Sixth world champion F1 title for Shumacher
Shumacher, win his sixth world champion title of F1, one more than the legendary fangio.
Except the number of pole postions ( a record still belonging to Erton Senna), Shumacher own nearly all the records of F1.
Anyway, i think that this title, may be the last for him. I have the feeling that 2004 will not be the year of Ferrari.
Except the number of pole postions ( a record still belonging to Erton Senna), Shumacher own nearly all the records of F1.
Anyway, i think that this title, may be the last for him. I have the feeling that 2004 will not be the year of Ferrari.
Comments
The only reason why the Drivers championship was even close this year was because of the lame rules changes. It made certain aspects of the races completely random.
One lap qualifying.
No car adjustments post qualifying.
No fueling post qualifying.
Restrictive telemetry.
etc, etc.
It'll be a long time before Williams, McLaren and Renault catch up to Ferrari.
Powerdoc: I have the same feeling too. The Williams-BMWs are excellent cars. By the way, if Ayrton Senna were still alive I have no doubt he'd have 6-7 championships. He was awesome.
I don't like Schumacher winning but even if I think he may not be the best driver ever he surely has the talent to do some great teamwork and when everyone delivers, he delivers, too. But, heck, it's just boring.
If Renault gets a bit better we might even see Alonso playing the game along with Schumacher, Montoya and Räikonnen. Now, if Montoya should sign with McLaren for 2004 and Williams got Villeneuve for 2004 - then the next year will be interesting.
(I can't help it, I'd like to see JV in a nice car again!)
Sadly, Villeneuve won't be back in F1. Nobody wants him. He forced himself into this situation by taking the money at BAR rather than the sticking with Williams or going to another big name team like McLaren or even Ferrari. He didn't want to be a #2 to Schumacher, so that's undestandable, but he had to know BAR was going nowhere fast. If Villeneuve ends up anywhere, look at Craig Pollock's other team, PK Racing in CART. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be winning races there either...
BTW, the rumors are of Montoya signing with McLaren for 2005, not 2004. I find it HIGHLY unlikely he would ink a deal this far in advance. One, Williams could be dominant next year, and they might pay him big bucks to stay, especially if he outperforms Ralf. McLaren could be on the downturn. The whole MP18 debacle comes to mind. Besides, it would be in Montoya's best interests to start a last minute bidding war between Ferrari, McLaren and Williams.
On Toyota's sophomore year. They looked fantastic at Suzuka. I think next year they might be that team right on the outside looking in at the big three, if not more. The raw horsepower was evident at the fast tracks like Monza, Indy, Magny-Cours. da Matta is for real. if they don't make any serious headway next year, just chalk it up to driver inexperience.
Originally posted by Eugene
I don't agree it was the points system that was the equalizer. Schumacher benefitted nearly as much from the extra points you get in the 4-8 spots. Another thing that might have contributed to the close finish was the poor performance of Bridgestone tires at hot tracks.
I think it was a combination of all factors - from qualifying (MS wasn't really slow enough for being 14th in Suzuka) trough tires to the point system (which I find better because at least now being 2nd or 3rd isn't as bad as it used to be).
Originally posted by Eugene
Sadly, Villeneuve won't be back in F1. Nobody wants him. He forced himself into this situation by taking the money at BAR rather than the sticking with Williams or going to another big name team like McLaren or even Ferrari. He didn't want to be a #2 to Schumacher, so that's undestandable, but he had to know BAR was going nowhere fast. If Villeneuve ends up anywhere, look at Craig Pollock's other team, PK Racing in CART. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be winning races there either... [/B]
Well, I know the chances are under 1% but Williams and Briatore both said they have respect for JV and Briatore said he wanted to sign JV before and maybe he'll get a chance in 2005 (a french speaking driver would make sense at Renault). Of course when I need the link I realise the stupif F1 websites have no search functionality. Hrmf. But then, Montoya is fun to watch, too.
