Thankyou EJ

[Rambo]

http://www.autosport.com/newsitem.asp?id=19785&s=5

I've said the same thing more than once.

[DNQ]

EJ is right. 100%. The second mike leaves that place, they'll be back to the third row of the grid...

[f1manoz]

Couldn't agree more. Schu brought in all the men he knew could do the job, and with his driving skill, Ferrari were always going to end up where they are now.

[kdr]

just wait for all the jpm lovers/tgf loathers to show up here...telling an f1 boss he doesn't know what he's talking about

[Red]

Originally posted by f1manoz
Couldn't agree more. Schu brought in all the men he knew could do the job, and with his driving skill, Ferrari were always going to end up where they are now.

I do not agree with Jordan. Actually Jean Todt brought Michael AND the rest of the team. Certainly Michael's role in the team is extremely important, if not the most important, but what Ross Brawn wanted to highlight was that it takes a team to be a winner.

PS1: I am a Schumacher fan.

PS2: To claim that Ross would not want to reckon Michael's merits is pure fantasy.

[Peter Mallett]

There can be no doubt that MS brought the whole thing together. It was he I believe who got Rory Byrne to come back from retirement.

However I think we should remember he was there before Brawn and the team wasn't as successful initially as it is now. So perhaps its a "team thing" (MS/RB/RB) more than an individual thing. This is not to take anything away from MS. Good topic though.

[Wrex]

Is it that Michael is at Ferrari, or that Ferrari have an excellent team that makes them successful. Well its alot of both.

There is no way Michael, and the team that existed there when he arrived, would be enjoying the success they have today. However, the same can be said that had the entire Ferrari team minus Michael arrived in 96 without him, Ferrari would still be looking for a reason to celebrate.

Its a little like Mick Doohan at Honda. They knew they had the best bike (it was always his teammates that finished second and third), but always kept him because of the threat he could pose in another team.

Same for Michael. If he walked across the road (ocean) to Williams, how long would it take for the BMW to start flogging the Ferrari on a consistant basis? And more importantly, how many would follow?

And thats why he gets paid the money he gets paid.

[BootsOntheSide]

I think if Michael leaves today, the team would decline, but only because of the feeling that they have achieved all they can. When a top driver leaves a team and their results subsequently decline, no one sympathises with the team. Yet when a technical director, engine supplier or other key personnel leave a team, and results decline, the driver's career can be seriously scuppered.

If you put Michael in the current Minardi, he would qualify about 14th at best in the dry, in normal conditions, on a typical track (maybe better at places like Monaco). However, untested rookie drivers in medium size teams usually do nearly as well as established team-mates. In the short-term the driver has little overall effect on the results.

However what we've seen at Ferrari has been Michael contacting the team of people he worked with at Benetton, and building his 'dream team' of people who know his style and his preferred type of car, and know his as a person, and will arrange the 'team tactics' he wants. Remember that when Senna left Lotus, the team disintegrated.

The current Ferrari though has the best or second best chassis designer, the best strategists, the most organised and one of the fastest pitcrews, and the second fastest but most reliable (of the frontrunners) engine. If the 2002 team had been Rubens and Massa / Heidfeld / Button, they would still finish 1-3 at worst in the championship assuming that Todt / Brawn / Byrne / Martinelli etc stayed.

[neilap]

As much as I hate to say it MS is at least as important as anyone in Ferrari's F1 program. It is obvious that he makes more decisions than just what happens to his car. EJ was spot on. I do not see too many other drivers on the grid with the business savy that MS has. This is why he is the number one driver. It is not just his speed.

[Dino IV]

On one of the very very rare moments that Ross doesn't mention his self-raised son ... another team's boss-with-still-a-little-lost-boy-syndrom slams him for it!

Really amazing stuff. TGF and Ross must have had some laugh about this one. And rightfully so, what a joke.

As for the discussion itself a few key-questions can be named:
1. does a team benefit from centralizing it's efforts for both car and engine?
2. did Ferrari achieve its rise from the deep because of TGF?
3. what sparked Eddie Jordan to bring this to our attention?

My 2c:
1. Yes, ofcourse. It would benefit even more if they would have the capability of competitively producing their own tires as well. Now that Ferrari is part of this discussion it can be noted that doing so succesfully by Todt was key to Ferrari's current success.
2. No, ofcourse not. TGF could have joined Ferrari at any point in history and would have met the capuccino-mentality like all Ferrari drivers before. After a short time he would have left saying 'the car drives like a truck'. Also can be noted that TGF is known for his fanatical approach to working in the team and he would have got some sparks on some areas, but given the team's working structure it wouldn't have made a significant difference. Because of his approach and desire to be a frontrunner, he could have judged that from the outside and would not have joined in the first place.
3. Dunno, he must be bored or something?

[Jukebox]

I think EJ was a bit too sensitive over what Brawn had said. Brawn was mearly suggesting that Honda should have entered F1 as a full factory team like Ferrari, Renault & Toyota if they ever want to be the WCC again.

Brawn have a point there as any radical innovative ideas of improvements can directly be done at their disposal as chassis and engines positions and what is attached to it directly are related.

Just witness Totoya and Renault...living prove of what Brawn pointed out.

[Super Tourer]

"Michael started his F1 career with me, so I know him pretty well," EJ remarked. "

One race - wasn't it....

I think this is EJ still being a little bitter over the fact that Schumacher was 'stolen' from him all those years back. Let's face it MS wouldn't have won many races in a Jordan either.

Despite his 'cheery, genial disposition, I think he is also miffed that depspite 10 years in F1, his team are still sniffing around for scrap's from the top table.

After all, what was to stop EJ wandering into the Bennetton motorhome and offering Schumacher and Ross a mega deal to join Jordan.....apart from no resources, no test track, meagre budget and technical dept?

Sour grapes!

[neilap]

Why do so many people dislike EJ? Since I am on the other side of the pond I dont get much news on the man. However, I always seem him in charity events. He is the best at handling the press, in my opinion. To me he is a breath of freash air in racing. He speaks his mind and also has "fun" with the press. An example is the last press conference where the interviewer attempted to put him in a spot by asking if the new Honda if rumors were true that the new Honda was heavier and less powerful. His reply was... That is a rumor, it is lighter and more powerful. The interviewer could go nowhere after that.

[Sato san]

EJ upsets some people on F1 as his style doesnt always follow the trend set by others . Also he does seem to sometimes say the first thing that comes into his mouth , rather than think it through .
I like EJ , he is a colourful character that brightens up the pit lane quite alot . I also lik ethe way he cant have a serious interview with John Watson with out slagging him off to his face .