Schumacher’s return: what’s changed?
Schumacher faces three new tracks, 13 new rivals and a load of new rules
October 22nd, 2006: Michael Schumacher makes his last F1 start.
There are 22 cars on the grid, each with traction control, grooved Bridgestone or Michelin tyres, and a fraction of the fuel needed to complete the race.
F1′s changed a lot since the last time Schumacher raced. How will he cope on his return?
The cars
Schumacher will have to use the same tyres as all his rivals
Tyres
The tyre situation in F1 has changed massively in four years. Schumacher will know that getting to grips with these changes is vital if he’s going to be competitive.
In 2006 at Ferrari, Schumacher enjoyed the fruits of years of Bridgestone developing tyres specifically for their number one customer, while most of the other top teams used Michelins.
Now the tyre war has ended he will be deprived of that development avenue and have to use the same tyres as everybody else.
Grooved tyres are gone, too – Schumacher last raced on slicks in F1 in 1997. After his retirement restrictions on the quantity of tyres available for a Grand Prix weekend were introduced and they’ve been tightened even further for the coming season, with each driver getting just 11 sets of dry-weather tyres.
Engines
Engines are another area which are regulated much more tightly now than when Schumacher last raced in F1.
Development in this area was ‘frozen’ in 2008, leaving teams less scope to find more performance from their engines. Revs have been limited to 18,000rpm.
He will also have to get used to managing his engine allocation. Introduced last year, drivers may only use eight different engines during the season. With the calendar up from 17 races to 19 this year, that will most likely mean three engines which each have to do three race distances.
Ban on traction control
In 2006 F1 drivers still enjoyed the benefit of traction control. That was banned in F1 in 2008.
The good news for fans is that we’ll now get to see the most successful driver of all time manipulating the car’s throttle all on his own, without a computer cutting in to help him out.
And that’s exactly the way it should be.
Four-race gearboxes
As well as looking after his engine Schumacher will also have to worry about how much life is left in his gearbox.
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamic development was cut back in a big way last year. The cars now have lower, wider front wings and taller, narrower rear wings designed to make it easier for them to follow each other more closely.
Along their bodies there are far fewer downforce-boosting winglets and flip-ups.
How effective the rules have been in reducing total downforce – especially thanks to the controversial double-diffusers – is up for debate. But it certainly has changed the balance of the cars significantly.
On top of that, Schumacher now has an adjustable front wing to play with. Introduced last year, drivers are expected to rely on these more heavily in 2010 to tune the cars’ performance as their fuel load falls during a race.
Qualifying
No fuel burn, low fuel laps
Qualifying formats change every five minutes in F1, so it will come as no surprise to Schumacher to find another different system in place on his return.
The three-part system we have today was introduced during his last season. But back then drivers in Q3 had to qualify with their race fuel and a horrendously complicated ‘fuel credit’ system was used to decide how much fuel each driver should get.
Thankfully that nonsense was ditched a couple of years ago (along with the madness of the ‘fuel burn’ period in qualifying – remember that?). This year drivers will qualify on as little fuel as they can get away with, as they last did in 2002 and which Schumacher has plenty of experience of.
The rule requiring drivers who reach the top top having to start the race using the same tyres they qualified is new to everyone including Schumacher.
Race
Schumacher has two full seasons of refuelling-free F1 experience
Refuelling ban
Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello are the only two drivers on the grid to have raced in F1 before refuelling was reintroduced in 1994.
Schumacher and Ross Brawn mastered this new strategic dimension 16 years ago and won a lot of races because they sussed its nuances more quicker than rivals such as Williams. I’d be amazed if there’s any trick to the new, refuelling-free races they haven’t already worked out.
Spare cars
Schumacher excelled at using the spare car to accelerate the set-up process on a race weekend.
Not only that, but in mixed-weather races he enjoyed the advantage of having his race car and the spare car set-up for different conditions, so he could wait until the last minute to make a call on how the weather was going to before committing to a set-up.
