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If You Were Ross Brawn What Would You Do?

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You have just hired a 7 times world champion, a legend, one of the greatest in the history of the support.

Sentimentality and legend alone should keep in the team whatever happens this season.

But F1 is a business first and foremost. Schumacher is not performing and it is costing the team.

What would you do if you were Brawn? Give Schumi the whole season and then out him at the end if things dont improve (subject to contract)? Would you consider replacing him sooner than that even? Or would you hold onto him come what may (knowing that his reputation and standing alone brings in sponsorship money and makes for great marketing)?

Me personally? Give him the season but give him more Friday practise time (even if at the expense of engines) and work and work until he gets it right. If he doesnt, then next season I would be re-hiring - seven world time champion or not...

I have a feeling that once he gets ontop of this car the rest of the field will have a serious rude awakening. I hope it happens sooner rather than later

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You have just hired a 7 times world champion, a legend, one of the greatest in the history of the support.

Sentimentality and legend alone should keep in the team whatever happens this season.

But F1 is a business first and foremost. Schumacher is not performing and it is costing the team.

What would you do if you were Brawn? Give Schumi the whole season and then out him at the end if things dont improve (subject to contract)? Would you consider replacing him sooner than that even? Or would you hold onto him come what may (knowing that his reputation and standing alone brings in sponsorship money and makes for great marketing)?

Me personally? Give him the season but give him more Friday practise time (even if at the expense of engines) and work and work until he gets it right. If he doesnt, then next season I would be re-hiring - seven world time champion or not...

I have a feeling that once he gets ontop of this car the rest of the field will have a serious rude awakening. I hope it happens sooner rather than later

I would keep him, unless his salary is way too high. Either he goes back tio the old Schumi self and thus trashing everybody aroun, or you get the best, most experienced number 2 driver a team could ask for. A win win situation for Brawn :)

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I would keep him, unless his salary is way too high. Either he goes back tio the old Schumi self and thus trashing everybody aroun, or you get the best, most experienced number 2 driver a team could ask for. A win win situation for Brawn :)

Is it 'win win' for Brawn when hes only bringing home 1 or 2 points a race? If he was performing as well as Rosberg is now then mercedes would be top of the constructors right now. I wouldnt call that a win/win. Seven tenths off his team mate's pace in qualifying? If this new chassis in Spain doesnt improve things I think hes gonna need one helluva kick up the a*s.

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I don't think Schumi is much of a no.2 at the moment, not by the margin Rosberg is beating him by. Webber is a good no.2 because he brings in the points but can't really threaten Vettel. So considering that, if MSC didn't improve, then there would be no point in keeping him next year if he brings nothing in performance. Obviously, Brawn may choose to keep him based on a business perspective, regardless of his performance. It's a tough situation, though.

I imagine what the team will try and do is develop the car in Schumacher's direction as much as possible, so that they don't have to deal with such a difficult situation.

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I don't think the team can be disappointed in Michael at this point. Could someone else be getting more out of the car? Sure, but did they expect Schumacher to come right back on top form? No, only the Internet forums did, to be honest. Schumacher will have a better second half of the season, I think, once he gets back into the whole F1 thing. A driver can offer more than points to a team, too, and Schumacher certainly does (feedback, sponsor interest, and fan interest).

So, if I were Ross Brawn, I'd do nothing. You have to judge drivers by their current performance and not their past, sure, but I'd treat Michael more like a rookie and give him a season. I'd let Nico have his fun and be patient with Michael. There's no way in hell I would have signed Schumacher to a three-year deal, though.

For 2011? Depends what's available, really and if a true number one is needed (i.e. if Nico's performance drops off a bit or he doesn't seal the deal and actually win one).

