Schumacher, what have you done?

[Alonsomaniac]

In all the years I'm watching F1 , and that's about 30, I never thought I would feel sorry for Michael Schumacher. In fact I never even liked the guy. But he was fast and won 7 titles so he did great or even more than that.
When he retired I thought it was the best he could do at that moment. He had his titles and now the younger generation represented by Fernando Alonso had finally caught up and dethroned the big champ.
There's no shame in that because that is simply the way life goes. So he stopped and everyone said goodbye to the champion with a lot of respect.
It should have stayed that way.
But Schumacher decided to come back. Over 40 now, with some years without F1 and without the well-oiled team he once left.
Mercedes of course welcomed him with open arms and said they had the very best now.
The truth is somewhat different. Of course Schumacher has lost nothing of his talent and his experience is immense. F1 however, moves forward with great speed. And two years of absence will be noticable.
Also the Mercedes is not a Ferrari and the young Rosberg would not wait for Schumacher to catch up.
The first year Rosberg was faster than Schumacher without noticable effort. But hey, the man should be given some time everyone said, next year (2011) we will see the real Schumi back.
But now, after four races, we can only conclude that it's all over. Rosberg still has no competition in his own team and Schumacher sees himself involved in all kinds of discutable fights and manouevres in the mid- and even backfield.
This weekend he said he didn't enjoy racing this way anymore.
I can understand him, it must feel awful. That is why to my surprise I started to feel sorry for him.
Johnny Herbert said he shook his head and thought Schumi should stop for the final time at the end of the season.
I agree. I think by the end of the season he should stop and probably say: `Hey guys, I tried and it's not good enough anymore so I call it a day now.`
I would respect that and I think if he just would do that, stop and admit that it´s not good enough anymore, he can leave with his head high and still be respected by the F1 fans.
So I wish Michael some nice races for the rest of the season and the wisdom to know when it´s enough.

[puto.havana]

Personally I do not feel sorry for him - at the end of the day it was his decision whether to return to F1 or not and he chose to - no one forced him - he has to live with the consequences of that decision.

I always got the impression that he left F1 a little early than he himself had intended to and that he was 'eased' out in the best interests of Ferrari for the future. I don't know if that is true or not just the feeling I had at the time. Perhaps him sitting on the sidelines as a 'consultant' made him feel like he had unfinished business - quite how I don't know but these competitive types do come up with some funny ideas at times!

Anyway when there was a chance that Schumi would return to deputize for the injured Massa in 2009 I think almost all F1 fans would ask themselves one question. How well would Schumacher do in F1 against the current crop? Its a question I asked myself and one that I wanted answering.

I think we are getting close to that answer but to say after 4 races in 2011 that the question has been resolved I think is a little premature. I mean many people even on this very forum had concluded after three races that we had a rat's bottom chance of getting involved in the fight with the Fed Bulls, yet one race later it doesn't look quite so cut and dried does it?

I think Schumacher will stay to the end of this season a bid a final farewell - personally I don't think he will even come close to winning a race this year. Will he have tarnished his rep or his legacy? Some say yes, some say no - I am leaning to the yes camp I am afraid.

[Hornet]

I think age has certainly got the better of him. Not to mention that having left F1 for some years now, he would certainly have to build himself up physically, and given his age, that's going to be very difficult if not impossible.

I'll bet if you bring Mika back, or any past great drivers, the results would have been the same.

Even Einstein failed at solving the physics problem he worked on during his final years. No one could go on doing great things for their entire life.

[ThetakedownUK]

I have agree with you there. I never liked the guy either. Thought he was spoilt, a bully, robot to talk to and a all round nob.....Then..... he was talking to jake and martin just before his come back and he was sat in a teams motor home (i forget what one) and he was a totaly different guy. I thought he was relaxed, funny, easy going and a nice guy.
I think his come back was always going to be hard and people would always go back to what he was and compair. I still believe he was never that good back then. Sure he won titles but unlike today there was no other good driver around to challenge him. I stand by the fact that even a poo driver is the best and fastest car available will find it easy to win. Look at rubens when he left ferrari..He didnt do much until the BrawnGP team. look at button in a williams...he was a nobody till BrawnGP gave him the fastest car ut there.. Look at lewis after he got the first title...Done not much with a rubbish car (last season)
An look at Webber, sure he looks good in that car but i predict he will be in a williams next year and lewis will have his seat. Webber will do nothing in the williams...