That option won’t be open to him in 2010. Since 2008, teams have only been able to bring two complete cars to the races, plus sufficient spares to build a replacement. It’s one more way in which the difference between the haves and have-nots has been reduced since Schumacher’s last F1 campaign.
Read more: The new 2010 F1 rules: A quick guide
Championship
Testing restrictions
Here’s how much the new testing restrictions will affect Schumacher in 2010: Four years ago he completed 45 test days throughout the season. This year his team gets just 15, of which he has driven seven-and-a-half.
All his rivals face the same restrictions, of course. Schumacher won’t have any opportunity to drive the W01 outside of race weekends between now and the final race of the season, except for at promotional events and the odd straight-line aerodynamic test.
Points
The revised points system is new for Schumacher and everybody else.
Read more: Teams considering an even more generous points system for 2010
Tracks
Schumacher will start his first F1 night race at Singapore
There are three tracks on this year’s calendar which Schumacher will have to learn which his rivals already know. F1 has been to Valencia and Singapore twice in Schumacher’s absence – and as they are street tracks he won’t have any chance to drive them for real before their Grands Prix.
He hasn’t raced at Abu Dhabi either. As it hosts the season finale don’t be surprised to see him heading out there to get some laps in if he’s in the running for the championship come November. Failing that he’ll be logging more hours in the simulator.
Spa-Francorchamps has been tweaked since he last race there: Bus Stop has transmogrified into an ugly, clumsy, two-hairpin chicane. Catalunya has also been changed with the addition of an extra chicane which he’s already driven in testing.
The revised Bahrain and Silverstone layouts will be just as unfamiliar to him as they are to the rest of the grid. As will the all-new venue for the inaugural Korean Grand Prix in October.
View the 2010 F1 calendar
Rivals
Of the 23 drivers who will accompany Schumacher on the starting grid at Bahrain on Sunday, only ten were also on the grid for his last race in 2006.
Among the drivers he will face for the first time are Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Adrian Sutil and ten others.
View the 2010 F1 drivers and teams list
How will he do
Many of the rules changes we’ve seen over the last three seasons have worked to reduce the advantage a top team can get by spending their way there. The restrictions on tyres and testing in particular are a big part of the reason why we’ve seen the field get closer and closer together over the past few seasons.
I expect Schumacher won’t enjoy the kind of performance advantage at Mercedes that he had at Ferrari in 2002 and 2004.
And thanks to changes like the traction control and refuelling bans, I think we’ll get a better impression than ever before of what he does behind the wheel that sets him apart from the rest.
Which rules changes do you think Schumacher will struggle with? Which do you expect him to master easily? Have your say in the comments.
See all the articles in the F1 Fanatic 2010 Season Preview
2010 F1 season
Thomo from Kochi said on 8th March 2010, 17:22
What everyone forgets is that Michael has won a race each and every year for 16 years. That is awesome by any standards. More importantly there is only one race which he won using dubious tactics – and he did win 91 F1 races, which means that he won 90 without any tactic which may be considered dubious.
I have no doubt that he will do well this year. If he does not it will not be because he can’t get to terms with the new technology, systems or rules. He will not succeed only if his car lets him down and that does not look likely. Remember 1997 when he pulled off 3 wins from a Ferrari that was in the process of being developed
BasCB said on 8th March 2010, 19:21
Which 1 race would that have been with dubious tactis?
- after colliding with Hill?
- ending the race in the pit box?
- the whole season with Benneton probably using some traction control?
- the Race in Indianapolis where he led the whole field of 6 Bridgestone shod cars?
- the races won after his team mate had to let him through?
Or some of the other races.
Don’t misunderstand me, I was a great fan of Schumacher in his early years (up until the Hill / Villeneuve incidents and the later FIA bias for Ferrari/Schumacher). I stopped liking him for the team strategy, the feeling of biased rulings (BAR tank, Renault mass damper, Michelin tyres to name a few) for Ferrari that made the dominance of Schumacher / Ferrari in those years complete.
