Schumacher Return!

[awigman 0]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsp ... 172310.stm

 

Things might start getting interesting now!

[Jim Bowen 1]

awesome, i heard all the rumours but didn't believe it would happen.

 

wonder how long before he quits (again)

[Sonicriot13 0]

Button is boned. :lol:

[Sonicriot13 0]

Oooooooooooh. Does that mean my main driver on the fantasy league is now Schumacher?!!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

[PROVR6 0]

Think he will disappoint himself. No way can he as good as he was. He's older and out of practice. He went out at the top and he should want to be remembered that way.

[Critical_Mass 10]

Think he will disappoint himself. No way can he as good as he was. He's older and out of practice. He went out at the top and he should want to be remembered that way.

 

Exactly.

 

But it would be good to see how he gets on.

[Dec 1]

Well, Ferrari aren't that competitive this season, and aren't going to win either championship....or be expected to win a load of races between now and the season end.....so he/they have nothing to lose really!

 

Personally I cant wait for the next race now!!....haven't been this keen to see a race in about 8 years! 8) 8)

 

P.s. shouldn't the title of this thread be: " The Stig return " :tongue:

[VR6 0]

Shouldn't there be a big IF he can prove himself to be medically fit? I think a dodgy neck/back is the last thing you want!

[Veearrhsix 0]

If anything else he'll just have fun outh there. Might see him learn the new car throughout the race and play catch-up through the pack.

[millerman 0]

cant wait to see schuey in an F1 car again , he is still one of the F1 gods if you ask me :notworthy:

[Andy665 0]

A retirement did not stop Lauda coming back after 3 years away and winning the title, Prost also came back to win the title again after a year off

[shaunVR6 0]

itll be very interesting :shock: ferrari sales must be slow at the mo :D

[Storm Warning 0]

I'd heard that he never gave up all the training so that it was possible to get in an F1 car again.. all that cornering g force on your neck.

 

I think it will be an outstanding season wind up now, so open, but lets start the betting on who Schuey punts off first ;-) I am torn between wanting to see him make a dream return and not wanting to see is smugness again :gag: :lol:

[Supercharged 2]

From the Telegraph - quite well written I thought...

 

Schumacher has three weeks to prepare. He is ready now. He was born ready. It is Kimi Raikkonen who needs to book himself into a gym for a fortnight. There were some who inferred from Schumacher’s retirement speech at Monza in 2006 that the impending arrival of the Finn from McLaren was the factor that ultimately saw him out of the Maranello door. At 37 he wouldn’t want to go up against the Kimster.

Raikkonen had a lucky escape. Schumacher would have swallowed him whole in those difficult first few months at Ferrari when nothing went right after Raikkonen’s debut win in Australia. Raikkonen ultimately recovered to win the championship by a point. Had Schumacher hung around he would have been celebrating an eighth world championship.

 

On paper Schumacher is up against it. He has not driven a Formula One car for 17 months. At 40 he retains a high level of general fitness but has probably lost the sport-specific endurance in the neck and shoulders that keep a driver’s head upright around corners.

After five years going mouldy in the pipe and slippers, Mika Hakkinen, the driver Schumacher considered his greatest adversary, tested the McLaren around Barcelona and after 80 laps finished adrift at the bottom of the time sheets. Reason points to a similar outcome for Schumacher in Valencia. At least it would be if Schumacher were a reasonable man. He was never that in an F1 car.

We saw how Lance Armstrong’s championship pedigree held up in the Tour de France. Third place after a four-year absence was arguably the equal of any of his seven victories when he reigned in the saddle. Armstrong and Schumacher share a pathological need to win. You can throw the name of Tiger Woods into that pot, too. None are easy to love. But admiration is universal.

F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone and his manager Willi Weber felt pressure might mitigate against a return. What were they thinking? Six years ago after his worst start to a season at Ferrari, Schumacher pitched up in the Scuderia’s heartland of Imola in the midst of a family crisis. His mother, Elizabeth, was terminally ill.

