Schumacher Retires, Kimi Announced

[Ferrarista]

:( :( :( :( :(

Im f*cking devistated

Michael Schumacher fan from yesterday, today and forever..you will be missed, thank you for the impact you have had on me as a person i will be forever grateful you have inspired me to dream and been a great idol to me for most of my life, thank you for reviving the Ferrari name, thank you for giving us 100% of your heart 100% of the time. Thank you for allowing us to witness the greatest motor racer god's green earth has ever seen, thank you for bringing so much joy to us tifosi and thank you for blessing me with the oportunity to see you race in person..and most importantly thank you for allowing me to share 2 victories with you in person.

Michael Schumacher - The Greatest Motor Racer of all time...FORZA SCHUMACHER

[DOHCTR Coopz!]

yah... i thought he'd do opposite n race on!! BUT ne1 hear rumours abt him buying out his own team for next season? possibly that new team replacing Mf1 under the VW/AUDI (german) flag? rumours only though.. but nevertheless interesting!

[ProECU]

Michael Schumacher - The Greatest Motor Racer of all time...FORZA SCHUMACHER

Big Call mate.

I assume you're saying that because you're of italian heritage.

[shinji112]

to me he was the only true champion of F1. no one will be able to do what he has done. his never-say-die attitude will be sorely missed

[LUD02C]

I'm glad I went to his final Melbourne GP this year.
What a champion he is, I hope he wins the title this year.

ProECU - Its not a big call, he built a successful team around him for him to win titles. Thats what champions do (example Sebastan Loeb in WRC now)
Do not turn this thread into Schumacher V Senna (If you want that debate please start a new thread)

We should all feel blessed we watched him do what he does best and for the very first time he looked directly into the camera during his press interview and talked.

Schumacher now is a TRUE LEGEND!

[Ferrarista]

Big Call mate.

I assume you're saying that because you're of italian heritage.
No, not at all.

Its not a big call at all, the guy is a 7 time world champion..he is the greatest.

[JDM.Power]

yes its a big impact that he is leaving
alonso didnt want him to leave also.
as you hear from the commentators, one of em said
Alonso didnt want him to go, because he enjoyed racing with him.

goodluck to m schuey in the future.
i have been watching him since i was a little boy back in primary school. talking about you with my teachers back then!! ahaha yeah...have a laugh but yeah. his a true champion!! now a legend in motorsport.

[Chronos]

Michael has brought F1 to where it is today - for better or for worse.

He is an amazing driver. Even though im a huge Honda F1 Racing supporter, i will miss him. Sundays wont be the same without him.

All the best MS

[J-MuN]

Some sad sad news. One of the greats in motoring sport will definitely be missed by many.

[LUD02C]

yah... i thought he'd do opposite n race on!! BUT ne1 hear rumours abt him buying out his own team for next season? possibly that new team replacing Mf1 under the VW/AUDI (german) flag? rumours only though.. but nevertheless interesting!

That rumor has been around since about 2001 I think it was.
Schumacher claims absolute no truth in that.
I would love to see VW/AUDI team in F1, but not under Schumacher

[Zdster]

What I think will be interesting over the next few years is who will fill the void and whether it will become very onesided (like a few years ago). Is Alonso going to steal the show and who is going to be a rival?

[LUD02C]

If you go here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/5327572.stm

You can see Schumacher's career in photo's with a few sentences of what is happening and what happened that year.
Its not in great detail, but still good.

[LUD02C]

What I think will be interesting over the next few years is who will fill the void and whether it will become very onesided (like a few years ago). Is Alonso going to steal the show and who is going to be a rival?
Good point.
I personally think it will come down to the teams.
Kimi will have the speed and Reliabilty at Ferrari (one thing he never had at McLaren was both those things)
He'll also have Brawn, Todt and even Schumacher in his ear planning his race strategory etc.

I think Kimi is going to be hard to beat in 2007.
Alonso must know something that we don't for him to go to McLaren so early in the season and to leave Renault out in the dark like he did, Poor Flavio heard it on the news from the media before Alonso's mouth.

