Grand Prix Rejects

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8427552.stm

Expected, but still somehow surprising.

Its like Lance Armstrong making his Tour de France comeback. Hardly anybody thought he would come back, funnily enough as a one year deal for Astana this year, and has just created his own team for next year...could a similar pattern emerge with Schumacher? I wonder...

shinji wrote:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8427552.stm

Expected, but still somehow surprising.

I suppose if anyone can come back at that age it's going to be Schumi.

Well, I suppose there's one way to look at it - it can't be any worse than Mansell at McLaren in 1995.

I don't think it's a terribly good idea for him to do it. But by gosh, it'll be fun to watch it happen.

You know how I know this is big news?

RTE mentioned it on the radio. F1 is never mentioned on RTE. The last time it was was when Adam Carroll tested for Honda. Well, not quite, but you get the jist.

shinji wrote:You know how I know this is big news?

RTE mentioned it on the radio. F1 is never mentioned on RTE. The last time it was was when Adam Carroll tested for Honda. Well, not quite, but you get the jist.

It's on Sky Sports too with the rider "according to reports in Germany"

eagleash wrote:

shinji wrote:You know how I know this is big news?

RTE mentioned it on the radio. F1 is never mentioned on RTE. The last time it was was when Adam Carroll tested for Honda. Well, not quite, but you get the jist.

It's on Sky Sports too with the rider "according to reports in Germany"

Wow they really don't like the BBC.

shinji wrote:

eagleash wrote:

shinji wrote:You know how I know this is big news?

RTE mentioned it on the radio. F1 is never mentioned on RTE. The last time it was was when Adam Carroll tested for Honda. Well, not quite, but you get the jist.

It's on Sky Sports too with the rider "according to reports in Germany"

Wow they really don't like the BBC.

The BBC report says "the BBC understands" Ie it's a bit unconfirmed not that the BBC are offering psycotherapy.

Also on BBC Valencia joint launch cancelled, someone was asking on another thread.

If this is for real, than I'm quite speechless. Schumi was my childhood hero, and now there's a great chance that he'll be back on the track... I don't know how to feel really... actually, I'm too busy these days to feel anything!

kostas22 wrote:Its like Lance Armstrong making his Tour de France comeback. Hardly anybody thought he would come back, funnily enough as a one year deal for Astana this year, and has just created his own team for next year...could a similar pattern emerge with Schumacher? I wonder...

I wonder... maybe in a couple of years he'll be managing a FIAT branded Ferrari b team, formed after a buy out of Torro Rosso with Rossi driving...

lostpin wrote:If this is for real, than I'm quite speechless. Schumi was my childhood hero, and now there's a great chance that he'll be back on the track... I don't know how to feel really... actually, I'm too busy these days to feel anything!

Same. I will finally get a chance to see him actually racing in 2010

Good god why won't his carrer just die? Hasen't he done enough, both for himself and in making F1 nigh unwatchable?
I'm curious to see how well he does, but that'll only last until he takes pole in the first race at which point the old lothing will come rushing back and I'll need to find something productive to do with my weekends.

If we're going to have a Schumacher back why can't it be Ralph? At least we'd get some comedy value out of it.

I hope Hamilton and the other "new kids on the block" (including Webber and Button) beat him every single time

smells like michael jordan 01-02 season spirit

So the worst dressed man in F1 is back

I expect Spa to be sold out within 24 hours

If their going to hire men with dodgy necks, why not hire Sakon Yamamoto?
Seriously though, I think he can do well! After watching the 2002-2004 seasons, I dont't think there is a strategy that Schumi can't convert into a win with the right machinery. And guess who's the chief engineer, Ross Brawn.

Looks like Schumacher is making a run at the "Hang up the keys" award on this site

Now that the precendent has been set, it will only be days before Heinz Harald-Frentzen announces his return to F1.

kostas22 wrote:could a similar pattern emerge with Schumacher? I wonder...

I'm willing to bet Peter Sauber sells his team at the end of the season. He's said to have been quite reluctant to re-enter; I recall reading that he sold the team to BMW in the first place so that he could move on and the team would be in good hands. But since QADBAK was literally a non-entity and another buyer could not be found, he seems to have bought the team back for a year so that he can make sure it goes on to the right people. I doubt Schumacher would be the buyer, though; I think he'll contnue racing so long as he's still got it in him. And as Alain Prost proved, success as a driver does not equal success as a team owner.

