Rubens WAKE UP

[Minardi fan]

Rubens proved once more on Sunday that he should not be driving the Ferrari. To have De La Rosa pull away at a phenomenal rate (I was there to see it), and simply plod home to another third place, is not good enough.

Ok, so it's what TGF wants - a teammate who takes points away from the Macaroons but just can't cut it at the top.

Verstappen will drive that Ferrari in 2002.

[Devlin]

From what I've heard, Minardi-man, Rubens did have problems with his car, as a result of that "friendly" nudge by Mr. Trulli at the fist corner. However, it was pretty much disappointing to see a Ferrari being outpaced by an Arrows (no offence).

[Nuvolari]

Right, Devlin. Rubinho made it quite plain in the drivers' news conference that the damage done made it impossible for him to challenge de la Rosa.

[Peter Mallett]

Its all down to perception I guess.

The car didn't look loose to me but I wasn't driving it.

However, he's a tart. Any driver worth his/her salt would have dragged that car by the scruff of its neck. He didn't even attempt to pressurize the Macaroons.

Maybe its a ploy to lull MH and DC into thinking he can't overtake them. Then in the last race of the year he delivers the killer blow. Overtakes them in the pitlane.

[Super Tourer]

Rubens has been like this virtually the whole year.

He just seems to float into oblivion during the race. He makes very little forward progress, but because he is in a Ferrari he can usually keep a reasonable gap to the cars behind, which is why we never see him in the races...

He's there at the start, do you reckon he pits on lap 2 and then hits the track a lap before the end......

[downforce]

hey Minardi fan...to answer 2 of ur threads in one reply.....Me thinks Dusbin should be given a Minardi !!!!

[Minardi fan]

Minardi wouldn't take him - they hire drivers who make an effort.

Sorry Rubens fans, but he's been like it all season.

[Liz]

And yet he brings the car home on the podium when he brings it home at all. Y'all are like the parents who scream at their kids "B? Why are you bringing home a B? WHY AREN'T YOU BRINGING HOME AN A?"

Rubens is ahead of most people. But I have always thought he was wrong to take that drive.

See Carlos' cartoon, incidentally, about the reason his tires were not ready in the "wet"!

[Dino IV]

Well with a diffuser that messed up he can hardy be blamed not chasing anyone, can he? He did good, kept the best pace possible and made it home third.

After a race where he outqualified TGF and had to let him by at the start, it was good fun to see how much they paid attention to each other and not at their pace into that first corner. Little wonder Trulli and Zonta touched them both. Would they have been without worrying about eachother they'd had made it nice and clean through that first corner. Barrichello ahead of TGF. Both chasing the Macs.

Now they ended up both powerless to hunt down anyone, not even fine PDLR. Schu off, Barri damaged. Not really fair to blame the hard-trying Brazilian for not taking over the Arrows and two Macs. He made fine progress through the field, overtook whoever he could and found himself on the same pace as the lighter Arrows, outlasted the race and took home 4 points. Sounds like a job well done to me.

[Ralf's Girl]

Yeah, but Rubens is a bit blind, isn't he? He still insists he's not Michael's number two, yet thanks to his slowing down in Canada, Michael cruised to an easy victory. But there is a high price for playing the team game, as he showed in Austria. He slowed everyone up, which made Zonta hit Schumacher, and then he ended up with car troubles of his own. Ferrari number two drivers turn pretty spineless really. When he's RACING, he can rarely seem to better third.

[Minardi fan]

Precisely.

I'm not commenting just on Sunday's performance, but on his performance for the whole of this season.

[Ralf's Girl]

I agree. Austria was the first time he's really been able to better Michael in terms of qualifying pace.