On the morning of qualifying Schumacher was told his mother might not last the day. He put a Ferrari that had been nowhere in the preceding three grands prix on pole. That afternoon he flew to Germany to see his mother for the last time, to say goodbye. He learned of her passing on the morning of the race. A few hours later he won his first grand prix of the season. That is how Schumacher deals with pressure.

Two years later at Monaco with hegemony beginning to pass to Renault, Schumacher was briefly back in the ranks. He began the last lap in ninth place. There was a point to be won. He shoved his brother, Ralf, to within an inch of the wall as they burned towards the chequered flag vying for seventh place. Ralf called Michael a crazy man and refused to speak to him for days.

Schumacher’s team-mate Rubens Barrichello was similarly discomfited, losing eighth place to him through the chicane after the tunnel. Barrichello was incredulous. He could not believe his team-mate would attack him on the final lap for the sake of a point. Brother and partner should have known better. In remonstrating they revealed something of their own natures as well as shining a torch on Schumacher’s ruthless sporting soul. He had to win. Seventh would have been a victory of sorts. On that day eighth had to do.

I recall one winter’s morning in Madonna di Campiglio at Ferrari’s international Press week, Schumacher readying himself for the ski race on the final day, a bit of fun among friends. He was intercepted by a photographer requesting a unique shot at the top of the mountain. Thunder rolled across those asymmetric features. “Quickly,” he barked, “I have to test the piste.” Even downtime is taken seriously by Schumacher. He won, of course.

[mattnorgrove 0]

quite well written I thought...

 

Yep.

[Jim 2]

Wow! I heard the rumours but didn't really expect it to happen, especially after Schumacher dismissed it because of neck injuries relating to his motorbike accident in the not too distant past.

 

I'm slowly getting more and more into F1 - drama like this, the FOTA arguments about creating a breakaway series and now BMW quitting suddenly, are making it more and more interesting with each passing week :)

[corozin 0]

Couple of random thoughts:

a) It's interesting that the FIA seem so willing to issue a superlicence to a guy who hasn't raced anything significant for almost 3 years.

b) Schumacher has continued to do the odd bit of test driving and helping develop the car so his pace may very well be good. As the article above says though, his fitness over a full distance might still be an issue, but they are correct to point the finger at Kimi.

c) With Ferrari's form in the bucket this season, I can't think of a better option to pull the media spotlight onto Ferrari and it's sponsors. Schumacher can't lose - if he's slower than Kimi we expected it anyway and if he turns out to be competitive then "what a guy..."

d) Schumacher was the king of qualifying laps. He may prove to be a massive influence on the grid lineups, and introduce a bit of randomness into the events.

e) I bet Schumacher tries to tangle it with Hamilton. Lots.

f) If Schumacher is significantly faster than Kimi then Ferrari may very well sack the Fin in favour of Alonso before the end of the season, especially with Renault's future involvement in the sport being questioned at the moment.

 

Any thoughts on any of of the above?

[jazzdevil 0]

For all his faults, I was always a Schumi fan andim torn between thinking this is actually pretty damned cool and thinking (like others) that this is not the sport he left in 2006.

 

For all those that commented on how great it would have been to see Schumacher vs. Hamilton - it seems that hitherto fantasy match up is on - albeit that the McLaren on recent performance seems to be the better car than the Ferrari... But ignoring all that surely it's got to be a record to have 4 world champions racing off the grid at the same time too?

[Dec 1]

f) If Schumacher is significantly faster than Kimi then Ferrari may very well sack the Fin in favour of Alonso before the end of the season, especially with Renault's future involvement in the sport being questioned at the moment.

 

Any thoughts on any of of the above?

 

Schumacher & Alonso in Ferrari together!! Would be very entertaining, to say the least! :clap: :clap: 8) 8) 8)

[vwdeviant 0]

f) If Schumacher is significantly faster than Kimi then Ferrari may very well sack the Fin in favour of Alonso before the end of the season, especially with Renault's future involvement in the sport being questioned at the moment.

