[Wraith]

Now that was a qualifying session!! Micheal just stamping his authority and showing everyone why he is the BEST...whoever said he wasnt gonna be motivated after 6 world championships was a fool to the bone!!
Pre-qualifying wasnt so much to watch for as all the pieces fell into place as expected but Qualifying proper was something special!

Firstly Takuma Sato! wow!! he kept the car on track and out qualified Jenson Button! F Alonso poor chap he only knows wats happening to him is it car? or is it driver? after the promise last year 2 consectuive qualifyings end in disaster for the Spaniard...he was out qualified by team-mate J Trulli again.Hope he starts like he did in Malayasia * The mid-field teams qualified as usual nothig unusual.Then Barrichello comes and sets a scorcher of a lap! That lap was awesome thats until Micheal Schumacher thought lets try drive like in a rally as there is supposed to be sand around the track some sand blown on to it * He locked up in the first turn slid the car mid-way thru the lap(that was totally awesome!!) and still managed to outdo Barichello by 0.391 secs to take pole position! The Mclarens the less said abt them the better it is..they were totally disappointing after Kimi's engine failure and David should seriosusly think abt VRS
And wat can we say abt the BMW-Williams and their drivers so much promise and so little to show for it all.The cars looked formidable in the first 2 sections but then lost their way in the last section to qualify 3rd and 4th.
That means we have 2 Ferrari's one and two *fowllowed by the 2 Williams three and four and who would have expected 2 BAR'S five and six!!

Its gonna be one hell of a race tomorrow! and i still have my money on M Schumacher!!

For complete grid and lap timings visit www.formula1.com

[Hatari]

cmon.. he's not that good... the Ferrari he's driving is !
u saw MS making 2 mistakes under braking..
the fact that he's on pole shows the potential of the F2004 !

and to start comparing MS to RB..
both wud have to be in identical equipment..
WHICH THEY ARE NOT IN !

[Dippy]

A fantastic qualifying session with Ferrrari pipping Williams for top honours. The F2004 has really shown its potential but one cant deny that MS is in a class of his own. Senna was the best always but now thats a gone era. Right now its MS and therse no denying that fact. Of course hes human so he can make mistakes. He had one in Brazil last year too which put him out and by the time he retires he'll have records which will be difficult to match. F1 racing is always a combo of man and machine they have to work together. And its Schumi whos got the entire Ferrari team working round him . Working as a team and not individuals wins championships unlike Ralf and Montoya who are fighting off track forget on track.. Apart from Ferrari I was really impressed by the BARs . They have come a long way from last year. Alonso is not on top in the Renault but I'm sure he will make a great start like he always does. DC is where he belongs but I'm sure Raikkonen can do better than where he is now provided he gets the machinery..

More after tomorrows race...

Cheers

[Wraith]

C'mon man...the Ferrari has never been the BEST car on the grid outright...its been the BEST coz Micheal has been getting the best out of the car and driving it to the limit! The car is down on horsepower compared to the Williams...Renault has the best aero package..the Bridgestones have variable performance...Ferrari and Micheal are just making good use of the equipment they have.The Sauber team is using the same spec Ferrrari engine and has lot of smiliarities aero-wise to last years F2003-GA and the same Brigestones(more suited to Ferrari then others) but see where they are way down the field.
About Micheal making mistakes...who doesnt make mistakes?? no 1 said Micheal was perfect but he has the ability to recover from his mistakes and put in consistently good performances which is why he wins!
If you saw the qualifying both the BMW-Williams were quicker down the straight and in the first two sectors than both the Ferrari's but lost out in the last sector due to some comitted driving by Micheal.
Even in 1994(Benetton Ford) and 1995(Benetton Renault) Micheal never had the best cars on the grid but he made them look better than others and won 2 drivers championships.
And when Micheal joined Ferrari in 1996 they were one of the worst teams on the grid!! The Ferrari V12 then was the most powerful engine on the grid but the reliabity was next to nothing...the car would just not want to start a race or if it started it didnt want to finish.But Micheal lived with it all and developed the team and the car around him.And then they win 5 constructors and 4 drivers championships is something thats pretty special.
Do Ferrari delibrately use engines with diff horsepowers or diff quality of fuel or diff tyres(driver choice for tyre compound aside) or low grade materials for Rubens car to run him down? I dont think so.
Rubens has the same equipment as Micheal the difference is Micheal understands wat he wants from the car and wat the car can do for him better than Rubens.That's why Micheals car looks better setup than Rubens(taking no credit from him!).
So the thing is Micheal + Ferrari are awesome!! they are a well oiled team winning races!
Micheal wont win you races if you put him in a present spec Minardi but hell if he wants he'll develop Minardi to a level where Minardi and Micheal will be champions thats the talent the guy has!!

