Michael Schumacher

Hampus Andersson · Dec 20, 2011

Some qualifying numbers for 2010 and 2011

In 2010 Rosberg had the edge with an average of -0.280 seconds.
In 2011 Rosberg still have the edge but has improved a bit with an average of -0.366 seconds.

As far as the race goes he was around 70 points away from Rosberg in 2010.
And this year a mere 13 points so he has lost some ground on the qualifying stuff but really made an improvement in his race pace.

Victor Ivanov · Dec 20, 2011

We must admit - he's never been so good with tyres and this year the tyres were hmm a bit strange. Schumi and Brown's best years were where there was refueling and they've won so much races with great strategy and incredible driving at the end of stints. Last two years this wasn't possible so I think he needs some more practice and more rain

Hampus Andersson · Dec 20, 2011

I think alot of Ferraris wins during the dominant era had to do with alot of things

First the tires, Ferrari worked very close with them.
Then you had no testing ban, not many teams that can open the back door and just log laps.
Then you have the money, Ferrari had plenty.
then you have Todt, keeping the team together in harmony
then you have Brawn, borderline genius.
And then, the creme de la creme, a very solid driver with heaps of racecraft.

Put all that together and you have a force that is unstoppable. For a while atleast

Hampus Andersson · Dec 24, 2011

Michael Schumacher ended the season as Formula 1's top overtaker, with his impressive opening lap efforts throughout 2011 helping him edge out Sebastien Buemi.
In strategic data compiled by Mercedes GP over the course of the campaign, and obtained by AUTOSPORT, Schumacher's end-of-season tally has been recorded as 116 passes - just two ahead of his Scuderia Toro Rosso rival.
Schumacher's tally was most certainly helped by the fact that he was able to make up so many positions in the opening stint of races - because he often qualified further down the field that his car was capable of.
Nevertheless, the team was well aware that throughout 2011, Schumacher’s race pace was every bit as good as team-mate Nico Rosberg’s so he could recover well on Sundays - which points towards the amount of progress the seven-time champion has made since his F1 comeback.
The top 10 rankings for the best overtakers of 2011, according to Mercedes GP’s data, are:

1. Michael Schumacher 116
2. Sebastien Buemi 114
3. Kamui Kobayashi 99
4. Jaime Alguersuari 94
5. Pastor Maldonado 91
6. Paul di Resta 90
7. Sergio Perez 87
8. Rubens Barrichello 86
9. Jenson Button 85
10. Felipe Massa 82

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96836

Bram Hengeveld · Dec 25, 2011

See MSC still has it in him

Or can we conclude he doesnt have enough qualy speed?

Hampus Andersson · Dec 25, 2011

I think he just haven´t understood how to get the maximum out of the tires over one lap and i think Rosberg is a damn good qualifier.

Xosé Estrada · Dec 25, 2011

MSC WDC 2012

Impossible to say more in less

William Liu · Dec 28, 2011

Well... The low in qualy= more likely to overtake. Also, MSC did hit others more than the rest of the field.
Compare him to Vettel, who gets pole for pretty much every race and just stays there in 1st.

On a side note, Spa definitely helped his cause.

Hampus Andersson · Dec 28, 2011

Well most of the time he qualified clean meaning the pace of his car only was enough to get that position rather then him getting a penalty and starting in a place he really should not have started.

What he did smart was like in India. Almost everyone emptied their KERS down to T1, Schumi waited and deployed everything on the next straight and was having 18km/h advantage on everyone overtaking 4-5 guys on one straight.

He´s smart man and it shows he´s thinking,

Bram Hengeveld · May 23, 2012

A very good article about Schumi http://www.racedepartment.com/2012/05/the-return-of-michael-schumacher-a-two-sided-coin/

Ho3n3r · May 23, 2012

He's not the same driver, because of his age, and F1 is a different sport now - literally.

Nothing can diminish what I think of him, because you cannot erase the past.

Markus Neumann · May 23, 2012

Don't really agree with the article. As long as he's enjoying it, why should he give up just because a bunch of big-headed commentators are "worried" about his "legacy"?

I hope he stays at least until 2014. Since Barrichello is gone, he'd be the only driver in F1 who's got experience driving the low-drag, low-downforce cars they'll be using from then on. He usually chooses higher top speed and lower downforce than Rosberg, so I guess he still prefers it that way. Would be interesting to see what he can do in those cars

Ivan Mills · May 23, 2012

most of the critism thats been sent his way comes from british propaganda trying to flush him out so they can promote their own drivers. But PDR over A.Sutil?....that has to be a joke..haha...they already have a NR at Merc,no need for 2

as for the "article" on the front page..nice effort(in terms of effort put in),but very weak overall,reads like the rant of a troll