The issue is that as people know the Schumacher is the most sucessful Ferrari F1 Driver ever and even with Bennetton if he doesnt do anything with Mercedes GP and is slow his reputation will be ruined. I hope he can still be near at the front.
Also Merecedes Have to desgin a car thtas just as good or even better than Brawn GP.

TeamTipper wrote: if he doesnt do anything with Mercedes GP and is slow his reputation will be ruined. I hope he can still be near at the front.
Also Mercedes Have to design a car that's just as good or even better than Brawn GP.

Well, it's the same people, and exactly the same engine, so the car should be up to snuff. And even if Schumacher deosn't set the world alight, his reputation won't be ruined. It'll gain an embarassing footnote, certainly, but it can't undo 7 titles and 10 years of being the (virtually undisputed) top dog in the sport.

There are two or three drivers who do stand to genuinely kill their reputations next year, and Schuey's not really one of them.

Jordan192 wrote:There are two or three drivers who do stand to genuinely kill their reputations next year, and Schuey's not really one of them.

And I'm assuming that one of them is Nico Rosberg? (Through no fault of his own I might add)

Wizzie wrote:

Jordan192 wrote:There are two or three drivers who do stand to genuinely kill their reputations next year, and Schuey's not really one of them.

And I'm assuming that one of them is Nico Rosberg? (Through no fault of his own I might add)

I would say Jenson Button is one of them

Some curiosities about Schmmy's return:
- For 2010, a German team will have two German drivers in their cars;
- The last time this happened was in 2007 USA GP when Sebastian Vettel drove along Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber;
- But most important is that before this one event in 2007, the last time for a German team to have two German drivers was in 1989 when Rial for 10 GPs had as drivers Christian Danner and Volker Weidler!

rffp wrote:Some curiosities about Schmmy's return:
- For 2010, a German team will have two German drivers in their cars;
- The last time this happened was in 2007 USA GP when Sebastian Vettel drove along Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber;
- But most important is that before this one event in 2007, the last time for a German team to have two German drivers was in 1989 when Rial for 10 GPs had as drivers Christian Danner and Volker Weidler!

Was gonna add that in the 2007 German GP Winkelhock and Sutil but then remembered Spyker at the time was semi Dutch....

Confirmed now. Wow. Incredible day for the sport. What better way to end an already big-news year. And a three-year deal too ... he'll be 43 by the time that runs out. Last driver to still be going around that age was Jacques Laffite.

Just think of all the different storylines:

* The reunion of Schumacher and Brawn, and Schumacher and Mercedes.

* Schumacher v Hamilton v Alonso v Button ... 11 championships between them - when was the last time (if ever) there were that many "championships won" on the grid?

* Schumacher v Ferrari ... Schumi going up against the team with which he has had a near-spiritual bond since 1996.

* Schumacher v Senna ... there's a great poignancy to the resumption of this battle (even if Bruno is not in the direct lineage of Ayrton) - in the year that Simtek returns to the grid in the form of Virgin.

And finally, the one everyone is waiting for:

* Schumacher v Kobayashi!!!

Schummy was here in Brazil, in Florianópolis, by the end of the November when he participated in the charity karting event organized by Felipe Massa and he beat everyone in the track. This included Barrichello, Massa, Liuzzi, Di Grassi, Piquet Jr (!!!), rejects Antonio Pizzonia, Tarso Marques, Luciano Burti and Enrique Bernoldi, besides some guys that race in the USA as Tony Kanaan, Vitor Meira and Raphael Mattos. He made quite an impression on two fronts. First many drivers were impressed that Michael did not rely much on the mechanics to set up his kart, but grabbed some tools and made many adjustments himself. And believe it or not, he was quite a charismatic guy down here, although Rubens would disagree with that. I watched only half of the event but Michael seemed to be enjoying himself on the event and to be a different person in a more non-competitive environment. Nevertheless, in the track, he reminded me very much of the old days Schummy when it came to speed, strategy and killer instinct - but this time he did not bump anyone out of the track!

As for myself, I don't expect him to crush and humiliate the opposition in the track as he did previously. He has nothing left to prove, although some of his critics might be salivating from the opportunity to see him fail against the new generation. I think he will win again in 2010, but end the year as a champion is a completely different matter. It will be interesting to see how he will fare against Hamilton and my 2010 favorite Sebastian Vettel. The Brawn-Schumacher synergy has to be taken seriously but I don't see Mercedes as dominant as Ferrari was 6-8 years ago. It will be a good test for Nico Rosberg to showcase his skills against a title contender.

I am looking forward to his return!

I have my first IIDOTR already decided...

