Do Senna fans really hate Michael Schumacher?!!

[Yoong Montoya]

I read somewhere that at the start of MS career the Brazillian television station refered to him as 'the German', never by his real name! Is this true? And, do fans of Senna try to put Schumacher down due to his so-called dirty tactics, when in fact they are also putting Senna down without knowing it, since he used tactics that were even worse than MS?

If this is the case, then the only thing I can conclude that for a successful driver to be considered a true great, he has to get killed while racing!

[strad]

Easy trap but we have many GREATs that have lived........

[Damon]

You can not compare what Senna and Schumacher did in the same breath. Senna resorted to admitadly dirty tactics on once and once only. The reason, as he said, is that he felt that was the only way he could pay back Prost and the FIA for his horendously unfair treatment in 1989 following the incident in Japan. The FIA was almost as corrupt then as it is now in Balestre's favouritism for Prost. It was a personal grugde that he felt he needed to settled. If it was 'a thing he did' why not take out Mansell in 91 the same way?

Schu on the other hand will resort to dirty tactics regardless of the situation. He has done it numorous times to multiple drivers, simply as a last resort. The two situations are very different.

[paulzinho]

Senna was my idol but I dont hate Michael, in fact i'm one of his fans. However I don't believe that Michael was in the same league as Senna, not in a million years. Look at 1993. Michael had a superior package, Senna had a lump of and he still whupped everyone except Prost, whom he kept honest and who was in a machine that was a cut above the rest.

As for the dirty tactics, Prost at the chicane in 1989 anyone? Senna took revenge against the corruption of Balestre, members of the FIA couldn't believe some of the decisions he made, thats how bad it was (or so i've read anyway).

As for Michael he's a great driver and is one whom I admire tremendously but for me Ayrton will always be the best. Even Michael admits Senna would have been champion in 1994 once Williams sorted out their car (it was too late for Senna).

RIP Ayrton.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by paulzinho

As for the dirty tactics, Prost at the chicane in 1989 anyone?

a very clever move by PROST saw that SENNA would be blamed for the incident when SENNA was making a genuine overtaking manouvere!

Originally posted by paulzinho
Senna took revenge against the corruption of Balestre, members of the FIA couldn't believe some of the decisions he made,

as i understand it, SENNA didn't ram PROST due to the events of 1989, it was because, after securing pole, SENNA was put on the dirty side for the start

[R]

How anyone can claim that Senna used "worse" tactics than TGF is beyond me... Damon is spot on in his post, the favouritism for Prost back then was almost as bad as the favouritism for TGF is now. Yes, the debacle over the pole was the reason for Senna ramming Prost, and I believe he regretted lowering himself to that level. However, the FIA was to blame, and one would have thought they would have learned not to play favourites, but no... Montoya will be punished for doing nothing - same as Senna was punished in 89 for missing part of the course, yet, when Prost did the same thing, he wasn't punished. Complete idiocy. In that light, how on earth can Senna's move be compared to those of TGF, who not only do the moves, and much worse so than Senna, but at the same time have the entire "establishment" in his pocket? The situations are just lightyears apart.

As for the "hate" thing. It's a strong word, and not the kind of word I would use in this context. But to be blunt - a lot of TGF's initial success was achieved solely because Senna was not around anymore. So perhaps Senna fans dislike TGF because he's racking up the statistics that most probably would have belonged to Senna had he not been taken from us?

[Liz]

Of course I disagree with the characterization of Prost, And in fact Senna regretted his intemperate outbursts, admitted they were falsehoods, and made up with Prost (after Prost made numerous overtures that were rebuffed.) Senna was well known to believe that the fact he had said or done something made it legal, right and true. ("But I am Senna!" he would say when someone pointed out the difference between what he said Prost, Irvine or others should not be allowed to do and what he himself did.)

And in that way I think that Senna and TGF are exactly alike. Both men lived above the law and believed that this was their divine right.

And frankly I don't like either one of them.

[freud]

I am a Senna fan and I dont hate Schumacher. I just think he has achieved more than he deserves.... that's it.

[Tristan]

I think both are the bee's knees because that's the kind of driver I LIKE. Simple.

[f1manoz]

Originally posted by paulzinho
Senna took revenge against the corruption of Balestre, members of the FIA couldn't believe some of the decisions he made, thats how bad it was (or so i've read anyway).

I don't believe revenge should be taken out by ramming a fellow competitor off the track in such a fashion as what happened in Suzuka in 1990. It was a reckless, stupid and completely dangerous manouvre which could have easily killed either/both driver(s).

[calais]

to answer the original question...........YES!!

[Red]

Originally posted by Yoong Montoya
I read somewhere that at the start of MS career the Brazillian television station refered to him as 'the German', never by his real name!

Good point this is. Maybe we should discuss this again.

[f1manoz]

Let's not start THAT one again!

[calais]

and the point being????
its the same as HIS fans giving hill death threats and doing likewise to DC a few years later!!!

[Red]

Originally posted by calais
and the point being????
its the same as HIS fans giving hill death threats and doing likewise to DC a few years later!!!

This was for me? The point is "TGF is not insulting etc."

(Last paragraph beats me completely)