Rosberg expects a level playing field at Mercedes

[RAF]

I always hated Schumacher, with a passion. And I mean hated...

But I must say his comeback has both intrigued and excited me. It will be interesting to see how he compares to the likes of Hamilton and a stronger Massa... and lets not Forget Alonso in the Ferrari. He has somewhat reversed my opinion of him from 100% negative to 'credit due'.

Any shenanigans though and I might change my mind back though...

[ringo]

Schumacher is the man with the most incredible race pace ever seen on an F1 track. He has more than four times the fastest race laps than any driver now on the grid (Barichello 17) who did more years in F1 than Michael.

OT, but i'm loving kimi in third place on this chart, that's awesome, says a lot about him if you ask me...

Or the car? *runs and hides*

Just kidding, Kimi is one of the quickest; but you got to admit he was blessed with some pretty quick cars over the years. 2009 season is a good example of the weight the cars carry in terms of fastest laps, not to mention Newey cars.

[The_Man]

You know what Rosberg has the power to prove something that many formula one fans what to know? Is Schumi the magic man or is it Ross Brawn? I personally think Ross but if Rosberg wins the championship. rather even if he is leading mid season I'm sure Schumi will come up with some lame excuse to retire again mid season.

However this won't happen cos there will be a tiny clause in Rosberg's contract to pull back.

[ringo]

Shumi will mysteriously re-injure his neck from a falling piece of luggage in the overhead compartment on one of the flights to the next race.

Shoe-lacquer is very good when it comes to race craft. He may be able to beat Rosberg on tinkering with the balance over the course of the race alone. He may not need to be faster. however i would love to see Rosberg beat him a couple times to show that he is just a mere F1 driver, not some kind of racing deity.

[Roger the knife]

According to Joe Saward, (http://joesaward.wordpress.com/), it looks like MS is up to his old tricks already,

"There are also rumours that there is a certain amount of friction inside Mercedes GP as the data of the two cars is not being shared as it is in other teams. I did not see Ross Brawn today so I have not had the chance to ask."

unless it's NR throwing his weight around

[Just_a_fan]

Schumacher is the man with the most incredible race pace ever seen on an F1 track. He has more than four times the fastest race laps than any driver now on the grid (Barichello 17) who did more years in F1 than Michael. Remember, there are no team orders for fastest race lap, only ability counts.

Only ability counts? And yet Senna doesn't figure in the top 10 and Berger does...

[WhiteBlue]

Schumacher is the man with the most incredible race pace ever seen on an F1 track. He has more than four times the fastest race laps than any driver now on the grid (Barichello 17) who did more years in F1 than Michael. Remember, there are no team orders for fastest race lap, only ability counts.

Only ability counts? And yet Senna doesn't figure in the top 10 and Berger does...

Senna was a very fast qualifier but never had many fast F1 race laps. This is his F1 carreer statistic from http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/554/

1994 3 races. 0 wins. 0 podiums. 3 pole positions. 0 fastest race laps.
1993 16 races. 5 wins. 7 podiums. 1 pole position. 1 fastest race lap.
1992 16 races. 3 wins. 7 podiums. 1 pole position. 1 fastest race lap.
1991 16 races. 7 wins. 12 podiums. 8 pole positions. 2 fastest race laps.
1990 16 races. 6 wins. 11 podiums. 10 pole positions. 2 fastest race laps.
1989 16 races. 6 wins. 7 podiums. 13 pole positions. 3 fastest race laps.
1988 16 races. 8 wins. 11 podiums. 13 pole positions. 3 fastest race laps.
1987 16 races. 2 wins. 8 podiums. 1 pole position. 3 fastest race laps.
1986 16 races. 2 wins. 8 podiums. 8 pole positions. 0 fastest race laps.
1985 16 races. 2 wins. 6 podiums. 7 pole positions. 3 fastest race laps.
1984 15 races. 0 wins. 3 podiums. 0 pole positions. 1 fastest race lap.

He only had 19 fastest race laps which puts him well below Berger in that staistic. In his most dominant season 1988 he won half the races, had 13 out of 16 pole positions but only three fastest laps. It may be due to his qualifying pace that he opened a gap early with a heavy car (no refueling) and could save his equipment for the next races.

[Just_a_fan]

Schumacher is the man with the most incredible race pace ever seen on an F1 track. He has more than four times the fastest race laps than any driver now on the grid (Barichello 17) who did more years in F1 than Michael. Remember, there are no team orders for fastest race lap, only ability counts.

Only ability counts? And yet Senna doesn't figure in the top 10 and Berger does...

