Schumacher to drive for Mercedes

That would be a kick in the teeth for di Montezemolo, especially considering he's been campaigning for 3 car teams.

It would be worth it happening just for that :D

Like I said a while ago though, I believe nothing now until it actually happens.
There are too many bluffs and double bluffs in F1 to take anything seriously or at face value.
 
I posted a similar comment in chat when FB first broke the news and considering the initial source was the BBCs very own "paddock spy" in the shape of Eddie Jordan, this story has the wiff of that which eminates from the rear of a male cow.

As always we shall see but right now I can see the "Red Porkers" flying display team conducting team practice over the Mercedes HQ.
 
I think Schumi should just lie down and give in. I have always be dubious about his prolific WDCs - how many would he have won without help or cheating? It would be a disaster if he got back into a car and just bring more disrepute to a sport that is already tarnished.
 
cider_and_toast said:
the initial source was the BBCs very own "paddock spy" in the shape of Eddie Jordan

Is this Eddie "KERS will never be on pole" Jordan? Since when did his oft bizarre pronouncements imply that the subject of them was fact, or indeed likely.

I always thought the BBC's ideal with F1 was Presenter, Pundit, Jester! They've pulled off the mix with ease!
 
Jenov2003 said:

I think Schumi should just lie down and give in. I have always be dubious about his prolific WDCs - how many would he have won without help or cheating? It would be a disaster if he got back into a car and just bring more disrepute to a sport that is already tarnished.
:thumbsup:

Agree 111% and a little bit more. If he was allowed to race then it would be a backward step for F1.

If Mercedes want a German driver then theirs plenty to choose from. Do as McLaren did and support somebody from Karts. Football supports players from the playground to the big time, motorsport should be no different.
 
Mercedes and 111 made me think of this:

1969-mercedes-c111-4.jpg


Mercedes built this car in the late 1960's and used it as a test bed for different engines (diesel, Wankel & Turbo's). The car had a drag coefficient of 0.191, incredible.
 
Mercedes and 111 made me think of this:

My 998cc Austin Rover Mini looked similar in the end. Although it did have the odd fence post/bit of hedgerow increasing the drag coefficient. Its amazing how little fear you feel when your 17.
 
jenov2003 said:
I think Schumi should just lie down and give in. I have always be dubious about his prolific WDCs - how many would he have won without help or cheating? It would be a disaster if he got back into a car and just bring more disrepute to a sport that is already tarnished.

has there ever been one WDC whose title was totally unchalllenged and spick and span? methinks not. its already known for as long as i follow F1 that teams spy, cheat and do anything they can do just to get a few points let alone a WDC.

F1 is about taking chances and pushing your luck. and yes, that includes some shady business too. but that has always been the case.
 
Although everyone is always sceptical of Eddie Jordan's remarks he almost always turns out to be right when it concerns matters of contracts and mergers. In the case of Schumacher driving for Mercedes and renewing his partnership with Ross Brawn, it is a "no brainer". Especially since the departure of Jenson Button. Ross now requires a driver who can get the job done, has a high profile and who can cunjure a win out of thin air. Mercedes wants to win and put Mclaren in the shade from the getgo. Michael wants to race cars, bikes, Karts, anything that goes quick and nothing is quicker than F1.

Eddie Jordan may be wild and woolly but he has a host of friends and ex employees up and down the pitlane and he gets wind of things long before most commentators. People forget he was telling us that Brawn and Mercedes was a done deal mid season and no one believed that either.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2009/12/schumacher_returning_looking_i.html
 
Well Haug has promised a "big surprise" so maybe this is it?

I can't think who else they could sign who would be a "big surprise".
 
This wouldn't be a big surprise; Eddie Jordan told the world about it. A big surprise would be... Kamui Kobayashi.

Seriously, this could be one of the daftest moves in sport. He's 41. He's got his reputation to lose and absolutely nothing to gain. Nothing, nada, zilch. The messiah rarely returns; he could be embarrassed.
 
