Schumacher doesn’t mind if Vettel gets eight titles

F1 Fanatic Round-up

Posted on

| Written by

In the round-up: Michael Schumacher says he would be happy if Sebastian Vettel beat his records of seven world championships and 91 race wins.

Links

Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.

Schumacher happy if Vettel beats records (BBC)

“Michael Schumacher says he would be ‘pretty happy’ if Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel went on to break his world records of wins and world titles.”

James Calado Q&A (Sky)

“The reserve driver deal is just for this year and the idea of the whole thing is that they can evaluate me, and we can discuss our options in 2014.”

Monza: A bitter-sweet circuit (McLaren)

Emerson Fittipaldi: “I first drove there in 1970 – and I can say without hesitation that it was one of the hardest weekends of my life. I was 23, I’d just joined the Lotus team, and I’d started only three grands prix in my F1 career. My team-mate was Jochen Rindt, who’d already won five of the nine grands prix that had taken place so far that season, and was leading the world championship chase comfortably.”

Why Niki Lauda, not James Hunt, is the real hero of Rush (Autocar)

“It would have been so easy to cast him as the villain of the piece, yet he emerges as the real hero of the season – and rightly so.”

After the passion (Darren Heath Photographer)

“Working as a photographer at Monza is simply a joy, and on a weekend of warm late summer light it really doesn’t get any better.”

Time and Money (F1 Confidential)

“The luxury watch brand announced their three-year sponsorship agreement with the Mercedes AMG F1 Team in May 2012 – seven months before the partnership officially began, whereas BlackBerry’s partnership came together late, just before the season. This seven-month lead-time allowed IWC to maximise their first year.”

Comment of the day

@TheCollaroyBoys says the promoters of Rush have missed an opportunity to tie the film in with thus year’s grand prix which takes place on September 22nd:

With 10,000 F1 fans in town looking for an air conditioned hideout through the day, when does Rush premier in Singapore? That’s right sports fans, the 26th of September.

Sometimes I just can’t believe how badly wrong some companies can get it. Fail.
@TheCollaroyBoys

From the forum

Happy birthday!

Happy birthday to Maciek, Us_Peter, Dominikwilde and Dominikwilde!

If you want a birthday shout-out tell us when yours is by emailling me, using Twitter or adding to the list here.

On this day in F1

Jochen Rindt perished in a crash during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix on this day in 1970. Rindt was leading the world championship at the time and in the remaining three races no one was able to surpass his haul of 45 points, making him champion posthumously.

Image © Red Bull/Getty

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

60 comments on “Schumacher doesn’t mind if Vettel gets eight titles”

  1. I don’t think he has a choice in the matter, so I’m glad he’d be gratuous! Records after all are made to be broken, and I have a district feeling one of Vettel’s age-related ones will be broken fairly swiftly…

    1. Schumacher doesn’t mind, but I kind of do – especially this soon!

      1. Sure he does but he can’t say that to BBC.

        1. I think he means – I hope that my friend and protege Seb does it rather anybody else.

    2. @vettel1 Which age releated record? If you mean he’ll be the youngest the get 8 titles; that would be Schumachers’s record being broken.

      1. @nick-uk, no, youngest driver to start a race: I have a sneaking suspicion that will be Sirotkin.

        1. Vettel never had that record. It was Alguersuari who broke the record for youngest driver to start a race.

          1. Indeed Vettel had that record as he debuted at Indy in 2007 for BMW and was broken when Jaime debuted in Hungary in 2009

        2. I think jaime alguersuari is the youngest driver to start a race not Vettel

    3. As long as it’s not eight in a row.

      1. I don’t mind as long as it’s not in the same team.

    4. @vettel1 Schumi would definitely like it, I think. Look at it this way: his records would be broken by his protege, the kid who started on the Schumi kart track. The kid Schumi told Gerhard Berger he should take a look at. It would be the ultimate case of Schumi’s judgment being proven right.

