So, was it all a scam?

I don't think it was a conspiracy, but it was definitely announced prematurely. If they didn't know MS would be able to run, they should have figured that out before they said he would be running. I don't think MS would be party to any games of Bernie. I know he's close to Bernie, but I can't imagine he would agree to tarnish his name to help Bernie out.

I hope that he will end up in the car later in the year. The only reason I bought tickets to Spa was to see MS race. I'll bet a LOT of other people did the same. It's going to cost probably $7k+ out of pocket and if I had known he wouldn't be racing, I wouldn't have bothered.

If they announce he'll be in the car later in the year, I will go to see him race... but they better be #$(% sure next time!

 

Some of you guys come up with the most amazing and ridiculous theories.

 

Yeah, i think to many people are trying to play CSI here. He's 40 years old if most people at that age were to get into a Formula 1 car they'd crash at the second corner because of pains from all over their body. But Schumi wanted to drive for the sake of Felipe and the fans.... he tried all he could... he even did 2 tests for christ sake, but you can't simulate what 7 races would be like for 2 tests in an old car. Hopefully his neck will get better before the end of the season and he might be able to do the last 2 races maybe.

 

I dont think it was for two reasons:

- Valencia is still not sold out
- Willy Webber lost a ton of money making merchandise that he now cannot sell

 

LOL you know me to well Ian, can't blame a bloke for trying..

However Max does have the final say that we can be sure, my main point is that with this situation "no testing" the only way any young blood is going to get a chance is by being thrown in at the deep end, so IMO it is a safety issue, and one alot of teams would not like to probably chance.

And what little credit I give Max is for safety.

Ferrari using MS I don't have a problem with, although it could be considered at his age a desperate measure and now he isn't it really goes to show there is no one really up to job as Luca B is the oldest driver. IMO 1 year out of F1 and your well behind the young hot shots.

That being said I would have loved to see the results of MS against the rest, and given the car and perfect health he most certainly would probably still win some races.

 

I believe it was a scam, seriously.

Pete

 

I think MS was truly committed to compete. He immediately went into training, did seat time in an older F-1 car, went on a diet ,and did cart time.

He has some neck fractures which prevent him from racing.

 

"August Fools!!"
(What? Oh. Well, August, April, one of those.)

 

In all of racing, the only guy I can think of that came back after a 'long' retirement and did REALLY WELL was Niki Lauda, and on the flip-side there are drivers that came back and were killed.

I'm glad MS isn't coming back, he doesn't NEED to, but I also understand the modern athlete's drive to compete past their prime, Michael Jordan is a great example, so is Richard (and Kyle) Petty.

 

I feel for you Mike. Thats a lot of bucks. its too bad but I guess we can keep hoping that he will make it back. Maybe they knew all along that he would not come back THIS YEAR because the injury just isnt well enough. Maybe this was just an oportunity to test the waters to see what might happen if he came back next season. So why not see how much hype a return announcement would cause knowing full well that there is still 2 weeks for a test driver to get ready.

 

I take it then you consider one year as not a "long" retirement?

 

Prost didn't retire, he just had no car available, or that he wanted, for that season. We all knew as he stated that he would be back.

Pete

 

I find it hard to believe that Max & Co. are smart enough to orchestrate and implement all of this.

 

With increased television viewers from an MS return, Bernie would somehow finagle a cut of higher advertising rates. I can't help but think that in F1 nothing gets by Bernie without him sneaking a little piece for his wallet.

Pretty hard to build a conspiracy around the aborted MS return given the lingering effects from his bike spill but it certainly would have had viewers riveted to their chairs for the start of his first race.

Cheers-Colin Firth -Ontario Canada

 

My personal take on everything is that Schumi was fine for several laps, but over a RACE DISTANCE his neck would not hold up and this is probably the reason he did 70 laps in the earlier car...to see how his neck would hold up over a race distance.

I personally do not believe that Schumi or anyone tried to scam anyone. Schumi has demonstrated a lot of loyalty over the years (sticking with Willi Weber all this time, coming back to help Irvine in 99, etc.) I believe in my heart that he wanted to come out and help the team he was a part of for so many years (Ferrari).

In my opinion Schumi should be commended for attempting to help as he did. It is not his fault that his body is not up to it.

 

I'm just slightly bitter about the fact they they knew there was a big question mark regarding his neck. Instead of waiting to see how he'd feel after testing the F2007, and hearing the final verdict from the doctors, they made a knee jerk announcement. It dissapoints me, but then again I'd hate to see MS retire the car mid race because his neck gave out.

 

they always said that it was subject to how his neck holds up....from day one. the rest was our fault!

 

Oh when will it ever end? It seems like a race interupts the F1 drama from time to time.

 

They really underplayed the significance of it, in my opinion. There shouldn't have been an announcement until all systems were go!

 

But then we would not have been buying tickets to the next races and talking about F1 all the time ...

Remember Ferrari now race in F1 to make money ... they want to encourage the $'s spent as much as anybody.
Pete

 

The press made up stories saying that he WILL return, even though schumacher wanted to see how his neck will hold up.

BS sells people.

 

I mentioned it in a thread somewhere, I thought that MS was a peace offering from Luca because a few days later the Concorde was signed

Maybe it was just a coincidence but like others have stated they should of waited till it was 100% go before announcing it to the world.

Ahh well. I was 99% keen on attending Singapore and maybe even Japan, now that's dropped down to 51% for Singapore and 0% Japan

 

Scam? Nonsense. Why would MS risk his injury here? If he's 100% fit, i bet he would go out there and maybe, after 1-2 races, show the rest of the field, and Kimi, how to drive a Ferrari. Head and neck fracture...those are seriously stuff. And someone was comparing karting? Karting is just to regain finesse. Not neck muscle training. How much of G Force can a kart produce thru corners?

I think MS just bailed out temporarily. I believe we might see him the last 2-3 races of the season.

 

I don't think it's totally over either. If the neck injury is as serious as they're now making it sound then he won't be racing, period. If he's just stalling for time then we'll see him in the car and that means that the fact that he just isn't ready right now is also playing into the decision. Expect more "private testing" on his part in preparation. One thing for sure is he can't cry wolf again. Let's see how things unfold?

 

It is over. The man is 40, that's the end.