So Micheal Schumacher still is and always will be the King!!

[Hatari]

think ure missing a very imp. factor here..
MONEY !

MS winning 4 WDCs with ferrari is not coincidence
Ferrari have been the biggest spenders since 1999.. and by a fair margin..

and MS cant develop any car, let alone a minardi, without the finance..

in 2002, Ferrari spent $440 million
minardi spent $46 million.

what do u expect ?

[Wraith]

You are right abt the money...but the money sorta comes with Micheal....Who would want to sponser a Minardi with no star driver or anything else to rave abt??
Ferrari spend so much coz they get the sponsorship money in a way coz of Micheal...if you ask most ppl where they would put their money in F1...the majority will put their money on Micheal..beacause he is a reliable driver in a reliable team.
Beside's Ferrari dont spend out of their own pockets * its mainly the sponsorship money...The parent company Fiat is still on shaky grounds and was almost taken over by GM(who have some stake in the company)
Ferrari with $440 million budget and Barichello as the lead driver wouldnt be getting the same results as Micheal being the lead driver(guess we'll only know when he retires!) and i am pretty sure abt that.
Micheal has earned himself *the reputation of being the best and i am sure sponsors though cautious will definately want to invest in a team where Micheal is driving.
Remember Jaccques Villeneuve and BAR....World Champion + Rich Team?....BAR got nowhere till this season that too without Jaccques!
Its takes a lot more than just money and pure talent to win races...it takes commitment , passion , effort and the ability to work as a team just like wat Micheal and Ferrari did...it doesnt happen overnight...So Minardi being world champions with Micheal is difficult but not impossible...You always have to be optimistic *Anything is possible in Formula1

[Hatari]

dnt think anyone expects RB to do as well as MS after he retires.. he isnt exactly lead driver material.. he cant make a team revolve around him..
regardign sponsorship.. they get $150 million from Marlboro..
co-sponsors cant be worth more than another $50 million.
u do the math..

and BAR spent $225 million in 2002.. nearly half of ferrair's budget..
now, with Honda cementing its commitment to F1.. look how well they'r doing.. well michelin tyres suit them a great deal as well..

no one doubts MS being the best in F1..
but some confuse him being a miracle man.. which he is not !

and dude, dont mention that thing about minardi being World champs..
u will get laughed at.

..Williams $350 million isnt enough to beat ferrari

[Wraith]

i know the Minardi thing is a bit far-fetched but there is nothing wrong in being optimistic...it never killed any1 that i know of.
Its just the kind of guy Micheal is...he can make things happen for him.Besides u said Ferrari spend more than $240 million from their own pockets thats quite some money and u also u said Rubens isnt lead driver material...so do u expect Ferrari to keep spending more than $240 million from their own pockets after Micheal retires??
Micheal salary is almost double the next best paid driver
People dont splurge money on nothing...when returns are expected money is invested
Hell BMW-Williams can spend as much if not more than Ferrari...but its not always abt pure numbers....its about how the money will be used and where...Williams knows its drivers will always be second best to Micheal.
They are considering a pay cut for Ralf in his next contract and a drastic one.
Toyota are supposed to have one of the biggest budgets in formula1 and look at where they stand??
To think abt BAR...Honda nearly pulled the plug on the team last year and a couple of seasons before that Honda pulled the on plug Jordan.Dont Honda have money or the will to win in formula 1?...yes they do...they have won many drivers n constructors in the 80's....i am not sure about the time period but they have won quite a bit in formula 1.Only when they are seeing results they are commiting to BAR

A whole lot of money with no application is a perfect recipe for DISATER!!

