Greg92 wrote:
There are many reasons that could explain Schumacher's first retirement, his return, his lack of success and his second retirement and unfortunately we will never hear the correct one I'm afraid or even if we do, it will be something subjective and open to debate.
As for his second retirement, kai raises some very good points and the lack of improvement at Mercedes might easily explain Schumacher's reluctance to commit to the same team long term. If nothing else, the apprehension of the media and fans about Hamilton's move to that team shows that this reason is very valid. No one can tell the future and Mercedes might make a Red Bull and dominate the next three year but judging by the past three years this is more wishful thinking than confidence.
Another reason that I consider very valid personally that could explain both his lack of success and his decision to call it a day is the old adage “You can’t teach new tricks to an old dog”. F1 is changing constantly and it’s not easy to keep up with it, especially when you’re in your forties and have been absent for a long period. Rules have changed, ethics have changed, tires have changed cars have changed, the grid has changed. There have been quite a few incidents where Schumacher seemed to have been caught out by surprise that enforce my own conviction but I’m not talking simply about the incidents. I’m afraid Schumacher realized he’d never be able to adapt to this new formula and get to the level he’s used to being during his first career. If you think about it, the three main Schumacher’s strengths were negated in the past years: His strength to put in consecutive fast laps was hampered by the new tires; his strength to defend strongly (whether right or wrong) was hampered by the DRS and the new rules about defending a position; his strength to revise or execute strategies differently from the competition was also hampered by the new qualy rules and the tires. I think too much change was needed from the old dog and perhaps this was the reason that Schumacher accepted he would never be as competitive as he wanted to be and decided to hang his gloves again.
I think the second paragraph reason is undoubtedly the main one.
In terms of incidents almost all of Schumacher's "mistakes/incidents" have been at tracks where he is not used to racing. Rosberg for instance has twice as much experience as Schumacher at China. At the tracks where Schumacher has generally been quicker than Rosberg it has tended to be tracks like Spa, Suzuka, Monaco, Silverstone, Australia, Malaysia, Monza, Catalunya, the tracks where he has much more experience. Remember when Schumacher looked faster than Rosberg in pre-season testing in 2010, only to be behind come the start of the season? Some of that was because the testing took place at Catalunya and Jerez, tracks at which Schumacher has more experience than probably anyone.
Schumacher did hit the back of Senna at Catalunya this year, but Senna changed direction and Schumacher got caught in the jetwash with double DRS, and that was that.
I think a large part of Schumacher's struggles have been against a quick teammate, and with absolutely minimal amount of practice on circuits he has never driver before, it has been hard at all these new tracks, particularly as he cannot use the simulator for prolonged periods.
I wouldn't put it down to the new tyre rules. Schumacher was easier than Barrichello on the tyres in 2005. I think it's simply having to learn new tracks, new car handling, very fast teammate (who he is now beating quite a lot incidentally, even if it's only about even stevens), not able to do setup work in the simulator, and unpredictable tyre and car behaviour.
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