deep_uv

Bummer, that certainly is disappointing.

kfyork

+1

Exactly Bryan; thank you.

wanna911

Only thing is that your tone wasn't so overconfident and aggressive before you knew MS wasn't going to race. You seemed rather reserved, but now that Kimi doesn't have to prove anything, you're acting like you knew all along.

Just an observation.

BlueRiver86

lol, we got the bacon out of this on eh..

AudiOn19s

Crushing news. I was really excited to see his return!

Flying Finn

I agree, especially in the beginning, Kimi has been "off".
However, Kimi & Massa are even this year (in quali & races) and for example in Germany where Massa had the new development parts and Kimi didn't, he still was very close.
In Hungary where Kimi had the same parts as Massa, before Massa's unfortunate accident, Kimi was faster than Massa in 3 out of 2 sessions so I'm not sure how much greater Massa is. Besides, Kimi is a WDC (with a car that Massa new & had developed), Massa isn't.

Now, back to real topic, Schumi's current speed:

Bull's joke (or was it a joke?) was very close.
His fastest lap in Mugello with Kimi's F2007 car was 3.542 seconds slower than Massa's fastest lap in 2007 (1.23,736 vs. 1:20.194).

He did 67 laps with GP2 slicks (vs. old grooved tires) in a nice, sunny weather.

I'm (mostly) just messing but I'd never be too confident when it comes to Schumi (although he didn't look that impressive in his test).
The stuff he has pulled and the speed he has showed in past can't make anyone very confident. I would've loved to see him & Kimi face each other as I, and I'm sure many others, have wondered about that.

Hey, if Kimi would've been the slower of them, I would've been bummed a little but it would've not been as big of a deal to me than everyone seems to think. Screw that, he's Finn so of course I'm rooting for the guy (as I am for Kovalainen & Rosberg) but when he sucks (like in couple of races this year), he sucks no matter where he's from.
I was betting for Kimi to beat Schumi though and would've (of course) loved to see him do that as then I could've been really messing with you Schumi fans here!

I never was a big Schumi fan but I was really looking forward to this and to me, this whole **** now almost feels like a media stunt so I'm pissed because I don't get to see Schumi & Kimi face each other.

I guess there's a chance that he will be back in Spa or later (when his neck is healed if that actually is the reason) so who knows, maybe we'll see those two together. I'm not holding my breath but one can still hope, right?

Besides, if we'll see 3 teams next year driving 3 cars and Ferrari gets one of those spots, that seat is reserved for Schumi so if he wants to come back and is "healthy", he certainly can.

A.Wayne

The Amigos must be on Ritalin by now ..........

Stool was so far off the pace , PK jr must have sent Ferrari his CV.....

multi21

Sorry I have to disagree. Although I feel for Luca Badoer as he has served Ferrari well for many many years, there is a reason he is still a test driver and not a race driver. Massa tested for Ferrari and was able to be promoted to their race driver, Luca has not.

When faced with the choice of a perennial test driver or a 7 time World Champion that says he can come back, I'm going with the guy that's been there, done that.

And I don't think it was a media stunt. I genuinely believe he had all intentions of coming back and his training, losing 4 kilos, simiulators, F2007 tests all were legit. His accident in February is probably worse than believed.

I'm truly disappointed as this could have been a great thing for F1. We'll see how Luca does in Valencia, but I hold out hope that Schumacher continues to work on his neck and doesn't rule out the possibility of coming back down the line.

A.Wayne

...Ritalin ?....................................................

The best thing that happened to F1 was when he left ...... continue ...

multi21

Like Finn, you were awfully quiet (ie scared) when he announced his comeback. Now your full of fire!! or on fire...

Ahhhh, the haters.... can't see the forest beyond the trees....

A.Wayne

Scared !

Bwaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyy over Stoolmacher .........

Pete ,
The guy had his **** handed to him by FA in 05 & 06 and you expect after almost 3 yrs for him to jump into an F1 car and make it happen ....

He wasn't fast enuff in 06, he did as expected , suck it up ...............

multi21

Of course he wasn't going to be at the same pace he was in '06, especially considering he'd never driven the F60 and never been to Valencia, but I expected at least a podium at Spa after being in the F60 and going to his track.

I'm truly amazed at the "joy" you and others take at the unfortunate motorcycle accident and subsequent neck injury precluding him from coming back. Real class.

BlueRiver86

As much as I wanted to see this, it will always be the comeback that never was. Certainly an interesting page was written in the F1 history books...

ew928

So how much racing spunk will Luca show now that he's in the spotlight seat.


So if Luca pulls a Bordais or Piquet Jr, will Mr. Schumacher get another invite when his neck heals a bit.

Flying Finn

Pete,

I know you think Schumi is a "superman" but the reality is that he's been out pretty long and coming back to a new track after a long hiatus is not easy no matter who you are. This would've been Schumi who at his prime was very quick but now, he was off the pace in his F1 test.
After Schumi's return was announced and before the test, Mr 30% (Schumi's manager) was just about ready to get all the Schumi fan products out but after the test, he halted that plan "until the final med exam"...

I'm really bummed this didn't happen and have been vocal about it. I was also pretty vocal (and happy!) when it was thought that he'd return but I'm not alone thinking it was his pack of pace that sealed the deal and that this was a "long shot" from the beginning.

For example former Ferrari F1 driver, Mika Salo (with others but who are not be so "straight shooters" and don't want to say it in public) thinks that way.

Pete, please.

Schumi already has an "invitation" to drive in any of the following races. For example Monza would be great for fans (Spa is too soon). Monza would've been more likely for him anyway since Valencia is a new track.
Who knows, maybe he can get back to speed, I mean his neck heals, by that time and will return, I hope so so that we can put this debate to rest. At the moment it feels just like a stupid circus stunt that got us fans screwed.

In any case, I have absolutely no doubt someone else than Badoer will drive Massa's car later this season. Maybe and hopefully Massa himself in Brazil.