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I don't think the team can be disappointed in Michael at this point. Could someone else be getting more out of the car? Sure, but did they expect Schumacher to come right back on top form? No, only the Internet forums did, to be honest. Schumacher will have a better second half of the season, I think, once he gets back into the whole F1 thing. A driver can offer more than points to a team, too, and Schumacher certainly does (feedback, sponsor interest, and fan interest).

So, if I were Ross Brawn, I'd do nothing. You have to judge drivers by their current performance and not their past, sure, but I'd treat Michael more like a rookie and give him a season. I'd let Nico have his fun and be patient with Michael. There's no way in hell I would have signed Schumacher to a three-year deal, though.

For 2011? Depends what's available, really and if a true number one is needed (i.e. if Nico's performance drops off a bit or he doesn't seal the deal and actually win one).

Michael needs to catch up fast with Nico, that's undeniable because even thuogh Nico is doing great so far, you need a guy capable to step up at any moment. I mean, what if Nico has to deal with a zit that keeps him off the track for a few GPs??? Oh, I cannot even think about such a prospect, it's just too horrible!

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I mean, what if Nico has to deal with a zit that keeps him off the track for a few GPs???

:lol: Well, that would be a good enough excuse in baseball to sit a few weeks, so I suppose we could see it. Fortunately, Mercedes DTM driver Ralf Schumacher is always ready to go. He doesn't even need to warm his tires because he ends up violently swerving just by trying to go straight!

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I'd stick with it. I think the main problem really, is the media hype. But I guess that is expected when you bring a legend of the sport back from retirement. I think all the media were expecting him to win straight away, yet Michael, Ross and the whole of Mercedes knew that wouldn't be possible for a guy who's been out for three years.

First, sort the car out and get it to Michael's liking more. It's clear he's not happy with the thing, you could see it in today's race. It's clear Michael still has his natural ability there, the way he defended from Hamilton for numerous laps in what is a much better car than Mercedes right now.

Then, if Michael is still struggling even if there is nothing really wrong with the car anymore, then I'd start to worry. I personally can't see Michael staying where he is now once they get the car sorted and I think he'll be very motivated to show the world what he can do again and to give Rosberg a sharp slap in the fact too. We'll see, we're only four races in. Who knows, if it hadn't been for the 1st corner punt at Melbourne, he could have found himself on the podium.

But then retrospect is a wonderful thing.

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First, sort the car out and get it to Michael's liking more.

I disagree, really. If Michael wants a better car, he should tell his team what he wants. Then, the team should also listen to Rosberg's feedback, and see what the two have in common. Michael may be "proven," but at this point, the team should focus on Nico if they're going to focus on just one. They can't cater to Michael just because Michael used to be a champion. Nico's their best hope right now and I think it would make more sense to get Nico to a point where he can win races rather than get Michael to a point where he can finish P5 (which could come at the expense of Nico). I'm by no means suggesting to ignore Michael's suggestions because his feedback's undoubtedly valuable, but I'd put the main focus on Rosberg right now and hope that lights a fire under Michael to say "hey, this is my team" and get him to give some incredible drives again. I still think the second half of the season will be smoother, too.

I can't fully blame the car for his struggles because Rosberg's made more of it if the car really is the problem. I just don't think Michael's on his game quite yet, and it's hard to expect that when he's been out for so long and he's legitimately old, even by NASCAR standards. The driver needs to come around a bit more before the team starts catering to him; Rosberg's their guy and it would mean more to get him on the top step than to get Michael in the top half of the points.

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I disagree, really. If Michael wants a better car, he should tell his team what he wants. Then, the team should also listen to Rosberg's feedback, and see what the two have in common. Michael may be "proven," but at this point, the team should focus on Nico if they're going to focus on just one. They can't cater to Michael just because Michael used to be a champion. Nico's their best hope right now and I think it would make more sense to get Nico to a point where he can win races rather than get Michael to a point where he can finish P5 (which could come at the expense of Nico). I'm by no means suggesting to ignore Michael's suggestions because his feedback's undoubtedly valuable, but I'd put the main focus on Rosberg right now and hope that lights a fire under Michael to say "hey, this is my team" and get him to give some incredible drives again. I still think the second half of the season will be smoother, too.

