There are some of us in the Formula 1 world who think Michael Schumacher should never have come back to F1 with Mercedes GP Petronas. Anyone who studies the history of Formula 1 has seen many comebacks and they understands that these are rarely painless and often quite distressing. But, it is not up to us what people want to do with their lives. If they feel the need to be F1 drivers and can find someone willing to hire them, then good for them. Once they are there, they must deliver. If they do not, then they should be treated as all the others are treated. Michael may be a seven-time World Champion, but even champions get old. Last year Michael felt that he would do better with a car more suited to his style of driving. We gave him the benefit of the doubt. The car has changed significantly and yet this year the story is the same.
Lat year Nico Rosberg ended the year with 142 points. Schumacher had 72. Four races into this season Nico has 20 points, Michael has six. Schumacher’s defensive driving has always been harsh and pretty unsubtle. That will only get worse.
As readers of the blog may have surmised I have never been a big Schumacher fan. I appreciated his exceptional talents, but I did not get wrapped in the fervour that some people created around the statistics. Yes, he is the greatest of all time on paper. And there is no other way that such things can be measured, but that does not mean that he is the best of all time in the eyes of everyone. For me there were always too many question marks about him. I did not like his unethical driving moves. I did not like the way he managed his team-mates. I always felt that he would do anything to win – and that is not what I consider to be a good trait. The test of a great sportsman is how they lose, as much as how they win.
In part this is because he never gave the English journalists much of a chance to explore his character and get to like him. Right from the very beginning of his career he was guarded about all things. It felt like he had been media-trained by someone who did not understand the media. After a string of interviews trying to see a little of the real person beneath the facade, I gave up trying. It does not matter much if the press likes you if you are good at what you do, but it was how he did things that did not appeal to me. And yet I always felt that there was somewhere in there, a bloke who wanted the world to like him. He can turn on charm when he needs it, of course, but I have to say that I have always been wary of people who can turn it on and off like a light switch. Having said all of that I feel rather sorry for him in some respects these days. He must know all the stuff about F1 comebacks – unless he lives in more of a bubble of unreality than I think – but he has not been able to find anything else that gives him the kind of satisfaction he wants in life. That just goes to prove that one can have as much success and as much money as one wants and still not be happy.
In the end one gets no choice as an F1 driver. You have to face up to the realities that you cannot beat age. Some go on deluding themselves that they could still do it and blame others for pushing them out. Others are smarter and get on with their lives. I am not saying it is an easy process, rather that it is inevitable and essential.
There is no question that Mercedes-Benz is quietly lining up Paul di Resta and (almost certainly) Nico Hulkenberg as the next generation. I expect to see Adrian Sutil eased gently out of Force India before too long to make way for The Hulk. Sutil has always been quick, but he has also always been a hothead and loses it completely at times. I am sure that Mercedes will not push Michael out. He is still very valuable in PR terms but whenever the moment comes (sooner or later) I am sure that they will make sure that it is seen as being his decision.
Michael is tenacious and proud. My feeling is that he will fight on to the end of the year, but then needs something else to fill his time and make him feel that he has a purpose. Some ex-F1 drivers find their salvation running their own businesses, some compete in other things. Alain Prost is still racing and winning at the age of 56. Some enjoy the elder statesman status and simply enjoy their lives, letting others run businesses for them. Some, like Damon Hill, become involved in trying to improve the sport.
I think that what Michael needs more than anything is a cause that excites him. He does a lot of work with the FIA, the FIA Institute and the FIA Foundation, particularly in terms of road safety and perhaps that will be the way forward. Anyone who has witnessed the driving standards on the roads of Malaysia, China and Turkey in recent weeks knows that this is becoming ever more of a problem. Tomorrow, the United Nations launches its Decade of Action for Road Safety. There will be events all over the world as the global community faces up to the developing disaster of road safety. The aim is to save millions of lives by educating people and improving passive safety with better roads, better cars and so on.
The FIA has its own Action for Road Safety campaign that complements the UN activities.
With his old mate Jean Todt at the FIA I am sure that Michael has a job whenever he wants one…
I totally agree with this post. I’ve never been too much of a Schumacher fan, but I hate seeing what I saw of him in races like Turkey. It’s tarnishing his legacy and it all seems pointless if he’s not even having fun. Meanwhile as you say, there are other young drivers more deserving of that seat in smaller teams or having no F1 drive. Shame really.
The funny part about all of this is where Rosberg lies – has he been driving brilliantly or is Schumacher just too slow? I guess we will just have to wait and see…
Just not sure why he didn’t console himself with doing a ALMS series and Le Mans. Surely an F1 Champion in retirement can get all his fast car jollies by driving such cars as part of a team while getting up close and personal with fans in awe of his achievements in F1?
A bit of travel, a bit of racing and an annual pass at Monaco, Silverstone and Monza: an enjoyable retirement I should think.
The guy’s my age. What *was* he thinking?
Very well put, Joe. Thinking about Sunday’s race though, I wonder if Michael might go sooner than year end? I felt the same about his success as you, but I’d like to think he has the intelligence and sensitivity to avoid what looks likely to become an even more embarassing situation as the year winds on.
