Schumi comes back

[tomislavp4]

schuey will win, you will see all you nonbelievers.

when was the last time when f1 had FOUR CHAMPIONS on track? schuey, kimi, hami and alonso four champions, and one prospective champion vettel/webber/button. and if you mix all that, its going to be great finale to 2009 season.

Well I´m not so sure about the "Schuey will win" part but it´s definitely going to be one hell of an end of the season. However I don´t expect good results from Michael in Valencia, I think that race will be more of a training session for him, you know, time to learn the car, time to addapt to it. I expect him to fight for firs place somewhere at the Italian GP or those that folow, not prior that

[zx9rc1]

Presumably this video is BS?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifKQoW3Cuzk

Infact why am I even asking

The vodafone logos on his gloves say a lot as well.

If I were Ferrari, and I wanted my pinch-hitter to sneak a few laps it, you bet your ass I'd make the video look like it was dug up from years ago...right down to having the crew wear older uniforms.

Plausible deniability.

Heres the same video posted in July 2008 and I can remember watching it a few years before that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLKEzNM1 ... re=related

[Chaparral]

What are the odds that Renault via appeal get to grace the grid in Valencia with Alonso and the german guy whose name I cant remember starts also - a PR dream or total fix for FOM and CVC - no wonder there are so many cynics around - this series is now a sorry arsed total load of bollocks you may as well roll it out as a TV soap opera

[dave34m]

Having Schumacher back will add some extra interest for any races he is involved in thats for sure. I'm not a big fan of his or some of the things he has done on or off the track. I guess i'll never forget his celebrations after Ayton Sennas death at Imola in 1994, that left a very bad taste for a lot of people, it really wasnt the way to act at the time for all the obvious reasons.

That certainly has been a lasting image I have of him, he has of course done plenty of other things over his career that has upset a lot of fans and damaged his image as a great of the sport.

[DaveKillens]

I am compelled to ask a question. There's news that Massa is getting out of intensive care, he's talking to people, his left eye can see and he is making his first steps out of bed. Is there a chance he can come back to a racing condition soon?

Welcome to the forum nipo.
Massa sustained a head injury. This kind of injury always has the potential to become very bad and serious. Fortunately, Massa is past the critical phase, and starting down the road to recovery. Problem is, in a head injury, it will take a little longer to fully determine if there was any brain damage, and to what extent. I hope and pray that he recovers 100%, but I also have to be a realist.
We have learned a lot in the last few years about brain injuries. So doctors have to proceed carefully, and slowly. Even now, it is much too early to make a proper assessment of Massa's sitiation, and the road to recovery may be long.
I sincerely hope Massa emerges from this without any permanent damage, but who knows, anything is possible. And since a Formula One driver is at the peak of mental and physical conditioning, any problem is magnified and can have a direct effect on his preformance. Even something like blurred vision, memory problems, slower reflexes could manifest into Massa.
But he won't be back this season, that just isn't going to happen.

[xpensive]

I'm by no means no MD, but one of my mistresses is a RN at intensive care, why she tells me head injuries can be a little different from others, such as braking a leg or so.

It can be very, very difficult to judge long-term damages, when the healing can take such time to reach to the level where you once were. If you ever do.

[jonathan189]

I'm still very relieved that Massa has survived, when he could so easily have died of his injuries. His life was hanging in the balance on Saturday.

Skull fractures aren't like leg fractures - they can easily result in death, or brain damage, or in Massa's case eye damage. And while all the signs so far have been positive, it's not yet possible to tell whether he will recover fully, let alone how long that might take.

He may well be out of hospital within a month, but his doctors will not just let him jump straight back into an F1 car, even if his vision is 100%. A slow path back to F1 is a sensible precaution - hence he will almost certainly not race again this year.

I think many in the media have simply failed to grasp how serious the injuries were that he sustained. When Rob Smedley said "at least there's hope now... at one stage there wasn't", he was clearly being genuine and was conveying the sombre mood within the team.

[toto1041]

why did they choose schumacher? why not badoer or gene. surely they know the car better and can extract more performance out of it with short notice. this sounds like publicity stunt, or shuey getting an air of nostalgia from the availability of the seat. who can say no to him? i think he is more influential at ferrari than montezemolo.

