Schumacher return looking increasingly likely

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Andrew Benson (BBC's motorsport correspondent) on why seven-time champion's F1 comeback with Mercedes looks increasingly likely :

Andrew Benson wrote:

Michael Schumacher's possible return to action with Mercedes in 2010 has been the hot topic in Formula 1 circles since BBC Sport pundit Eddie Jordan first put meat on the bones of the vague rumours last month - and it is now looking increasingly likely to happen.

Bosses at the Mercedes team have all scrupulously avoided dampening down the speculation in the last couple of weeks, with the latest remarks coming from chief executive Nick Fry, who said a comeback by the seven-time champion would be "very interesting".

And this morning, the German tabloid Bild reported that Mercedes had offered Schumacher a salary of seven million euros (£6.3m).

On top of that, my information is increasingly that Schumacher's return as Nico Rosberg's team-mate is looking like a done deal.

Jordan says he thinks it will now definitely happen - and he believes it is only subject to a medical examination by leading F1 physician Dr Johannes Piel on the neck injury that stopped him returning as a replacement for Felipe Massa last summer.

Other sources are pointing in the same direction.

One figure who until recently had a senior role at Ferrari, who would have to release Schumacher from his consultancy contract, is saying it is definitely going to happen.

And I received cast-iron information from a reliable source this morning about the plans of those potentially affected by Schumacher's decision that, shall we say, points very strongly to him driving for Mercedes in 2010. (If that sounds vague, I'm sorry, but I was told in confidence and cannot reveal any more).

Armed with this mounting evidence, I phoned Schumacher's media spokeswoman Sabine Kehm to ask her what was going on with her client.

She is normally very forthcoming - it was Kehm who gave me the information with which BBC Sport broke the story back in July that Schumacher would consider a return as a stand-in for Massa.

At the time of Jordan's remarks she said a return was "highly unlikely", but that she "would never say never". But this time, although as friendly as ever, she was unusually reticent.

"I haven't got any more to say," she said. "I don't want to tell you anything, for whatever reason. I don't want to go into it any more."

Is that because you have nothing to say, I asked, or because you can't say anything?

"Because I can't."

I realise that none of this is definitive evidence that Schumacher will be back in F1 in 2010. But I have to admit that, after being initially sceptical about it, I'm now increasingly convinced that it could well come true.

FerrariRed

Oh loving the very thought of it The German press are apparently reporting its all done bar signing on the dotted line (www.f1sa.com)
Still, until I hear it from the man himself, I don't want to get my hopes up too much. Though I am slowly reconciling myself to becoming a Mercedes supporter next season...

Joneser

Every time I see news about a possible Schumacher come back I'm always wary about getting my hopes up, but this really makes me think there is a possibility of it happening. I wish they would announce whether or not its happening sooner rather than later

projectmayhem

Could be great if he comes back, but only if he has the same urge to win as he used to. Also, it could be a difficult season for him being away from the cars for such a long time. They're different animals now!

Though having a German like Schumi in a German car would be huge for Germany, and German sport.

I'd like to see it happen, and then hopefully Bayern win the champions league

projectmayhem

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Schumacher drove F1 cars with slicks before they went grooved so he wouldnt have any problems. He is immensly talented and I`d say he could drive anything thrown at him.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he'll be ace but Jensen, Lewis and the youngin's of today would have a one-up on Schumi given they've been with the newer cars for longer.

Though I live for the day that Schumi pops back in and shows the kids how to overtake. Make some of 'em crap themselves right there.

...Now all we need is Hakkinen to end his sabbatical!

rua1972

Schumacher loved driving a car low on fuel and with fresh tyres, one of the reasons to make 1 stop more than the others and still get away with it. (Until the french GP , forgot the year, where Alonso did 4 stops against Schumaches 3 and won) With next seasons refuelling ban it could be a different game altogether. And not suitted to his preferred drivingstyle.
I still think the talk of getting behind the wheel is just wishfull thinking from the (german) press. Personally i don't miss him and don't think he will make a comeback.

FerrariRed

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I`d take Schumacher over anybody on the current grid, if he is in the right state of mind and in a decent car nobody will be safe

Most definitely. As proved by him recently beating them all at Massa's Karting event

projectmayhem

FerrariRed wrote: »

Most definitely. As proved by him recently beating them all at Massa's Karting event

I would imagine events like this and the bits and bobs he's been doing, particularly in Germany afaik, has inspired him to get back into proper racing.

