Ralf Schumacher

Russ-Turner · 4 Apr 2005, 09:56 (Ref:1269599)

Seems to me to be the weak link in the shiny, new Toyota chain.

Gabrio · 4 Apr 2005, 09:57 (Ref:1269600)

I think it is a bit early in the season...He will find his marks.

Mr V · 4 Apr 2005, 10:10 (Ref:1269621)

Finishing 4th doesn't seem weak to me, and i'm surprised at how well he is actually going. Jarno has been a revalation though, and i'm sure, should it carry on, will start putting Rafe's nose out of joint.

**Adam43** · 4 Apr 2005, 11:50 (Ref:1269724)

He's driving well, but Trulli is driving better.

Knowlesy · 4 Apr 2005, 11:52 (Ref:1269728)

He's still making silly little errors.....but I think he'll improve and he will probably be the guy to take Toyotas first win, despite the fact Trulli is better than him!

BootsOntheSide · 4 Apr 2005, 11:57 (Ref:1269738)

4th and 5th aren't great when your team-mate finished 2nd in both races, having had the better of you in virtually every session and every part of the race. Ralf wasn't fast enough to stay ahead of Nick or JPM in Malaysia, and went off the track more than once in Bahrain, as well as making a mess of qualifying 1 (a situation the team only managed to work around by running him with less fuel in qualifying 2, requiring him to pit eartlier).

Jarno has started the seaosn really well, and Ralf certainly hasn't been equal to it. I'm not sure if this will continue throughout the season, but it is roughly what I was expeting given the two drivers' relative abilities.

Kicking-back · 4 Apr 2005, 12:47 (Ref:1269810)

I agree - it's the way I expected the Trulli/Schumacher battle to pan out.

Ralf will have his usual one or two good races in the middle of the season.

Super Tourer · 4 Apr 2005, 12:52 (Ref:1269816)

If Ralf sticks it on the front row he'll have a good race or two.

Apart from that, his performance is pretty much as expected, nothing that special with a few errors thrown in.

luke · 4 Apr 2005, 12:53 (Ref:1269817)

Ralf is a great driver, on his day, even better than his brother, but he seems to get involved in those silly / avoidable collisons.
He also tends to be inconsistent, but he's put some good results in so far, although Trulli, has been so far the number 1 at Toyota.

Super Tourer · 4 Apr 2005, 12:55 (Ref:1269819)

[QUOTE=luke]Ralf is a great driver, on his day, even better than his brother, QUOTE]

Not from what I've seen of him in F1....

luke · 4 Apr 2005, 12:57 (Ref:1269822)

[QUOTE=Super Tourer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by luke

Ralf is a great driver, on his day, even better than his brother, QUOTE]

Not from what I've seen of him in F1....

Canada 2001 is one example. He would have beaten Michael at Brazil in 2002, if Ferrari hadn't of put him on to his strategy.
And Im sure there's more, that's just of the top of my head.

mp356a · 4 Apr 2005, 12:59 (Ref:1269824)

If Trulli continues to shine, RS will get worse and more erratic. He does not handle pressure well.
I'd like to see a Trulli/Panis pairing again. Those two guys know how to work together!
Mike

Dog Faced Boy · 4 Apr 2005, 14:36 (Ref:1269928)

Trulli will also stumble at some point. He is just as inconsistant and prone to dips in confidence. Then Ralf will have his day. Over the season the points will be close.

Dani Filth · 4 Apr 2005, 14:52 (Ref:1269937)

Trulli did similar last year .. also winning Monaco but ended by losing to Alonso .. we'll have to wait and see .. but ralf is doing a decent job . and we can say . trulli had a head start . doing a couple of races last year in the Toyota

BootsOntheSide · 4 Apr 2005, 15:51 (Ref:1269991)

Jarno was treated badly at Rneault, as soon as it became clear that he was a threat. Flavio's public criticism after France was ill-advised and misguided, especially as he didn't say a word against Alonso after he threw away 8 points at Monza. Getting to Toyota early last season will have been a small benefit to Jarno, but it doesn't expalin everything he's acheived thus far. As ti stands Jarno is respected and appreciated, adn the expectations on him aren't as high as before - a perfect set of circusmtances for him to acheive his potential and not be dragged down by others.

Knowlesy · 4 Apr 2005, 17:48 (Ref:1270092)

[QUOTE=luke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Super Tourer

Canada 2001 is one example. He would have beaten Michael at Brazil in 2002, if Ferrari hadn't of put him on to his strategy.
And Im sure there's more, that's just of the top of my head.

Ralf needs a car perfectly set up and a tyre advantage before he can even think of beating Michael!

ralf fan · 4 Apr 2005, 19:09 (Ref:1270152)

I was very disappointed with RS's qually 1 effort. he was about a second slower than Trulli.... but he put in a good qually 2 eventhough he was on light fuel.

RS has the pace but lacks the consistancy.... and it is bloody frustrating to actually support him throughout a season..

gfm · 4 Apr 2005, 19:13 (Ref:1270154)

I think we may see something good yet out of Ralf because Mike Gascoine appears to be such an excellent manager. Lets see if he can get on top of Ralf’s waywardness.

thejester · 4 Apr 2005, 20:36 (Ref:1270214)

I feel for the guy. The pressure on him is inevitably higher thanks to his surname. Otherwise a driver with his record and results would be garnering nothing but praise for his work at Toyota so far. Sure, Jarno seems faster pretty much constantly, but he's scoring good points. He's not Michael, he's not a champion, but he surely deserves his drive. The number of drivers who you could guarantee would perform better in that car is very small.

Think of him as Ralph...Coulthard.

Inigo Montoya · 4 Apr 2005, 22:17 (Ref:1270298)

Not that bad a start for Ralf. Trulli is at the top of his game right now - it'll be tough for Ralf to beat him if he keeps this up. Maybe its the hair

thejester · 4 Apr 2005, 22:33 (Ref:1270307)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inigo Montoya

Trulli is at the top of his game... Maybe its the hair

Don't get me started

ratemymullet.com anyone?

Raven · 4 Apr 2005, 23:46 (Ref:1270349)

Ralf is reportedly earning a lot more dough than Trulli, so you'd have to say Ralf isn't living up to his contract so far this season.

If the trend continues, it'll be the 4th straight season that Ralf has been out-scored by a team mate. I can see it being the end of top flight machinery pretty soon for Ralf if that's the case.

Ralf said that Williams' expectation of him was too high, but surely while he's earning more than his team mate, the simple expectation would be for him to do the better job.

santori · 5 Apr 2005, 22:54 (Ref:1271322)

That's not a mullet.

thejester · 5 Apr 2005, 23:58 (Ref:1271349)

Quote:

Originally Posted by santori

That's not a mullet.

I stand corrected.
A mullet would be an improvement.
Surely that would be very uncomfortable under a balaclava and helmet.
Itchy...

JeremySmith · 6 Apr 2005, 00:51 (Ref:1271374)

Quote:

Originally Posted by luke

Ralf is a great driver, on his day, even better than his brother, but he seems to get involved in those silly / avoidable collisons.
He also tends to be inconsistent, but he's put some good results in so far, although Trulli, has been so far the number 1 at Toyota.

You are kidding right luke? IMHO Ralf does not have the stuff, not even close to Michael.

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