It's not like if he had a "choice", was it? I don't know many teams that wanted his service at that point, so finding a berth at Mercedes was lucky, IMO. Don't forget he had burnt his bridges with Ferrari by turning down an offer the year before.
It is not like Schumacher desperately wanted back in F1 and have chosen the one team that took him... Schumacher and Brawn wanted to work together again as I think they really had a deep friendship. Obviously Brawn thought Mercedes might profit from Schumachers abilities to develop a car, unfortunately he could not do as much as he wanted due to the test ban.... There was an article years ago that a certain percentage of people are not able to test in a simulator as the simulated movement affects their sense of balance and as far as I understood Schumacher was one of them. Certainly his results were not what he wanted and expected but apart from his "detractors" nobody cared, the least Schumacher himself as I think he enjoyed his second career a lot. Not few said that he was much more relaxed and "human" during his second stint as he was basically doing this for his own fun, there was nothing he had to proof. And obviously both parties were good with the agreement as I neither of them wanted to end the contract premature. And if we are talking about marketability of drivers like Hamilton today, certainly Schumacher was worth it for Mercedes. Schumacher started as Mercedes junior and ended his career with them...
No need for Google... The link I provided has a comprehensive summary of the Rosberg/Schumacher years at Mercedes.
I don't really disagree and he clearly wasn't himself anymore. That said he was much closer to Rosberg than the points gave him credit for. Merc at that point was a comedy of **** reliability for MSC. He still proved he still had that GOAT rain driving ability. Watch Canada 2011 and the wet qualifyings of Silverstone and Germany 2012. Plus the Monaco pole lap of course. He tied Nico in qualifying in 2012 and in races they both finished, MSC came out ahead 7-2 that season. His comeback looks a lot better once we realized how damn good Rosberg really was. Nico had no problem getting the better of Hamilton a LOT when they were teammates including beating him to a WDC and MSC was very close in pace to Nico even at his old age. Hamilton is arguably the best guy out there right now. Speaks volumes to how good MSC was in his prime years.
He probably would have kept beating his teammate if he chose to come back in the red one as initially intended
He burnt that bridge by not being willing to help them out when Massa was hit with the spring. Instead he claimed neck pains and his doctors claimed he should never drive ever again. Right. That lasted until he tested the Merc and realized how much better that car was.
Meh I can't fault him for not wanting to jump into a mediocre car he's never driven in the middle of the season. Surprised you hold so much resentment for this. It's not like Ferrari was challenging for anything that year and MSC didn't/doesn't owe Ferrari SQUAT
Schumacher turned down a seat at Ferrari mid-season in 2009, only to sign with Mercedes 4 months later ! Read in that what you want, but to me he chose Mercedes over Ferrari.
As I mentioned, so what? He didn't owe Ferrari anything. They should have kissed the ground he walked on after bringing them back from the brink but no, Luca decided it was time to push him out after 2006 which cost them the 2008 WDC for sure. Kimi made hard work of the 2007 fight and we were lucky to win that thanks to Hamilton being unable to pull into a pit lane. Michael would have walked both titles...
Maybe Willy Webber asked too much money on his behalf that Ferrari was wlling to pay. Or maybe negotiations were Under way with Mercedes for a drive in 2010, and he didn't want to jeopardise that. It's hard to say, but I didn't buy the neck pain excuse at the time.
You do know that he had a fracture at his neck, not just "neck pains"??? He was recovering by that time...It is incredible what people are coming up with....