Therefore I hope, that he gets some credibility back by winning some races and maybe a championship fair and square for the next 2-3 years while teaching Rosberg the best of his skills.
MEmo said on 9th March 2010, 3:20
Bas, I totally agree with you! But I´ve read his posts: don´t get him started!
racefan said on 8th March 2010, 19:46
The thing is,you make a rule and he goes to it’s limits.Then you tighten the rules and he doesn’t repeat the same thing again.I don’t think he needs anymore credibility.Even if you take a quarter of all his victories it can be somewhat equal(if not better)to the best in business today.
ukk said on 8th March 2010, 19:50
Don’t think Schumacher will ever have problems with the technical changes – a great driver as him is a very adaptive driver as well.
The only things that can stop him are his age (reactions fade – that’s mother nature’s) and the performance deficiencies of the Merc. The latter he used to be able to compensate quite well, so it will be interesting to watch.
My heart tels me he’ll fall prey to the younger challengers who are also quite strong and talented.
Jhunt123 said on 8th March 2010, 22:21
I think Ross has been verbally and literally sandbagging, Schumi will be champ. Seems to be the most obvious possibility that people over analyzed and missed?
Thomo from Kochi said on 9th March 2010, 3:11
The driver has to drive the car his team provides – whether it is so far ahead of the competition as in 2002 and 2004 or if some technology used skirted the rules.
There is only one race where his team mate let Michael through and that was at the Hungaroring in 2004 – but then if you go back to Indianapolis 2002 Michael let Rubens take the race in a photo finish. So it’s even-stevens on that one.
When I stated that there is only one race which Michael won in dubious fashion I had meant the one at Australia in 1994 where he collided with Hill, but then Michael did not win that, so I should not have included that
At the 1998 British GP which Michael won in the pits, he was issued a stop go penalty for passing Wurz under a yellow flag. Michael being the thinking man he is, served out the 10 second penalty in the pits and won the race. How can you deny someone a race win when he broke no rule and was in any case leading the race by the proverbial country mile?
In 2005 the entire issue was about tyres. Michelin, which was superior that year came to Indianapolis with tyres that was prone to explode at speed. Instead of advising teams using Michelins to limit their speed on that turn to what they determined was safe, they wanted a chicane to be introduced on Turn 13 and that too after qualifying. The FIA could not sanction a change in the circuit layout. Yes it was a farce of a race, but it was not of Michael’s creation. How can you deny Michael a win at a race which he won. It was not his call to race or not to race. In any case it was a race race in which his competitors tyres would disintegrated – chicane or otherwise and in all likelihood he would have won. The villain in the piece was Michelin and they paid the price – which is why we now have only Bridgestone in F1. If however, you want to deny Michael victory, you can adjust this against the race in Australia where he crashed into Hill.
Controversies relating to BAR’s tank, Renault’s mass damper, tyres etc have nothing to do with Michael’s win loss record. What the team achieves and dominates a race or season cannot take anything away form the driver. If you do that then you have to take away all of Jenson’s 6 wins in the last season when his car was so dominant early in the year that the others had no chance. That was what happened with Ferrari in 2002 and 2004
BasCB said on 9th March 2010, 6:55
Thank you for making your point clearer Thomo. When you wrote dubious, I thought you ment just that, i.e. where his/his team being right or wrong were a point of discussion.
As your own answer showed, there were a lot of such moments in his road to succes.
A completely separate point is me losing my awe and later my respect for him and enyoj Schumacher loosing out to Hakkinen, Raikkonen, Montoya and Alonso. I am looking forward to him gaining this back now.
wasiF1 said on 9th March 2010, 4:22
It will be interesting to see how in performs in wet without traction control.
Prisoner Monkeys said on 9th March 2010, 5:03
I’d say a more appropriate question would be what hasn’t changed. The answer is simple: Schumacher’s hunger. His desire to be the absolute best.
