Goodbye Michael
- Thread starter EternalMSC
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Brawn is only 57, so I'd give him 8 years before he considers retirement. As for Schumacher for principal, I thought principals usually had an engineering (or management) background? To name a few, Domenicali, Horner, Kolles, Mallya have management experience, Whitmarsh, Brawn, Boullier, Sauber, Theissen (ex-Sauber) were engineers. The only (relatively recent) ex-drivers I can think of are Prost and Stewart, neither of which were hugely successful, so I'd imagine Mercedes would steer clear of ex-drivers, and either promote from within or poach from another team.
That's exactly what I thought afterwards, he needs some engineering experience/qualifications. Stupid me.
He could start up his own team like Prost and Steward. He surely has the money and the bargaining power.
Huge chance, as DH mentioned, that it could go really bad.
It would be cool though, have his son racing in it, when he can gain a super licence.
Well wikipedia has an estimate that he had a personal fortune of £515m in 2010, so that'll only have gone up. I'd say that should be enough to get started with. He'd be able to negotiate huge sponsorship, and hire the best people, it's just whether he'd want to commit to a project of that magnitude, and spending lots of time away from his family again. Would be interesting though.
Yeah, I was surprised by that one, apparently Deutsche Vermögensberatung paid him $8 million over three years from 1999 for wearing a 10 by 8 centimetre advertisement on his post-race cap. You can see how it adds up...
Also, apparently Pirelli want him as their test driver? Also some interesting wording in that article from Jonathan Noble, Pirelli would be interested "...just in case Jaime Alguersuari lands a race drive". Further fuel to the idea that he's far from having a contract signed. I don't understand why he came out with the statement he did earlier in the year now.
I don't really know much about his family like you do.. if his daughter is into F1 and is fast..then yes why not?
[video=youtube;gqHNhm8QZrg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqHNhm8QZrg[/video]
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
2011 Qualifying - 10th, 2011 Race - 15th
“Interlagos is the right place to round off my career because so much of the fascination of Formula One is rooted there. I always enjoy the enthusiasm of the fans, and it's simply a great circuit which has seen many memorable events and always produces spectacular races as the unique layout guarantees plenty of action. For me, it's also the circuit that brings back my memories of Ayrton (Senna). My departure from Formula One will probably be less emotional for me this time than in 2006, when we were still fighting for the championship and everything was much more intense. This time round, I will be able to pay more attention to my farewell and hopefully savour it too. I have had fantastic years in Formula One and a lot of support from fans around the world, and I wish to particularly thank them for that. Of course, I would be happiest if I could say goodbye with a strong race, and I am sure we will be doing everything we can to make it happen.”
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2011 Qualifying - 6th, 2011 Race - 7th
“The final race in Brazil should be a great occasion with the world championship going right to the end of the season. Hopefully it will be another great show for the fans after the eventful race in Austin. I hope that we can also have a positive weekend with a good performance to end our season well. However our priority is still to learn as much as possible for next year, and we will be doing further work towards that. The weekend will be a special one for our team as Michael is retiring after three years with us. I wish him all the best for the future and it was a great experience for me to race with and against him.”
Ross Brawn, Mercedes team principal
“With the last race of the season in Brazil also bringing Michael's second and final retirement from Formula One, it will be an emotional weekend for everyone in the team. We have both greatly enjoyed and benefited from working with Michael over the past three years, and I would like to pay tribute to his enduring commitment, passion and team spirit. The results that we all hoped for over that period have not come to fruition, however the progress that our team has made has been significant, and I am confident that we will see the rewards in seasons to come. Having worked with Michael for the majority of the 21 seasons of his career, I feel that he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Formula One driver of all time, and we wish him the very best with his future plans. Looking to the race weekend, our aim will be to continue our testing programme for next season, particularly with the evaluation of the 2013 tyre sets which Pirelli will be providing for the two practice sessions on Friday. After a difficult few races, we would like to end this season with a positive result, and we will work hard to achieve that, before our focus can finally turn fully to next year.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“This weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix will bring a long, hard Formula One season to a close. It will also mark the final Formula One race of Michael Schumacher's career and we must thank him both for his committed contribution to the building-up process of our team and also his performances on track. Michael isn't just the most successful racing driver in the world but also the best known; his ability and character are admired around the globe. We had a competitive car in the first third of this season, as Nico and Michael demonstrated on several occasions. However, we especially needed to catch up in terms of aerodynamics, and to achieve our targets, we made changes in technology and personnel in order to be competitive from the start to the finish of next season. Our goal in Sao Paolo is to bid a respectable farewell to this year. When the 2013 season begins, we want once more to be in the position to score results like those we achieved half a year ago in China and Monaco.”
