All he's doing is tarnishing his past glories and preventing younger drivers - especially poor Rosberg - from fulfilling their potential. A one-year deal I could understand, but TWO?? Madness, utter madness.
Take a kip, or don't read the thread. I think you should be banned (again) in conjunction with the house rules, you fool. If you don't like what you read, and have nothing clever at all to say in response, as you don't. Leave. You are a laughing stock. Rosberg is in no way young, he has had chances in Williams to prove himself, he has a car for himself in Mercedes doesn't he? In what way is Michael preventing him from fulfilling his potential, he as proven himself in 2010 when he had an advantage, in 2011 he was 10x worse than 2010... relative to his points gap to Michael.. If this is the case, why don't drivers such as De La Rosa leave? Or Webber? or Massa? This argument keeps propping up all the time, because Schumacher is in a DEVELOPING team, their issues would be more apparent than the top three teams. It is a work of PROGRESS, success takes time in situations like these, I think people need to calm down and stop being so mellow dramatic about his performances.
He's got a car. He is also distinctly the second driver. He proved himself at Williams, he now is being prevented from the opportunities he richly deserves because all the development is behind Schumi. I'm very angry that de la Rosa is on the grid for exactly the same reason so you can't cite that argument, sorry. Webber will go after this year I'm pretty sure and Massa's not old, he just handled his crash badly. He may very well be in a developing team, have you ever considered that part of development is progressing forward, not persisting with what you've got as it slowly ages.
Mercedes should be looking at investing in the future and nurturing talent. I can't see why they would offer another 2 years after the lacklustre seasons he has had so far. It's not like the old days when he can pound around a track in a Ferrari as much as he likes developing the car, so his input just doesn't have the same effect anymore. They should hold off the extension until such time as he shows he can at least regularly outpace his teammate so he can have a right to be the team no.1
What evidence is there two show that Rosberg is the second driver? From what perceptions? Both are working well together in the team, both are fantastic drivers. To All Saints: I believe they should nurture their talent after they establish themselves as front runners, not now in this rough time. Development is key at the moment. Yes 2012 will be the year Michael needs no excuses for his results, he does need to prove himself against Rosberg this season, but his development in Mercedes on the other-hand is much more rich and vital than that of any other driver on the grid or other younger drivers. As they are such a young team, it is vital Michael stays.
Schumacher demanded the no.1 (well, no.3 but you get my point) car? It might seem like a little thing but it shows how his ego works and it's not too much of a stretch to imagine what else he demanded. Fantastic drivers? Sorry but with Schumi I will continue to use the past tense. You can pick out a couple of specific examples but the fact is for the money he is on Mercedes could bring in a younger driver who would provide a much more consistent challenge, and I believe need to if they are properly to assault the WDC.
Without the present development of the car, how will that be possible? You need a fast car in order to assault the WDC, this can only come about with the much needed aid of a former multiple champion. Michael is a great driver, he has proven many times this season. Also demanding an odd numbered car is nothing to do with who is 1st or not, that lies down to who the team works well with the most.
I dont think this is the right option for Mercedes, things haven't exactly went forwards with Shumi, and to try sign him for another two years leaving him racing at 45 is too old for a new generation team. Mercedes should try to revamp things and get something fresh going not this idea....
BMW managed it with a German in his early thirties and a Polish near-rookie, and between they two of them they'd never won a race. The ability to actually keep up with the pack helps too you know. I define greatness as actually being able to beat your team-mate. Strange, I know. That's bollocks and you know you're just making excuses now.
Where are they now? Continuity? With more DNF's, and the highest result for Mercedes in a race this season? and 10x better than last year? No figures Tom? I could say the exact same thing for your reasoning on Michael's number choice.
I would have thought a rolling contract would be better. No doubt he brings lots of attention to the team which is good for sponsors but he's still to actually match Rosberg in the championship, where the real money can be. Micheal almost matched Rosberg last year and I'm not sure theres anyone currently available who could beat him, so in that sense Schumacher is good for the team for now. Some times you do have to take a chance and hire a rookie driver, just look at all the past WDC's, they obviously were all rookies at some point, even Schumacher
Cracking comment, and I whole heatedly agree mate. They need to take a chance in the future, not at this time though.
They made a mistake in attempting to push for the 2009 regulations instead of mounting a serious challenge and never recovered. DNFs that could have come from crashes. 1 race. How many races are in a WDC? He only did 10x better than 2010 because of how rubbish he was in 2010! Except as Schumacher has a history of such team domineering you can't claim that there was nothing in it. Agree to disagree? This is getting ridiculous now.
Yes mate, this is proper debating and I am glad we have shared views and opinions, unlike some idiots who have entered and left. Cheers ps. It was not just one race, he did many 5 place finishes in a mid-season high. And he has made great progress since 2010, slowly emerging as a mighty racer against the pack.
I agree with the 1-year rolling contract idea. Surely this year is make or break for Schumacher? I can excuse 2010 as he had no input to the car design, and it wasn't designed with him in mind. He was also getting back into the sport. In 2011, the car was designed knowing he would be driving it, and if anyone knows what Schumacher wants it's Brawn. But - he still failed to beat Rosberg last season. Off pure stats, Rosberg retired twice (a crash in Australia and Italy), and scored 89 points. Schumacher retired 5 times (crashes in Australia, Singapore and Korea a fire in Monaco, Gearbox in Hungary) and scored 76 points. If you assume that Schumacher didn't have the DNF's from technical problems, and you assume he would have finished his average position of 8th* in those races, then he still wouldn't have made enough points to overhaul Rosberg. That leaves 2012, where Schumacher needs to step it up again. He had input into last years car, which will have been a basis for this years car, and if his development skills are that good, he should know what needs changing so the car suits him better for this season - he has no excuse if he doesn't beat Rosberg. If he doesn't, to me that makes two further seasons unjustified. *Thats a mean of all the races he actually finished, irrespective of circumstances, and rounded down.
If this rumour is true, I have to agree with the majority here that it seems, on the surface, a bit odd and premature: maybe he'll improve but if he races this year as he did for the last two, why would Mercedes want two further years of that? The only answer I can think of is this: because of his public profile. I don't mean that he can command more sponsorship for the team but, back at the inaugural Indian GP, I remember it being said that in India only one F1 driver had any real fame: not Alonso, nor Vettel or Hamilton but Schumacher. On a global scale and beyond traditional F1 strongholds, he's still the sport's most famous name and that name is attached to Mercedes, a huge, global brand in luxury cars who want to sell more in fast-developing markets such as India and all the other new markets Bernie is moving F1 races into. The bottom line: Schumi reaches the parts other drivers cannot reach.
Spot on. He's a liability driving wise, but miles out in front as a sales tool. Still think mercedes are shooting themselves in the foot doing this though. Sod expansion, they make enough money as it is, why not chuck a really talented driver in the car? Someone like Hulkenberg, Di Resta etc, rather than a 42 year old has-been.
