Not very smart from FI, they know very well ,what will happen at the start if they finished Q3 ahead of MS.

Next year if they have better car(not very plausible) , MS will change the strategy.

He's slow on purpose then?

Yes, it's called "looking at the bigger picture". Try it sometime.

Any interview from MS, RTL forget him! What happen?

IIRC, that happened in Valencia as well.

Definitely there was other GP where his fastest lap of the weekend was in FP2 and his qualifying was the only one of all 24 cars that didn't lowed the FP2 by more than a second.

I do and Schumacher still is slow as hell.

I think it is called: make the best result in Q with the least effort and using less tyres. This is what I think. He and Nico have completely different set up for sure.
I hope MS is not in the meeting with stewards right now(DIR-Q1).

So by the fact that Schumacher is much slower in sector 2 (about 0.5 secs) and his top speeds are 3-4 kmph slower than Rosberg's at all intermediate points, can one reasonably conclude that he's running more downforce?

Would that mean higher or lower tyre use?

then neither is rosberg yet he just signed a long term contract so maybe merc no something you dont

http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/f1_me...ing-sectors.pdf
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/f1_me...ying-speeds.pdf
http://www.fia.com/en-GB/mediacentre/f1_me...ifying-trap.pdf
If it is about the down force, I think more will be better for tyres? Less wheel spin. But, I think it is more connected with general set up, or how 160 kg of fuel will change the car performance. It is maybe about the springs, camber, shocks. Will see. With wings right now ,they can't change down force so much. Or they can change it more at the front wings. At the speed trap the speed is equal.

Next year.. what in the world are people concerned about.

Pirelli has already said they are changing the composition and gonna be more aggressive with their compound.
Floor changes to the car is gonna change downforce etc.

Those 2 changes alone are reason enough to believe a significant change in setup will be needed so drawing a comparison to this years qualifying is bullocks.

At the very least.. MS trend has been on significant improvement this year where Nico has pretty been flat with only a tick better in qualifying. Almost as if Nico has peaked and Michael race over race has gotten more comfortable.

Seems like a great many on this boards are sooooo short sighted as the old saying .. "you're only as good as your last race" has not gotten even shorter to.. "you're only as good as the last lap you turned out"..

Merc problems isn't the drivers.. but the technical team. Let them work that out before writing off Schumi.

Took Jordan a little bit on his return to the NBA to get the next sets of championship. Don't count out Schumi once he senses the car can win races...

Did you watch the races this year or just qualifying sessions
Qualifying this year is about those who want to use it for what they want to use it for, Schumacher's results in the races, and potential races where his speed was quicker, and it has been quicker for majority of the season baring a few gps, qualifying means nothing to me this year if a driver does well on sunday, this car is not good in qualifying and race,

If you were racing this year, do you want qualifying or race performance? Simple question, the nature of the tyre rules/quali rules ,you can do this, Michael plays within what he needs to do leading up to the final lap of the weekend.

The future of mercedes is making sure their technical crew deliver a strong car, or rosberg has signed a new contract for nothing, or Schumacher goes back to ferrari for a 3rd car which Luca keeps talking about, that's the future of mercedes, no other drivers in the field is gonna make this car get any better.

If Schumacher's race speed was slow this year, you got a point, but someone was either not watching the races properly or chooses not to believe the living legend is actually alive and well, and very fast still in a group of drivers who are also very fast, until you accept that, your in a matrix world where Schumacher is still in 2010 season form lol

It's actually amazing he's improved since last year, from returning to the sport, you and others joined in the party in writing him off last year, now your thinking, I don't want anyone saying I told you so, well I TOLD YOU SO, SCHUMACHER WILL MAKE ALOT OF PEOPLE WHO DOUBTED HIM LOOK LIKE IDIOTS!!

Jackie Stewart, Moss and the rest of the turds Christmas season will be bitter knowing the guy who annoys them the most is back and awaiting improvements from his team. Schumacher's motivation increases not because of his money/cars/past success, but what critics like you think he should do with his life, if you say he's slow, he'll go faster, just wait and watch, even if he had a odd race this weekend, he's done more then enough to be the faster consistent race performing driver this year, now just a strong car is needed, and it will take a slower car to make Vettel look like a rosberg or schumacher this year, the car itself makes people lazy, I'm sure when Vettel comes crashing down to earth one day, and has incidences with backmakers, his season won't look any better then Michael's this eyar, these cars are racing almost in different formulas looking at their car differences, it's very challenging to be sure who's doing what with kers, drs, tyre choices and alll.