The point im making here is put schuey in that red bull and you will see the magic again. The driver is only as good as the car and provided its the fastest out there, then the driver will look better than they actual are....


my 2 cents..

[Greig]

Michael today is a lot more media friendly and we get to see the real Michael, the Michael he kept well hidden at his peak but many knew was there, just most media tended to portray him as a stone cold robot. His comeback has been a massive failure but he seemed to be enjoying himself regardless and why should he not I guess, even though his aggressive levels seem to have risen in some of his driving almost like he can't accept defeat but then again he was always kind of like that, now we see it more as he is midfield battling a lot more than being upfront.

He is still the greatest driver I have seen in my time and nothing will really change that, I do still feel let down by his return to a rival, but at the end of the day it's up to Merc to take him out if they feel he is not doing the job, he might be happy enough to keep doing as he is just for the fun of it, although he did seem a lot more down after Turkey than he usually is. His talents have faded and I don't believe if he was in a Red Bull then he would be doing any better Vettel would simply blow him away. Sure he might be higher up but compared to his team mate he would still not be achieving and that is what Merc need to decide is acceptable or not, given the PR they get just by having Schumacher, but there comes a point when the PR is now mostly negative.....

[NJB13]

I was quite let down when I realised he really was going to another team. I felt sad that he was going to jeopardize his reputation. However, it was clear from the beginning that it was a different Michael. He was enjoying driving again and was far more open. I could understand, and actually appreciate why he made the decision he did.

As tough as it was, I also think LDM made exactly the right decision in letting him go. He was/is not up to replacing either of our current drivers, so the only way we could have accommodated him was with a 3rd car - which never got any backing so Luca let him go. An excellent (and obviously very hard) call by LDM - again proving what a good leader he is.

It's a bit sad Michael won't be able to see out his time as an integral part of Ferrari - it would have been great to see him in a red outfit in and out of our pits over the next few decades - unfortunately that's not going to happen. I suspect he'll be regretting that more than anyone.

[scuderiafan]

I was quite let down when I realised he really was going to another team. I felt sad that he was going to jeopardize his reputation. However, it was clear from the beginning that it was a different Michael. He was enjoying driving again and was far more open. I could understand, and actually appreciate why he made the decision he did.

As tough as it was, I also think LDM made exactly the right decision in letting him go. He was/is not up to replacing either of our current drivers, so the only way we could have accommodated him was with a 3rd car - which never got any backing so Luca let him go. An excellent (and obviously very hard) call by LDM - again proving what a good leader he is.

It's a bit sad Michael won't be able to see out his time as an integral part of Ferrari - it would have been great to see him in a red outfit in and out of our pits over the next few decades - unfortunately that's not going to happen. I suspect he'll be regretting that more than anyone.

maybe we should have kept him until Alonso came. dont get me wrong, i liked Kimi, but Michael would have dominated the title in the F2008, and F2007. and he would have retired after 2009 in the F60, and it would all be happy.

imo, he returned because he still wanted to be racing when we replaced him with Kimi.

[Greig]

We never replaced him with Kimi, Michael had a deal on the table, Todt pleaded him to stay, Michael took his decision. Michael has made that very clear, he even said he had offers from other top teams to go there, he felt his time was up and could not face another season.

[scuderiafan]

i dont really know much about the situation, but some said it was about Michael not wanting Kimi as a teammate. i know Todt wanted him to stay, but Luca wanted Kimi, didnt he.

[Hornet]

He is still the greatest driver I have seen in my time and nothing will really change that, I do still feel let down by his return to a rival, but at the end of the day it's up to Merc to take him out if they feel he is not doing the job, he might be happy enough to keep doing as he is just for the fun of it, although he did seem a lot more down after Turkey than he usually is.

