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Tuesday, July 10
Irvine says Williams has made mistakes
Reuters
| |  | | | Irvine |
LONDON -- Ralf Schumacher has done a good
job this season but he is still an "easy touch" for older
brother Michael, according to the world champion's former
Ferrari teammate Eddie Irvine.
"So far his brother's been an easy touch. Michael's the big
brother and Michael's a much stronger character than Ralf is,"
the Northern Irish driver told reporters after a Jaguar news
conference Tuesday.
"You just have to look at the two. Michael's a very pushy
guy compared to Ralf, you see it in the pit lane, you see it at
press conferences and we've seen it on the track."
"I think Ralf's doing a good job with a great car but I
think they (Williams) should have won maybe more races than they
have won this year," added Irvine.
"I think they made a few mistakes strategy wise."
Ralf has won twice for his Williams team this season,
securing the first victory of his Formula One career at Imola
and then triumphing again ahead of triple world champion Michael
in Canada.
The 26-year-old also secured the first pole position of his
career, and Williams's first since 1997, at the French Grand
Prix at the end of June.
He and Michael have been on the front row for the past three
races but the Ferrari driver forced his younger sibling to back
off with a veering start at the European Grand Prix at the
Nuerburgring last month.
Irvine, whose next race is the British Grand Prix on Sunday,
insisted he would not have backed off and said again that
Schumacher could have a major accident on his hands if he
attempted a similar move on a driver like himself.
"I don't think you should be allowed to force someone to
lift off (the accelerator). Ultimately the guy doesn't lift off,
and if he doesn't lift off you have an accident," he said.
"What Michael does is fine, written to one rule. But then if
there's an accident he has caused an avoidable collision which
is against the rules.
"The person who is in control of whether they have an
accident or not then is the guy that is going to be the victim,
whether he lifts or not.
"So the victim is going to be deciding whether Michael is
going to be guilty or not, which is ridiculous."
Irvine said he had spoken to International Automobile
Federation (FIA) race director and safety delegate Charlie
Whiting about Schumacher's starts.
"I said 'so, If I don't lift off and Michael hits me, is he
still causing an avoidable collision?' and he goes 'Yes'. It's a
ridiculous state of affairs.
"It's like running down the high street shooting at people
and as long as you don't hit anyone that's okay."
Irvine has never been anywhere near the front row of the
grid this season, although he finished third in Monaco, but he
recalled that Finland's Mika Hakkinen had tried a similar start
tactic on him previously.
"Hakkinen did it to me a couple of years ago in Argentina
and he was off the road," said Irvine.
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