I can't fully blame the car for his struggles because Rosberg's made more of it if the car really is the problem. I just don't think Michael's on his game quite yet, and it's hard to expect that when he's been out for so long and he's legitimately old, even by NASCAR standards. The driver needs to come around a bit more before the team starts catering to him; Rosberg's their guy and it would mean more to get him on the top step than to get Michael in the top half of the points.

I think he did, take a look at this news

Mercedes to replace Schu's chassis for Barcelona

Apr.18 (GMM) Michael Schumacher will not only have an upgraded car in Spain, it will also be a completely different chassis.

Mercedes' Norbert Haug suggested after the Chinese grand prix, where the seven time world champion was comprehensively beaten all weekend by his teammate, that the 41-year-old's actual chassis is carrying an inherent problem.

"I think we need to replace his chassis for Barcelona," Haug is quoted as saying by the German broadcaster Sky.

Nico Rosberg qualified the sister W01 seven tenths faster than Schumacher's, and then finished on the podium, nearly a minute ahead of his famous countryman.

"Don't worry: Michael has not forgotten how to drive," said Haug, after Niki Lauda slammed Schumacher's driving as "mediocre".

24-year-old Rosberg, meanwhile, denied that the result in Shanghai is confirmation about who is Mercedes' number one driver in 2010.

"It's definitely not the case," he said. "It's even between us. Of course I'm very, very happy with the way it's going for me, but we both get the same possibilities."

Source

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Perhaps Schumi would be great as an 'advisor' to the team? eekout.gif

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I agree Eric that is what they should do, but is it what they will do? We'll have to wait and see.

I think the guy is doing really well. He was only .2 of Nico's pace all season after 3 years away and not much testing.

Bahrain.....Did great for the first race back.

Australia .....was hit in the first corner. Although the race for him was not that great he still pulled out pretty quick times.

Malaysia.....out after 9 laps.

There was issues with his car in china for sure as did Massa in Australia. Massa was a .7 of a second of Alonso's pace, so it can happen and it will happen to Nico this season as well.

With Micheal and Brawn at the helm, next years car will be a ripper which is the main reason the united i believe.

Give the guy a chance, he at least deserves that.

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I think the guy is doing really well. He was only .2 of Nico's pace all season after 3 years away and not much testing.

Bahrain.....Did great for the first race back.

Australia .....was hit in the first corner. Although the race for him was not that great he still pulled out pretty quick times.

Malaysia.....out after 9 laps.

There was issues with his car in china for sure as did Massa in Australia. Massa was a .7 of a second of Alonso's pace, so it can happen and it will happen to Nico this season as well.

With Micheal and Brawn at the helm, next years car will be a ripper which is the main reason the united i believe.

Give the guy a chance, he at least deserves that.

I think that's really the point trying to be made, though. Schumacher can't be expected to perform just yet, but that's because of himself, not because of the car. Therefore, rather than risk hindering Nico, Ross should focus on Rosberg and let Michael get comfortable while using a balance of both drivers' feedback to make the car the extra bit better that it needs to be.

Though, while I do trust Brawn to do the right thing, I also trust him to have some sentimental connection with Michael, so I expect the team will focus a bit more or Schumacher than Rosberg, which really could be a mistake. Rosberg as WDC just feels odd, though I'd say the same for Button last year, and if Nico could just make the extra step to winning races, it's really not unrealistic to say he can contend this year. It's hard to justify, at least in my eyes, helping the P10 guy improve when the P3 guy could be at P1 with the extra attention. Plus, if Nico were winning races, Michael would probably have a bit of a fire lit under his bum and he'd be giving it his all to prove he hasn't lost it and that some kid won't just come in and destroy him.

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If I was Ross....