Originally posted by Eugene
BTW, the rumors are of Montoya signing with McLaren for 2005, not 2004. I find it HIGHLY unlikely he would ink a deal this far in advance. One, Williams could be dominant next year, and they might pay him big bucks to stay, especially if he outperforms Ralf. McLaren could be on the downturn. The whole MP18 debacle comes to mind. Besides, it would be in Montoya's best interests to start a last minute bidding war between Ferrari, McLaren and Williams. [/B]
I don't think McLaren is on a downturn - they've been on since long enough, so maybe all the Mercedes money might help them get better next year or in two years. Teams like Williams, McLaren or Ferrari don't simply forget how to make a winning car.
Also money might be a motivation for Montoya. He gets half of what Ralf is getting now and at McLaren he'd get a better wage. Also supposedly Frentzen said to an austrian TV commentator (a stupid one, so who knows) that the Montoya-McLaren deal was sealed and it will start in 2004.
Originally posted by Eugene
On Toyota's sophomore year. They looked fantastic at Suzuka. I think next year they might be that team right on the outside looking in at the big three, if not more. The raw horsepower was evident at the fast tracks like Monza, Indy, Magny-Cours. da Matta is for real. if they don't make any serious headway next year, just chalk it up to driver inexperience. [/B]
Da Matta is good, I think next year Toyota will be 4th or 3rd, if any of the big three screw up. I don't see Jaguar, Jordan and BAR moving much, though. And Sauber also looks a bit uninspired recently.
IMO Villeneuve no longer being in F1 is solely his own fault. As much as it is to do with him wanting too high a wage, it is also due to him not wanting to do any sponsor related activities which are hugely important in F1. He's not a team player (not turning up for the last race) and he's no longer one of the more talented drivers in F1 (at Williams he had by far the best car, and almost managed to chuck the title away even then...). Why would anybody employ him in his current situtation?!
Briatore is trying to have a driver line up of Alonso and Webber for 2005.
If Michael were to choose to retire, Ferrari will want Alonso and would be willing to pay big £££ for him.
The next few years should prove to be quite interesting!
Originally posted by andym172
He's not a team player (not turning up for the last race)
I never heared from someone ho worked directly with JV that he's no team player. And while I agree with the rest, I am not sure it was solely JV's decision to not race in Suzuka (he did got to Japan now, if Panis is to be believed). Having a Japanese driver racing a Honda in Suzuka might have had a thing to do with his "decision" as well.
But then untill JV gets old and writes a book we'll never know.
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~ceugene/adm/kennybrack.wmv
Originally posted by Eugene
In other news, the IRL is dangerous as ever. Their cars are too fast for ovals and speedway...especially Texas.
Does the governing body of IRL think of doing anything against it or is it the "the more HP the better!" way of thinking? Surely it must be fun to watch, but the way Kenny was propelled trough the air I can't help but think that the next guy wont be as lucky.
Originally posted by xype
Does the governing body of IRL think of doing anything against it or is it the "the more HP the better!" way of thinking? Surely it must be fun to watch, but the way Kenny was propelled trough the air I can't help but think that the next guy wont be as lucky.
Nope, the IRL is purely about entertainment rather than true racing. They try to bunch up the cars with special aero packages, frequent unexplainable yellow flags, and bending rules for less competitive teams.
The CART series was supposed to have a race there in 2001, but the drivers were running laps in excess of 230 MPH and pulling 6 Gs in the corners. CART said "No way" and cancelled the race with one day's notice.
The IRL would never do that even though their cars were hitting the mid 220s that weekend.
They're extremely lucky the race barely drew any spectators because the catch fence was completely obliterated in that section. The engine block was found in the empty stands.
EDIT:
Another clip - WMV
And another - MPEG
Originally posted by Eugene
They're extremely lucky the race barely drew any spectators because the catch fence was completely obliterated in that section. The engine block was found in the empty stands.
Any idea how many fans were actually at that race? Looking at that footage, it seems that the 30 or so people that were there must have had a thrilling time.
Unfortunately, especially for Kenny, the only time they can watch a car turn right is when it's heading for the fence. Boring.