BitOT: Schumacher's Leg :-(

Damn. Michael Schumacher's chances must surely be over now, for 1999, and for Ferrai. Eddie Irvine does a good job, but without Schumacher, Ferrari cannot realistically take on Mclaren. Hopefully Coulthard can continue his current form and make a fight out of this years championship. It's wouldn't be impossible for Hakkinen to retire from the next few races and score nothing before Schumacher is fit enough to return though, would it? :-) Maybe Irvine can run him off the road...<G> Rob Swindells 4th in Goldline Bearing FFord Championship (12 Points); 8 points behined Championship Leader (as of round 3 of 6)

It's far too soon to say that he'll be out of the car in two weeks at Austria. I suspect that with braces or a cast of some sort he would be able to drive, but if he had another crash, then what? So we'll have to wait and see. His right leg was broken in two places, and he's gone in for surgery already, so perhaps by this time next week a decision can be made....

> Eddie Irvine does a good job, but without Schumacher, Ferrari cannot > realistically take on Mclaren. Irvine would have had Coultard for lunch if his fuel man wouldn't have taken 7 seconds to get the hose connected! That cost him the race today. As for future events, you may be correct... David L. Cook

Does someone allready know what kind of technical failure Schumacher had? There were different stories about this... Andre

Quoted text (8 lines)

>> Eddie Irvine does a good job, but without Schumacher, Ferrari cannot >> realistically take on Mclaren. >Irvine would have had Coultard for lunch if his fuel man wouldn't have >taken 7 seconds to get the hose connected! That cost him the race today. >As for future events, you may be correct... >David L. Cook

Cue a spoiler notation whine.... <g> Jan. ------

Here in Austria they said that the gas pedal probably got stuck at full speed... but they don't know either. Dex

I've also heard that his steering failed, although it wouldn't had made any difference at that speed anyway, not in the g/t. I think he just locked up - even Schumacher makes mistakes.

Quoted text (21 lines)

> Does someone allready know what kind of technical failure Schumacher > had? There were different stories about this... > Andre > >> Eddie Irvine does a good job, but without Schumacher, Ferrari cannot > >> realistically take on Mclaren. > >Irvine would have had Coultard for lunch if his fuel man wouldn't have > >taken 7 seconds to get the hose connected! That cost him the race today. > >As for future events, you may be correct... > >David L. Cook

Oh ***! Frightfully sorry. I've never done that before. I must be PUNISHED. Punsih me. Please. Can someone punish me? Rob Swindells 4th in Goldline Bearing FFord Championship (12 Points); 8 points behined Championship Leader (as of round 3 of 6)

That was what it looked like to me. But here in Sweden they seem to think it was the rear brakes failing. I've heard people say the steering broke too... Either way, it is very bad for Formula One... :(( -- Roland

The rear tires were clearly still running at full force, when his fronts were locked up, which would be an indication that the throttle stuck wide open...

> > Here in Austria they said that the gas pedal probably got stuck at full > >speed... but they don't know either. > That was what it looked like to me. But here in Sweden they seem to think it > was the rear brakes failing. I've heard people say the steering broke too... Here in Holland, they said they had confirmation from Ferrari that the steering was OK. The rearwheels were still turning when the frontwheels were already locked. So it seems that either the rear brakes failed or the throttle was stuck. IMO, if it was only the rear brakes refused, the front brakes should be able to decrease speed consideravly, which was not the case. For me, this leaves a defective throttle linkage as the most probable cause of the accident. Anyway, I am curious: 1. who will be in the Ferrari***pit in the German GP. My guess is that they borrow Trulli from Prost. If he does a good job, he might replace Irvine next year 2. if Irvine will be supported in the title hunt when he has a 15-point lead over Schumacher when Schumacher returns 3.what kind of new safety-regulations will be anounced. grtngs, hgrm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Han Monsees Ornstein Laboratorium kamer 028 tel: 030-2532328 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Charlie was a chemist, but Charlie is no more. For what he thought was H2O, was H2SO4. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jean Todt said the rear brakes didn't work. My question is why didn't he downshift to slow down or even blow the engine? Sure it costs money, but if you can't slow what else can you do other than hit a wall? I would rather ruin an engine, hitting a wall head-on at 230kmph just is pretty freaky. > Does someone allready know what kind of technical failure Schumacher > had? There were different stories about this... > Andre -- Jon Van Ginneken "I try to do my best every day. If, at the end of the day I know I did the best job I could do, I am satisfied." --Alex Zanardi

punish! Punish! PUNISH! PUUUNIIISHH!!!!!

