here goes.
Schumacher was quick straight away. In a Mercedes Sports car they regularly asked him to slow down to preserve teh car.
IN teh Jordan he punted it high er up the grid that it regular drivers could. He was better able to gauge the cars strenghts and weaknesses than Gachot or that little Italian whose name escapes me. He regulalry beat all his teammates, from Piquet to Brundle to Herbert. The latter has openly admitted that the team gravitated toward Schumacher simply because he was good with the car and in it.
Heading over toFerrari, when Schumacher sampled the 412-T2 for the first time he took it around Fiorano faster than Alesi or Berger had ever taken it and that was in Imola spec!He said immediately that although the engine was peaky the chassis responded well to changes and could be adapted to cope with the V12. Schmacher lifted Ferrari's pace from the time the wheels turned.
He was in an ecelent car in 2002 and 2004 but look at 2003... the McLaren with Michelins was the thing to have and SChumacher still sniffed the championship out of nothing. McLaren and Raikkonen snatcheddefeat from the jawsof victory.
FF to Vettel. the kid and he is just about out of Kidniss now, was uber fast fromt he forst ime he got into a BMW F1 car. Hefoced Kubica to raise his game. His feedback directly helped BMW make the car faster.
His first season in a STR he showed he would be a problm for the front of the grid, in a year when the cars were producing more downforce than in even the groundeffect era. To ahieve that in mid pack mid funded car is astounding. Bourdais is not bad, he is excellent but he was overshadowed by Vettel. Thats life.
Derek Warick was fast but Ayrton Senna vetoed him fromjoining Lotus and that was the end of Warwock's career. We don;t talk about Warwick do we...
Lastly why do the utterly anal have to rip the pasion out of everything? Speakng of drver Era's is merely a metapor for describing periods in F1 histroy where a driver has left a mark on the business of F1. We speak of the Schumacher era but Hakkinen played a big part of it.
Is too early to speak of a Vettel era because he is so young. But heck I could not think of a better person todominate F1 for the next 10 years.
BTW, Schumacher is the only driver in history to have copeted through as many major rules changes and engine formula changes since Fangio. He is also the only driver from 1992 to 2004 to win a DWC n a car not designed by Adrian Newey.
Newey's Red Bull era is the first time he has deisgned a winning car without having he best engine on the grid.
HAs the RB7 been utterly dominatnt? Only n the hands of Vettel.
So yeah, I don't bash Webber too much as soon as his mind is clear he will back. Same goes for Massa (who has shown much better pace this year) and Hamilton.