Schumacher: “I push things to the borderline”

F1 Fanatic round-up

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Mark Webber, Michael Schumacher, Monza, 2010

Michael Schumacher tells CNN he is not prepared to “win at all costs” but admits “I push things to the borderline”.

Links

Michael Schumacher: Life in the fast lane (CNN)

“CNN: Are you prepared to win at all costs?
MS: No, it has to be within a frame of what’s allowed, but within that frame, yes, I push things to the borderline.”

An appreciation of John Anderson (Motorsport)

“An Australian who came to the United States more than 30 years ago, Ando was an old-school master mechanic and fabricator who could build anything and everything. He was also a very funny man, a hilarious storyteller and a kindly soul.”

Vitaly Petrov official website

According to this story (not translated) Vitaly Petrov will announce his 2011 plans on Wednesday next week.

Thanks to Prisoner Monkeys for the tip.

December 16th, 2010 (McLaren)

“Guess who’s most excited about all this? Lewis, of course. He’s already started talking about the potential of saving up KERS in order to double-deploy it in harmony with using the adjustable rear-wing – all of which would create a sizeable end-of-straight speed delta. All sounds very exciting, doesn’t it? Unless, as another of our engineers puts it, ‘without the adjustable front-wing, the tyres grain so much that nobody can get within two seconds of each other, so we never even see all the exciting stuff work!'”

Ecclestone dismisses talk of rival F1 series (Reuters)

“It’s what he [Luca di Montezemolo] says every time he goes to Monza every year. ‘We need more money’. It’s all nonsense. They’re not going to break away. They’ve tried it all before. Luca’s a lovely guy but he likes to say these things and then he forgets what he is saying.”

Comment of the day

Senna fan Marck is from Brazil and has been to see the “Senna” movie:

I don’t think that many people really understand what kind of figure he was here in Brazil, I mean, 20 years ago Brazil wasn’t such a successful and growing country as it is today, and Senna really was one of the very few reasons that most of the Brazilian people had to cheer about.

The movie depicts this very well at one point. The impact that his death brought on the people down here was something out of this world. Many people had no clue what F1 was, nor had seen a single race on their lives, but when he died, everyone here cried.

In my opinion, when you watch the movie, you feel that Senna once again is doing his magic in F1 cars, for those two hours, once more. And because of that, you can’t help but to feel a very heavy mood towards the end of the movie, because you know what’s going to come next.
Marck

From the forum

The F1 driver theme tunes thread is up and running again after some inspiration from Twitter.

Happy birthday!

It’s Julio MV’s birthday today!

On this day in F1

The Indianapolis oval re-opened on this day in 1909, now sporting the brick surface for which it was famous. It had originally been opened the previous August but the macadam surface used broke up, leading to accidents which killed five people.

The track was closed and in 63 days 3.2 million bricks were laid to construct the new surface. Although it was later replaced a section was retained at the start/finish straight.

Image © Red Bull/Getty images

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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76 comments on “Schumacher: “I push things to the borderline””

  1. According to this story (not translated) Vitaly Petrov will announce his 2011 plans on Wednesday next week.

    Thanks to Prisoner Monkeys for the tip.

    It’s now up on Autosport. Apparently he’s called a press conference to “reflect on the year that has gone and refveal his future plans”, which is a very odd way of putting it. Normally, you’d expect a team to call a press conference to announce a driver. I suspect that one of two things will happen:

    1) Petrov wants to make the most of it. With a Russian driver a (part) Russian-owned team and a Russian Grand Prix in the future, Petrov will use the press conference to call attention to Formula 1 in Russia.

    2) Something has gone horribly wrong – he had eye surgery in Germany last week, and if it failed, he could never race again.

    I’m hoping for the former.

    1. Well I hope it’s the former too… as much as I think that Pet has no business in F1 I’d hate if it happened over a physical disability.

      1. I hope he still has a seat next year. I think he is just about to find his form and start being more consistent. Hopefully he’ll beat Robert a few more times too.

    2. I can’t read Russian (I can speak a little, but the Cyrillic alhpabet is far too advanced for me), so I ran a Babelfish on it and Petrov is unveiling his plans for 2011 and 2012 at the meeting. Given that Oksana Kosatchenko – his maanger – was pushing for a two-year deal, it’s probably going to be an announcement of his future-cum-promotion of Formula 1 in Russia.

