22 replies to this topic

[JayWay]

This post has no racing merit, includes no late breaking news, has no in depth insight, but goddamn it must be said...

Does anyone have the same feeling as me, in the pit of there stomach that SOMETHING, is, has MUST go wrong for Michael Schumacher sometime soon.

Im a very strong believer in karma (like if I fail everything in highschool ill be a great success in the workforce) and in my eyes theres just no way MS can go on having it this easy, something must go wrong, and when it does, your going to see a flurry of topics on this board in the nature of

"The championship is ALIVE! IT AINT OVER"

"MIKAS BACK!"

"Jean Alesi pregnant with Mika Salo's baby!"


Ok well maybe not the last one, but the other two yes.

Karma is alive, and it will strike down on Schuey...I just know it....

[Toxicant]

Indigestion perhaps?

Take a tums, you'll feel much better.

Tox!

[404KF2]

If MS is affected by karma, he's in BIG trouble...but then so are many other F1 drivers.

[ana]

There are things that can go wrong (MS mistake, someone others mistake or problems with car etc.) but because of the human factor not because of karma or some other supernatural stuff. I hope that he wins drivers championship but if he fails it will be due to a lot more tangible reasons than karma or even bad luck.

[RaggedEdge]

Call it Karma, call it Luck, it is still annoying that e.g. mechanical reliability is affecting the championship development instead of driver performance. Just to even it out, I hope Schumi retires from the lead twice and has a minor technical glitch while leading, whilst Hakkinen will finish all the remaining races of the season without any mechanical glitches.

[JayWay]

RaggedEdge,

Thats really lame.

1.Hypocritical seeing as that MH won the championship with MS out. So according to your logic, MH's WDC means squat last year.

2.We all know Schumy deserves his two wins. He outdrove Mika whether you like it or not. You make it sound like Mika was ahead 40 seconds when he dropped out. Please.

[RaggedEdge]

1. Of course winning WDC always is valuable in its own right regardless of the opposition.

Actually a pretty good analogy. In 1999, Hakkinen benefited in Austria, Hungary, Spa, and Nurburgring from Schumi's absence, although the truth told it probably hurt him more than helped in Austria and Spa, since David more than made up the villain-deficit in those two races.

We only need two more races where Hakkinen retires and 2000 and 1999 are comparable.

2. Sure Schumi deserved to win over the remaining drivers, but did not deserve to win over Hakkinen.

All I am asking for is exact repeat but in reverse of Australia and Brazil - Schumacher should lead two races over Hakkinen (maybe by one second but anyway), but retire due to mechanical failure. This would be fair.

Schumi should keep the advantage he gained in Imola, since his contribution to winning was perhaps bigger than Hakkinen's misfortune from bad McLaren strategy, damaged undertray, and engine dying out before his pitstop.

[JayWay]

"2. Sure Schumi deserved to win over the remaining drivers, but did not deserve to win
over Hakkinen."

Oh right...The broken undertray, LOL!

[RaggedEdge]

JayWay, the broken undertray was well documented. Anyway, as I said, I am giving Schumi the merit for Imola win, it was an impressive drive and only a little bit lucky.

BUT: Surely you acknowledge that in a fair world, Schumi should retire twice from a marginal lead and hand easy wins to Hakkinen. Only after this, the result of the WDC would be completely based on driver performance (assuming that McLaren and Ferrari are on the balance equally good in the remaining races) ?

[RAD]

If karma was real then why is Bill Gates so bleeping rich?

MS is on his way. As long as he keeps his wits and composure. He can afford to rack up points now. MH has all of the pressure in the world on him. He has to win the next four races just to catch up. He can do it, but I don't see it. When has he ever stood up and fought back from the jaws of defeat? Maybe he has. I don't remember it. Nothing against MH. The smart money is on MS and Ferrari right now.

If you believe in karma to cause a wreck then you will lose your cash. Karma is built up from relationships with people. Maybe MS will get punched out at a restaurant!

[RaggedEdge]

MH has all of the pressure in the world on him. He has to win the next four races just to catch up. He can do it, but I don't see it. When has he ever stood up and fought back from the jaws of defeat? Maybe he has. I don't remember it.

What about these:

A)
Mika Hakkinen is tied with the clear favourite driver with two races left. He already has a slower car, since his key rival qualifies on pole position in the both decisive races. In the first of the two races, he qualifies even behind the team mate of the championship favourite.

At the end of first of the decisive races, Murray Walker is commentating : "Mika Hakkinen is going to win, against the expectations, it must be said". In the next race, he blasts off, leads the whole race, and wins commandingly despite not having the fastest car.


B)
There are two races left. Mika Hakkinen leads by two points. His car is again slower, since the No. 1 driver of the opposing team is again on the pole in the two decisive races.

The history repeats again, since again Mika starts in the second row, more than one second behind the dominant Ferrari. He wins the race, but loses it again as FIA gifts the win to the championship rival and his teammate claiming that the 10mm measurement done after the race was "inaccurate by 5mm".

