Will Formula One ever be the same again without Michael Schumacher?
Answers:
It's a great loss to Formula 1, and to the millions of fans worldwide, that this truly magnificent sportsman, is retiring from the sport he so evidently cherished.
Michael has done more for Formula 1, both on and off the track then any other previous driver. He is, and i hope continues to be, a true statesmen and pioneer. Through-out his illustrious 15 year career as a top flight driver, Michael has broken all records and constantly strives by pushing himself to the limits, with the will and determination he's shown from the start.
I feel a hugh sense of loss today, as it's the end of an era for Michael. There will never be another Schumacher in my lifetime. It's a crying shame he didn't manage to win the World Championship this season, for a record eighth time. It would of been the perfect end and a fitting tribute to a truly remarkable man.
MICHAEL Schumacher is talented. Of course he is.
But the greatest?
Surely it takes more than the sheer weight of statistics to become the greatest.
If Roger Federer had a better tennis racquet than the rest, would you think less of him -- especially when he insisted on a contract that none of his rivals could use it?
What if Lance Armstrong had a better bike? Tiger Woods a superior set of clubs?
Anyone at the Brazil Grand Prix will tell you the real measure of a driver is his teammate.
He's the only guy with equal equipment and horsepower.
Schumacher's teammates in 11 years at Ferrari have been Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa -- hardly a stellar line-up.
As his departure beckoned this year, Ferrari easily snatched Kimi Raikkonen from McLaren after settling for second and third-raters for a decade. Why?
None of Schumacher's teammates had a win to his name when they signed up alongside the world champion.
Barrichello was blatantly ordered to hand over a rare win, just laps from the flag, in the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix.
Without any pride Schumacher, in the midst of an unparalleled run as world champion that lasted a fortnight short of five years, climbed on the podium and raised his arm in celebration. Only the jeering of his fans made him reconsider.
Earlier, in Schumacher's Benetton days, his teammates included Nelson Piquet, but he was by then a triple champion, made lazy by the sports' riches.
Ferrari could have signed Mika Hakkinen, Damon Hill, Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso to partner Schumacher.
He has not taken on man to man any driver of note in his own team. He has not allowed a driver of any real stature to get his hands on the same machinery, manpower and opportunity.
So every year Ferrari proved to be the best car was a 17-race Schumacher benefit.
Even more galling were those times after Schumacher wrapped up another title and his teammates' performance would miraculously improve so Ferrari could win the constructors' championship.
In coded language, Barrichello talked of the sudden attention he received from Ferrari late in the season.
English driver Johnny Herbert, no mean talent and a teammate at Benetton in 1995, said he had outqualified Schumacher in Argentina and the next day was banned access to the Schumacher car data. The German could still see his data.
Ayrton Senna earned every single one of his 41 victories, and his teammates included Alain Prost.
Prost's teammates, on his way to four titles, included Senna and Nigel Mansell. Piquet's three titles included spells against Mansell, while Mansell had to contended with Prost and Piquet when was champion.
No champion has had such a paucity of talent with which to make a valid comparison.
We all know how Schumacher was stripped of his season's points for ramming Jacques Villeneuve in 1997 and stripped of pole in May for unethical tactics in Monaco.
His crime wasn't just that he cheated. It was that he never competed with the one driver who was a real yardstick -- his own teammate.
If he hadn't the nerve to establish his worth alongside others, why should we bother?
He was talented. Sure. And won seven F1 titles. But the greatest?
Don't make me laugh.
There might be less accidents. ;-)
No! Because he won't be there to cheat anymore.
It will be different.
Yes it will be the same. Some "cars" will go round and round a track all with about the same power. And it will still be boring as hell to watch.
i certainly dont think so and ferrari will miss him too
Of course it will, he will certainly be missed, but great drivers come and go, and make way for another driver to shine.I think Jenson Button will start to show what he can do over the next season.It will be sad to see Michael go, because he has given us a lot of pleasure over the years.
No problems at all. An exceedingly boring form of entertainment. I'm pretty sure the crop of new talent will be able to maintain new heights of tedium !!
Yes, when Paul Tracey figures out all the questions to his sitaution out, he will come and revive it all.
its as sad loss to the sport, shuey is a legend.
Yes; When we lost Ayrton Senna from Brasil, i thought i'd never see any competition again. Because His car wasn t the better; Bur HE was the Champion of the world and he will continue . But the others countries didn t beleieve in it, because they are more riches. ( sorry for the wrong words, friends from USA).
NEVER. this is an absolute tragedy. it is not his time to go. he is the best. now the fledglings of the sport will have their chance to spread their wings and go for glory without the fear of schumi. i will still be a dedicated follower of f1 but it will never be the same without the raw talent that is schumacher
There is a lot of talent out there but, i just hope it is everone rather than kimi raikkonen who shine. I cant stand him he is a whinning stump like his predeecessor hakkinen.
I love schumacher and i would never have gained any interest in F1 if he had not been there.
That's the beauty of sports, nothing lasts forever.
Michael Schumacher will forever be one of the greats in F1, but others will come and emulate him.
In golf people were talking of never bettering Nicklaus, but then came Tiger.
