Ferrari arrogance to blame for poor start, says Ralf

[BootsOntheSide]

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/050321/2/9upk.html

Originally Posted by Ralf

Ferrari's poor start to the Formula One season is down to the Italian team's arrogance, according to German driver Ralf Schumacher.

"Ferrari have brought this on themselves," Schumacher, brother of Ferrari driver and seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher, told Germany's mass circulation Bild newspaper.
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"How can they be so arrogant as to start the season with the old car? On top of that, they're going it alone with their own tyre contract."

Is this really fair? By delaying the launch of the new car, they should be able to ensure that it's as good as possible, and the lack of points so far has been as much down to circumstances as anything. Toyota have altered their car several times in the pre-season, and probably only got it at a podium-worthy state this early because they were able to give up on last year before the end of the season. I can't help but suspect that Ralf is attempting to detract from his own disappointing start to the season.

[Wrex]

I like Pitpass' comments.

"What is so ironic is he is driving for a team that previously also started a season with an 'old car'.

Albeit that of a rival team, namely Ferrari"

[mac]

Just shut up Ralf.

You may be wondering which way the other red cars went when the F2005 hits the track.

[Adam43]

Ralf is class, isn't he? He just can't help himself.

I guess there might be something in it. This year's regulation changes were biggger than the previous years when they started with the old car.

[Marlboro man]

If there was a normal qualifing in Melbourne, there would be no reason to assume Ferrari couldn't win the race or at least get on the podium.
In Malaysia the heat was a big problem and they also never said they would win races with the F2004M. The aim was to score points, nothing more and nothing less. And as far as I now they did that.

I suspect that Ralfs words are a little bit twisted by the German media.

[Raven]

Let's not forget that Barrichello raced from 11th to 2nd in Australia, in the F2004. Nothing shabby about that.

The advantage was exaggerated somewhat in Malaysia because of the heat - which has always favoured Michelin. The hotter it gets, the more it plays into their hands.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Ferrari win more races than anyone else this year. In fact, I expect it.

[Testure]

Maybe not arrogance, but misplaced confidence? And it's certainly true that Ferrari's close relationship with Bridgestone is perhaps inhibiting their ability to develop the tyres.

The German media seems to be particularly hard on the Schumacher brothers lately. I guess every country is the same with their home-grown drivers

[JeremySmith]

You know Ralf it is very hard to put the toothpaste back into the tube...Just watch your brother in the 2005 Ferrari...

[Adam43]

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

I guess there might be something in it.

When I said this I meant there might be something in that it was a mistake to stick with the old car, rather than the arrogance bit.

I'm sure they calculated the best option, when the new car comes out we shall have a clearer idea.

As this is the longest F1 season (19 races), they'll have more time to get it back.

[joe rossi]

Why can't they get a new car out in time like all the other teams? It is arrogance in a way, because they assume their old car is so superior that they can run it longer while the others play catch up. With the big rule changes this year, this attitude has come back to bite them. They had the same amount of time as all the other teams, and they certainly had the budget, but they chose not to work to the same deadline as the other teams.
Also the cosy cosy relationship with Bridgestone has come back to haunt them, as all the other Bridgestone teams saw there was no benefit in playing second fiddle in tyre evolutions to Ferrari. All their development work would first benefit Ferrari before themselves, so why bother? It's ironic that Jean Todt is now whinging that they are the only team developing Bridgestone, when if they had played fairer in previous years there would still be other teams on Bridgestone.
Ferrari have only themselves to blame.

[pole2pole]

I think there is alot of truth in what Ralf has said. Like here is a team that wiped the floor with everyone, goodness knows how many records have been rewrote by them and now they are fighting to get a few points. They have started previous seasons with an updated version of the previous years car and it worked in fact it was incredible. It was like ferrari where a season ahead as for as performance and development was concerned. This time round with the new 2005 regs ferrari have got it wrong big time especially in the tyre department and I bet they are in a state of shock. Remember before the season started in this forum we spoke about how brigdestone would struggle dew to the massive difference in testing mileage to the michelins.......We seen this coming but its like ferrari didn't. Alot of people seem to think that the f2005 will be the answer to all there problems....no chance. Ferrari and bridgstone should have been testing there new 05 tyres before last season finished and maybe they would not be in the predicament they find themselves in at the moment

[N I Tram]

Don't write Ferrari off until the new car arrives, and we see the tyres in less hot conditions. At the end of 2004 they didn't know the exact 2005 regulations, or how to develop for them. As so often in teh past they've taken the conscious decision to take a little bit longer adjusting to and udnerstanding the 2005 regulations - sacrificing results in 2 or 4 races out of 19 means very little.

