Michael Schumacher Retires!!

[Flake_Mustaine]

Well, he's retiring from racing at the end of this season. Will be the end of an era in Formula 1, he's a very ruthless driver! Maybe he'll yet win the championship and go out on a high...

I know some people won't be too sad to see him go though.

[Dan the Man]

At last. Enough with the tactics and tyres, maybe we can get back to some proper racing.

Thanks for the memories Michael...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5H0w-pEe90

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2b-gZf70dw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jcHrHUJdu0

[ShyBoy]

I for one will miss him, whatever anybody says about him, he's championed F1 racing and in my eyes, has raised the profile to the public. A bit of controversy never did the sport any harm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpVGQleEd2Y

[Dan the Man]

He be remembered for one of the best drivers stats wise. Having grown up on on Senna, Prost and Mansell, the last 10 years in which Schumacher has dominated have been an utter bore. Domination does F1 no good at all.

[Renzo]

I can't say I'm dissapointed personally. To me this weekend has been marred by the stewards bias in favour of Ferrari.

[bunglenutter]

IMO the main reason he kept winning was because the chinny fucker didn't leave Ferrari, much in the same way that Westlife retain their appeal to original fans because they never change their music style or split up.

[Renzo]

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=37316

Michael Schumacher’s decision to retire from Formula 1 may have been prompted by his inability to command the Ferrari team as the unequivocal number one driver for next year, according to his manager Willi Weber

This is a bit pathetic. Is he retiring because he might have had to race against a team mate who was actually his equal for once? Sounds like it.

[Man Of Kent]

Sounds about right too.

Goodbye, good riddance.

[Renzo]

I just hope Alonso can do something and not give the bastard the satisfaction of winning the championship at the end of the year.

[purplebutterfly]

IMO the main reason he kept winning was because the chinny fucker didn't leave Ferrari, much in the same way that Westlife retain their appeal to original fans because they never change their music style or split up.

:lol: So accurate! Lets hope Alonso wins the championship then.

[migpilot]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGVv85yocgw

[Aladdin]

So the biggest cheat in the history of sport is to retire.

What a pity.

One can only hope he doesn't win another title. Though judging by recent decisions by the racing authorities, it seems that the powers that be will see to it.

[Renzo]

Michael is the most unsportsmanlike driver in the history of Formula 1

Taken from http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=37347

Shumacher is the biggest cheat there has been in the sport.

[migpilot]

Murray Walker - Former ITV Sport commentator

"I’m sad to see the end of an era because this is one of the truly greatest drivers of all time that we’re going to look back at, like I look back at Fangio, and talk about for a long time to come. And Schumacher’s had this wonderful ability to weld a team around him, he’s been an inspired leader, he’s never said a word against the team in public but he’s given them a lot of stick when he feels he has to if he has to if things haven’t gone well.

"The man is a genius, he continues to be a genius and I think he’s done exactly the right thing to go out on the very highest note."


Mark Blundell - ITV Sport


"For me Schumacher is the most complete racing driver. And when I say that I mean he does everything in the car, outside of it and gets everything done to do one thing and that’s win.

"He may not be the best racing driver in my opinion, but Friday, Saturday, Sunday afternoons he’s the most complete guy. For sure he’s the best champion. I don’t think in my lifetime we’re going to see anything else like it, for sure."


Jenson Button - Honda

"He’s the most experienced driver in the pit lane and he’s the most successful ever in Formula 1 history so it’s always nice to have someone with that experience and who’s won that much still involved in Formula 1 when you’re racing."


David Coulthard - Red Bull

"It was a fitting way for him to announce it with a victory. Irrespective of whether people are believers in Michael's race ethics or not, you have to recognise he's been a great champion and it's the end of an era."


Giancarlo Fisichella – Renault


“Formula 1 will miss Michael. I don't think we will miss Michael in the football games because even if he retires, I think he will play with us. He loves playing football. He's a great driver, he's a nice guy and he is still fit, he's still quick.


“The only time when we can talk together is in the football match for charity. And he is a very nice guy and especially when I bring my family and my children he is nice guy he talks and he plays with the children so you can see he is a father like me, a normal guy”



Jarno Trulli – Toyota


“It's been a pleasure for me to race with him, and obviously he has achieved a lot. It's not up to me to say how much, but the numbers speak for themselves. We will miss him a little bit as a driver, we will miss him in the football matches, because that has been very nice this year but on the other hand, I think it's his own life and he has to get on with it.


“He's given a lot to Formula 1, he's given a lot to Ferrari and it's normal that a lot of people will miss him.”