Then you have Renault with a rookie and Fisichella.
To me, Fisichella has never been threatening enough this year for me to say he'll be a championship contender next year.

I can't wait to see Red Bull's new package and see what BMW can do.
As for Honda, give Davidson a drive.

[Ferrarista]

What a way to retire.... on the day you get your 90th victory!! No one else has that many so how can he not be the best ever? We will miss you. Now comes the hard part who to watch now.....????
Im gonna give Kimi a go

If JPM was still there he'd be my #1 but i'll give Kimi a go...then again i am a Scuderia Ferrari tragic

[ProECU]

As far as i'm concerned, Schumacher doesnt come close to Senna in raw talent & ability.

To validate that comment, F1 has not been the same after Senna and thats with Schumacher!

[Ferrarista]

As far as i'm concerned, Schumacher doesnt come close to Senna in raw talent & ability.

To validate that comment, F1 has not been the same after Senna and thats with Schumacher!
Thats an age old argument that i wont get into, i've done it far too many times :p

[ProECU]

mate, trust me, ive been following F1 since it came to Adelaide in 1985.

try downloading some old footage of senna at Donnington, wet race......enough said! I havent seen Schumacher display any such brilliance in the wet.

[Ferrarista]

mate, trust me, ive been following F1 since it came to Adelaide in 1985.

try downloading some old footage of senna at Donnington, wet race......enough said! I havent seen Schumacher display any such brilliance in the wet.
Dont worry i've been following F1 for the same amount of time, i joined the circus in 1990.

Schumacher is labelled as the "Rein Meister"

I guess you're part of the 'Schumacher hate club'..there are quite a few around, it really doesnt matter though because he is the 7 time world champion and he will be remembered by many to be the greatest.

[ProECU]

ooooookay

[phily]

anybody see that video of Senna and shumi doing the same course?
senna was doing <1 second more than shumi and in old technology!!!

thats enough for me to beleive that senna is as good, if not, better, than shumacher.

btw im not a shumi hater, or a senna fanatic, just my own opinions based on what ive seen.

heres the video i mentioned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJkclstv5hs

[^^v]

omg dun bring up senna vs schumi... plz

anywayz ima miss the kient... wont be the same without him...
truely one of the greatest drivers of ALL TIME...

[LUD02C]

All I have to say is:

In 1994 first 3 races Schumacher defeated Senna, many people claim that Senna would of come back and beat him later on in the season.

Senna went from car to car (whoever was the best at the time) he didn't build a team around him like Schumacher did/has.

As for this footage, you have to remember Schumacher would of been in his rookie years in F1 were Senna was in his prime.
That Donnington footage is spectacular for sure, but he did have a great car under him.

I read this quote before and thought it is relivent here:

Comparing drivers from different eras really shits me. They’re a completely different breed: old-school drivers used to bicycle tyres, swing axles and supercharged straight-8s run on methanol would be useless in the big downforce, big g-force cars of today (and vice versa).

Senna life was cut short, so we'll never know.
Most people dislike Schumacher because he is so successful and people that say "Senna was so much better" generally have no clue or watched Senna in the day.

Instead, we should be happy we witnessed these two great drivers and agree that they are the best of the best.

Oh and if your going to compare Apples with Oranges.
Senna help build the NSX
Schumacher helped to build the ENZO!

(See my point above, two different time eras which you can't compare)

[Ferrarista]

anybody see that video of Senna and shumi doing the same course?
senna was doing <1 second more than shumi and in old technology!!!

thats enough for me to beleive that senna is as good, if not, better, than shumacher.

btw im not a shumi hater, or a senna fanatic, just my own opinions based on what ive seen.

heres the video i mentioned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJkclstv5hs
Senna had slicks and a different engine

[dc2typ35r]

I agree, there is no way you can compare unless they are driving the same machine, and all factors were the same.

