Silly season 2010

[mx_tifoso]

Eddie Jordan...

[Terrible3]

They were both F1 drivers mainly so I used the example. In in terms of LeMan specialists I most admire Allan McNish. The guy is really awesome.

1234!!!!!!

McNish is the man, its a shame he was never given a decent ride in F1. The fact that he can run lap after lap of qualifying style laps at le mans well into the rainy night puts him in god status in my books. Ok sure he dropped the ball at this years PLM but w/e.

I also thought JV drive at le mans was nothing special. He never seemed to push, shine or was driven. There he was with a car worlds faster than the R10, a chance at the grand slam of motor racing and he never seemed to push.... shame.

[WhiteBlue]

It looks like Eddie Jordan could be right with his theory for once. A number of things do fit.

I don't believe for am moment that Button would be afraid to drive against Rosberg in a Mercedes but against Schumacher in a German team led by Rosss Brawn in a race series controlled by Jean Todt it would be a miracle for him to take the upper hand. His life may well be easier as a No 2 at McLaren.

It all smells like Bernie's wet dream for the 2010 season. The question is how would they get Montezemolo to agree to let Michael go away from Ferrari. I guess there are several things that Ferrari might wish to get from the FIA and FOM.

So what about Michael's angle of things? Montezemolo pushed him out of F1 in 2006 when he wanted to continue on shorter contracts. Ferrari had not been competitive for 2 years but were on the up again. He missed the 2007 season and I can well imagine that he could have won 2007 and 2008 if Montezemolo had not shot him down. All three of them, Todt, Brawn and Schumacher must see this as unfinished business. I'm sure they would love to stick it up Monte's ass by showing him that Michael can do it in a silver car if he wasn't allowed to do it in red. In the end Montezemolo screwed up with his choice of Reikkonen. To rub it in a bit deeper would be nice, I guess.

Ultimately Merc will go for Vettel, no doubt about it. But to get the PR coup off the ground they would certainly love to have Schumi for a year. If they appeal to his sense of duty they can apply some leverage. It will not even matter if Schumi looses in the end. They will have the publicity they seek and so it can be a win win for all sides. If Michael fights like hell but looses in the end nobody can take away what he has done before and helping his old tutor Mercedes in their hour of need and eventually fail will not be seen as a bad thing. He will simply say that they appealed to his sense of honor and duty and he only did it for them as he was prepared to do it for his friend Massa. It will be all very heroic and a huge money maker for Bernie.

You will have team Germany against team Britain. You will have Schumi against Vettel. You will have Schumi against his old rival Alonso in his old team Ferrari. The season could become an absolute thriller of a four way series of battles down to the wire of the last race, whoever wins it. They will probably make a movie about it in the end if it happens.

[hpras]

I'm just thinking that if MS is back.... Reubens the bitch must be glad he left the premises. It would explain his exit.......

[WhiteBlue]

Whatever will happen at least we know now what McLaren used to spook Button into the factory visit and signing with them.

[xpensive]

It looks like Eddie Jordan could be right with his theory for once. A number of things do fit.

I've been trying to tell you this for a week or so WB, I'm so happy to see you have changed your mind!

[pete555]

After agreeing with you on another thread I can't back you on this one xpensive

I'm open to believe Schumacher "may" start the season, I'm 99% sure he won't see the halfway point.
The new cars are a pig to drive and his time out is just too long to be coming back for a PR exercise.
He gave up for a reason and the top ten is easily within a second of each other now.
That never happened while he was racing before.

[xpensive]

After agreeing with you on another thread I can't back you on this one xpensive. I'm open to believe Schumacher "may" start the season, I'm 99% sure he won't see the halfway point. The new cars are a pig to drive and his time out is just too long to be coming back for a PR exercise. He gave up for a reason and the top ten is easily within a second of each other now. That never happened while he was racing before.

This is what I wrote on another thread;

The publicity and kudos Mercedes would gain from securing the services of Schumacher is difficult to overestimate.

Good timing with the SLS, eh WB?

Perhaps we could both be right, pete?

[WhiteBlue]

It looks like Eddie Jordan could be right with his theory for once. A number of things do fit.

I've been trying to tell you this for a week or so WB, I'm so happy to see you have changed your mind!

I havn't changed my mind. I still think that there are a lot of reasons for Schumacher against it as there are for it. We will have to look and see how he decides. With regard to Merc I have allways thought that they pursue Vettel and/or Schumacher. It is the logical thing to do.

