rec.autos.simulators

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Gunnar
    #31 SUCKS#015 Tupperware MC#002 DoD#0x1B DoDRT#003 DoD:CT#4,8 Kibo: 2
                                     FJ?SE!

I'm not going to downplay MS's ability but he wins because:

1) he's a great (some say the best ever) driver
2) he has the best car

He would not win in an Arrows or Minardi unless disaster struck the rest of
the field. The best driver in the world can only get so much out of a "dog"
car.

Jacques Villeneuve went from Williams to BAR, and has had a horrible time.

Damon Hill went from Williams to Arrows, and had a tough time but nearly won
the 97 Hungarian GP, which would have been one of the all time shock
results.

Okay, so the Arrows doesn't have top speed but aren't all races won in
the turns?  Couldn't Arrows with a great driver, do well in a track
will lots of turns and little straights?  They'd probably do bad at
the Hock and Indianapolis because of lack of HP.

Heckler

Heckler

SB

Arrows is using the Jaguar/Cosworth motor this year, just as the Jaguar
team.
Last year Arrwos used the asiatech engine which is in the Minardi this year.

Eddy

http://hetis.achterdepc.nl/

that has the 2001-spec Ferrari engines.  Plus; it's tough to
downforce they have on for a given session.  The cars that

thx,

SB

maybe.  but I don't think there are any such tracks in F1. :)

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Gunnar
    #31 SUCKS#015 Tupperware MC#002 DoD#0x1B DoDRT#003 DoD:CT#4,8 Kibo: 2
                                silence is FOO!

in F1, fer sure.

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Gunnar
    #31 SUCKS#015 Tupperware MC#002 DoD#0x1B DoDRT#003 DoD:CT#4,8 Kibo: 2
                                silence is FOO!

Watch the upcoming race in Brazil - a track with a very long straight.  There's
a good chance that Schumacher will put the Ferrari on pole, but I'll bet that
the Williams will be able to get by on that straight and hold him off (that was
pretty much the scenario last year, until Montoya was rear-ended by
Verstappen). This is assuming that Ferrari runs the F12001.

That being said, horsepower is only half the battle. At many races your
statement about the race being won in the turns is more or less true - Monaco
and Hungary being prime examples.  But to be good in those turns you need to
have a really well-designed car (aerodynamically).  But the more powerful your
engine, the more wing you can run, creating more grip.  Arrows, by the way, has
a pretty poor chassis, and isn't good in the turns at all (at least that was
true last year).

As far as drivers winning in lesser cars ... it can be done, but only to an
extent. Nobody could win a race in a Minardi. When Schumacher went to Ferrari
in 1996, the car was decidedly second rate (teammate Eddie Irvine referred to
it as a brick).  Schumacher was able to win three races that year - two of them
in the rain (brilliant drive at Spain) and one at Monza, thanks to attrition
(remember the incredibly bone-headed decision to put loose tires on the inside
of the chicanes to prevent straight-lining?).  Most of the surprising results
in the past few years have been in the rain - where the car is less of a factor
and the attrition is so high (Panis in the Ligier in Monaco in 1996, Herbert in
the Stewart in 1999, etc.). A great driver can win in the rain in a car not
capable of winning in the dry (not that I consider Panis or Herbert in that
category - their wins were more due to attrition).  A great driver could
probably scrape a win or two here and there in a Sauber or a Renault at a track
like Monaco or Hungary or in the rain.

Dave Ewing

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David A. Ewing

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