Michael Schumacher

The Vettel thread surprised me as such that when I searched for a Schumacher thread, I could not find one. So I propose this thread for Schumacher because regardless of your opinion whether his return is succesful or not, I think we can all agree that there's always something to talk about whether he's had a good or bad race.
Historical Discussion may be allowed on the thread as long as it's on topic.
Enjoy!

 

[Jen]

He was an incredible driver and may well have still been a 7 x wdc without all the exploitation and manipulation - but that's the thing, we will never know whether he was as good as his legend - and that is what irks.

If we take current performance - and it's questionable as to whether individuals lose their inherent talent/ability - then he's not exactly giving the public any reason to believe that what he 'achieved' was truly kosher.

Undoubtedly he would have become a wdc - the thing to query is how many times.

 

[Brogan]

and it's questionable as to whether individuals lose their inherent talent/ability

Anyone over the age of 40 in a sport which relies on super quick reflexes, strength, and stamina, is never going to be as good as when they were aged 20.

For me Schumacher will always be one of the greats of the sport.

 

[MCLS]

And know how, throw Schumacher in an unpredictable race track scenario and more often than not he comes up trumps, they don't call him the Rainmeister for nothing.

 

[teabagyokel]

Strangely, part of winning is the exploitation. He's not the first and he won't be the last!

That change is no coincidence if you look at either the Benetton or Ferrari columns. That change is Ross Brawn. It is Rory Byrne. But it is also Michael Schumacher.

 

[Tacitus]

Valencia, rosberg 7th, schumacher 8th in qualifying. He was 0.009 secs behind. I'm certainly happy with that.

 

[TN23]

Brilliant, but hated by my mother, who, if she tried to teach me anything, it was that Michael Schumacher was a disgrace. Whilst I'm not as vociferous as her, his reputation must surely be tainted by these moves (Whereas Senna seems to have, if anything, have enhanced his reputation by driving into Prost). Also, the lack of competition could be seen as somthing that diminishes his standing in the pantheon of greats.

 

[MCLS]

I've split off the posts about peoples general strength etc to their own thread.

 

[Tacitus]

So I guess, i'll have to comment on the race of valencia, basically if he hadn't had contact we would have probably seen him finish in eighth. But formula one is a 'what if' sport. Anyway, here's the statement on his website.
www.michael-schumacher.de/sites/en/news/news.html#201

 

[FB]

And Schumie to stay on in 2012.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/formula_one/14073487.stm

 

[MCLS]

Valencia aside he has been a lot better this season and more particularly in the summer months, he doesn't look like he did in 2010 and he's not getting thrashed by Rosberg any more, I wonder if the fun is coming back?

 

[Slyboogy]

He does seem like he's more comfortable, even in Monaco when he was way down the field after the stops with Rosberg, he still made his way up before he came to a halt, while Rosberg just went backwards.

I think he has improved a lot from last year, credit to him for not giving up, many thought (including me) that he would give in at the end of last year if it didn't go well, or this year.

The motivation seems to be there if he's staying on...

 

[Jos the Boss]

To be fair to rosberg in monaco they were on different tyres at that stage but I think Schumi was doing great

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

It does seem like Schumacher has improved a little over last year but he's still inconsistent.

How much is he being paid to finish 6th or 8th or whatever? And is his rather chunky pay package mainly marketing money for whatever cache' his name might provide the three-pointed star?

Could Mercedes spend much less money on a faster driver who can beat Rosberg handily?

 

[Cookinflatsix]

Just think though, he is closer than ever to making the podium and winning a race

If he did win a race, I am sure Merc would think the money well spent

 

[KekeTheKing]

Could Mercedes spend much less money on a faster driver who can beat Rosberg handily?

Short answer, No.

 

[teabagyokel]

Just think though, he is closer than ever to making the podium and winning a race

Slightly further away than he was in 1994-2006, isn't he? Potential is no reason to have a 42 year old in the car!

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

It's a shame Mercedes didn't retain one of the 2009 Brawn drivers so they could correctly benchmark either Rosberg or Schumacher.

Because they didn't...and because they didn't sign another top driver (like Kubica, for instance)...it's hard to figure out just how bad or how good their car really is.

 

[RayInTorontoCanada]

Short answer, No.

Is that because you rate Nico extremely highly - at, say, Hamilton/Vettel/Alonso levels?

Or is it because that calibre driver wouldn't cost much less than what they're paying Schumacher?

 

[Jen]

Valencia aside he has been a lot better this season and more particularly in the summer months, he doesn't look like he did in 2010 and he's not getting thrashed by Rosberg any more, I wonder if the fun is coming back?

Do you think he might be solar powered?

 

[KekeTheKing]

Well.......... I do believe Nico would be leading the WDC if he was in the Red Bull and Seb was in the Merc. Probably by not as much, but he'd have several wins this year.

And because top drivers don't come cheap.