      1. There’s no doubt that Schumi likes vettel… After all he contributed to his title last year when he just lifted the trottle to let Vettel pass in interlagos, even thought they are from different teams… In Brasilian GP 2012, Vettel had 4 teamates to let him go throught, Webber, both toro rosso drivers, and schumacher… No wonder how easly he recovered up…

        1. Vettel had already won the title whether he went past schumi or not.

          1. It was still in bad taste.

            Of all of Schumi’s indiscretions, I thought pulling over to help make sure Vettel won the championship was the worst. Did he know how the points situation at the time he let him past?

            The collisions with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve and even parking-gate at Monaco were dirty and totally wrong but were committed by him for his own gain. You can’t condone it but in some ways you can admire that determination to win. However, affecting the outcome of the championship purely because you prefer one of the protagonists over the other, in my opinion, crossed a line.

          2. @jackisthestig@jackisthestig

            You must really hate Massa then.

          3. @jackisthestig

            Of all of Schumi’s indiscretions, I thought pulling over to help make sure Vettel won the championship was the worst.

            That takes blowing something out of proportion to a whole new level. Pillorying Schumacher for not defending hard enough against a rival he was never going to keep behind on a slippery track? Sure I’d have preferred to see him put up more of a fight but it pales in comparison with ramming drivers off the track or trying to block the track during qualifying, which were acts of outright cheating.

        2. If I remember correctly Vettel was 3 seconds faster a lap than Schumacher at that stage, so letting him by easily made Schumache lose less time than trying to (surely unsuccessfully) fight him.

          1. He was and I doubt even if Schumi defended Vettel would have been held up much anyway.

            More importantly, I believe it was Kobayashi who was coming up quickly as well and KK was MSC real competition for P7 – I think Schumi didn’t see any point losing time battling with Vettel and letting KK get even closer (how often do we hear just this point, how squabbling for positions loses time, especially if you’re holding up a faster car who isn’t your main competition anyway).

            Besides, there were at least 2 occasions (or 3) when Mark was as good a teammate for Alonso in that race as he was for Vettel.

        3. At the time Vettel went by Schumacher, he wasn’t world champion….

      2. Schumi himself certainly seems to see it that way @journeyer

    5. If he wins a 4th title this year he will be the closest contender for this record. Also Vettel will be only 26 and may have 10 more years to win another 3 or 4 titles. That’s a tall order – I’d be happy if he breaks them but imo, MSC’s records are there to stay.

    6. I think Vettel is more worried about how Red Bull will fare with new regulations than Ricciardo.

      I like Dan, but I don’t think he will beat Seb, maybe be “Nico Rosberg close” but by the end of the season I see Seb ahead of him.

      Mr. Vettel will be watching Ferrari and Mercedes that are expected to be very competitive next year.

      1. @jcost “Nico Rosberg close” – lovely expression. I will sure use it in everyday life. Thank you:))

  2. Still, I don’t think it’ll happen. We’ll see though!

    Jochen Rindt is a fascinating driver to me, I should really read more about him. A shame that biography by Tremayne is so expensive…

  3. No mention on Sauber not retaining Frijns for 2014?

    1. @hunocsi Yeah, opened a thread about that in the forums… not really surprising news, but such a shame…

    2. @hunocsi @roald Fair point, I overlooked that piece of depressing though sadly predictable news.

  4. Pretty crazy that “Rush” is opening in Singapore 4 days after their race. There must be some underlying issues here. It’s hard to imagine that losing this golden opportunity was simply an oversight.

    1. @schooner It’s a tough call. With it opening in most parts of Asia the week before, it would be very hard to have it clash with the actual GP.

      1. And also, I’d expect the tourists to actually go around Singapore than go to the movies – which they can perfectly do back at home.

        1. @journeyer

          And they must have tight restrictions to movie-goers over there right? Can people eat popcorn? Can they drink coke? :)

          1. IDK about that, but I know that you cannot chew gum without a prescription and you absolutely cannot spit or it’s a $1000 fine.

    2. @schooner – It’s a decision that would have been taken by the local distributor. As “Rush” is essentially an independent film, it basically comes last in the pecking order of deciding which films ate released and when. The decision would have been made based on what other films are opening on which weekend, to prevent “Rush” from competing against stronger films and thus losing money. Mid-week releases are preferred, because any box office takings in those first few days are credited to the opening weekend, which makes the film appear stronger than if it were released on an actual weekend.

