Peter Zimmermann

In a weird way I have to agree with you. I'm a huge Schumi fan, and quite honestly I think that the finest piece of driving I've ever seen was at Indy in '04. I was sitting in Turn 1 when the track went green following an extended yellow, Rubens was leading, but somehow Schumi managed to pull alongside him. At the end of the straight they were wheel to wheel at about 200 mph - you know who blinked first, and his initials were not MS. I will never know how Michael made it through the turn, but he did, and never looked back. Boring? Yes, but there were moments that made it all very special, just like Gretsky, Mantle, Koufax, Kareem, and Staubach brought "special" to their sports. F1 has now "frozen" engine development for 10 years, and transmissions must last four races. TC is gone, and I for one love watching the cars exiting corners with the tail hung out. Last year was exciting, but McLaren was so good it was almost monotonous until the new guy started making mistakes and Alonso started crying. Hamilton has made the headlines, but I think that Heikki, Adrian S., Kubica, Nico R., Piquet Jr. and some of the other young guys are going to be players in the new F1, it's exciting, and I like it! Oh, let's not forget about Kimi!

JV911

man of many talents it seems (the exception being personality)

Schumi takes third - on a bike

Berlin - Seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher proved he is just as fast on two-wheels as he is on four after claiming a podium finish on his motorbike racing debut in Hungary.

The 39-year-old German finished third in the Skoox Cup race held at the 4.5km-long Pannonia Ring circuit in west Hungary aboard a Honda Fireblade on Friday.

The 2007 German superbike championship winner Martin Bauer took first place while Andreas Meklau finished second in front of Schumacher - the best of the 27-strong amateur field despite starting at the back of the grid.

The German received some tips from former 500 GP rider Randy Mamola before climbing on the saddle. The ride in Hungary came about after Schumacher impressed 2007 MotoGP world champion Australian Casey Stoner last November.

But Schumacher said he prefers being on four-wheels to two, and was reported to be extremely nervous before the race.

"I only did it for fun," he said. "I prefer driving."

imcarthur

"I'm at Renault because I wanted to get back to winning, like in 2005 and 2006, if not this year then next year," Alonso told Spanish newspaper As.

"But I have an option to leave so I can be in the best possible car, and it is clear Ferrari is one of the best."

from BBC Motorsport

JV911

even if ferrari could boot massa, i couldnt see alonso being team mates with kimi

Peter Zimmermann

It's tough to know what Ferrari or Alonso are thinking, but Massa is seriously quick (evidenced by many pole positions), and is well-liked at Ferrari. They also have Kimi, who is very different than Schumi, and probably won't have the staying power of Schumi, but for today he is probably the best in F1. Kimi also seems to have become a bit of a team player (and maybe he always has been), and said, after winter testing when Schumi went straight to the top of the time charts in the '08 car, that Schumi's input was important and would help the team. He could have easily said that there was no place at the track for a "retired" driver, but he didn't. We also know that he gets on well with Massa, as did Schumi, so I think that Massa needs a little more time without traction control. Alonso? Maybe too much crying last year, and just maybe, like Hamilton in '07, he happened to land in a very good car ('05/06) that was perfectly suited to him, and that time has passed. Me, if I was Ferrari I wouldn't hire Alonso if he paid me!

lucroberts

Let's not forget that Massa is also a Teampalyer. Who was winning the Brazil GP last year and let Kimi pass to win the CHampionhsip ? Kimi owes this one to Massa, atlhough it's pretty clear that Massa did make a mistake in that curve in Malasya. But going back on Pete's comments on Shumi at Indy in 04, I would go back 10 years and still elect Ayrton Senna as the best F1 Driver ever !

Antony.

I'm a little bummed that Massa is struggling... he was fun to watch back in his Sauber days but that one looked like another driver error to me (haven't read the news to see if something broke), I was really hoping he'd get off to a good start and give Kimi a good run this year. Good to see lewis getting challenged too and good to see Kubica doing well, that powerslide in Oz was just really cool. Not sure who to root for this year.

Peter Zimmermann

My feelings exactly. I've read Kubica interviews, and I've always liked BMW, so I'm leaning in that direction. Kubica seems to be OK with leaving everything that he has on the track, and I like that...