Schumacher Returns! (On second thought, no he doesn't)

If I may, I think you are taking it too literally. Yes, the regulation dictates how the ban imposes testing, but the implied is in a developmental sense. Ferrari are not evolving the car in a 1 day test of a former driver, rather, the test is to become aquainted with the new regulation contender .. which frankly isn't one.

Williams, arguably, see this test as a loss of potential world championship points in the following round. No doubt they would prefer to keep a 6-7-8th place finish than be bumped out of the points by The Michael.

How much of this is posturing by Williams, due to being punted from FOTA, head chair being held by the one and only Luca di Montezemelo? I totally see Patrick Head jumping at any, and all, opportunities to stick it to Ferrari.

The verbal salvo from the Ferrari camp is posturing of its' own though there is some merit. Williams are simply not in a postion to be title contenders, sorry, they simply are not. Nor does Nakajima look like he's pulling a Webber anytime soon. Massa, on the other hand, looked like he had a chance to stand on the top rung. Ferrari's decision to replace Massa with The Michael was the only choice in hopes of getting to some measure of Massa. Ferrari's current test drivers simply wouldn't have a snowballs chance in hell of seeing a podium, but Micheal, why not?

Denying Schumi the chance to drive now still won't help Williams, regardless.

so you are very sure that Ferrari won't also happens to use the opportunity, if they're granted permission to do some testing, to run some new parts and gather data on these parts during the testing session for Schumacher~?

the bottom line was testings are banned from Formula 1, which Ferrari were very against the idea but were kinda forced to agree thanks to the FOTA, and now they're talking sh*t about a competitor because they veto-ed granting permission for them to go testing~?

Denying Schumi the chance to drive now still won't help Williams, regardless, but Williams has every rights to deny him the chance to do some testing, and we didn't hear Red Bulls crying on their official website when they didn't get permission to get Jaime to get some testing miles before Hungary, did we~?
 
so you are very sure that Ferrari won't also happens to use the opportunity, if they're granted permission to do some testing, to run some new parts and gather data on these parts during the testing session for Schumacher~?

You can never be sure about anything in F1. However, to get feedback on developmental parts you need a baseline to start from. Since Schumi has never drove the F60, what kind of input is he going to have if they install new aero right before he goes out for his first few laps? Everyone's car changes throughout the season, not just Ferrari's. Any driver will tell you that the car in the first race is not even close to the same car nearing the end of the season. Ask Jense how those start of the season good times are going for him at the moment. This is a 1 day test, how many race distances is in the old boy? Ferrari cannot expect to run him 200 laps trying new bits along the way. Let a bit of your Ferrari hatred go, and see this as only a test to come to terms with what the F60 is. This is all argumentative anyways, there are still allot of doubts he will pass the physical due to his neck injuries.
 
Don't forget in 2003 Williams were in the box seat to win both championships until Ferrari and Bridgestone intervened and complained about the width of the Michelin tyres Williams and McLaren were using. They forced Michelin to redesign the tyres for the final three races of the season, which hurt those teams as they were forced to run tyres that the suspension wasn't designed for. I'll bet Williams haven't forgotten that.

Absolutely. In fact, I remember distinctively watching Ross Brawn lodging his complaint to the company of his competitors at the Friday press conference, to which he was laughed by all including the media reporting. He was pretty choked about it all, ears burning red and everything. Guess who was most vocal about Brawn's objections? Yep, Patrick Head.

However, Brawn had every right to be skeptical as it was also Alonso's first win, and he actually lapped Schumacher who finished 8th in Hungary with those questionable boots. The issue was that those tires got wider the longer as the stint wore on, so the Michelins performed better at the end than at the beginning. In fact, when Charlie Whiting went to substantiate the claims of Ferrari, finally, he found the front tires did indeed have a larger contact patch at the end of the race. The Williams had a contact patch of 286mm, 16mm wider than the sporting regulations allow, as per: Article 77)c) 'the tread width of the front tires must not exceed 270mm'. An extra 32mm of front rubber is definately going to be an advantage. I don't think this entirely hurt Mclaren though, as from your sig you be a Mclaren man, so you must remember the 03 challenger was actually a modified 02 as the 03 failed crash testing.


The decision to take Schumacher was voluntary on Ferrari's part. They could've gone with Luca Badoer or Marc Gene, both of whom racked up many test kilometres during the pre-season. If Jaime Alguersari can put together a largely trouble free weekend with no more experience than a few quick blasts up a runway and back, then surely a seven times world champion should have no dramas getting up to speed.

