Michael Schumacher

[Gregory2Smith1]

So the old Red Baron is hanging up his helmit

Hero or Villian,or both?

From the very outset at Spa in Eddie Jordan's car this man clearly had it

Impressive through 92 & 93 then the contraversial '94 season

Prost & Mansell had retired and Ayrton Senna tradically killed at Imola

A big void appeared in Formula 1 that Schumacher filled to the full

Becoming double World Champion driving the Benetton up against a very good Williams car,but a team still reeling from the events of '94,which ended up promoting test drivers Damon Hill & David Coulthard that were no match for the hotshoe German

Moving to Ferrari in '96 was indeed a bold move on the face of it,but Ross Brawn & Rory Byrne two of the best car designers in the business followed him from Benetton and Bridgestone developed their tyre entirely around the Ferrari which left other Bridgestone shod cars,which was most of the grid struggling

With Byrne retiring at the end of 2006 ande the arrival of Alonso everything was not going Schumacher's way anymore

Tempted out of retirement with the kind of advantage Jenson Button had at Brawn and with Mercedes Money behind him proved too much,sadly the old Red Baron was over the hill,the young Rosberg would of got nowhere near the Schumacher of old

What do you make of him and where would you put him in the order of greats?

Personally certanly up there with Hakkinen and Alonso for speed and probably more techinally savy

Fangio & Clark were supreme,but for the most part had very good machinery

For me Ayrton Senna was the Greatest,incredible performances,espcially in the Lotus and then the McLaren in '93,Schumacher's Benetton had the Factory engine,whereas McLaren were paying customers,clearly down on grunt,although it must be said,technically more advanced,the Williams should of been untouchable in the hands of Prost,but Senna still managed 5 wins that season

Michael Scumacher,would like to hear your comments

 

[tweenster]

Schumacher was clearly a very talented driver but I can never consider him to be one of the greats because he never had to beat his team mate, the only driver with equal equipment. For many of Schumacher's World Championships the only challenger was Barrichello because Ferrari had such a car advantage, but Rubens was never allowed to race. And there was definitely a dark side to Schumacher, witness the incidents with Hill in Aus in 95 and Villeneuve in Spain in 97. And Schumacher raced against very few World Champions, maybe only 1 or 2 on the grid with him; compare that to this year. And let's not forget that Benetton were a bunch of cheating gits; even Senna commented when watching the race in Aida (the race before Senna was killed) from trackside after being taken out in a first corner crash that the Benetton sounded different when exiting the corner; it was later found that they were running illegal traction control for most of the year. And now he is back in the pack with a car that is not a country mile better than anything else he is being shown up as a very ordinary driver, making rookie mistakes. So, in my book, he can never be considered a great. The stats, though, tell a different tale.

For me, Gilles Villeneuve was the greatest talent. In a very wet practise session in Mosport (I think, it's a long time ago), Jody Scheckter came into the pits and said to his engineer that was as fast as he could go, he had gone to the maximum on every corner. Villeneuve, in an identical car, was 11 seconds (yes, 11 SECONDS) faster.

 

[vegster]

Kraut shithead.

 

[beorhthelm]

clearly exceptionaly talented, but poor sportsman. his win at all cost mentality would have probably killed drivers in the older days.

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

Schumacher was clearly a very talented driver but I can never consider him to be one of the greats because he never had to beat his team mate, the only driver with equal equipment. For many of Schumacher's World Championships the only challenger was Barrichello because Ferrari had such a car advantage, but Rubens was never allowed to race. And there was definitely a dark side to Schumacher, witness the incidents with Hill in Aus in 95 and Villeneuve in Spain in 97. And Schumacher raced against very few World Champions, maybe only 1 or 2 on the grid with him; compare that to this year. And let's not forget that Benetton were a bunch of cheating gits; even Senna commented when watching the race in Aida (the race before Senna was killed) from trackside after being taken out in a first corner crash that the Benetton sounded different when exiting the corner; it was later found that they were running illegal traction control for most of the year. And now he is back in the pack with a car that is not a country mile better than anything else he is being shown up as a very ordinary driver, making rookie mistakes. So, in my book, he can never be considered a great. The stats, though, tell a different tale.

For me, Gilles Villeneuve was the greatest talent. In a very wet practise session in Mosport (I think, it's a long time ago), Jody Scheckter came into the pits and said to his engineer that was as fast as he could go, he had gone to the maximum on every corner. Villeneuve, in an identical car, was 11 seconds (yes, 11 SECONDS) faster.

Gerald Donaldson's book "Gilles Villeneuve,The Life of the Legendary Racing Driver" is an excellent read

Along time ago now,but who can forget the battle with Rene Arnoux (who was driving the much quicker Renault) at Dijon,for 2nd place was amazing

Very sad business with Pironi at Imola

8th May 1982 is a date etched on every motor racing enthusiast memory as is 1st May 1994

Pironi was killed power boat racing off the Isle of Wight

Pironi's wife gave birth to twins shortly after his death and named them Didier & Gilles