Remember, this is greatest driver in the history of F1.
The strongest memory anyone has of Schumacher is his merciless style of winning in his halcyon Ferrari days; his destruction of teammates; conducting anthems for yet another race victory.
Surely the doubters are now gleeful in pointing out that no one ever returns to their sport as a champion after a lay off. Not even the best return as great as they were. Not Michael Jordan. Not even Lance Armstrong.
Schumacher’s collection of just nine championship points after the opening three races has even his most diehard fans wondering if he will taste podium champagne again – let alone win a race. His Mercedes team is currently fourth behind their three big rivals, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren. The big three have all won a race this season and each are fighting for the title. In China this weekend, Schumacher will be expecting points, not podiums.
Schumacher’s return to Formula 1 by his own design isn’t meant to be an overnight success. The very length of his contract points to exactly that – a three year deal with Mercedes. A carefully considered three year plan to return to dominance. He spoke about his wave of emotion on Thursday.
“In the winter, everyone was very emotional and supportive and positive and when you are up on this wave, it’s a natural happening that you fall over it,” he said.
“Yes, I would have loved to have better results, but the competition is high. Having all this experience, coming back after this break, I feel more than happy with what is going on.”
Whilst cool on the outside, Schumacher must have expected better results from the team that last year won the world championship as Brawn GP. His less than stunning results is a disappointment; seeing teammate Nico Rosberg beat him in three successive races is close to galling.
As ever, the true yardstick of Formula 1 is your teammate. Nico Rosberg until now hasn’t shown tremendous success, despite being billed as a potential champion. Rosberg last year had the measure of Japanese driver Kazuki Nakajima, who failed to impress in the Williams F1 outfit. A much closer battle was between Rosberg and Mark Webber, former teammates at Williams.
Carrying on the Aussie tradition of giving out nicknames, Webber donned Rosberg ‘Britney’, a nod to the time he spent in the mirror fashioning his blonde locks and posing. Webber cheekily described Rosberg as ‘beautiful’ in one interview last year. By comparison, Webber described Fernando Alonso as a ‘fighter’ and his own teammate Vettel as ‘hungry’. Take a look at Nico’s website and you’ll get the idea. Webber beat Rosberg in points over the season, but both were hampered by a less than competitive Williams.
To be beaten by a young kid that cares far more about his looks than any self-respecting bloke should must be tough. You wouldn’t know it from asking Schumacher though, and the media spend little time doing anything else than asking how does he enjoy this new role of playing second-fiddle.
“The competition is very high and in this respect it’s a natural happening to not have the same positive feedback in the media,” he said. “But you know, I know exactly what I’ve been doing, I know what’s been going on and I’ve no reason from my side to be disappointed, quite honestly. I still feel very happy. Whether people like it or not is their own choice.”
To continue to be competitive, Schumacher has to believe this. It has been evident over the years that he is a poor actor, so he must be genuine in his own mind. His Mercedes team is expecting a big update at the Spanish GP next race to push to recapture lost ground behind Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren.
The return to Europe from the flyaway races is where a lot of observers believe he will finally be fully comfortable with the car, his team, and his car will have the balance and pace to fight up front. He still believes he can capture an 8th world championship.
Just give him the car.
Seiran
Guest
Yep he was pretty much off the boil in China wasn't he. It seemed he was having problems finding traction coming out of corners which meant he couldn't get on the power quick enough. As pointed out above I think this probably had a lot to do with the problems he's having with getting the balance set up to his driving style. I also think mercedes may also need to look at accelerator mapping, as this may help with finding him some traction coming out of those corners. The ferraris used to suit this driving style where the driver could slam the accelerator and still find enough grip to get drive out of corners. The mercedes looks like it needs to be driven smoothly which doesn't suit Schumachers driving. It was after all a car that was partially developed from last years car which was driven by Button who drives very smoothly. Also, when Barrichello went to BAR/Honda he was having problems with the car in his first season too. I remember he was struggling with the brakes as they were much softer than the Ferrari's and he kept locking them up. This is another indication that ferrari driving styles do not suit this teams cars. I read on the BBC website that Schumacher claims he wasn't used to the new intermediates and that they performed differently to old intermediates....well, I'm not to sure about that, I'm sure he tested them and has used them prior to this race so I don't buy that excuse. Finally, as you pointed out to Hansie, he is not racing to prove anything, he is doing it because he can. A racer is a racer and he wants to feel that rush again. Given time, mercedes will give him a car that suits his driving and he will get better and more confident. He won't be as good as the schumacher of old but he will be better than many of the other drivers that are currently outdriving him.
Tristan Rayner
Editor
Seiran, a well considered comment and analysis. All good reasons as to why he's not quicker. Rosberg must be congratulated on putting his head down and keeping it in front of Schumacher. Michael was much slower during qualifying in China too but we will see how the race goes. Hansie, I get the feeling he's doing because he can. He is earning $50m a year by all reports. He wants to try and prove himself, and doesn't really care what people think. By all reports it will rain during this Grand Prix and Michael was a rain master back in the day. Interesting to see how he can perform during conditions that have suited him in the past.
Hansie
Guest
I cannot understand why Schumacher has come back to formula 1. While he is nominally in the world champion's car, the team was always going to struggle to repeat the performance of last year. Even if he adds the odd race win to his tally, it is inconceivable that he will achieve his previous performance levels, and a lot of fans will see him as a midfielder, rather than as a champion. Nico Rosberg is far from a great driver, and the Schumacher of old would have towelled him up, regardless of any limitations on in-car testing time.
Seiran
Guest
I think after three years off and only three races into the chamionship it is a little to soon to be writing Schumacher off. With testing restrictions in place he has had next to no time to get back up to speed and has been forced to do this whilst taking part in the races. I think it will take another three or four races before we see the best that Schumacher has to offer this year. Also, you also need to consider the new tyre regulations and how these have affected his driving. Schumacher, historically prefers cars that oversteer and he hates understeer. The new thinner front tyres promote understeer in this years cars and he will need time to adapt his driving to suit this new style. Nico meanwhile has had no time off and so is at the top of his game. So we must assume that the top of Nico's game is only a few 10th's faster than an out of form Schumacher! Nico is also 6kg lighter than Schumacher which gives him the added advantage of being able to add extra balast where needed to his mercedes which might not sound like much but with the mercedes suffering from balance issues this year, 6kg can make a lot of difference to it's handling.