Source: http://www.metrof1.com/blogs/metrof1/2011/05/vettel-wins-but-has-to-work-for-it.html
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Wednesday, 29 June 2011
'The point of no confidence is quite near'
 The wreckage of Jochen Rindt's car at Barcelona |
?Colin. I have been racing F1 for 5 years and I have made one mistake (I rammed Chris Amon in Clermont Ferrand) and I had one accident in Zandvoort due to gear selection failure otherwise I managed to stay out of trouble. This situation changed rapidly since I joined your team. ?Honestly your cars are so quick that we would still be competitive with a few extra pounds used to make the weakest parts stronger, on top of that I think you ought to spend some time checking what your different employes are doing, I sure the wishbones on the F2 car would have looked different. Please give my suggestions some thought, I can only drive a car in which I have some confidence, and I feel the point of no confidence is quite near.?A little more than a year later Rindt's Lotus suffered mechanical breakdown just before braking into one of the corners. He swerved violently to the left and crashed into a poorly-installed barrier, killing him instantly.
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/09/the_point_of_no_confidence_is.php
If you want to challenge Joe?s opinions?
Why not come along to the British GP and get the opportunity to grill Joe about the sport. Joe will be hosting one of his Audience with Joe events on Friday evening in the Music Room of Stowe School. The event will allow F1 fans to ask one of the sport’s most experienced journalists, who [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/if-you-want-to-challenge-joes-opinions/
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Michael Schumacher finally finds his form
In all the excitement following Jenson Button's stunning fightback from last place to victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, one man has been overlooked.
Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher put in by far his most convincing performance since he came out of retirement at the beginning of last year, narrowly missing out on a podium position.
The German legend's race in Montreal was a far cry from some of his lacklustre showings in the last 15 months. Competitively fast and assured in his handling of rivals on the track, he looked like he belonged at the front of a grand prix. And it has been a long time since anyone could confidently say that.
Could this be the beginnings of some consistent form from Schumacher, even a sign that he may yet recover the former greatness that won him a record seven world titles and 91 victories in his first career in Formula 1?
His team principal Ross Brawn, the man who masterminded all of Schumacher's world championships, knows him better than most. He told BBC Sport in an exclusive interview that he had "always had the confidence" Schumacher would make a success of his comeback.
"I wouldn't say (it's) a breakthrough because that's too strong a word," Brawn said, "but there have always been some niggling reasons why Michael's not had the best opportunities to demonstrate what he can do.
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"He's had the odd 'mare of a race, which every racing driver does, but of course when he has one it tends to get focused on.
"But there have been lots of races where his times in the races have been pretty comparable with Nico (Rosberg, his team-mate) but they've not reflected in final results."
Brawn describes Schumacher's drive in Montreal as "some vintage Michael, particularly some of his racecraft and overtaking manoeuvres during the race". And that was indeed one of the most striking aspects of his performance.
At times during his comeback, Schumacher has looked at sea alongside his younger rivals - the most recent example being an embarrassing performance in Turkey.
But in Canada he was fair and robust - positioning his car perfectly in defence, feisty but precise and calculating in attack - and was heavily involved in the sort of strategic decisions with which he and Brawn used to make their rivals look flat-footed.
"If I had to comment," says Brawn, "I think that side of him is better than it used to be because I suppose maybe having to fight your way through or battling in the pack there is more opportunity to demonstrate those skills. But his manoeuvres at the starts of races or the occasions when he demonstrates his race-craft on the track have been quite entertaining this year."
The key call in Canada - in which Schumacher was instrumental - was being the first car to switch to intermediate tyres from full wets after the restart which followed the two-hour race stoppage. That enabled him to be second to championship leader Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull as the field prepared for the final re-start.
A podium would have been a fitting reward, but he lost out to Button and Red Bull's Mark Webber thanks partially to the DRS overtaking device arguably making passing a little too easy in Canada and his second place became a close fourth at the flag. So it is little wonder Schumacher was, as Brawn puts it, "very, very frustrated".
Brawn, though, does not see this as the watershed moment in Schumacher's comeback one might imagine it could be.
"He's a very experienced, confident guy anyway," Brawn says, "so I don't think it will make a dramatic difference to his confidence or his belief in his ability to do it.