They have beaten each other before. Senna was great yes, but Schumi is the greatest! A living legend. Schumi even beat Senna in only his 2nd season.

Stats don't lie, he has broken all records.

By the end of this season, we will be saying 93 wins and 8 world championships!

[IAMVTEC]

Great. Good career but glad to see him go.

I think Honda could win it next year.

[LUD02C]

I think Honda could win it next year.
Honda have MASSIVE problems.
Ferrari, McLaren and Renault still leave them for miles.
Then next year, there going to have BMW (only getting faster in my opinion)
Red Bull (should be next years stand out team)
Toyota and even Williams (thats a maybe)

[LUD02C]

Alonso is at it again.
Talking absolute rubbish, just like when he bad mouthed Rossi, I actually think he doesn't think before he speaks!


Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso believes that for all his talent, German championship rival Michael Schumacher has been the most unsporting driver in the history of Formula One.

Schumacher announced his end-of-season retirement after his victory in the Monza Grand Prix in Italy on Sunday, but not before reducing his deficit on the Spaniard to just two points with three races remaining.

It means Schumacher is now in contention for an eighth world title - however that has failed to impress Renault driver Alonso.

Schumacher's critics talk of his questionable racing ethics, and purists argue that the German should not be included in the pantheon of greatest racing drivers alongside Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina, Scotland's Jim Clark or Englishman Stirling Moss.

And Alonso, who had a disastrous weekend of racing at Monza, was keen to join those who have often questioned the less sporting aspects of the 37-year-old German's statistically impressive career.

"He's been the most penalised and is the most unsporting driver in the history of Formula One," Alonso said in daily sports paper Marca on Tuesday. http://f1.racing-live.com/img/vide.gif



Alonso even claimed that French football legend Zinedine Zidane, who capped his retirement from football with an audacious World Cup final headbutt on Italian rival Marco Materrazzi, had gone out with more glory.

"Despite his headbutt, Zidane even left with more glory," added Alonso.

In Saturday's qualifying Alonso was relegated from fifth to tenth on the grid for an infringement which Renault contested vehemently, and he then failed to finish the race on Sunday when his engine blew.

Alonso now only has races in China, Japan and Brazil, the season-ender on October 22, to defend his title against Schumacher.

The Spaniard did give his German rival some credit, however. "He's been the best driver in the sport, and competing against him has been an honour," said Alonso.

[j3z3z]

mate, trust me, ive been following F1 since it came to Adelaide in 1985.

try downloading some old footage of senna at Donnington, wet race......enough said! I havent seen Schumacher display any such brilliance in the wet.

hater!
so you didnt see micheal at belgium in the late 90s had almost laped every one hit the back of dc and with 3 wheels still hauled ass the 2nd half of the lap back to the pits, that was briliance

[Omotesando]

I think it is hard to compare people driving in the wets, unless they're on exactly the same tyres. I guess when its wet, the car's engine/aerodynamics performance is relatively not as important. Mechanical grip and tyre grip is more relevant! Hence HONDA has always said they wished for a wet race, because driving skills in an inferior car (provided its on good tyres) will close the gap difference. And as we saw, they had their wish granted with Button's maiden win in the wet! Obviously Button is one of the best drivers on the grid, and he's smooth style suits the wet.

But Senna always lapped people in the wet, even during Prost days. And it was consistent for every race, so obviously he would have been very good.

Schuey is known as a wet master as well. Whether he still possess this skill at his 37 y.o of age or whether he's driving on experience, is a question mark though.

Remember Schuey vs Alonso in the same race Button had won, Alonso was so much quicker than Schuey. And he was driving off the racing line too. But in that case, Bridgestone had much inferior semi-wet tyres...

Me thinks Raikkonen must be quick in the wet :)

[bo279]

last time i saw schuey live was at the melbourne GP this year, where ferrari were struggling all weekend with grip. He missed the top 10 qualifying!!. Renault dominated all weekend. Probly one of the worst weekends any ferrari fan could have.