Well put Joe. I am of the same opinion, especially when one looks at his ‘blemishes’ of which there are countless versions.
Just wondering, if I wrote about Schumacher in the same tone here in Hungary, I would be executed by his fans.
That, however, never distracted me from writing and telling my own views about the flaws of his personality, his questionable racing ethics and his regular degradation of team-mates (except for Rosberg and Massa, maybe).
If there’s one thing I feel really sorry about is him having more pole positions now than Ayrton Senna. Not because I was a Senna fan (never was) but because the Brazilian has achieved them when the competition was fierce and never had a team-mate to assist him.
Istvan,
Telling the truth is an occupational hazard of good journalism…
Excellent article Joe. I’m the same, appreciate what he’s achieved, but will think he is the best of the rest after (IMO) fangio, senna and prost.
I’d like to see him win just once this year. Monaco !
Not that I dont agree, but exploring your criticisms of Schumacher, what about Senna, who I watched when younger but probably didn’t register the ethics of his actions? Does his universal reverence among most F1 aficionado’s exclude him from criticism too?
From having seen simply the trailer of the new film about him, it seems he was also prepared to do “anything” to win, driving others off the road to decide championships etc. Are there not very obvious comparisons/echoes between those actions and the tactics Schumacher employed later?
The problem with Michael is that the world has moved on. At the end of 2006 he felt he had achieved enough in F1. With seven world titles and a racing helmet full of sporting records he walked away, but obviously it was the wrong time to do that.
It is always a conundrum if you reach sporting heights as to when is the optimum time for quitting. Do you try and go on forever, denying the passage of time and their effects, or do you try and be smart and quit at the top with the danger that you should have stayed a couple more years.
Whatever happens to Michael, on paper he will never be forgotten. He will never be forgotten as well for the misdemeanours and the times when his whole moral existence was questioned. 1993, 1997, 2006 there are a whole list of times and places where raw naked ambition got the better of him, and exposed his determination for all to see. Fortunately, he was in a successful car and we could forgive him as he provided much entertainment as well as racing success.
I hope that Michael realises that the game is up. Mercedes will not be a Ferrari or a Red Bull anytime soon, and the march of time powered by the energy of the next generation will mean that past glories will not be repeated.
I would like to see the sort of drives that made his name return, but I fear that they will never arrive.
Schumacher’s return, like DRS, has, if nothing else, been good for the sport.
Unless he achieves several podiums this year though, it may end up being to it’s detriment.
I’m not concerned with his personal legacy, it’s his legacy, he can do what he wants with it.
I’m not a Schumacher or Mercedes fan particularly, although I have to admit to an odd sense of wishing him up there recently. I never thought I’d cheer to hear he was topping time sheets in practice and feeling slightly melancholy to see him overcorrect and dither during quali.
I think he’s a bit of a Gatsby character…former glories and all that…
Ooooh bet you get some interesting comments on this thread!
I share some of your sentiments, but I optimistically thought he’d get better this year.
Seeing the interview he gave to Lee Mckenzie was quite a shocker. Almost had tears in his eyes (never thought I’d see that emotion). And it did make me feel sorry for the old devil.
I really think he’ll jack it in before the end of the season. If he does I wonder who will go where? By that if he does end it sooner than Mercedes would have liked will they drop Hulk into Mercedes or move Di Resta across (if they can contractually)?
Being a Brit I’m a bit biased and would love to see Di Resta go across to Merc as early as possible, but great prospect that he is, being 2nd driver in a midfield car does take the pressure off a bit. Allows him the odd mistake.
Hulk learned a lot in his time at Williams and was developing nicely. So he has the edge on experience and it would uproot the team less. But if he did what about next year? Straight swop back to an inferior car? Poor guy has already been dumped from one car for a vastly inferior driver despite doing nothing wrong.
Ifs & buts I know, but it’s fun!
There was no question about Schumachers talent winning races in cars that simply weren’t race winning cars in his early F1 career but I do have to question his current involvement in F1.
He’s a great of the sport, holding statistical supremacy, but as his age increases I feel he’s really starting to struggle and perhaps it’s time to hang up his helmet.
It’s not just Schumacher either, looking at MotoGp for example we see Rossi (I expect a backlash from his fans for this but…). Rossi statistically is the greatest in MotoGP yet perhaps that is partially due to the weaker competition he faced in his early years (like Schumacher). And last year he had a young team mate who had the measure of him pre-accident (read like Massa started beating Schumacher at Ferrari). Now he’s switched teams and a bike which Stoner won races on isn’t able to win races. The parrallels are there.
I fear this season may damage the reputation of both of these motorsport greats.
Joe
I couldn’t agree more and it is interesting that the first few replies have not immediately called for your head!
Being in my mid-fifties and brought up watching Clark, Stewart, Rindt, followed by Lauda, Gilles V. Andretti, and so on, let alone later drivers, I have never thought that Schumacher even made it in to the top ten. However, it is difficult from the outside to see what brought him back and can only have tarnished his image forever.
Bearing in mind his considerable achievements on paper, where does this leave what others achieved against him in his “glory years” – was he simply the best of a generation of Grand Prix drivers who would have perhaps struggled at other times?