Ralf's always shouting his mouth off without thinking, and the thing is, he's one of only 2 drivers who've been unequivocably trounced by their team-mate so far this season, and I've seen no criticism of him for it (except for this thread, as a sideline to the main comments).

[Logrence]

Whoa, essays.

Ralf can't keep his mouth shut when someone points a microphone at him...RTL have contracts with the Schumacher brothers to get interviews - Michael seems charismatic and full of humour in comparison.

[Rich R]

i didn't see any arrogance from ferrari regarding running a revised car, the impression i got was they were expecting to be behind teams who had cars made for the new regs, but that delaying the new car would pay off when the f2005 hit the track.

[Kicking-back]

Ralf's essentially right.

[BootsOntheSide]

Originally Posted by Rich R

i didn't see any arrogance from ferrari regarding running a revised car, the impression i got was they were expecting to be behind teams who had cars made for the new regs, but that delaying the new car would pay off when the f2005 hit the track.

This is my understanding of the situation. By considering bringing the F2005 to Bahrain, they have essentially admitted a weakness and looked at working around it despite potential embarassment - that doesn't seem like the action of an arrogant organisation.

[Kicking-back]

They were arrogant in the first place - but have realised they were wrong and are taking action.

[BootsOntheSide]

I don't even think arrogance was behind it - they had no genuine reason to expect such a huge gap to be closed, especially as they did test the revised 2004 car several times. If they've been arrogant so far, it was in their testing last week, when the rules stated this wasn't allowed.

[joe rossi]

Originally Posted by BootsOntheSide

I don't even think arrogance was behind it - they had no genuine reason to expect such a huge gap to be closed, especially as they did test the revised 2004 car several times. If they've been arrogant so far, it was in their testing last week, when the rules stated this wasn't allowed.

But that's the whole point about the arrogance isn't it? they assumed that nobody would be able to close the gap to them, and they have. Ferrari had plenty of time to bring out a new car at the beginning of the year but didn't, for reasons best known to themselves, so now they are suffering.

[avsfan733]

Originally Posted by Wrex

I like Pitpass' comments.
"What is so ironic is he is driving for a team that previously also started a season with an 'old car'.
Albeit that of a rival team, namely Ferrari"

honestly I don't consider it arrogance. It worked last year. Arrogant would be saying we're not makign a new car at all. All the other teams have limited testing time between the end of the winter test ban and the start of the season. Ferrari have decided to not bring the car out until its ready because its easier to improve it given only its comparison versus the clock. The clock doesn't lie. I doubt they assumed nobody would close the gap...They just made there choice and are reacting to how it played out...is Minardi arrogant for waiting? they could have brought the car out without sufficient development time but they aren't

[climb]

Well I dont' think why running an un competitive car should be judged arrogant. (BTW IMHO Ralf is the last who can afford moral lessons about arrogance..)
What coud have we said last year about most Ferrari's competitors, who placed on the track just awful cars, albeit brand-new?

Instead of bashing Ferrari, I'd enjoy some relief, as long as it lasts

[joe rossi]

Originally Posted by avsfan733

...is Minardi arrogant for waiting? they could have brought the car out without sufficient development time but they aren't

Minardi didn't even know if they would have an engine until November, so it's hardly fair to blame them for a slow development schedule. They couldn't design a car not knowing which engine would be in the back, could they? Ferrari had as much time as Williams, Renault and McLaren, and chose not to develop at the same rate.

[Glen]

It isn't arrogance at all - the tyres are to blame, and Bridgestone have admitted such.

In a cool race the F2004M is decent enough to score points and podiums, which would be enough for four races to stop the pack running away from them. It is the heat that exposes their vulnerability, and the new car can't do anything much to address that issue.

[Inigo Montoya]

Well, they did say that the new car is significantly gentler on the tyres.

[Glen]

Yep - I guess I should have said that, even though tyre usage is a priority in the design of the new car, Ferrari probaby can't make back enough of the difference.

Further on that point - the Bridgestone has suffered for a year or more with poor qualifying performance relative to the French brand and presumably the F2004 gets more heat into its tyres than would otherwise be ideal to counteract this quality - they would previously tend to run shorter stints to compensate, which is of course no longer an option. It will take a major shift in the design philosophy at Bridgestone to do anything about this, so even if the new Ferrari is softer on the tyres it will be stuck with the same qualifying dilema.