[Hatari]

here's what i'm saying..
ferrari will spend what ever they have to, to stay on top..
tobacco sponsorship is banned from 2006.. that means no $150 mill. from marlboro..then it will get interesting..

coming to whether it is justified.. the billions spent in F1 overall.. has become a serious issue..
when racing started.. it was to promote manufacturers..
in fact.. when f1 started all those years ago.. a couple of the teams wud sell the cars that won on sunday, to make money so that it wud see them thru the season..

the main purpose of F1 is to make technological advances so that it can be used in road cars..
in the past 6-8 yrs F1 team budgets are increasing at an alarming rate and is being spent on less significant areas like aerodynamics.. which isnt of prime importance in a road car..
quite a few of the team bosses themselves have expressed this..

what is stopping an absolute restriction on budgets is that there is no air-tight way of enforcing it..
money wud always be spent in "other areas"

all the top manufacturer teams want to win..
they arent going to tell the world that it became too expensive and therefore reducing their commitment to F1.

well frank williams doesnt believe in paying his drivers too well..
look at Hill and JV.. both had to leave..
and thats why ralf is considerign toyota..

and dude.. ferrari have been in F1 for donkeys years..
this is toyota's 3rd yr !
cmon !

and u're mistaken if u think they wont get MUCH better in the next couple of years..

Honda, BMW, Mercedes believe their engine commitment in F1 speaks for itself.. that it will build/take their 'brand' where they want it to be..
here it is again.. justifying F1 presence..
some manf. enter their own team.. some opt only for engine involvement..

[Revvmaster]

Well here's the deal. In 2002, when the FIAT group was in dire straits, FIAT sold around 40% stakes in Ferrari to an Italian bank. And what did the bank do 1st?

In 2002, Ferrari spent 120 out of its 128million $ profit on F-1. Thats 95% of ur profits on only one aspect. So the bank decided to cut down that 120 million to more like 20 million ( i am not sure about whether it was cut till 20, but yes it was drastically cut down). So what u saw last year was Ferrari that was running with a budget-cut. And did u even realise it? Probably to a small extent since the other teams gave Ferrari a scare. But still Ferrari managed to win the season.

So how did Ferrari pull this off? Well they did some internal efficiency check where they reduced costs on unnecessary things, spent less on "extra extra mile" development (my stress is on that one more extra since ferrari for the past 4 years has always tried to be 2 steps ahead of its competition) and basically tried to play it safe. The question is not always about money. More money definitely doesn't mean guaranteed success. Its the package that counts, team+driver+experience+car.

Give teams like Toyota and Renault a pat on their back. Renault is in F-1 after nearly a decade and Toyota hasn't ever known what F1 really is. Even Jag has started to show some signs of brilliance, but they need to keep a fixed team of people, yearly changes hampers momentum. As for McLaren, Ron Dennis is spending more time over other things (McLaren Merc SLR and stuff) so he's left the F-1 day to day activities to Ilmor and Mercedes and his design team. Their designer though seems to be inspired by Bangle. All the hype last year of a car that wud teach ferrari a thing or two in 2004 seems to have been flushed down the drain. Who'd have ever thought a Jag out-braking a McLaren? Seen Christian Klein vs Kimi today and u'd have known what i mean.

Williams is bound for trouble. Their current two drivers have too much infighting. But the biggest problem according to me is the Williams-BMW marriage. They seem to be 2 diff entities rather than one, like a married couple who are formally married but by heart aren't. And it'd be best that BMW left Williams soon and have their own outfit in F-1, ala Renault, Toyota, Ferrari, o/wise the chances of they never seeing a WCship in their bag seems more likely.

So the future according to me is this, Ferrari will pretty much dominate till MS is around. And this is one reality other teams will have to face. The biggest competition that Ferrari cud get in the coming years is BAR-Honda. You probably laugh and wonder how? Remember, Honda's genesis has been thru racing. Soichiro always said racing improves the breed. And how. They've had great times in F-1 and even before they left their successes with McLaren are something to be read in amazement.

However what'll happen after MS goes is something i can't comment on. We'll leave that to time. Till then Forza Ferrari!

Revv

[Wraith]

I kinda agree with Revvmaster and like i said before its not only abt how much money...it is how the money is spent.A team wont succeed with just a good car or just a brilliant driver...its the whole package that matters team+driver+experience+car.I dont want to take anything away from any of the teams its just that some are doing a better job than others.Look at today's race Button in a BAR was 3rd! no Williams or Mclarens in the top 3! now who would have expected that before the season began.But commitment and effort can go a long way in turning things around.
I dont think putting JP Montoya in Ferrari with over $400 million to spend will yield the same results say a combination of Micheal + Williams(just a hpyothesis ) + $350 million. Heck JPM cant even keep the car on track even when he is comfortably leading the race(Aus 2003).Ferrari would proably spend more time and effort and money just fixing JPM's car and they will spend time n effort racing his car *
No wonder Sir Frank Williams is happy to let JPM go...Ron Dennis must be having serious doubts abt JPM after Malayasia!