Norbert Haug – Mercedes motorsport boss


“I think he has had a remarkable career. Everyone knows that. You only have to look at the statistics and he has contributed a lot to the sport. I remember very well where it all started and he was a German Formula Three driver and he came to junior team and that is just 15 years ago and its not too long since he started and so they are absolutely great memories.


“One thing I can tell you from my memories and I can tell you when I came to Mercedes-Benz and he was already a group C driver and he was getting out of the pits and he was quicker than Jochen Mass in his fastest race lap and I thought ‘that is something' and it was.”



and..

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=James_Allen&PO_ID=37290

[Aladdin]

No one is denying he's one of the greatest drivers ever migpilot.

Few, however, would deny he's also a cheating, nasty piece of shit like no other. If the racing authorities had any spine he would have been banned long ago.

[caenine06]

I must be one of the 'few' then, as i wouldnt say he was a cheat. - He is a racer and only has one thing on his mind when on the track, and that is to win! Yeah he has made a couple of dodgy decisions - Monaco Parking, Villeneuve shunt, Hill shunt to name but 3, however i wouldnt say he is a cheat! that is a strong word to use for him!

His race ethics sometimes are not so good but he gets the job done all the same! No one is perfect, we all make mistakes, only unfortunately his mistakes are seen by millions and some people like to slate him for them!

[Aladdin]

They weren't mistakes though were they- they were deliberate acts.

[Kermit]

Yeah he has made a couple of dodgy decisions - Monaco Parking, Villeneuve shunt, Hill shunt to name but 3, however i wouldnt say he is a cheat! that is a strong word to use for him!

So deliberately driving somebody off the road in order to win doesn't make you a cheating Kraut cunt?

I really wish it had been Schumacher and not Senna in that Williams.

Don't worry, Schumacher will win the title. What with banning the Renault car's best design features (something Ferrari couldn't get to work, coincidentally), and the farce at Monza, anyone would think that the FIA were bent :chin:

[migpilot]

Alladin, yeah i get what you are saying, but my point is that other people who know him better than us have praised him and appreciate his hunger and desire to win even at 37 years old.
Yes he has cheated and taken people off the road deliberately, it's one of his flaws. And yes perhaps the punishments weren't sufficient, especially for the 1997 incident with Villeneuve.
People in sport cheat. Whether he is the worst one, that's open to debate.

Kermit, wishing someone's dead is just plain nasty.
Also, Senna, may he rest in peace, wasn't exactly a model driver, and anyone who claims otherwise knows nothing about formula 1.
Yes, Schumacher will win the title. But not because of the FIA, but because of Renault's arrogance.
I would like you to prove your allegations of FIA deliberately "helping" Ferrari.
Ferrari had the awesome flexi wing at the start of the season and the FIA told them they couldn't use it and Ferrari loast their advantage in a straight line.
Williams got their front wing banned and they lost on grip immediately.
Farce at Monza? Are you saying there is no chance that Alonso knew Massa was behind him and much faster?? And also, the speed difference for Massa in the first 2 sectors and the last one is something like 4 tenths. Why? Because in the last sector he caught Alonso up and was slowed down.
It's not like it's the first time Alonso has brake tested someone is it?

Also, a true champion would not come out to the press and say what he did about Schumacher, that just shows that Schumacher and Ferrari have finally got to him and he's lost it a bit. He is normally cool and it was out of character.

A true sportsman never, never blaims the tools, by the way.

[Kermit]

Kermit, wishing someone's dead is just plain nasty.

i should phrase it better.

I'd rather nobody was in that williams, but as they were, its a shame it was Senna rather than that German bastard.

Senna had his moments, notably in Suzuka against Prost, but in fairness to Senna he told everyone he'd do it because he was shafted by the FIA (who, of course, are French).

I would like you to prove your allegations of FIA deliberately "helping" Ferrari.

So it was pure coincidence that Renault had something banned that Ferrari couldn't get to work?

And its pure coincidence that the stewards at an Italian track deliberately made a decision that benefitted a Ferrari driver and hindered his closest competitor?

Also, a true champion would not come out to the press and say what he did about Schumacher

So Schumacher isn't a true champion either then?

What that cunt has said about Villeneuve, Hakkinen, Hill and Coulthard is nothing short of a disgrace.

And Schumacher didn't once blame his car in 1996 and 1997? K :thumb:

People compare Schumacher to Fangio. He isn't fit to be mentioned in the same breath as someone like Fangio. He isn't even fit to be mentioned in the same breath as champions like Mansell or Hill, who did it with dignity and without cheating.

[migpilot]

So it was pure coincidence that Renault had something banned that Ferrari couldn't get to work?