The most important aspect could be the fact that he did not really decide to step back but was forced by Montezemolo. On a year by year basis he would have continued but Monte wanted Kimi Reikkonen and we all know how that ended.

[xpensive]

The most important aspect could be the fact that he did not really decide to step back but was forced by Montezemolo. On a year by year basis he would have continued but Monte wanted Kimi Reikkonen and we all know how that ended.

Wonder where do you get all these ideas WB, I envy you.

[WhiteBlue]

The most important aspect could be the fact that he did not really decide to step back but was forced by Montezemolo. On a year by year basis he would have continued but Monte wanted Kimi Reikkonen and we all know how that ended.

Wonder where do you get all these ideas WB, I envy you.

http://forums.speedgeezers.net/index.ph ... opic=23530

That one I got from a very vitriolic piece written by Tom Rubython. I know that he often writes rubbish but in this case the facts fit the story. Do you remember how Montezemolo distributed the press release about the retirement while Michael was still in the car in Monza 2006? That was a really shitty move to ensure that neither Todt nor Schumacher could twist it somehow.

[xpensive]

The way I read the above is Schumacher wanted to decide who was in the other car, while Montezemolo didn't agree, no?

[WhiteBlue]

Michael had had the say on his team mate since he agreed to come to Ferrari as the double champ and drive their dog of a car. It took the dream team four years to transform the hapless Ferrari team into a winning organization and then the 99 design fault on the tub cost Michael dearly with the leg fractures.

I think that Todt's philosophy was better to have a clear No1 driver and demand performance from him than risk the kind of events that McLaren got 2007 with Alonso and Hamilton. Obviously Michael could always satisfy Ferrari's performance demands. Unfortunately in 2005 the tyre rules went against Ferrari and Michael had to battle for race wins rather than fighting for the championship. 2006 wasn't much better and Alonso ran away with both titles. I still think that no other top driver could have made more of the Ferrari in those years than Michael did. One only has to see how badly Alonso struggled with the Renault 2008 and 2009 to see that in those situations the driver has to take bigger risks and the risk of mistakes rises.

The other point was that Michael had spend 15 years as the fittest and hardest working driver and he was getting tired of the demands he imposed on himself. He wasn't sure that he wanted to commit to a two year contract without a shot at another championship. So he did not sign up for 2008 as Montezemolo demanded. Obviously he also did not want to have another top driver in the car and Montezemolo was not prepared to let Kimi's option slip. So it all came together in a bad way and the dream team was gone in the space of two years. I always felt is was a great shame because 2007 could have easily been Michael's year again.

[Confused_Andy]

Its official, Michael wont drive for Brawn, EJ has spoken...

http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3 ... 64,00.html


(Massa's fine!)

[xpensive]

Michael had had the say on his team mate since he agreed to come to Ferrari as the double champ and drive their dog of a car. It took the dream team four years to transform the hapless Ferrari team into a winning organization and then the 99 design fault on the tub cost Michael dearly with the leg fractures.

I think that Todt's philosophy was better to have a clear No1 driver and demand performance from him than risk the kind of events that McLaren got 2007 with Alonso and Hamilton. Obviously Michael could always satisfy Ferrari's performance demands. Unfortunately in 2005 the tyre rules went against Ferrari and Michael had to battle for race wins rather than fighting for the championship. 2006 wasn't much better and Alonso ran away with both titles. I still think that no other top driver could have made more of the Ferrari in those years than Michael did. One only has to see how badly Alonso struggled with the Renault 2008 and 2009 to see that in those situations the driver has to take bigger risks and the risk of mistakes rises.

The other point was that Michael had spend 15 years as the fittest and hardest working driver and he was getting tired of the demands he imposed on himself. He wasn't sure that he wanted to commit to a two year contract without a shot at another championship. So he did not sign up for 2008 as Montezemolo demanded. Obviously he also did not want to have another top driver in the car and Montezemolo was not prepared to let Kimi's option slip. So it all came together in a bad way and the dream team was gone in the space of two years. I always felt is was a great shame because 2007 could have easily been Michael's year again.

As I remember things, with a little help from the FIA banning Renault's previously ok'd suspension, Schumacher (I'm not yet on first-name terms with him) still won quite a few races in 2006, didn't he?

If Montezemolo didn't want his 37 year old driver deciding who was too fast to be in the other car, without making a comittment to more than one year at the time, I think a lot of people can appreciate his reasoning.