Agree with this. Exactly how I felt too, no matter what happens, nothing can change Schumi's past success, he'll always be that 7 times champion

I was quite let down when I realised he really was going to another team. I felt sad that he was going to jeopardize his reputation. However, it was clear from the beginning that it was a different Michael. He was enjoying driving again and was far more open. I could understand, and actually appreciate why he made the decision he did.

As tough as it was, I also think LDM made exactly the right decision in letting him go. He was/is not up to replacing either of our current drivers, so the only way we could have accommodated him was with a 3rd car - which never got any backing so Luca let him go. An excellent (and obviously very hard) call by LDM - again proving what a good leader he is.

It's a bit sad Michael won't be able to see out his time as an integral part of Ferrari - it would have been great to see him in a red outfit in and out of our pits over the next few decades - unfortunately that's not going to happen. I suspect he'll be regretting that more than anyone.

Agree with this too. I think Schumi, Luca D and the team mutually understands that Ferrari is not the place for him to come back to racing just for the fun of it. Ferrari has to carry on being competitive and aiming for success at the top.

Maybe Schumi might have stayed if we had the additional 3rd car, but alas, that didn't happen and he did the right thing by going to another team that would be willing to have him even if he can no longer achieve the great success he used to

[Greig]

i dont really know much about the situation, but some said it was about Michael not wanting Kimi as a teammate. i know Todt wanted him to stay, but Luca wanted Kimi, didnt he.

Luca wanted MS with Kimi, it was Massa that was going, Michael even said the fact that Massa would not have a drive was part of his decision (but I doubt that was really all that true)

[xpman]

am I going Nutz havent you lot heard of another Ferrari driver who came back and won the WDC "The RAT" Lauda . How many years on his return did it take him to win the WDC in a Mclaren with his team mate A.PROST ?????

Am Not a Schumi fan never have been . but give the bloke a chance .
Personaly I wished he retire from F1 and if he still wants go motor racing then he should do an Andrettii and try and win other classes .

[Greig]

F1 was very different back then

[Alonsomaniac]

F1 was very different back then

Exactly. In those days it was still raw racing in a raw racingmachine.
Those days are over. It´s all very close to the limit now and very hightech. And so must the drivers be also very close to the limit of what a human being can do. And if you ar over forty years old, that may become a problem.
And remember , we are talking about just tenths or even hundreds of seconds in a lap one has to lose to not be able to get to the top anymore.

[NJB13]

F1 was very different back then

Spot on, in those days they used to have an actual "steering wheel"

[scuderiafan]

Luca wanted MS with Kimi, it was Massa that was going, Michael even said the fact that Massa would not have a drive was part of his decision (but I doubt that was really all that true)

oh, right. there was more to that than met the eye, i guess. but say, Michael stayed, at least for 2007 then, he imo would not have come back.

anyways, i reckon after this year, he will come back to us in some role, and i hope we embrace him with open arms.

and yeah, i cannot imagine someone doing a Fangio these days.

[Stormsearcher]

anyways, i reckon after this year, he will come back to us in some role, and i hope we embrace him with open arms.

I very much doubt he will be back at Ferrari.. in whatever capacity.

[Gerhard Berger]

I have agree with you there. I never liked the guy either. Thought he was spoilt, a bully, robot to talk to and a all round nob.....Then..... he was talking to jake and martin just before his come back and he was sat in a teams motor home (i forget what one) and he was a totaly different guy. I thought he was relaxed, funny, easy going and a nice guy.
I think his come back was always going to be hard and people would always go back to what he was and compair. I still believe he was never that good back then. Sure he won titles but unlike today there was no other good driver around to challenge him. I stand by the fact that even a poo driver is the best and fastest car available will find it easy to win. Look at rubens when he left ferrari..He didnt do much until the BrawnGP team. look at button in a williams...he was a nobody till BrawnGP gave him the fastest car ut there.. Look at lewis after he got the first title...Done not much with a rubbish car (last season)
An look at Webber, sure he looks good in that car but i predict he will be in a williams next year and lewis will have his seat. Webber will do nothing in the williams...

The point im making here is put schuey in that red bull and you will see the magic again. The driver is only as good as the car and provided its the fastest out there, then the driver will look better than they actual are....


my 2 cents..