Mika goes to the decisive race with a four point deficit, and only a win will do. Despite not having the fastest car (he qualifies second), Mika blasts off, leads the whole race, and wins a second WDC against the odds.

How about those for pressure situations, RAD?


[This message has been edited by RaggedEdge (edited 04-21-2000).]

[Keith Steele]

Jayway, I have no personal interest in Michael Schumacher at all. My gut tells me he'll phone this champinship in. The FIA will throw a few curves in to keep it close and interesting, but I think number three is inevitable. Now when it comes to Jacques, my gut is telling me twenty different things. Dern nab emotions messing everything up.

[RaggedEdge]

Overall, I think the main drivers (Hakkinen and Schumacher) are usually doing the business i.e. either winning or being second, unless the mechanical failure robs them.

From this point of view, I would agree it will be very hard for Hakkinen to claw it back, unless Michael also retires twice from the lead.

[JayWay]

RaggedEdge,

I think that if your logic is that MS wouldnt deserve the championship if he doesnt retire twice to even it up, then you are following the wrong sport. Because F1 is just as much about luck as it is skill. And like I say if Schuey doesnt deserve this, then MH doesnt deserve 99.

And using your logic well I can easily say that neither MS or MH deserved any success at Imola cause if it wasnt for a worse car Jax would have been in front of them from the start and went on to win! Surely JV drove just as good as MH and MS did, but he didnt have the equipment to win, but im not whining that JV got screwed thats F1, and you make your own luck.

[Haz]

Luck is very important in F1, especially in a quest for the WDC. I still think its better to be an average driver and have lots of luck and then being an above average driver with horrible luck.

[Lamont]

Originally posted by RaggedEdge:

BUT: Surely you acknowledge that in a fair world, Schumi should retire twice from a marginal lead and hand easy wins to Hakkinen.

Fair's got nothing to do with it. I certainly didn't think it was "fair" when the MS' Ferrari had parts falling off the car as it drove down the pit lane a few years ago during that horrible streak of retirements mid-season, but that is motor racing.

[Williams]

In a "fair" world, Mika would break his leg at Silverstone.

[Peeko]

Ragged, quick your belly aching. Where you complaining in 98 when there was such a large performance gap between the Ferrari and McLaren for almost half of the season? Probably not. So don't start when the shoe is on the other foot. That's racing, tough luck. What goes around, comes around.

------------------
Ron Dennis is a Wuss

[Haz]

How would Hakkinen breaking his leg make things fair? He's already been injured far worse than just about anyone on the grid. I don't think he can even remember the 96 season.

[RaggedEdge]

I have no problem with luck affecting the championship development.

However, if the mechanical reliability does not even out, do not come back saying that Schumacher beat Hakkinen in a fair fight in 2000. The fair fights between the two amount to zero at this point of the season, although Imola almost was one.

Perhaps this will be one of the seasons such as 1992 and 1996 where one would just know that Williams will get the titles, and one just appreciates the fight in individual races. In this case it is just Ferrari and Schumacher.

More about "Hakkinen should break his leg" - this is then resting on the assumption that the careers of the two gentlemen should be on the balance (not just this season). If this is the requirement, then Schumi should go to Benetton for the rest of his career, while Hakkinen should switch to Ferrari. After some six years, they would have had pretty equal opportunities to score points and wins over their careers.

Anyway, I hope there will be also good luck for Hakkinen, as his driving has been absolutely perfect up to this point. I do not wish bad luck for Schumi, I just hope the things even out to make championship more exciting.

[JayWay]

LOL,

Ok Ragged Edge you just keep up with your voluntary blindness. No problem. You don't want to face reality thats fine. But just remember if these two races don't count as fair fights, then neither do Aus and Brazil from 98, cause the cars were so uneven. BUT even in that situation MS was a good enough driver to fight back with still worse equipment then MH. Now MH has faster (not more reliable) equipment then MS, so using easy logic, if MH is HALF the driver MS is, then MH will easily fight back. Wouldn't you say. You can't get around this one. Stop hiding from the truth.

[RaggedEdge]

Considering Ferrari finally did not **** up their qualifying and Barrichello is on pole, it is fair to say that Ferrari is also faster car.

Even if the Ferrari remains the fastest car, yes, I full expect Hakkinen to claw back since he is marginally faster.

Yeah, Aus and Brazil 1998 were not fair fights, but at least Schumi had even better reliability over the season than Hakkinen, as Schumacher, had two terminal mechanical failures but also those two non-fatal problems in Hungary and Monza.

That was what made the season almost even (100 points vs. 86 points). I hope it happens again this year, but for McLaren.

How blind You can be if you do not see what I mean - equal reliability in equal cars is the ultimate recipe for exciting championship. Do not dwell in the past.

[OssieFan]

Being an atheist, I'd say that anything bad that happens to Schu will be pure coincidence.