"It's a useful boost but I don't think he's a guy who needed something to flip him from one side to another. I don't think he was in a bad position and needed a good result to put him in a good position. He's always been in a pretty good position.
"The main thing is we need to give him a better car. There was a period in the race when the car was probably as good as anyone's and he was the quickest car. If we give him the equipment, he's demonstrated he's as quick as anyone."
Ah, but there's the rub. Has he, really?
In Canada, Schumacher qualified within a hair's breadth of Rosberg and was quicker than him through most the race.
Rosberg, though, had his own problems - his wet tyres were over-pressured, causing him to lose grip, and later on his car sustained significant damage to its floor, costing him key aerodynamic downforce, after he was hit from behind by Adrian Sutil's Force India. So, as Brawn says, "it wasn't an easy race (in which) to compare (the drivers)".
The facts are that Schumacher has generally been out-paced by Rosberg in their 26 races as team-mates. The qualifying record this year stands at six-one in favour of Rosberg, although the two are equal on points so far, which is a big change from last year, when Schumacher was out-scored two to one.
And beyond that there is the question of how good Rosberg is. Has he matured into a world-class F1 driver who can be talked of in the same breath as the sport's current big three - Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Vettel? Or is he - as one paddock wag put it recently - "one of the not-quite-good-enough best drivers in the world"?
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Many questions arise out of this. Is Schumacher doing the job of a man who deserves his place in F1? In Canada, the answer was certainly yes. Does he justify being considered in the top 10? Is he as good as he was? If not, will he ever be?
"That's always the interesting debate," Brawn admits, "because Nico is a reference that's in a little bit of a vacuum because he has not come up against the strongest drivers on a regular basis in the past. But he has matured and improved a lot over the last couple of years, so he's a very strong reference.
"You can play that comparison game any way you like.
"Where is Michael compared to where he was? Is the fact that Nico outqualifies him more often than not a demonstration that Michael is a bit slower than he was or that Nico is an exceptionally quick driver?
"Who knows? I don't have any way of calculating that equation. It's a comparison in a vacuum.
"All I do know is if we get the car better we've got two drivers who can produce the results. It's down to us to improve the car and give them that opportunity."
Mercedes bosses have understandably been reluctant so far to engage in this debate so perhaps the fact Brawn is now willing to give it a go tells you all you need to know about the point Schumacher arrived at in Montreal.
When Schumacher returned to F1 in 2010, Mercedes said he had signed a three-year contract but he has struggled so much at times that there has been constant speculation about whether he will see it out.
If he carries on in the vein of Canada, those doubts will all go away. And Brawn says Mercedes - the team and the wider car company - are happy he is able to perform at the level they require him to be.
"There is no question about that," he says. "Every team wants an unfair advantage, where they can have an average car and the driver takes care of the rest.
"Our car might be even worse than we think and we've got the two fastest drivers in F1. Who knows? We won't know.
"All we know is we're not winning races at the moment and we don't need to change the drivers to fix that, all we need to do is have a faster car."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/06/in_all_the_excitement_followin.html
'The point of no confidence is quite near'
| The wreckage of Jochen Rindt's car at Barcelona |
?Colin. I have been racing F1 for 5 years and I have made one mistake (I rammed Chris Amon in Clermont Ferrand) and I had one accident in Zandvoort due to gear selection failure otherwise I managed to stay out of trouble. This situation changed rapidly since I joined your team. ?Honestly your cars are so quick that we would still be competitive with a few extra pounds used to make the weakest parts stronger, on top of that I think you ought to spend some time checking what your different employes are doing, I sure the wishbones on the F2 car would have looked different. Please give my suggestions some thought, I can only drive a car in which I have some confidence, and I feel the point of no confidence is quite near.?A little more than a year later Rindt's Lotus suffered mechanical breakdown just before braking into one of the corners. He swerved violently to the left and crashed into a poorly-installed barrier, killing him instantly.
Source: http://blogs.espnf1.com/paperroundf1/archives/2010/09/the_point_of_no_confidence_is.php
Robert Kubica Could Be Ruled Out For At Least A Year Following Accident
Polish racing driver Robert Kubica will spend at least one whole year recovering from a rally crash he suffered this morning, according to his surgeon. Kubica, who races for Renault Lotus crashed the Skoda Fabia rally car this morning and was airlifted to hospital suffering serious injuries. He has spent many hours in surgery, with [...]