    3. 3) He’s got the backing of a Russian oil magnate and bought Hispania…

  2. He doesn’t has to say that, he already proved it with Barrichello in Hungary

  3. good on schumacher. a proper racer, always pushing things to the limits. I like his attitude towards the draconian ‘racing’ rules. F1 should be a tough sport, and who better to lead the way than schumi.

    1. The only problem is that Schumacher’s borderline is far past the illegal and unethical boundaries of every other competitor.

      1. Common, mate… just like Senna said once. Second place is first place for losers! I prefer to watch somebody like Senna, Mansell or Schumacher than crying babies and silly racing rules like we see in our days.

        1. I’m 100% with you, K7!!!
          Big balls for the win!!

        2. yep f1 is a game for tough people. it is not a babies game. so those who can not enjoy the show and understand the game they should watch some TV news. F1 is for fast, determined and for those who can push themselves to the limit. today when u try to pass someone u have to maintain a lot of rules. so the true essence of f1 is lost. Today drivers safety was more than ensured but still people are call for more conservative approach. I dont like that conservatism, i want true F1 race where driver will go for their own race and for win.

      2. As an Alonso fan I’d have thought you’d understand…

        1. Well ..once Alonso starts intentionally crashing into other cars, parking the car in the way, and defending like Schumi did in Hungary this year, then I will seize to be a fanboy.

          1. well, Alonso doesn’t need that. He already has a team mate ready to crash even his own car.

          2. In addition to what aa said, I also haven’t seen Schumacher blackmail his own team boss.

  4. according to that CNN report, GQ chose Schumi as a nominee for “sportsman of the year.” I have to say… what???

    1. Never a truer competitor around though.

      1. Being a competitor and being a sportsman are not one in the same in my eyes, though.

  5. Regarding petrov, i really hope Prisoner to be wrong, with the second option. Maybe he’s homesick, I heard Renault wants him to relocate to the UK….

    1. That was one of the conditions Renault are looking for. They think they can extract more speed out of him if he lives closer to the factory because he’ll get more face-time with the people there. While he wasn’t exactly doing a Michael Andretti circa 1993 and commuting from America for every race, he was living in Valencia this year, largely because he was signed to Renault the day before their car was unveiled and testing began and there wasn’t time to arrange a move to England.

  6. I just read there will be ‘à teamleader’ present at the conference, so let’s assume he will race next year. Probably for team Enstone then

    1. But Renault wanted to annouce both drivers at once. And why would Petrov have to call a press conference instead of the Enstone squad?

  7. Megawatt Herring
    18th December 2010, 9:29

    I don’t think it’s very nice of Schumacher to call barrichello a “thing”.

    1. My thoughts exactly upon reading that quote. It is a bit of a problem that what is for Schumacher getting to the limit is what others perceive as being well over it.

      1. I agree with that. He really takes it over the limit others find acceptable at times.

        Still, that CNN interview series was pretty good. I hope he does show us a bit more next year and makes Rosberg impress even more by beating him with a car capable of winning.

    2. I think that you’re taking that quote entirely out of context for the sake of criticisng Schumacher.

      1. Hmmm…Why did “Pot”, “Kettle” and a lack of color pop into my head when I read this?? 8)

        1. A lack of colour would appear white to the human eye. Just ask polar bear experts.

          1. Though actually of course if we’re talking about a kettle then it would be transparent.

          2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_spectrum

            Isn’t black the absence of light? And therefor colour.
            Although the polar bear bit confuses me, Why would they say it’s white?

            Also, even if the Kettle was transparent, it would still be reflecting/refracting light, and therefor colour. If it wasn’t reflecting/refracting colour it would have to be either black, or completely translucent. And if was the latter, it would boggle the minds of physics experts and freak the user out, as it would appear the water was defying gravity.

            Having said that, (I had to!) I might point out I’m more likely than not, completely wrong.

          3. No, translucent is when you can see through something but when it’s still clearly visible.

            Transparent is when you can see through something completely.

            IE: Sunglasses are translucent, reading glasses are transparent…

        2. But PM is right, Schumacher didn’t even really refer to Barrichello in the entire interview, yet suddenly three users above start criticising him.

  8. He was the best and will remain the best until the day when someone achieve more then him.
    91 victories is a long way to go though… :)

    1. Only statistically.

      1. Statistics is a real metric system for the real world. The rest depends of what you likes or don´t. The rest is Subjectivity .