Tim Nash,
Thus far I have not received a single pro-Schumacher comment… I am not simply deleting them (in case you were wondering).
I completely agree with the tone of the article Joe, and I think most F1 purists would too.
Schumacher was undeniably the best of his generation, but the idea of some previous greats wanting the level of control he wielded is unthinkable.
As an example, I recall Alain Prost, in his autobiography mentioning how, in 1985 after Niki Lauda’s retirement, McLaren asked him to make a short-list of potential team-mates he would like for the following year. He came up with Keke Rosberg, Ayrton Senna, Elio de Angelis and one other who I can’t be sure of just now, but it may have been Stefan Johansson whose star was very much on the rise back then.
Contrast that with Schumacher’s cheating at a weigh-in for the sake of a 4kg advantage and I think you gain a measure of both men.
A shame, for if he had gone head-to-head in the same team with Hakkinen, Villeneuve or Prost – as I think was mooted by Renault at the tail-end of ’93 – he could have had not only all those impressive statistics, but the love of those who love the sport.
All the comments above, pretty much sum up my feelings, also. You’re a brave man to come out with the same feelings of many, who feel that Schumacher’s continued presence in F1 is embarassing, if not dangerous, to those around him.
I wonder why it has all gone quiet from the usually very noisy Schumacher fans? It must be the inescapable truth of your post Joe.
I keep looking out for Michael, not because I’m a fan of his but rather because I’m interested to see how an older guy competes with the new generation. There have been flashes of competence but the results don’t lie, it’s time to step aside.
Joe did your lap chart tell you how many cars MS made contact with in Turkey?
I’ve got to say that for the first time in 20 years I feel a little sorry for Schumacher but facts are facts and F1 isn’t the same as it was in his heyday. Like you Joe I’ve never been a fan but appreciated his raw speed when he entered the sport.
To be fair to him (another first!) and to everyone else one has to look at the state of modern F1 and just accept that it isn’t Schumis forte. He was at his best when a race was a 3 stint sprint, where every lap was a qualifyer and you had to be supremely and absolutely fit to get the best out of the car for 60/80 laps. The game today is totally different. Races are run at 6 /7 seconds slower than qualy pace (and probably amount slower than the early 2000′s race pace) so the places where schumacher could eke an edge and shine have been reduced.
Also the car hasn’t been a winner since Merc took over, as a result Schumi has found himself mired in the pack which he has never, ever been able to deal with. Right from the beginning of his career he was a liability outside the top four and was constantly involved in rather gauche incidents. He’s never been a ‘coming through the pack’ type of guy has he?
Also track manners have improved somewhat since the 90′s and putting the strong arm onto an opponent is now seen as a pointless waste of time as it will only ruin both the drivers races, best wait so one can use KERS or DRS – again, not really Michaels’ style.
So kudos to Michael for trying but add being over 40 and slower reactions into the mix I think the dream is over. The question you rightly ask is, how soon is he going to go? Mid season or wait till the end ..
Another ‘couldn’t agree more’ comment here.
For exactly the reasons Joe describes, I’ve never been a Schumacher fan. To be good is one thing, to be great requires a certain dignity and deportment. I’m far to young to have seen him race; but everything I know about Jim Clark suggests to me that he is the greatest grand prix driver of all time.
Watching Schumacher stumbling around the track on Sunday reminded me of those stories you here of 90 year olds accidently driving onto a motorway. Sheer bewilderment as cars zoom by on either side of them — a danger to everyone around them.
As for knowing when to give up, I have a growing respect for Hakkinen. Despite the occasional talk of a comeback, he left at the top having achieved back-to-back championships; and seems to be leading a happy and fulfilling life away from F1. The Finns seem quite good at that — sisu rather than bloody-mindedness, perhaps?
I’m one of the few MSC fans who wasn’t keen on him making a comeback (as I’m sure rubbergoat and the folks at Sidepodcast can attest to). And sadly, it looks like the doubters had it right. You make a very good point on Mercedes giving Michael a graceful exit – even in retirement, he will sell their cars rather than Ferraris, and that is something they will want to maintain for as long as they can.
Michael will probably find a role of some sort at the FIA as well. In fact, I always thought that the F1 Commissioner post originally proposed by Jean Todt in 2009 was tailor-made for him. My suspicions grew even further when Todt decided to drop that idea a few months after Schumacher decided to come back to F1. Anything you can share with us on that one, Joe?
Maybe this is as good as it gets? Perhaps the “phenomenal” Schmi was just the product of a leaner time in terms of talent and a richer time in terms of spending and testing?
I’m a self confessed Schumacher fan. Have been for 16 years it’s not about to change so have my perspective on this…
Funny you haven’t mentioned the problems Michael’s had with the car, DRS wing in quali for instance. Yes Turkey quali didn’t go that great but the race really wasn’t as bad as everyone has made out. Petrov slid wide in the corner and into Michael. Not sure why everyone thinks Michael made the mistake there?! Then he did overtaking later in the race, some of which was shown and some of which wasn’t shown on the screen. I was watching the green arrow appearing next to his name on the ticker on screen. And Rosberg wasn’t exactly stunning in the race either was he.