Monday, 27 June 2011
Paul di Resta - classic F1 2011
Scotland's Paul di Resta, who has made such an impressive start to his grand prix career with Force India this season, is the latest driver to feature in our revised classic Formula 1 series.
Ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix, the 25-year-old has picked his five favourite all-time F1 races. We will broadcast highlights of each of his choices in this blog and on the BBC red button to whet your appetites for the action to come in Montreal this weekend.
Di Resta follows in the footsteps of Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher, Sebastien Buemi, Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso and Nick Heidfeld so far this season.
The drivers have all taken a different approach to this task. Vettel, for example, picked only races from his own career, while the others drivers we have showcased so far have all to one degree or another chosen a mix of races in which they featured and ones from before their own time in the sport.
Di Resta has raced in only seven grands prix so far, so it is no surprise that four of his five choices are from the archive.
His first is this year's Australian Grand Prix - after all, a driver will always remember his F1 debut fondly.
The rest are as follows:
The 1968 German Grand Prix, which has gone down in history as one of the great Jackie Stewart's most extraordinary victories, and one of the greatest of all time.
Di Resta says he "read about it in Jackie's autobiography - sounded exciting". The race, memorably described by Stewart himself, was held in teeming rain and dense fog, and Stewart was in a league of his own, winning by four minutes in his Matra.
The next choice is the 1979 French Grand Prix, famous for the thrilling duel over second place between Ferrari's Gilles Villeneuve and Renault's Rene Arnoux in the final three laps, the two men passing and re-passing, banging wheels in lurid, thrilling fashion, until Villeneuve finally prevailed.
It was one of the iconic Villeneuve's landmark performances, a man of sublime talent transcending the limitations of his machinery and taking on faster cars.
A similar description can be applied to Di Resta's next choice, the 1993 European Grand Prix at Donington Park, which has entered F1 folklore as one of the late Ayrton Senna's greatest wins.
In a race of constantly changing conditions, Senna moved from fifth to first in the course of a stunning first lap and raced off into a league of his own. Such was his superiority that at one point he had lapped the entire field.
Finally, Di Resta has chosen the climax to the 2008 world title fight at the Brazilian Grand Prix, when, as he puts it, "the championship went to the last corner".
Many will recall that Ferrari's Felipe Massa would overhaul McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and take the title if the Brazilian could win, with Hamilton finishing lower than fifth.
Massa completed his part of the bargain and, as he crossed the line to take the chequered flag, Hamilton was down in sixth place, having recently been passed by Toro Rosso's Vettel.
In the Ferrari pit they celebrated, but with rain falling all was not lost for Hamilton. Ahead of him the Toyotas, which had decided not to stop for wet-weather tyres, were struggling, and the Englishman passed the gripless Timo Glock at the last corner of the race to sneak the place he needed.
As regular readers will know, we pick one of the driver's choices to highlight and I have to admit that the initial inclination was to run Di Resta's choices ahead of the German Grand Prix and show the '68 race at the Nurburgring.
Highlights of that race do not exist in the BBC archive, though, so instead we have moved Di Resta to Canada and chosen the '79 French race because of Villeneuve, after whom Canada's F1 track is named.
So the full 'Grand Prix' highlights programme broadcast on the evening of that race is embedded below - it has never been shown since that day 32 years ago.
Beneath it are links to long and short highlights of last year's Canadian Grand Prix. It was arguably the best race of the season last year, featuring a thrilling battle between all five of the men who fought out the championship - Hamilton, his McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, Alonso's Ferrari and the Red Bull drivers Vettel and Mark Webber.
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CLICK HERE TO WATCH SHORT HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
CLICK HERE TO WATCH EXTENDED HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2010 CANADIAN GRAND PRIX
The details for the BBC red button on digital television in the UK are as follows:
Long highlights from France 1979, short highlights of Europe 1993, Brazil 2008 and Australia 2011 plus extended highlights of the Canadian Grand Prix 2010 will be broadcast on satellite and cable from 1500 BST on Wednesday 8 June until 1700 BST on Sunday 12 June.