I believe I covered that in my post to JCTK. Badoer or Gene vs. M.Schumacher. Honestly, is there even a question of who you would put in the car? I'll take the 91 win, 7x World Champion thank you very much. IF this was the late 90's, super sub Salo would have for sure been considered by Ferrari. Even the Jaime example is another test driver, driving a TR. The heirachy of Formula 1 has always been categorical. A team, B team, C team ... where does TR and their new driver fit in? By TR own admission, there are NO expecations of their new pilot for the first 3 races. I don't think there are many out there that think Ferrari have this luxury and simply one more reason why Michael is the only choice. Many polls out there have Schumacher at least on the podium in his first go, 30-40% of those polled think he can win at Valencia right out of the box. I can't find the comparison then of the teenager vs the Schu, Michael has much to produce whereas Jaime can feel out the car and no one will say boo about his performance even if he stuffs it.

Welcome to the forums BTW
Thank you very much:)
 
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Williams and Red Bull had every right to not let Schumacher test the F60. The one good thing that's come out of this little tiff is that it's highlighted the disadvantages of the testing ban and I wouldn't be surprised if it will be changed for next year.

Schumacher neck strength to prevent comeback?

05 August 2009

Michael Schumacher's comeback is not guaranteed for this month's European Grand Prix. According to Schumacher's spokesperson there are still doubts on the strength of his neck. In February the seven-time world champion heavily crashed with a motorbike injuring his neck.

"It's still not 100% sure his neck can hold," his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm told German news agent SID. "His comeback completely depends on what will come out of his medical tests. Those tests are still pending. When the results are positive Michael will be able to enjoy his comeback in Formula 1."

Source

He'll be there driving.

Schumacher prepares for comeback by karting

06 August 2009

Michael Schumacher is getting ready for his comeback in Formula 1. While he already tested a two-year-old Ferrari F1 car earlier this month the German enjoyed a day of karting in Italy on Wednesday with Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer to prepare himself for the European Grand Prix.

The 40-year-old former Formula 1 champion travelled to the Lonato circuit in Italy as part of his training. "Karting has a very good training effect, that is why I just jumped into a testing day of the Tony Kart Team in Lonato," Schumacher said. "There is nothing better for my preparations at the moment. In terms of steering wheel forces for example karting is even more difficult than Formula 1.

"And the fact that it has been boiling hot here is simulating the temperatures expected for Valencia. Luca Badoer is with me, and together we found again today that karting is just an awful lot of fun."

Source
 
Source
Michael Schumacher has abandoned his Formula One comeback with Ferrari because of a neck injury.
The 40-year-old, who retired at the end of 2006, was set to deputise for the injured Felipe Massa at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on 23 August.
"Unfortunately we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1-day in Mugello," Schumacher told his website.
Schumacher suffered the neck injury in a bike accident in February.
More to follow.
Wonder who they are going to get now? Gene?
 
This is going to make a lot of people very angry, and a tiny bunch of people very happy.

It makes me disappointed.

I would like Gen? to get that seat.
 
I'm sad..don't have words for this..

So we will never see him driving F1 again or will he do something with his neck and try for Spa?
 
It makes me disappointed.

I'm somewhat disappointed as well, but, frankly, it's understandable why he did this. The man is a perfectionist and he never did anything in F1 without thorough preparation. And he announced this because he saw that he would not be 100% prepared and ready, and it's not Schuey's way to venture into "battle" when less than 100% ready.

I'm sad..don't have words for this..

So we will never see him driving F1 again or will he do something with his neck and try for Spa?

Spa is only a week away from Valencia, so... hard to tell.



P.S. There's a mad Dutchman on another forum who is absolutely ecstatic about this piece of news.
 
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Of course I'm not happy about him being injured, but... LOL
After the media freakout about his return, this is definitely funny.
 
:( I'm gonna go in the corner and cry :cry:
 
Put Alonso in.
 
It's going to be Badoer... http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77619

Badoer to replace Massa at Valencia

By Jonathan Noble Tuesday, August 11th 2009, 08:16 GMT

Luca Badoer has been drafted in as the temporary replacement for Felipe Massa for the European Grand Prix, after Michael Schumacher was forced to abandon his F1 comeback.

Schumacher had hoped to fill-in for Massa at the forthcoming races, but a neck injury picked up in a motorcycle accident has forced him to call off his F1 return.

As a result, Ferrari will promote its test driver Badoer to the race position for the next race in Valencia, as a reward for his many years of efforts with the team.

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said: "I am very unhappy that a problem means that Michael cannot return to racing.

"In the past few days, I could appreciate his great efforts and extraordinary motivation which had spread through the team and fans around the world. No doubt his return would have been good for Formula 1 and I am sure it would have seen him fighting for wins again.

"In the name of Ferrari and all the fans, I wish to thank him for the strong attachment he displayed for the team in these circumstances.

"In agreement with Stefano Domenicali, we have therefore decided to give Luca Badoer the chance to race for the Scuderia after he has put in so many years of hard work as a test driver."

The 38-year-old Italian has been a Ferrari test driver since 1998 and last raced in 1999, for Minardi.
 
this sucks, I really wanted to see him drive against the current crop :(
 
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