Schumacher rumors

Just wondering if anyone else has heard this. I don't have the link, sorry but on one of the forums ( can't remember which one) I remember reading recently, that Ferrari has put down the idea of keeping Michael on as a tester. citing doubts of his commitment to keeping in shape and to the team as a reason. With the rumors of Michael being pushed out the door as a driver, this seems like it could very well hold true also. Any thoughts?

 

i have my doubts. i think he will take at least 7-8 months away from the track... spend his time with his family and all. but then again, he has a deep passion for racing. he might be replacing FA at mac for the 2008 season if FA makes some negative comments about the team. we all know Ron won;t tolerate this so, look out for a schumi return

 

I could certainly understand the pros and cons of that issue, having him be the test driver.

 

Having Michael Schumacher as the tester makes no sense. The car needs to be designed around Kimi and Massa. They are the ones who should put in a majority of the time testing!

If Michael is going to stick around for testing, then he might as well decide to race too. It is just a few more days in a month added on to the schedule of testing!

Michael has retired from F1 as a racer and driver. His new passion is going to be that of philanthropy.

 

Michael has been one of the biggest contributers to development for ferrari over the past 7 years. That's what makes him so great, is his ability to relay his thoughts and ideas to engineers and mechanics. It would be a great idea for him to still test. Everyone knows Kimi is soft-spoken and might have a difficult time relaying his thoughts, Michael I'm sure could better bridge the gap between the two. Michael has already been a huge part of testing, He already doesn't take those months off, it's not like it would be anything new for him.

 

I think it would be remarkeably foolish of Ferrari not to avail themselves of Schumacher as a test driver, particularly in light of their new driver line-up.

 

Agreed, and the technical staff has asked for MS to stay on and help with car development. By the way did you guys here that Ross Brawn might be taking a sabtical due to health reasons?

 

health? i heard he wanted to spend time with his family...

 

Wouldn't surprise me. Taking on a hot, younger babe without the proper training regimen can be a shock to the system of an older, out-of-shape man.

 

Brian and Jack, it was actually Bob Varsha that eluded to it on Speed TV, that Ross was looking very Gaunt, i.e. some form of Cancer. God forbid, I hope he takes a sabatical for only positive reasons, not a health scare.

 

So you want Michael to stay at Ferrari for the next 50 years for testing purposes... Kimi needs to be given room to grow and develop as a tester. Michael has decided to stop racing. The new cars have to be developed around Kimi and Massa's input!

Michael's driving style is different than that of Kimi. Kimi needs to develop the car in his own way. In a way that suits Kimi's style of driving! Kimi has some big shoes to fill. He better learn how to communicate now!

If he cannot, then Ferrari need to get another racer who can! I have no doubts that Kimi and Massa can give the necessary input required for testing!

No one can replace Michael, but Ferrari have to learn to race without Michael!

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again; When I hear Kimi and Michael give their post race comments, Kimi is MUCH better at conveying his thoughts on the race than Michael (or anyone else) is. Michael sits there and patronizes everybody on how great the feeling is, how great Ferrari is, blah blah blah, when Kimi sends a nonstop stream of meaningful, technical rhetoric about what happened with the car, what happened with the other drivers, how his tires and fuel load were throughout the race, etc. The fact that it comes out in one long monotone sentence has no bearing whatsoever on the content. I just don't buy the notion that Kimi will not be able to convey technical information to the race technicians. That's all the kid wants to talk about!

 

strangely I agree with Impy, Kimi needs to develop the car to his style the same as MS did for his style.

It's all very subtle at this level but MS's idea of how the car should behave may well be very different to how KR likes it to behave.

I think MS should still have some input but if RB is taking a sabbatical then maybe MS might like to fill his boots that would be fun

 

I agree. When Kimi left Sauber and joined McLaren, the mechanics there were worried about his quiet style, and whether he would be able to communicate adequately about the car. Once he got to his first test session though he wouldn't shut up. Like you said, no BS but plenty of meaningful technical feedback.

 

On FChat today we have proof that miracles do happen. I find what both Impy and twk63 both said so far in this thread to be interesting and logical (I know, I will burn in Hell for agreeing with them - possibly they are one with two avatars?).

I do not see MS as just a test driver, but I do see him contributing to the development of the next generation Ferrari F1 car. Schumacher can communicate with the engineers, Kimi does not do that, he just drives. It would be very foolish of Ferrari to allow a void to exist between driver and engineers, and Michael fills that role quite well.

But then, this thought is purely idealistic thinking, reality may be quite different.

 

Oh. Thanx for the info Tony. How u doing these days?

 

Michael will most likely take a year off and chase his wife around the new stable he built for her. Finally he will get bored and start racing again, maybe Lemans or if he gets kicked in the head by one of his horses then NASCAR

 

When your wife hits you over the head with the frying pan becasue you spend 330 days in Italy and not in England with the family, forgot your sons name etc......well, that is sort of a health reason, no?

 

My thoughts:

If you made it to F1 you have to be an exceptional great driver. However you can be the greatest driver, if you cannot relay to your mechanics what the car does so they can setup the car properly for conditions and track, you will never be getting top finishes.
I believe F1 is one of the rare series where you will find both. Those that can drive great as well as talk to their team. If you cannot you will not drive a F1 car, period!

So no worries. Kimi can setup a car and drive it. Michael will not be able to help him if he could not talk to his crew on the track.

I think you will continue to see MS in Maranello but not soon in any official capacity.

 

or have a big enough wallet.

 

That's what I was thinking. Christijan Albers will finally be paid by his new team, Spyker, next year. Before, he was paying for those seats.

 

I can't see MS being completely away from Ferrari. F1 racing, yes...but he will definately be involved with that company.

 

Good and you my friend? I have my manufacturers in town from Malaysia (Johor and Penang). Nice to see you and TWK63 getting along, hopefully the same with Ron and TWK sooner than later.

 

I see MS heading up his own team. He's already trying to brand his name with merchandise, so IMO a team of his own is a challenge he'd welcome. Anything else would be a step down.

 

err...i dunno...i'm not married