planetf1.com

Its a shame that his comeback hasn't gone as well as we hoped (I was hoping he could actually win the championship!) but its been good to watch him comeback especially as he had nothing to prove. His departure of F1 perhaps had more impact in 2006 when he retired still at the very top of his game. But his 2nd career won't be remembered in years to come, it will be his fantastic ability during his first career. His 2nd place at Spain in 1994 when stuck in 5th gear, the win at Spa on a wet track on slick tyres from 16th on the grid, or the win to clinch the drivers championship for Ferrari in Japan in 2000 after 21 years. One of only 3 drivers to have clinched the drivers title for 3 years in a row.

Its easy to say he had the best car, but he also got close a couple of times in what was clearly not the best car as well.

I was rooting for Schumacher to pull it off somehow, and bag some more podiums and race wins.

I am ambivalent about his second go in F1. I didn't want his comeback to turn into a long look at his decline. I wanted him to be one of those competitors who defied time, and was able to keep at it.

And he did, though admittedly not at the level I was used to. If he wasn't Michael Schumacher, his performances during these past three seasons (9th overall in 2010, 8th overall in 2011 and 13th this year) would have made him a success story. But I was spoiled by Schumacher's many years of winning it all, and seeing him being a middle-of-the-pack guy took some time getting used to.

Maybe Schumacher himself never really saw his second stint in F1 as "tainting" his legacy to the sport, and decided he needed to take a chance to see if he could still compete at the highest level. I do respect that he took that chance. And I am grateful for the many years of excitement he gave to me, as a competitor in the highest levels of motorsport.

Can't believe the great man is finally retired :\ I didn't manage to follow his whole career from the beginning, I was quite young then. The first time I have heard about him was during 1999, when my brother started to watch F1 racing. He supported Mika and McLaren then, and being a younger brother who wanted to oppose my brother, I of course chose Michael and Ferrari to support. The duel with Mika was fantastic, and my brother and I would shout our lungs out to support our drivers.

IF my memory serves me right, it was during San Marino 1999 when Mika was leading with a very big margin and he crashed, and Michael took the first win for Ferrari at their home ground in I don't remember how many years, it was emotional then. During the Canadian GP, when Michael was leading Mika and they were so far ahead of every body else. With every passing lap Mika seems to threaten Michael's lead more and more, and my brother told me that Michael is going to crash at the wall. And a lap or two later, he did crash! A pay back time for San Marino it seems. I think I don't have to explain how did my brother make fun of me that time...

And then, came the day when a lot of our hearts sank, the British GP. It was very shocking, but I was glad that he was safe. When he came back to the circuit during the inaugural Malaysian GP, he immediately asserted his supremacy again with a stunning pole lap which was almost 1s faster than Irvine. The way he hold off Mika for the entire race using a one stop strategy was unreal. Since then I truly starting to support Michael whole-heartedly.

Thank you Michael for giving me a lot of wonderful memories. Although I didn't manage to catch him during his peak in the 90s, it was still a joyful ride watching him dominating the field in the early 2000s. I am very thankful that he came back for the second time, I still remember the sheer emotional outburst when he took that pole in Monaco. Michael Schumacher, truly a legend, you will be missed.

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I still remember tearing up when Michael was fastest in Monaco. He still had it, even if it was buried deep inside instead of shining on the surface.

I'll miss him greatly.

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"No, there is no terrible way to win. There is only winning."
Jean-Pierre Sarti

Me too. But obviously I'll follow his "civilian" activities to some extent, and things like the Race of CHampions. That's in December I believe.

Goodbye Schumi. Thank you for making F1 my passion. . . .

Watching Brazil this time around, so many people seem to equate it to his 2006 Brazil drive, but the major difference was that the last time around he had a car good enough to lap the entire field, team-mate included and this time around he had to settle for a car well off the pace. You know the car is a real dog when Rosberg was only matching the pace of the backmarkers and not being able to pass them. That was pathetic.

But Schumi showed real resilience. His special dance with Kimi won't be forgotten easy, and he showed how the fire still burns inside him.