And its pure coincidence that the stewards at an Italian track deliberately made a decision that benefitted a Ferrari driver and hindered his closest competitor?

I'd like to say I was 100% sure there were no dodgy dealings. However, these things equal out during the season as I pointed out.
The stewards are the same at every track, mate, they travel from race to race, this was started this year because of the inconsistency in decisions the previous years. Are you saying these stewards are schummi fans? (not forgetting he got his share of penalties this year)

So Schumacher isn't a true champion either then?

What that cunt has said about Villeneuve, Hakkinen, Hill and Coulthard is nothing short of a disgrace.

And Schumacher didn't once blame his car in 1996 and 1997? K :thumb:

No, Schummi ain't a true champion, for sure. It's hard to find one.
Also, what Hakkinen, Hill, Villeneuve and Coulthard said about Schummi at times was equally idiotic, so a bit of a tit for tat there.

I remember Schummi saying the car wasn't good enough in '96 and '97, but it didn't stop him from winning a few races, did it.

People compare Schumacher to Fangio. He isn't fit to be mentioned in the same breath as someone like Fangio. He isn't even fit to be mentioned in the same breath as champions like Mansell or Hill, who did it with dignity and without cheating.

People who compare Schummi to Fangio are idiots. They are a different breed and it's like saying a Ford F150 is better than a Ford F30.
Mansell wasn't a true gentleman racer, come on, and neither was Hill, I remember him taking Schummi out in '95 in the first couple of laps at Silverstone. In fact there were quite a number of dodgy shunts between those 2 that year.
Also Hill won the championship because he had a superior car and no one could get near him, much as schummi in his last 3 championships.

TO be able to stay at the top of his game for 15 years is truly an achievement by Schummi, surely you agree to that. He has never finished below 5th in the championship and as for his race wins and points and shit, imagine how many he would have if he wasn't disqualified from the '97 season.

he is the only driver that can take the maximum out of the car and team every time.
Alonso is similar to that effect but still a young one.
I think Raikonnen will dominate the next 2 seasons at least with Bridgestone being the sole tyre supplier, are you gonna say he is not gonna be a worthy champion?

If I had to describe Schummi in a few words, would say something like "no holds barred bad ass racer".
All the drivers want to beat him, even the new guy Kovalainen wants to race him but won't get the chance. And even the people that don't like him will miss him, because he brings a certain element to Formula 1.
(apart from Hill and Villeneuve, I've never seen two people with more bitterness in my life)

[caenine06]

I personally will miss Schumacher! He has brought a lot to the sport and no one can deny that he has brought Ferrari back to greatness!

I just hope Kimi can keep the Ferrari flag flying high!

[Kermit]

I actually think that Ross Brawn has been more instrumental in bringing Ferrari back than Schumacher has. I think the King of Mediocrity Eddie Irvine illustrated that very well.

He does bring a certain element to the sport...the word starts with a "c" and ends in "heating".

And yes, I do think that Ferrari are given advantages over other teams, and they have been for ten years. The FIA and Ecclestone are corrupt to the core, and the kindly treatment Schumacher receives is testament to that.

[migpilot]

I actually think that Ross Brawn has been more instrumental in bringing Ferrari back than Schumacher has. I think the King of Mediocrity Eddie Irvine illustrated that very well.

He does bring a certain element to the sport...the word starts with a "c" and ends in "heating".

And yes, I do think that Ferrari are given advantages over other teams, and they have been for ten years. The FIA and Ecclestone are corrupt to the core, and the kindly treatment Schumacher receives is testament to that.

Damn straight, but I think it's Brawn and Schumacher working together that's done it (12 years together, long time).

As for the rest....
We can do this all day bro, neither of us will concede, so how about we both have a beer and toast to his retirement, allbeit for different reasons. ;)
Cheers!

[ShyBoy]

Do you think the popularity of F1 racing will suffer from his departure?

I think he appealed to many people who weren't die hard fans, but enjoyed watching it. He certainly had a personality, anyway.

I'm just worried as his name is synonymous with F1, that he might leave a vacuum and people might not be interested in the sport so much anymore...

[migpilot]

That's what separates real formula 1 fans from seasonal ones.
There is so much potential coming through, that F1 is not gonna suffer. Plus there is gonna be an engine freeze for the next 3 years. And all cars will be wearing Bridgestone shoes.
And there's a lot of young drivers with speed, Rosberg, Liuzzi, Speed, Kovalainen, Hamilton perhaps, Kubica, than the pro's like Raikonnen, heidfeld and Alonso.
In a few years, Coulthard and Fisi will go too, and Trulli, and that will make room for more good drivers. Awesome.