The car is going to be competitive, BrawnGP switched all their engineering and aerodynamic efforts to the 2010 car mid season. Some people are comparing Michael Schumacher's 41 with Nigel Mansell's 41, however Nigel wasn't particularly fit when he was in his twenties. In the 94 Williams Nigel was competitive, the 95 McLaren was an understeering turd on wheels, it'd driven any sane man out of F1! Damon Hill has pointed out that he won in a Jordan aged 37. Drive is the key factor here and Schumacher has nothing else, he is a driven man, very likely driven mad by not having a drive in F1!
 
snowy said:
The car is going to be competitive, BrawnGP switched all their engineering and aerodynamic efforts to the 2010 car mid season. Some people are comparing Michael Schumacher's 41 with Nigel Mansell's 41, however Nigel wasn't particularly fit when he was in his twenties. In the 94 Williams Nigel was competitive, the 95 McLaren was an understeering turd on wheels, it'd driven any sane man out of F1! Damon Hill has pointed out that he won in a Jordan aged 37. Drive is the key factor here and Schumacher has nothing else, he is a driven man, very likely driven mad by not having a drive in F1!

Equally, however, Schumacher's 41 is not Fangio's 41 either, and it is very difficult to compete in élite sport past 40. Also, whilst the McLaren of 1995 was an understeering turd, the Williams of 1994 was a quality car that won the Constructors' Championship despite its lead driver dying in race 3 without a point to his name, from 7-40 down to Benetton after race 4, and got Damon Hill to within a point of Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship.

Mansell may have been 'competitive' in the 1994 Williams; but not overly so! He lost places off the start at each race, and his win in Australia was more down to the Schumacher/Hill shenanigans than a performance from Mansell.

Damon Hill won a race when he was 37...? Well, we can imply he was supremely fit from his win in the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix. Without wishing to take anything away from his performance, he was being caught by Ralf, Hakkinen was out in the first corner, he was being headed by Schumacher until the Coulthardgate and he barely had a serious opponent for the race victory.

This is no place for old men, and I don't think we'll see a Schumacher who will do his reputation any good, whatever élan he sets about the task with. He has nothing to gain, Mercedes should be looking to the future, or at the very least the present, to set up their team. The past has gone, and I'd hate to see Schumacher join Jones and Mansell in the "foolish comeback" club.
 
I have to say I agree with TBY.

No matter how good a driver you are (or were), age can have a significant impact on reaction times and ability.

If Schumacher wants so desperately to drive in F1, why did he run away with his tail between his legs not so long ago? ;)
A question perhaps for another thread...
 
Brogan said:
No matter how good a driver you are (or were), age can have a significant impact on reaction times and ability.

Reading James Allen's fantastic biography of Schumacher - The Edge of Greatness - it becomes apparent that a large part of what made him what he was was not down to reaction times or ability. Undoubtedly the ability was there, but what made him so successful came mostly down to what he did outside of the car and the way he approached his racing. I don't think it's implausible for him to try that again.
 
Enja said:
Brogan said:
No matter how good a driver you are (or were), age can have a significant impact on reaction times and ability.

Reading James Allen's fantastic biography of Schumacher - The Edge of Greatness - it becomes apparent that a large part of what made him what he was was not down to reaction times or ability. Undoubtedly the ability was there, but what made him so successful came mostly down to what he did outside of the car and the way he approached his racing. I don't think it's implausible for him to try that again.

I don't think that is implausible for him to do the work outside the car, but I feel it might be easier for him to continue to do that for Ferrari. The decrease in reaction times/ability will affect him however much work he puts in at Brackley.

I just feel that he will find it very difficult to beat Hamilton, Alonso or Vettel in 2010 if they're in roughly equivalent machinery, because they're at their peak.

And I hate to respond to EL_NANDO, but Alonso did not "send him into retirement" in 2006; Alonso's fortuitous title win was much less of a factor than the fact that Schumi didn't want to ruin Massa's career by keeping him in a testing role.
 
Will it happen? Possibly now. Is age a big issue for Schumacher? Considering his immense fitness even as a retired driver, I don't think it's much to worry about to be honest. Will he be able to adapt to f1 cars of the current era? If anyone can do it, Michael Schumacher can.
 
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