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Formula 1: Schumacher Is Back
He doesn't need the money, neither the fame nor the press. Thrills, spills and drama, he has seen it all and enjoyed all that there is for a superstar of his caliber. The 40-year-old insists he agreed to the temporary role out of loyalty to the Ferrari marque. He won 5 of his 7 world championships as a Ferrari driver. He has been picked ahead of reserve drivers Mark Gene and Luca Badoer.
Since his retirement in 2006, after 15 seasons of active racing, he has been on a 5-million Euro advisory role at Ferrari. He is considered to the best Formula 1 driver ever. However, there are few sports heroes who have come out of retirement and risen to their former glory. The notable ones are boxer George Foreman and basketball legend Michael Jordan. Otherwise it is often a hit and miss gamble for most.
Let us face it, Schumacher's decision to replace Massa is good for everyone: the media, the fans, formula owners and the sponsors all want to see him winning. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro intends to entrust Michael Schumacher with Felipe Massa's car until the Brazilian driver is able to race again. He will line up against reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton for the very first time at the European Grand Prix in Valencia on Aug 23.
Schumacher has not seriously trained since his retirement in 2006, but he is said to be fit except a minor injury from a recent motor bike accident. This season he has missed an equivalent of ten races experienced than his competitors with the new-generation 2009 cars. There are 7 races left this season.
The handicap is that testing is banned by FIA, so the legend will have to wait until Friday the 21st of August to test the car, just 2 days before the actual race. But he should overcome this through simulations before the race just like Red Bull's rookie Jaime Alguersuari did,who became Formula One's youngest ever driver, in Hungary in July.
His entry into the Formula 1 fray brings other twists and turns. Schumi achieved his phenomenal success at Ferrari with the help of Ross Brawn. Brawn was the technical director and is thought to have been behind much of the Scuderia Ferrari achievements in that period. A period that saw Ferrari dominate the sport like no other team in history. This time round Ross Brawn is the owner of Brawn GP whose driver Jenson Button is top of the leader board.
The world championship is within grasp of Jenson Button at this point in time. With the fast improving McLaren and the consistent Red Bull all showing desire to win, Schumacher might cost his former friend Brawn the world title. He might not be a direct competitor but if he is going to nick points from the Brawn and the Red Bull with podium positions, then indeed he will influence the results at the end of the season.
So what has changed since the big man of Formular1 left the scene? The 2009 season is becoming a fight between the teams that focused heavily on their aero-packages (Red Bull, Brawn, Williams, Toyota), and the ones that focused more on KERS system (BMW-Suaber, Renaults, McLaren, Ferrari). Only McLaren and Ferrari have managed podium positions with the aid of KERS. The KERS give an extra 80bhp per lap, which is equal to 0.8 of a second per lap.
This is a green technology that harness the energy lost when breaking by storing it in a battery. However, FIA has scrapped use of KERS next season. KERS is a good concept, which has not been well implemented. They should be kept on as an optional tool for the team strategists.
It could help, as we saw world champion Lewis Hamilton put them into good use in Hungary and Germany. It is definitely making the starts more interesting, and its equally fascinating to watch the big teams and the pacesetters struggle to get past a slow car that has an extra 80bhp up its sleeve. So Schumacher has to learn how to use this magic button.
In my opinion Schumacher' entry is good for the sport. Formula 1 was losing its allure to squabbles between the teams (FOTA) and FIA, unnecessary legal tussles and an uneven grid, with teams using technology so different such that it was difficult to judge their performance. Sport can only be seen to be fair if the rules apply equally to all teams. This was not seen to be the case in the 2009 season.
On the other hand, Ferrari was not hogging the headlines as before. Now they will, every time whether losing or winning. That will make their sponsors happy. But would have been different if they sprang a rookie driver.
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