What's up with Schumie?

[saggs]

So 4 races in and so fan Schumacher has been, well... not very Schumacher-like.

Now I'm not a rabid Schumacher fan, and I never expected him to come back and dominate like he did before, I never though he could take the Championship this year.  But I did thing he would be in the top 5.  I'd just like to see him competing with the likes of Hamilton, Vettel, Button and Alonso.  The more people in the fight near the end of the season the more exciting it is I think.

So what's up?  Is he really just too old, has his reaction times slowed to much with age?

It seems, especially in Australia and China that his car just didn't have the grip, especially in China he was braking earlier into the corners and accelerating slower out of them, and it seemed like every time he put the power down coming off an apex he was fighting loads of over steer.  So I kinda wanna think that the car just isn't set up the way he likes, BUT then again Rosberg has outclassed him in every qualifier with the same car.  His only bright spot in China was when he blocked Hamilton, whose car was obviously faster and grippier, for 3 laps.  Everyone else Hamilton rolled right past with no problems.

Anyway, I think it's gonna be Vettel or Button for the Championship this year.  Vettel if his car is reliable throughout, Button if it's not.

[Masherbrum]

You don't come back into F1 after a 3 year sabbatical and win regularly.  Your skill set degrades and technology changes.  

[edog1977]

I think it's a combination of factors.  Three years out of the sport has definitely had an impact.  Limited preseason testing, and no in season testing doesn't help either.  It's also possible the car doesn't suit his driving style.

If your bored you can read through this 23 page thread:

http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=126500

[Saurdaukar]

Completely different car.  TC, aero, tires, etc.

Michael was very well suited to driving the old F1 cars.  These new ones?  Perhaps not so much - especially if he is combating throttle-on oversteer at track-out.

[morfiend]

If shummie came back and won right away what would that say about F1 being the premire motorsport!

 Any athlete thats way from the "game" for more than 1 year is way behind the ball,like Mazz said,totally different cars,rules,tires and team.While last year the Brawn cars were exceptional,maybe too good..... this year Bernie didnt let them have the best of the best just to field a team.

 The season is still young only 4 races do far and as lastyear showed,about mid year the teams that are on top will start to show their stuff.I dont consider the season officially started till the Canuk GP,but then I'm abit biased as I'm a Canuk......


   

PS: atleast this years racing is kind of exciting,I haven't seen this much passing since they had turbo and nonturbo cars running together!

[saggs]

Completely different car.  TC, aero, tires, etc.

Michael was very well suited to driving the old F1 cars.  These new ones?  Perhaps not so much - especially if he is combating throttle-on oversteer at track-out.

He definitely was having trouble getting drive out of the corners in China.  And Brundle was saying that he had been rougher on his tires all weekend then Rosberg.   I didn't think the no TC would effect him much though, after all he won in 2000-01 when TC was banned.  He won in 95-97 too, but I can't remember if TC was allowed then or not, didn't follow F1 back then.

I'd bet it has more to do with the aero which has changed a lot on 3 years.  Plus he's just older, as the brain ages those synapses deteriorate and reaction times slow, it's just a fact of life even the best can't escape.

Looks like this season might be a two horse race between Red Bull and Mclaren, they seem to have the best cars, and drivers too.  Hamilton was passing people on the outside of 2nd and 3rd gear corners, and Button made it with only 2 tire changes, those Mclarens obviously had more grip then any other car.

I think it's kind of amusing that the engine customer teams, Mclaren and Red Bull, are beating the pants off their respective engine factory teams, Mercedes and Renault. 

[-tronski-]

China was certainly a setback as he was steadily improving and had set good times in practice. Its obvious He's struggling in the Mercedes and was having all kinds of traction problems in China.
But he placed higher in Bahrain than Button in his first race back, was forced to the back in Australia after Alonso took his wing off in the first corner, DNF in a good position due to a loose wheel nut in Malaysia so its a mixed result but he's hardly trundling around at the back.
Hopefully the new bits due for the Mercedes MGP W01 will help make it more competitive, as they are arguably the 4th fastest team behind Red Bull Racing, Maclaren, and Ferrari.

 Tronsky

[RichardDarkwood]

No matter where he places in qualifying, or where he places at the end of the race.....




he has still won more races than all of them and he doesn't even have to finish.


Shumie is just going with the flow.





Todd

[Ex-jazz]

[Saurdaukar]

I certainly hope Kimi will be back...

...but then again, if anyone could convince Mika to come out of retirement, if only for a season, to go against Michael again... oh man would I be glued to my television.  

Sigh... the good old days.

[saggs]

I certainly hope Kimi will be back...

...but then again, if anyone could convince Mika to come out of retirement, if only for a season, to go against Michael again... oh man would I be glued to my television.  

Sigh... the good old days.

(Image removed from quote.)

I miss Mika too.  I heard that he still races rally in Finland once in a while.  I saw an episode of Top Gear a while back where he gave James May a driving lesson in a Finnish cross country car, was very funny.

While your at it bring back Murray Walker too, that guy is the best commentator of any sport ever.  Martin Brundle is good, but that other guy with him just bores me, and David Coulthard seems to have a whole different personality on this side of the microphone.  He was much more entertaining as a driver.

[Saurdaukar]

Yeah, thats a good one.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bmqdnx5R1U

10-second advertisement, but good quality.  Worth it.

[morfiend]

Mazz I dont see Kimi coming back,Mika maybe but Kimi has his issues and I dont think a 1st line team would have him and I dont think he'd drive for an also ran team either.

 Mika and shummie were fun,I'd of luved to seen them in the turbo days,when you could throw all the boost the engine could handle.  That would have been great to see.

 Things are so different now,folks forget there was a time when they used qualifying engines that only lasted maybe 20 laps,if you were lucky,or the active suspension,ground affects or the many different things that have gone the wayside.

 I do wish they'd allow more displacement as F1 calls itself the premiere motorsport,they should have at least engines as big as some of the "lesser" forms of racing.

   

[Saurdaukar]

Hell... they're talking about 4cyl turbo engine rumors now...

I just dont get it.  F1 reached its peak in the late 90's.  Since then it's done nothing but slowly deteriorate as the FIA sought to continuously reduce the McLaren/Ferrari dominance.  

As for Kimi... I think he's got an awful lot of raw talent that was not properly cultivated.  And, lets be honest, I dont think Ive ever seen a driver so plagued by DNF's resulting from technical failures.  With a little bit of coaching he could have been (and still can be, I think) a top-3 pilot.

Alonso, for example, has nothing on Kimi in as far as pure, raw car control talent.

[Kazaa]

Not having the best car on the grid might have something to do with it.