The return of the King of Formula One, as his loyal fans refer him, the legendary, Michael Schumacher, has fell far too short of expectations of every racing fan.
The great Schumacher is not only nowhere in picture fighting for the championship with the likes of Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel, but struggling to match his own team-mate.
With rumours of Schumacher retiring, on the back of his poor performance, it seems perfectly logical to most, that he doesn't want to put or risk further damage to his records and reputation.
So, is he really set to retire?
That's a big question, and the only one who knows the answer to this is none other than Schumacher himself.
However, known to be a extreme workaholic, Schumacher is not new to struggle after success.
Coming to Ferrari as a world champion from team Benetton, Schumacher struggled hard. However, as we know, success soon followed him, which is testimony of the fact that Schumacher is no quitter.
One can argue that age is presently not on Schumacher's side as it was earlier.
However, with his experience and past performance, there is no better person than he himself to judge where he is standing, the demands of modern F1 and if can turn things around.
There are many reasons that has contributed to his laclustre performance.
THE CAR
The singlemost reason why a formula one team fails boils down to the car.
Though last year, Brawn GP had the quickest car on the grid, the new rules of no-refuelling, that demanded a bigger tank, and narrow front tyres for the new season, meant reworking the basic design of the car from scratch, and the Mercedes team fell short in this aspect to match other teams, which resulted in this year's car lacking balance and pace compared to it's rivals.
To make matter worse, the ban on in-season testing has not helped the cause too. The technical team is struggling to get the upgrades working quickly, as the only real testing days left are the free-practice sessions on fridays, which are, however, dedicated to working on setting up the car for race days.
SCHUMACHER
On Schumacher's part, the fact that being three years away from formula one has rusted some of the finess of the old master, that needs spending some real good time behind the wheels to get oneself back in to the groove and get acclimatised to the technological changes that has been incorported in the car post his retirement.
With the winter testing curtailed, and no in-season testing means lesser and lesser time spent on fine tuning one's driving skills and efficiency of the car's set-up.
It's no wonder that Schumacher voiced his opinion in favour of lifting the ban on in-season testing when he stated last month that formula one is the only major sport in the world that prohibits practice.
Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has been the most vocal compared to other team-managers in lifting the ban on in-season testing. However, with the FIA seemingly not interested, the rule is set to stay for next year.
NEXT STEP
In such a scenario, with only five races to go, and no immediate development in sight, it would be in the best interest of the team and Schumacher to concentrate on the next season.
The positive aspects in looking forward to the next season for both are: -
First, there are no radical changes in terms of car design for 2011, unlike in the current year, that needed a completely new design, the track performance of which could only be assessed during the winter testing phase.
This year the team can straight away work on the flaws from the data gathered so far and be much more confident on it's performance on track.
With the base design remaining the same, the team can utilise the remaining races to testing new upgrades, which could be then incorporated in the new car for next season.
This will give them a head-start on it's rivals, who are busy concentrating in their fight for the championship.
Schumacher, on his part, can use the available racing weekends to test and fine tune the grey areas of his driving and give valuable feedback, which can be used to build a car better suited to his needs, unlike this year, where the car was basically designed for his predecessor, Jenson Button.
Knowing Brawn and Schumacher's quality of thinking ahead of rivals, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Mercedes team is already on this course, and we would be witnessing a resurgent Mercedes F1 team that would be challenging for the top honors next season, with the King in his supreme best
The great Schumacher is not only nowhere in picture fighting for the championship with the likes of Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel, but struggling to match his own team-mate.
With rumours of Schumacher retiring, on the back of his poor performance, it seems perfectly logical to most, that he doesn't want to put or risk further damage to his records and reputation.
So, is he really set to retire?
That's a big question, and the only one who knows the answer to this is none other than Schumacher himself.
However, known to be a extreme workaholic, Schumacher is not new to struggle after success.
Coming to Ferrari as a world champion from team Benetton, Schumacher struggled hard. However, as we know, success soon followed him, which is testimony of the fact that Schumacher is no quitter.
One can argue that age is presently not on Schumacher's side as it was earlier.
However, with his experience and past performance, there is no better person than he himself to judge where he is standing, the demands of modern F1 and if can turn things around.
There are many reasons that has contributed to his laclustre performance.
THE CAR
The singlemost reason why a formula one team fails boils down to the car.
Though last year, Brawn GP had the quickest car on the grid, the new rules of no-refuelling, that demanded a bigger tank, and narrow front tyres for the new season, meant reworking the basic design of the car from scratch, and the Mercedes team fell short in this aspect to match other teams, which resulted in this year's car lacking balance and pace compared to it's rivals.
To make matter worse, the ban on in-season testing has not helped the cause too. The technical team is struggling to get the upgrades working quickly, as the only real testing days left are the free-practice sessions on fridays, which are, however, dedicated to working on setting up the car for race days.
SCHUMACHER
On Schumacher's part, the fact that being three years away from formula one has rusted some of the finess of the old master, that needs spending some real good time behind the wheels to get oneself back in to the groove and get acclimatised to the technological changes that has been incorported in the car post his retirement.
With the winter testing curtailed, and no in-season testing means lesser and lesser time spent on fine tuning one's driving skills and efficiency of the car's set-up.
It's no wonder that Schumacher voiced his opinion in favour of lifting the ban on in-season testing when he stated last month that formula one is the only major sport in the world that prohibits practice.
Mercedes team boss Ross Brawn has been the most vocal compared to other team-managers in lifting the ban on in-season testing. However, with the FIA seemingly not interested, the rule is set to stay for next year.
NEXT STEP
In such a scenario, with only five races to go, and no immediate development in sight, it would be in the best interest of the team and Schumacher to concentrate on the next season.
The positive aspects in looking forward to the next season for both are: -
First, there are no radical changes in terms of car design for 2011, unlike in the current year, that needed a completely new design, the track performance of which could only be assessed during the winter testing phase.
This year the team can straight away work on the flaws from the data gathered so far and be much more confident on it's performance on track.
With the base design remaining the same, the team can utilise the remaining races to testing new upgrades, which could be then incorporated in the new car for next season.
This will give them a head-start on it's rivals, who are busy concentrating in their fight for the championship.
Schumacher, on his part, can use the available racing weekends to test and fine tune the grey areas of his driving and give valuable feedback, which can be used to build a car better suited to his needs, unlike this year, where the car was basically designed for his predecessor, Jenson Button.
Knowing Brawn and Schumacher's quality of thinking ahead of rivals, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Mercedes team is already on this course, and we would be witnessing a resurgent Mercedes F1 team that would be challenging for the top honors next season, with the King in his supreme best
as a shumi fan , i really hope he does well next year
ReplyDeleteschumi confirms he is gonna stay and is developing the 2011 car, now very much looking forward to next season ! John
ReplyDeleteNice post thank you Kristen
ReplyDelete