Michael is done and dusted with Ferrari, no possibility whatsoever that he'll return to a laughable 3rd car.

well, Nico said now the rear tyres are going off very quickly.
I thought it didn´t look too bad tyre wise this weekend.
Looking forward to the race.

Some driver mentioned a decent fact for the race tomorrow: It's going to turn dark and much colder than it will be at the start and first stint.
It hurted a couple of drivers in Q3 that the track changed massively just for the last q3 runs today (cause it got dark and colder).

With that in mind it would be reasonable to have more downforce for the (then) colder track, getting more out of the tyres in the second part of the race.
It's also right, that this can(!) hurt in qualifying.

So my guess is that Schumacher has taken this route - opting for better race performance.
I'm also thinking that his Q3 run was on the used soft tyres from Q2 end, so he has still new softs for tomorrow.

HaPe good point.
I don't know if it means something but:
India:
Nico Q3 1:25.451 Nico race 1:28.6 , difference 3,2 sec.
Michael Q3 1:26.3 , Michael race 1:28.5 , difference 2,2 sec.
Vettel ,3,1 sec
Button 3,0 sec
Alonso 3,4 sec
but Kova 1,7 sec.

Michael get closer to his Q time than Nico.

You was readhing by post, thanks, but no one thought he would return, no one thought he would go to mercedes, the guy is unpredicatable. But he does want a title/success, either way, trying to think what he thinks as he said about Kimi coming to f1 again, is impossible, you can only guess, but I do think Michael is as unpredictable as they come.






Nico reminds me of a young Jarno Trulli, and we know what his career is known for, qualifyer, expert.

Even if Nico has a good race tomorrow, or Brazil, he still will lose out in overall race performance impressions this year, he just is not setting up his car to do well in the race, because he knows Michael is back, he's waiting for Michael to trip up in the race, he's got no option, he's not as fast as him consistently in rrace, then look good through his qualifying and race result, the thinkg is Schumacher has given him some easy points this year, but that isn't reflected in the points tally,, unless Rosberg improves this, not just in the final 2 races, but next year also, and I think Schumacher will be even more on guard next year to try and not give Nico any front wing/race incidence handouts, that can't go on, especially if merc improve the car and get up there. So if people think Michael has improved this year, next year he may go a step further, and if off throttle is going, maybe they will help Michael even more with his driving technigue, the scene is set for more Michael improvements.

Having a car just in the top ten is difficult, you have to go out like Michael did today, use soft tyres to ensure he gets into Q2/Q3, if he and Nico had a faster car like Mclaren, they will have easier cut off points, save time, save tyres even more potentially, Michael shouldn't of gone out as much as he did today if the car was on the pace of a mclaren, he is more vunerable is Schumacher on qualifying because he is trying to squeeze the car into the heighest position without comprimising race pace, Nico either is doing the opposite on choice or has no option to go the schumacher way, because of the way they drive on tyres, or whatever, it could be very technical set up differences which makes them go different routes until the last lap on Sunday, so far Schumacher has shown overall to be the better Sunday driver, THE DAY THAT COUNTS people!

Ross talks about "a small" difference in comparison to Nico that hampered MS top speed today and they have to look into the data...
Michael says the lower track temperatures tomorrow could be a bit of an advantage as they we´re fighting with tyre temperatures.

http://www.motorsport-total.com/f1/news/20...n_11111224.html

There is also another thing that got my attention today.

With the current rules for Q3 it's set that the drivers with equal effort in Q3 (e.g. join track but no timed lap) will be sorted by their starting number. Okay....

When Q3 began, Nico was immediately out on track with hard tyres and not completing a timed lap, which was just to put him in front of anybody else with same or less effort (= Schumacher and the 2 Force India).
So, Schumacher could just have done the same and would - whoops - be in front of Rosberg (because the lower starting number).

Why he didnt do it? (..and I think that happened once before too)
I think that perfectly proves the point of what he said in interview earlier (and what was taken as excuse by his haters):
He simply doesnt care, whether Rosberg is in front in qualifying (this year).

