Exactly. If* Alonso can be bothered by MS eating from the same pasta as him ... than he should look for a mentally easier job, like trimming the grass, painting starways etc.




*: what I still don't believe, unlike some his fans seemingly.

1) They may have equality, but that doesn't mean Nico will beat him. He needs a couple of races to get back into the swing of things. The step from 2006 to 2010 is a bigger leap than from 2009 to 2010. So in theory Nico should be more ahead than he is, but he isn't. Michael has a larger learning curve therefore more scope to improve. He is already closing that gap to Nico at quite a rate.

3) Mentally I cant see what would change. He's the most experienced title challenger on the grid, he knows more than anyone what is required to mount a championship challenge.

4) He's already exceeding expectations. Finishing 6th in the 4th fastest car on the grid with no other retirements from the top 3 teams on his first race after a 3 year gap is pretty good. The person who will be the most disappointed with that result will be Schumacher himself. Merc would be unlikely to drop him as he is worth his weight in gold for advertising alone. The only person that would walk would be Schumacher himself.

What did Senna do on the level of Schumacher? Drove into Prost in Suzuka 1990? watch the footage of 1989 at Suzuka. Prost drove into Ayrton in order to win the championship. Watch the helicopter footage. Ayrton wanted revenge and got it. Schumacher had 5 or 6 horrific cheating episodes that defy belief. Particularly Monaco, can you honestly imagine Ayrton ever doing that? Senna was no saint but he was a man and if he clashed wheels so be it, but would he park his car in qualifying like that? nope.

If you can't hold up the opposition blocking like Senna did at Monaco qualifying in 85 I guess you'd have to park your car

Senna trying to squeeze Prost against the pit wall at 180mph in Portugal....

in 1990 didnt senna say if prost lead into the first corner he wouldnt make it out teh other side?

yea he never cheated like schumacher did

atleast when schumacher rammed it wasnt premeditated

That is very funny!

Not bad, actually.

How is squeezing someone against the wall withouth that person actually hitting the wall considered cheating? It's called racing. Go watch YoYo if you don't like it.

back in those days the cars werent very safe like if the guy touched the wall at 180mph there was this huge chance of a fatality

If you read my post you would see that I said Senna was no saint. Yes he was aggressive, overly at times. That doesn't mean I or anyone else cannot criticise Michael Schumacher for some of his manouvres/decisions/tactics. Swerving at the start of every race for 10 years for example.

you were trolling maybe you forgot what you wrote.

face it schumacher did nothing most other champions of his era wouldnt have done so i dont see why people have to hold it against him, all real racing driver are aggresive and ruthless its a trait most greats have had.

nice guys finish last or get a stupidly fast car like button did

Nice guys finish last eh? nice cliche. Doesn't really stick though when you look back through F1 history.

This line is ridiculous " he did nothing that any other champion of his era wouldn't do "

Ermm yes he did? Did Villenueve, Hill, Mansell, Alonso, Raikonnen or Hakkinen ever do anything even approaching Schumachers antics? The answer is NO. Emphatically so. Don't tarnish everyone with the same brush.

Schumacher yes, Senna yes at times, Prost yes at times but none of the above who all won championships in the nineties and noughties

this was deliberately started as a non "he cheated no he didnt" thread on schumacher.

you have not introduced anything new or frankly interesting magisenna. please troll elsewhere

I'll do what I like. Thanks Blacky.

QUOTE (Eff1NZ @ Mar 26 2010, 18:28)
No . . . there's a fair point being raised by the ferrari fans.

This is not like the 60s and 70s when everyone is buddy-buddy (even then Stewart was already paranoid about drivers from other teams picking up tit bits of helpful information from conversations overheard). This is more like WAR . . . with the "sporting nature" taking more of a back stage.

The hospitality area is one where drivers/engineers could relax and maybe bring up points that come up on the spur of the moment . . . having to do with car set-up or performance. It would make one naturally nervous if someone where eavesdropping on their conversation. And especially someone obsessive like MS.

It's a legitimate beef.




Come on! . . . Is this the best that you can do?

Is English your primary language for purposes of communication? Do you even understand what is being discussed here? Or is being off topic a thing with you?