Schumacher still looked good when he didn't have the best car (e.g. 95-97) and he was always beating his teammates. Neither of those is happening at the moment.

[ThetakedownUK]

Schumacher still looked good when he didn't have the best car (e.g. 95-97) and he was always beating his teammates. Neither of those is happening at the moment.

His team mates back then was Johhny Herbert and Eddie Irvine. Not really a challenge.

Didnt win the title tho.


1996 Damon Hill
1997 Jacques Villeneuve

[replica]

Schumi made me like Formula 1. Ferrari too. Schumi and Ferrari was everything for me in good times and bad times. So i will never "hit" Schumacher name and Ferrari also. I will love Ferrari and Schumi whenever they lose, whenever they win. I can't be against them after so many wonderful wins and years. Don't forgot that in 2000-2006, Schumi made Ferrari what it was, Ferrari made Schumi the king which he was. If I was to saw him ever I will shake his hand happy for all that years when all the newspapers where painted in RED. It seems that in this days we forgot what he given us, he and Ferrari. Schumi is just a human, after this age he can't be better, Ferrari after 3 bad years could be again what it was, because Ferrari is a legend and never dies and never getting old. Sorry for my bad english, but I'm just happy to see Schumacher, I wish to be immortal, like Ferrari. But that's life for all of us. Ferrari will be there forever, but we - people - we born, win and die. So... for me Schumi is a winner anyway. First place or last place, He is the man. I suffer for Schumi and that years like hell, I hope I will never have to suffer for Ferrari too (because of politics to boicot F1 or something else) I just wish to see them forever.... I hope everyone understand what I wanted to say....

[Greig]

Saying Schumacher was not that good from 91-2006 is just silly really, he was a superb driver with bags of talent and a racing brain that nobody could match. Saying he had no competition is also a bit silly as there was many great drivers Schumacher went up against.

96 he had no chance but he won 3 races, watch Spain 96 or Spa 96 if in any doubt about the talent he had back then.

[Tony]

Meh, I think we can all agree that the Jacques Villeneuve was better.... I mean if it wasn't for that stint at BAR/BAT that completely ruined his career, JV would have joined Ferrari and won 10 titles in a row!

[Anni]

To be honest, I think Michael´s comeback is successful. I guess he did not come back because he was eager to win another title, he came back because he missed racing. Obviously he is enjoying him self now, even with the lack of results, so I think his comeback is a success. Don´t get me wrong, I´m not saying he doesn´t give his best or is not so dedicated anymore, he still is, but he is not so grim (?) anymore.
What I´m sorry about are those "fans", who have abandoned him now. Germany was a country full of MS fans, but now they are all about Vettel, they even make jokes about MS. Of course many people still stick with him, but so many people seem to have forgotten how they cheered for him once. A true fan should stick with his guy no matter what happens.

[Julie B]

I still admire the guy, doing a job he obviously loves. he's old and wise enough to know that it's a tough game and there are hard times and good times.

As long as Mercedes still want him I don't see the problem

[Tifosi]

Has he died or summat?

What a strange thread for TSN! I'm sure MS would laugh if he saw it. Cheer up Alonsomaniac, i'm sure he's not as upset or near suicidal as you are making out.

This is Michael Schumacher we are taking about. No other driver in F1 today will achieve what he has and if he gets a few extra years in at the end of his career to satisfy his need for racing then fair play to him. He came back knowing EXACTLY what he was getting back into. If it fizzles out (which we don't yet know) then so what?

What is there to feel sorry for him for? He's the most successful driver in the history of the sport, incredibly rich and very young looking for his age, the inspiration to many a driver now racing and he had/has the kahunas to decide his own destiny without worrying about pointless things like what people think of him or his past pedigree.

I'd feel more sorry for the drivers who get booted out of F1 to make way for people that aren't as good as they are. MS can do what he wants as long as someone pays for it and he's pretty much earned the right to do it too based on what he's given the sport.

