Michael Schumacher's Best Teammate... Ever!

[The Moon Monkey]

Who would you vote for? These are my thoughts.

Barrichello has benefitted from Ferrari being the dominant team since 2000. But still probably best teammate along with Brundle. Plenty of flair and racecraft under the right circumstances - Silverstone 03 has saved his Ferrari career for the time being!

Irvine was not too bad overall even though he proved he was not quite No.1 material in Schuey's absence in 99. Outqualified him in their first race in 96 and I thought "here we go!" but proved to be a solid No. 2 rather than a close competitor.

Johnny Herbert was a disappointment in 95 despite two wins - never got close to Michael.

Verstappen was inexperienced and did not stand a chance.

Lehto's pre season accident (broken neck) effectively finished his F1 career. Looked awful when he raced the No. 6 Benetton.

Patrese was quite poor in 93 - retirement from F1 was the only option at the end of the season (a shame as I was a big Patrese fan)

I always thought Martin Brundle did really well in 1992 (in the races that is - not that close in qualifying though) and would be on a par with Barrichello as best teammate Schumacher has had.

Piquet shaped up pretty well in those last few races in 91.

De Cesaris only raced with him for one race - Spa 91 - where it all started.

[Mr V]

This will be a no brainer imo due to the fact that Rubens has had the best Ferrari so allowed him to get closer to Michael. It would have been interesting if all the team-mates had had a car as good as Rubens, then we would have had a level playing field. I just wonder if Rubens would still have been his best team mate had he had to put up with the earlier Ferrari's that Eddie had, or indeed a Benetton like some of the others.

[darcym]

Irvine without question

Great driving, never complained or hid his No2 status. Worked hard to develop the Ferrari into what is now.

[BootsOntheSide]

I don't think anyone has had real support from their team in terms of putting up a concerted challenge to Michael. However, i don't think anyone has ever signed the best availbale driver to go alongside Michael, at least since 1994.

Herbert got minimal support form Benetton and was often lef tot help Michael with setups, and Barrichello hasn't been allowed to take the results he deserved on occasion.

I agree that Irvine came up short in 1999, but he did uphold Ferrari honour respectably in 1999, in a car which wasn't as good as the McLaren. His win in Austria was well-judged and impressive.

Brundle probably taught Michael a lot, given teh experience gulf between tehm, but ultiamtely was shown up by him. On raceday he was impressive, and scored a solid string of finishes, but he was lamost inevitably slower than Michael, even then.

My choice would be Rubens, because no-one else has consistantly been on simialr pace, let alone outpacing him more than once in a season. Can any other team-mate boast drives like Hockenheim 2000, Austria 2002 or SIlvestone this year?

[The Moon Monkey]

agreed, one could argue that Ferrari were not quite as competitive when Irvine drove for them but even so, I don't think I ever saw anything from Irvine which could match Barrichello's performance at Silverstone this year. And with Irvine, I always go back to his performance at Suzuka 99 - when it really mattered he was just not good enough...

[darcym]

I disagree, his performance at Suzuka 97 was out standing, a great personal drive and a great team drive. His Drive in Oz 99 to take his first win, was a real effort (ok some people dropped off) but he soaked up pressure and pulled off the win. He was exceptional at Silverstone in 99 marred by his team mate going off, and David Coulthards excellent drive. to put in a Magical drive you don't have to win.

I really think he was the best team mate.

He never moanded and complained or put on the sulky face in press conferences.He was open about being the number 2. He drove to get the most HE could get at the team, while also respecting his position in the team. He moved Ferrari development on with Shumacher to be the force it is now. When given the chance he won (he also threw some chances away) as an overall package, not just driving he wins hands down.

[bradenc]

Brundle, the man is a legend!

[ralf fan]

i think Irvine.

[Gore]

As a big Rubens fan since he started in F1, I have to pick him, but must say I expected more when he went to Ferrari--up until last season he was looking pretty poor compared to Schumacher. The handful of races he has made Michael look ordinary are more than any other team mate has managed, though.

I've been meaning for the last few months to sit down and look at the distribution of qualifying and fastest race lap differences between a) Irvine and Schu, and b) Barrichello and Schu. I'm pretty sure RB would come out ahead (ie. closer on average), but until either I finish my darned dissertation and have time to spare, or someone else does the math for me that's just based on my memory of how often it seemed that Irvine was a long way off his team mate.

Not sure I agree that Barrichello has been flattered relative to Schuey by better cars than earlier team mates had to deal with. A quick car is by no means an easier car in which to find and drive on the limit than a slower car--I remember Damon Hill making that point about the Williams he drove. The only advantage Ferrari's recent form has given Barry has been that if he is half a second down on Schuey there will be fewer cars between them on the grid than there would have been with the same difference in '96 or '97 when the Ferrari's would qualify lower down--but this would not be a problem looking at raw lap times.

[Yoong Montoya]

Originally posted by BootsOntheSide
My choice would be Rubens, because no-one else has consistantly been on simialr pace, let alone outpacing him more than once in a season. Can any other team-mate boast drives like Hockenheim 2000, Austria 2002 or SIlvestone this year?

Just wondering, would Nurburgring 2002 be worth considering as a good drive for Rubens? I think it's a bit underrated. I think it was every bit as good as Austria. Where else has Michael spun off trying to catch Rubens? Not even Austria 2002

[krt917]

I would probably pick Rubens because he's had days where he has been as good/better than Michael and noone else really did (Eddie's drive at Suzuka '97 was impressive, but it was under odd circumstances, due to JV!). I think the F2002 allowed him to get closer - a faster car doesn't always mean one that is more easy to drive or set-up, but I think it did in this case. Generally, the difference between a great driver and a very good driver tends to be bigger when the car is not so good.