...that and the sponsorship money for a new wing to the gaff, of course

hi_sir

i have ad a mate banging on about this since brawn was taken over and his theory was that the brawn take over was going on all summer and that when schumacher was mooted to take the ferarri drive he was backed off because he had an offer on the table from Merc,if he had raced for ferarri and done well then they might want him to race next year.if he didnt race he was clear to jump to brawn with a clear concences.as i say this is only a theory.now what about vetell joining schumi in the future German dream team.

smooch71

hi_sir wrote: »

now what about vetell joining schumi in the future German dream team.

Its possible, although I believe Ferrari are sniffing around Vettel with a view to a possible long term future.

G-Money

Would be great to see him back. I just hope that if it goes ahead, it's not cancelled at the last minute as his neck hasn't healed and stuff.

He looked completely gutted when he announced he couldn't fill in for Massa.

ro_chez

German media now reporting that its true!!

http://www.crash.net/f1/news/155295/1/schumacher_and_mercedes_agree_f1_2010_deal.html

I personally think its great he may be back, as long as he doesnt dominate too much.

I think it could be an epic year, Alonso in the Ferrari, Hamilton in the McLaren, Schumacher in the Brawn/Merc


And I'm sure the British media is going to jump on the England vs Germany (McLaren vs Merc) battle.

All in all, I think its just what F1 needs right now.

amacachi

ro_chez wrote: »

I personally think its great he may be back, as long as he doesnt dominate too much.

Wouldn't worry too much about that.

Kevski

rua1972 wrote: »

Schumacher loved driving a car low on fuel and with fresh tyres, one of the reasons to make 1 stop more than the others and still get away with it. (Until the french GP , forgot the year, where Alonso did 4 stops against Schumaches 3 and won) With next seasons refuelling ban it could be a different game altogether. And not suitted to his preferred drivingstyle.
I still think the talk of getting behind the wheel is just wishfull thinking from the (german) press. Personally i don't miss him and don't think he will make a comeback.

It was the other way around - Schumacher won after he made 4 stops to Alonso's 3!

Personally, I don't think the fuel thing would be an issue. How many times have we seen him start from pole with a full tank of fuel and just drive away from the rest of the field?

Ghost Train

Would like to see him back, just to see if he still has it, should be a competitive car which would give every chance. But would be surprised if he if he's ahead of the other top drivers... unless the car is something special

Slutmonkey57b

Schumacher's return is good for media coverage and the casual viewer, bad from a perspective of fair competition and weeding cheats and worthless liars out of the sport. Nico Rosberg for one is ****ed, even if he could keep up with schumacher, he will be clearly and effectively prevented from doing so. If schui has to employ someone to stand in the garage and spike the guy's tyres, he will.

Interesting point from the announcements this morning:
Manor F1, who have nobody of note working for them, no technical leadership and not a lot to show for themselves in terms of drivers or facilities, have signed up a massive Title sponsor (virgin) who will effectively do all their marketing for them, and a secondary sponsor in Lloyds Private Banking. Nick Fry, who has Ross Brawn, Double championships, Honda facilities, marketable young well-regarded driver on tap, and an inside line to Schumacher rumours - has - nothing. Absolutely nothing.

frostie500

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

Schumacher's return is good for media coverage and the casual viewer, bad from a perspective of fair competition and weeding cheats and worthless liars out of the sport. Nico Rosberg for one is ****ed, even if he could keep up with schumacher, he will be clearly and effectively prevented from doing so. If schui has to employ someone to stand in the garage and spike the guy's tyres, he will

If Schumi comes back it is great for the sport, Rosberg is in a tough spot but not because Schumi is a 'worthless liar and a cheat' it's because Schumi will be 41 and if Rosberg beats him he's beating a washed up past it racer, but if Schumi beats him Rosberg is being beaten by a man nearly twice his age etc.

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

Interesting point from the announcements this morning:
Manor F1, who have nobody of note working for them, no technical leadership and not a lot to show for themselves in terms of drivers or facilities, have signed up a massive Title sponsor (virgin) who will effectively do all their marketing for them, and a secondary sponsor in Lloyds Private Banking. Nick Fry, who has Ross Brawn, Double championships, Honda facilities, marketable young well-regarded driver on tap, and an inside line to Schumacher rumours - has - nothing. Absolutely nothing

Nick Fry has got Merc, so thats probably worth something.
I dont understand why everyone is so negative about Manor. They have worked hard in junior catogories and won a spot on the F1 grid. They have technical leadership in Nick Wirth, who has developed some very good cars over the years but is always remembered for Symtek. It should be recalled that Verstappen was imense in that car for the early parts of 95 they just ran out of money. Recently Wirth and his team developed the Acura sportscar, solely with CDF like the F1 car, and it was a great car that won the ALMS series for drivers and teams. F1 is about pushing boundries and doing things that were never done before and that is what Manor/Virgin are trying to do and they should be applauded for having the courage to try something like this project not derided like they have been.