Unfortunately, a lack of bandwidth because of the Queens tennis tournament means we are unable to broadcast these highlights on Freeview.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/06/paul_di_resta_-_classic_f1.html
BIKES: 2012 BMW K1600GT First Ride
On the curvy roads of South Africa, the new K1600GT is a capable sport motorcycle.
Source: http://motorcycling.speedtv.com/article/bikes-2012-bmw-k1600gt-first-ride/
Harry Blanchard Michael Bleekemolen Alex Blignaut Trevor Blokdyk
Why Michael Schumacher Could Win The 2011 World Championship
Michael Schumacher?s 2010 comeback was somewhat abortive.� The results, the driving standard and the overtakes were well below par for the former champion.� He even let his team mate beat him for the first time in his career.� So why can Schumacher, the fallen Ferrari hero, win the world championship for an 8th time? It?s [...]
1970 Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda
When it was first introduced, I fell in love with Plymouth's 1970 Barracuda series. Especially the 'Cuda with it's 340 4-bbl. and all the way up to the awesome 426 Hemi! 1971 came and the 'Cuda became gaudy with the billboard graphics, fender vents and ugly grille. About a month ago, I saw a model of a '70 'Cuda and the builder says it was made by Monogram. What?!! Monogram?!! How can that be? The builder described his build as a '71 Hemi 'Cuda with the front and rear pieces from the '70 AAR 'Cuda. The more I looked, the more i wanted to build one for myself. Why didn't I think of this before???
I happen to have both of these models sitting on the bookcase, coated with dust, and in need of repair. I will deconstruct both models and turn the '71 into a '70 using the AAR pieces and fill in the fender side vents. I'll wire and plumb the engine and lower the suspension. I will turn the AAR 'Cuda into a phantom '71 AAR 'Cuda later. This is gonna be GREAT!
BTW, I am well aware of the issues with both these kits and I refuse to discuss them here. My advice is to not start any discussions about it on this thread. Start your own thread elsewhere!
More to come...
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/961819.aspx
Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2010 Race live on Sunday BBC Start Time
Sebastian Vettel will take the pole position in the Bahrain F1 Grand Prix on Sunday March 14, 2010. The two Ferraris will be running after his car and you can catch all the race day action live on BBC.
March 14, 2010: Sunday Live Race Day
Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2010�? 11:10 (Red Button, BBC1�and online) (12:00)
F1 [...]
March 14, 2010: Sunday Live Race Day
Bahrain F1 Grand Prix 2010�? 11:10 (Red Button, BBC1�and online) (12:00)
F1 [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/formula-f1/~3/9DKlUUPiVgM/
Sunday, 26 June 2011
A model truck taken to the extreme!
Thought you model truck guys might get a kick out of this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hipkH1qm1Lg&feature=player_embedded
As a bonus to any car guys reading, look out for the cool rat rod also featured in the video.
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/965419.aspx
Send me your questions about F1 2011
Hello all,
I am filming the next entries for this video blog on Monday and that means I need your help.
As you know, we answer a selection of your questions as well as reviewing the last few races and looking forward to the next stage of the year.
So if you have any questions about F1 2011, please do post them below. We will pick a selection of the best and I will answer them here next week.
Thanks
Murray
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/murraywalker/2011/06/send_me_your_questions_about_f.html
Fernando Alonso eyes home win at the Spanish Grand Prix 2010
Spanish Grand Prix will kick start on Sunday bring enough joy to the home crowd. The 2010 Spanish Grand Prix will feature three local drivers – Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), Jaime Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) and Pedro de la Rosa (Sauber). There is obviously much to cheers about these three lads especially Fernando Alonso if he can [...]
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/formula-f1/~3/F75cOQhYomI/
2012 BMW 1-Series Coupe body-style rendered
BMW is promising 6 variants of the new 1-Series including a Coupe which has been rendered here.Saturday, 25 June 2011
Dodge Magnum - 6/25 #1 update
Hi guys! Fast and simple build. Strip out side trims, smoothed and opened front and rear bumper, modified Aoshima Trafficstar 20".
