mitch236

I was thinking about the pass MS made on Kimi last weekend. Man that was great. I wonder what they were thinking as they were inches apart? I know I would have been Sh!tting myself. I wonder if they are cool and collected or clenching?

Larry Herman

It's always easier to stay cool and collected when it's not your car (and you don't even have to pay if you wreck it).

TD in DC

I sorta wonder whether MS viewed it as a compliment or an insult to Kimi. I tend to think the former . . . at least that's what i tell myself whenever people keep sticking their nose in so deep through a corner

renvagn

Without a doubt the pass by Shumi was a statement,"I am not done yet."

M758

I think it was one of those..

"I am faster than you and I am going to prove it too you." Type moves.

Kimi fought it long and hard, but was smart enough to give in at the very last moment to prevent contact. Nice drive on the part of both driver's, but Kimi's move was not "fantastic" other than not yeilding till the very end. Michaels was more impressive since he had to know he could pull that off on the dirty way inside line. I'd figure 95% of drives would have backed out or possibly hit Kimi in that situation. Of course that is what Kimi was banking on. Squeeze him enough and he will give up.

Cory M

I have an idea on how to make F1 more exciting:

We can all agree that it was great to see MS race from the back of the grid to 4th in Brazil. During the race the commentators said that as a retirement gift Michael would be given his car after the race. Wouldn't it be great if he took his car to all of the races next season and had to start from the last place at all of them? I know it would never work and it will never happen but just think how exciting it would be to watch him fight through through the grid to the front of the pack at every track.

renvagn

Add lots of rain and you have the makings of an entertaining race.

multi21

Here is what I think was going through their mind:

Schumacher: Okay, you want my seat? Here, how does this taste!!!

Kimi: I don't want him to pass me, but I have a slower car. If I close the door and take him out, my future bosses at Ferrari and the Tifosi will hang me before I even get a chance to sit in a Ferrari.

If it was Juan Pablo in Kimi's spot, he would have closed the door and then said, it was Michael's fault for trying to pass him.

George from MD

"If it was Juan Pablo in Kimi's spot, he would have closed the door and then said, it was Michael's fault for trying to pass him."

Gor I nearly fell off the chair at that one....but seriously while I am not a Schumacher fan that was one of the best races I've ever seen and I think one of his best drives- even though he finished fourth.

Bill N

I think these guys are the ultimate in cool and collected. Remember when there was a fire when Michael was refueling last year (or was it the year before)? I swear he didn't even twitch as the flames shot up beside him.

multi21

Without a doubt, he is mentally above all others when on track. One of the other things the SPEED commentators were saying about him was that when he would get out of a car, he would walk all around it and check for gaps in the body work and ask the engineers if they couldn't get the specs and tolerences a little closer and close those up as it effects aero efficiency. Another observation is that he tends to manually adjust everything on his steering wheel between, and sometimes in the middle of turns to make the car as fast as possible depending on what part of the track he's on. He does the same with the brake bias. If I had to estimate, other driver's do appx. 10% of the manual adjustments that MS does, all while going 200 MPH. Ice in his veins.

multi21

How about the pass on Fisi. TD started a thread last week about passing. Most of the guys on this Forum said that it's a mental game. Well MS was renting space in Fisi's head, because I don't think he was even going to try and pass him on that lap, but after Fisi's mirrors were full of red, MS pulled out to get clean air on the front wing to make turn one. Fisi left the braking too late and his Renault became a John Deere. Too easy, moving on, bye bye.

Larry Herman

Fisi is nothing special. For years everyone in the paddock said he was the best driver out there; just waiting for a competitive car. So what does he do in the Renault? Not much, especially as compared to someone who wasn't supposed to be very good, like Massa.

multi21

Yea, I agree. Fisi is overrated. MS's passes on Kimi and Fisi are a microcosim of what a good driver does vs. a mediocre driver.

Cory M

Agreed. It reminds me of when I watched the in-car camera of the Thrust SSC landspeed car that broke the sound barrier. The driver, a RAF pilot, was just reading the mileage as it got higher and higher, "300...400...500...600...700...".
The car started to drift off track when they were at around 700 mph and there was no sense of panic in his voice, nerves of steel.