Slutmonkey57b

F1 is leagues, above sportscar racing in terms of technical demands.

Doing it all in CFD is nothing new or exciting, on the contrary, it's been tried before and found lacking in comparison to combined CFD, tunnel, and track testing. McLaren did mostly CFD work on this year's car and it wasn't until they took it out into the open air that they started to understand what was wrong with it. Nick Wirth has a reputation in F1 for being Max's buddy, but not for designing winning cars.

And as to Schum being a worthless liar and cheat - he's the greatest driver of all time, probably. Which makes his repeated cheating and lying all the more reprehensible - he's not a backmarker journeyman driver that was suddenly gifted a once-off chance to win, and had to cheat to make sure it happened. He cheated when he didn't need to, cheated when it gained him no advantage, cheated by making sure that his team-mate was absolutely contractually barred from competing with him. He was stripped of all his points in 97 for a hideous and blatant cheat - that he'd got away with a few years before. I admire the man's talents as a driver, and there's no doubt in my mind he could beat Rosberg. But I've no respect for him and I never will.

frostie500

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

Doing it all in CFD is nothing new or exciting, on the contrary, it's been tried before and found lacking in comparison to combined CFD, tunnel, and track testing. McLaren did mostly CFD work on this year's car and it wasn't until they took it out into the open air that they started to understand what was wrong with it. Nick Wirth has a reputation in F1 for being Max's buddy, but not for designing winning cars.

CFD in itself is not revolutionary but to do the entire car by that means is. McLaren did not design their car mostly with CFD and then find out 'oh crap, the aero is way out' they designed it with CFD and traditional methods and wind tunnel testing like all the other cars on the grid.

As far as Wirth having the rep of Max's mate, yeah Max was a partner in the early development of Simtek but I dont see what that has to do with anything in his job with Manor/Virgin. The cars that he designed were not winners, because he didnt have money to develop them with. The 95 car was good, look at Verstappen's performances in quali for argentina, San Marino and Monaco. The team had no money and had to fold, he's accountable for that obviously but you can see that Manor have been able to raise funds so maybe that won't be as big an issue.

He joined Benetton after Simtek folded and he was their chief designer for three years. The 97 car was a good car and won a race after that though the team struggled. Rocco Benetton came on board and sacked Flav, hired Dave Richards and took over quite a lot of control of the team causing them to lose their way. The 98 car was pretty good. You can only really compare it to the Williams which had the same poor engine and the performances of both teams was very comparable even though Benetton had lesser experienced drivers. The 99 car was an absolute dog though with numerous tech developments that didnt work out for the team

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

And as to Schum being a worthless liar and cheat - he's the greatest driver of all time, probably. Which makes his repeated cheating and lying all the more reprehensible - he's not a backmarker journeyman driver that was suddenly gifted a once-off chance to win, and had to cheat to make sure it happened. He cheated when he didn't need to, cheated when it gained him no advantage, cheated by making sure that his team-mate was absolutely contractually barred from competing with him. He was stripped of all his points in 97 for a hideous and blatant cheat - that he'd got away with a few years before. I admire the man's talents as a driver, and there's no doubt in my mind he could beat Rosberg. But I've no respect for him and I never will.

Senna crashed with rivals too when he needed to as well, I'm not going to say that Schumi is perfect but it would be great to have him back. He wanted to win titles, whats wrong with looking to be a number 1? McLaren had Coultard move over for Hakkinen(Jerez not Melbourne) and yet you wouldnt think less of Mika for being the recipient of that gift. Ferrari had not won a title since Scheckter in 79 when Schumi joined. He was tasked with winning a title for the team which he achieved. Obviously we all would have liked to see him go toe to toe with a teammate but who could have done that at the time? The only chance was Kimi, but he didnt look to leave McLaren until after 05 when he saw the team weren't reliable or consitant enough to challenge Ferrari over a season. When he did sign for them Schumi was put out out to pasture by the team. He went bike racing to get a buzz on a par with F1, he clearly still had the hunger but Ferrari wanted Kimi and Massa