Be proud Schumi, not just of how you absolutely annihilated the competition in your first stint, but also for how well you showed your class despite a pathetic car in your second. We saw a more human side of you, a side that accepted that you finally had a car that was never going to be the best, and still showed the will to fight, and fight hard. You forced me to watch F1 again, forced me to jump up and down like a crazy teenager after your Monaco Pole. Forced me to whoop in joy after your Valencia Podium. . I think, those rare moments of successes in your second stint were even more special than the slew of wins and WDC's you kept notching up time after time in your first.

Danke Schumi. You bow out, legacy and class intact.

I was never a fan of Schumacher but it has been a privilege to see him race. I started watching F1 in 2001 so my abiding early memories of F1 will always be Schumacher winning and then humming the tune to the German and Italian anthems. Today, when Vettel wins, I always wish Red Bull were Italian so I could hear that combination again.

A great tribute video by Sky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq2o2QJ8k8w

I've been wanting to write something meaningful for a couple of days - I'll get round to it by the weekend!

I literally started welling up reading others' posts on their memories of Schumi. Thank you for sharing

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#KeepFightingMichael

Mmm, the car was so pathetic that Rosberg managed to win a race in it ... time to remove your blinkers I think?

Anyway I wish Herr Schumacher well, if only he hadn't bothered with the comeback as it was so far below his prevous achievements it was undignified.

Gonna miss this guy bbye shumy!! I was ecstatic when he won his first podium after his second come back Well I only have memories about him this year because I started watching F1

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Even the best of drivers crash, stay safe and be responsible!

Yes, one win in China and suddenly the car is a frontrunner?

Nope, silly argument. Williams managed a win too. Hardly front runners either. There's always a track that on occasion it will suit a car. Like TR in Monza 2008, or FI in 2009 Spa. Many more examples.

But as they say, even a dog has it's day; Mercedes was fantastic in China, they could have had a 1-2 finish. Showing how good the car was that weekend. And had Lewis not received a penalty, maybe Rosberg wouldn't even reach the first corner leading.

But that's all if's and but's. The cold hard facts say that the Merc was a dog this year, marginally best of the rest, sometimes going on strings of races without scoring a single point between the two cars. Yeah, real winner this car

At no point did I say the car was a front runner, I was refuting the assertion that it was a dog. The real problem Mercedes have had is neither of their drivers could develop the car effectively.

Michael was previously one of the hardest working drivers but the limited in season testing and the fact that he got motion sickness in the simulator meant that his contributions were limited. The poster boy would be better off developing max factor.

I fear that Lewis won’t do much for development, as he seems to be able to ’drive’ around the faults to get the maximum out of the car.

As I said before I wish Herr Schumacher well in his future ventures. However having read today that he is hoping to find a testing role it appears that he just can’t let go, which is quite sad really.

If it was a case of him being unable to let go, then he would have taken the Sauber seat for next season. But he hasn't. He knows his racing days are over, but he still has the talent to test and develop. It's what he's done pretty much all his racing life and if he still has the skill and speed to drive a F1 car (pole at Monaco anyone?) then why not? I'd take him over an inexperienced rookie any day.

He loves the sport. You can't knock him for that.

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#KeepFightingMichael

Micheal failed to finish races 8 times and Nico failed to finish 3 times. The 9 times when the two Mercedes finished the race Micheal was ahead 7-2.

They are tied in qualifying 10 - 10.

Of course a Mercedes finishing the race never means that there wasn't a technical problem. It just means the problem is relatively small for Mercedes such as losing 6th gear, DRS etc compared to their other shenanigans ...

Fair point, but you did allude to the car winning, meaning that it was not that bad. In fact yes, it was that bad. It was a dog. When the team principal has to go out publicly and apologize to his drivers for the car they are driving, I believe you can accept this as proof that it was a dog. Or maybe worse.

Now don't get this wrong. When I say dog I mean in relative terms. Obviously it was faster than the rest, but for the size of the company, the money spent and the expectations that they had, then it wasn't a good car at all.