So you don't belive in good and bad things? It's all the same? Bullshit! This is like saying it doesn't matter if it's Grand Prix Legends of Official Formula 1 I am playing! Borut

Quoted text (10 lines)

> Why is it "very bad for Formula One"? > For F1 in general or for the fact that he (Schumacher) will be out of > several races and therefore has no chance of winning the Championship? > In either case....that's life. It's neither good nor bad, just "is". > > > Here in Austria they said that the gas pedal probably got stuck at

full > > >speed... but they don't know either. > > That was what it looked like to me. But here in Sweden they seem to think

Quoted text (7 lines)

> it > > was the rear brakes failing. I've heard people say the steering broke > too... > > Either way, it is very bad for Formula One... :(( > > -- Roland

yes, Schumacher makes mistakes but not this one! Borut

Count the time from front brakes locking until the impact and you'll notice that poor Schumy didn't have that much time to think, I think its about 2 seconds. 140mph -> 0mph in about 2 seconds...thank god for that tyre wall, i hate to think what we would have seen happen if the tyres weren't there, he was very lucky to get away with those 'minor' injuries (Minor compared to losing your legs, you can fix a broken leg). > Jean Todt said the rear brakes didn't work. > My question is why didn't he downshift to slow down or even blow the engine? > Sure it costs money, but if you can't slow what else can you do other than hit > a wall? I would rather ruin an engine, hitting a wall head-on at 230kmph just

Quoted text (18 lines)

> is pretty freaky. > > Does someone allready know what kind of technical failure Schumacher > > had? There were different stories about this... > > Andre > -- > Jon Van Ginneken > "I try to do my best every day. If, at the end of the day > I know I did the best job I could do, I am satisfied." > --Alex Zanardi

Well, it's just a stupid theory by someone who knows exactly nothing about racing (that's me), but anyways that's my theory: When you watch the replay of the crash from the helicopter cam, you can see that Schumacher was _very_ close to Irvine's Ferrari (I hope I didn't mix the names) at the straight, just before he took over. It seems like he nearly collided with him, what I think would have happened, if Irvine hadn't pulled to the left and let Schumacher pass. I think the throttle got stuck before he passed Irvine, but he didn't realize it at that time. Right after passing Irvine, he must have noticed, that something wasn't right, because he locked the wheels _very_ early. I think they normally start braking at the point where he already locked, so he must have noticed it long before. Well, that's my theory, it's probably all wrong, but for me it's reasonable. BTW, I don't think that the steering broke, because here in Austria they said that he didn't turn the wheels to avoid rolling over, although I don't think that that would have happened, and if, it would have been less dangerous, because there wouldn't have been such a hard impact. All in all, I'm very interested about what Schumacher will tell us about the crash when he has recovered.... Greets! Dex

Personally I think *any* crash where a driver is injured is very bad for Formula 1. In this specific case there was a close fight for the championship between Schumacher and Hakkinen which if Schumacher is out for a few races, Mika will now runaway with, even today despite Mika's bad luck he was almost a full second faster than anyone on the track, at least it looks like we will see a great fight between Coulthart, Irvine and Frentzen. Just to keep this on topic, wouldn't it be great to run the new Silverstone configuration in GPL?! there's a section of consecutive fast corners that looks like it would be a blast with the new FF! Seeyas on the track. --John (Joao) Silva

Quoted text (20 lines)

>Why is it "very bad for Formula One"? >For F1 in general or for the fact that he (Schumacher) will be out of >several races and therefore has no chance of winning the Championship? >In either case....that's life. It's neither good nor bad, just "is". >> > Here in Austria they said that the gas pedal probably got stuck at full >> >speed... but they don't know either. >> That was what it looked like to me. But here in Sweden they seem to think >it >> was the rear brakes failing. I've heard people say the steering broke >too... >> Either way, it is very bad for Formula One... :(( >> -- Roland

Hardly seven seconds - one or two maybe, and that because Irvine messed up and overshot his mark. In any case Coulthard was easily the quicker in the final stint and could adjust the gap at will. Cheers! John

Why is it "very bad for Formula One"? For F1 in general or for the fact that he (Schumacher) will be out of several races and therefore has no chance of winning the Championship? In either case....that's life. It's neither good nor bad, just "is".

John, I watched the replay. It took 7 seconds for them to get the fuel hose on. I think the total stop was something like 12 seconds... wrote...

Quoted text (10 lines)

> >Irvine would have had Coultard for lunch if his fuel man wouldn't have > >taken 7 seconds to get the hose connected! That cost him the race today. > >As for future events, you may be correct... > Hardly seven seconds - one or two maybe, and that because Irvine > messed up and overshot his mark. In any case Coulthard was easily the > quicker in the final stint and could adjust the gap at will. > Cheers! > John

Sorry Rob.... not aimed at you personally, just a jab at the tendencies within this ng... ;-) Jan. ------

>Does someone allready know what kind of technical failure Schumacher >had? There were different stories about this... Ferrari says it was a failure of rear brakes, but from the camera car, it is possible to see that Michael turns the wheel, but the front wheels remain pointed in the straight direction, so it is possible to think about some kind of steering failure -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Home-page : http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/7917 Il sito di ISF1mod : http://www.blissett.com/isf1/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------

On Mon, 12 Jul 1999 07:39:41 +1000, "Bruce Kennewell" >Why is it "very bad for Formula One"? >For F1 in general or for the fact that he (Schumacher) will be out of >several races and therefore has no chance of winning the Championship? >In either case....that's life. It's neither good nor bad, just "is". It is anyway a bad day, for Formula One and for motor races, as it is for all the times when a driver is injured in an accident. I know it is a part of the game, but it is always a bad moment when we see this kind of accidents, no matter which driver is involved. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Home-page : http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/7917 Il sito di ISF1mod : http://www.blissett.com/isf1/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, if the failure was on therear brakes, Schumacher could have put the car in a spin, to decrease speed, but he couldn't even if he tried to turn the car for the Stowe, so I think that some failure in the steering is also possible. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- Home-page : http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/7917 Il sito di ISF1mod : http://www.blissett.com/isf1/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------