Yes of course he isn’t as fast as he used to be. But he’s not doing as badly as everyone is making out. If he can nail quali he’ll be up there with Rosberg. Michael should leave F1. Not because he’s doing badly, but because F1 doesn’t appreciate him. I hope he decides to do some DTM racing (mainly cos I live near Brands Hatch!!)
Elena,
There is nothing wrong with loyalty.
I first started watching F1 in 98, when I was 9, so missed a lot of the controversy about Schumi then. As a result, I grew up thinking of him as the best driver ever, a legend. However, once I understood more about the sport and what was happening, this was shaken a little. The infamous team orders and parking the car in Monaco qualifying I found shocking. So I can understand why people have mixed opinions about him – I do too. I tend to think of him as a former genius, who sometimes let his desire to win override his ethics…
For me, he will always be a true master of the sport. I was over the moon when he started his comeback, and gave him the benefit of the doubt last year. I never thought he’d be able to win another championship, but I did think he’d eventually be capable of, if not winning races, at least challenging for them. This year, however, I have to concede that it isn’t working out for him. True, he seems to have a lot of problems with his car. But his driving does not seem to be up to standard. Each race seems to consist of showing promise in free practice, having what is therefore a disappointing qualifying, and then early in the race having some sort of incident and turns him into an also-ran
I can see him seeing out this year, sure. Next year? Only if he gets closer/starts beating Nico Rosberg and next year’s car shows promise.
A shame, yes. But as others have said, he has to prove himself on track. Is he better than other drivers out there at the moment? Yes. Is he currently capable of attaining points regularly and challenging for podiums? No. And it is this which I think will make him choose to quit before things get worse.
I always wonder why, when MS gets criticised people drag out the “What about Senna” excuse.
Apart from the numbers there seems no comparison.
I was never a fan of MS (except his first race for Jordan) but was truly impressed with his willingness to put everything at risk with a comeback. I was also impressed with him saying he wasn’t enjoying it.
Been out food shopping this morning, so have missed the launch of this thread and nearly everything I would say has been said. (I also had the opportunity yesterday on JAonF1)
However I will add this which has not been mentioned directly, Iain got near but not quite:
Firstly I have never been a fan of his, aggression, intimidation and arrogance or some of his methods, but did appreciate and marvel at his almost unearthly car control, and race strategy in his heyday.
The way he used to get so good is not allowed any more, he used to spend days and days testing, getting the car perfect, tweaking re-testing on the Ferrari test track, with unlimited resources and the tyres being developed to suit him. If you have 5 items which are adjustable you may need to test each with all settings of the others, that’s a minimum of 25 timed runs with identical track, tyre and temperature conditions. If each item is adjustable in five steps or even only two or three the number of test laps goes up exponentially (literally), but in reality the designer needs hundreds more, he (Schumacher) did hundreds more. He learnt what the car would do on all surfaces and loads. Nowadays if a car is set up right it is mainly due to the simulator work and past data, there is only a tiny fraction of the necessary track test time available.
Stirling Moss I think it was, who gave up shortly after a comeback and said I can’t go fast enough so I wont do it any more, there is no point if I cant win. (or words to that effect)
If he goes will Ross go too?
The saddest bit of the weekend was in P2 when he seemed to be napping at the wheel driving slowly and was caught out by Adrian Sutil storming past and had to swerve onto the grass.
Elena – Even Michael said after the race he’d cocked up and it was his fault during the Petrov incident.
I’d rather like to see him get a podium this year just to have something decent in the comeback before he leaves again.
I see Jean Todt wants to bring in season testing back though which might be useful to him if it happens.
Iain,
I think your memory is playing you false here. Despite being another of Joe’s readers who respects Schumi’s abilities without liking him as a driver, one thing I do remember him for is his ability to come up through the pack when he was out of position. Stalled on the grid and put to the back of the pack? No problem, just carve through to third place, but watch out your tyre doesn’t explode! And Japan 1998 was a long way from being the only time he found himself down the field and made his way back to the podium.
As I said, I was never a Schumacher fan, but seeing him struggle this year and last is a bit sad. One or twice there have been flashes of his former brilliance (Monaco last year was a very poor call by the FIA) and turpitude (how Rubens didn’t kick him in the vegetables last year I’ll never know), but the biweekly banality of his current perfomances just sap any reputation that he might have retained. The light has died Michael, you can stop raging now.
This was boring last year and it will also be boring next year.
Michael Schumacher will drive until 2013 for sure.
Who knows when he will retire?Not me but i guess he will have a job at Merc when he retire from driving.
The Pope,
Your argument makes no sense. Having an uncompetitive driver in the second car is a waste of time and energy, even if he is famous and can appear in TV adverts. If the team makes the car competitive then it will be Rosberg who does the winning…
I remember seeing Schumacher at the 2006 USGP and just thinking that something odd had clicked. Turns out that’s basically when Ferrari asked him to leave the team and sadly I think he never got over that.
I do think Ferrari made the right decision though and if he hadn’t come back to Mercedes I’m sure there would always have been a place for him as a development driver for Ferrari’s road cars and from time to time the F1 car.
