Is it that Schumacher or is it the Scarlet beauty that he drives?
It would be unfair to the rest of the F1 lineup if I say that Schumacher is the Best driver. No doubt that he is a Great driver who knows when, where and how much to do on any track in a FERRARI but not many drivers are far behind. The fact that the machine from the Prancing Horses stable is much ahead of its competitors only adds to his prowess. The Ferraris car is so advanced and ahead of their nearest rivals this year that they were winning the initial races of this (2002) season even though they(Schumi and Rubens) were sitting in their last years cars(which obviously were more reliable that any other machine on the track the previous year) and the new machine only got better.
With the type of Cars Ferrari has now, someone(McLaren, Williams, did I say Minardi) must come out with a car that would go some 50KMPH faster than the Ferrari on any Straight and should not show any signs of fish tailing/ oversteering or understeering on any of the turns at speeds if not less, atleast 10+ kmph more than the Ferrari. Give this car to Kimi or the younger Shcumacher and they will give Micheal a run for all those thousands of pounds.
But still I am sure the experience and the spirit that Schumi has on the track, he will give anyone a tough time be they in any car.
In the F1(for that matter any sports) it takes a Team effort to Win and at the moment Ferrari seems to have everything going their way.
Just scroll back 3-4 yrs back into the F1 history when the McLarens were blazing(or was it Mika’s cool head), we could see Schumi watching his mirrors for the coming Black n Silver car which he knew would pass him sooner or later. I don’t remember the year and track or the driver but that is regarded at the BEST overtaking manouver in F1 history when Mika was just behind Schumi and after a straight was a right hander and with a back marker ahead nobody thought Mika could have overtaken Shcumi(atleast until the next lap). The backmarker moves off the racing line giving Schumi a clear track but Mika races past the back marker from the extreme right end of the track(the back marker sandwitched between the ferrari and the mclaren) and comes in front of a surprised Schumi to take the lead into the turn and finally win the race.
Ferrari has won this year as a Team but they have done more bad than good for the sport with the Team orders which makes the sport more predictable.
So its not just Schumacher but the combination of Schumacher and Ferrari that makes him(them) the Champion.
Like any other thing, at the moment both Ferrari and Schumacher are at the peak of their performance and it is quiet possible that they may not be challenged for the next year or two before someone else gives them a real challenge(Did someone say that Mika is making a comeback?)
Only Time will tell.
Moreover todays F1 car is so advanced that it doesn’t test the drivers skill as much as the earlier machines which didn’t had traction control, all the gears, clutch (somethink like 20 controls) in the steering, unlike the F1 machines of the yesteryears whose controls were more or less like the common cars.
Let us hope that the next season won’t be as predictable and we have more nerve cracking races which can have us glued to the TV screens almost every alternate weekends.
Wishing all the best to all the teams and drivers for the coming season.
Drive safe.
Yaser.