        1. Actually, not at all. Statistics is just numbers and they never describe the whole world in its entirety, often they describe so little of it that it is meaningless. With a good choice of statistics one can “prove” a lot of things that in fact are not true (I enjoyed showing dirty tricks when I taught statistics at a university, and I wish all people knew them, politicians would have much harder time).

          By statistics alone, druglords are among the most successful businessmen (great return on investment, how many funds can match them?).

          Talking about statistics, I sincerely hope (for F1’s sake) that nobody ever beats (or even equalizes) Schumacher’s record of disqualifications.

          1. Exactly. Take into account Austria 2002. That was technically a win and a part of his 91 victories, but was that race won due to his superior skill or the team asking Barrichello to move over? Numbers are simply that: numbers, while the real world is not always so straight forward.

          2. @ Joey-Poey- take away that and say, Indy 05, and you’ll see that 89 is still a bigger number than 51 or 41.

          3. Are you going to add back the wins he handed to team mates as well? Barrichello at Indy? Irvine was the recipient on one occasion as well.

          4. Aren´t they?(the druglords)No, i think it´s probably Bernie. Ok, if he has the record of disqualifications , he earned less points, victories, etc than the others in these races so his position it´s even more meritory. If schumi is the Devil on Earth why FIA let him race after 19 years from his debut? Funny. And if the number of victories and championships is a number that “never describe the whole world in its entirety, often they describe so little of it that it is meaningless” can you tell me other measure for the sucess in F1? oH I know one, the useless percentage victory/entries that is used to compare 50´s 6 races championships to 90´s 18 races championships.

        2. As the cricket commentator Navjot Singh Sidhu once said, “Statistics are like a bikini. They reveal a lot but hide the most important stuff”.

          1. Hah that’s brilliant, and very apt in Schumi’s case.

          2. Didn’t know Sidhu made that statement. He had a lot of classics.. but this one takes the cake!

        3. @Chotazas
          Exactly! All the polls and different subjective opinions (except the one from Bernard Dudot) cannot silence the facts i.e. the statistics! :)

          Racing is not about who’s got the most beautiful car, nor it’s about the glamour, nor for show off…

          It’s about winning (the Grand Prize), and not comming second, third or forth… Senna raced to win, as well as Prost, Fangio, Lauda, Mensell, Piquet, Stewart and Schumacher who’s at 41 yeasrs is still racing to win.

          There is a saying in my country:
          “When the facts speak, even the Gods are silent!” ;)

          1. the fact is that he is the worst driver on the grid in 2010…do Gods in your country know about that or they only read statistics?

          2. I don’t know about that Manu. He wasn’t at his best, but he wasn’t the worst driver on the grid.

          3. @ Manu – where do you get your “facts” from? Clearly not from anything plausible.

          4. how about his boss who clearly stated that if his name wasn’t Michael Schumacher he would be fired?…….Schumacher not sacked ‘because we know him’ – Brawn

          5. How does that make him worst driver of the grid? The same can be said for almost half the field, especially Chandhok, De La Rosa, Liuzzi, Heidfeld, Sutil and Hulkenberg. By your logic, the last two were the worst drivers in F1 this year since their performances were not enough to secure their seats.

            Fact is, Schumacher was disappointing by his standards but your claim is ridiculously over the top.

          6. we totally agree here, he is in the same league with Chandhok and De la Rosa

          7. No we are not Manu, I was pointing out how warped your criteria for judging drivers is.

            Schumacher was around midfield, since he did put in very good performances towards the end of the season. He was therefore much better than the likes of Chandhok and De La Rosa.

          8. @Manu according to statistics worst driver on the grid was Christian Klien but he raced less races than the average, so it´s has to be diGrassi. Schumacher was ninth in the championship. Say what you want about bosses, Brawn, etc.The results are there.

      2. I hope I were the richest man in the world, even only statistically.

      3. do you have another system how to measure who is the best apart the statistics?
        when you find it let us know. I will be very eager to accept it but i doubt you will be able to succeed.

        1. There are many statistics. Schumacher won fewer races as a percentage than Fangio, Senna more Poles as a percentage. Fangio was older when he began and when he finished. Whichever way we look at it though Schumacher is one of the greats even if he isn’t the greatest.

