Aug 10, 2009

Schumi's Return Stirs F1 Pot

By JR Nerad

You would think the return of a seven-time world champion would be reason enough for celebration in any sport. Especially with Formula One in the doldrums this season, you’d think that the racing community would welcome back a driver of Michael Schumacher’s unique and lofty stature with open arms. After all, the return of the man who is arguably the greatest race driver in history can do nothing but create interest in a season that has been lackluster. But then you have to remember that this is Formula One, the “me first” capital of the universe.

With this in mind, it is not surprising that the Williams and Red Bull teams objected to Schumacher getting the opportunity to track test the Ferrari F60 race car prior to his return to F1 competition. In a cost-cutting move, Formula One has banned in-season track testing, but Ferrari asked for an exception in Schumacher’s case -- an exception that seemed quite logical since Schumacher has not been involved in driving F1 cars since his retirement.

Though Schumacher certainly knows his way around race cars, such a re-familiarization seemed advisable for safety considerations, but the Red Bull and Williams teams said no. Looking for cover, they said the Schumacher return should be treated the same as the debut of Jaime Alguersuari, who was not given the opportunity to track test his Toro Rosso race car before his first race in the Hungarian Grand Prix. The key difference is that Alguersuari was Toro Rosso’s test and reserve driver this season, so he undoubtedly kept his skills sharp. For its part, Ferrari said it had given the stamp of approval to a test drive by the young Spaniard, but other teams blocked it.

Rather than driving a current race car, Schumacher was reduced to driving a 2-year-old Ferrari at the Mugello circuit in central Italy. Schumacher was called back into the Ferrari fold after Felipe Massa was grievously injured when a suspension part from another race car struck him in the head during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Remarkably, Massa is already out of the hospital and resting at home. Schumacher is known never to rest, especially when he is preparing to race. He says he has already lost some weight as part of his austere training regimen. There are no reports that Williams or Red Bull are planning a “Welcome Back” celebration for Schumacher.

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