Michael forced out of Ferrari?

I was wondering why this thread hadn't been started yet either. I agree that it looked very disconnected between the actual team and Luca at the end of the race and I think that the Speed commentators hit it on the nose with their analysis of the body language.

I do believe that Micahel was somewhat "pushed" out of the team only to make sure they had a lineup for next season before it was too late and they either lost Massa or Kimi. Whether or not this is going to eat at Michael next season is hard to say, he's said before he would retire when he is no longer competative, and to me he still looks very competitive. If Todt and Brawn aren't at Ferrari anymore I don't think he'd have any reason to come back to them.

 

This has been addressed to some extent in some of the other threads.

Carol

 

Certainly emotions were running high at the end of the race for obvious reasons--the victory and the impending announcement of retirement. I am not prepared to give much credence to the talking heads who are required to fill airtime with their speculation on various rumors floating around pit lane, their reads on "body language," nor to the scribblers who gin up controversies to fill column inches. They are all just part of the background noise that is part of Formula 1.

I think Schumacher decided some time ago that it was better to go out on top as world champ, and this year he has a better chance to do it than he'll have next year for lots of good reasons: he'll be a year older and slower, the Iceman cometh, and who knows whether the entire Ferrari package (car, tires, team, leadership) will be as good next year as this?

All good things come to an end, and Michael is smart enough to fix the time. That doesn't mean he's happy about it.

 

So here's a rhetorical question: Do you think that Michael is qualified to take over Jean Todt's job?

 

I think Michael was "pressured" to retire.

He was probably told that Ferrari had already signed Kimi and they wanted to keep Massa. So where would Michael fit into the future of Ferrari? His decision to stay would result in the team losing Massa and also his having to accept Kimi in a equal status. If this is the case he probably felt it better to leave.

The body language at the race would support this but I haven't talked to Michael recently so I can't confirm any of this speculation.

 

I am surprised that Michael wasn't asked to stay alongside Kimi, afterall he is still a much better competitor than Massa. Knowing that Kimi is not going to take a 2nd seat in the Ferrari, Michael and Kimi could have competed for their status by racing not only with other teams but also within Ferrari. I think that would have been a better situation for fans and motorsport knowing that both have access to identical cars and technology, but the difference would have been in their driving style and set up.

 

Albert Einstein had trouble deciding what to do for dinner. He had the same disease that I used to suffer from, it called "analysis paralysis". Einstein could easliy explain the theory of relativity, could deduce those equations quickly, but deciding what to pick from a menu was virtually paralizing.

I believe Michael had the same disease. He could not decide if he should retire or not. I do not think Michael was forced out of Ferrari at all, that would have been over Jean Todt's dead body. But I do think that Michael was pressured to hasten his decision so Ferrari would not lose both Raikkonen and Massa. I think Michael wanted to wait until the end of the season to decide and announce. Luca Montezemelo pushed him to decide by Indianapolis, and announce by Monza.

 

Right on the money, so whats for dinner?

 

Ditto as discussed in other threads.

 

Let's forget it's about Ferrari, or F1 for that matter.

If you were managing a company, with major players on time contracts, and other potential valuable recruits on the market, surely you would like to know as early as possible what are the intentions of your existing staff. It has nothing to do with personality, but all to do with planning, forecast for the next season, etc...

If the announcement of someone decision is constantly delayed, practically the boss is forced to make the choice. A manager don't want to find out that X has finally made up his mind to leave, but Y who was available 3 months ago is not anymore. Management is about planning and making decision.

Must be the same in a F1 team, I would have thought. By knowing as early as possible, who is doing what the following year, you can realocate resources, form new teams of mechanics (who is going to work on whose car), approach sponsors knowing who they can schedule for promotional appearances and so on. You don't want to discover all that at the end of December, do you?

There is a miriad of things that need to be addressed when a team like Ferrari change driver. I wouldn't be surprised if Luca de Montezemolo has been forced to make the decision in the interest of Ferrari.

 

Well, I have some nice salmon in the frig. But wait, there is some fat free chicken breasts and I need to lose a little weight. But didn't I have chicken last night? Or maybe it just tasted like chicken?