I'm not as bored by the idea as I thought I would be, I think because this time there might actually be some competition.

Will this be an unprecedented number of German drivers on the grid? Schumacher, Rosberg, Heidfeld (probably), Sutil, Hulkenberg, Vettel. I make that six, off the top of my head. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

EDIT: Sorry, I forgot Timo Glock. So that's seven.

There appears there could be a mutliple way fight for ROTY 2010 already...
Michael Schumacher
Jenson Button
Fernando Alonso
Jose Maria Lopez
Ho-Pin Tung
to name a few...

kostas22 wrote:There appears there could be a mutliple way fight for ROTY 2010 already...
Michael Schumacher
Jenson Button
Fernando Alonso
Jose Maria Lopez
Ho-Pin Tung
to name a few...

You might want to add Nelson Piquet Jr to that list, using his Twitter, he is claiming to make a comeback to motorsport.
Be afraid, be very afraid.

I was under the impression Nelson was going Stateside for his comeback, which hopefully means he'll be ineligible for ROTY in 2010.

The more I think about a Michael Schumacher comeback, the worse I feel about it. I don't see how being out of F1 for three years will allow him to do himself justice... ...which will make him come under pressure from himself, and he has a habit of breaking rules under pressure. The combination would make his comeback a bit of a pointless exercise (metaphorically, though probably not literally).

And I can see us losing either Heidfeld or Fisichella as a result of Michael's return...

rffp wrote:

kostas22 wrote:There appears there could be a mutliple way fight for ROTY 2010 already...
Michael Schumacher
Jenson Button
Fernando Alonso
Jose Maria Lopez
Ho-Pin Tung
to name a few...

You might want to add Nelson Piquet Jr to that list, using his Twitter, he is claiming to make a comeback to motorsport.
Be afraid, be very afraid.

Motorsports is a big place, not just F1!!

Nin13 wrote:Motorsports is a big place, not just F1!!

I know that, but it does *not* exclude F-1! But my hope is that he find a place in some ostracized category, far, far, away from F-1!

If Schumi returns & even does reasonably well it is yet another to add to his list of achievements.
Personally I don't think he should come back his reactions can't be anything like as good as previously but if anyone can do it he can, & I would not put the mortgage on him failing. He appears to be in good shape unlike Nigel & AJ when they tried to return.

Even if he's 70% of the driver he was 3 years ago (and I reckon he'll be much more than that), he'll still be one of the best on the grid. If the Mercedes is quick, he'll win races, if the Mercedes isn't quick, well, no one detracts from Senna that he couldn't win the Championship in 92 or 93, so it won't do his reputation any harm.

And as I said before, it's good to see someone with nothing to prove and a wealth of detractors waiting in the wings baying for a failure is prepared to come back for the pure love of the sport.

I hope he demonstrates in no uncertain terms that Hamilton is in short trousers still.

Enforcer wrote:Even if he's 70% of the driver he was 3 years ago (and I reckon he'll be much more than that), he'll still be one of the best on the grid. If the Mercedes is quick, he'll win races, if the Mercedes isn't quick, well, no one detracts from Senna that he couldn't win the Championship in 92 or 93, so it won't do his reputation any harm.

And as I said before, it's good to see someone with nothing to prove and a wealth of detractors waiting in the wings baying for a failure is prepared to come back for the pure love of the sport.

I hope he demonstrates in no uncertain terms that Hamilton is in short trousers still.

Yes I think he'll be prob 70% maybe more of previously. Not sure about of 3yrs ago when he appeared slightly weary of the sport, probably not helped by not winning the title for 2 yrs. He has said he feels rejuvenated so I am at least expecting him to be competitive.

Still speechless. I was one of the non-believers in all the Schumy-to-Mercedes hype, and now it's proven to be true.

His last race, as many will remember, was magnificent - one of his best drives, and as a result, one of the best drives in the sport in the last decade and a half or so. I liked remembering The Schumster for that race - I hope he doesn't screw up the fond memories many of us hold. Besides, 3 years? If he can pull it off, he's Superman.

Good chance for Rosberg to show he's good - or is it? Schumacher has seen off every team mate he's had, I'm curious to see how Rosberg will stack up. Should Nico beat him fair and square, everyone will say it's because Schumy is old. If he's beaten by the most successful driver ever, he'll have been beaten by an old geezer. It's a lose-lose situation if I've ever seen one.

So will he use the 1991-2000 white helmet or the 2000 onwards red one?

How please must Rubens Barrichello be that he left Brawn and missed the chance of being Schumi's number again