I completely agree that for Mercedes the car is an embarrassment, but I don't agree that the car was a dog. It showed good potential early in the season, they just couldn't develop it and the drivers need to take some responsibility for that.

It wouldn't have been good man management by Mercedes to criticize their own drivers unless they were going to sack them at the end of the season. Look how careful Ferrari were with the hapless Massa.

I think the drivers are blameless. It's not like years ago when they could actually test. Everything is now done in theory and then put into practice. All the drivers can do is say whether something works or not. But those ideas and new parts come from the technical staff.

Unless Schumacher and Rosberg were expected to be at the computer working with CAD and designing parts, then I think they're blameless. Given the budget and manpower of Merc, they should have been able to produce a car that anyone could win in. That's why Ferrari / McLaren / Williams / Red Bull have been so good in the past.

All IMO, btw.

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http://www.geoffnolan.com

Well, that's the thing. The car showed potential in the beginning, but the car's success was masked by the DRS gizmo that allowed for qualifying at higher places than it would have otherwise. I think Brawn admitted that they went wrong with putting all that effort in the DRS, leaving the rest of the car's development trailing.

I agree about the management, but they don't have to slam the drivers. As it is not the drivers fault really. With limited testing (especially with Schumacher's simulator issues) it is unfair to pin it on the drivers. They focused too much in one area, missing on others. No driver input would have made up for that

The car was pretty good at the beginning of the season - but Schumi's car was extremely unreliable, hence all his mechanical DNFs.

Unfortunately, the car's pace (compared to the other teams) went downhill after they had sorted out Schumi's car problems - and for the remainder of the season was - at best - a midfield car.

Schumacher's comeback a mistake, http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/20643178

He definitely improved over the 3 years: Slower than Rosberg in 2010 almost always, only a smidgen behind in 2011 and probably a smidgen quicker in 2012.

To me that says that if he hadn't given up car racing from 2006-2010, and instead stayed in F1, he would have been able to handle Rosberg, despite the age that no doubt had an effect (he is 43).

I think if 2012 Schumacher was in a top car, he could win a championship. Unfortunately he (and Nico as well) didn't get that.

I don't think the lack of simulator has been so much of a negative, I don't believe Alonso spends every day in the simulator, compared to Vettel, Hamilton and Button, and he seems to do alright.

The 4 main problems are:

(1) Uncompetitive car, except briefly in early 2012 when the whole field looked like they might win a race.
(2) Unreliability when the car was briefly competitive.
(3) Schumacher's 2006-2010 hiatus from car racing and turning to motorbikes.
(4) Schumacher's age from 41-43 and thus not being at his peak for learning new stuff, and a little pace perhaps.

Point (3) was exacerbated by the "no testing" rule, although Schumacher said he wouldn't have come back had it not been for that rule (family reasons), that isn't strictly relevant and the point stands that it didn't help.

If you had bothered to read around the "pathetic" word, you would have realized that i was referring to Brazil.

Oh yes, China. One among the few Grand Prix when Mercedes actually had a Front-running car, and Schumi was let down at the pit-stops. Australia, when the car was actually looking good for a strong finish, until his gearbox decided it had enough. Monaco, where even if he had started from Pole, would have probably still retired with a DRS flap that refused to close. Oh, and finally when reliability is better, the development is stunted to such an extent that it becomes a dog, which was what my point was if you bothered to read properly.

He's back at it! Bit more news:

http://www.motogp.com/en/news/2013/Raci ... rd+Circuit

What legends - and Keith Flint!

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#KeepFightingMichael

Michael Jordan changed basketball to a point where players like Kobe Bryant imitate his style to a point the whole game picks it up. I believe schumi did the same with f1. He made it more competitive for starters and it even caught him out his last 3 hrs havnt golden but classic schumi was there canada 2011 monaco pole 2012 his battle with Hamilton in china 2010 to me he never lost it but maybe his commitment to development wasn't the same due to age family and more mature mindset ( can't blame that) he pace against rosberg in 2012 quali was impressive but he still struggled to maintain that pace for a race distance. Though reliability issues didn't help either.

http://www.espn.co.uk/mercedes/motorspo ... MP=OTC-RSS


I thought that he always had a role within Ferrari. It seems that he will continue with Mercedes. I expect a few tifosi to be less than impressed.

