Watching a Legend

[b1ackcr0w]

Originally Posted by Jordi

He's one of the greats. He's one of those guys which in his peak was worth one second. I'm not sure it's possible anymore with the cars so maximised to perform, but that alone makes him worth what they're paying him.

Hmm,

I think you're on to something the Jordi. I feel it was much more of a privilage to watch him during his Jordan, Benneton and early Ferrari days, espeicially when the Ferrari was such a pig. I think he peaked with his battles against Hakkinen.

My suspicion is we are entering a more interesting phase of F1, hopefully there will be a Prost/Senna like battle between Alonso & Raikkonen. In terms of sheer speed behind the wheel, I think either of them are a match for TBC, even at his peak. Where TBC scored was his sublime ability to think tactically while keeping the car on the very limit, add to that his out of the car management of the team around him and you have a once in a lifetime package.

Even despite his well documented dark side, there's no doubt he was the class of his era.

[EERO]

Only a few drivers have defined their eras:

Fangio
Clark
Stewart
Lauda
Prost/Senna (for surely, their careers were concurrent and they were each other's prime competition)
Schumacher


In terms of longevity, no one has competed at the top level for longer and remained so competitive as That German Fellow.

It is very difficult to compare drivers from different eras, so we can never know how Schumacher would compare to past greats, but no one has provenm to be more suited to the current style of flat out sprints, carefully crafted pit stop strategy and the ability to turn increasingly quick laps as the pace of the race demands.

I have never been a fan, and it galls me that he has been so dominant, but at the same time, I recognise that we are fortunate to witness History. It is one of the sad facts of life that sometimes greatness resides in the bodies of men whose souls are less than perfect.

[Remus]

I'm going to Germany in 4 weeks time for this very reason. I have always been a fan but at the same time I recognise his short comings. I dearly hope he wins at his home race, and that it is a weekend I will remeber for the rest of my life.

[Gt_R]

Quote: "It is one of the sad facts of life that sometimes greatness resides in the bodies of men whose souls are less than perfect."

Eero, i find it chilling and unfortunate to read this sentence, look at the drivers you listed to figure, besides MS, at least half of the remaining fit your sad fact of life

I appreciate Michael's skills not because of his dominant run in 2002 and 2004, but because of how he had managed to compete and succeed in the Benetton, bring 3 memorable wins to Ferrari in 1996, managed to compete for WDC in 97/98 in inferior cars, managed to play the perfect no.2 for Irvine at Sepang'99, win WDC in 2000 when Mclaren and Mika were so competitive, and the number of classic and memorable display of skills.

I believe 2004 the comfortable margin of victory sort of blunted the raw edge of Michael, setting him into a comfort zone, and the start of a slow decline in his peak performances. Make no mistakes, Michael has shown that he's still devastatingly quick and competitive given the right conditions, but he no longer enjoy the huge gap he has above the rest.

[Bononi]

Uhn... before it turn to a bash thread, I'd like to add that even he doesn't retire this year, we might see a "gap" between legends, as I don't believe that there is anybody in the foreseeable to substitute him.

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by Hein

Not true, for me Michael looked his best when he had the inferior cars of 1996-1999 (and even 2000).

These were still relatively good cars though. Make no mistake, he was not wheeling an Arrows round the racetracks of the world!

I think Michael hits problems when he is in the pack, and that is his one major flaw for me. He can sometimes rise above it though confusingly, his drive at Monaco this year was outstanding. A curious thing really.

I am not Michaels biggest fan, though I did cheer for him from 1997 -2000 until he won his Ferrari title. Even so, I felt honoured to be at Silverstone to watch him win masterfully in 2004. I can say I saw the maestro at his absolute peak, which I believe 2004 was for him in terms of the overall package (hate that word!).

Still, now I think the mantle has passed onto Mr Alonso. Fernando, for me, is the next level. He has sublime speed, makes no errors whatsoever (at such a relatively young age!) and has a long way to go yet. He is, quite frankly, freakishly flawless.