The 2009 constructors’ champions finish fourth in the championship this year after the Brazilian Grand Prix.
| Michael Schumacher | Nico Rosberg | |
| Qualifying position | 8 | 13 |
| Qualifying time comparison (Q2) | 1’18.923 (-0.563) | 1’19.486 |
| Race position | 7 | 6 |
| Laps | 71/71 | 71/71 |
| Pit stops | 1 | 3 |
Open lap times interactive chart in new window
Michael Schumacher
Started ahead of Rosberg for only the third time in 18 races.
He was passed by Felipe Massa and Jenson Button at the start, but re-passed the McLaren at the Senna S at the start of lap three.
Schumacher got unlucky with his lap 20 pit stop, as it coincided with Button’s pass on Adrian Sutil. That delayed Sutil, meaning Schumacher came out of the pits right on the Force India driver’s tail, where he stayed for the next 30 laps.
His team mate appeared behind him after the safety car period and Schumacher allowed him by:
I had quite a good start today gaining two positions which unfortunately I lost again directly afterwards following my exit on the grass because of the fight with Robert.
We then had good pace but with hindsight, my pit stop was maybe a little too early which left me stuck behind Adrian.
Towards the end, I let Nico past when he was on fresh tyres as he had the better chance to fight Jenson in front of us.
Michael Schumacher
Compare Michael Schumacher’s form against his team mate in 2010
Nico Rosberg
Unusually, Rosberg failed to make it into Q3, for which he blamed Sebastien Buemi:
We were on for a good result in qualifying today but on the drying track, the intermediate tyres were only good for one fast lap and I was blocked by Buemi on my lap in Q2.
Nico Rosberg
He managed to finish sixth despite three visits to the pits. He gained two places at the start and was running fourth when he came in for the first time on lap 26 to switch from super-soft to medium tyres.
Schumacher had been so badly held up by Sutil that this promoted Rosberg to seventh, which became sixth when Kamui Kobayashi pitted.
Mercedes chose to bring Rosberg in for a fresh set of tyres under the cover of the safety car, as he was the last runner on the lead lap when it came out. But the pit stop was a shambles as a radio problem meant the mechanics did not know what tyres to fit.
However Rosberg was able to come back in three laps later, still behind the safety car, for more tyres.
This meant he lost a place to Schumacher, who let Rosberg up into sixth place, Schumacher no doubt wishing Rosberg had done the same in Suzuka.
Compare Nico Rosberg’s form against his team mate in 2010
2010 Brazilian Grand Prix
Image © Mercedes
ed24f1 (@ed24f1)
8th November 2010, 12:54
Another good weekend for Schumacher, he definitely has some good momentum heading into 2011.
I’m sure the team would be concerned at the amount of small strategy mistakes they’ve made recently (Suzuka for MS and Brazil for both drivers)
Its nice to see Schumacher do something to help a team-mate for once, but maybe he just wants ammunition to ask Rosberg to return the favour later on.
bosyber
8th November 2010, 13:03
a reminder that it could have been this way in Suzuka will be in it for Schumacher too, he had little to lose here, and probably a good favor to win from Rosberg.
davo
10th November 2010, 3:52
Yes, I was ****** Nico didnt let MS by in Suzuka. Nico needs to learn to not be a selfish driver, he should have let MS at least have a chance at Hamilton but Nico wanted to be able to say “I was able to keep MS behind me”.
Thats actually the first thing I heard Nico say after the race. “My tires werent as good as MS’s but at least they were good enough to keep him behind me.” (Not his exact words but close) Well great Nico, in the meantime, one of your competitors is speeding off into the distance that MS may have caught by the end of the race but Nico was just thinking of his own points tally and not the teams.
Dont get me wrong, I like Nico a lot but I think he should have handled Suzuka differently
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
10th November 2010, 8:47
Totally disagree. He’s there to do his best and if Schumacher can’t find a way past that’s his problem.
glue
8th November 2010, 13:26
he was helping team-mates before..
Nin13 (@)
8th November 2010, 13:43
Like he came back to help Eddie Irvine in 1999.
Daniel
8th November 2010, 21:39
You’d think so wouldn’t you. But, “We made all the right strategy calls today which enabled us to make up several places on cars ahead of us on the grid.” — Ross Brawn.
infy (@infy)
8th November 2010, 14:23
Like all rusty drivers, Shumi is improving race by race. Next year if the car is behind them, we will see a lot more from him.
