Rick, I've heard the same about the step backwards. It is good for F1. The tech angle has been great but we've come to a time where fans want to see the skill between drivers. There is always that chance a driver will miss a shift.

 

The problem with F1 isn't Ferrari, or the tech. in the cars.

The problem is the other teams aren't challenging Ferrari. Ferrari is doing what you're supposed to do in racing. Give guys like Montoya, Kimi, DC, even Mark Webber a competitive car and all this talk about F1 being boring, the tech. is getting out of hand, give the drivers more control, etc. will end.

The real problem is Ferrari not having any competition.

Even with traction control and other electronic wizardry in the cars, you still need a good driver to properly pilot the car around a circuit to it's fullest potential.

Did my post make any sense?LOL

 

Yeah, it makes sense, but I disagree with part of it. Yes, you still need a good driver to win but technology decreases the chances of driver error. Bring back a clutch pedal and stick shift and you'll bring back missed shifts, rev matching, heal n toe, etc.

 

Rick, you right in saying that other teams have to step-up. I am pretty sure that McLaren will do that next year...... I doubt that MB will let their engine/electronics be the weak point again next season. On the other hand, if teams keep-up with Ferrari, they will spend more money...... which will exclude more teams. The FIA is trying to bring the budgets of these teams down, but really all that happens is teams hide the figures better. I don't think that Ferrari's budget decreased by 63m from 2003 to 2004

Chuck, I understand where you are coming from because I am a die-hard sports car fan and love the human element aspect of the gt and gts cars.

Back to the original post, Michael is great but he also has a great team.

btw, is SAFE still having the 8/28 drivers event? I talk to a friend of mine that lives in Sebring and he didn't have power until Monday. He also said a lot of trees were down.

Patrick

 

Did you guys see chassis 193 was totaled at Laguna this past weekend.

 

I haven't heard anything about the Sebring event being cancelled. There really isn't that much out there to get trashed by Charley. If they have power there shouldn't be a problem. All road racers need is a lot of asphalt, or in the case of Sebring concrete and a kidney belt.

 

That chassis #193 was the same one that Schumacher crashed and broke his legs in 1999. That kroyman guy was lucky he was only going 65 MPH when he crashed.

Also, if you take the technology gimmick away from F1, it will resemble any other open wheel racing series. All the high tech wizardry is part of the allure of F1.

The FIA is always imposing new regulations every year in order to slow the cars down, but the engineers always come out on top and make the cars faster than last year. This year alone, the cars are 1-2 seconds faster on most tracks. Also the tire war between Michelin and Bridgestone is helping the cars become faster.

I predict that Schumacher will retire soon anyway. After he breaks every record and wins 1 or 2 more world championships he won't have anything else to prove.

If you watch the F1 Decade shows on SPEED Channel you will see that schumacher dominated 10-11 years ago like he does today. In 1993 he challenged guys like Prost and Senna at the front. In 1994 he won one race with his gearbox stuck in 5th gear. So yeah the guy might be a little talented.

 

"a kidney belt" no kidding, At a SAFE event in 2000 I rode in Ryan Kennedy's SPO 930 and am still recovering!

 

you know that he moved his whole team from beatton (sp) to where they are now. So he has been working with these people for a long time now. And as stated before he has had won many races in the benetton car. But as soon as he left the team went down with classics like alessi and gearburger. I think one of the biggest mistakes that FIA made was taking away forced induction. We would have some increadable engines with turbos and superchragers on them, if they just restricted the rules on forced induction instead of banning it. Grated the only time non turbo cars had a chance in those races were when it rained...can you say turbolag to wheel spin?

 

then it wouldn't be F1. F1's about the technology and the greatest drivers working in unison. you start making the cars less advanced and you're left with carbs and nascar.

my opinion: schumacher is a great driver (he's better than barricello)
ferrari has by far the best car... the hondas are close if their engines don't blow.

it's good that the FIA doesn't worry about close races, that just prevents innovation