Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris56
Getting back to the thread topic, a bit of me wonders whether his return to F1 was more for the benefit of Mercedes developing a more competetive car. At the end of the day Schumacher's past success has made him an ideal "test driver in racing conditions". Although he has had a record number of DNFs this year, the feedback he would have given to Mercedes in terms of how the car handles during a race (and not just on an open test circuit) must have been invaluable.
When Ross Brawn ran Brawn GP, it was clear that, despite having a strong car at the start of the season, the development of the car soon lagged behind that of other teams later on
Just an opinion, feel free to smack me down!
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Not shooting you down, just another point of view...
Schuey liked a car that steered around the front axle, and tyres that did that for him. He would run cars with less than 10mm of front suspension movement by some accounts. That made life hell for his team mates. When cars didn't behave like that his team mates usually did well - Irvine and Barrichello being two examples - until the car went back to pointy.
His problem today appears to be that he can't get that out of this generation of tyres. Ferrari stuck with Bridgestone for years when others went to Michelin, and one wonders if that was partly because he understood them and they suited him. Whichever, it is the case now that he cannot get the same out of the car, and the tyres have changed a lot on the three seasons he was away. He has consistently under-performed against his team mate, who gives us a better view of the real speed of the car. It's slow, so he hasn't helped that much with development IMHO.
Still not great though...