Slutmonkey57b

I agree it would be great to have Schumacher back in one sense - but it would be bad in another. Senna was indeed a cheat too, which goes back to my point that we currently have a non-cheating Drivers Champion, we've got rid of Max, we've got rid of Flav. If we allow schumacher back into the sport when Todt the equal cheat is in charge of the FIA, what will that do for the sport's reputation? Hakkinen certainly benefitted from Team Orders, but "moving over in the interests of winning the championship" and "not allowed to compete on an equal footing at all" are not the same thing. Couthard has no hard feeling for his years playing second fiddle, but Rubens most certainly does - which tells you a lot about how they were treated by their respective teams.

frostie500

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

I agree it would be great to have Schumacher back in one sense - but it would be bad in another. Senna was indeed a cheat too, which goes back to my point that we currently have a non-cheating Drivers Champion, we've got rid of Max, we've got rid of Flav. If we allow schumacher back into the sport when Todt the equal cheat is in charge of the FIA, what will that do for the sport's reputation?

I dont think it makes a difference to have a non cheating-driver win the title then a Senna, Schumacher etc winning it. I do think that it is good for the sport that Mosley is no longer president, his vandetta against anyone who looked negativly upon him was despicable. Todt may not be perfect but he will be his own man and he understands how Rallying and Formula 1 work which can only be a good thing. I wouldnt look upon him as a cheat, I dont know why you do. He, like Schumacher and many other greats in the paddock, was focused solely on winning when he was involved in the sport and he looked to maximise any chances that came his teams way. Is that so different to anyone else?

There is no need to 'allow Schumacher back into the sport,' he didnt get banned he stopped racing. He will still be eligible for a superlicence if he returns and will race if he sees fit. That would do wonders for the sport in terms of exposure and would put Formula 1 on the front pages for the right reasons, which we have been lacking for some time as you know

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

Hakkinen certainly benefitted from Team Orders, but "moving over in the interests of winning the championship" and "not allowed to compete on an equal footing at all" are not the same thing. Couthard has no hard feeling for his years playing second fiddle, but Rubens most certainly does - which tells you a lot about how they were treated by their respective teams.

But when DC moved over for Mika it wasnt to benefit the championship, it was to give Mika his first win in Jerez. Melbourne was DC's call and he could have kept Hakkinen behind after Mika made a mistake. Rubens treatment by Ferrari shouldnt be looked upon negativly in view of Schumacher though. He knew the deals that he was signing upto and you cant blame Michael for wanting such stipulations in his contract. Schumacher wanted to win titles, and the best way of doing that was with a teammate to support him. Eddie Irvine had the same job as Rubbens yet he never felt compelled to lash out about team orders as Barrichello has done at times so I'd be more inclined to view it as the drivers personalities etc rather then the teams treatment of the drivers

enzo7

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

And as to Schum being a worthless liar and cheat - he's the greatest driver of all time, probably. Which makes his repeated cheating and lying all the more reprehensible - he's not a backmarker journeyman driver that was suddenly gifted a once-off chance to win, and had to cheat to make sure it happened. He cheated when he didn't need to, cheated when it gained him no advantage, cheated by making sure that his team-mate was absolutely contractually barred from competing with him. He was stripped of all his points in 97 for a hideous and blatant cheat - that he'd got away with a few years before. I admire the man's talents as a driver, and there's no doubt in my mind he could beat Rosberg. But I've no respect for him and I never will.

I cant believe there is still people who are sooo bitter over everthing he achieved, ok he wasnt perfect but who is???? To call him a cheat is a little harsh. He is the greatest talent the sport has ever seen and the sport its alot poor without him. I judge a driver on their talent and their talent alone, but for argument sake away from the track he has done so much for charity esp childrens one, he was the highest single donater to the tunami fund. When he was driving he organised numeros soccar events througt out the season. As for not letting his team-mates beat him do you honestly think anyteam would agree to this if there was even a slight chance they could ,that laughable.

rua1972

Kevski wrote: »

It was the other way around - Schumacher won after he made 4 stops to Alonso's 3!

My mistake, but i still recall Alonso pulling that extra stop trick on Schumacher. Maybe someone else has a better memory than i do.

FerrariRed

Getting back to the main point at hand (Schumi's comeback!) it appears more progress is being made - see the latest on www.jamesallenonf1.com. With all this buildup, and once he gets the medical clearance, I really can't see it not happening now.

Slutmonkey57b

Schumacher's return looking pretty clear, but Nick Fry may have condemned the team to death by signing contracts with a fraudster. Mind boggling stuff.

