WOW. A little bit of everything in this thread, from world history to F1 history. This stunt is another reason why I just can't rate MS as the greatest driver in F1 history, and as was pointed out, I can't rate AS as the greatest either, with the stunt in Suzuka (yes, I remember vividly). However, I can't fault Prost for not racing in the rain, it was pretty bad at the time, a torrential downpour, not just a few sprinkles. Problem we have is, I bet about every driver in F1 has pulled a stunt like these, the difference being, 35+ years ago, we didn't have cameras in EVERY car, or on EVERY corner of a circuit, I'm sure Phil Hill, Gurney, Moss, all the guys pulled 'stuff' once or twice...
The funny thing is that if the situation was reversed and Alonso caused the stoppage while Michael was on a flyer, a lot of you will be screaming bloody murder calling Renault all despicable names.
I admit.... you do make a good point about why a guy would have a funny look on his face. He did look funny today during the interview.
Back on topic. I agree with Sir Jacky Stewart - MS should've donked his front wing, which would have been seen as a genuine incident/accident. MS scored a bit of an own goal with a half-baked technique.
Schumi's face was nearly as red as his suit after they interviewed Alonso. It seems obvious to me that MS tweaked the wheel left so that he wouldn't make the corner. I'm just glad no one wrecked or got injured as a result of that little stunt.
the only thing the data shows is that MS made a mistake. Tell me where te evidence shows he did it on purpose in order to prevent others from going faster than him. Untill this moment, even the stewards themselves haven't been able to explain that one, yet they felt it was enough for this draconian punishment.
i've read everything i can find but i still havent seen the video! I tried to view the one posted a few pages back... does anyone have it in another format? Thanks yall.... Waiting to judge untill i can review the tapes E
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ....... BTW I think the punishment was too harsh,though he did well. I've been following F1 since 5yrs old ,I have'nt really had a favourite since Jacky Stewart,the sport's the thing,you know a good dice type thing,cheering on good winners and good loosers,being partisan only diminishes the experience imho.. Rambling over.
Interesting topic. Eddie hired MS after a paid for test ride, which impressed EJ a lot. So in that sense you're right. However it was Willi Weber who really supported MS after he discovered his talents while driving lower formulae. Willi took the risk and also paid for that Jordan test ride where MS was so fast, the team was wondering at Silverstone whether he cut some corners (he didn't of course). Another "discoverer" is Peter Sauber who employed MS in Group C where MS learned how to nurse a car and carry it across the distance. Just thought I'd add something less infuriating to the discussion.
I would hate to be on a race track with any poster in here who has seen the video, yet still thinks that Michael did not pull a fast one. He turned to the right, was clearly past the apex, then turns to the left again?? How obvious can it be? *Classic* Michael.
A recap, with commentary from Mr.7 times himself, Trulli, Weber, Montoya, Coulthard and others. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF0Jh...acher%20monaco Michael is quite convinced in the begining of that video that if anyone watches the replay they will see what happened, he appears to be agitated from the reporters as well. He is a really good actor or he really did make a mistake. He did had a great drive though, from the back of the grid to 5th. He is a 7 times world champion because of his driving skill, not because he cheated one here and once there. Rascasse driver line comparison........ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuppK...acher%20monaco Maybe he did purpose only because he turned the steering wheel right, to straight, to full right lock, then to straight and finally right lock again. The wheels were not locked when he corrected it the second time. If he kept it locked the second time he would have made it no problem. (comeing from somebody with no F1 driveing experience of course) Then again he does look quickly for help from the marshals for a push back, but its to late. I watched the second vid about 20 times. Who knows, he certainly is entertaining!
Hehe...it's funny to read all the comments about this. For some reason, people make up their own decisions that aren't even based on a racing 101 basis. Maybe the majority of people on this site don't know much about racing? When I brought up the technical points in another thread I received no comment. In fact, I don't even remember any discussion about it. Just to add to your comment...he wouldn't have been able to hit the apex or late apex if he was going 10 mph with that entry.
The majority of people on this site know almost nothing about racing. There are a few who know their stuff, however. Which thread are you talking about? I seem to recall a tonne of (informed) discussion about this in multiple threads.
While I agree with you in general, that very fact you state there (7 times as opposed to e.g. 6 times world champion) due to no cheating is something Damon Hill would clearly dispute. But then again who cares about Hill?
Well, lets be honest. In 1994 Michael got suspended for three races and stripped of victory at Spa, and even then Hill couldn´t make it before the last race. The incident itself is disputable. 1994 was most certainly Michael´s title. If you´d go by the standard of the best driving having the best claim to the championship.
Fully agreed. 1994 was a very strange year and I recommend to all to read Matchett's book "Life in the fast lane" recounting the events from a Benetton mechanics' perspective. One of the best books about F1 in one of the most turbulent years of F1. The FIA tried to keep the championship artificially interesting by banning MS from three races. They caught him on a laughable technicality (wooden plank scrubbed too deeply because he damaged it going over the curbs at Spa, a rule they later changed because of this), which was very unfair. However I always thought that (aside from giving Hill a 2nd chance and keep the championship interesting) it was a bit like Al Capone: The gov never convicted Capone for his crimes, but for tax evasion. And in a similar way the FIA was never able to proove that there was something funky about the electronics on the Benetton or the fuel system rigged. So they nailed MS on the plank (pun intended). To make a long story longer, I agree that was MS' title to take home.
Still infuriating, Sauber did a deal with Mercedes Benz to only have Germanic drivers in the car and show the world. Sort of like the Berlin Olympics 40 years on. Among those unceremoniously dumped for not pronouncing their w's as v's was a kiwi called Mike Thackwell who was (while they raced together) faster than MS though obviously not as talented. I think a couple of brits got dumped as well. Pity.
Wasn´t that the driving education program, lead by Jochen Neerpasch, which saw Karl Wendlinger, Heinz Harald Frentzen, one Michael Schumacher and senior driver Jean Louis Schlesser? It was always said that both Frentzen and Wendlinger were faster than Schumacher at that time.
Yup, that's what it was. They called it something like the "young stars for Mercedes". The part that amazed me about Willi Weber (and I really don't like that guy, but have to give him credit for this) is, that he took the risk of promoting and getting MS started in F1 despite the fact, that he wasn't the best at the time in the lower classes. It would have been much more logical to support Frentzen and we all know where that story ended.
I posted in the qualifying thread. I don't recall anyone saying one thing about setup, approach, car stability, brake, etc etc etc....but yet people were making up their decision. You could make a very strong case that he's guilty based on his setup of that turn alone. Either that, or he's not even worthy of karting at the local roller rink.