I feel sort of sorry for him too
Drivers are very much ‘of their era’ aren’t they? Fangio dropped out of contention when race distances were shortened, Jack Brabham never got the hang of 1.5-litre cars (but bounced back with a vengeance)… they were probably just fortunate not to have a lot of websites and forums chronicling their fall from grace!
From Senna until Alonso, Schumacher was unquestionably the best one out there. How ‘great’ that makes him against the likes of Hill and Villeneuve is open to debate. Even Hakkinen couldn’t grind out a full season at that standard – but so much credit for the sum total of Schumacher’s achievements must go to the team.
Mercedes GP lacks Ferrari’s advantages such as its close relationship with suppliers like Bridgestone, a reliable rear-gunner in the other car or the likes of a Baldisserri to conjure up and adapt his strategies. I’d wager that the relative stability of the regs in the ‘Ferrari era’ must also be sorely missed within Brackley.
Can’t see Schumacher staying beyond the end of the season, but have to suspect we’ll see one last podium leap before the old boy shuffles off into the sunset. F1 requires showbiz, and Vettel’s index finger doesn’t cut the mustard.
Although I agree with you in that he should have not returned to the sport as it was unlikely that he would set the world on fire once again, his achievements should have been more than enough to ensure his legacy in the sports history. I have to admit though that I was exited when he made his comeback announcement and thought he would be up there fighting for the wins… as they say hindsight is 20/20.
However I have to say that his ruthless streak is something that I appreciated and can see in many of the sports greatest of the past and present having it. It would seem to me that in order to become such a successful driver there needs to be a single minded obsessive drive that can cloud your judgement in the heat of the battle, but it is also that same passion that produced some of the best races in the sports history. It was present in the likes of Fangio, Prost, Senna, Alonso and yes even Hamilton, all of them being guilty of transgressions that could tarnish their legacy, but for whatever reason current fans seem to not be able to move past the mistakes of Shumacher and Alonso, who’s transgressions have been more recent and therefore fresher in peoples minds which makes it a little more normal that people still haven’t moved past them.
I like my drivers flawed but passionate, I’ll gladly take the bad traits if it means that they will produce inspired and exciting drives.
Perhaps Mercedes can offer him a DTM car for 2012. Micheal can keep racing and maybe find some new joy from it. Mercedes can move on with their Formula 1 life with some dignity and with Schumacher still part of the book from a PR point of view. Everyone wins, unless Schumacher really really really wants to keep on going with the F1 comeback thing.
German broadcaster RTL were aware of Schumacher’s BBC interview before their own post-race coverage ended. They didn’t get to ask him directly about the ‘no big joy’ comment, because he had already given them an interview before he spoke to the BBC, but they did get a spokesperson on to say the comment had been taken out of context or was just a poor choice of words or something like that. Yes, well, maybe.
I sincerely hope that if the Mercedes team wins a race this year it is with Rosberg, but I have had a horrible niggling feeling for some time that eventually one of those completely wacky races would come around and that MS would end up being the last man standing – rather like Olivier Panis in Monaco 96 or Johnny Herbert at the Nurburgring in 99. Or even Riccardo Patrese at Monaco in 1982. I hate to imagine what the RTL coverage would be like if that really were to happen.
It is a shame to see Schumacher not cut it with the new generation. I was a massive fan really excited to see him return, i really thought he would do well, but he can not match his team mate, not in free practice, qualifying or the race. You cant be unlucky every race so he has just lost that edge. I think he should retire as he has said himself the joy has gone, if thats so whats the point, give the joy to a new future star. To defend him as a person I know a race technician for Merc GP who says he is the nicest chap, very friendly and also very shy, maybe thats why he never gave all to the media.
What a thoughtful and beautifully written blog post, Joe. A really cracking read. Thanks so much.
Rob
great article and great feedback – it’s a great shame Michael can’t cut it it seems – surely Joe it must be a problem in his attitude/head though – given what Rosberg is doing with the car – and Rubens still seems to be competitive at a similar age and length of career?
apart from the rookie mistake last race and hids crap qualifying, I actually think he’s been better (and more on pace) this year – including this race. I guess people (especially Martin and David on BBC) forget his China race where he could race wheel to wheel
Let’s hope we get one of these posts from Joe everytime a driver makes a mistake or has a bad weekend.
Yes MS isn’t the same driver he once was – I’m ahuge fan and even I can admit that. He really needs to work on qualy as that is his main problem. His starts are good, and he still has race craft.
I’m a newer fan of F1. My first impression of Schumacher was when he “inadvertently” stalled his Ferrari in Monaco during qualifying, thus robbing Alonso of a chance to do better. That’s not a good way to impress a neophyte.
His performance in Turkey was sad. You almost feel for the guy as younger drivers pass him on either side.
Good read ,Joe, I saw him on “Top Gear”, thought, hang on, there is a bit of personality there. Then I read Ben Collins book-uh oh.
I think another major factor in Schumacher’s flattering statistics that often gets overlooked is that he benefited hugely from the Red Rule. Without that he would of lost heaps of points through driving infringements and driving an illegal car.
Never been a Ferrari or Schumi fan but really some of these comments need to be reigned in.
“Unsafe to himself and others”, “can’t cut it”, “uncompetitive”.