I would cry and regret not making Jenson the offer he was after.

Apart from that. Keep Michael.

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MSC is doing pretty good. The midpoint of the season will be the key, as he will have lots of miles under his belt and he should be up to speed. These cars are a different animal then the last car he drove for Ferrari.

As far as his retainer, I have read it is 21 million euros per season...not good if he is not performing.

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Button? Nah.

If the car suited Button since the start, he could have delivered more. But, then again, I bet Schumi could do so much more than JB in a car that suits his style.

If the car didn't suit Jenson's style, then Button is useless (as admitted by James Allen, don't blame me for that). Schumi, on the contrary, can help at least make a better car out of it until it suits him.

I am starting to have my own reservations about Schumi's possibilities to close up on this year's contenders and about his actual "magic". What I have no doubts is about his knowledge when helping to develop a car.

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Button? Nah.

If the car suited Button since the start, he could have delivered more. But, then again, I bet Schumi could do so much more than JB in a car that suits his style.

If the car didn't suit Jenson's style, then Button is useless (as admitted by James Allen, don't blame me for that). Schumi, on the contrary, can help at least make a better car out of it until it suits him.

I am starting to have my own reservations about Schumi's possibilities to close up on this year's contenders and about his actual "magic". What I have no doubts is about his knowledge when helping to develop a car.

Watching him in the rain was very dissapointing! What "magic" do you are considering? Time is the strongest foe and MSC lost the battle.

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I disagree, really. If Michael wants a better car, he should tell his team what he wants. Then, the team should also listen to Rosberg's feedback, and see what the two have in common. Michael may be "proven," but at this point, the team should focus on Nico if they're going to focus on just one. They can't cater to Michael just because Michael used to be a champion. Nico's their best hope right now and I think it would make more sense to get Nico to a point where he can win races rather than get Michael to a point where he can finish P5 (which could come at the expense of Nico). I'm by no means suggesting to ignore Michael's suggestions because his feedback's undoubtedly valuable, but I'd put the main focus on Rosberg right now and hope that lights a fire under Michael to say "hey, this is my team" and get him to give some incredible drives again. I still think the second half of the season will be smoother, too.

I can't fully blame the car for his struggles because Rosberg's made more of it if the car really is the problem. I just don't think Michael's on his game quite yet, and it's hard to expect that when he's been out for so long and he's legitimately old, even by NASCAR standards. The driver needs to come around a bit more before the team starts catering to him; Rosberg's their guy and it would mean more to get him on the top step than to get Michael in the top half of the points.

Sure, let him struggle on and write off winning the constructor's championship then. The two drivers obviously have different styles to their driving. I can't imagine Schumacher has become truly hopeless in three years. You don't lose natural ability like that. Sure, it might mean a lot of work going about it differently and effectively having two completely different cars, one for Rosberg's style and one for Michael's, but I see that as a possibly much more successful stragedy than currently.

I mean, if Rosberg still remains in the fight a few years from now and they get Schumacher's car sorted, then clearly Schumi can be a factor in helping Rosberg towards the title if needs be whilst hindering his rivals by being in the top few positions in races. Let's see, the season is still young. Once Michael gets the car to his liking (and he has said it himself, that the car doesn't suit his style currently) then he'll become a force again. As I said in my past post, you could see he still had the fight in him trying to keep quicker cars behind. To me, that's not because he is slow, it's because the car is slow.

As for the future, well, I think this banner in China sums it up all very well:

funny_banner.jpg

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Tell the engineers to design a chassis that can handle 700bhp! @ China, the 2 Mercs looked like they could barely handle 70bhp!

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Sure, let him struggle on and write off winning the constructor's championship then. The two drivers obviously have different styles to their driving. I can't imagine Schumacher has become truly hopeless in three years. You don't lose natural ability like that. Sure, it might mean a lot of work going about it differently and effectively having two completely different cars, one for Rosberg's style and one for Michael's, but I see that as a possibly much more successful stragedy than currently.

