Blame Ferrari not Michael!!!!!!

[z2252314]

"I was thinking very strongly about this," he said when asked whether he could have ignored the team orders and refused to pass Barrichello. "I was hoping that there would not be such an order.

"You sort of can see from the telemetry that on the straight when Rubens backed off, I backed off. But then he backed off even further.

"You sit outside and you have a lot of time to think about all this. We sit in there and it wasn't a long preparation. They came on the radio in the last couple of metres and said he would back off.

"I didn't feel like it. I have to be honest to say now it was probably the wrong decision to win this race. If I had the chance to turn it around, I would probably do so but I cannot now."

I believe MS. The decision came to from the top. As both he and Rubens said, it was a very late one. If Michael had known earlier, why would he have set a 1:09:01! on the 3rd last lap!! I dont care what Ferrari says, they were racing today!!! they were constantly exchanging fastest laps!! If you watch the replay you can see rubens brake, and Michael brakes as well!! then rubens slows down further and Michael takes the win. Of course, as Michael has admitted, he made the wrong choice, but he had milliseconds to think of a decision, and he went with the teams.

P.S Does anybody remember 1999 when Michael didnt want to come back to help eddies title bid. Luca got on the phone and made him drive!! How do you think Michael felt having to give the malaysian race win to Irv and possibly the title he had been working so hard for? If Michael controlled Ferrari, he never would have came back to hand eddie the win!

The decision came from the top today, and in all honesty I feel sorry for Michael as well. His reputation was hurt because of Ferrari politics. Yes he is the team leader, yes he does get more attention, but he did not order that move. That is for sure!!

[steve nielsen]

what are they were gonna do if he would have let Rubens win, fire him??

I don't think so!!

TGF is a coward if he thinks that is the case!

[Mr V]

tgf is the only driver on the grid that could get away with dis-obeying team-orders, after all, ferrari aren't going to sack him are they! he should have not overtaken rubens, so, as he did, imo, he's as much to blame as ferrari!

[Jay]

Michael did not have to move over if he did not want to.

It was Michael Schumacher behind the wheel of that car with his feet on the peddles. His position at Ferrari is such that the could stop the car at the last corner, get out, have a beer and go home and they wouldnt do a thing. He did not have to pass Rubens either.

[f1manoz]

If you believe TGF, you'll believe anything.

He was trying so hard to cover his own butt in the conference that he SHIFTED most of the blame to the team.

And I bet they were real happy about that!

[DMC]

Rubens didn't back off that much, if TGF had any honour his wheels would have been locked coming over the line!

[z2252314]

Michael has said he made the wrong choice. I am sure he regrets that!! But he did not make or want the team order!! It was made very late, and he wrongly followed it. Imagine his situation:- he is driving towards the finish line, the team tells him rubens is about to move over, and then Rubens slows down. Michael then slows down to, as if not knowing what decision to make, Rubens slows further, and Michael takes the win. He has said that he made the wrong decision!!! If he could take it back he would. My blame is at Ferrari for putting both their drivers in such a situation.

The point is Michael did not ask or want team orders. The top at Ferrari made that decision, and both drivers complied. Michael made the wrong decision, but he should never or been put in that position!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mr V]

Originally posted by f1manoz


He was trying so hard to cover his own butt in the conference that he SHIFTED most of the blame to the team.

And I bet they were real happy about that!

i'll bet mr di montezemillo and mr todt are well pleased, but what about mr brawn, he didn't get a mention! did anyone else see the toad hand ross a piece of paper shortly before the instruction came?

[Sato san]

this thread just be a joke........Michael is a fake , he changes his opinion like the wind . If he has so much pride , why did he drive past rubens.....

[Kex]

I agree it's more Ferrari than Michael.....but Michael could have done the gentlemanly thing. Perhaps that's too difficult for him to do.

[paulzinho]

Will Michael let Rubens win in Monaco then? Or will Rubens have to move over?

[Sato san]

Dont blame Ferrari .....Blame Michael !!!!!!

[EERO]

I agree with Steve, Jay and Ozman on this one.
I think this says a lot about the person that schumacher is. I believe that people who have honour will make the proper decision as second nature. Do the right thing or be damned. As I said on another thread and as Steve reitereated here, "What are they going to do, fire him???"

TGF was just putting a little spin on the decision deflecting it away from himself.

We are all responsible for our own actions and saying that "I was ordered to do it" doesn't make it right, or absolve you of responsibility.

[Liz]

Don't blame the man who pulled the trigger, blame the gun?

People, please. Let's at least try to use a little common sense here.

[DMC]

Originally posted by paulzinho
Will Michael let Rubens win in Monaco then? Or will Rubens have to move over?

Move over at Monaco? They'll make him crash out!

[z2252314]

If he has so much pride , why did he drive past rubens.....

Because he was following team orders!!! If Michel really was above Luca and Todt, then why did he come back in 99 to help eddie if he clearly did not want to?

