Bleh @ this thread! And bleh @ all people who love to slander.. I don't care how old you are, Grow up! I just skimmed through this thread so im not directing this towards someone in particular, but the general atmosphere of the thread.
Does anyone actually think that Schumacher and/or Senna won their respective WDC's because they cheated? Or did they win because of their massive true raw talent that was on a level of its own in their respective era? I became a fan of ayrton senna before I were old enough to understand the concept of "cheating". I merely cheered for in my opinon the fastest and most passionate and exciting driver. Though over the years as I grew up, watching more or less every single race and clip of Senna, I really can't see how anyone could call him a cheat, unless they are only assuming things after not having seen the entire "story"/picture of his endeavors. Senna was always very open and honest to what his motives and actions were. You can't call someone a cheat unless he is doing something "wrong" secretly, which was never the case with senna.
And about Schumacher, he was in my opinion undoubtedly the fastest driver on the track after senna died in 1994, though it took a few years before I started cheering for him because I stopped following the sport actively for a few years. And also because I cheered for Hakkinen who was a country neighbour. There has been alot of headlines about Schumacher and his "ethics" over the years but I never felt he was ever THAT bad. I think the British media sometimes angle things too much. And even if they do not, it is something worth giving a thought to. Benetons alleged illegal "traction control" is something you can't blame Schumacher for. No driver in that race seat would protest and refuse to drive the car if they suspected something was not ok. The only real incident were you could accuse him of cheating is in monaco were he parked in the middle of the track to end qualify prematurely while he still had pole. Even if nobody could say 100% that this was the case, I also believe he did it on purpose and is his only real blip through his career. Though he WAS disqualified for it and got his punishment so no need to hold it against him as he didn't benefit from it in the end.
I am not saying you have to like any of them, but calling them cheat is just immature. We have FIA and its regulations for a reason and I like to blame the system rather than the driver.
Sorry for this semi Off Topic post but I had to write something to place at the other end of the "scale" to even things up a bit.
A last note, every current driver on the grid are there because they have been among the best of the best in previous formulas and they all rock! I think people do not always realize how little a few hundreds or tenths or even seconds is over a lap. Any of us being put in one of those cars would probably be a minute of pace at the best. I'd love to see less slander and more admiration. And if you can't admire, keep it to your self if you may. At least try to be mature about it and acknowledge that we are all different. But this is the 21st century so no need to be cavemen about it.
I respect all your views on here, please respect mine