Most of the time Eddie was quite well of off the pace; I don't remember ever thinking that Irvine could make Michael look anything less than impressive. As far as the testing goes, I seem to recall that Michael suggested he was happier having Rubens help develop the car than Eddie, though I'm not sure on what basis he said that.

Having said all that, I also have a soft spot for Martin and I REALLY wish Benetton had kept him on in 1993.

[paulzinho]

Rubens

[beau]

Originally posted by The Moon Monkey



Verstappen was inexperienced and did not stand a chance.

and nealy ten years later he's driving For MINARDI



i go for Irvine or Barrichello

[f1manoz]

Brundle. He was closer to TGF than anyone else has managed since. He also taught the German quite a bit from his wealth of experience. That's one of the reasons he was chosen by Walkinshaw.

[RWC]

De cesaris was trying hard that year but michael quite easily put him in the shade judging from his performance both in qual/race and the pit debriefs(read the story in f1 racing mag-very enlightening)

I know nothing about him V piquet

I allways look back at the times he was with brundle and think 'hmm,martin did not bad'.Shuey was obviously faster but MB used all his experience to make up where he could.

Patrese was there purely for the sponsors.He faced reality and did as good as he could.I can't remember any moaning like herbert or delusions of granduer such as coulthard permanantly has.

Poor jos had little hope being thrown in with a by now awsomely fast shuey.It's odd to think back at the fresh fast innocent Jos compared to the streetfighter of today...

Johnny herbert thought he had a serious chance (like all drivers should)but when it turned out that he was just sloooooow he *****ed and complained way too much.Sure he didn't get the support at all times that shuey got ,but..he had the same car and didn't even come CLOSE for goodness sakes!!
I could never cope with johnny's whining and talking himself up after that.

Irvine had a bad start compared to rhubins.That 96 ferrari truck was a shocker and really showed the difference between michael and anyone else.However i do think ruby very slightly better-if just for the fact that he is one of those drivers that you can trust not to throw it off the road in the wet.

Who was best?I don't really care...put a real driver in the car stupid furrari!!!

[Mattracer]

As a human interest story, Irvine. For solid but unspectacular results, Barrichello.

Ferrari has done well with both of them Irvine's persona endeared many more to the Ferrari legend with his lifestyle and wealth. Barrichello? Totally different character to Irvine but has got results for the team.

[Irv the Swerve]

They all have their merits in different ways, but none could hold a candle to Mick.

Only thing about Rubens is that there is no way he would have survived in the difficult environment that was Ferrari in 96,97,98. He is too weak in the head to be able to take breaking down all the time, not getting any testing and getting hammered all the time. I think he would have been crushed by that. That said, he can hold his own on the grid at the moment, without ever being seriously considered for the championship. In a way, both Irvine and Barrichello were both in Ferrari at the right time considering their relative strengths and weaknesses.

If Eddie were there now, there is no way on earth he would be playing the number 2 in a car that can win everytime it leaves the garage (F2002 at least), also, I think he would have won as many if not more races than Rubens in the same spell, but would that be good for the team - not in their eyes. Rubens on the other hand is a great man when things are going well, but wait until things turn even a tiny bit sour at the red lads - Rubens will be first to the door. Not the man to have in a crisis.

Herbert won too races fair enough, but nobody was too bothered about how well he did against Mick, Verstappen was blown away, but I think Brundle did a serious job which is sometimes overlooked.

[DNQ]

Brundle & Barrichello

[climb]

There is a shadow on Irvine profile:
In 1999 when Salo replaced injured MS, he would have easily won at his first race on the rosse, unless team orders let Eddie pass and win.
Being outperformed by an unexperienced rookie (for the car) who, in the rest of his career, has shown he's not a rocket, well it's a little bit embarasing, i guess...

[Sato san]

It has to be Martin Brundle for me .

[tally-bally-ho]

Brundle comes out on top in comparison to MS, but that was before the team really became organised around Michael and only Michael. Piquet's head was done in by MS in their first race as team mates at Monza. Patrese did alright but by then it was too late, Michael ran the team from 93 onwards. Verstappen was never going to be a massive threat. With Herbert, the story is that all was rosy until he got very close to outperforming Michael in a pre season test, then suddenly there was no flow of data from Michael to Herbert, all agreed by Briatore. Obviously Ferrari were/are even more MS biased so I don't see how Irvine or Barrichello had the opportunity to be his best team mate.

[darcym]

Climb, surley then in 69 shumacher had miles of testing in the 96 ferrari, Irvine had not even sat in it before Oz, yet he out qualified Shumacher does this show Shumacher up...I think not. 1 off bad qualifying or race does not a bad driver make. I lost track of how many times Irivne moved over for Shumacher, so I think your comment about Salo going well (well done Mika) and Irvine having a bad race, does not really taint eddies Profile.

[enemy-ace]

Jean Todt

[Liz]

I go with Willi Webber. His negotiation of contracts that force TGF's teammates to bow to him have considerably eased TGF's way, and no doubt his and Jean Todt and Brawn's effort to convince the authorities that Ferrari Can Do No Wrong have helped him too.

As far as on the track, we will never know, as TGF is and always has been afraid to compete with anyone in his own garage. Just ask anyone who ever drove with him and watch the steam come out their ears. (Except Irvine, who will say right out what actually happened.)

[Bononi]

Please define the term "teammate" to aplly to TGF...