If was indeed pushed out by Ferrari I could see a possible reason to maybe distance himself a bit. I for one have no problem with him working with Merc as a long time fan of the old lion he can do as he pleases.

Well if he was pushed out in 2006 that didn't have anything to do with his relationship with the team. Remember he was there up until 2009 (I think) as an advisor.

I wasn't suggesting sour grapes between them however. I was wondering why would he distance himself suddenly. Although to be fair Mercedes gave him his chance in racing way before Ferrari did, I can understand him being loyal to them

When he signed for Mercedes, Ferrari were very disappointed he didn't even talk to them about a comeback.

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Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota - Jules Bianchi

What do you mean "..he didn't even talk to them about a comeback"? There was talk about him filling in for Massa at Ferrari after Massa's Hungarian outing. Or are you saying he didn't give Ferrari any forewarning about jumping ship to Mercedes?

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Yes, I should have been clearer about that; it was after the Massa replacement possibility. It was indeed when he decided to come back.

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Use every man after his desert, and who should scape whipping? Use them after your own honour and dignity.

Maria de Villota - Jules Bianchi

http://www.espn.co.uk/mercedes/motorspo ... MP=OTC-RSS


Great!

I saw this, looks awesome.

I've pointed out in a few threads recently that Schumi outperformed Nico in 2012, but today I thought I'd take a look at 2011.

I've only looked at results (with only a cursory search as to who was at fault in accidents), but was suprised to discover that Schumi did pretty well in 2011 too! I'm suprised as my memory told me that Schumi was the better driver at the end of 2011, but not at the beginning of the season.

Anyway, a few facts:-

When both drivers finished, Nico beat Schumi 7 times, whilst Schumi beat Nico 6 times.

Schumi had 2 mechanical DNFs whilst Nico had 0.

Accident DNFs - Nico had 2 'not at fault' accidents, whilst Schumi had 1 'not at fault'/1 where he was 'at fault' and 1 (Australia) where I couldn't quickly find any details.

Most interestingly though (at least to me ), Nico finished higher in quali 16 times, whilst Schumi only finished higher 3 times - incredible then that he and Nico were so close in the 'who beat who' standings!

These results made me understand why I believe Nico is a great qualifier, but not v good during the race...

At the end of the day, I've no idea whether Schumi had lost any speed during his comeback - but have no doubt that he was a far better racedriver than Nico in both 2011 and 2012.

However, I do think Schumi had lost some of his racecraft as whilst he could still be excellent, every now and again he made stupid errors - i.e. made misjudgements - that resulted in accidents, specifically running into the back of other drivers .

Its such a shame that he never had the opportunity to show (during his comeback) what he could do in a good car. On the odd occasion that the Merc was a good car, Schumi pretty much invariably had a mechanical DNF.

I really hope schumi does 1 slow lap waving to the fans,and then goes flat out the next one to put down a time on the track.

As arguably the best driver in history he should hold the lap record around the ring.Time to beat is 6:11 by Bellof in a Porsche sportscar.

I thought that in 2010 Nico was far better, in 2011 things were more equal (Nico still ahead in qualy and in races although by a smaller margin), but in 2012 Schumacher was the better of the two drivers.

Nico looks like a fast quali guy that goes nowhere in the races (reminds me of someone!). He can have good days, but not exactly WDC material, not yet anyway. I like him and I think he has the racecraft, but he is not up there just yet

I agree with everything you say, and thought the same thing about 2011.

That's why I was suprised to discover that they were so close in race tallies, even though Nico outqualified Schumi in 16 out of 19 races!

Stefan died when I wasn't even 18 years old back in 1985, almost 30 years ago. The track didn't get better over the years. I doubt it's possible to beat this time nowadays (apart from some other layout integrating the current track).

I'm not sure i like that kind of analysis where if a driver doesn't finish whilst getting beat by his teammate then that doesn't count.

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