Slutmonkey57b

enzo7 wrote: »

I cant believe there is still people who are sooo bitter over everthing he achieved, ok he wasnt perfect but who is????

Last word on the subject: I have no bitterness over his achievements at all. He is undoubtedly one of, if not the greatest driver of all time. His talent is undoubtable. But I think we've had 3 years of the best F1 racing in years after he left.

Ghost Train

Will be interesting to see what happens with the sponsorship, I imagine they'd be able find a new sponser or fill the 25million gap for this year, especially if they have schmacher coming on board

thegoth

I think Merc might fill the gap if they have to

IM0

who does he think he is anyway, lance armstrong.

Iron Hide

me@ucd wrote: »

who does he think he is anyway, lance armstrong.

No, Lance Armstrong rides bicycles...

enzo7

Slutmonkey57b wrote: »

But I think we've had 3 years of the best F1 racing in years after he left.

i competely disagree, d only intresting part of 07 was alonso/ham in house bickering, 08 was slightly better, dis yr prob the worst ive seen, as nice a guy as button seems to be its laughable his a world champion. But hey we all appreciate diffrent things. As much as id luv schumacher to return, i think nxt season could be fantastic, alonso in a ferrari, hamilton really coming of age and both a million times more mature than 3yrs ago it has potential to be a cracking season. Schumacher in a mercedes would b the iceing on the cake.

As for merc sponsors if they hav schumacher on board they will be queing up.

FerrariRed

I will definitely be looking forward to next season a lot more than the previous seasons if Schumacher is making a return. The buzz I felt coming up to Valencia last year when he was going to stand in for Massa had me literally counting the minutes till I could see the maestro at work again (of course, we know how that turned out.)

Only 88 days or so to go...

enzo7

Ficus wrote: »

Please dont use text speak when posting.

Sorry:)

enzo7

FerrariRed wrote: »

I will definitely be looking forward to next season a lot more than the previous seasons if Schumacher is making a return. The buzz I felt coming up to Valencia last year when he was going to stand in for Massa had me literally counting the minutes till I could see the maestro at work again (of course, we know how that turned out.)

Only 88 days or so to go...

Im not getting excited untill its signed on the doted line. And all medicals are passed. I wish it was sorted soon doe, holding off on booking florida for next year untill i know if i need to budget for a few grand prixs aswell:)

FerrariRed

enzo7 wrote: »

Im not getting excited untill its signed on the doted line. And all medicals are passed. I wish it was sorted soon doe, holding off on booking florida for next year untill i know if i need to budget for a few grand prixs aswell:)

Oh I agree, that's the 'unexcited' me, until I hear it confirmed from Schumacher himself I think we can all agree that it's gone beyond just rumours at this stage though. I have promised myself I will go to a grand prix next year if he does return, I never got to see him race in person before.

enzo7

ya it def not just a rumour at this stage, still not getting excited doe. Yes you will definatley have to go to a race next season if his back, i was lucky my dad was a motorsport nut so ive been dragged to races since i was 5 so grew up watch schuey havnt been to a race since he retired. Will def try and get 2 races in nxt season, florida maybe postponed:D.

Joneser

I have been able to see him race twice, silverstone in '98 and '99, in '98 I was at the first corner and got to see him blast out of the pits after his pit stop on the final lap, never saw anyone leave the pits so quickly, in '99 i was at stowe corner in the third row, so saw him coming right at me when he broke his leg, would love to get to see him race again

FerrariRed

I got into Formula 1 in 1998, so grew up watching the Ferrari/Schumacher era, but seeing as no-one else in my family watches it never had the opportunity to go to a race. Being 22 now and a student, and with everything pointing towards Schumi's return (a million fingers crossed) it looks like I better get saving... Joneser, Silverstone 1998, what a race to be at to see the Rainmaster in action!

Stargazer7

Been trying to ignore the media hubub up to now as F1 journalism would drive you nuts if you paid attention to most of it. However, getting excited now. Screamed down the phone when my mum told me he was supposed to be coming back in for Massa.

Scared as to how he'll do but on the other hand I'd love to see how much talent is left at this stage.

Joneser

FerrariRed wrote: »

Joneser, Silverstone 1998, what a race to be at to see the Rainmaster in action!

Yeah it was amazing, would kill to be able to go back and do it all again

Stargazer7

Joneser wrote: »

Yeah it was amazing, would kill to be able to go back and do it all again

Was at Monza 2006...he gave us a little wave in the stand on free practise on Friday-pretty much knew at that stage he was retiring.