A bowl of soup sounds good. Let's see vegetable, or chicken with rice? Didn't I have chicken last night? No, that was salmon.

Nevermind, I will just go to Pizza Hut. No, Taco Bell sounds better. Forget it, I think I will just suck down some Grey Goose on the rocks, and go to sleep.

Maybe a margarita?

 

LOL...Go for the Grey Goose!!!!!!

 

I made a goosarita.

 

Last time I commented on this, a certain individual tried to bite my head off.

Let's consider this scenario, logically:

1) If MS wanted to drive next year, Ferrari would take him. No ifs ands or buts, Todt is on record as saying MS will always have a drive at Ferrari as long as he wants one. There is no way Ferrari refuses to give him a contract for 2007.

2) We also know that Ferrari was actively recruiting Kimi to come on board. Whether or not you believe that a pre-contract was signed, as widely reported in the F1 press, there is no question that Ferrari was courting Kimi, as was Renault and McLaren.

3) Kimi is on the record several times stating he will not become a #2 driver anywhere, so if Kimi is to sign for Ferrari it has to be assumed that his contract would guarantee him equal status at a minimum. There is no reason to believe that he would sign a Ferrari contract otherwise.

4) Having never allowed co-#1 drivers in his career, Schumacher can't be happy about Ferrari's interest in Kimi. It has been reported in several F1 news sources that MS had been using his influence behind the scene at Ferrari to prevent Kimi's signing.

5) Since Ferrari is moving forth in discussions with Kimi, it has to be assumed that Schumacher's behind-the-scenes pressure to discourage this is not working with Ferrari management.

6) If Schumacher is to retain the status quo at Ferrari for 2007 (#1 status with Massa as a supporting driver), he has to derail Ferrari's efforts to sign Kimi. Failing to discourage them through behind-the-scenes maneuvering, the lone tactic left to him is to delay his decision for 2007 in the hopes that Kimi decides to go to Renault or McLaren.

7) Renault signs KH for the open seat. Presumably the only reason Renault went for another driver is because Kimi is either no longer interested in Renault or no longer on the market.

8) Ferrari signs Kimi. Ferrari knows that MS won't be around forever and to secure its future it needs to have Kimi on board, even if that requires acquiescing to a co-#1 demand. Renault learns of this and signs HK. Schumacher is informed, presumably by Luca, that Kimi is coming on board and that if MS wishes to continue at Ferrari it will be as co-#1 and Massa will be relegated to a testing role once again.

9) Schumacher, his efforts having failed, is now left with a decision to make. He chooses to retire rather than share a car with Kimi. His convenient excuse is that he is concerned over Massa's future. A laughable and transparent explanation given MS's relationship with his co-drivers over the years. (Anyone recall his comments to Martin Brundle when Brundle was forced to leave Benetton?)

Seems to me Schumacher looked upset at Italy because his hand was called. He failed to secure for himself a Kimi-free Ferrari team for 2007. He won't drive with an equally talented teammate in an equal car so his only option is to retire.

 

The first time the topic of Michael Schumacher's retirement seriously came up, at least as far back as I can remember, was just before the middle of the 2005 season. I can imagine that starting after the winter holidays, probably before, formal converstions started with other drivers to possibly take over Schumacher's seat in 2007. Of all the current drivers that would be considered qualified for Schumacher's seat (Alonso, Raikkonen, Alonso, Raikkonen), the only one that seems to get along with Schumacher is the one and only Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi also gets along with the one and only Jean Todt. Kimi may not interview well, but you hardly hear a complaint coming from him about another driver. Bright guy.

So I would guess that the only real serious conversation Ferrari had with any driver is, Kimi Raikkonen. I can not imagine they spoke to Alonso, because if Michael were to stay around for another year which was still possible, Alonso had already thrown the gauntlet and the Alonso/Schumacher relationship was not the best.

So I am thinking that Ferrari considered a Schumacher/Raikkonen pairing was possible. Only those true Ferrari insiders, Luca, Jean Todt, Ross Brawn, Schumacher, Raikkonen, their attorneys, and their managers truly know the facts about these negotiations.