Cesar Bossolani
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/938500.aspx
Slim Borgudd Luki Botha JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais
'36 Ford Tudor Sedan, radically chopped early Altered - WIP 7-23
This is a Jimmy Flintstone chopped 36 Ford “rat rod” sedan on AMT fenders, frame, etc. Inspiration is this very cool drawing which I have used as my avatar at times:
The grille has been smoothed and sectioned slightly to align the hood with the section in the JF body. The motor will be the injected Olds from the various AMT ’40 Fords. Wheels will be the kit wide 5’s with Firestone pie crust slicks on the rear and Modelhaus T-110’s on the front. No lights, bumpers or radiator and a healthy setback on the motor.
So, before committing myself to decals, I've had to ask myself what class would this run in circa 1959? I’m thinking the early stages of the Mooneyham Sharp 554 coupe which gradually evolved from a streetable car, gaining a chop and a setback and losing lights and a cooling system, and eventually its fenders, on its journey to pure Altered bliss. So, since it's probably a bit on the porky side, maybe C or D Altered...
Thanx for lookin',
B.
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/964992.aspx
Jimmy Daywalt JeanDenis Deletraz Birabongse Bhanubandh Lucien Bianchi
Friday, 24 June 2011
Off road (maybe mud) tires and rims for a chev silverado?
Hey Folks!
Im customizing Revells silverado ext cab kit, ive cut the cab down and shortened the frame to make it a regular cab and short bed, dont see those very often, so my question is, im looking for a set of 4 off road (muds) and rims to put on it, i dont want to get to crazy on the suspension customization. Any idea's? would love to hear your imput,
thanks
Dart
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/964981.aspx
MOTOGP: Will The Inevitable Finally Happen?
Ben Spies and Marco Simoncelli are both seeking maiden MotoGP victories. With the 'aliens' vulnerable, the biggest obstacle in their paths at Assen might just be one another.
Source: http://moto-racing.speedtv.com/article/motogp-will-the-inevitable-finally-happen/
Back in the Day: Classic European Grand Prix
And so the European GP is almost upon us as the formula 1 season edges closer to the half-way mark. While most fans are in agreement that Valencia is yet to produce any classic races since the race was switched to Spain in 2008, there have been some genuinely exciting races and moments that have [...]
Car Infographics: The Pikes Peak Course
The 89th Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is just around the corner and we couldn’t think of a better to prepare for the race than to read up on the racers ready to take on the challenge and take a close look at the Pikes Peak course.
The annual ’Race to the Clouds’ challenges automobiles and motorcycles alike to navigate their way up Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado. This course is about 12.42 miles long with 156 turns for drivers to brave during their ascent on grades averaging 7%. The race begins at 9,390 feet and ends at the mountain?s 14,110-foot summit above Colorado Springs for a total climb of 4,720 ft.
This year, 194 racers from ten different countries will test their driving skills on the dirt and paved roads of Pikes Peak with the hopes of getting top billing in their respective classes. The most anticipated race will be that of the Unlimited Class where there are no restrictions and some of the fastest machines on the planet are put to the test to see which one can go up the mountain faster. Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima, Rhys Millen, and Paul Dallenbach are just a few of the racers in this class that are prepared to go balls to the wall to break the 10-minute barrier and the standing record of 10:01.408 achieved by Tajima back in 2007.
Will they succeed? Only time will tell, but prepare yourself for the race by taking a look at the course in detail. Who knows, maybe it’ll inspire a trip to Colorado to watch the action live.
Check back with us soon for the next installment of our Car Infographics series!
Car Infographics: The Pikes Peak Course originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 24 June 2011 13:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/car-infographics-the-pikes-peak-course-ar111022.html
JeanChristophe Boullion Sebastien Bourdais Thierry Boutsen Johnny Boyd
Lamborghini leans on Porsche to help build SUV model
Wince, Get Angry, Exhale, Shrug, Accept. These were the actions taken by many sports car lovers when their devoted automakers began falling off the wagon and building SUVs. It was only a short time ago that b>Lamborghini confirmed a production Estoque, but denied plans for building an SUV. Now, the Italian automaker is getting into bed with the brand that started it all to build an SUV of their own. According to British magazine, AutoExpress, Lamborghini is teaming up with fellow Volkswagen Group brand Porsche to develop their first SUV partly because they know it’s a market Ferrari can’t get into.