One thing you should know about MS from watching him for all those years is that he has always been his own man so i'd say writing his obituary for him isn't really appropriate. He will do that for himself when he's good and ready and as for "going out on a high" - he could never have done that after his time at Ferrari. Still, he came back didn't he?

I'd rather see MS in F1 for the next 5 years just in case it all comes together again than watch Rubens eek out his inevitable flatline for another 10

[REDARMYSOJA]

He says he's not having much fun right now.

“The big joy is not there right now,” Schumacher told BBC Sport. “I told you before the race there was going to be some action and indeed I had lots of action. I guess I was responsible myself to have the result that I had. With Petrov, I guess it was mostly my mistake what happened there.

“I need to analyse it. It was a bit strange that suddenly we got together and I lost my front wing. The race was a given from there - lots of fighting, lots of action, but for nothing. From where we were (on the grid), going forward is better than still having to defend backwards and mostly I was able to go forward.”

http://www.gpupdate.net/en/f1-news/2...not-there-now/

[Agron]

I still admire the guy, doing a job he obviously loves. he's old and wise enough to know that it's a tough game and there are hard times and good times.

As long as Mercedes still want him I don't see the problem

He was seen as unbeatable and is now being made look ordinary by a driver most don't even consider a great. The people of this generation are starting to question themselves if he wasn't that great but rather had slightly better performance than not-so-great teammates and the politics at Ferrari and it's great cars made sure teammates were kept behind and rivals couldn't catch him. Moreso if said people were previous Schumy haters.

Obviously it's quite stupid as Schumy was one of the greatest drivers in F1, but people have very short memories and heavy bias.
Schumy probably doesn't care, and his legacy, even if a little damaged for this generation, will stay in perfect shape for the next few generations, when people will only see his impressive statistics and records and his best races.

I think it was a calculated risk, had it worked he would be considered as the best driver ever, and it not working isn't that big of a deal, meanwhile he is more or less enjoying himself, not everyone can decide to drive in F1 for fun being 40yo. It makes him look a bit arrogant in my eyes though, thinking he could beat age and suceed where everyone else has failed, but that isn't a big deal either.

[Suzie]

anyways, i reckon after this year, he will come back to us in some role, and i hope we embrace him with open arms.

He's said he will become a brand ambassador for Mercedes once he stops racing. He won't be back with us.

Every race I will Michael to do well but it never seems to come together for him. He's had his transitional year last year; I think everyone was expecting more results from him. I know the season is in its very early stages so things could improve for him, but that's what I've been thinking since the first race of 2010.

Michael was by far my favourite F1 driver when he was at Ferrari and I was really gutted when he retired in 2006, but F1 and fans move on. I had kind of made peace with the fact that he was gone from F1 before he signed for Mercedes. I will always look back fondly at those brilliant years at Ferrari (and the not so good ones too), but now I do feel like it's time for him to go.

[Gerhard Berger]

His team mates back then was Johhny Herbert and Eddie Irvine. Not really a challenge.

Didnt win the title tho.


1996 Damon Hill
1997 Jacques Villeneuve

He still blew his teammates away.

I never claimed he won the title in those 2 years, but he stood out as a driver and was widely regarded as the best driver back then. In 96 he had too many reliability issues to mount a championship challenge, but still did great to win 3 races given how dominant the Williams was that year. In 97, he very nearly won the title in an inferior car. Some of his wins that season (Monaco and Spa) were truly epic.

[scuderiafan]

He's said he will become a brand ambassador for Mercedes once he stops racing. He won't be back with us.

Every race I will Michael to do well but it never seems to come together for him. He's had his transitional year last year; I think everyone was expecting more results from him. I know the season is in its very early stages so things could improve for him, but that's what I've been thinking since the first race of 2010.

Michael was by far my favourite F1 driver when he was at Ferrari and I was really gutted when he retired in 2006, but F1 and fans move on. I had kind of made peace with the fact that he was gone from F1 before he signed for Mercedes. I will always look back fondly at those brilliant years at Ferrari (and the not so good ones too), but now I do feel like it's time for him to go.

really?

why oh why? Michael, even with your warped sense of fashion, you know you look better in red than silver.

EDIT: an article on his current plight http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/form...e/13347579.stm