Would Michael have been in trouble with Ferrari had he ignored the orders? Probably not! He has family like relationships with all the top men at Ferrari, but Michael has never gone against the wishes of Ferrari. In 1998, Michael was asked to replace his personal press manager, for one which better promoted "Ferrari's interests". Michael was not happy about this request, as his press manager had grown to be a close friend. However, he respected Ferrari's wishes and paid his press manager a handsome compensation for his dismissal. His press manager understood that the decision came from Ferrari and not Michael and they are still close friends today. Michaels hand was forced then as it was today. Although today he had only seconds to think about it!! Like 99 in Malaysia, and with Michaels press manager, Michael decided to follow the requests of Ferrari.

Michael made the wrong decision today as he has admitted. But I can sympathise with him, he has never gone against Ferrari and has rarely had to, but today he was asked to make a move which he did not agree with. Like before he followed Ferrari's choice. It was not the right one, but he should never have been put in that position in the first place!!

As the title says, blame Ferrari not Michael!

[Gt_R]

This is getting personal.

I am a Ferrari fan, and i must say i am very disappointed with the incident. And many Ferrari fans are too. Just take a look into tifosi-club.com and you'd not fail to see that few, if any, supported what they saw.

Blame Ferrari? I don't. Ferrari is more than just the people working for it now. Blame Michael? I don't. But i really just wished, abeit on hindsight, that he had put in more effort to not overtake.

So i don't blame anybody? Heck OF COURSE I DO.
WHOEVER MADE THIS BLOODY DECISION OUGHT TO BE PUNISHED, SACKED EVEN IF IT NEEDS TO BE. TODT? BRAWN? EVEN IF NOT SACKED, HEAVILY PUNISH THEM...IT NEEDS TO BE DONE.

And i sincerely wish, if the next race Michael is first, Rubens second, that Michael would from the bottom of his heart give Rubens back the race victory he deserves. And that none of such unneccessary decisions be made in the future.

[Liz]

Nothing is going to retreive TGF's credibility now. Forever from this date the image we will see of him is the look of shame on his face in that press conference when he realised that the flushing sound he heard was his career going right down the old porcelain facility.

Nothing he can do will ever erase the stain he has put on his name and his team -- and his racing -- today.

Thank G*D neither Enzo nor Gilles lived to see this.

[Jukebox]

This is what i have to say towards the whole situation...in another thread

Obviously, the Italian outfit does only care about TGF winning for them as titles as concerned. It made me realise that they only care about their image and since there's a gap between Barrichello's points and the two Williams .

I love the team & the car but i simply don't have any respect for the Italian management after what they did today and disgusted is what i strongly feel after witnessing the act.

Those two drivers are being paid millions to do whatever the management ask them to do and i really felt sorry for TGF & Rubens for having to be involved in such immoral decisions, and in the process ruining TGF's image for the sake of a sure championship win.

TGF could have always ignore team orders...

[Jay]

Well it's all the Tifosi lemmings that would follow a Ferrari off of a cliff that make such actions possible.

Unlike other racing series around the world, F1 and Ferrari especially don't have to worry about attracting or keeping fans. That's why F1 and Ferrari can afford to treat their supporters like money bags by shaking them dry, treating them like the scum of the earth at races and giving them **** for a product.

Ferrari Fans and Tifosi zealots, you have yourself to blame!

[z2252314]

Well Liz read this,

"I feel very sorry for Rubens and I have to say that that was the most cynical event that I've experienced in 27 years in Formula One," Head said. "I think for a team like Ferrari, when you have produced a car as brilliant as they have done, you have an obligation to Formula One and to the spectators and that is to provide a motor race.

"When we produced a car that was ahead of the others we provided some motor racing. What we saw here was a disgusting, cynical act."

But former Williams driver Damon Hill, a pundit on Sky's F1 Digital, responded by claiming that he had been asked to move over for Alain Prost.

He said: "I wonder what all that was about when I was racing with Alain Prost - it must have been an hallucination. I seem to remember helping Alain Prost to a fourth world title which required me not to race in certain circumstances."

It seems as though Damon wasnt able to fight with your beloved Alain as well!!! Believe me, this will look bad for Ferrari not Michael.

By the way Liz, how can someone so against the politics of F1 be such an avid fan of Alain Prost. His ties with Balestre are legendary. Im not going to say that Prost has no credibility, because he was and will always be a great driver. But like Michael, he was a team leader, and was given preference. Just like Rubens had to back off, so to did Damon. Ferrari made the wrong decision today.

[Liz]

Let me get this straight then. Every kind of crime is okay as long as you can point to one other person who has committed the same crime?

Why do we have a police force, a military or a court system then?

[cos]

""You sort of can see from the telemetry that on the straight when Rubens backed off, I backed off. But then he backed off even further."

yes, because all of us here have access to Ferrari's telemetry details!! Come on Michael, give us a break.

[z2252314]

Believe me liz this was no crime. It has happend before and will happen again. Team orders has ALWAYS been a part of Formula 1. Hell when Fangios car broke down, his teammate had to pit to give him his CAR!!! now hows that for team orders!!!

[DMC]

If we had access to Ferrari's we'd see their new "boat anchor" software hidden in Rubens' engine management system!