US_Peter (@us_peter)
9th November 2010, 0:11
I think so too. I doubt if he’ll ever be a champion again, but maybe some podiums and a win or two.
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
8th November 2010, 16:05
It was a nice weekend for Schumi.
Since Suzuka, he became a totally different driver (comparing his 2010 form).
kaiser
8th November 2010, 17:43
Absolutely, it looks like he cracked the code in Japan.
PeriSoft
8th November 2010, 20:55
When you think about what Schu had to deal with when coming back, it’s kind of remarkable – the cars might as well be completely different, if nothing else because of the tires.
His teammate has had a ton of testing, a lot of time to get used gradually to the new hardware, and experience on several new tracks. And he’s half Schumacher’s age!
One thing I remember from a few years back is seeing Schumacher on the podium at Malaysia; at the time he was in his late 30s and the other two guys were early 20s. When he took his helmet off, *his hair was dry*. After two hours of 5g cornering, triple-layer nomex, 100 degree temp in the car and near 100% humidity… the other two guys looked like wrung out rats, and Schumacher looked like he’d just had a shower and a blow dry.
I’d be really interested to see him on the podium again, if nothing else to see what his conditioning is like. Maybe his conditioning has fallen off now that he’s in his 40s, and he’s only in the shape of a 25-year-old. :)
Daniel
8th November 2010, 21:45
You must be the only person wishing to see Schumacher on the podium so as to check out his hair.
MEmo
9th November 2010, 14:10
Let´s put it under a different light: MS will do good enough next season IF he gets a decent car. That´s no brainer (bad car, he won´t be able to do anything). But I think the real question should be: with a good car, would MS stil be the right driver to have? Let´s say, comparing it with Jenson for example. I really think another good driver would do a better job than old MS. So my point: if the car is good next year, MS will do good, but with a good car almost anyone would do good, so I´d reather have someone else! Not many drivers out there, but Heidfeld will be free…
davo
10th November 2010, 3:44
I’m not sure you’d be better off with Heidfield. Nicks been racing a long time and hasnt had near the success MS has and Nick had good cars. He was in that BMW/Sauber for awhile, does a so so job and then Kubica gets in it and gives them their first win, several podiums and their first pole if I’m not mistaken. Now why didnt Nick do that ? He had alot more time with the car than Kub.
I think Nick has proven he’s a good driver but he’s not an outstanding driver by any means. You have to have a good car that fits your driving style. Maybe the Merc would fit Hiedfeld and be his breakout car but somethig tells me….no.
I know people say MS won all of those championchips because he had the best car. As Brawn once said, That Ferarri was the best car because MS was driving it and MS helped develop it into the best car.
I’d rather see Hulkenberg in the Mercedes than Heidlfeld. But, I’m an MS fan and I think MS has a few good years ahead of him if he can stay motivated. I think MS can develop that Merc better than Nico, Merc just hasnt had the resources to put toward the 2010 season and the car was pretty much built by the time MS came on board.
I wouldnt be surprised if MS was the better of the 2 drivers next year.
Byron R
9th November 2010, 14:20
In an interview on USA’a Speedchannel with Schumacher he talked of how the car tended to understeer. Rossberg this weekend complained of oversteer. Schumacher was quicker. If the car was set with Button in mind , i guess you could say Rossberg is Buttonish and Schumi is more Hamilton in style. ( More like Hamilton is more like Schumi.)
Hopefully next year they can produce a more Schumacher friendly car. I don’t expect a WDC but some more podiums would be great.
Alexi
9th November 2010, 15:06
Indeed. The W01 was designed to Button’s smooth and undesteery style which is exactly Rosberg’s style. No matter if Merc says they’ll design a neutral car, the W02 will obviously be designed towards Schumi since he would bring the most attention, so to speak, in the case if winning or so. Rosberg better to start enjoying oversteer then.
ayos
10th November 2010, 6:13
yup, i think schumi’s driving style would be the best option coz it has given him 7 titles. he has honed his style to perfection. so, i dont know why he should change whats been a proven style for him. yes he was known for changing style to suit the car, but that was in early years where he havent perfected his style. so you are right, rosberg mus start liking over-steering cars.hehehe