Is it time for Schumacher to call it quits?

[Italian Spirit]

I didn't specially like Michael the person, I had a immense admiration for Schumacher the champion.
But now he looks less and less Schumacher and more and more Montoya.
Maybe the time has come for him to hang up the helmet. It would be sad if the fabulous legend was blemished by a fistful of races (dollars?).
What do you think?

[RedRebel40]

I think let's replace him with Massa at Ferrari so he can shine again. I am sure the guy still has some speed but he lacks the tools. Also this year he didn't have much luck too bad.

[Tobes]

Don't think so, he's srill moving Merc forwards, i've no doubt he has had more to do with the development of the Merc than Nico has, he's been involved in a few stupid accidents and had some poor luck, certainly think he has as much to offer (if not more than) most of the mid-field drivers, obviously having cheered him on for so many years there's an element of sentiment that would like to see him win another race before he hangs up his helmet for good...

[Red passion]

Lets hope he has more luck in the rest of the season, he still has what it takes to win a race or get on the podium. what is affecting Michael is Pirelli, Michael is a thoroughbred racer, he is used to refuelling, changing tyres etc. race for 20 laps and pull out stunning laps which your competitor pits first. pirelli don't allow this push too hard race over. there must be better ideas to improve racing and overtaking than these stupid tyres. also yesterday webber nearly rammed a car from behind due to big braking differences, webber also had the same problem in valencia in the past with Heikki.

I don't blame schumi for the accident yesterday, senna did move in the braking area but it is not sennas fault either he has to brake really early on old rubber.

[F2002]

I think let's replace him with Massa at Ferrari so he can shine again. I am sure the guy still has some speed but he lacks the tools. Also this year he didn't have much luck too bad.

Good idea ! - this hasn't made it to the "Massa replacement" thread I think.

How could we forget good old Michael ???

[sav_pap]

IMO Yes...but who cares! Besides he is not part of the ferrari family anymore.

[ferrari4life]

As long as he is not running into the back of any Ferrari's he can race for whoever he wants.

[hakanabi]

Never discount Schumacher. He had some bad luck so far in this year. If the car drives to his liking and they sort out their tire issues then he can well be on the podium and I am sure we will see him there sometime this year.

[sav_pap]

Never discount Schumacher. He had some bad luck so far in this year. If the car drives to his liking and they sort out their tire issues then he can well be on the podium and I am sure we will see him on the there sometime this year.

I don't want to see him on the podium! He drives a Merc.

[Ferrarichamp]

Yes I would say so. He'll be 44 years old next year, too old I think.

[ferrari1.8t]

Yes I would say so. He'll be 44 years old next year, too old I think.

I dont think age has anything to do with it. It's about passion, skill and motivation. Mario Andretti was 53 when he won his last race in 1993. He even raced Le Mans again when he was 60 in 2000.

Schumacher is just struggling getting to terms with the new rules, new cars and younger generation of drivers. Time will tell what his future holds.

[sagi58]

If he and Mercedes feel Schumi still has a contribution to make to F1, there really is "no" reason to quit!
At the end of the day, Mercedes sign his paycheque, no one else!

(YES! I do see the parallels between Massa/Ferrari and Schumi/Mercedes! With one glaring difference, Schumi has probably forgotten more than most of the other drivers on the grid have learnt or may ever learn! Sadly, I don't see Massa in the same light, I don't know many people could compare the two and their accomplishments.)

[anakin]

i think he can endure two more years with merc. he just have to get rid of the habit of running into others cars.

[Nova]

The guys on Speed mentioned that theres a board meeting at the end of the year to see if Merc will even
be doing F1 in 2013.

As far as Shumy..yep, he can still race.

[dpiatto]

I’m gutted for him tbh because nothing seems to have gone right ever since he joined Mercedes.
Strange because he still looks super fit but one wonders if age has caught up with him in terms of his judgement & reflexes required to mix it with the young guns.
It’s also uncanny how his once Ferrari team mate Massa is joint on just 2 points in the drivers championship possibly suffering from a similar fate since his accident at the Hungaroring.
The fact is they both need to up their game sooner rather than later because there are currently a breed of drivers performing much better in inferior cars having to pay for their place within a team.

[sav_pap]

I dont think age has anything to do with it. It's about passion, skill and motivation. Mario Andretti was 53 when he won his last race in 1993. He even raced Le Mans again when he was 60 in 2000.

