Rubens Done Again

[Liz]

Anybody wonder why Rubens was the only guy on the entire track on a three stop strategy - and was allowed to run out of fuel?

[fatbloke]

No need to wonder Liz - JSN will be here soon to tell us what a huge conspiracy it all is... zzzzzz...

[Minardi fan]

Stop moaning - Rubens put in yet another dismal performance all weekend.

[fatbloke]

You don't quite understand do you MF - you see it's Ferrari who are plotting against their own driver to make sure that Schumacher looks that little bit better... if it weren't for those nasty Italians, Rubens would be leading the WDC by now

[Minardi fan]

Oh riiiiiight I see! Cheers for that FB. So it's like the Minardi-McLaren conspiracy where Marc and Gaston hold up DC but not Mika? Ok, I get it now...

[fatbloke]

Yep - you're catching on. If you hang around these internet bulletin board things for long enough it'll all come easy to you to recognise this sort of thing - you'd be amazed how many teams plot against their own drivers... (or so many people would have you believe...)

[Madfan]

If Rubens is so much poorer than TGF, How is he able to post a fastest lap before he ran out of fuel. It makes for a lighter and faster car but driver talent MUST be included and wasn't it in the #2 Ferrari?

[Ralf's Girl]

It was a pretty poor all-round performance this weekend. And his running out of fuel was God paying him back for having a do at Ralf...

Okay, maybe not! But it was possibly an error by Ferrari in that they may have short-filled him or calculated wrongly, bearing in mind that a lap around there was taking even longer than usual today.

But yes, it was strange, because Ross Brawn wouldn't usually make that sort of mistake.

Not with TGF, anyway...

[Danielsun]

And there, in Ralf's Girl's words, is the answer to all your rubens@ferrari.arse questions. Ross Brawn and the Ferrari team wouldn't make that mistake for the Godly figure of the team, Michael Schumacher.

Notice that there have been very few Ferrari mechanical retirements this season, but they all seem to have affected Rubens much more than Michael.

As for the strategies, with the exception of Germany - where they got it all perfect - Rubens has been treated as the second-string driver all year. This retirement, through nothing but the team's stupidity, is just further proof. As if it was needed...

[Rated R]

Originally posted by Danielsun
Notice that there have been very few Ferrari mechanical retirements this season, but they all seem to have affected Rubens much more than Michael.

Yeah, right!
RB-Brazil-engine
RB-Silverstone-hydraulics
Schu-Monaco-exhaust
Schu-Magny cours-engine
Now if that is not even, I don't know...

Originally posted by Danielsun
As for the strategies, with the exception of Germany - where they got it all perfect - Rubens has been treated as the second-string driver all year. This retirement, through nothing but the team's stupidity, is just further proof.

Don't forget that race strategies are tailored to the driver's performance in qualifying. With Rubens' mediocre (and that is a kind word) qualifying effort, he would have been forever stuck out of the top six had they used a conservative strategy.
It is a risk-sometimes it works-Hockenheim, sometimes not...

[fastracer]

Rubens retired because his car suffered a loss in fuel pressure (which means that his fuel pump stopped working) and not because he ran out of fuel. So Liz, please check your information before you post it!

[Ralf's Girl]

I have seen that happen before - namely, Ralf at Imola this year. But I believe it was mentioned on ITV that he ran out of fuel.

And yes, I think a different strategy was certainly in order for Rubens after that abysmal effort in qualifying. And that from the man who claimed Ralf held him up to stop him taking fourth in Hungary! Oh, how the tables have turned... Ralf, feel free to comment...

[Ed-f1]

Let's see Rubens is 13 points behind Schumacher in the championship and 15 points behind Hakkinen. Ferrari's pace hasn't been a match for Mclaren recently. We better screw Rubens so he doesn't get 3 points, he might be within 20 points of the championship by then with 4 rounds to go , we don't want to take that risk, especially as it looks like Mclaren are going to walk it now anyway, we don't want to have both are drivers in with a chance of the championship. Also if we don't screw Rubens we might accidently win the constructors championship.
So it's agreed then we won't put enough fuel in his car?
Agreed!

[Valve Bounce]

Actually, TGF did not get sufficient fuel in his first stop due to a faulty valve in the fuel rig, and that is why he had to come in very early for his second stop. This also explains why he was going so fast after his first stop when he was on a very light fuel load. Maybe, this problem also caused Rubens not to have sufficient fuel and for the car to stop. Te fuel pump stops working when the fuel runs out, then it is full of air and maybe it is difficult to start th eengine up again. Anyway, all that pushing was against the rules - Rubens must have broke heaps of rules, not obeying the marshals, and having his pit crew run down the lane and then have them touch hte car let alone push him in. I am surprised Ferrari are not fined for all this. Having said all this, I do feel very sorry for Rubens.

[Peter Mallett]

Y'know those car stickers which people display that say "child on board". I recall a comment about Piquet in his Lotus days. The journo (I think it was Doug Nye?) said he should carry a sticker proclaiming "bored on board". I get the feeling that we could adapt this to RB.

How about "boring on board"?

[Devlin]

Well, conspiracy theories are not my speciality, particularly not this one, which in my opinion is just another fabrication of sensationalism, growing stronger and stronger in and around my favorite sport.
The fact to the matter is that RB was not in a position to score any points, stuck behind JV, and this most probably caused the team to rethink his strategy. The official explanation of "loss of fuel pressure" is a bit insulting for the intelligence of fans. If there's no fuel, there certainly won't be any fuel pressure, would there? And why is there no fuel? Because the previous pit-stop was 6.6s, and having in mind how Ferrari engines are thirsty... Besides, it was a gamble. It didn't pay off, sure, but it could have been the other way around. Remember HHF last year (was it in France?), when his car ran out of fuel on the slow-down lap, and they had to dismantle the fuel injection system to get a sample for post-race fuel testing? Close shave, that...

[Valve Bounce]

I think this was an Italian stuf up of te highest order and I won't make too much of it despite the fact tha I do cheer for Rubens.

[Liz]

I still think it's peculiar. And I still think when Rubens gets to McLaren these things will not happen to him.

The "facts" that I "checked" were the ones broadcast on ITV and that was all I had to go on. If other people had other"facts" at their disposal, good for them; however, I did not.

[Peter Mallett]

He was so far back that he could have helped TGF by slowing MH. I don't think the team can be blamed for RB's lack of pace. They did however make a mistake on the fuel usage and that's what stopped him. A mistake Liz.

As to your remark about Macaroon. Why would they want a second rater like RB? They've got enough problems with DC.

[downforce]

I told you Liz!!!
Those Macs have picked up the ole-Coult again!!!....the best team Rubens can hope for after his miserable Ferrari days is probably Bennetton.
Whats wurz than that?

[Minardi fan]

Rubens will never drive for McLaren.