Firstly. I didn't say whether or not I was a Ferrari fan, now, did I? And that would be irrelevant to the point I was making. I was just stating that some Ferrari fans (presumably, of course, because otherwise why would they be concerned?) feel that MS should not frequent the ferrari hospitality suite during the race week-end. Rather than go off half-cocked on some ill-conceived diatribe as you and some of your "buddies" have done, I sought to understand if they (meaning, the dissenting fans) had a plausible reason for feeling that way.

I was offering up a reason why one might feel the way they did. Do people discuss work related topics over lunch outside of the confines of their office? The answer is obvious: Sure they do. Might the ferrari lunch room be such an area where a driver and his engineer/mechanic/manager might discuss work-related stuff over a quick bite? Sure it is.

It was reported that Alonso was irritated my MS's perpetual presence in the Ferrari hospitality suite. That may be a scurrilous lie. But suppose it isn't, is there a credible reason for him to feel that way? Certainly. I offered one up. Alonso might feel irritated by the fact that he has to be careful on what he says over lunch, let's suppose, for fear of someone from a rival team eavesdropping. He may feel that his teams hospitality suite should be a safe haven where he should not have to worry about such things.

I haven't said where I side on this issue. Namely, is it OK for MS to share lunch in the Ferrari lunch room? I was merely trying to show that there are argument for and arguments against. One has to weigh the factors and decide. the Ferrari management obviously balanced the factors and came down in favour of MS joining them for lunch, for now. But it doesn't make the opposing agrument less legitimate. Nor does it pay for people to be insensitive to the reasons why some may prefer that he stay away.

This is my last word on this topic.

again, what does this have to do with cheating??

Other than giving a discourse on "possible worlds", have you actually said anything tangible? "If this", "if that", "would haves", "could haves" are all very nice but we can all spend an eternity discussing fantasy. What interests me is REALITY. Have you any proof except some questionable hearsay?

Are the Tifosi so desperate that they would seek to protect a pathetic weak-minded worm? I find that unlikely. You aren't by any chance Alonso's mother are you?


Cooper

Schumacher has no business in Ferrari's hospitality area whether it be for Lunch, or an underpant fitting... In case he hasnt noticed - his team are slow and if he wants to win he needs everyone at Mercedes to rally round. Sneaking off for Lunch at Ferrari is pathetic and counter productive. How will the lads at Merc take it?

Alonso is a paranoid individual so I'm sure its affecting him.

You are going to tell us what is and isn't Schumacher's business??

What warped rock did you crawl out from under?


Cooper

Nice to meet you too. What an inane individual you are. Schumi fans these days eh? pathetic. As far as im aware these boards are for people to express opinions, just because you don't like the post doesn't give you the right to get personal.

Moronic but hey ive seen far worse.

BTW most rocks don't warp. Maybe fake precious stones under duress - but you'd know all about that ( as would your mrs )

A bit touchy I see. Maybe you need to express yourself differently, you may get a response you like ;) Maybe add a few IMHOs in there for effect, and I may overlook the fact that your lack of humility allows you to think you have a valid view on where Schumacher should and shouldn't eat his lunch.

But anyhow, if I offended you I appologize, that was not my intent. I tend to spout crude remarks once in a while just for entertainment purposes. It doesn't come across that well if the recipient is not emotionally level.


Cooper

"Alonso is a paranoid individual so I'm sure its affecting him."

And you're stating this....why? Because you know him personally or believe all you read in the press?

I'm a Ferrari fan and Alonso sympathizer and I'm shaking my head. Where on earth this rumour, taken as gospel by some fans, came from anyway? A commercial TV channel well known for "embellishing stories" to sell to an audience?

Come on....

Shumi will go to Ferrari's hospitality room as much as he wants to, same as Alonso does with Renault's. They live in the same circle (F1), they have friends of many years in other teams. It's the fans of any denomination that prefer to believe a press with a clear agenda to sell stories based on rumours, gossip and innuendo, for their own bias.

Has anyone heard Alonso, Shummy or rest of drivers ever complain about colleagues going into their team hospitality room...a place OPEN TO ALL on the track?

You haven't? Do the same.

Thanks I'll try Coops. Sorry to disturb you Coops. Really.

Schumi is great, just fabulous in fact and he's currently fastest in practise. Scrounging a meal at Ferrari seems to be working.

Thank you, finally some common sense.

Cooper

Yeah maybe he knows there is something "special" in that pasta?