      The distributor probably would have deliberately waited until the week after the race to release it. Although they want the film to make as much money as possible, they don’t like events that could potentially skew the box office takings. An influx of Formula 1 fans would do exactly that. Although everyone would go to watch the film on that weekend, they would all leave the country the next week, and by comparison, the next weekend’s would be disappointing. It might make sense to release the film on the Grand Prix weekend, but in the long run, it would actually hurt the film.

      1. There could also be the thinking that ‘if the race is a good one’ locals might be encouraged to go watch the film.

      2. After 20 years in the advertising business I can say that this is an opportunity missed. Any decision to make this late launch would be legal/contractual rather than sales based. I can also say without a shadow of doubt that if I had missed an opportunity like this for one of my clients good I would have been a laughing stock.

        If there’s anyone out there with actual information I’d love to hear it. And Ron Howard is no indie small fry, he’s got some heft in the process.

        Because the race is on at night there’s plenty of time to go sightseeing and to the movies before going to the track. And it’s bloody hot so you can’t be outdoors all day. The cinema is a perfect place and its a lot cheaper to see a film in Sg than in Aus. There would be no significant conflict between the race and film.

        Quote of the day! I’d like to thank my producer, my agent, the baby Jesus ..

    3. What I was hoping is the organisers should bin one of the concerts, and do the premiere right at the circuit. F1 movie at a F1 (i know, temporary street circuit), that’s something no other GP can easily emulate. Heck, the profits from the tickets should easily cover the cost of screening it for free

  5. Great article by Emerson Fittipaldi! If you like racing, it is really worth reading. He has long been one of my favorite drivers and more than that, a man that I respect and admire. He packs many wonderful stories into one article and of course the tragedy of Jochen Rindt too. Very touching article, thanks for the link @keithcollantine .

    Finally, with just nine laps to go, Jacky’s engine failed. I was in the lead.

    Those last nine laps seemed to go on for ever. As I reeled them off, I was thinking of two men: Colin Chapman, the famous Lotus boss, who I knew was going to jump the pitwall and run onto the track and hurl his cloth cap into the air as I crossed the line, as was his long-established habit every time Lotus won a grand prix; and my father, Wilson, who was at Monza too, commentating on the race for Brazilian TV.

    1. I had the privilege of shortly interviewing Emerson a couple of times (I believe the last time was a couple of months after this plane accident, when the ultraleve he was flying with his young son fell in the middle of an orange plantation…) and he is a very, very nice guy, not to mention that he is, IMO, one of the greatest of all times. He laughed hard when I said to him that I started following F1 in 1972 (I was 10yo then) because of him, watching him drive through our old black and white Stromberg-Carlson TV.
      I really enjoyed his article, and the other one, about his favourite tracks, is also awesome.
      Thanks to Keith for pointing this link!

      1. That’s cool that you got to interview him. Until I read this article I did not realize he was writing a monthly article for McLaren. I’ll have to go back and read the previous ones and look for the future ones.

  6. @schooner I can pretty much guarantee is wasn’t merely an oversight. I’ve worked in entertainment (music/film/television) for over twenty years, and the marketing machines behind large scale productions such as this rarely get it wrong. I would bet there are extenuating circumstances that prevented the aforementioned scenario from happening. Only politics can rival the precision with which Hollywood operates.

    1. That’s what eludes me. We’re not dealing with dopes here and I find it astounding. Can you shed some light on this, privately if you have to. Im all ears.

  7. Happy birthday to you guys @Maciek,

    to @Us_Peter,

    and @Dominikwilde (2 times in one day :-o )