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
2011 Qualifying - 10th, 2011 Race - 15th
“Interlagos is the right place to round off my career because so much of the fascination of Formula One is rooted there. I always enjoy the enthusiasm of the fans, and it's simply a great circuit which has seen many memorable events and always produces spectacular races as the unique layout guarantees plenty of action. For me, it's also the circuit that brings back my memories of Ayrton (Senna). My departure from Formula One will probably be less emotional for me this time than in 2006, when we were still fighting for the championship and everything was much more intense. This time round, I will be able to pay more attention to my farewell and hopefully savour it too. I have had fantastic years in Formula One and a lot of support from fans around the world, and I wish to particularly thank them for that. Of course, I would be happiest if I could say goodbye with a strong race, and I am sure we will be doing everything we can to make it happen.”
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
2011 Qualifying - 6th, 2011 Race - 7th
“The final race in Brazil should be a great occasion with the world championship going right to the end of the season. Hopefully it will be another great show for the fans after the eventful race in Austin. I hope that we can also have a positive weekend with a good performance to end our season well. However our priority is still to learn as much as possible for next year, and we will be doing further work towards that. The weekend will be a special one for our team as Michael is retiring after three years with us. I wish him all the best for the future and it was a great experience for me to race with and against him.”
Ross Brawn, Mercedes team principal
“With the last race of the season in Brazil also bringing Michael's second and final retirement from Formula One, it will be an emotional weekend for everyone in the team. We have both greatly enjoyed and benefited from working with Michael over the past three years, and I would like to pay tribute to his enduring commitment, passion and team spirit. The results that we all hoped for over that period have not come to fruition, however the progress that our team has made has been significant, and I am confident that we will see the rewards in seasons to come. Having worked with Michael for the majority of the 21 seasons of his career, I feel that he is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, Formula One driver of all time, and we wish him the very best with his future plans. Looking to the race weekend, our aim will be to continue our testing programme for next season, particularly with the evaluation of the 2013 tyre sets which Pirelli will be providing for the two practice sessions on Friday. After a difficult few races, we would like to end this season with a positive result, and we will work hard to achieve that, before our focus can finally turn fully to next year.”
Norbert Haug, Vice-President, Mercedes-Benz Motorsport
“This weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix will bring a long, hard Formula One season to a close. It will also mark the final Formula One race of Michael Schumacher's career and we must thank him both for his committed contribution to the building-up process of our team and also his performances on track. Michael isn't just the most successful racing driver in the world but also the best known; his ability and character are admired around the globe. We had a competitive car in the first third of this season, as Nico and Michael demonstrated on several occasions. However, we especially needed to catch up in terms of aerodynamics, and to achieve our targets, we made changes in technology and personnel in order to be competitive from the start to the finish of next season. Our goal in Sao Paolo is to bid a respectable farewell to this year. When the 2013 season begins, we want once more to be in the position to score results like those we achieved half a year ago in China and Monaco.”
Well for me Mercedes have got a real racing driver for 2013 rather than a has been, who actually never was, Schumacher's replacement this year has driven around team mistakes and still performed at the highest level, bring it on Lewis Hamilton.
ErnieBecclestone:3821704 said:
Have respect.99% of users here have acknowledged something positive from Schumacher. Not hard. Don't be idiotic and try to muddy 21 years of contribution.
Oh dear. What a pathetic comment.
Its absolutely fair enough not to like Schumacher but you just make yourself sound very bitter.
Well in all respect, Schumacher jumped ship and Lewis jumped into it.
And this is Schumacher we are on about here and I think he knows a thing or 2 more about getting a team at the front than Lewis. Would love Lewis to prove me wrong but the Lewis fans should tread on eggs shells come March next year because this period in Lewis' career could really blow up in his face if he has made the wrong move.
And this is Schumacher we are on about here and I think he knows a thing or 2 more about getting a team at the front than Lewis. Would love Lewis to prove me wrong but the Lewis fans should tread on eggs shells come March next year because this period in Lewis' career could really blow up in his face if he has made the wrong move.
Does anyone dispute that he has accrued these statistics? I'm sure Ernie has heard it before somewhere, and I'm sure you know that.
In terms of missing those who depart F1, I'll miss Kobayashi and Kovalainen a lot more than an over-rated beneficiary of circumstance whose driving has consistently shown he has still not learned to respect other drivers. Quite apart from his horrendous misjudgements.
Whilst I think it is a shame his dismissal will not give karma further chance to balance the books, there is one thing I will be eternally grateful for: that during his over-extended career, he has not actually killed anyone. Therefore despite being statistically unlikely, it's fingers crossed again for today's race: it's his last chance to cause a disaster.
Cosi, I was expecting a special and opposite contribution to what you have posted, but infact you have let me down.
The one chance you have to step out of your influence of judging Michael on a few incidents, and you blew it.
The one chance you have to step out of your influence of judging Michael on a few incidents, and you blew it.
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