F1 links: Mercedes-Schumacher speculation
21st November 2009, 0:07 by Keith Collantine 31 Comments »
Early in Michael Schumacher’s F1 career there were many rumours he was about to join a Mercedes-powered team, as he was part of their young driver scheme in sports car racing.
Could he finally be about to make the connection, three years after his last F1 race? It seems to be more speculation than substance at the moment, but the prospect certainly is an appealling one…
Michael Schumacher ‘will drive for Mercedes F1 in 2010′ (BBC)
Eddie Jordan: "It started with a meeting between Michael, Ross Brawn and Daimler chief executive officer Dieter Zetsche at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. At the moment, it is not possible for Michael to drive for Mercedes because he has a consultancy contract with Ferrari. But I understand he was due to meet Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo with a view to him being released – and that it will be approved because it is in the interests of F1. "
"Frank Williams and Patrick Head announced today that they have sold a minority interest in Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited (Williams F1) to an investment company led by Austrian investor Toto Wolff. Mr Wolff also joins the company’s Board."
Bernie Ecclestone ready to drop British Grand Prix (The Times)
“The World Council will meet and we will just pull it off — we will have to. We’ll have no other choice, if we don’t have a contract. We shouldn’t have anything on the calendar unless we have a contract in place.”
Jenson Button contract breach let £12m Brawn deal slip away (Daily Express)
"Just a month after being lifted to the heights of world champion by his team, Button was left in no doubt that he had let them down in a phone call with team principal Ross Brawn at the weekend. That came after a breach of contract when Button was shown around the McLaren factory, a move which shocked Brawn, who thought he was still in the middle of negotiations with Button."
McLaren gain retribution by luring Button with £18m deal (The Times)
"Button is thought to have fallen out with his former team over money with his camp claiming he was being offered £4 million for next year. The team have since said that they were offering £8 million. Either way there seems to have been a breakdown in relations and The Times understands that neither Button nor his advisers have been taking calls from Mercedes’s management for over a week."
Salo and Trulli’s taste of NASCAR (Motor Sport)
"Mika Salo and Jarno Trulli each spent a day this week behind the wheel of one of Michael Waltrip Racing’s Toyota NASCAR Sprint Cup cars."
John Surtees pilots electric Ginetta G50EV through Channel Tunnel (Autoblog)
"Motor racing legend John Surtees added a bit of history to all three items by being the first person to drive a production car through the tunnel (usually, it's just trains and service vehicles down there). The F1 World Champion's vehicle of choice was an all-electric, all-sexy Ginetta G50EV."
These are links I’ve bookmarked using Delicious. You can see my Delicious profile here.
matt said on 21st November 2009, 2:10
First of all, just a month after winning the championship. Brawn should not have taken so long if they really wanted him. They should have started negotiations before he won.
Also, it was really stupid of the BBC to run Eddies Jordans hunch about Schumacher as though it was a fact on their website.
matt said on 21st November 2009, 2:14
Nick Fry, Brawn’s chief executive, said: “We offered loyalty which we hoped, perhaps naively, he would return.” Button stayed with you for 2 terrible years and then won you the championship, whereas you didn’t offer loyalty becasue you refused to resign him until after the season had ended.
Prisoner Monkeys said on 21st November 2009, 2:51
It’s pretty plain Fry felt Button owed his championship to Brawn and so decided to play hardball.
TMAX said on 21st November 2009, 6:49
Well for button this is not the first time button has shown his back to people who helped him. He shut the doors on Sir Frank Williams back in 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3541856.stm
So as far as Loyalty is concerned Button is the last person on this grid to have it.
Again. It is simple plain truth that Button owed the championship to Ross Brawn. Otherwise an average driver like him winning a race itself was a great deal. He won his first race after more than 100 GPs and then the second one was this year with Brawn. That says it all.
PJA said on 21st November 2009, 12:20
If Fry thinks that Button owed his Championship to Brawn, then Button leaving the team won’t be that big a loss.
Also if Brawn really wanted Button they would have tried harder to get a deal signed and wouldn’t allow something such as visiting a rival team breach of contract clause end negotiations.
Although there are claims Button would have made more money at Brawn, it isn’t clear the length of the deals offered by McLaren and Brawn as I think this could have played an important part in his decision to join McLaren.
Nick Banks said on 21st November 2009, 3:32
They’ll be mad not to sign Raikkonen
Matt Fry said on 22nd November 2009, 0:47
The finest talent in F1.
mp4-19b said on 21st November 2009, 3:40
Why would Mercedes want to hire a proven cheat?
Lee said on 21st November 2009, 3:52
Because he’s fast, let’s face it.
Ben said on 21st November 2009, 4:42
what? Are you suggesting Hamilton is about to change teams?
steph said on 21st November 2009, 12:32
I don’t see why Mercedes would want to because 1/ noone knows if he would race for a full season and 2/ noone knows if he would have a long term contract. If Mercedes want to win they need a good but permanent driver
Pedel to the Vettel said on 21st November 2009, 15:46
what lewis hamilton is going to Mercedes????
jk
Matt Fry said on 22nd November 2009, 0:55
Perhaps when you can tear yourself away from the tabloids (admittedly unlikely), you can ready some intelligent insight.