[DaveKillens]

It's a publicity stunt. An expensive one, but at 3 million a race, I guess Ferrari considered it worth the expense.
Michael can contribute to the team, in many ways. On track, he will be able to capture as many points as the car and team will allow. Off track, he can identify problems and weaknesses in the team and it's organizational structure.
Just look at the many message boards and you will see all the Schumacher fans coming out in droves, proclaiming the second coming, and all that jazz. And it sure does distract everyone away from the sordid drame of the FIA - FOTA wars that have tarnished the sport and left many bitter and disillusioned.
TV attendance at Valencia will be up, to Bernie's pleasure. Mind you, we will see empty seats because Alonso won't be there, but that's another affair.
Michael Schumacher is a great driver, but do not expect dominance. Back between 2000 and 2005 he had an amazing team built around his needs. It took him more than four years to put the team together and functioning as he wanted, but once in place, it totally dominated. That team is no longer, and Michael is in a team very changed from the one he controlled a few years ago.

[Conceptual]

So, MS to get Felipe's support staff, or does he get his old race engineer back rom Kimi?

The details of this are going to really tell the story...

[xpensive]

You are absolutely correct as usual DK, but in addition to the publicity stunt, I'm afraid there's also an element of reconciliation between Ferrari and the FIA.

Lord knows who's really paying for this and what Ferrari has gained from FIA in xchange of the rebuilt reputation of F1, which the return of the seven-time champ brings?

Adrian Gray's portrait perhaps?

[SZ]

It's a publicity stunt.

Don't think for a second the call up didn't come from a guy named Bernie after receiving a rather disheartening call from a certain moustachioed German.

(Be nice to see him triumphantly successful though. Logically it's very unlikely but he's Schumacher, and exists on his own plane of reality.)

Some Valencians are in for a treat.

An expensive one, but at 3 million a race, I guess Ferrari considered it worth the expense.

One would be naiive to think that Ferrari's actually dipping into Fiat money, or anything that doesn't come from sponsors/FIA/other teams to cover it.

Off track, he can identify problems and weaknesses in the team and it's organizational structure.

Off track Schumacher goes back home to Switzerland, gets a much deserved neck rub, spends time with his kids, plays some football and competes in the odd bike race.

TV attendance at Valencia will be up, to Bernie's pleasure. Mind you, we will see empty seats because Alonso won't be there, but that's another affair.

We shouldn't assume that battle's over yet either. Hasn't been milked for maximum theatre yet.

[WhiteBlue]

We may see Massa walk out of hospital next week but even under the best conditions the scull fractures will need some time to heal. He would risk very much in a repeat accident if he does not take the time to cure it 100%.

So one can savely say that 8-10 weeks is the minimum time he will be out of business of racing. I agree that he might be back for Brazil but he will most likely miss several races. So we will have Michael for perhaps 3 or 4 races. This should provide all drivers with an opportunity to have an on track experience with him.

About familiarizing with a new car and track I have no concerns whatsoever. Michael usually came out and was quick on his first lap. Sometimes it took him two but his ability to drive a car on the knifes edge is one of his greatest assets. He has the mental capacity to do that, chat with his race engineer non stop and keep the strategy picture of the race in his head all at the same time. His reflexes may have gone off by a little bit but that will not matter most of the time.

I am curious of his face when he starts in Valencia. At the moment he has 10-15 kg more weight than he had in times of peak winter training when he was exercising 4h a day. He will probably try to get some of that firness back, but I doubt that he can get on the level he was in 2005 or 2006. He had 4 months of winter training and now he has only 3 weeks. If he is in 90% of the form he had four years ago he will still be a force to reckon with.

Let the games begin!

[scarbs]

Ferraris situation:
• They need a driver, one with recent F1 experience
• Ideally Ferrari experience
• They are fighting to beat Toyota to third in the championship
• They only have Kimi to join the battle
• Their test drivers haven’t driven the car since the start of the year
• the car has changed enormously since early testing
• their test drivers are journeyman, who haven’t shone in their previous chances to drive in races
• They have a simulator and access to a straight-line facility
• There don’t have a young driver programme
• Other good drivers possible for 2010 are still contracted to their current teams with seven races to run (robert.k, fernando.a)
• They only have one customer team who are struggling with their own drivers (STR)
• Recent drivers to leave F1 are either consultants to other teams, no good or left the sport for good (jacques.v, ralf.s, david.c, Sebastian.b, juan.p.m, alex.w).
• They have a seven times world champion on their books

What’s to be confused about…?

[WhiteBlue]

So, MS to get Felipe's support staff, or does he get his old race engineer back rom Kimi?

The details of this are going to really tell the story...

Michael was engineered by Chris Dyer. Kimi did not get along with Chris, so they promoted him upwards. Felipe is engineered by Rob Smedley. I agree that it will be interesting to see who will engineer Michael. My guess is Rob Smedley officially. But Chris will olso be on the radio circuit to oversee all race engineering much as Ross Brawn used to do.