Schumacher is just struggling getting to terms with the new rules, new cars and younger generation of drivers. Time will tell what his future holds.

Good point I agree about the skill and motivation factors but IMO cars of the 80's or 90's can't be compared with present cars.
The G-forces now (with the aerodynamics development) on driver's bodies is so huge that they have to train very hard to stand and finish a race.
I doubt if a 53 or 60 years old man could drive decent a F1 car of the present even for 2-3 laps.
Schumi thought that he could match the young drivers but he misjudged 100%.

[Fiondella]

Age has everything to do with it. His reactions and fitness levels are fading fast. He should never have come back. Punch drunk boxer!! What percentage of professional athletes, footballers, downhill skiers etc etc are still competing at the highest level at his age? My guess is less than 2%. Not wishing to put too fine a point on the subject

[Fiondella]

PS Mario Andretti Last F1 win was when he was 38. A great achievement but still nearly 6 years younger than Schumi is now!!!!
Schumi last F1 race win was 6 years ago when he was 37!

[Ferrarichamp]

yeah Schumi was already passed his best in '06.

[sav_pap]

Brazil 2006 was his last show of superb driving skills and motivation.

[Jose-Lorca Fan]

He should leave now, a once great but I don't see him leaving Mercedes for any other team and that Mer4c ain't going to be a winning car any time soon. He is waiting for something which won't happen and when it does it will be too late. I see next year year as his final year but never beyond that.
He should concede his place to a young driver, and to be honest i don't think the current sporting regulations suit him well either. Wrong choice to come back but who can blame him after the salary that was proposed to him.

[Red passion]

PS Mario Andretti Last F1 win was when he was 38. A great achievement but still nearly 6 years younger than Schumi is now!!!!
Schumi last F1 race win was 6 years ago when he was 37!

yes but this year anyone can win if Williams can win to where they were last year anyone can

[Ste]

I totally agree with Tobes.

Schumacher's performed great so far this year, qualifying well (out-qualified Nico in 2/5 races and had a DRS failure in Bahrain putting him out in Q1), racing well.

Retirement in Australia
Spun by Grosjean on lap 1 in Malaysia
Retirement because of a loose wheel in China
Started 22nd, finished 10th in Bahrain
Mistake in Spain

Out of the 5 races, 4 of them haven't been his fault. He was running well in Australia until the car broke down. Was in a good position in Malaysia until taken out by Grosjean. Running well, right behind Rosberg in China before the team forgot to put his wheel on properly. A pretty solid comeback in Bahrain after losing his DRS in Q1. Finally, a mistake in Spain (which was just a mis-judgement and a racing incident) where he hit Senna.

He's way behind in the points tables in comparison to Rosberg but that doesn't tell the story in any way. Schumacher's had no luck this season and only made one mistake (everyone makes at least 1 per season - Alonso spinning in Spa 2010 etc) so I hardly think people can say he's lost it because he's scored just two points.

Age might play a factor in some ways, but as Brundle and various others have repeated many times, he's still one of the fittest guys in the paddock and reactions were never his strong point. I think Michael has come good this year, in comparison especially to 2010. 2011 was ok, mainly the latter half but in 2012 we've seen a qualifying resurgence and solid race pace.

I think the story would be completely different had the car/team not failed him on 4 separate occasions. The points would look very different and so would people's views. Remember just a few races ago people were saying that he "was back" so it's pretty stupid to conclude everything from one mistake and the points table.

I don't buy into the whole 'age is a massive factor' thing. Damon Hill didn't start in F1 until he was 32 and won his Championship at 36. Schumacher won his final Championship when he was 35 - an age most would call 'old' for an F1 driver. People comparing Raikkonen's comeback obviously haven't got a clue. Kimi left when slicks, no TC, current Aero packages, engine regulations, KERS etc were already in place - little has changed since 2009. But since 2006, a lot has. I don't believe it should have taken him quite so long to adapt but it's still completely different from Kimi returning.

Michael will have had a lot more input into the Mercedes team than Nico, everyone knows what an amazing developer he is. They wouldn't be where they are now without Michael. He's loving his time back, more relaxed, happy, better media image...I don't believe he's going anywhere any time soon. I think that's a good thing.