Bayan said on 9th March 2010, 5:18
Wasn’t ’94 a year with no computer aids (traction control etc) and didn’t Shcumi win the first few races when Senna was still with us that year?
Thomo from Kochi said on 9th March 2010, 12:54
Both of us forgot about races in which Michael helped his team mate to win the race.
BasCB said on 9th March 2010, 13:05
Wow, everything was dubious! Yes, your right, both Irvine and Baricello (Massa probably not) were handed some races.
I suppose, that is wat you get when one team is very far ahead.
Bandes said on 9th March 2010, 15:32
I cant wait to see him again racing. For me he is more worth to watch then the rest of the field together. When he stopped racing at the end of 2006, i stopped watching racing. He was no more there, so the rest of the racers got much more shine from the public, like they would be near as good as Michael. They are not! Alonso is nowhere near to MS. He could only beat Michael with a superior car. 91 wins ? People forgot thinking or what ? HE IS THE FAVOURITE FOR THE TITLE. END OF STORY.
Any, yeah, i was a Senna fan until 1994. Then i was supporting Hill as he was Sennas teammate in the battle against Michael. But then through the season i realised who is absolutely better. At the end of that season i was a Schumi fan. One has to be blind not see his awesome driving knowledge. Noone comes near him.
Val from Montreal said on 9th March 2010, 17:38
I think for the most part most fans are scared ******** that Schumacher re-dominates F1 like he has done for the most part of his amazing career .
The likes of Brundle,Eddie Jordan,James Allen, Stirling Moss and countless others are totally giving Schumacher no chance of winning the title ever again …And that says alot of how fearfull they really are.
I hope they like to eat their hats with mustard! ..
I don’t think Ross Brawn,Norbert Haug and the whole Mercedes-Benz board of directors would hire a ”has-been” 41 year old if they did’nt think he’d be up to it ! If Rubens Barrichello won races in 09 then how come the greatest F1 driver of all woud’nt be able do the same in 2010 ?
My feeling is that Mercedes and co. have been sandbagging the winter tests .
Finally these new young drivers (WHO ARE OVERATED) will for the first time have some REAL competetion on the grid when they face Schumacher. That’s the way I see it.
Schumacher world champion 2010 -
Bandes said on 9th March 2010, 21:14
Yeah, they are scared. They still like to underestimate a 7 time world champion (and it could have 10 as well already)
I am thinking about this way: Mercedes has got the best engine. Reliable, fast, good on consumption. The strongest engine with the most skilled driver in combination. What could go wrong ? And with the engineering work of Ross Brawn. Also, Schumacher is a great engineer itself. Most of the drivers are just telling their engineers how they feel the car, and its up the them to make something out of those informations. Meanwhile Schumacher knows every detail of his car, the setup knowledge he brings is huge. If they have a technical problem, they will sort it out very fast. Remember they were more than 1 second slower per lap than the fastest cars on the first tests. At the last test it was not more than 0.3 second, and they bringing the upgrades to Bahrain. Plus to all forthcoming races, until they will be totally infront.
MEmo said on 9th March 2010, 23:10
“Michael helped his team mate to win the race”
Did this ever happened? Really? Can someone list those (I guess) extremely rare events?
(BTW: Schumy won´t win this years´ WDC!)
PJA said on 10th March 2010, 11:32
Off the top of my head there was the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix where he came back from injury and could have easily won the race for himself but let Irvine win as he was still in the title race for Ferrari.
Then there was the 2002 US GP, Schumacher was leading and tried to engineer a dead heat with Barrichello but Barrichello ended up winning by a fraction of a second and neither driver knew who won until they had gotten out of the cars.
Thomo from Kochi said on 10th March 2010, 16:00
Sepang 1999 Michael helped Eddie Irvine to win
Chaz said on 22nd March 2010, 16:05
Nice summary…