    1. Hehe thank you! :) No idea how that happened by the way haha

  8. I feared this story was coming. Sauber seem utterly unable to comprehend the notion, the fact even, that Sirotkin won’t be ready for F1 next year. The surely logical option was to field Frijns and Gutierrez next year, with Sirotkin being given an intense year of testing to prepare him for 2015. What would be better for Russia? No Russian on the grid at Sochi in 2014, but a highly competent Russian on the grid in 2015 (it could even be two if Kvyat plays his cards right). Or a Russian on the grid in 2014, but on the last row of the grid after a spin on his final qualifying lap? What with Frijns out of the picture, Sauber really have shown their hand, so with the current Bianchi-Sauber rumours looking increasingly unlikely, it looks like an “all pay driver” line-up at Sauber next year with Gutierrez and Sirotkin. Oh, Robin, why must F1 ignore you so. You are one of the finest drivers to blast through the junior categories in recent years, and yet it looks like you might have to go an do a degree in motorsport engineering to get anywhere near an F1 factory now. Will Frijns simply be yet another name on that sad list of drivers who had the talent, but never arrived on the grid in F1, as with Andre Lotterer, Gary “Big Hands” Paffet, Bertrand Baguette (or as I call him, Berty Breadstick), Nicholas Lapierre, Alexandre Premat, Bruno Spengler…?

    1. I guess its either Sirotkin being on the grid in a Sauber car, or neither of them being there @william-brierty.

      1. @bascb – I accept that, and I’m not against Sirotkin being on the grid completely, but I just think it is the logical decision not to push him into a seat next year all for the sake of having a Russian on the grid at the Russian Grand Prix. Hulkenberg is as good as gone and will end up either replacing Massa at Ferrari, or Grosjean/Raikkonen at Lotus, and therefore Sauber need a driver to lead the team. Frijns fits the bill. Even though he has less experience than Gutierrez I’m sure he’d quite quickly have a comfortable advantage on him. You can learn more from the side of a race track sometimes than you can by looking at the timing screen sometimes, and what I learnt at the Silverstone Young Driver Test is that Frijns is very comfortable in an F1 car. What Sauber should have done in 2014 was field Frijns and Gutierrez on track, to keep that lovely Telmex money rolling in, and give Sirotkin a heavily involved reserve role with plenty of FP1 and test appearence, and they could even slot him in for a race drive at Sochi. Surely that would the Russians happy? Sirotkin could continue with FR3.5, and assuming that Vandoorne, Da Costa and particularly man of the moment “magnificent Magnussen” have been snaffled up into F1 race and reserve roles, Sirotkin could be challenging for the championship, and then would be more than ready for a Sauber seat in 2015. Perfect scenario? I think so. Sauber obviously didn’t because instead Sauber have turned round and said, “Let’s field Esteban Gutierrez and Sergey, er, what’s his name again…Sirotkin in 2014”. The fact that Gutierrez will probably be the team’s #1 in 2014 really says it all. In fact, can you recall a worse driver line-up in F1? The race where HRT fielded Sakon Yamamoto and Karun Chandhok springs to mind… But really, what has happened to Sauber? This time last year they were on top of the world. They had built the C30 the year before, which was better than its predessor and climbed them up the WCC rankings to 7th, and with that revenue the built the really rather excellent C31 which again brought them up the WCC rankings to 6th, having only narrowly missed out 5th place. Looking set to use that revenue wisely once more, they hooked a top driver in Nico Hulkenberg, and the C32-Hulk pairing looked like a safe bet for 2013 podium finishes. And, yeah, we all know how that turns out…

        1. Yes, I agree that its all too likely that it will be too early for Sirotkin. I agree on what you write about Frijns as well.

          But I guess that the reality was, that Sauber did not manage to convince the Russians of that and having the kid in the car is a must for them. And I fear that on top of that, they will need the money from a second driver (as a pay-driver) to make it through, as its unlikely they will have much from the championship position.

          As sad as seeing Williams trundle around at the back, (good to see Jordan – in the form of FI – is at least almost back where they were in their heyday) although at least Maldonado has won a race for them and they now have Bottas who is more of a potential for the future.

          1. @bascb – I’m not sure if I’m completely understanding that comment.

            Who do you mean by “kid”? Sirotkin or Frijns? What the reality is appearing to be is that Sauber are contractually obliged to put Sirotkin in there next year. They are clever people. They know Sirotkin isn’t ready, so only something legally binding would force Sauber’s hand. Sirotkin’s dad, who I shall call Mr Sirotkin, holds a very senior position in the institution that has invested in Sauber. He is also a Russian nationalist, a patriot and is apparently obsessed with the idea of having a Russian driver on the grid at the Russian Grand Prix. My question for you then, Mr Sirotkin, is why not Petrov? He’ll show your country in a much better light than your son.