"Ferrari can?t follow into this market, because it has no links to SUVs at all. Lamborghini is entirely credible as an SUV maker, but it can?t do it alone. And as Porsche has shown it already knows how to do it, it makes sense to work together."
This means that the future Lamborghini SUV will be built on Porsche?s latest GT architecture which will also be used for the new generation Bentley models. Lamborghini will also use this platform in an attempt to make the Estoque a global model. Thankfully, the company’s supercars will remain in-house developed models with no help from outsiders. Good thing they cleared that up; wouldn’t want to think they were selling out completely.
Lamborghini leans on Porsche to help build SUV model originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 23 June 2011 16:00 EST.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Custom lowrider frame
Well, I wanted to do something different so I did a Lowrider frame from left over parts and trees, this is a WIP and is not finished yet... the wheels are from the 69 Camaro Z/28, I have no clue what body or engine im going to slap on this bad boy but i am going to try to figure that out.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15110726@N04/?saved=1
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/965023.aspx
The MINI John Cooper Works Coupe Endurance racer [videos]
The MINI racer comes with a 1.6 liter turbocharged unit delivering approximately 184 kW / 250 PS / 247 bhp and 330 Nm (243 lb-ft ) of torque.Enrico Bertaggia Tony Bettenhausen Mike Beuttler Birabongse Bhanubandh
Pope to get new Mercedes M-Class hybrid - report
To celebrate Pope Benedict's return to Germany, Mercedes is reportedly developing a new Popemobile based on the 2012 M-Class.Christijan Albers Michele Alboreto Jean Alesi Jaime Alguersuari
Michael Schumacher finally finds his form
In all the excitement following Jenson Button's stunning fightback from last place to victory in the Canadian Grand Prix, one man has been overlooked.
Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher put in by far his most convincing performance since he came out of retirement at the beginning of last year, narrowly missing out on a podium position.
The German legend's race in Montreal was a far cry from some of his lacklustre showings in the last 15 months. Competitively fast and assured in his handling of rivals on the track, he looked like he belonged at the front of a grand prix. And it has been a long time since anyone could confidently say that.
Could this be the beginnings of some consistent form from Schumacher, even a sign that he may yet recover the former greatness that won him a record seven world titles and 91 victories in his first career in Formula 1?
His team principal Ross Brawn, the man who masterminded all of Schumacher's world championships, knows him better than most. He told BBC Sport in an exclusive interview that he had "always had the confidence" Schumacher would make a success of his comeback.
"I wouldn't say (it's) a breakthrough because that's too strong a word," Brawn said, "but there have always been some niggling reasons why Michael's not had the best opportunities to demonstrate what he can do.
In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. Visit BBC Webwise for full instructions. If you're reading via RSS, you'll need to visit the blog to access this content.
"He's had the odd 'mare of a race, which every racing driver does, but of course when he has one it tends to get focused on.
"But there have been lots of races where his times in the races have been pretty comparable with Nico (Rosberg, his team-mate) but they've not reflected in final results."
Brawn describes Schumacher's drive in Montreal as "some vintage Michael, particularly some of his racecraft and overtaking manoeuvres during the race". And that was indeed one of the most striking aspects of his performance.
At times during his comeback, Schumacher has looked at sea alongside his younger rivals - the most recent example being an embarrassing performance in Turkey.
But in Canada he was fair and robust - positioning his car perfectly in defence, feisty but precise and calculating in attack - and was heavily involved in the sort of strategic decisions with which he and Brawn used to make their rivals look flat-footed.
"If I had to comment," says Brawn, "I think that side of him is better than it used to be because I suppose maybe having to fight your way through or battling in the pack there is more opportunity to demonstrate those skills. But his manoeuvres at the starts of races or the occasions when he demonstrates his race-craft on the track have been quite entertaining this year."
The key call in Canada - in which Schumacher was instrumental - was being the first car to switch to intermediate tyres from full wets after the restart which followed the two-hour race stoppage. That enabled him to be second to championship leader Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull as the field prepared for the final re-start.
A podium would have been a fitting reward, but he lost out to Button and Red Bull's Mark Webber thanks partially to the DRS overtaking device arguably making passing a little too easy in Canada and his second place became a close fourth at the flag. So it is little wonder Schumacher was, as Brawn puts it, "very, very frustrated".
