Mercedes: A weekend to forget for Schumacher

2011 Turkish GP team review

May 9, 2011 at 3:15 pm by Keith Collantine

Schumacher lagged behind Rosberg in qualifying and hit Petrov in the race.

	Michael Schumacher	Nico Rosberg
Qualifying position	8	3
Qualifying time comparison (Q3)	1’26.646 (+1.072)	1’25.574
Race position	12	5
Laps	58/58	58/58
Pit stops	4	4

Mercedes drivers’ lap times throughout the race (in seconds):

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/charts/2011drivercolours.csv

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38	39	40	41	42	43	44	45	46	47	48	49	50	51	52	53	54	55	56	57	58
Michael Schumacher	99.759	97.601	119.115	94.122	94.505	94.817	95.072	94.908	94.583	94.565	95.027	96.894	97.1	96.246	109.473	93.804	93.523	93.418	93.464	93.739	94.012	93.236	93.266	93.037	93.115	93.324	93.357	93.35	93.587	94.21	107.706	92.313	92.746	94.436	93.403	92.48	92.977	92.977	93.589	95.602	92.784	92.369	93.445	93.128	93.11	107.419	91.153	91.445	91.338	91.451	91.808	94.008	92.524	94.166	91.899	91.527	91.936	93.034
Nico Rosberg	96.559	94.608	94.412	94.348	95.428	95.776	95.299	95.664	95.04	94.997	111.58	93.397	94.149	94.229	94.219	94.285	94.193	94.537	94.97	96.548	96.644	96.396	110.024	93.92	93.106	93.367	94.161	93.045	93.102	93.445	93.657	93.616	93.481	108.23	91.711	91.877	91.619	91.359	91.336	92.223	91.588	91.782	91.8	91.74	106.213	90.92	90.573	90.889	90.825	90.687	90.871	90.763	90.808	91.279	90.605	90.673	90.917	91.607

Michael Schumacher, Mercedes, Istanbul, 2011

Michael Schumacher

It was looking good for Schumacher as he ended final practice a mere thousandth of a second slower than Sebastian Vettel.

But it started to go downhill in qualifying as he fell short of his team mate’s lap time by a full second. And this time there was no faulty DRS to explain the deficit.

He said: “It was just strange, it seemed that the more I pushed on my last lap, the more went wrong. I was at the limit of what I had in my hand but the car was just sliding around and therefore I never got into my rhythm.”

He gained a place from Vitaly Petrov at the start but refused to surrender the position even when Petrov moved down the inside of him at turn 12. Schumacher broke his front wing, forcing an early pit stop.

That left him in the thick of the action, swapping places with the Toro Rosso drivers and seeing Felipe Massa come past him twice. The last time the Ferrari driver came by it was to demote Schumacher to 12th, where he finished.

He said: “Obviously I am not very happy with my weekend, but I’m responsible myself for the result.

“The incident with Petrov kind of dictated my race: we were very close and I was surprised that we touched but it was mostly my mistake.”

Michael Schumacher 2011 form guide

Nico Rosberg

The theme of 2011 at Mercedes seems to be much the same as it was in 2010: Rosberg quietly, unobtrusively getting the job done while Schumacher’s comeback increasingly looks like a mistake.

In qualifying his W02 was ‘best of the rest’ behind the Red Bulls. But the car proved hard on its tyres on a race fuel load and despite taking second off the line Rosberg was easily passed by Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso in the DRS zone.

He fell behind the McLaren drivers over the course of his pit stops. But having kept soft tyres for his last two stints he was able to take a place back from Jenson Button to finish fifth.

Nico Rosberg 2011 form guide

2011 Turkish Grand Prix

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82 comments on Mercedes: A weekend to forget for Schumacher

sdtaylor91 (@sdtaylor91) said on 10th May 2011, 0:46

Schumacher is one of the greatest racing drivers who’s ever lived and its so sad to see this happening. I can’t do anything but cringe when i see him sawing at the wheel on a hot lap – he’s lost the ‘edge’.
No-one can take away his 7 titles though and as far as I’m concerned his legacy is still intact. I think he should call it quits this season, for his own sake and for MGP.

Paulo Pinto said on 10th May 2011, 0:52

Um motivo para a união Mercedes-Schumacher (além de serem da mesma nacionalidade): o piloto está aliando seu nome a uma grande marca (além da Ferrari), e a Mercedes está aliando sua marca a um grande campeão (além de Fangio). Acredito que, para a equipe, representa um simples detalhe, essa união ter acontecido já no declínio de Schumacher. O importante é que o registro permanecerá.

- BasCB (@bascb) said on 10th May 2011, 7:03
  
  Don’t you think commenting in English would make more sense if you want others to understand what you are saying on this blog?
  
  - sid_prasher (@) said on 10th May 2011, 17:10
    
    Maybe he is more comfortable with that language…here is a quick (and strange) translation from google:
    
    One reason for the union Mercedes-Schumacher (in addition to being the same nationality): combining the pilot is named after a great brand (apart from Ferrari) and Mercedes are aligning their brand with a great champion (and Fangio). I believe that for the team, is a mere detail, this union have happened already in decline by Schumacher. The important thing is that the record will remain.
    
sid_prasher (@) said on 10th May 2011, 17:25

As a Schumacher fan, all I can say is that it is becoming harder and harder to justify his lack of results compared to Rosberg.
But I am surprised to see some ex-F1 drivers trying to take away his past performances (check what DC and Johnny Herbert have got to say, for example here: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/motor-racing/michael-schumacher-will-quit-predicts-johnny-herbert-2281824.html)
No one can belittle his record which is unlikely to be ever equaled.

- DMC said on 10th May 2011, 20:16
  
  Herberts been bitter since he was trounced at benneton by schuey.I read his comments in a column today he was saying “michael has lost none of his speed its just that all the new drivers are faster”. What BS anybody watching michaels p2 lap in fp3 on friday would realise
  how fast he still can be, the car was alive and on the limit.If he can produce that more consistently he will be right there.
  
  - Robbie said on 11th May 2011, 15:57
    
    Oh you mean since when JH was treated like a ‘second class citizen’ (JH’s quote) at Benetton because MS insisted on seeing JH’s data, and yet JH was not privy to MS’s? Perhaps had it been fair at Benetton for JH, MS wouldn’t have trounced him…interesting how well a teammate of MS’s can do when it is a two way street on the team, like NR is showing us last year and this…
    
SubFL said on 11th May 2011, 3:16

It was a desperate move by Petrov as shown by the gif. He wasn’t going to make the turn and the only good outcome would’ve been Schumacher driving off course until Petrov had turned in. It appears that he was overly optimistic when he collided with him and holds himself somewhat accountable which he is. But I bet after having seen this he might have alittle different opinion. But short tire life, with minimal number and selection of tires, and the fear of their tires going off stuck behind someone I think has made this something we’re seeing more of. We saw that with HHF and other drivers sticking their cars into places and forcing the issue. As far as DRS I don’t really care for it. We might as well have fast and slow lanes because anyone on your rear wing is almost entitled to go by. KERS doesn’t bother me as much because it’s an option that both drivers have every lap and have to choose how to use it, offensively or defensively. Future drivers will be known for their skillful use of KERS and DRS to pass and hold off opponents and less for their driving skills.

Prash said on 11th May 2011, 11:26

the signs are obvious… very soon schumi will be beating NR.

- Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine) said on 11th May 2011, 11:27
  
  What signs are these, then?
  
  - Robbie said on 11th May 2011, 16:08
    
    The ‘Unemployment line start here’ sign?