It’s all a bit silly. He’s finishing races and even with knocking his wing off still finished closer to his teammate than Massa.
He has a 12th, two top tens, beat Rosberg once, retired once and Rosberg also has a 12th and has retired once.
From this we conclude that “he should have never returned to F1″?
By this logic who else should be kicked out of the sport.
Joe
Great post as usual. Interesting theories about why MS isn’t as competitive as he used to be but the thing is this. If a driver isn’t enjoying what he is doing, why continue? He should take a leaf out of Lauda’s and Hunt’s books and go now, otherwise he is just a danger to himself and everyone else out there. Keep up the great work
@John – You are so true about reverence for Senna, death seems absolve everybody of all their wrong doings. IMO Senna was the one who laid down the boiler plate of “winning at all cost” , and being entitled to win, driving on edge, putting competitors at risk, not keeping pacts made with team-mates list goes on. Michael, Alonso, Lewis everybody simply blindly copied from the book of the Brazilian and the sportsmanship was kicked out of F1 with rise of Senna.
@Elena – About Petrov sliding wide into corner, and into Michael, Something uncharacteristic of German, but for once your favorite driver did accept that the particular incident was his mistake
Joe – I would be interested to know how much of the lack of results do you put down to the car? It is clear that for the last two years unless you drove a MacLaren or a RB, then you weren’t competitive.
Confidence for a driver is everything. If Mercedes had produced something decent, akin to the Brawn, and Schumacher had gotten some results early in his comeback, perhaps we could have seen a true return to form. Lots of ifs.
Adrian Newey Jr,
Of course the car is important. The only thing that one can use as a yardstick is performance against a team-mate, and even that can be fiddled (as we have seen in the past in some teams). Rating drivers is not easy.
I guess pointing out anything that could be interpreted as pro Shumi is too much for this blog.
Can’t see any other reason my last comment was deleted. I’m not even a Shumi fan but two top 10s and a 12th to match his teammate’s two 5ths and a 12th doesn’t seem “unsafe” to me.
Why not keep racing?
j
No idea what your last comment was, so I cannot tell you. But I only delete things if they are abusive, embarrassing to the writer, libellous or so stupid that they annoy me.
Totally agree with you Joe. Shumi is clearly disgracing his legacy. His move on Petrov was unsafe and a 9th, an 8th and a 12th in the last 3 races simply doesn’t cut it in today’s F1.
The only thing we cannot know, because even as a avid fan, well the writing was on the wall from the start, is how much car development gain Mercedes get out of Schumi. (I’ll ignore the comfort his presence may have brought to suits in Stuttgart)
I’m not even sure that works out, because i imagine it rather helps to be on the pace, to give real feedback. Once that’s dry, it’s over, bar an improbable turnaround.
Just feels like Ross called in some favours and it worked because MS fancied a go.
I see it as a searing criticism of captured youth in F1, the karting from pre double digits, the money . . that a normal change in life is met only with recidivism, not personal creativity.
As for all the stats, it would have been cooler by far for MS to pick up 2 WDCs with Ferrari, then find another team and do it again. Non MS fans would have loved that too, i guess
All might be forgiven, if he could just menace those in front, rather than behind, for a bit.
I think we get another year of Michael, next year, though. I hope that’ll be the year Nico gets himself a WDC, if not MW. So meanwhile, don’t upset the applecart. Yes, rapidly becoming a Nico fan . .
Wider problem, and i feel it myself, in the small hours, not to be spoken aloud, is once you’re off the ball on anything, you get lulled into being all too sensible. Sensible doesn’t cut it. I think Ross Brawn is in that position, same as MS.
– j
rpaco,
i reckon Ross will go at the same time.
quite right about his testing, Schumi also liked breaking cars, which is no longer on the a la carte menu.
. .
Nicko!,
bang on, about eras, IMO.
. .
Joe,
about turning on the charm like a light switch. I’ve been accused of that often enough. Sometimes you’re just in your own space, concentrated. It’s a wonderful, productive place to be. It’s calm, exclusionary. But it gets people wondering who the eff you are. I’m actually wondering, as dawn rises and i’ve got to hit tons of admin, and still up for a pitch or ten, how i can get back into that zone. But the answer is, you can’t, unless you do just what MS did, and aggressively mold the world around you. Which isn’t all roses, i can tell you personally. The much younger me, looking back, confused the heck outta people. I didn’t realise quite how nervous some were about me, and so when i turned on the switch, they responded like a just scolded puppy being treated, and that feedback got me turning it on more. Not cool, but as good an explanation i can give you, with hindsight, as to why i really liked Schumi so much at that time in my life! But it could all just be selfish youth. – j
clarifying the “sensible” comment, about MS, because it has to be in a driving context:
i mean sensible as in the danger of the comfort of irrelevant experience. That mismatch is to me a plausible explanation for those atrocious on track hissy fits of Schumacher’s. I see this as a different trait to the pure aggression he had before.
Michael is everything everyone says he is and more, but you have to wonder how he would do this year if he had a decent car. The Merc is a dog, period. Listen to Nico, who everybody loves, when he says I got a good start and was close to the front AND THEN I STARTED GOING BACKWARDS.
