Ralf's gone crazy!! Or has he..?

[Osella]

Well, just read an apparent quote from Ralf Schumacher stating that he thinks that apart from Alonso and Raikkonen, he has 'no reason to hide behind anybody' (else).

Well, when I read the hyperbolic title (Ralf think's he's one of F1's top three) I thought he'd lost the plot, but his comments provoke a bit more thought...

Who the hell else is there!?! Fisichella? Ralf and he were pretty equal and he's never really going to go anywhere nowadays!
But then again, neither is Ralf (and I like, yes, like the guy!), by the same token (sorry Pino!), neither is Trulli, and personally I'd say Ralf and Jarno are pretty even on balance over a season.
Virtually everyone else in in the same boat(worryingly heading towards has-beens), or a rookie!

I think Ralf is completely delusional when he says Toyota's F1 title is only a matter of time (except when F1 becomes too expensive and all the manufacturers leave and Toyota wins like they did in IMSA by being the only people with a half-decent budget!).

However, Fisi is fast, no doubt, but not champion material. Wurz is no better than him, as team-mates neither were Ralf, Heidfeld, Massa or Sato. Button was slower, Barrichello's slower than Button, Kubica's no quicker than Heidfeld, Kovaleinen no quicker than Fisichella!

So, by a convoluted, and completely subjective(!) approach, the only drivers better than Ralf are, indeed, Alonso and Raikkonen.

There is a vague point to this thread, perhaps just to say two things;
Drivers change over time, and so it will be interesting in particular to see how the rookies, and Kubica and Massa perform and develop over the course of the season.
It will in all probability be a great season, hopefully very open for the drivers title and race wins.

But also, it's quite regrettable that apart from McLaren and Ferrari (excluding Hamilton, as a rookie), isn't it a shame that F1 seems a little lacking in depth this season, just as it seemed to in 1994, when the only top drivers were Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna?

Only time will tell whether we have a new Hakkinen in amongst the unproven drivers, and who will match their potential, and who will be the Lehto's and Alesi's of the grid.
Either way, I'm not placing any money on Ralf to be 2007 champion!

[F1boat]

In my opinion David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello have achieved more than RS and are better drivers.

[Osella]

In my opinion David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello have achieved more than RS and are better drivers.

Achieved more, no question!
But I would rather have Ralf on a good day than Coulthard on a good day, and Barrichello's pretty anonymous most of the time, just like the other two!
Which kind of makes the point, who, exactly is coming along to push these guys?

Frentzen and probably Alesi were in F1 longer than they should have been allowed to be, I think DC, Ralf and Rubens all have another season in them, but beyond that, what is there to gain, and who exactly are drivers like Ralf going to be worried about beating?!

[Ian McC]

Bless him, I am sure he will be great in DTM

He isn't winning anything, apart from Employee Of The Month at Burger King

[Narr]

Well Button is certainly better than Ralf now and got the better of him on some of the driver's circuits.
I agree that Fisi isn't doing much and is not WDC material but he's still better than Ralf and DC maybe a windbag (and maybe that helps in the Red Bull )but the Red Bull has developed better than the Toyota due to his help.

Ralf is an overpaid has been and hasn't got the skills to help Toyota forward (who has?).

[Osella]

Ralf is an overpaid has been and hasn't got the skills to help Toyota forward (who has?).

I'm not sure there's anyone at Toyota who's not an overpaid has-been

[F1boat]

Achieved more, no question!
But I would rather have Ralf on a good day than Coulthard on a good day, and Barrichello's pretty anonymous most of the time, just like the other two!

Really? IMO RS was never too impressive, even while winning - good solid driver and that's all. DC had some memorable wins, like Monaco 02 or France 00. About Rubens, for me he is on par with RS - not weaker, maybe slightly better in qualifying.

[wmcot]

I would have to rate Massa as far above RS now that he is at Ferrari and has matured as a driver.

If Ralf thinks he's third, then let's see where he ends up in the WDC at the end of the year. I don't think Toyota can carry him to 3rd, but let's see how close he comes.

[raikk]

He says this to boost his confidence.. and for some reason he feels the whole world needs to hear it..Every driver that is on that grid thinks that they are the best but few actually say it..Ralf on the other hand...

[BeansBeansBeans]

Achieved more, no question!
But I would rather have Ralf on a good day than Coulthard on a good day, and Barrichello's pretty anonymous most of the time, just like the other two!

On a good day, such as Silverstone 2003, Barrichello is as good as anybody. I'm not sure I could say the same about Ralf Schumacher.