I am really looking forward to watching Kimi in a Ferrari and Hamilton in a McLaren if he gets it! And also, i am interested in how Wurz will do in Williams.

Plus you got the first RB Newey chassis coming out.
It's all gravy!
:D

[~MINXY~]

Serious? He is retiring..... My mums gonna be well upset
She adores him

[muse-]

Few, however, would deny he's also a cheating, nasty piece of shit like no other.

Errrr... He just has a very competitive nature, ok he made some bad decisions but doesn't everyone?

It's the competition that makes the sport, and if people weren't passionate about it noone would watch it. Can't believe people are letting a few incidents overlook an amazing career, it's definately a loss to the sport (though I don't think it'll make it less popular as such!).

[Kermit]

You've dragged this thread up to post that gobshite?

I don't think I can respect anyone who is willing to injure and maim other people in order to win. He is a very talented driver, but he is a nasty cheating cunt, and good riddance to bad rubbish is what I say.

You can be determined and not a cheat- Senna wasn't a cheat, Prost wasn't a cheat, Piquet wasn't a cheat, Stewart wasn't a cheat. You trying to tell me that they didn't care about winning?

Looks like the FIA are (yet again) fixing it so that Schumacher wins it. Who'd have thunk that Germany was a more important market than Spain for them?

[Man Of Kent]

Senna wasn't a cheat, Prost wasn't a cheat

Huh? Where do you think that Schuey learned the ramming trick he used on Hill..?

[Kermit]

Huh? Where do you think that Schuey learned the ramming trick he used on Hill..?

Oh, he'd been doing that since his Group C sportscar days at Mercedes-Benz. Just ask Wendlinger and Frentzen what they think of the great sportsman Schumacher.

Senna and Prost had their spats, but neither of them tried to pretend it was about anything else. Senna said he was going to do it before he did at Suzuka because the FIA skewed the grid settings at the last minute after he'd beaten Prost to pole. Prost did what he did in retaliation.

Schumacher, on the other hand, did it repeatedly because he seems to think he is better than everyone else. It's a shame that crash at Silverstone didn't hurt him more. I maintain that if anyone had had to be in that Williams, if there was any justice it would have been Schumacher.

[muse-]

You look at it totally the wrong way... you honestly believe he goes out with intentions to hurt people to win? heh.

He has brought a hell of a lot more to the sport than he was taken away from it, I'll leave it at that.

[Renzo]

You look at it totally the wrong way... you honestly believe he goes out with intentions to hurt people to win? heh.

He has brought a hell of a lot more to the sport than he was taken away from it, I'll leave it at that.

So did he think the people hes driven into would escape unscathed 100%?

[Kermit]

You look at it totally the wrong way... you honestly believe he goes out with intentions to hurt people to win? heh.

I don't think he cares one way or the other.

That's why he is so dangerous, and that's why he should have got a life ban in 1997.

[muse-]

So did he think the people hes driven into would escape unscathed 100%?

do football players do that for every tackle they make? If he just randomly drove into people he'd fuck his own car up as well as theirs... maybe some dangerous/competitive driving but you saw that a lot with montoya and sato when he was at honda, they just dont get the shit cos they don't win the whole time.

[Kermit]

If he just randomly drove into people he'd fuck his own car up as well as theirs

In 1994 that didn't matter, did it? If you ram your opponent off the road then they can't beat you.

[muse-]

I'm not gonna argue, I agree he was overly competitive to the point of being dangerous... Though I didn't closely follow f1 back then as I was a lot younger, but Schumacher was a lot less of a public figure for the sport back then, and the FIA (as i just read!) actually granted that as a racing incident... they would have no reason to have a bias towards him back then..

Having said that the one against vielleneuve was pretty dodgy... But I don't think it should put a complete black mark on his career and entire reputation.

[Kermit]

It wasn't a racing incident in 1994, but Hill was a fucking moron trying to go round him like that. Anyone could see that the driver who had a track record of cheating from his sportscar days, and was driving for a team full of proven cheats, would do that.

[muse-]

Well yeah maybe Hill should've waited it out... but noone's perfect:

Schumacher's critics complained that the punishment was too light, as it included no fine or race ban. However, this was not the first incident of the sort in F1 history, and while Schumacher was judged to have been at fault, others have escaped punishment for similar situations. Ayrton Senna, for example, received essentially no punishment for deliberately crashing into Alain Prost at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix to win the World Championship.

quote from wikipedia

No disrespect to Senna, I admire him... just an example that the competition can get to everyone.