 

Any thoughts on any of of the above?

 

Schumacher & Alonso in Ferrari together!! Would be very entertaining, to say the least! :clap: :clap: 8) 8) 8)

 

And a bit of a squeeze! :camp:

[jazzdevil 0]

f) If Schumacher is significantly faster than Kimi then Ferrari may very well sack the Fin in favour of Alonso before the end of the season, especially with Renault's future involvement in the sport being questioned at the moment.

 

Any thoughts on any of of the above?

 

Schumacher & Alonso in Ferrari together!! Would be very entertaining, to say the least! :clap: :clap: 8) 8) 8)

 

interesting maybe, but I think the fact that Ferrari are prepared to bring Schumi back in over any newcomer, or former F1 driver screams 'team stability' as the key so much that I can't see any other personnel changes before the end of the season...

[corozin 0]

f) If Schumacher is significantly faster than Kimi then Ferrari may very well sack the Fin in favour of Alonso before the end of the season, especially with Renault's future involvement in the sport being questioned at the moment.

 

Any thoughts on any of of the above?

 

Schumacher & Alonso in Ferrari together!! Would be very entertaining, to say the least! :clap: :clap: 8) 8) 8)

 

interesting maybe, but I think the fact that Ferrari are prepared to bring Schumi back in over any newcomer, or former F1 driver screams 'team stability' as the key so much that I can't see any other personnel changes before the end of the season...

 

It's almost the worst kept secret in F1 is that Alonso is going to drive for Ferrari next year. Raikkonen is going to be shown the door anyway, as he's coasted most of the time since he won the championship. It's less a question of if Alonso replaces him, rather than when. If Schumacher embarrasses Raikkonen I expect to see quick changes.

 

You are right though, it is interesting that Schumacher gets the seat over the test driver (Luca Badoer?) - I put that just down to the amount of sheer publicity that the German will bring to Ferrari when he sits back in the car. Let's face it - everyone will watch the qualifying to see if he still has the magic.

[Dec 1]

I'd put it down to Badoer having a proven track record of being rubbish! :tongue:

 

Badoer holds the dubious distinction of being the driver who has competed in the most Grands Prix (48) without scoring a single point. He nearly achieved his first points finish in the 1999 European Grand Prix when a strong drive saw Badoer lying in 4th place with only 13 laps remaining. Unfortunately the gearbox on his Minardi subsequently failed and television cameras showed Badoer weeping by his stricken car.

 

hmmm....let me see....Badoer or Schumacher....who would I chose! :cuckoo: :lol:

 

(He must do something right as a test driver though)

[KADVR6 0]

the daddy returns 2 show them how it's done

[corozin 0]

I'd put it down to Badoer having a proven track record of being rubbish! :tongue:

Badoer holds the dubious distinction of being the driver who has competed in the most Grands Prix (48) without scoring a single point. He nearly achieved his first points finish in the 1999 European Grand Prix when a strong drive saw Badoer lying in 4th place with only 13 laps remaining. Unfortunately the gearbox on his Minardi subsequently failed and television cameras showed Badoer weeping by his stricken car.

 

hmmm....let me see....Badoer or Schumacher....who would I chose! :cuckoo: :lol:

(He must do something right as a test driver though)

 

That's absolutely correct. Badoer may not have achieved the most glittering career statistics as a racing driver but you have to be very special behind the wheel indeed to have the test driver job at Ferrari for as many years as he's been doing it.

 

It's easy to be dismissive of some of these lesser known guys. Some of the most talented drivers never achieved thier potential success as F1 drivers. Pierluigi Martini, Raul Boesel and Yannick Dalmas spring to my mind as some of the best examples of this. I was going to mention Olivier Panis too but he did at least manage to scrape a win at Monaco from a car that had no business being in the top tier at the time.