F1

Schumacher’s comeback – a retrospective look

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #133213
    The Radical
    Participant

    There are always going to be those who said Schumacher made a terrible mistake in coming back, that he damaged his reputation, but in light of Rosberg’s recent form, does anybody else look back now and realise that he actually did a fairly decent job?

    If not for his endless reliability woes (and yes a couple of clumsy crashes) last season, he was right with, if not ahead of Rosberg across most weekends.

    Sure, people will say Hamilton is still getting up to speed with the Merc, blinding his true speed, but you can’t deny Rosberg when he takes three consecutive poles and now victory at Monaco… surely this says something about Schumi?

    #237192
    Todfod
    Participant

    Completely agree with you. This year definitely gave us a stronger idea of Rosberg’s pace and potential… and also a better indicator of how good Schumi actually was on his comeback.

    I think Schumi got better every year.. and although the Schumacher fans would make excuses like “he’s old”, I thought Schumacher was back to his best in 2012. If it wasn’t for his brain fade moments and a ton of bad luck at the start of the season, I reckon, he would have come closer to Rosberg’s points tally at the end of the year.

    So yeah.. I think after Schumacher left we have a better idea of how good he actually was. I think Schumi was strong, but still not strong enough to beat the top 3-4 drivers in the sport today

    #237194
    Journeyer
    Participant

    Yes. So very much yes.

    That said, it’s not as clear as it seems. I also think Nico has also improved a lot over last season (and gotten over that dip in form he had late last year). Nico seems to have learned a lot from Schumi in terms of mental toughness and leading the team forward.

    #237195
    The Radical
    Participant

    @todfod imagine had Schu kept his Monaco pole and gone on to a probable victory, then take away his mechanical failures which seemingly occurred at every race in the first half of the season, he would have been right up there.

    As you point out maybe not top three, but certainly he would have been as high up as was possible bearing the many constraints of the W03, as for this season, who knows what he might have been capable of…

    @journeyer I believe Rosberg is revelling as the old hand at Merc, and as you say, he undoubtedly learnt some invaluable lessons from his time alongside Schu.

    If anything he could take some credit for Nico’s form this season.

    #237196
    Nick
    Participant

    I think the Schumacher naysayers and fanboys will form their opinions regardless of Rosberg’s form this year, but it’s good to see a more nuanced view emerging as well.

    While I do think Hamilton is still getting the hang of the car, Rosberg is driving very, very well this season. I honestly never rated Rosberg highly at Williams, but that team wasn’t exactly winning races while he was there either.

    I think people such as myself mistakenly disregarded the idea that Rosberg could actually be that good and somewhat preferred the idea of Schumacher driving dismally. Rosberg himself has also improved a lot since 2010, but I would have never imagined him having an edge of Hamilton. I think we’ll have to wait until much later in the season to see how Rosberg really compares to Hamilton, but it does at least put Schumacher’s 2012 form in another light.

    I do feel his silly crashes (Spain, Singapore) were due to age and perhaps, not being used to such close racing in his earlier career (he had some crazy oopsies and ding dongs in those years as well, like crashing into JPM in the tunnel in Monaco in 2004), but his Monaco pole and some of his feisty drives, as well as out-scoring Rosberg in the races they finished together, do look even better in hindsight. I kind of gave up hope on his season after Spain last year, but his bad luck and mechanical woes kept a dim on his season all year, in my opinion.

    With this year’s car, I think Rosberg might have still had the upper hand somewhat, though. Schumacher never was an amazing qualifier and never a really great defender as well. I’d imagine any team orders would have exploded much more than with Hamilton, too.

    @radical

    If anything he could take some credit for Nico’s form this season.

    He himself probably wouldn’t do that. He never commented on his work at Ferrari beyond his own years, either.

    #237197
    The Radical
    Participant

    @npf1 “Schumacher never was an amazing qualifier…” just the record 68 pole positions, nothing special! Otherwise I tend to agree with you.

    As for taking credit, Schu wouldn’t say he is responsible for Rosberg’s emergence, but his input into the development of the W04 last season has certainly had a significant impact on Rosberg being the man to beat on Saturdays…

Viewing 6 posts - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.