Would Michael team up with Kimi? Possibly, none of us really knows. Is it possible he would not want a teammate of equal status? Possibly, but none of us really knows. Would Kimi team up with Michael? Possibly, none of us really knows. Is it possible that Kimi would not drive along side Michael even for one year? Possibly, none of us really knows. And that includes all the press and reporters that exist on the face of the earth. Driver contracts carry specific clauses requiring that the specifics of the contract remain completely confidential, for as long as 12 months after the contract expires. And certain clauses have liability. Even the people I know within F1 admit they really have no idea what is fact and what is rumor in the Ferrari camp.

On top of that, when those above mentioned individuals that do know the facts get interviewed, they make statements that either should not be believed, or require that you read between the lines. A few weeks ago, Jean Todt denied that there was any "pre-contract" with Raikkonen or anybody else. I posted the next day that the key word was "pre". There probably wasn't a pre-contract, but there sure as heck was a contract. He was playing with words, because he had an agreement not to spill the beans before the end of the Italian Grand Prix.

The point being that unless one of you is one of the above mentioned Ferrari insiders, "logically" all you can do is guess, and your guess is probably going to reflect your personal opinion of this cast of characters. If you don't like Schumacher, you will assume that he would not drive along side Raikkonen. If you like Michael, you will probably assume he would have not minded Kimi being his teammate, or that he really did want to retire based on his age, and his family. And the fact that he has made some mistakes of judgement this year despite his extrodinary physical conditioning are a sign of many years of intense g-forces on the brain. For all any of us knows, maybe it was Kimi that would not race along with Michael, which might help explain why Ron Dennis still has not picked his second driver, hoping Kimi would stay at McLaren at least for another year.

I have no idea what really are the motives behind Michael Schumacher's retirement. I am just guessing. I think it is a combination of many things. But I do believe that the only pressure he had was to make a decision sooner than later. I think he did want to wait and see if he could win the title this year and then decide, but the team could not deliver a first place car until after Monaco. And the team did not want to lose its only replacement driver option. If this is the case, realizing this year is it, I hope he is now under self imposed pressure to try his absolute best and we will all see Michael Schumacher doing miracles with the Ferrari that we have seen in years past.

Irrespective of whatever press reports we read in the next 6 months, even in Autosport, those confidentiality clauses will prevent the truth from being known for a long time. Unless of course, one of those named cast of characters decides to speak out and tell all to the world ignoring potential legal problems. Anyone else, I would not believe.

In the meantime, I am glad for Michael Schumacher because I think he retired at the right time even if he does not win his 8th. And I am glad for my team Ferrari that they have Kimi Raikkonen as their #1 driver and Felipe Massa as #2. That along with their Bridgestone data will likely win Kimi his first World Driver's Championship in 2007.

Just my opinion. What's for dinner?

 

You know this scenario or just MS refusing to drive with an equal teammate is horrible to hear. I can't respect that kind of competitor.

 

I've also heard that MS was behind the scenes trying to get Ferrari not to sign Kimi for next year. There was, reportedly a contract offered to MS that he was ready to sign if Kimi was given number two status. Kimi, of course would not.

 

You mean you can't respect Schumi or Kimi? Interesting quote you have, there. It's a shame that the sport is tainted by politics and pride.

 

I would love to know how anyone would be privy to this kind of information.

It is all conjecture.

 

I think it was James Allen and it was posted on another thread, i'll see if i can find it

 

If you can't give us a quote for the below so called facts and presumptions your post is not logical it is garbage...

Assume... presume.. random quotes from the tabloid media...

You live in the world of fantasy.
Try watching an entire race without making up story lines.

If you want a story like follow NASCRAP and Fake WWF!

 

Sorry, I do not know who James Allen is, but if this information did not come directly from the mouths of Montezemelo, Todt, Brawn, Schumacher, Raikkonen, their attorneys or managers, it is just someone's imagination.

Otherwise, we really don't know.

 

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120637

There it is, posted by speedy sam. It might just be his opinion but James Allen is in a better postion to be in the know than any of us here.

 

Yes, he could know more than any of us. But he is just a reporter. Do you really think that anyone that knows the truth would divulge that information to a reporter? Highly unlikely.