I mean, if Rosberg still remains in the fight a few years from now and they get Schumacher's car sorted, then clearly Schumi can be a factor in helping Rosberg towards the title if needs be whilst hindering his rivals by being in the top few positions in races. Let's see, the season is still young. Once Michael gets the car to his liking (and he has said it himself, that the car doesn't suit his style currently) then he'll become a force again. As I said in my past post, you could see he still had the fight in him trying to keep quicker cars behind. To me, that's not because he is slow, it's because the car is slow.

As for the future, well, I think this banner in China sums it up all very well:

The problem is Schumacher was usually able to drive any car better than a team-mate, whether it was a slow car or a quick one. He was able to drive a car which wasn't completely perfect in handling terms. He is not like a Button or Raikkonen who struggle if conditions aren't perfect with the car, or at least, he wasn't. To me, it seems he's lost that ability to drive around a problem or a lack of grip, and tbh, I don't think the Merc is handling all that badly anyway if Rosberg can put it on the podium. Schumi looks like he's reacting to the car rather than bending it to his will.

Clearly then, Schumacher is not up to speed. I don't think there's much point denying that. Nobody but a small amount of fanboys and some of the media expected he would dominate Rosberg immediately, but I doubt anybody expected him to be trailing so miserably. Worse still, Schumi doesn't even seem to care that much. The competitive animal looks tamed in the interviews, applauding his team-mate's efforts with a relaxed smile. Button beats Hammy by one position in the GP and you can see Lewis is bothered; Michael doesn't look at all bothered when he's 5 places from Nico - and that's the most worrying part. Maybe Michael did return just to have some fun, as difficult as I find that to swallow.

Saying that, it still looks like he has his racecraft the way he drove against Hamilton (even if Hamilton seemed to be much more cautious against him). Perhaps it's expected that the speed would go before his racecraft though, considering the former is more subject to time and the latter is just a matter of experience and intelligence.

Anyhoo, if Merc do make the car better for Schumi maybe he can still drive on the limit and beat Rosberg. We'll probably find out in Barca (volcanic ash permitting) if MS is getting some upgrades.

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The problem is Schumacher was usually able to drive any car better than a team-mate, whether it was a slow car or a quick one. He was able to drive a car which wasn't completely perfect in handling terms. He is not like a Button or Raikkonen who struggle if conditions aren't perfect with the car, or at least, he wasn't. To me, it seems he's lost that ability to drive around a problem or a lack of grip, and tbh, I don't think the Merc is handling all that badly anyway if Rosberg can put it on the podium. Schumi looks like he's reacting to the car rather than bending it to his will.

Clearly then, Schumacher is not up to speed. I don't think there's much point denying that. Nobody but a small amount of fanboys and some of the media expected he would dominate Rosberg immediately, but I doubt anybody expected him to be trailing so miserably. Worse still, Schumi doesn't even seem to care that much. The competitive animal looks tamed in the interviews, applauding his team-mate's efforts with a relaxed smile. Button beats Hammy by one position in the GP and you can see Lewis is bothered; Michael doesn't look at all bothered when he's 5 places from Nico - and that's the most worrying part. Maybe Michael did return just to have some fun, as difficult as I find that to swallow.

Saying that, it still looks like he has his racecraft the way he drove against Hamilton (even if Hamilton seemed to be much more cautious against him). Perhaps it's expected that the speed would go before his racecraft though, considering the former is more subject to time and the latter is just a matter of experience and intelligence.

Anyhoo, if Merc do make the car better for Schumi maybe he can still drive on the limit and beat Rosberg. We'll probably find out in Barca (volcanic ash permitting) if MS is getting some upgrades.

nice post professor, I agree, especially with the the bolded part

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Sure, let him struggle on and write off winning the constructor's championship then. The two drivers obviously have different styles to their driving. I can't imagine Schumacher has become truly hopeless in three years. You don't lose natural ability like that. Sure, it might mean a lot of work going about it differently and effectively having two completely different cars, one for Rosberg's style and one for Michael's, but I see that as a possibly much more successful stragedy than currently.