During the race things didnt get any better either. There were speculation maybe he was on heavy fuel load, hence the lack of speed, but that went out the window when he pitted at the same time as everyone else. But then around mid race out of nowhere he was around 1 sec quicker than anyone else, closing the gap to the leaders lap after lap, pushing the sh!t out of a uncompetitive car and using every mm of the track until coming out of the last corner onto the main straight where he went abit wide and smacked into the wall on both sides of the track.

Sad Sad moment it was. but it just sums up the guy. Always pushing and trying, giving his all, even though the car was shat. At least from my point of view, i can see he was trying n not just give up.

The guys a genius, first year at ferrari and he had wins with them when ferrari's status n performance were no way near what it is today. they were a mid field team in a sport that was dominated by williams and previously by Bennetton when Schuey was there.

There will be no other. I guess we should be happy he's goin out in almost peak form and not when he's lost it. Maybe he shouldve retired 2 years ago when F1 = Schumacher. He absolutely dominasted. Think he had 13 wins.

I wouldnt like to see him struggle like the way Michael Jordan did in his last years.

Kimi to be world champ next year and alonso to struggle due to reliability problems with mclaren.

[Omotesando]

last time i saw schuey live was at the melbourne GP this year, where ferrari were struggling all weekend with grip. He missed the top 10 qualifying!!. Renault dominated all weekend. Probly one of the worst weekends any ferrari fan could have.

During the race things didnt get any better either. There were speculation maybe he was on heavy fuel load, hence the lack of speed, but that went out the window when he pitted at the same time as everyone else. But then around mid race out of nowhere he was around 1 sec quicker than anyone else, closing the gap to the leaders lap after lap, pushing the sh!t out of a uncompetitive car and using every mm of the track until coming out of the last corner onto the main straight where he went abit wide and smacked into the wall on both sides of the track..........


Yeah and don't forget, when he went wide at Albert Park, in reality he was only very slightly wide (whilst chasing Button) but what ended it for him, was his right tyre hitting the unnecessary and dangerous 'bump' of the kerb, that has caught out a few people over the years.

If that bump wasn't there, he should surely have finished as 4th or 5th. Same thing happened with Montoya, except Montoya saved his car, but then the engine shut down due to safety feature....

I still remember Schuey asking 'why is that bump even there' lol!

In hindsight, the Melbourne race could prove to be crucial to the world championship end result :(

[bo279]

the only bright thing that happened that weekened was button taking pole away from alonso, (even though im not a button fan), i was hopin for some sort of miracle where button could out launch the renaults at the start. but of course it never happened n alonso cruised to victory.

it was the first time i got to see the famous renault launch control in action live in front of me (literally, i was only bout 20m away), n to my surprise theres wheel spin involved but they just gather speed alot quicker than anyone else.

[Omotesando]

Those Renaults seriously can launch well!

Honda is launching much better these days. Funny thing is, you always noticed Schuey this year, NOT launching well. Forgot the race, but Massa in P2 out launched him. Schuey had to overtake Massa when Massa artificially did an ultra-slow in-lap (or outlap?).

And Just then in Monza, Heinfeld outlaunched Schuey, so Schuey was lucky to get the win. There were a couple more.

Isn't it interesting - how after nearly a whole season, the Renaults still have that launch advantage?

[bo279]

yeah...renault still pretty good at launching, but theyre not dominating as much as they did in the last 2 seasons.

Notice in Monza during the podium ceremony how humble kimmi was, n how it seemed like he was been accepted into the ferrari family by todt. It was a dead give away he was to replace the Greatest of all time. Honestly the best replacement they couldve hope for. Better than Alonso, he wouldve beaten Alonso the previous year if it wasnt of mechanical problems at Mclaren.

But i thought webber wouldve been perfect to goto Renault, but i think it probly came down to $$$, he was probly too expenice for them and by hiring a rookie, it wouldve saved alot of costs towards a driver and more towards development.

[LUD02C]

To me Kimi did beat Alonso in the WDC, he won 9 races, Alonso won 8. (I think the tally was)