22 replies to this topic

[magnum]

Stewart's comments were correct: schumi's blunder will have negative repurcussions for the whole team if they're unable to re-build the car before qualifying. It means that neither ferrari driver can afford to take risks in qualifying because there is no T-car - it also means that the ferraris will not be able to run maximum (technical problems that sideline one car will result in that car potentially NOT qualifying), a situation amplified by the fact that this is the first race of the season. Schumi is very lucky he has uncle Jean as boss: any other team-boss would have chewed him up and spat him out for totalling a car in free-practice. I notice, too, that amongst all the rookies, he alone managed to make this blunder. Very silly. On the other hand, it is good to see a ferrari driver on the edge ... and it is good to see schumi with enough confidence in the car that he thought he could push it like that: shows he has confidence in the car which probably means the chassis is good (or at least he assumed it good before it bit him).Last season it was the McLaren that was very edgy on the limit -i wonder if the ferrari is in a similar situation this year?
Also good news is JV's performance - it would be GREAT to watch Mika/Schumi/JV at it this season since these three tower over the rest of the field(with the exception,maybe, or Rubens...we'll see)...all the same,if free practice was indicative of the season, this one will be great.
Somehow,though, i have this horrible feeling that Mika is holding back.Hope i'm wrong but Mika is always a clean second faster in qualifying than in practice...

[RedFever]

and you seriously think Ferrari is not equipped to to take care of the problem? funny!!!

[DangerMouse]

Red, Ferrari isn't even equiped to sort out 4 wheels and tyres for Eddie during a pitstop.

[magnum]

they brought three cars to Australia ... one is totalled which equals 2. If, as Jean Todt noted (and understandably he knows less than you Redfever), they cannot re-build the car for qualifying, what i said above is obvious -except, of course, to people who know the team better than those that run it.

[TBone]

IMO, that crash is not that big a deal. Crashes happen all the time in practice and qualifying. Since it happened well into the second practice, Michael still got plenty of time to gather data and get an idea of the setup.

McLaren, BAR, Williams and Ferrari have all had big pre-race crashes before and they were still there ready to race on Sundays.

BTW, I read somewhere that Jean Todt (Friday six press conference I think) was hoping that the car will be available for the Sunday warm up.

Of course a crash like this is a big waste practice time and team energy, but it's part of racing and all the F1 teams are ready for this. It's not the first nor the last time that something like this happens on a Friday of free practice.



[This message has been edited by TBone (edited 03-10-2000).]

[Mr. Salty]

According to FEDERAL (new member?) they brought four cars.

[Rich]

Funny, JV and Zonta wipe out both BAR cars at Spa after a silly bet with the mechanics, and they're lauded as brave and outspoken genii. MS wrecks one car, and he's a dolt. Go figure.

[RedFever]

Ferrari has 4 cars in Aussie. Also, the damaged car will be ready today, it's not totalled, the chassis is in perfect shape.

By the way, 7 drivers spun out, the track was still dusty. This means nothing, Schumi will be in the first two rows tomorrow if not on pole.

Cheers

DM, funny joke, still, the car will be fixed in record time and you know it.

[RedFever]

After all, if McLaren loses its wheels is OK?

[RedFever]

or can't refuel its cars?

[FEDERAL]

Thanks fo rthe back up Mr. Salty. Yes I am new and still learning

[Todd]

RedFever,

Ferrari always lists chassis numbers for every test session on their web site. They never mention the completion of a 4th car. It is possible that they have a 4th tub that hasn't been assembled and tested yet, but that isn't quite the same thing as a 4th car. I don't know who Federal's source is, but Ferrari.it doesn't show Luca testing anything on 3/3/2000 and makes no mention of a 4th car. Having the third chassis race ready was quite an accomplishment in itself.

I don't think this is the end of the world. It may hurt Schumacher a little in qualifying, but he'll be fine for the race. If he doesn't qualify in the top4 because of this, he'll just need a good strategy to get to the front.

------------------
Forza Michael Schumacher,
Todd

[F1razor]

LMAO!!!

Whatever magnum.

Amazing what lengths people will go to just to slag off schumi.

It's a practice session shunt! Happens ALL THE BLOODY TIME!!

BFD!!

lol...

[Keith Steele]

To find the limits of your car at a circuit you need to see what its limitations are. Michael now knows how hard he can push the car in that section of the track. If you're gonna wreck a car. Friday is the day to do it.

[Mr. Salty]

Yeah Keith, but if you HAVE to wreck during the race, it's always best to take your top competitor off with you.

[This message has been edited by Mr. Salty (edited 03-10-2000).]

[f li]

Salty,

That only applies if you are ahead in points! (Novice chess players do it all the time - if you're even a pawn up, you start "trading" and hoping to keep the advantage.)

[Franco]

Schumachers error is more serious than that of BAR's 2 car wrecks at Spa '99 because this is the first practice session of the season, and chassis/cars/parts are hard to come by, since few have been produced. Besides, Ferrari has got more at stake than BAR did in '99, its a more delicate situation. Im surprised MS made such a rookie mistake, thats the sort of thing that should have happened to Button, not MS. Seems hes a bit nervous, oh well hopefully for Ferrari theyll have everything fixed up in time for the race, if not it could spell TROUBLE for Barrichello. Anyway i think Hakkinen did the same thing in '99 didnt he? I dont remember if he wrecked it as good as MS though, and i dont remember how many chassis McLaren had in stock.

[Bob Nomates]

There's plenty of time to sort that out, if it isn't ready for qualifing I would be suprised.... the thing that always make me wonder is how they managed to sort the paint work out?

[Hendy]

There are four cars in Melbourne. The fouth car was just built and would need to be assembled, but I think that the could wreck a car every session and still have the resources to re-build cars.

[magnum]

It has nothing to do with BAR or anything else: it has nothing to do with slagging shumi: what it has to do with is schumi slinging a car into the barriers and KO'ing the car for qualifying: what happens if, as happens with many new cars, something braeks on one of the cars in qualifying? It means ferrari have one car for two drivers (ie: rubens hasn't got acar because of schumi's mistake): not the best position to be in now is it?
As for four cars, this is the first i've heard of it -ferrari generally have four cars only for monaco ... but perhaps things have changed. If they do have four cars out there,then schumi's mistake is acceptable. If not,logic above applies.

[Todd]

magnum,

They almost always have a 4th chassis with them. It is not a complete car. Turning the spare tub into an operational racing car is a 12 hour thrash and doesn't result in the same quality product one gets by meticulously assembling and shaking down the car at the race team's home. In other words, they'll have enough cars to go around, but one of them will not be as good as the others, if there is another incident.

[Lantern]

Actually Monaco is the place where they are most likely to have 3 cars due to lack of space. Most of the teams opt for 3(2?) there.

[RedFever]

they shipped the 4th chassis separately. In any case, Schumi's car will be ready for Sunday. The only problem is if one of the two smashed on Saturday, but we'll see.