I mean, if Rosberg still remains in the fight a few years from now and they get Schumacher's car sorted, then clearly Schumi can be a factor in helping Rosberg towards the title if needs be whilst hindering his rivals by being in the top few positions in races. Let's see, the season is still young. Once Michael gets the car to his liking (and he has said it himself, that the car doesn't suit his style currently) then he'll become a force again. As I said in my past post, you could see he still had the fight in him trying to keep quicker cars behind. To me, that's not because he is slow, it's because the car is slow.

You write off the WCC by not backing Rosberg, too, though, don't you? Rosberg and his team aren't winning races; if they keep helping Nico, he'll start to win. Winning races is best for their team, WCC or not, and Schumacher's not quite comfortable enough to be winning even if they design the car around him. You can say what you want about losing natural ability, but the fact is that the vast majority of the time, athletes get worse once they hit their peak. To say Schumacher hasn't peaked already is ridiculous. He's not truly hopeless; he's scoring points. He looks like a guy who is three years older than he was the last time he's done this. I know a lot of Michael fans want to re-live the past, but if they want Schumacher to be on top form, they'll have to patient and accept that it's really Michael, not the car.

From a future standpoint, Rosberg hasn't reached his peak. Building the team around him, if they really feel he can be a WDC (and I imagine they do) will be best for the future. Building the team around Michael, who will probably get a bit better with seat time and then start to go back down again as age catches up to him, would be really a joke. In the perfect world, they'd have two totally different cars, but that's a lot of effort and money I'd imagine. Micheal's a dependable number two, and he can get better, so the team shouldn't neglect him, but in doing so, they can't take away from Rosberg because he too can advance to the next level, and advancing Rosberg to wins is best for the team over advancing Michael to top fives.

Saying the car is slow is silly when Rosberg's on the podium. I'm not saying it's all Michael's fault, but I don't think he's the driver he once was (at least not yet), and it would be ridiculous to expect him to be, really. Just because he's a legend doesn't mean he'll always be as good as he once was, and that doesn't mean he can't be good enough again, but he'll never be the Michael he was. That's life, and if it were any different, no one would retire.

I'm not accusing you of bias, but I know you're a big Michael fan, and I know it's hard when your favorite isn't on the form they used to be. We'll see how the season progresses; I do think Michael will get better, but my point is that they can't take attention from Nico for Michael. When they do that, they would probably get two cars running P5 and P6 (18 points). If they work with Nico, they could get a car P1 and a car P8 (29 points). What's losing them the WCC, again? :P

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Nope, guys.

Brawn already cashed in by trickinhg Honda to be sold to him by one yen (plud benefifts) to then seld the team for hundred of millions. Ecclestone made that happened and sure fatten his porcket in the deal.

So Brawn is anything but concerned. He's done it all, including blatantly illegal things tht he has gotten away with... decade after decade. This is Power. Besides, this is a villain's game and Brawn scores higher than Schumnacher.

So what of Schumacher. Rosberg is not letting go. Which puts Brawn is a pickle but a ridiculous one (Brawn is beyond the reach of mere mortals). Schumacher does not have the polital pull to turn the team on his faovor, the team is German and so are both drivers. Bottom line, Schumacher is crewed ouyside of the track.

Perhaps, Brawn would take pity on him and gift it him a couple of races. Whiting would go for it out of pure nostalgia. Eccleston would think on the manbojambo sounds that money makes as it trickels down into the pit where he hides his hard cash. In any case, it is a political game of many, all of which have lost to lose but some to game. Thuds, the sale would not be easy. As for Schumacher, let's hope you can at least buy a race this season.

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