          1. Yeah statistics used to compare 50´s 6 races championship to 90´s 18 races championships Do these statistics compare the level of professionalism between the F1 periods? Fangio, for example was a huge talented and experienced driver.there were others too (Moss, Farina) but i think that the field is more balanced nowadays in terms of professionalism between drivers, so i think is harder to make a difference today. It´s my opinion,not statistics

          2. Oh i forgot! Talking about Senna, the poles doesn´t mean ANYTHING if you don´t transform it on a win. It´s like the fast lap, it´s Raikkonen the third best driver in history(or the third faster)? I don´t think so. In 50´s it could have give him 35 points but not today.

    2. Do these victories include 1997? When he won races without cheating – or did these get taken off him in the record books?

      1. I dont think his victories were taken off the record books.. although he was stripped of all his points.

        1. The individual results count, but he was excluded from the championship. That was the ruling.

  9. It’s my birthday today too.

    I was bought an F1 related product.
    A bodyspray \ showergel “Offical F1 licensend product”!
    Oooooh! It smells, well….. musky :)

    It also comes with an F1 keyring. :D

    I guess I’ll smell like F1 while I wait for the new season now.

    1. So I wish you a happy birthday Chalky (as well as Julio MV).

      Enjoy the smell and make it last the off season!

    2. They should make it smell like melting rubber, a proper fan would appreciate that!

  10. Nice link to the McLaren blog. It seems they are just as sceptical about the rear wing actually working as most of us are.

  11. About the topic in regards to Petrov’s press conference – I think it’s to discuss weather or not he will be permanently moving to England as Renault have asked him to. I’m assuming that he’s calling a press conference so that Russia can acknowledge the fact that they have what could be a competent F1 driver in the near future.

  12. Did any of you pick up the news about McLaren going GT3 racing with their MP4-12C from next year onwards and targetting to supply several privateers from the 2012 season.

    Sounds great.
    http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88720

  13. did he just called Barrichello a “thing”?

  14. Found this:
    An article from Marca (not exactly comparable to F1F for being a reputable source for information :P ) mentioning F11 which leads me to beleive that will be the new chassis name for Ferrari, there are reders showing a similar to F10 car with the new Ferrari Scuderia logo, and the number 5 it will sport ect. You might need translate too…

    http://www.marca.com/2010/12/18/motor/formula1/1292688236.html

    1. Looks really interesting, but not sure what to think of it.
      It seems the rear wing is connected to the shark fin, something the FIA ruled out last week. So it will need some changes to make that work.
      And I would expect them to have trouble fitting in the complete KERS unit.
      Or maybe that will be placed below the sidepod air intakes (not sure I got the text, translator is not that great for it).

      At least it is right about Ferrari needing to start being original again instead of just copying the best ideas from others.

      1. Hey I live in Spain and trust me: don´t trust on MARCA, AS or Antonio Lobato (main F1 journalist in Spain).These ferrari sketches are one more fake among others. The list is very long.

  15. For those who are denying the Shumi is the best, if he’s not why u r reading this post and the comments?
    I’ve never read the comments of a post for Alonso or Ham or any other driver!!!
    The thing is whenever u see Shumi’s name, u will find a long list of comments and remarks!!!
    That why he is the best, that’s why all of us wants to read about the F1 historical hero!!!
    Comeback Shumi next year, Comeback for those!!!

    1. I think your comment nicely highlights the difference between an F1 fan and a fan of a particular person.

      I am an F1 fan, I do not really care who wins WC as long as it is done cleanly and I have fun watching it. So I do look at comments for various drivers, often I find interesting info/insight.

  16. Typical Bernie statement. He’s politely telling him to shut up and rightfully so.

  17. The “stats and bikinis” quote is a great one! Never heard it before. Anyway, we could (and do!) argue endlessly over who is, or was, the best F1 driver. Statistically, it will no doubt always be MS. Personally, though, I don’t believe that he was necessarily leaps and bounds above all of his contemporaries, driving prowess-wise. It was a fine combination of his driving skills, his knack for developmental input, and Ferrari’s engineering dominance, that melded to make those glory (and record setting) years so amazing … and at the same time, so boring. That said, MS is certainly no slouch, and I’m very curious to see how he fares in 2011 with a car that he has put his stamp on. Next season should be a real cracker. Can’t wait!

  18. Could we please have a moratorium on the use of the phrase “life in the fast lane” when referring to racing drivers? I mean, who writes that line, pauses, and thinks, “Yeah – that’s pretty clever!”?

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