Very very interesting stat.

Now the questions to be asked, why has Michael not been able to qualfy like the other top 6 who get nearly an extra second over Michael on Soft and Low Fuel.. weird

Actually his deficit to Rosberg in Q has been very predictable. Lots of moaning about the car being NG, when and if MB give a top car Schumacher will still be slower then Rosberg in the all important Q, to the tune of 0.5 sec. Which on the current grid with the current spread of times would have Nico on pole and Schumacher starting a front row car in P6. Just saying.
The old man is not good enough to be in F1 any longer, not in a top car anyway, perhaps as a sponsor / pay driver in a lesser team. He can still bring the attention of the press and the fans and that could translate into much needed money for a smaller team where the speed defect might be better masked.

And who knows how he set up that car thinking about Sunday beforehand. If the tempatures are colder, you are essentially gambling a set up, since they took away Sunday warm up in 2003, qualifying set up became linked to race set up, this is something Rosberg hasn't done well this year, and last year Michael was getting to grips with all things in f1 anyway, so to have a car to set up for qualifying and race, that's very difficult, that's what Michael has been doing well this year, and Nico the opposite, but some people don't see this because some still think qualifying means something, it means less these days and in this season, until they understand that, they won't understand Schumacher's 2011 season tactics, he has done some racing in his time to make good choices, and his race pace/results show him to proven right.

But the nature of f1 is, we won't know notihing if Michael and Nico crash out at turn 1, which would make the whole weekend meaningless, yet some will think Nico was better because of saturday, LOL, the intelligence era we live in, this is what makes f1 discussion complex, you need intelligent people willing to look at aspects of the weekend.

Actually he is the only one that challenged the front 3 teams. Tough luck.

5
5
DNF (his mistake - all over Nico)
6
DNF (no mistake)
5

No one gives a shit about quali. He didn't quali behind a slower car.

http://www3.mercedes-gp.com/en/#/s/news/11...trategy-today

Brawn:

Schumacher moans (sometimes) about car after qualifying (rarely after the race).
Rosberg moans after the race (about strategy and/or car) - and it happens ever more often.

If any picture has emerged in 2011 then its
- Rosberg is the better qualifier
- Schumacher is the better race driver

Which side is pole side? Right one? If it is, I think left side is better for the start. Cars go over left side and go to the right between pole position and second position. But they almost didn't run over positions 1,3,5,7,9 and else.

You can't say someone is a better qualifyer and then a lesser racer as the 2 go hand in hand ever since Parc Ferme locking down changes from qualifying to race day.

If you lean out the car to much to get a fast lap in qualifying but kill the tires and use up to much fuel as a result compromising your race.. doesn't make you a better qualifer or a less of a racer. Its a strategy to a full race weekend.. and depending on how the race unfolds can be a benefit or a handicap.

Thats just simply far to simplistic a view of how to approach a full weekend.

Only at year end can you tell if it makes sense to go faster on Saturday and slower on Sunday or vice versa. Had it not been for MS crashing out a couple times by some very poor decision on track .. it seems going a slower but staying top 10 on Saturday to get a very race car for Sunday seems to have been the way to go. Unfortunately, Nico insists on glory runs on Saturday to put some doubt in why Michael is doing. However, there are no points awarded for qualifying .. so to me it makes more sense what Michael is doing but he hampered his points standing due some lack on judgement on Sunday at a few races that cost him some valuable earned points.

I beleive that Michael no longer feels the need to prove himself to anybody. The Mercedes only has the speed for position 7 and 8 in qualifying, but if the team has a good race, Massa can be within reach. Q3 is of no importance to them.

That is a very interesting way to look at the season. How often did one of the MB drivers manage to finish in front of a top six car. Lets have a quick peek and see shall we.

India:
Rosberg and Schumacher in front of Hamilton

Japan:
Schumacher in front of Massa

Singapore:
Rosberg in front of Massa

Italian:
Schumacher in front of Massa

Belgin:
Rosberg and Schumacher in front of Massa

Canada:
Schumacher in front of Massa

Turkish:
Rosberg in front of Button

Chinese:
Rosberg in front of Alonso and Massa

Rosberg racks up 6 finishes in front of at least one of the top six cars and one race where is bests 2x WDC Alonso and Massa in the same race
Beating Hamilton (X1) Button (X1) Alonso (x1) Massa (x3)

Schumacher racks up 5 finishes in front of at least one of the top six cars
Beating Hamilton (X1) Massa (X4)

It looks like the numbers run counter to your argument.