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ] So the future according to me is this, Ferrari will pretty much dominate till MS is around. And this is one reality other teams will have to face. The biggest competition that Ferrari cud get in the coming years is BAR-Honda. You probably laugh and wonder how? Remember, Honda's genesis has been thru racing. Soichiro always said racing improves the breed. And how. They've had great times in F-1 and even before they left their successes with McLaren are something to be read in amazement.

Thats very very much possible...wat the future holds for us we'll only know when the time comes!!
Till then watch Micheal dominate like the Emperor he is!! *

[GTO]

The huge funds available to their disposal has obviously helped Ferrari's championship trials even further buttttttttttttttttt that has not been the only talking point. Formula One is competition at its highest pinnacle, and who wins in this sport is not neccessarily the richest team. It is the team with the right people, consistently high levels of motivation, the least amount of politics (remember the Ferrari of early 90's), strong business partners (Tyres/Technology), supportive sponsors...the list goes on and on. Even on track, as Frank Williams has quoted, a winning car is about 25% driver,25% tyres,25% aerodynamics and 25% engine. Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher seem to be the only drivers who fulfill their 25%, if not exceeding it on most occasions.

If money was the only criteria, BAR would have won the championship or atleast been a runner-up in 1999 and 2000. Likewise for Jaguar.

Michael Schumacher has the enviable reputation of restoring Formula 1's most legendary team back to glory - Nothing can be truer than this. Of course, Jean Todt/Rory Bryne/Ross Brawn/Luca Montezemolo and the entire team are part of this equation too, but it is the sheer dedication and genius of Michael Schumacher which has kept the team bonded together. Do you know that the contracts of MSchumacher, Ross Brawn and Jean Todt are inter-dependent on each other? Thats the reason that the key personnel of Ferrari jointly renewed their contracts for the same duration! Show me one driver who has been in the championship contention for 10 years in a row....a driver who has out-qualified his team-mate each and every year of his career...someone who quits his vacation voluntarily and shows up before time for pre-season testing (Winter 2002)...who has taken the championship down to the last race with a car that was 2 secs/lap slower? I mean, the FIA had to change the rules of the game just for one man!!!

What you are watching on your screens right now, every alternate sunday evening, is the stuff that you will be telling your grand children about 30-40 years down the line. Michael Schumacher is a legend...whose aura keeps growing by the minute. Its history in the making...Just sit back and enjoy it!

GTO

[Wraith]

That more like it!! Finally someone who understands the greatness of Micheal Schumacher

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]Michael Schumacher is a legend...whose aura keeps growing by the minute

Way to go GTO!!

[Hatari]

we cud go on with this..
so i'l try and end it..

lets get a few facts straight..
1. BAR and Jaguar spend HALF of what ferrari do.
2. in bahrain Kimi had the HEAVIEST fuel load on the grid..
thats how a jaguar kept getting him on the brakes..
3. there's nothing wrong with williams.. tho ralf is driving like an amateur.. Ferrari are just too good

MS maybe the greatest driver to race in F1..
but he is no where close to the greatest human being in F1.
i like what he does.. in terms of racing..but not how he does it.

i dont like what he did to Hill in 95, JV in 98, DC in 2001
i dont like the fact that he insists on No. 1 status..
did u know.. Bernie Eccelstone approached Ferrari to hire JV for 2004.. ( RB contract signing was left till pretty late if u remember )..
but MS wudnt hear of it coz he insisted on No. 1 status..

now wudnt that be amazing.. JV vs MS in a ferrari..
not according to ms

to conclude.. he is worth every dollar of his $35 million salary..
he has taken the ferrari brand to new highs.. and everyone know that he is the one to beat

and schumi fans..its spelt MICHAEL !

[Rehaan]

Hey,

Please dont take this the wrong way wraith..but i just thought it was cool that u spelt Michael wrong 32 times in this thread

and this comming from a guy who thought John was spelt as "Jhon" (me )

cheers
Rehaan.