Will Michael buy Toro Rosso??

He's probably got the money but why do that. I think it's clear that being a great (the best?) driver does not make you a team owner by any means.

We can certainly ask Emerson Fittipald or Alain Prost about this...

 

So what about Jackie Stewart, he was very successful with his team? Ford bought him out and the minute that happened the team went to crap.

 

I would actually enjoy to see MS as TR's manager.

But it won't happen: It is just Mr. 20% shooting off his mouth towards German Bild. What is interesting is the statement he makes regarding Ferrari: He states that Michael NEVER would be Ferrari's team manager.

Now THAT is interesting, particularly since there were many signs to that over this winter. We can safely assume that Willi is Michael's spokesperson, so if he "leaks" something to the press, it really comes from MS. Webber was very precise in why Michael would never become a Ferrari team manager: Because it is too painful.

Outch! That sounds like a major slap in Ferrari's face while Michael still is an official consultant to the Scuderia. So what is going on?

...and you thought mud wrestling was interesting!

 

ain't gonna happen. i'm pretty sure Michael realised what happened to Prost a few years ago. plus, Michael's retired now, he wants to spend more time with the family, and not on the track.

i think he'll just guide Ferrari from the sidelines.

 

Hmm. Well I would have agreed with you a few weeks back, but the current signs all point to Michael as the new team manager (after all his wife was only concerned about his safety, not him being away). So Mr. 20%'s statements really puzzled me and I wonder what the heck is going on? The man is super rich, knows F1, has all the time in the life and plenty of ambition left. So why not go for team manager?

It doesn't sound friendly between MS and Ferrari. I'm really anxious to see the sequel to this story.

 

Ew, just ew.

From Ferrari to Minardi.

No way.

 

Why so blaze (sorry, can't find the accent egu on this keyboard)?

Both used Ferrari engines in the past (according to Enzo himself the soul of the car) and in the present.

I root for Spyker and Torro Rosso this year. Ferrari's C and B team. Forza!

 

oh..i forgot the part that TR uses Ferrari engines. but will the Ferrari organisation be happy with this? i mean, MS should but Ferrari, not TR

 

You make me go hmm again: Ferrari is not happy that TR got their engines. Red Bull was the target. But then again in hindsight it might not make a difference: The TR is a clone of RB3 based on all accounts. RB3 uses the Renault engine and seems to not be very fast. Hard to imagine given Newey, but it appears that the man lost his edge. So maybe it is a blessing in disguise that RB3 embarrasses itself with the champion's engine. So at least they can't blame Ferrari for it.

Personally I can't wait for the moment a TR finishes a race ahead of a Rb.

 

I think Michael could get Todt's job at some point, but only if he shows aptitude for it. I don't think his name is going to open up a team boss door unless he really is a good team boss, and I think he probably could be.

As for him buying a team, I doubt it. He likes to win, and without a large OEM manufacturer/partner and gobs of money (far more than he has personally) it wouldn't happen.

About what Weber says... I think he knows about 50% of what Micheal wants and intends to do, but he is happy to make up the other 50%. That means, half of what he says is true or has some truth, the other half he just makes up. Keeps him in the news, and his client(s) too.

 

very true. but, i can't help to imagine, IF Michael buys a team, i wonder how many big end names he will attract to the team, and possibly, to F1. i can imagine him working with, first and foremost, either Audi, or VW, or even Lambo for that matter.

all of those car companies are owned by VW. Audi, recently mentioned that they had no intention to compete in F1, setting Le Mans as their primary focus. but that does not stop VW or even Lambo joining forces with MS, and results may vary..

 

they could....if they have a better driver lineup.

 

Prost was a failure as an F1 team owner too.

 

Agreed. But a statement like "he'll never want to manage the Ferrari team" is so strong and so important, that I don't think he'd make that up. Too bad, that could have been fun.

 

Perhpas the job has already been promised to Ross Brawn?

 

Australia, 2006. Speed beats Coulthard on the track, marshalls be damned.

To be even more pedantic: Malaysia, 2006, where both RBR cars retired and the STR car by Luizzi finished 11th

 

Actually I meant that statement in regards to this year simply based on the fact what engines power them: Ferrari vs Renault

When TR beat RB last year, that was rather painful since the Ferrari engine got beaten.

 

I still remember Jean Alesi, driving the Ferrari F92A being overtaken on the main straight of the Circuito Hermanos Rodriguez by....Olivier Grouilard in his Tyrrell. I was almost in tears. Take about painful.

Back to topic: I don't see MS buying a team. Not any time soon anyway. I suppose Michael wants to take a break for a while. Just coming by whenever he feels like it. It looks like Ferrari is giving his this type of freedom. In a few years from now, it all could be different though.

 

I think if you follow where Ross Brawn goes, you may find Michael involved somehow. Whether Michael is a new Team Owner or other principal player and vice-versa. If Michaels, relationship with Ferrari, is not what we think it is, he may get back into it, this way. He is not done yet.

Ciao...Paolo

 

Good post. I think you have just hit a nerve: I could very well imagine Michael and Brawn working for Mercedes (Michael has a strong bond with Haug). His Todt relationship is probably not helping at Ferrari because Jean as the overall manager is now too far away from the racing department.

And looking at who is running that show now, I'm getting bad flash backs from the eighties and nineties, when the Scuderia was called "the house of a 1,000 lies".

This would also explain the rather sudden and strong statement from Webber that Michael will not manage the Ferrari F1 team.