The Schu

[Dare]

Just curious on how well or not Michael is liked

[Jericoke]

I'm definitely a 'don't care'.

Given the amount of young talent there appears to be (2 years ago, who thought that Kobyashi would be an 'also ran'?), I don't feel like F1 needs any of its top drivers to remain interesting.

I don't want to see MS forced out of the sport, and if he wants to stay, I'd welcome it, but I won't care any more or less about F1 with or without Schumacher.  (To be fair, there are no F1 drivers that I care about enough to quit watching if they left, or did something incredibly stupid.)

[Ian]

Oh yes.

[Dare]

I think having a favorite driver to pull for is over half the fun.I pulled for Fisichella for years and had 3 wins for my effort but those 3 made it worth it.

With Perez I may have found a new favorite but I wish it was Ferrari instead
of Mclaren,I bet David does too

[Willy]

Still don't really care.
He has not been at the sharp end of the pack since he came back and considering he is used to that view, it must rankle a tad to be fighting for midfield placement.
In another post I read that he may be working his way to team ownership with Sauber or BMW.
If so he would be very smart to grab Ross Brawn along the way.

[Dare]

Still don't really care.
He has not been at the sharp end of the pack since he came back and considering he is used to that view, it must rankle a tad to be fighting for midfield placement.
In another post I read that he may be working his way to team ownership with Sauber or BMW.
If so he would be very smart to grab Ross Brawn along the way.

what irks me is Mercedes say MS could have retained his seat if he
would have resigned in the summer.Maybe I'm wrong but couldn't
Brawn or Haig have told Michael we need a answer now or were going
to look elsewhere

[Jericoke]

I think having a favorite driver to pull for is over half the fun.I pulled for Fisichella for years and had 3 wins for my effort but those 3 made it worth it.

With Perez I may have found a new favorite but I wish it was Ferrari instead
of Mclaren,I bet David does too

I've never really had a favourite driver since Villeneuve.

For now I pull for the drivers who make things interesting. I enjoyed watching Alonso and Hamilton squabble.  I liked watching Vettel and RBR completely dominate 2011.

Now, I'm pullling for Vettel again, because watching Alonso win the championship with third places will make Bernie call for medals again

Having Schumacher win again would be the most interesting thing that could happen...

[lkjohnson1950]

I was a Lotus fan, just adored Clark. loved Hill, was floored by Rindt at Monaco (still, I think, the best drive I have ever seen), saw Emo rise to the occasion, and was thrilled when Mario won. My Team always seemed to have My Drivers. When Chapman died, so did my affections, though slowly. Never liked Senna, appreciated Prost but never warmed to him. Liked Damon Hill a lot, but hated Williams. Loved Mansell and Watson. Now, I like Jens, but don't really feel he is a very top talent. I miss Trulli, who always had something interesting to say. The others don't excite me much.

[F1fanaticBD]

Every time I see him drive excites me, in a sub-conscious mind I keep praying he make those daring drives, measured risks and come on top. People might have different opinion about him, but will I ever be glad that he is not in the grid. The answer is simple Never..

I wish I was born in that era, where Colin was there, I would have loved to see Jim drive..

[Williamsfan]

I've put yes to Schumacher as I want to see what he can do in another car, whether he is finished or whether the Merc just wasn't that good. 

In general I am mostly a 'team' fan (I know, you never could have guessed) although I do really like McLaren as well as Williams.  However, I do have favourite drivers, currently Button and Raikkonen are my favourites although I am beginning to like Perez, Di Resta and Kovalainen.  I am not sure why, it is not down to personality as such, but their race craft.  I admire Alonso, although I am not sure I like theg guy.  Unashamedly, I will usually try to support British drivers (I hope to see Max Chilton next year, even if it is heavily down to AON money).  Oddly, in recent years there have been few Williams drivers I have actually liked.  Both Nico's came into that category but since then I have struggled.  Rubens was highly unlikeable, Nakajima was woeful, Wurz was nice but not up to speed, Pastor... I want to like him but I can't whilst he trashes the car.  Senna seems a decent guy, but he isn't up to much.  Usually, my favourite Williams driver is the one in reserve, who has yet to have a chance to shatter my dreams for the season!  Step forward, Mr Bottas!

[Scott]

Yes to stay.  Mainly because I think he would have to end up at Sauber or back at Ferrari - both of which would be exciting to see.

I'm not so sure Lewis will do any better than Schumacher in the Merc, which should quiet down the anti-Schumacher lobby.   

[John S]

Much as I'm a Schumi supporter I'm in the don't care on this one. When is the right time for sportsmen, or women, to throw in the towel in the real major leagues? I much prefer to see the best go out at the top or at least just a bit past that time. However any top athlete who is forced out deserves another shot to prove that it really was the pinnacle when other, maybe wiser, heads made the decision for them.

In F1 like most other motorsport it's always hard to define precisely how much is the driver/rider and how much is the machine/tyres/tech. If we use the measure of teamates, with or without hands tied, Michael has really failed the test over the last 3 years.  

A lot of us, myself included, have made excuses for Schumi since his return, however when examined as cold hard stats - the preferred measure of success by Michael himself - it's clear he has not cut the mustard. Overlay his record with other top line returnees, either this year or previous seasons, and he looks rather ordinary, - nay pedestrian.  

I like most others felt Schumi was unnecessarily forced out at Ferrari, but now I'm starting to think Luca and his advisers got it spot on from the team's point of view. They clearly saw signs not apparent to us mere spectators that Michael had peaked.

I shall be a tad sorry if Michael is not on the grid next season, but since there are only 26 places unless he can improve or at least sustain top level performance - in his case wins or at least podiums - it's time to let others have a shot.

On favourites, currently that's Jens, Maldonado and Kimi. Like WF I can't really explain why I prefer one driver over another.    There are plenty of drivers I respect for their ability; Nando, Lewis and Mark for example.

I'd be here all day listing my historical favs, however there are a few over the years I've never really warmed to despite their wins and occasional speed   :- Lauda, Piquet, Mansell, Hill (G & D but not P), Senna, oh and Vettel.  





 

[Monty]

What do you think?????   

[Scott]

I like most others felt Schumi was unnecessarily forced out at Ferrari, but now I'm starting to think Luca and his advisers got it spot on from the team's point of view. They clearly saw signs not apparent to us mere spectators that Michael had peaked.

I think you give Luca and his 'advisors' too much credit.  If there was one man who could filter the data and determine Schumacher's abilities, it would have been Ross Brawn.  And just who hired MS again, two years later?  I think MS has struggled with the new reg's, particularly with regards to testing, or lack of, but like any of the drivers on the top 5 teams, if he is given a car that could win, he would win.

[Dare]

I hate to admit it but wasn't it a sign when Brawn threw his hands in the air
after Michael's crash at Singapore