Race pace (endurance) he is fit enough and is just as race ready as Nico, one lap pace is 3 tenths off- his expertise and knowledge is priceless. The only thing lacking is one lap pace, can you really - in your heart - blame him. Please don't lie.
I was not commenting on whether I think he is still good enough for F1 or not. I was just saying that you can't use his age as a way of compensating for any lack of performance he may or may not have, because if his age is an issue then he should not be in F1.
Nothing aimed at you, just at anyone on here doubting his performances in 2011. That stat is very valuable to prove that his age is not holding him back from challenging the 23 younger drivers around him, specifications of a driver with very high driving skill and fitness.
F1 is F1. It is a competitive sport and makes no allowance for age. If someone thinks their advancing years are a problem, that's their problem; but as far as I am aware, even Schumacher doesn't use this as an excuse for his performances! If someone can't cut it, that's the end of it (or at least, it would be if some teams weren't prepared to make an exception - which I sympathise with because of the financial attractiveness of big sponsors). Whilst one might admire the achievements of an old driver, what matters is what they do on track. And whether one-legged, one-handed or blindfolded; aged 10, 50 or 90; all that matters is their driving.
Just to highlight a couple of other qualifying differences: Team Lotus: Heikki Kovalainen 16-2 Jarno Trulli -0.475s Virgin: Timo Glock 14-4 Jerome D'Ambrosio -0.36s In both cases, especially Heikki, thats massively dominant, nearly a full half second! Clearly two drivers maxing their cars out there, I'd love to see them both in better cars, although I fear in both cases that'll only happen if Caterham and Marussia respectively improve dramatically.
Yes. Both are punching well above their weight. Both did well on Sunday but I was particularly impressed with Glock (who I listed as one of my drivers of the day in this forum): fighting with Renault's from the seat of a Virgin was quite something!
I'm no fan of the old boy - as some of you will know, but he HAS been driving pretty well in many races. I'm not convinced he has done enough to stay on, and this weekend rather convinced me. Its a shame he is spoiling things for his large fanbase. The memories are getting a bit tarnished. Go while you can keep your head up. The current crop of drivers and leading cars are just too good.