FerrariRed

Joneser wrote: »

Yeah it was amazing, would kill to be able to go back and do it all again

I shall give you a wave From being apathetic about whether or not there would be a race at Silverstone this year, I'm suddenly very glad it was saved.

Eddie Irvine's latest comments on the topic: "He's not at the peak of his game, but he's still good enough to win races as he has such an immense talent. It's still four wheels, a steering wheel and an engine and there's never been anyone better than Michael." (On the BBC F1 website)

Stargazer7

FerrariRed wrote: »

I shall give you a wave From being apathetic about whether or not there would be a race at Silverstone this year, I'm suddenly very glad it was saved.

Eddie Irvine's latest comments on the topic: "He's not at the peak of his game, but he's still good enough to win races as he has such an immense talent. It's still four wheels, a steering wheel and an engine and there's never been anyone better than Michael." (On the BBC F1 website)

Nice from Eddie but I still think he's a muppet...though at least he was honest about just being in it for the money and fame

FerrariRed

Stargazer7 wrote: »

Nice from Eddie but I still think he's a muppet...though at least he was honest about just being in it for the money and fame

Oh I agree Still, it's unusual enough to hear him being nice about anyone that it deserved a mention.

Stargazer7

FerrariRed wrote: »

Oh I agree Still, it's unusual enough to hear him being nice about anyone that it deserved a mention.

Well despite calling Schumi boring for having a wife and kids and being a good family man, he has been quite complimentary to Schumi in general since he left F1. I genuinely think he has a high regard for him.

enzo7

Joneser wrote: »

I have been able to see him race twice, silverstone in '98 and '99, in '98 I was at the first corner and got to see him blast out of the pits after his pit stop on the final lap, never saw anyone leave the pits so quickly, in '99 i was at stowe corner in the third row, so saw him coming right at me when he broke his leg, would love to get to see him race again

98 was a great race, 99 was with out a doubt the worst race i attended i was devastated!!! Ive never bn back to silverstone since i rem it clearly the guy over the loud speakers was saying "it seems irvine has gone off at stowe" i rem turning to my dad and saying no it schumacher i could feel it in my bones, a min or so later it was confirmed it was schumacher , i dont rememember a single thing that happened in that race , we left early and all. Best schuey memory monza 03 , i rem at the podium cermony i was standing next to his trainer rem the indian bloke (he was sitting on the pit wall) and schuey looking down given him the thumbs up, i told everyone schuey gave me the thumbs up:D ah great memorys!!

enzo7

Stargazer7 wrote: »

Well despite calling Schumi boring for having a wife and kids and being a good family man, he has been quite complimentary to Schumi in general since he left F1. I genuinely think he has a high regard for him.

ya agree, dont think he ever said anything too bad. irvine is still a moran doe:D

Stargazer7

enzo7 wrote: »

98 was a great race, 99 was with out a doubt the worst race i attended i was devastated!!! Ive never bn back to silverstone since i rem it clearly the guy over the loud speakers was saying "it seems irvine has gone off at stowe" i rem turning to my dad and saying no it schumacher i could feel it in my bones, a min or so later it was confirmed it was schumacher , i dont rememember a single thing that happened in that race , we left early and all. Best schuey memory monza 03 , i rem at the podium cermony i was standing next to his trainer rem the indian bloke (he was sitting on the pit wall) and schuey looking down given him the thumbs up, i told everyone schuey gave me the thumbs up:D ah great memorys!!

Reminiscing about F1 trips...ahhhh Was at spa 2004 and monza 2006...such brilliant weekends

FerrariRed

Monza 2006, wow What an atmosphere I'd say. I remember being so happy when Schumi won and then hearing him come on the radio and announcing his retirement. Incredible day.

Stargazer7

FerrariRed wrote: »

Monza 2006, wow What an atmosphere I'd say. I remember being so happy when Schumi won and then hearing him come on the radio and announcing his retirement. Incredible day.

It was brilliant-a stand full of tifosi And alonso's car died right in front of us so needless to say there was a big cheer as we saw schumi take the lead.

Slutmonkey57b

Wasn't Schumacher blamed for driving millions of viewers away from the sport in the domineering years? It might get the tifosi excited, but it doesn't take much to excite a ferrari fan, paint anything red and they're happy. If the past 3 years of different drivers fighting it out all year isn't making you happy, I fail to see how one driver, whose teammate isn't allowed to compete with him, walking away with all the races is an improvement.