The way ferrari treated Michael in 2006, no matter how I feel about the marque, they were cold, ruthless and ****ing nasty. I was at Monza, and Ross Brawn was beside himself with anger, you could see it in him. Michael was distant, and not distant like he was when a race was there to be won..... different, and it felt like the world was ending when the press release landed on tables in the hospitality area. For Michael, a **** you to ferrari was warranted. However, I truly believe that Michael the man could not have borne ill will and carried the grudge, had he been fit to drive, he would have, and he’d have terrorised those around him just as he did before. Elton wouldn’t have seen which way he went, he’d have found four tenths in that car that didn’t exist after three practice sessions, and more after. His return to Mercedes was Ross brown asking an old friend to come and sort out a car that was plagued with problems, a solid pair of hands with a racing brain unparalleled then, and now. Michaels role at Mercedes was never ‘win a championship’, it was ‘make this car a winner, make it handle, work out its issues and help us to make it dance’. Sure, he had opportunity as any well funded outfit will, but there seemed never a point the car was ready until they dropped the V6 turbo into it, a year in the planning ahead of everyone else on the grid, and fired her up. For their endeavours in the new era, Mercedes took in elton for the future, with Michael having no real interest in staying on much farther, he was already tired of the second round of F1. Nico learnt a great deal from schumi, not enough, but was clever enough to realise the brain work is just as important as the hands and feet in the car.... despite no one ever seeming to have much faith in Nico, who was one of the fastest drivers to get into f1 over the years, Nico managed to push elton to the point of breakdown week after week, and only the money invested in elton (as a previous world champion) made Mercedes side with him and make sure that Nico was held back. When Nico finally stopped listening, and decided that if Mercedes wouldn’t support his title, he’d just have to make it happen himself, elton imploded as he watched nico’s true spirit and speed emerge. The thinker Nico, instead of relying on Mercedes not interfering in his title tilt which he expected at any point, made sure that once he got in front, he used his brain and worked out how many places he needed to win, or to lose, by. The clinical way he dealt with elton was what caused the near breakdown of elton towards the end of the season. Mercedes true subservience to elton reared it’s head when elton knowingly at the last race tried to back Nico into the rest of the field, even risk his own car, and cost Mercedes the title in a despicable and callous display of arrogance, ignorance and poor sportsmanship. Luckily, the following drivers knew what was happening, and strangely none even attempted to challenge Nico - most likely because they on the whole despise elton’s ridiculous persona Vettel may not be perfect, but he gives his all for the team, and feels it within himself if he fails. Elton cares for nothing but elton, ferrari have never ever needed a prat like that I; the car, he doesn’t deserve it, hasn’t wasn’t it, and I’d rather see anyone in the car than the dozy berk
Despicable? Callous? Ignorant? Despise? Jesus! Brought everything from the armoury there I see. It’s amazing what a car racing driver can bring out in drivers and fans just by minding his own business. Bitterness awash everywhere but maybe understandable in fellow competitors because they dont want anyone else getting the best of him.
Absolutely. And that after he publicly stated that his heart is forever with Ferrari and he would never drive anything else.
If you actually had been around on FChat at the time you would know that I was the one who gave the most timely updates at the time as I was following the live press conference from the hotel in Lausanne (IIRC) live on Blick. Yes, I'm very well aware of the fact that he had a fracture. Which was exactly what his doctors used as the way out from ever driving ANY F1 car. They said at the time one more accident with hard deceleration and he could be a paraplegic for life. Hence the withdrawal from Ferrari's offer (where MS complained about neck pains, nothing else). I would have been perfectly fine with that explanation if it hadn't been for the blatant betrayal a few months later when he climbed into the Merc, liked it and signed with them. Whatever happened to the neck fracture and the risk that he could have another accident? I suppose a miracle healing. Hallelujah.
Nope. Ferrari was nothing but nice to MS and he was biting his time with re-signing the contract. So they got rid of him. As they should have. No driver is bigger than Ferrari. Ironically MS didn't learn a lesson from that and made the exact same mistake a few years later with Merc. And then they sacked him and replaced him with Hamilton. Karma and all that.
Sorry that I do not remember what you wrote a decade ago and so simply replied on the post you did NOW So Michael tried and said his neck does not work properly but instead of simply saying "no" he even had his doctors explained the situation to avoid any bad blood. If he did not want to just as you think, why did he do the test in first place instead of telling them simply "no, I am not interested"? Now 4 months later he might have recovered enough to say his neck is stable enough to do it without pain, that does not mean that his doctors agreed with him to pick up a professional F1 career again! No miracle, no hallelujah...we know that this is other drivers territory And if any real Tifosi is angry that he preferred a complete 3-year contract with the team that supported him at the beginning of his career together with his best friend Ross Brawn over playing place holder for Alonso to arrive, after all he has achieved with them... then this Tifosi has a very "interesting" view on the world... Ferrari wanted to replace him with Raikkonen just as they did Raikkonen with Alonso...since Brawn was gone I doubt that Michael owed Ferrari anything. You praise Lewis over leaving McLaren and his mentor Ron Denis as so clever but then you think Michael betrayed Ferrari to go to Mercedes instead...
Biding his time? Ferrari owed Michael nothing? To the man that with his team around him took five championships in a row and made ferrari great again? Ffs, what does he have to do to get some respect in this forum? Michael didn’t want to commit until he was sure, they were fine to hire Kimi and make their decision for Michael, that’s their right, but the way they did it, with the ‘unfortunate’ press releases forcing the issue and making Michael announce his retirement when he wasn’t prepared to do it.... cold. Ferrari demonstrated very little class that weekend.... I know.... I was there. It was surreal because you’d expect fanfares and beautiful scenes, but in reality it was like the ides of March
But Ferrari was bigger with Schumacher, Brawn and Todt than it was the years before and after At least in F1...
