multi21

As president of the Michael Schumacher fan club on RL, it pains me to have to endure the likes of Flying Finn and others who constantly berate the guy who is now 43 years old and discount what he has done in the past and say that the current crop of drivers is better than he has ever faced... Well I call BS on that....
The bottom line is that Father Time will get and has gotten all of us. This current crop of drivers would all have a hard time keeping up with a 23 year old Schumi.

I find it amazing that at 43 he is still out there considering the extreme physical nature of driving an F1 car. Haters gonna hate as we've come to know all to well on RL.

At least the assessment from a guy who ran 256 F1 races and was a former teammate that didn't have envy should provide an unbiased opinion.....




Patrese: Schumacher's level has dropped


Riccardo Patrese is certain that Michael Schumacher isn't the same driver as he was in 2006 and before, claiming a 'small loss in performance' is costing the German.








Riccardo Patrese, once the record holder of the most grand prix's contested, maintains the Michael Schumacher of present is not performing at his pre-retirement level.

Patrese, a veteran of 256 GP's and former team-mate of Schumacher at Benetton is obviously more than qualified to make this assumption. The Italian not only witnessed firsthand the raw speed of his younger team-mate but also of the competitors he beat in the shape of Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell.

The perception from some is that the seven-time world champion is simply racing a higher calibre grid, but Patrese disagrees with this and states 'a small drop in performance' from the Mercedes man is restricting the difference he can make in an inferior car, something Schumacher was once renowned for.

“Michael raced against drivers like Senna, Mansell and myself and proved immediately that he could be competitive and better,” Patrese told his personal website in a Q&A session. “Now we have drivers like [Lewis] Hamilton and [Sebastian] Vettel who look very good but I don't think they are better than Senna, Mansell or the drivers that were around when Michael started in F1, so I think Michael is a little below the level of performance compared to his very best.

“Michael proved himself against the best when he started in F1 so if he can't match the best today perhaps it is because he does not have the best car, but in the past without the right car he was able to make the difference; now he can't make the difference.”

Patrese, however, still thinks the 43-year old can win races given the right car, an obviously vital weapon which the German veteran simply hasn't received since his comeback.

“If he had the best car now he could still win races, but in the past, even without the best car, he could win,” Patrese added.

The former Williams driver is also under the opinion that the neck injury, which the 91 grand prix winner sustained back in 2009 thanks to a motorcycle accident and which halted his highly anticipated Ferrari comeback, could be to blame for his drop in performance.

“You know how much I respect Michael and his talent but from what I have seen this is not the same Michael as before his retirement,” the Italian emphasised. “I have my doubts about whether this is because of the tyres or the new regulations.

"Maybe his motorcycle and neck injury has had an effect in some small way. The difference can be very, very small but there seems to be a difference.”

M758

MS should have stayed retired. It would have been better to leave F1 in a competitive form than to comeback now and simply not be able to run at your former pace.

multi21

I agree, Michael Jordan should have done the same thing, but it's that competitive drive and growing up with only one thing on your mind that makes it tough for them to give it up. The same drive that made them so successful in the first place....

Joe, you going to race this weekend?

James Achard

Yup, he should have gone out like Carl Fogarty, on top. If he wanted to come back in to competition that badly, why not DTM, LeMans etc.?

jaje

I think most of those drivers are the top 1% in the world, but the biggest factor is platform they drive and how well setup it is. IMHO Schumi had the best car (Ferrari) for those many years - a dominance they created b/c of how well the driver and the engineers worked together to almost make them unbeatable. It is akin to what Vettel has right now (great talent, great at communicating with his team).

This concept goes out the window when they race in the rain.

M758

Yes I will be at Autoclub

Dave 86 930 Fl

I think he should do what he wants to do, which is to ignore everyone's opinion on what he should do. If I had the chance to stay in a racecar, I'd be doing it.

Land Jet

He's pulling a Danika and is just in it for the money now, plus he gets to drive an F1 car to pass the time, what could be better.

winders

^^^ This....

Scott

winders

He doesn't need the money....

Scott

multi21

He's probably made over a Billion Dollars in his career between salary and endorsements and gives away tens of millions each year to charity. A money hoarder he is not. Off base as usual.

bobt993

MS is one of the highest paid athletes in sports history. He is also one of the most philanthropic. I think he gave almost 10million a year on average during his driving career (prior to his 1st retirement).

I don't see how that supports the notion he is in it for the money..............

M758

He is in the sport for the same reason Patrick Long is in the sport. Someone will still pay him to drive and F1 car and so he will do it. I am not sure he cares about his legacy.. He just wants to race.

Most guys when they retire from F1 end up sports cars with less pressure. MS retires from F1 and goes to run Mercedes F1. By now he probably knows his best days are behind him, but he brings attention and has enough talent left to make a solid run.

multi21

When the Tsunami (the first big one in SE Asia) hit in Christmas 2005? or 2006? I can't recall exactly, he donated $10 million dollars to relieve efforts alone -- Something like 10X the amount Saudi Arabia pledged. So no, money has never been a motivating factor.

Joe hit it on the head. He still wants to race at the highest level he can.

6point3

He has been a very generous man with his money...he has donated an estimated $5-$10 million to the William J. Clinton Foundation, yes the former president.