Schumi the champ!!

[Lurch]

Anybody else watch the Japanese F1 GP?Great to see Schumacher become champ for the 6th time!

[Craig.]

indeed i did:) woke up to watch it at 6am, great race, and schumacher is slowly prooving why he will be one of the best ever.

[ozzy72]

I would imagine most of Italy and Germany have monster hangovers today

[cub3pp]

was it just me, or were other drivers trying to take him out?  on all the highlights seemed like he was involved in alot of contact. way to go those guys who were trying to take him out. i dont like MS cause he wins too much and makes the sport boring.

[4_Series_Scania]

Well, I watched and speaking frankly, I thought he (Schumacher) drove more like some rookie on his first drive with a new team!

None the less, he's achieved true greatness, up with the likes of Fangio etc.

If only Ayrton Senna had'nt had the misfortune of driving for the cowboy outfit that IMHO killed him.  >:(

I think the (F1) world would have been a very very different place.

[Craig.]

firstly i have to disagree with you 4_series. sennas crash was an accident, the team(williams renault at the time) were the best team going, so cowboy team is a little harsh. now had he still been around today, people would prob be complaining that he was always winning(actually he prob would be retired by now)
and schumi's race was exactly how it should have been, he didnt push, he didnt try and win he just drove for the point he needed. brilliant driving in my opinion:) but then again most people seem to disagree when it comes schumacher.

[4_Series_Scania]

firstly i have to disagree with you 4_series. sennas crash was an accident, the team(williams renault at the time) were the best team going, so cowboy team is a little harsh. now had he still been around today, people would prob be complaining that he was always winning(actually he prob would be retired by now)
and schumi's race was exactly how it should have been, he didnt push, he didnt try and win he just drove for the point he needed. brilliant driving in my opinion:) but then again most people seem to disagree when it comes schumacher.

I respect your opinion, however the Ayrton Senna trial judge, Antonio Costanzo, has cited the reason for Ayrton Senna's crash at the 1994 San Marino GP to be the breaking of the "modified" steering column fitted to his Williams-Renault FW16B. He said that Senna

[Craig.]

i hadnt seen the final court result, but had only heard that which was given on TV. hearing that it does shock me a little, but i always thought it was a combination of the brakes and steering, it bothers me that anytime i see that crash, it just doesnt seem that bad. when you look at some recent crashes, people have walked away from.
then again that weekend was perhaps the worst in history of F1 anyway, 2 deaths in as many days.
although in a strange way those two accidents were sadly good for the sport in general as they forced many new safety features.
thanks for the report mate:)

[4_Series_Scania]

that weekend was perhaps the worst in history of F1 anyway, 2 deaths in as many days.
although in a strange way those two accidents were sadly good for the sport in general as they forced many new safety features.
thanks for the report mate:)

Very true, as I'm quite sure a few of the current crop of drivers would gladly testify to, as I'm sure you've gathered, I'm lamenting the loss of a great driver.

Paul.

[C]

The debate about Senna's crash has always been interesting. I think many experts believe it was more likely due to the extremely low ride heights of the cars above the track...

Essentially Senna was thought to have momentarily lost grip on the track surface (something made the car bounce a few millimetres that was stronger than the car's downforce), which on a high speed corner such as the tamburello would (and did) have disasterous results. The car had no chance of re-establishing grip and went off almost at a tangent.

I never did read what they said caused Ratzenburger's crash...

Charlie

[Craig.]

mechanical fault caused the crash, and the images of his car and himself in it still are haunting, you could clearly see he was dead when the car came to a hault, not to take away from sennas accident but this one is always forgotten, and when i mention it people always go "who".
as for senna, i always thought it was the crash itself that killed him, but it was apparently a piece of metal that pierced his visor.

[img]Senna said he was wary about driving the race. The cars had become so dependent for their grip on aerodynamic downforce

[C]

I've remembered the rest of what I was talking about earlier now - reading Craig's post prompted me...

The car are relying on the downforce provided by the wings, and the aerodynamic profile of the body. Also downforce is provided by suction from the air passing in the gap between the chassis and the road surface, and then through diffusers at the back of the chassis under the rear wing...

Craig mentioned the safety car, which I remebered is the important bit...

After trapesing round behind the safety car for five laps or so, the cars would have had extremely cold tyres, which therefore would have been at a much lower pressure. After the restart, Senna's car went over a normal undulation/small bump in the track, and with the tyres lower pressure, the reaction af the car was a few millimetres more than normal, causing the momentary loss of grip, and although it is believed Senna tried to correct almost instantaneously, he was unable to prevent the crash.

I remember the day well, as I'd been sailing in the morning, and was on my way home to watch the end of the race, the good old days of the Beeb and Murray Walker (and the cool music).

Charlie

[Craig.]

i really wish not to go off the topic, but i do wish the BBC would get the F1. i know murrays gone, but the uninterupted coverage was much better
and as you said that cool music. really got you ready for the race:)

[Golferman]

I remember in 1994 when I saw the magzine about Senna crash. There is a blue part on the ground that senna can hit the wall very hard.