I know.
I just wanted to keep the picture simple and understandable to those that only argument by numbers.

Hahahahhhah

I won't even bother. So DNF for other drivers don't count but you count when one of the two (Nico or Michael) DNF's.

Try harder.

Fact : Michael had the best finish for Merc this year, better results in Top 6 :

Michael : 1 4th, 3 5th, 2 6th
Nico : 2 5th, 3 6th

5 points behind with two more non-fault DNF's.

That's the point. With the narrow band performance of W02 one driver sets it up for the Q, the other more towards race performance.
Nico is faster in one lap, but by tenths. When there's a greater difference, there's something else behind it.

I wonder if MS will have Massa pace tomorrow?

I do not believe that for a second. Michael has been known throughout the years as never-give-up kinda guy. The difference in all of q times compared to Nico were oddly large anyway.

No need to try harder perhaps explain more clearly, the point I was making is
"How often did one of the MB drivers manage to finish in front of a top six car"

The numbers don't lie.
Even if we give you the benefit of not hold Schumacher's mistakes against him he is still struggling mightily to keep on the points with Rosberg, Rosberg is currently out pointing Schumacher as he has done from day one of Schumacher's attempted comeback. Tomorrow may bring something different Schumacher might actually be in front of his teammate on the points table at the end of the day, something that has not happened for Schumacher since 2006 when he managed to best Massa.

This means nothing. It is more important how many times he was the first driver behind top 3 teams. Check this. He leads Nico 6:4 after India.

But your point is meaningless. Finishing ahead of a DNF'ed driver is still finishing ahead.

Again : for you DNF for other drivers don't count but you count when one of the two (Nico or Michael) DNF's.

Try harder.

Fact : Michael had the best finish for Merc this year, better results in Top 6 :

Michael : 1 4th, 3 5th, 2 6th
Nico : 2 5th, 3 6th

5 points behind with two more non-fault DNF's.

Grasping at straws much?
The bigger picture is Schumacher not crushing Rosberg as was called for by his fans, why is he behind on points for two years now?
Why is Rosberg faster in the Q almost all the time?

Is it the car's fault?
Is it the tires fault?
Is it the team back footing Schumacher?
Or is it because Rosberg is and has always been the best driver at MB. Numbers don't lie

You are the only one who say that MS is crashing Nico. I disagree with you.

In my book it is three non-fault DNF's :

AUS : Suspension
MON: Engine
HUN : Gearbox

He has a contract so either you were totally ignorant about a world headlining piece of F1 news or your simply too stupid to realize that means Benz not only want him, but want him for a long time ie; their future.

You might want to write your post first then "preview post" and see it as other posters here will before pressing submit - or you're trolling.



Less tyre use and faster early 1 or 2 laps on cold tyres (from start and after pit stops) but of course more drag but it's not really a slipstream passing circuit is it (stupid track).

Championship standing with old point system: 10,6,4,3,2,1

Nico 7
Schumi 11

This point system award more top finishs rather than some regular 8th-10ths.

Because generally he's faster.

You don't get it, faster doesn't make you a race winner (mind you it doesn't hurt either).

Been plenty of pairings where the slower driver has beaten the faster guy in the final standings - races, and further championships, are not decided in one lap, there is more to being a successful GP driver than just pure speed.

Doesn't matter, still equals nowhere for both of them, they need to work together to get that team sorted next year so they can push at the pointy end by 2014 or even 2013 if they do something special.




The start straight is too short for any fancy stuff, lets hope both get away clean, last thing we want is Slate Gray posting for 3 days straight without sleep if MS hits Nico

I think he could go a week without any sleep

I gotta say this is classic comedic stuff, especially the bit about his motivation being the critics' saying he's slow so he'll go faster. Keep em coming!

7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m39.773s
8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m40.662s


That makes Rosberg not far off a second faster and Nico says he made mistakes on his hot lap and should have been faster.

And still only one place difference.