Senna was a very fast qualifier but never had many fast F1 race laps. This is his F1 carreer statistic from http://www.driverdb.com/drivers/554/

1994 3 races. 0 wins. 0 podiums. 3 pole positions. 0 fastest race laps.
1993 16 races. 5 wins. 7 podiums. 1 pole position. 1 fastest race lap.
1992 16 races. 3 wins. 7 podiums. 1 pole position. 1 fastest race lap.
1991 16 races. 7 wins. 12 podiums. 8 pole positions. 2 fastest race laps.
1990 16 races. 6 wins. 11 podiums. 10 pole positions. 2 fastest race laps.
1989 16 races. 6 wins. 7 podiums. 13 pole positions. 3 fastest race laps.
1988 16 races. 8 wins. 11 podiums. 13 pole positions. 3 fastest race laps.
1987 16 races. 2 wins. 8 podiums. 1 pole position. 3 fastest race laps.
1986 16 races. 2 wins. 8 podiums. 8 pole positions. 0 fastest race laps.
1985 16 races. 2 wins. 6 podiums. 7 pole positions. 3 fastest race laps.
1984 15 races. 0 wins. 3 podiums. 0 pole positions. 1 fastest race lap.

He only had 19 fastest race laps which puts him well below Berger in that staistic. In his most dominant season 1988 he won half the races, had 13 out of 16 pole positions but only three fastest laps. It may be due to his qualifying pace that he opened a gap early with a heavy car (no refueling) and could save his equipment for the next races.

I have no doubt that he realised that lap after lap at 99% was more than enough to leave the rest behind and thus never needed to go as quickly as perhaps he might have been able to.

But my main point was that Berger was never in the very top flight (never won the title for example) but had more fastest laps than Senna. A man who was never troubled by Berger when they were racing for the same team. So it's not just ability that counts.

[WhiteBlue]

But my main point was that Berger was never in the very top flight (never won the title for example) but had more fastest laps than Senna. A man who was never troubled by Berger when they were racing for the same team. So it's not just ability that counts.

I don't know what your point is. My point was ability to drive fast and correlation to race winning. While races may be influenced by team order the fastest lap statistic isn't distorted by team orders. So we can be sure of the ability of those featuring on that list.

Senna wasn't a super hero who did everything better than any other driver. The most simple explanation is that he did not need to run the races at full speed and wasn't particularly gifted to do so.

[Roger the knife]

But my main point was that Berger was never in the very top flight (never won the title for example) but had more fastest laps than Senna. A man who was never troubled by Berger when they were racing for the same team. So it's not just ability that counts.

I don't know what your point is. My point was ability to drive fast and correlation to race winning. While races may be influenced by team order the fastest lap statistic isn't distorted by team orders. So we can be sure of the ability of those featuring on that list.

Senna isn't a super hero who did everything better than any other driver. The most simple explanation is that he did not need to run the races at full speed and wasn't particularly gifted to do so.

Chill out man, it's OK to be a raving Schuey fan, but he's not the all time #1

[WhiteBlue]

Chill out man, it's OK to be a raving Schuey fan, but he's not the all time #1

LOL, we were talking facts here until your rather inappropriate comment.

[PlatinumZealot]

Hamilton is like Senna in that respect. Many poles and wins and few fastest laps. This probably means that they can "turn on" the speed when they most need it.

The thing with fastest laps is that it just reflects the pace of the car at some time when the car and the track's sweet-spots overlap. During the race the driver just can't squeeze out the fastest lap anytime because the characteristics of the car and the track change so much, he just doesn't know exactly when turning on the "after burners" will give the fastest lap. On the other hand in qualifying the car is in more or less one state and things are all in a small time frame so that is a signal to ALL the drivers that now is the time to explode out of the blocks. It's all adrenaline and raw reaction, no mistakes! And so, it is a time that really shows which drivers have the finest control of their intensity.

Almost like Sprinting 100m Vs marathon. Fastest lap is like running a good stint marathon and qualifying is like 100m sprinting. The difference is the time frame in which you have to work, the margin of error and the energy (you can't drop the energy level).
I think the fastest, most explosive man is the one that does the best in qualifying. I don't see fastest laps as a means to show who is really fast.

Anyway. I hope it makes sense.. back to topic.

[godlameroso]

Gunning it 100% takes it out of you, for the drivers that put in a whole gp of qualifying laps, my hat's off, that kind of concentration is nearly inhuman. There's always that frustration that arises when you realize that regardless how hard you push you can't beat a certain lap time you put down.

[ringo]

Is Rosberg looking good on track or what?
Seems to be much sharper than his teammate, though shumi could be saving his energy for qualifying!

[Just_a_fan]

But my main point was that Berger was never in the very top flight (never won the title for example) but had more fastest laps than Senna. A man who was never troubled by Berger when they were racing for the same team. So it's not just ability that counts.

I don't know what your point is. My point was ability to drive fast and correlation to race winning. While races may be influenced by team order the fastest lap statistic isn't distorted by team orders. So we can be sure of the ability of those featuring on that list.
Senna wasn't a super hero who did everything better than any other driver. The most simple explanation is that he did not need to run the races at full speed and wasn't particularly gifted to do so.

But we can't be sure that they are necessarily better than those not on the list. Berger was not better than Senna. Full stop.