From the ultimate authority on F1.
http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2009/11/schumacher-and-mercedes-is-it-serious/
However, as Nick Banks points out above – Raikonnen would be the ultimate fit for Mercedes.
Patrickl said on 24th November 2009, 12:19
That story doesn’t add anything that Keith didn’t already report here before.
David A said on 29th November 2009, 2:15
Because you’re just bitter and he’s a seven time WDC?
DC said on 21st November 2009, 6:01
I can’t see Schumacher driving for Mercedes. This is just names thrown around, like Joe Seward jokingly did with Stallone in USF1.
And who in their right mind would let Michael Schumacher race against them “for the good of the sport”? People want the best driver in history on their own team, not the other guys. That is completely absurd. Eddie Jordan must have been hit on the head by one of his guitars.
wasiF1 said on 21st November 2009, 6:27
I don’t see Schumi ending his 14 years relationship with Ferrrai & joining Mercedes,but what he does join because behind his all championship there was one name that is attached to him & you know who that is.
UnicornF1 said on 21st November 2009, 10:02
Despite his willing to race,
despite Ross Brawn at Mercedes,
despite Mercedes being a German team and probably the best,
Schumacher did his first steps in a Mercedes in F3, so why not ending from where he started?
I hope he is ok in his health and see him racing. I don’t like many of the things he has done in the past but damn he is fast and we want him back!
And since Rosberg haven’t signed yet there is also a tiny possibility to see Schumacher-Raikkonen as teammates at last!!!!
Of course I am dreaming, but you never know and Haug promised a surprise, so let’s wait and see what the surprise will be!
Icthyes said on 21st November 2009, 11:26
Wishful thinking, as much as I’d like to see him come back.
Arkadiusz said on 21st November 2009, 11:27
Even though, I’m a Schumacher fan, I don’t want to see him back in formula one driving for Mercedes. I don’t want a Michael Jordan style return.
PJA said on 21st November 2009, 12:14
I just can’t see Schumacher returning to F1 with anyone other than Ferrari.
Mahir C said on 21st November 2009, 19:32
Just read on itvf1 website that Schumacher denied he is going to drive for Mercedes.
Bartholomew said on 21st November 2009, 23:32
So next year it will be :
Hamilton and Button on the Black Beer Bomber
Alonso and Massa on the Spaghetti Special, and now
Kaiser Schumacher and Herr Rosberg on the Panzer Mk IV
Lets hope the Russians dont wake up, then it would be :
Gintonik and Moonshineev on the Ural V-12 gas propelled
Fast Fred Numumba and Anaclet Ngonga for the USF1 from Charlotte, North Carolina
Cheers IV a good 2010 !
Matt Fry said on 22nd November 2009, 0:49
I’d wager that seems funnier to you than it actually is..
Bartholomew said on 26th November 2009, 12:06
Im sorry about these postings of mine , done late at night when I come back from the bar after having had a few. From now on, no more late night postings, specially after having gone out.
Clay said on 22nd November 2009, 1:27
We’ve said all year that 2009 showed the world that F1 is more about the car than the driver – Honda 2007/08 vs Brawn 2009 is a case in point. Same drivers, different car, different results. So Fry might have a point, that whether they have Button or Rosberg or Schumacher or Sutil (for example) it really won’t matter unless they build a top flight car. Invest more heavily in engineering talent, build a fast car, and then the top drivers come to you rather than the other way around (Toyota should have done the same).
Button has very little contractual loyalty as indicated before with the Williams saga of ’04/05. I will laugh for a long time if Mercedes end up smashing McLaren again in 2010 – but I don’t think it will happen. McLaren bounced back from a terrible 2006 with the quickest car of 2007 (ignoring spygate info of course) and then had an even better 2008. I’m guessing Jenson probably thought that as Brawn/Honda had so long to develop the 2009 car and much less time to develop the 2010 car that they will come back to the pack a little in 2010.
Mclaren on the other hand will have spent a long time developing the 2010 car once they realised the 2009 car wasn’t going to win the world title – they’ll be stupid if they didn’t do that. Jenson has gone to the right team, but I still think he’ll be beaten by Lewis.
Chaz said on 22nd November 2009, 17:16
I would be absolutely gob smacked if Michael were to race for Mercedes. It would be great but it seems to far fetched.
Mercedes would have to pay out vast amounts to get him released from Ferrari, and Michael would want long term peripheral and or subsequent deals. Besides I just can’t see Michael leave the red team unless the ‘price was right’, and of course we all have our price.
However, I think it’s just a publicity stunt by Mercedes especially considering they are now F1 owners. But then again this is F1 and anything’s possible…
Simone said on 22nd November 2009, 18:12
EJ has said it will happen – must be true..
LC Coelho said on 23rd November 2009, 3:00
I don’t see Schummacher driving for another team except if they are all red.
And how many deadlines will the British GP have?