Schumacher had a much worse start (with the nose reduction, eventually, and the extra 20-something seconds to replace it) and still he ended up pretty close to Nico at the end timewise.
I can’t believe Mercedes is putting out such a car. THey should quit, shoot themselves, give up, get out of F1. Or maybe this is the ticket, have Michael and Seb Vettel switch cars and see how things turn out? Or Michael and Mark Webber.
Shumi may be a mess, may be worse than before, may not have been the champion one wants, may be a tad slow these days, but if he had a competitive car I think his comeback would have been a much different story. The mistake he made, in my opinion, was choosing Mercedes.
If Rosberg gets a couple of wins this season and Michael a few podiums, he will have already repaid the investment that Mercedes got him for. We have seen Alonso previously have terrible races, especially with a middle order Renault and Webber wasn’t much good prior to driving a Red Bull. I think Schuey and Kobyashi put in excellent runs. Forty seconds behind first place, having battled from the rear of the pack and not lapped is a very good performance plus some mistakes. He made as many mistakes in his prime. Not as sharp, perhaps, but still probably equal to the top ten, and probably better, given an equal car.
For talent, I would rate Vettel, Kobyashi, Lewis as the top three. Kubica come back!
Jonathan Strutt,
Vettel, Kobayashi, Lewis… Well, that is an interesting opinion. I have never (ever) heard Kobayashi’s name in such high society. I am curious that one would leave out Alonso.
Very interesting comments from the contributors in response to your post Joe – incidentally, I add myself to the list of looking at Michael and wondering. I posted the other day that I saw signs of Damon Hill 1999 and I wonder if Michael is having those thoughts.
To take this off on a tangent, there are some similarities with the current hot driver, ie Sebastian Vettel. When have we seen Seb start in the middle and race people? For sure, he is peerless on Saturdays which makes his job on Sunday that much easier in that he drives off and manages his race.
In 10 years time after Seb has won multiple championships, will we compare him to Michael? Very similar career paths with dominant cars (in Seb’s case inheritted luck if you like rather than the car designed around him). Good off the front but can’t overtake.
I hope he stays for 13 or 14 years to take the oldest f1 driver record.
Michael,
Whatever turns you on
I disagree! His race was not that bad. A bad lap in Q3, plus a mistake in not avoiding Petrov throwing his car across the track. If not for that, according to Mercedes’ analysis, he would have finished just behind Rosberg, who started five places in front of him. Does that merit all the doom and gloom? As mentioned above, he also made a lot of mistakes in his prime.
Remember Alonso’s mistake in hitting Hamilton while trying to overtake in Malaysia? Does that mean he’s passed it as well?
By the last few races of 2010 Schumacher had the measure of Rosberg (then everyone stopped talking about him).
He is a determined character; he’ll be back.
Arlito,
Will he still be there at the age of 60? Get real. Time has an effect on us all and if you don’t understnd that, you are still too young.
pier rodelon,
Stuttgart is a funny place, very very different from Wolfsburg. I know which i prefer, anyhow.
The Benz outfit has been so middle of the road for so long now, they believe their own propoganda about inventing the auto, and on a controversial note, they don’t fund a historical research center that i know of, into their own past which you can visit.
There was a famous cartoon, i think it was in Road & Track, of a Benz driver, in an exaggeratedly high running board model, pointy star glinting, feet above the driver of (possibly, i forget) a Beetle, nonchalantly dropping cigar ash on the poor Herr Biedermeier.
That about sums it up for me, and i loved the nutty 6.9, and the equally nutty in a pinstripe SLC models i had the pleasure of. But for an ad man to studiously ignore a huge buyer . . draw your own conclusions, but it boils down to them being way too buttoned down. Like i suggested above, too self consciously confidant, to “sensible” with the wrong affectations, and i had the pleasure, and think Shrempp is outstanding pre silly merger escapades. (So, not political, just personal style). Think what i’m on about reflects your own concerns.
cheers & appreciate your observations,
– john
doh, typo caused by more recent models, they were SEC models, 1990 long base limos in coupe guise, but surprisingly nicely styled. For a business suit
pier rodelon,
just a thought, and this is a close to talking out of my derriere as i shall risk in a comment here,
what if the following is true:
1. Nico is consistent in the points, team says conservative mapping and mix. Nico rises, which is his purpose and increasingly his due.
2. MS just wants a bit of glory, stuff the engine longevity. Which feeds testing data also.
3. And that explains – with a reversal – that P3 quali of Nico’s??
4. And all of that explains askance, why the Merc just ain’t winning material this year.
5. Oh, and to flesh it out, the ongoing switcharoo covers Merc’s derriere also
???!!
told you i was risking it, but every blue moon, retrofitting can make sense, so i’ll punt it.
Ever since Adelaide when he crashed into Damon hill on purpose I have had no respect. I have raced in many categories over the years even in different sports and this type of personality is unfortunately all too common. He may have the victories but he earns no respect from me. The move on Barrichello at Hungary last year showed his true colours. Good riddance as far as I am concerned. A true sports man he is not.
Arlito & Joe,
this one for pure humor, about those who hope for MS to make it all over again:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11273470
(gah, gotta love attorneys, waiting for hardcopy, courier late, and no point starting on something else . . .)
have a good day, guys and gals, mine has a cloud in a follscap envelope!