In tennis, we had Pistol Pete, but here now is Federer dominating.
So Schumi's legacy will be matched or even broken, Fernando Alonso has 2 on the trot, at this age, I'd say he's good for at least 3-5 more.
It will always be the same.somebody gets in front..nobody overtakes.he wins. Same procession every race. What makes it so macho??Is it the thought that talking about it makes other people think you are an expert driver or something?
It's going to be different but not only because Schumi departed and retired. With next years' new rules like the use of one tire brand, the drivers changing seats, cars with new motor deals, Formula 1 evolves and remolds itself slowly with us always adapting without any problems. We'll have to wait and see.
Of course it will. Boring and predictable. I'm a Shuey fan, always have been through from the Sauber days (Sports cars), but lets face it, F1 is really really c**p. We have Fernando "where's me personality" Alonso as champion. Raikonnen is a Finn, who apparently talk in a monotone, certainly in English and Zzz (and before you all say it I know Mansell did as well, but his eyebrow kept you entertained while he talked). No drivers with personalities, no racing only procession. Sorry F1 not gonna watch any more. Schuey's jump for joy when he won or his more controversial moments, at least kept us awake. GP Masters here I come.
F1 will not be as great as the real F1 wit schumi..a real lost without the great man..
What a final race by the Man. Proving the point that he is the greatest man behind the wheel once again. Michael could take any car and make everyone look for him on the track. He raced hard and fought hard.
It seems to be that most SchMACKER fans are only concerned with win at any cost, including cheating, superior equipment etc.
See FOO's post. Very succinct.
SchMACKER got out at the right time. Before he was embarrassed more.
ALONSO "YOUNGEST EVER DOUBLE WORLD CHAMPION"..that's not in SchMACKER's statistics, but then nor are his "naturally" contentious moments either.
Also, Alonso did so without superior equipment, and had the good grace to state, "I am proud to have been racing with Michael. It is an honour to have won the final two championships of his career, and I think they will mean more than any others I can win in my career. He is retiring as the man with all the records, and it has been big pressure to race against him - and a big privilege as well.”
SchMACKER, sportsman that he is, went into overdrive and loaded this praise on the driver that took the last two titles from him..." I would also like to congratulate Fernando".
Well done Alonso. You gave it to him where it hurts most.
No,it won't be the same.Shumi attracted me again to the F1,I had also thought after Senna's death that it was all finished.
But it's not the end of the world.We have Massa,Raikkinen the
ever unlucky with his car,and other very promising ones.I don't like Alonso very much because of his lack of loyalty,he already plans to go to a competitor.
Of course it won't be the same, F1 will always be a bit different after the retirement of the Greatest Driver of HIS time.
Foo makes most of the points that need making to prove that he isn't the best of all time, but he is certainly in the top ten - maybe even the top five.
Schumacher has a lot of records - ie. most wins, most Pole positions - but it has taken him a greater number of races than it took Drivers such as Senna, Prost and Mansell.
He's had a long and illustrious career in F1, longer than most - only Ricardo Patrese has competed in more GP - so I think the time is right for him to step down, and most people thought he would go after this season anyway.
Yes, F1 will be different, but it will go on, and it will stay strong as with all the other times a great driver has left the sport. There are several good drivers already on their way into F1 - Lewis Hamilton, Nelson Piquet Jnr, Bruno Senna and loads more - so in a while Schumacher will just be another one of those driver's that used to be in F1.
Its the beginning of a new era in F1 and I'll be front row centre from the beginning of 2007 wearing my red as I always have. no one ever commanded and raised a team quite like Schumi and it'll be a long time before any one will ever see it again. AND to certain people in this forum that think they know all about Ferrari fans. don't make me laugh! Bring on 2007!!
Schumi will be missed by the thousands of thousands Tifiosi fans but we welcome the Iceman!! C U in 2007 :)
yes it will get better out with the old driver's in with the new
no it will be better and more completive and fair
It will be the start of a new era. But a better one because we won't have just one man or one team dominating the sport. Next year hopefully we will have Raikkonen and Montoya back to their best to challenge Alonso. Look out for Jenson Button too, he will be a contender. So hopefully F1 will benefit from Schumacher's retirement.
Without Michael Schumacher, F1 might just manage to become interesting again.
In terms of his legacy, his achievements are truly extraordinary - at least on paper. But then I've always thought he lacks that crucial something - the one special thing that separates true greats from the pack - the ability to inspire! Senna had it, Muhammad Ali has it, Lance Armstrong has it.
But Schumacher? He's about as inspiring as an excel spreadsheet - all facts & figures, stats & graphs - the numbers all add up, the performance graphs all point in the right direction, the sheets are balanced. But Lord, where's the poetry??
F1 might just have been reborn.
F1 is more than one driver, one team boss, one team member, one marshall or one fan. F1 changes every day; you just don't notice the changes until a fixture that is highly visible gets moved.
Schumacher has had a long career, filled with controversial episodes [1], but unlike you or I his career mistakes are all recorded on video [2], so his mistakes as well as his many achievements [3] will always be talked about.
F1 is "never the same again" every single day, that's why it's so interesting. Now pass me my rose tinted spectacles.
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