http://www.crash.net/f1/news/150548/1/hamilton_relishing_schumacher_return.html Lewis Hamilton has spoken of his delight at finally getting the opportunity to compete against Michael Schumacher, labelling it as an 'honour and a privilege'. The reigning Formula 1 world champion will go up against the seven-time title winner at the European Grand Prix next month following the confirmation that Schumacher will replace the injured Felipe Massa at Ferrari. Hamilton made his Formula 1 debut in 2007, shortly after Schumacher decided to retire from competition, the Briton going on to speak of his disappointment at not being able to go up against the most successful driver of all time. Nonetheless, having gone some way to turning a dismal defence of his crown around with victory last time out in Hungary, Hamilton is relishing the prospect of lining up alongside the German. "He is one of the sport's greatest competitors, a legend - it'd be great to compete against him," the McLaren-Mercedes driver told BBC Sport. "The whole world will be watching his return to the cockpit in Valencia." "It will not only be fascinating to see how he readies himself for his grand prix comeback, but also an honour and a privilege to race against him for the very first time. I wish him well." Fire away ...
Was the article entitled "Hamilton warns the old decrepit Schumacher about thinking he has any chance in F1" That would be about par for the course for F1 "journos"
That is actually the exact response I expect from Hamilton and I suspect the entire grid feels the same way.
Nice press release. Its nice to see he finally got a service to do his press releases. Don't worry he has 4 weeks to screw up and say something stupid.
My prediction is that they will qualify 5th and 6th and MS will punt Hamilton at the apex of turn one taking out both drivers.
Hamilton can only drive a dream machine. If the car is poor, he doesn't perform. I hate Alonso, but that guy is good. Schumi would destroy Hamilton in equal cars.
Very Very possible personally I can't wait to see it. to Interpid He won with the 4th-5th fasted car on the grid and developed it from the 10th...
Hamilton will probably beat MS at Valencia, but MS will beat Hami at Spa. For Hami this is a dream come true to have had a chance to race against the ultimate measuring stick. Same can be said for Vettel and also for Kimi, who can finally challenge MS in the same car. Fate handed us a unique opportunity in GP history. Can't wait to see the races unfold. And for MS' sake I hope his comeback will be more like Lauda's and not like Jones' or Mansell's.
I tend to agree I'm sure he has not lost the desire to compete..but as I posted earlier somewhere it's against guys half his age. I think he his has thought it through, it could be risky for his rep but he has a built in excuse...his neck..
But can't we say that about every driver and every car? I have yet to see a driver change really turn a mid - or bottom rung team around. I have seen so-called top drivers destroy teams, and I have seen few drivers come back and do well, remember Niki Lauda did this with McLaren in 1984, will lightning strike twice? Also keep in mind Alan Jones tried this and failed miserably.
If LH is anywhere near MS at the start, MS will put him firmly into the wall ... a desperate move from a driver that was passed his prime when he retired and is already finding he is not as fit as he was (according to what I have heard). Personally this is more likely to be the destruction of a legend than the other way around ... but Bernie does not care about people, only money. Pete
...anyone have more comments from the peanut gallery while we're at it? MS was the class of the field in 2006 and lost the championship due to an engine failure. Anyone who says he was "past his prime" in 2006 needs to re-watch the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix.
I think it's exciting...no matter where he finishes up. if he does well, it's a miracle. If he doesn't, who cares. it adds interest and makes it more fun to watch.
I've always believed that a few drivers let MS passed a little more easily than they should have because it was his last race, AND the fact is there are only either 4 competitive cars in any F1 race. But one thing I will definitely concede is that this is interesting AND MS can engineer a pass like no current driver so I'm expecting to see passes ... Pete
Yes, I'm very excited. I sure hope he does well. I'm younger than most on here so the days of Senna/Prost and the other legends were before my time so I feel as though when I talk about F1 and great drivers I associate the sport with MS. I started watching F1 when Schumacher was at Benetton and he was my favorite, I don't know why. When he moved to Ferrari I was thrilled as they were my favorite team and I feel very lucky to have enjoyed watching a fantastic driver morph into a legend while behind the wheel of my favorite team's cars. I was at the inaugural 2000 USGP when he won and passed Senna's win tally. I'll never forget the cheer that went up when he pulled out of the garage before the race and it was absolutely epic after watching him on TV for so long to actually see him in person. So for me (as well as many others) it's like seeing my hero return and I would love nothing more than to see some "Schumacher magic" that the sport has missed since his retirement.
Alonso beat MS in 2006. And in 2005. MS was past his prime which was pretty obvious by his accident in the warm up lap to the race (was it China?) where he fumbled around and got in the way of a backmarker (Dornboos?). MS' excuse will be the F60. Unless Kimi cleans his plate. One way or the other a Ferrari WDC's reputation will get tarnished in Valencia.