[Kermit]

The difference with what happened at Suzuka is that Senna said he would do that because the FIA (based in Paris) had changed the grid setup after Senna had won pole. This meant Senna would start from the "dirty" side of the track, favouring the French driver Prost who qualified second, who Senna just happened to hate anyway.

Basically Senna did that to get back at the corrupt FIA...fair dos I think.

[muse-]

but still with disreguard for someone elses safety, no matter what the reason is.

Maybe Schumacher took it too far on too many occasions, but I still think he was good for the sport, especially the way he's handled himself in recent years. Everyone is gonna have their own opinions though.

[Dan the Man]

His engine blew up today for the first time in about 5 years. Lovely.

[migpilot]

Oh, he'd been doing that since his Group C sportscar days at Mercedes-Benz. Just ask Wendlinger and Frentzen what they think of the great sportsman Schumacher.

Senna and Prost had their spats, but neither of them tried to pretend it was about anything else. Senna said he was going to do it before he did at Suzuka because the FIA skewed the grid settings at the last minute after he'd beaten Prost to pole. Prost did what he did in retaliation.

Schumacher, on the other hand, did it repeatedly because he seems to think he is better than everyone else. It's a shame that crash at Silverstone didn't hurt him more. I maintain that if anyone had had to be in that Williams, if there was any justice it would have been Schumacher.

You can't help yourself, can you! :rolleyes:

[Flake_Mustaine]

His engine blew up today for the first time in about 5 years. Lovely.
At the start of the broadcast they mentioned that he hadn't had an engine failure since 2001 and i was just like.. "oh dear, you just know what's going to happen..."

And sure enough. Ugh. Shame, coz he'd had a good weekend.

[Renzo]

Come On Alonso! Just dont retire from the final race!

[Kermit]

There is a God after all.

[Aladdin]

Or karma at any rate.

[muse-]

maybe the evil nazi ppl at ferrari will go sabotage renault in an attempt to blow alonso's car up next race? hmmmmmmm

[Kermit]

I bet the FIA do something to the regulations to favour Ferrari.

[Aladdin]

Or simply get Massa to 'accidentally' run into the back of Alonso's car.

Michael Schumacher would normally do this himself (as he has already proven in the past) but on this occasion he needs to win the race as well as having his main rival retire, so Mazza would have to be employed.

Either that, or find another part of the Renault's car that's working well and have it banned by the FIA

[caenine06]

Either that, or get Kimi to crash into Alonso, That leaves massa and Schumie to get a 1 - 2 for the Constructors!

[Renzo]

Hooray he didn't win the title!

[Aladdin]

He got a puncture as well.

There is a God after all... :D

Interesting thing is, would Massa have let Schu pass if he'd managed to reach 2nd place with one or two laps remaining?

[Kermit]

If Alonso had retired, I'd expect that Massa would have had an unfortunate problem with the car. Otherwise, no, a Brazilian winning that grand prix is a national hero forever.

[Randomgirl]

maybe the evil nazi ppl at ferrari will go sabotage renault in an attempt to blow alonso's car up next race? hmmmmmmm
The people who work for Ferrari aren't evil Nazis. My Daddy works there :p

[Randomgirl]

I was sad to see Schu go but at the end of the day it was a Ferrari GP win which was well won by Massa. It will be very interesting to see which way the drivers are ranked by Ferrari next season as at the moment Massa is doing so well.

[muse-]

The people who work for Ferrari aren't evil Nazis. My Daddy works there :p

i was being sarcastic ;p itd be amazing to work for them!

raikonnen will be #1 next season, pretty sure he'll win too

[Flake_Mustaine]

raikonnen will be #1 next season, pretty sure he'll win too

It looks like he'll have his best ever season next year :) Assuming the car's good, which is always is.

[muse-]

yeah! He keeps competitive in a car thats worse than the hondas/renaults/ferarri's so looks like he'll do pretty damn well in a ferrari next season without schumacher on the track :)

[Renzo]

yeah! He keeps competitive in a car thats worse than the hondas/renaults/ferarri's so looks like he'll do pretty damn well in a ferrari next season without schumacher on the track :)

Scumacher quit because he'd have to race an equal parter for the first time in his whole career.

[muse-]

Scumacher quit because he'd have to race an equal parter for the first time in his whole career.

but didn't he announce his retirement before raikonnen was signed?

[migpilot]

Scumacher quit because he'd have to race an equal parter for the first time in his whole career.

sour grapes mate!

[Renzo]

sour grapes mate!

Really? Who has Schumacher raced with that was possibly championship winning standard at the time?