– j
[...] schlecht auf Schumacher zu sprechen ist, sieht man die “Götterdämmerung” eingeleitet. Joe Saward schriebt “In the end one gets no choice as an F1 driver. You have to face up to the realities [...]
Schumacher had a bad 2010 in a bad car, but at the three circuits which everyone says count (Monaco, Spa and Suzuka) he was quicker than his team-mate over the weekend and looked very good.
If he does the same again, will his critics take note? Most of them studiously failed to highlight this triple performance last season. If Rosberg is better at these three, I’ll accept that Schumacher should stop.
Last year, a certain fabled columnist went into great biological detail as to why Schumacher was past it. Then in his next column, he hailed Kubica as the best because of his performance at these same circuits. I can see both sides, but unfortunately Schumacher critique often seems to be about Schadenfreude and revenge.
Arlito,
Being quick at three circuits is not enough in modern F1. If he was not a seven-time World Champion he would have had a lot more criticism than he has had.
Iain had it completely right. I started to put my own opinion but was repeating what he said, so… ditto Iain (17th blog) – oh, except for the coming through the pack type of guy. As I remember, Schumey had quite a few coming through the pack races and victories where he would put in 40 laps at quali pace.
Michael Schumacher’s Future is the same as each one of ours. It’ll be what he makes of it. It won’t be what we try to impose upon him.
This guy has been at the eye of the storm for 2 decades and here we are thinking we have the right to decide for him where his life goes? He’s slayed Dragons, stolen hearts and fortunes then never once lowered his head in forgiveness for his actions. There’s a element of respect that he’s earned for that life we have no right to question. What he’s done, good or bad, triumphant or tragic, we couldn’t do and don’t have the guts to even try. He’s been the King of the Arena for as long as he decided to be. When he decides to leave the World stage is when he’ll retire for good. We can only do what we’ve always done regarding this Michael Schumacher, watch to see what he does next.
One thing all the connaisseurs ought to look at (and which so far only one media has picked on) is Michael’s pace during the race.
He was quicker than Rosberg. He was actually quicker than Button on effectively the same 3-stop strategy over the length of the race. What hides that from the public eye is that he had lost his Top10 place due to the incident with Petrov.
Might not justify what happened for sure but looking at things objectively, you cannot deny he drove a decent race!
And one more, for those who highly rate KOB’s race:
Look at what PER got out of the car this week-end, including a couple of laps 6/10ths quicker than every body else at that time (about 13-15 laps into the race, when the front runners had all already swapped to fresh rubber!)
@Journeyer – So true about the F1 commissioner post. I had raised same observation in various forums after Jean Todt decide to scrap the idea of F1 commissioner after Michael signed 3 year contract with Mercedes…
Game, set, match Michael. Some others seem bent on eating crow sooner rather than later.
Alberto Dietz,
I am sure you have a point with this remark, but I do not understand it.
“The only thing that one can use as a yardstick is performance against a team-mate, and even that can be fiddled (as we have seen in the past in some teams).”
Joe,
Do you mean like how Mark Webber has no functional KERS compared to his teammate?
Funny but towards the end of 2006 I started to like Michael. I think that during the tail-end of that season we started to get glimpses of the real Schumacher and I started to perhaps appreciate him more whilst he was retired.
I was skeptical when he announced he wanted to return to F1. This was further enhanced when he declined being a sub for Massa in 2009. During 2010 I almost started feeling sorry for Michael until Hungary when all those old feelings of intense dislike for the man returned.
I really appreciate Joe’s thoughts on Schumi and wish that certain other F1 commentators (*cough James Allen cough*) would take off their rose coloured glasses when discussing Michael.
A fantastically written piece Joe. I have to agree, not a schuey fan and apart from shouting at the telly as he knocked his wing off on petrovs right rear atthe weekend, I am finding it rather sad watching such a successful driver fall from grace.
Even more so as I can recall sitting on the gravelly hill side looking down towards Pouhon in 1991, my first visit to that glorious Ardennes track, as Schuey flew that beautiful looking Jordan 191 around the track, my dad and godfather asking who this new german ‘wunderkid’ was ! Then the formation lap.. ‘Someones clutch is burning..’ it was so strong we could all smell it 50 foot plus above the track as you look down the hill side ! First lap, Micheal retires. Still, a superb debut.
Pier Rodelon: If Michael really is as good as he says he is, then why isn’t that Merc on pole every race and Michael jumping off the top step of the podium a la the boring Ferrari years ?
Isn’t the mark of a true legend to make a dog into a racing pedigree greyhound, if you’ll excuse the analogy !??
Michael should give up now and leave with what is left of his dignity.
here most of the people are negative about schumi and i found that most of them are not schumi fan ,yes it is true he is not performing like he did before his retirement ,but u must see when he overtook the slower car compared to his mercedes ,schumi’s driving strength is drive through corner fast and that stupid imbalance Mercedes has all the problems with going corner fast it looses tire grip early it is unstable when fuel load is high cars back balance is not good, the car totally goes against his personality ,trust me if schumi would hv in that red bull u guys mouth could hv shut.