Brawn, though, does not see this as the watershed moment in Schumacher's comeback one might imagine it could be.
"He's a very experienced, confident guy anyway," Brawn says, "so I don't think it will make a dramatic difference to his confidence or his belief in his ability to do it.
"It's a useful boost but I don't think he's a guy who needed something to flip him from one side to another. I don't think he was in a bad position and needed a good result to put him in a good position. He's always been in a pretty good position.
"The main thing is we need to give him a better car. There was a period in the race when the car was probably as good as anyone's and he was the quickest car. If we give him the equipment, he's demonstrated he's as quick as anyone."
Ah, but there's the rub. Has he, really?
In Canada, Schumacher qualified within a hair's breadth of Rosberg and was quicker than him through most the race.
Rosberg, though, had his own problems - his wet tyres were over-pressured, causing him to lose grip, and later on his car sustained significant damage to its floor, costing him key aerodynamic downforce, after he was hit from behind by Adrian Sutil's Force India. So, as Brawn says, "it wasn't an easy race (in which) to compare (the drivers)".
The facts are that Schumacher has generally been out-paced by Rosberg in their 26 races as team-mates. The qualifying record this year stands at six-one in favour of Rosberg, although the two are equal on points so far, which is a big change from last year, when Schumacher was out-scored two to one.
And beyond that there is the question of how good Rosberg is. Has he matured into a world-class F1 driver who can be talked of in the same breath as the sport's current big three - Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Vettel? Or is he - as one paddock wag put it recently - "one of the not-quite-good-enough best drivers in the world"?
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Many questions arise out of this. Is Schumacher doing the job of a man who deserves his place in F1? In Canada, the answer was certainly yes. Does he justify being considered in the top 10? Is he as good as he was? If not, will he ever be?
"That's always the interesting debate," Brawn admits, "because Nico is a reference that's in a little bit of a vacuum because he has not come up against the strongest drivers on a regular basis in the past. But he has matured and improved a lot over the last couple of years, so he's a very strong reference.
"You can play that comparison game any way you like.
"Where is Michael compared to where he was? Is the fact that Nico outqualifies him more often than not a demonstration that Michael is a bit slower than he was or that Nico is an exceptionally quick driver?
"Who knows? I don't have any way of calculating that equation. It's a comparison in a vacuum.
"All I do know is if we get the car better we've got two drivers who can produce the results. It's down to us to improve the car and give them that opportunity."
Mercedes bosses have understandably been reluctant so far to engage in this debate so perhaps the fact Brawn is now willing to give it a go tells you all you need to know about the point Schumacher arrived at in Montreal.
When Schumacher returned to F1 in 2010, Mercedes said he had signed a three-year contract but he has struggled so much at times that there has been constant speculation about whether he will see it out.
If he carries on in the vein of Canada, those doubts will all go away. And Brawn says Mercedes - the team and the wider car company - are happy he is able to perform at the level they require him to be.
"There is no question about that," he says. "Every team wants an unfair advantage, where they can have an average car and the driver takes care of the rest.
"Our car might be even worse than we think and we've got the two fastest drivers in F1. Who knows? We won't know.
"All we know is we're not winning races at the moment and we don't need to change the drivers to fix that, all we need to do is have a faster car."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/06/in_all_the_excitement_followin.html
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
2012 MINI Coupe revealed - official photos and videos
MINI introduces new Coupé sport model with four variants including a range-topping JCW Coupé.JeanPierre Beltoise Olivier Beretta Allen Berg Georges Berger
Range Rover Evoque XL under consideration - report
According to a recent report, Land Rover is about to decide whether or not to build a fourth Range Rover model.Taming prancing horses?
There have been an increasing number of rumours about Ferrari drivers from Italy and although the team’s blogger – known as The Horse Whisperer – has been quick to dismiss much of the talk as “twaddle” there is sometimes a grain of truth hidden in such things. One thing that is clear is that the [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2011/06/21/taming-prancing-horses/
Colin Chapman Dave Charlton Pedro Matos Chaves Bill Cheesbourg
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
What if SWC were to be racing today
what would it look like? what class would it run? would it look kinda like this?
making it out of brass cause I cant form styrene rod to save my life
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/964373.aspx
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