            I’m also not entirely sure what the pang of sadness I feel whenever I see both Williams out in Q1 has to do with Sauber, or, for that matter Force India’s current success. I do agree with you though in what you say about Force India. Their technical department is humiliating the rest of the midfield; they could just do with some decent drivers.

          2. The “kid” is most certainly 17yo Sirotking @william-brierty.
            Yes, that was my point, that Sauber no doubt has a legally binding obligation to take Sirotkin if they want the Russian money, otherwise they are experienced enough to have him do a year as their 3rd driver to develop instead of throwing him in the deep right away.
            As for the “Petrov” question – it seems he has fallen out of grace a bit (no sponsors stepping in to get him at Caterham, manager quit etc) in Russian connections. Or maybe their funds ran dry? (isn’t that the same really?), but I agree that it would make more sense to get him in a car for now if they insist on a Russian. Given a halfway competitive Sauber, he should be good for some points.

            The pang of sadness for Williams is something I fear we might be feeling for Sauber when next year they will have 2 drivers that are there because of the backing they bring, i.e. “pay-drivers” when we all remember what this team (Sauber) has brought to F1 in the last decades.
            As for FI – they came from the rests of Jordan (with the Russian episode and Spyker in between) who seem to be now doing a relatively solid job again, after the team dwindled to backmarker at the end of its Jordan years etc.

          3. @bascb Yes, the business that sponsored Petrov went bust, and you make a good point about his lack of sponsorship. If Sauber are that cash strapped a year long race drive is surely out of the question, but what about a one off Sochi appearance? Would that keep the Russians happy whilst Sauber were busy training up Sirotkin? OK, forget Frijns. Find some driver who has a bit of cash, say Felipe Nasr, put him next to Gutierrez when Hulkenberg leaves and spend the year training up Sirotkin and let him, or Petrov, drive at the Russian GP. It’s perfect. But will they do it? No. I hate contracts…

            I totally agree on Williams and Force India, especially with the faded name of a certain Irishman behind all that orange and green at their Silverstone factory.

      2. Why don’t Sauber consider Vitaly Petrov? He fits the bill being both Russian and having sponsorship? Must be less risky than putting Sirotkin in the car…

        1. @voisey Unfortunately Mr Sirotkin, Sergey’s dad, is a senior member of the institution that are essentially funding Sauber next year. Then we get to that nasty little word: nepotism.

    2. Why is the Bianchi to Sauber rumour now looking unlikely? I thought Sauber were going to sign a deal with Ferrari for next season and that would make it a possibility. Have I missed something?

      1. @deej92 No, you haven’t missed anything, I just think that if they can’t afford to keep Frijns, they can’t afford to field a driver next year who is bringing a hefty bag of money with them, which Bianchi doesn’t. OK, the prospect of a Ferrari deal makes the Bianchi-Sauber link stronger, but unless Ferrari are handing cash to Sauber, it seems unlikely to me. Yes, it is feasible that the engine and gearbox deal Sauber are currently hoping to strike with Ferrari has a commercial element, in which Ferrari would pay Sauber in return for it essentially becoming a Ferrari junior team, but that is really the only scenario in which I think a Bianchi move to Sauber is remotely possible now. It is almost certain now that Sauber will field Gutierrez and Sirotkin in 2014.

  9. What Schumacher achieved at Ferrari winning their first drivers title in 21 years and not only winning but between 2000-04 with Ferrari became the most dominant team in F1 history counts for more than 8 titles. And it was all thanks to Scuhmacher’s genius in the car and his leadership qualities outside the car. He was instrumental in creating a family environment in a team that for years had been besieged by politics and a toxic team environment.

  10. Schumacher would probably cry himself to sleep if Vettel beats his 7 titles. Over here he mentions he would be ‘happy’ which I think is a bunch of bs considering how much he values records, and he has gone to any lengths to get those titles.

  11. Am I the only one who thinks it’s very premature to talk about Vettel beating Schumacher’s records?

    Yes, he probably has four titles after this season, but he still needs four more. And yes, he’s young so he has time to get them, but the sport is still very competitive and Red Bull isn’t going to dominate it forever. Especially with the big rule changes next year.

    1. And of course it’s not certain that he has four titles after this season.

Comments are closed.