Has Schumacher sullied his legend with this comeback?
Discussion
When I heard Schumacher was returning to F1, I got all caught up in some romantic notion that the machine just needed a little oil top-up and a good run out then he'd show the young whippersnappers how it was done...
I was wrong. I hope he gets a couple of wins under his belt this season but I fear even a couple of podium finishes might be out of reach. With several teams faster than his and the exuberance of youth not exactly on his side, my prediction is that MSC will ultimitely regret coming back to F1. People will compare him in years to come to the likes of Alonso and Hamilton and the history books will show that he won 7 F1 titles in a relatively weak era and the true racing gods showed him the way home.
I hope I'm wrong again.
I was wrong. I hope he gets a couple of wins under his belt this season but I fear even a couple of podium finishes might be out of reach. With several teams faster than his and the exuberance of youth not exactly on his side, my prediction is that MSC will ultimitely regret coming back to F1. People will compare him in years to come to the likes of Alonso and Hamilton and the history books will show that he won 7 F1 titles in a relatively weak era and the true racing gods showed him the way home.
I hope I'm wrong again.
He's had one race, which was a race where the PH collective can only identify two noteable on track passes achieved without the benefit of the new pit stop / distance rules and all the drivers had massive difficulty getting near enough to the car in front, due to aero issues to even try overtaking.
Would suggest asking this question in a couple of month’s time
Would suggest asking this question in a couple of month’s time
Edited by AndrewW-G on Tuesday 16th March 09:57
Schumi does have a reputation as I see it:
1) Probably the greatest F1 driver of all time.
2) Determined and focussed.
3) Ruthless
4) A blatant cheat.
5) Amasingly strong work ethic.
What does he stand to lose from that? If he races hard but fair this season and 2, 3 and 5 remain the same then 4 might be reduced. Noone can take 1 away from him.
I detest Schumi but respect what he achieved at Benneton and Ferrari.
1) Probably the greatest F1 driver of all time.
2) Determined and focussed.
3) Ruthless
4) A blatant cheat.
5) Amasingly strong work ethic.
What does he stand to lose from that? If he races hard but fair this season and 2, 3 and 5 remain the same then 4 might be reduced. Noone can take 1 away from him.
I detest Schumi but respect what he achieved at Benneton and Ferrari.
Papa Hotel said:
What will have changed? Yeah, it's a poo track but I'm not sure what bearing that has on Schumacher's race. The hardest battle is with your team-mate and he showed MSC the way around. Through the race, MSC had only clear air in front of him. Why? Because he was slow.
Schumacher finished the race 1 place further up the grid than he started; Rosberg was static, not too bad for somebody who's been out of F1 for three years...........remember how bad Luca B was in the Ferrari last year! Like with any sport, it will take time to become reacquainted and familiarised with the sport again, as well as the markedly different cars than the Ferrari he last raced.Papa Hotel said:
What will have changed? Yeah, it's a poo track but I'm not sure what bearing that has on Schumacher's race. The hardest battle is with your team-mate and he showed MSC the way around. Through the race, MSC had only clear air in front of him. Why? Because he was slow.
Too early to judge but like you. I also had this romantic notion that he was going to come back and teach these young whipper snappers a lesson. From what i have seen from testing,practice and Qualifying? HE HAS NO CHANCE WHATSOVER and i now know why an experienced driver like Heidfield was brought in as back up. His interviews also come across a bit defeatist. I guess we can only judge him against Rosberg who seems to be 0.3-0.5 seconds a lap ahead of him
IainT said:
Schumi does have a reputation as I see it:
1) Probably the greatest F1 driver of all time.
2) Determined and focussed.
3) Ruthless
4) A blatant cheat.
5) Amasingly strong work ethic.
What does he stand to lose from that? If he races hard but fair this season and 2, 3 and 5 remain the same then 4 might be reduced. Noone can take 1 away from him.
I detest Schumi but respect what he achieved at Benneton and Ferrari.
No one had a good word to say about him this weekend. He's made himself unpopular with the team and the paddock. 1) Probably the greatest F1 driver of all time.
2) Determined and focussed.
3) Ruthless
4) A blatant cheat.
5) Amasingly strong work ethic.
What does he stand to lose from that? If he races hard but fair this season and 2, 3 and 5 remain the same then 4 might be reduced. Noone can take 1 away from him.
I detest Schumi but respect what he achieved at Benneton and Ferrari.
It would seem that he really didn't want to be there and without a doubt he was regretting it.