Cooper

I saw Alonso's paranoia with my own eyes at Mclaren in 2007. The media have nothing to do with it - for me anyway.

Alonso is a great great driver and the current benchmark in f1. Undeniable. However there is numerous evidence to suggest that he see's things that aren't there, looks for conspiracy's that do not exist and generally doesn't take well to being anything other than being numero uno.

Very good training. Hope Michael can repeat this in Qualy. Or even better. Fingers crossed. Commentators say his car set-up is better than Rozberg.

Albert Park - FP3 - he is improving. Excellent.

He seems to have a lot more confidence in the car,now. If it stays this way he'll be as quick as he was in FPs 2 and 3.

So much for him 'losing his abilities and speed',eh? Three years out and still quick at 41-not bad at all.

Schumacher wil NOT win the Australian Grand Prix (bookmark this)

Haha, the excuses came from his own fans. Just go back and read
the thread...

Schumacher looks to be on it. Back in business already.

I would have not thought so either, but now that you mention it, it could happen.


Cooper

You keep sticking a fork in him every chance you get, but he keeps coming back. Must be rough for you eh?


Cooper

So Shumacher seems to be back! Impressive.
I am not going to watch qualifying, but the free practice was impressive: real hard driving, giving it everything, and then reward! Fantastic.
If he goes on like that I propose we call him the old man, or the maestro, to link him with the great Fangio.

I have forecasted race final P5, and for now I think I will stick with it. Important for me is, that he is marching forward, and not sideways or backwards, and I bet that some guys are beggining to turn their heads to see from which side he is coming down on them. Quali will be The race, because I expect more or less procession on Sunday.

"I saw Alonso's paranoia with my own eyes at Mclaren in 2007."

Really? Were you staffed by FI Mclaren team in 2007 to ascertain in such clear terms Alonso's psyche?

There is a saying is simplistic philosophical terms.....there is "my" truth, "your" truth, and the truth seeing by the rest. (influenced by media these days, of course)

Believe what you want, you are certainly entitled to. Some of us, however, see this issue as yet another commercial press story designed to sell papers by engaging a fanboy base.

ETA, Sorry guys for extending the crap, no more. Shumy is improving times.....did anyone really doubt it?

Should we be talking about Alonso under the heading: Michael Schumacher, Man, Machine and his Racing Craft?

MS with more WDC than the others combined. I don't care what others may want to think, it's not how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose that counts!

HA - So we are announcing that Michael is back on the basis of free practise 3? Super. Yep right up there with fangio

Spoken like a true cheat.

Would you cheat on a maths test and then go around acclaiming yourself as the best since you had the highest score?

I don't think it's a secret that Alonso can get very testy when a teamate is breathing down his neck as we have seen with Trulli at Benetton or Hamilton at McLaren. He has phenomenal mood swings only experienced by females during a certain period of the month should he in fact get beaten. Even Pat Symonds has confirmed that Alonso can be a bit of a child when things don't go his way. Make up your own mind.

Exactly

Answer you guys on the Alonso's thread. I don't want to derail this one anymore.

great comeback. If you can't beat them, join them.

I think it was a good one by Michael. I wished he would have beaten Rosberg, but it's a lot better here than in Bahrain. Half a tenth compared to the three tenth in Bahrain. I'm happy to see Michael making steps ahead continously. And since qualy is his Achilles heel I would say he can hope for more in the race (well provided he can get past Rosberg either at the start or in the pits).

Well done Schumi

H2H

Not happy, car have more potential and drivers didn't used. Combined times for Q3 - 1:24.4 for Rozberg and 1:24.7 for Michael. This mean car have potential of 1:24.4 , not so far from Alonso. Rozberg and Michael lost two or three places. In FP3 Michael was better than Nico and I presume they put his set-up on Nico car, and in Qualy Nico beat Schumi with his own set-up. Or they found better set up between FP3 and Qualy? Hope tomorrow Schumi take two positions on first lap and after this fight for fourth.

from legardj twitter: Mercedes working on F duct system. Ross Brawn wants FIA decision on ride height control systems. Says Schumacher taken big step forward

Well, its' always the same when the race is in "wrong" time zone for me, and I have late morning. I am not sure yet why Michael is back, but it's not end of the world. Life usually goes up and down. Barring some silly moves from behind in T1, I do hope he will finish better then where he is now.