Flying Finn

Juan Lopez

Never understood all the hatred. He's a great driver and in the end most of them have some skeletons in the closet....

I rather see him battling Kimi and Alonso than some of the boring "also ran" on F1.

For one, I think it would be a loss to the sport just like when Mika left or whenever DC leaves.

stuttgart46

I read an interview about/with Michael a while ago where he said when he retired he would like to do LeMans and some other sportscar racing. That would be fun to watch. I've been a fan of his for years and I would love to see him race at Sebring or any other event over here.

M758

I agree.
MS has been part for F1 for many many years and had unparalled sucess. Like his methods or not he did what he was supposed to do and that was win championships. When MS started in 91 nobody thought anyone could eclipse Fangio's 5 world titles. Even for all of Senna's greatness 5 WDC would be amazing. Then along comes this German and he picks up two WDC back to back. Well not so strange, but the next year jumps ship and moves to mid pack Ferrari team (like going to Honda these days). He struggled for a couple years with second and thrid rate cars, but soon was contening for championship yet again. Then before you know it he turn Ferrari into a kind of powerhouse it had not been in many many years.

The sport will be different with out him. You can aruge about better or worse, but certainly different. Who will replace him as the next dominant force? Kimi, Alonso? Hard to say for sure.

944racer

I'll definetly miss him, if he indeed leaves. As far as I'm concerned, he's a great driver and a large ammount nicer than that Scott Speed @$$ hole. American or not, Scott needs a lesson in some humility and courteous communication.

rbennett

As of today, right now, I am tied with S Speed in F1 points

Maybe he should change his name to Max Speed ??

M758

Or
N.M. Speed

Ned Moore Speed

Dr.Porsche

Soo funny!

Cory M

You guys can test your skills against Scott Speed when he races in the karting supernationals in Las Vegas this November.

http://www.superkartsusa.com/

Flying Finn

I raced against Vitantonio Liuzzi in a million dollar (yes, $1 000 000 ) F1 simulator and beat his time. So, since he's faster than Speed does this mean I'd beat Speed?

Dennis K

It's funny to see all these newssites reporting the fact a German newspaper is saying Schumacher will announce his retirement. No one else has confirmed this.

I'm hoping Schumacher announces a contract extension. He and the Raikkobot would be fun to watch next year.

rbennett

Probably gave Der'Motherland first shot????

I would love to see him sign with McLaren and team with FA....

Can you imagine the pissing contest that would go on

Ecclestone would have to start a 30 min precursor soap opera to F1 and name it "As the steering wheel turns"

You can just see the hatred these two have for each other in the interviews and podium visits

multi21

I never understood the hatred for MS. Are some of his tactics inexcusable (i.e. Monaco during quali) Yes, but F1 has never seen a Champion like this before, and it may be a long time before we seen one again.

The fact that he brought 2 championships to a mid-level team in the 90's shows his strength as a driver and ability to work with engineers.

It's easy for someone to win at that level in the top car, but look at what he did last year and the beginning of this year. The Ferrari in Bridgestones was a dog and yet he managed to finish 3rd in points last year and soundly beat Rubens and Massa. I think I respect him more with what he's done with inferior machinery and getting the most out of it.

That being said, the fact that Renault wanted Kimi and has now confirmed that Fisi and Kovelenan (sp?) will pilot the Renaults and the fact that it is highly unlikely that Alonso will be next to Kimi, almost assures us that Ferrari will be headed by Massa and Kimi. I think Massa will have the advantage at first having been a test driver for Ferrari and now appears to be coming into his own with this car. IMO, Kimi will catch up with him by mid-season.

If Schumi does call it quits after this season like I suspect, then we will see the end of an era and I will consider myself fortunate to have watched him race live on 4 different occasions.

rbennett

Pete, I don’t think anyone here really hates MS (IMO), no one can take away what he has accomplished,
I know I cannot, I’m a dam arm chair F1 driver.

I certainly don’t hate the guy, but I do love competition.

I think MS has such a strong self-confidence in himself that it may turn others off.
To quote a movie “He wakes up every morning pissing self confidence”!

E.g. (Chicanes what chicanes, I go straight) sorry F1 sanctioning body (Dwarf Spaniard, what Spaniard, I brake) again, sorry F1 sanctioning body.

I really like FA’s driving ability, but he has such a Ben Stein (Farris Buhler) personality,
don’t know what to think of him personally, but crap, he can drive (triple apex, last F1 race).

Speed channel has 8 hrs a day of NASCAR bull**** on it; F1 really needs this rivalry to overtake it. Again IMO

I just hope next year if MS retires, KR, PM or FA rises to the challenge and makes NASCAR
look like the Beer and Bologna crowd that it is and leaves the Wine and Cheese crowd of F1 to raise to the top, as it should be.

multi21

I disagree... there are a lot of haters out there. Whenever someone is that good and has had that degree of success, there is always the "Anyone but Schumi" mentality. It's in every sport. I think the domination we saw up until last year along with the predictability of those races turned people off to him. The only time I didn't see it was with Michael Jordan in basketball. He kicked everyones ***, but everyone knew that and they tuned in for him and with little exception, a lot of people didn't want to see him retire. If you poll this forum or even this thread, it points out that about 1/2 the people want him to retire.

I do agree with you that the Michael - Fernando duo has been good for F1. I just wish McClaren was on their game so that it would be a 3 way fight with Kimi.

I hope that next year there will be a fight between Fernando and Kimi or Massa. However, given the fact that Bridgestone is the sole provider of tires next year, that gives Ferrari a big advantage. I don't see Renault fighting for the title with their drivers.

Finally, Fernando is kind of bland when interviewed and I wish we had more personalities in F1, but with the amount of money these guys make, they're not about to upset the gravy train. There is no denying Fernando's amazing ability on the track however.