Hopefully he will be able to liven things up
I never jumped on the 'Schumacher will be the 2010 bandwagon', I knew he would be outpaced. Sports move on and so does talent. It is only the first race sure, but at the same time he can always refer to his previous career before he initially retired. He was the best in his prime, and isn't in his prime at the moment. Judging by his actions and recent interviews he seems to only be back as he was bored with the other things he has been doing. Sure he wants to win, but I don't think it matters anywhere near as much as it used to.
Although, he has been away for years an just come back, yet he still beat the existing 'WDC'.
Although, he has been away for years an just come back, yet he still beat the existing 'WDC'.
Edited by matt frost on Tuesday 16th March 10:18
Edited by matt frost on Tuesday 16th March 10:19
IainT said:
Schumi does have a reputation as I see it:
1) Probably the greatest F1 driver of all time.
2) Determined and focussed.
3) Ruthless
4) A blatant cheat.
5) Amasingly strong work ethic.
What does he stand to lose from that? If he races hard but fair this season and 2, 3 and 5 remain the same then 4 might be reduced. Noone can take 1 away from him.
I detest Schumi but respect what he achieved at Benneton and Ferrari.
I would disagree, I think #1 is one of the things he does stand to lose. Come the end of this season, Alonso will (probably) be a three-time world champion, all of them having been won while racing MSC. It's easily within Alonso's reach to add maybe another couple, it's not completely unlikely he could win the title 5 times, definitely putting him up there with the best. Will people look at that and wonder whether Alonso was better than Schumacher? Maybe.1) Probably the greatest F1 driver of all time.
2) Determined and focussed.
3) Ruthless
4) A blatant cheat.
5) Amasingly strong work ethic.
What does he stand to lose from that? If he races hard but fair this season and 2, 3 and 5 remain the same then 4 might be reduced. Noone can take 1 away from him.
I detest Schumi but respect what he achieved at Benneton and Ferrari.
It was one race where as far as I could see everyone was conserving tyres because no-one knew what wear rates were going to really be like.
Schumacher dominated in the fuel stop era when the race was effectively 2-3 sprints, he and all other drivers are having to adapt to this new arrangement as they are used to light fast cars, but also bear in mind that Schumacher has been away from the sport for a long time and it will take him a while to get back into his groove and get comfortable with racing conditions.
The car isn't the best and he isn't 100% back to form as a driver but lets give him a chance, I reckon we'll see steady improvement over the first few races and if Mercedes can get the car right there is no reason he cannot fight at the front. Lets not forget last season when a different car was competitive at almost every race.
And by the way I'm far from being a fan, but I do want to see as many drivers as possible challenging for wins.
Schumacher dominated in the fuel stop era when the race was effectively 2-3 sprints, he and all other drivers are having to adapt to this new arrangement as they are used to light fast cars, but also bear in mind that Schumacher has been away from the sport for a long time and it will take him a while to get back into his groove and get comfortable with racing conditions.
The car isn't the best and he isn't 100% back to form as a driver but lets give him a chance, I reckon we'll see steady improvement over the first few races and if Mercedes can get the car right there is no reason he cannot fight at the front. Lets not forget last season when a different car was competitive at almost every race.
And by the way I'm far from being a fan, but I do want to see as many drivers as possible challenging for wins.
Thought he was only a tenth off his teammate on race day?
Considering he's old and not raced for 3 years in F1 a tenth or two is hardly poor.
If he'd been last and say 2-3 seconds off the pace then sure-thing you could say poor...
Lets see how the rain deals the cards.
Considering he's old and not raced for 3 years in F1 a tenth or two is hardly poor.
If he'd been last and say 2-3 seconds off the pace then sure-thing you could say poor...
Lets see how the rain deals the cards.
Edited by superkartracer on Tuesday 16th March 11:28
E30M3SE said:
John D. said:
Far too early to make such a call.
Agreed, doesn't stop the usual suspects from taking the usual s
t.te? He cant match an average driver in Nico Rosberg. If people can make Ferrari favourites after 1 race then we can give an opinion on Schumacher after 1 race.No testing nowadays so not exactly sure where how he is going to get "race-fit" when stuck behind someone else at Australia.
Wanta996Gotta said:
E30M3SE said:
John D. said:
Far too early to make such a call.
Agreed, doesn't stop the usual suspects from taking the usual st.te? He cant match an average driver in Nico Rosberg. If people can make Ferrari favourites after 1 race then we can give an opinion on Schumacher after 1 race.No testing nowadays so not exactly sure where how he is going to get "race-fit" when stuck behind someone else at Australia.
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