I wish Mika Hakkinen (sp?) would come back from retirement. He's the only one that ive ever seen give Shuey a hard time. Could you imagine Team Ferrari with Mika & Shuey? IMO wathcing these two race was the best. It seems like shumacher doesn't have to "push" as much as he used to. Nothing better than seeing people go off track while trying to keep up with him. Also im surprised with how well BAR has come around, seems like they have a chance and winning a race this year.

 

after Brazil 2 seasons back Im a big JPM fan, anyone who can go wheel to wheel with schuster and win out has talent, granted lately it seems hes had some bad luck in all honesty I think when he matures as a driver and so does williams new chassis he can give schumacher a run for his money

 

Ya, BAR really pulled their ass out of the fire this year with Jenson. Rumor had it Honda was going to pull support from the team if they didn't win a race. Too bad everything is going to shit again though, as the bastard Jenson has decided to go over to Williams next year and screw BAR. I hope his damned engine blows every friggin' race.

 

there is always the argument of he is in the best car. however, just watching him drive it is easy to tell that he is hands down in a different league from every other driver out there. he is an absolute machine. every turn in is perfect... every braking point is perfect. the man just does not make mistakes.

 

One reason why Ferrari wins so much is that they have something that a lot of other teams don't have........TEAM UNITY.

Ferrari is like one big family. They have had the same team since 2000 and they win both championships every year since then. Also the F2004 car is an evolution of the F2003, the F2003 was an evolution of the F2002, so on.... Ferrari also has Bridgestone and Shell working specifically for them. Bridgestone builds tires specifically for the Ferrari chassis. Shell builds fuel specifically for Ferrari, the fuel Shell creates also weighs less than the fuel everybody else uses. It's complicated but, take 10 gallons of Shell's fuel compared to 10 gallons of Mobil fuel and Shell's is lighter in a way, in F1 the lighter the car, the better.

Look at the other teams. Williams and McLaren introduced totally new cars this year and they screwed it up. The McLaren chassis I've heard is exceptional, their main problem is the Mercedes engine that keeps blowing up. Give Kimi a good, reliable car and I bet you he puts it on the podium every race. What the hell was Williams thinking when they came out with that walrus looking abomination this year? Drivers are always changing teams at a moments notice. A lot drivers don't really have any loyalty to one team(Montoya signing with McLaren in the off-season or Button going to Williams) or they don't like their teammates(i.e. Montoya and R. Shumacher).

Toyota spends the most in F1, not Ferrari. With all the money they spent they haven't had any good finishes. Why is that? Maybe it's because each year they have two new drivers, engineers, so on....they lack any sort of team unity or commitment.

BAR Honda were on the way up with Button as they're #1 and Sato as #2 on the team. Honda was impressed and therefore doubled their commitment to the engine program(i.e. Honda has the most powerful engine in F1). Now with Button showing his true colors I don't think they will do that well for the rest of the season. Team morale has to be low on that team. Sato is a good driver, but he lacks the experience and discipline needed to win races. Honda was originally going to buy out BAR and turn it into a factory team, but now they are having second thoughts....unless DC or Mika join them next year.

The only challenge for Ferrari this year has been from Renault. And they will only get better next year. Flavio Briatore doesn't play around.

Jordan, Sauber and Minardi.....No comment.

Jaguar might not be around next year if Ford pulls the plug on their F1 program.

 

damn right, besides schmacher i think kimi is that best driver out there, its to bad he has been stuck in a crap car.

button leaving to williams has me a little confused. hes doing excellent this year, seems to have any problems with the car. and he wants to leave to willaims?

im a big sato fan but your right he doesnt realy have the discipline to win races. i like his aggresive style , its kinda out place in f1 though were passing is rare.

 

Schumacher did that to him self for some odd reason no one can explain it. And yes give Kimmi and reliable car that dosent blow up every race and he would finnish in the top three every time just like last year . He has just had no luck at all this season.

 

I stand corrected..... Toyota isn't second; however, Ferrari is first.
These are 2003 figures.

http://www.fastmachines.com/archives/f1/001603.php

Total $2,141,100,000

$443,800,000 Ferrari
$353,300,000 Williams
$304,600,000 McLaren
$290,400,000 Toyota
$225,100,000 BAR
$206,800,000 Renault
$119,500,000 Sauber
$ 79,200,000 Jordan
$ 78,800,000 Jaguar
$ 39,600,000 Minardi

 

Schumacher is the best and earned his ride with the best team. However, technology in F1 has taken much of the required skill away from the driver and put it in the hands of engineers and computer programmers. I would rather watch Schum negotiate a circuit in a car he actually had to shift, as well as pre race setup, than a F1 race.

There is so much technology in F1 they might as well sit the drivers in front of a Xbox.

 

Road Racer,

These are the budgets for the 2004 season according to Business F1 Magazine:

Toyota: $400m
Ferrari: $363m (plus $20m supplied by Marlboro and dedicated to driver salary)
McLaren: $350m
Williams: $333m
Renault: $300m
BAR: $225m
Jaguar: $167m
Sauber: $162m
Jordan: $50m
Minardi: $43m

As you can see this year Toyota is spending the most and getting absolutely nothing in return.

Chuck,
I agree with you somewhat that the driver skill is being somewhat taking away. But they are slowly being put back into the hands of the drivers. They got rid of launch control and automatic gearboxes this year. The only real driver-aid they have left is Traction Control and too much downforce on the cars.

F1 is all about the advancement of automotive technology, going back to H-shift pattern gearboxes, clutch pedals on the floor, etc. is a step backwards for these guys.

Also, Barrichello has the same car as M. Schumacher, and this season he hasn't really been that impressive. So it's not just the car doing all of the work.