[Nova]

I agree w/Ste...good post.
Age has something to do with it, yet when I watch Lemans 24, there are a lot of "older" drivers racing every year.
Im not sure how the fitness levels are comparing SPortscar racing and F1, but I bet they are pretty close.

I also think the current rules have quite a bit to do w/it. FA and Kimi have adapted well, but Massa has been having problems
since b4 his accident, when the rules changed from 08 to 09. Ste has pointed out what MS has done. More bad luck
than bad racing.

[Greig]

If so much has changed and MS is a bit alien to it all and is still trying to adapt then how can it then be said he is still a great developer and has brought Merc forward? I don't think that makes much sense to me as why would a driver struggling to adapt be able to develop the car. I think car development is a 2 way street with most of the onus on the engineers and design team rather than the driver in any case and that the claim Michael is a great developer is somewhat over exaggerated, sure he can lead a team to focus on him and his needs but if he is not able to understand the car and drive it at limits then the teams focus is being wasted. It's up to the engineers to give a driver what he needs, Michael will not be designing double DRS, or new aero parts, or a new floor to improve things, he off course will feedback what he thinks would help and then it is up to the team to deliver that.

If he is happy to keep racing and Merc are still happy with the PR he brings to them then I see no need for him to retire again in any case, this returning Michael is nowhere near as focused and committed as the Michael we had, he seems out for a bit of fun and the odd bit of racing, he is not going to lead Merc anywhere.

[justjesper]

What Ste said :)

[theforce]

As much as I want Shumi in the sport his shadow is doing no good for Rosberg plus his run of rookie mistakes is still on going.

[Italian Spirit]

For the ones of you who understand french, here is a proverb (unfortunately not easily translatable) that could answer to the question I asked to initiated this thread. It says: "On ne peut pas être et avoir été"

This old proverb refers to the reality of aging. We cannot be now as we were before. To paraphrase the title of a James Bond movie: "You only live once".

[Red passion]

I totally agree with Tobes.

Schumacher's performed great so far this year, qualifying well (out-qualified Nico in 2/5 races and had a DRS failure in Bahrain putting him out in Q1), racing well.

Retirement in Australia
Spun by Grosjean on lap 1 in Malaysia
Retirement because of a loose wheel in China
Started 22nd, finished 10th in Bahrain
Mistake in Spain

Out of the 5 races, 4 of them haven't been his fault. He was running well in Australia until the car broke down. Was in a good position in Malaysia until taken out by Grosjean. Running well, right behind Rosberg in China before the team forgot to put his wheel on properly. A pretty solid comeback in Bahrain after losing his DRS in Q1. Finally, a mistake in Spain (which was just a mis-judgement and a racing incident) where he hit Senna.

He's way behind in the points tables in comparison to Rosberg but that doesn't tell the story in any way. Schumacher's had no luck this season and only made one mistake (everyone makes at least 1 per season - Alonso spinning in Spa 2010 etc) so I hardly think people can say he's lost it because he's scored just two points.

Age might play a factor in some ways, but as Brundle and various others have repeated many times, he's still one of the fittest guys in the paddock and reactions were never his strong point. I think Michael has come good this year, in comparison especially to 2010. 2011 was ok, mainly the latter half but in 2012 we've seen a qualifying resurgence and solid race pace.

I think the story would be completely different had the car/team not failed him on 4 separate occasions. The points would look very different and so would people's views. Remember just a few races ago people were saying that he "was back" so it's pretty stupid to conclude everything from one mistake and the points table.

I don't buy into the whole 'age is a massive factor' thing. Damon Hill didn't start in F1 until he was 32 and won his Championship at 36. Schumacher won his final Championship when he was 35 - an age most would call 'old' for an F1 driver. People comparing Raikkonen's comeback obviously haven't got a clue. Kimi left when slicks, no TC, current Aero packages, engine regulations, KERS etc were already in place - little has changed since 2009. But since 2006, a lot has. I don't believe it should have taken him quite so long to adapt but it's still completely different from Kimi returning.

Michael will have had a lot more input into the Mercedes team than Nico, everyone knows what an amazing developer he is. They wouldn't be where they are now without Michael. He's loving his time back, more relaxed, happy, better media image...I don't believe he's going anywhere any time soon. I think that's a good thing.

Good post, well said.

[Fiondella]

Merc could do much worse than put him out to Pastor