Michael Schumacher News

[Anna]

#7 Michael Schumacher



Driver Info

Full Name: Michael Schumacher
Age: 42
Nationality: German
Twitter: n/a
Website: www.michael-schumacher.de/sites/index.html
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Schumacher

F1 Statistics

Races: 283
Debut: 1991 Belgian GP
Points: 1493
Wins: 91
Podiums: 154
Pole Positions: 68
Fastest Laps: 76
Drivers Championships: 7 (1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)
Current Championship Pos: 8th (52 Points)

Recent Championship Positions

2010: 9th (72 Points, 0 Wins)
2006: 2nd (121 Points, 7 Wins)
2005: 3rd (62 Points, 1 Win)

Team History

1991: Jordan
1991-1995: Benetton
1996-2006: Ferrari
2010-Present: Mercedes Benz GP

Notable Achievements

1990 German Formula 3 Champion
1990 Macau Grand Prix Winner
1995 & 2004 German Sportsman of the Year
Autosport International Driver of the Year 1995, 2000-02
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year 2002 & 2004
Lorenzo Bandini Trophy 2003
Most F1 Drivers Championships
Most consecutive Championships
Most Race Wins
Most consecutive Wins (Shared with Alberto Ascari)
Most Wins with 1 Team
Most Wins at same GP
Most 2nd Places
Most Podiums
Most consecutive podium finishes
Most consecutive top two finishes
Most Points Finishes
Most consecutive Points Finishes
Most Laps Lead
Most Pole Positions
Most Front Row Starts
Most Fastest Laps
Most Championship Points
Most Wins in a season for a runner-up (Shared with Kimi Raikkonen & Alain Prost)
Most Wins in a season
Most Fastest Laps in a season (Shared with Kimi Raikkonen)
Most Podium finishes in a season
Earliest championship win
Largest championship winning margin
Consective years with a win
Most races with 1 team

[Anna]

Schumacher return ’a waste of time’ - Irvine


"I have no idea why Mercedes invests in such an old driver"

Monday 12 September 2011 - 10h35, by GMM
Eddie Irvine is convinced his former Ferrari teammate’s return to formula one is a "waste of time".

Michael Schumacher, who shared the Ferrari team with the outspoken Ulsterman in the late 90s, had a strong weekend at Monza but his comeback has generally been regarded as mediocre.

"It’s a waste of time," Irvine scolded on a visit to the Monza paddock, according to Der Spiegel newspaper.

"Schumacher is good but no longer good enough and he was already on the decline in 2005 and 2006 at Ferrari.

"I have no idea why Mercedes invests in such an old driver as the performance curve can only be downwards. He’s too old now to beat the top drivers like Nico Rosberg," added Irvine.

[kelli52]

Michael Schumacher says he is keen to build on his solid end to the European F1 season in the annual night race this weekend in Singapore.

The Mercedes driver came from the back of the grid at Spa to finish fifth and then matched that result in the Italian Grand Prix despite a controversial incident on track with Lewis Hamilton.

This weekend will mark Schumacher's second appearance under the Singapore lights after his debut in the race last year and the seven-time champion said he was looking forward to making a return to the street circuit.

"I really enjoyed my first experience of Formula One night racing in Singapore last year and it was an interesting weekend to be working on such a different time schedule,” he said. “Surprisingly, it worked out very well and somehow even fun to drive and have meetings in the middle of the night.

“The street circuit is good fun and quite challenging, and as an event for the fans, it is also fantastic as they can get so close to the cars around the city streets and see a real racing spectacle. We have enjoyed good results at the final two European races in Spa and Monza, and everyone will be working to continue the hard work and keep up the points finishes as we head to Asia for the flyaway races."

Team-mate Nico Rosberg finished on the podium in the first Singapore race back in 2008 and he too is hopeful of a strong result from the Mercedes team under lights.

"I'm really looking forward to the Singapore Grand Prix and it's a circuit that I enjoy very much,” he said. “I finished second at the first race held here in 2008 so I have some good memories from that weekend. Singapore is a fantastic city and I always try to spend some extra time here with friends after the race.

“The track itself is good fun to drive and a real challenge. The stop-start nature means you have to concentrate hard throughout the lap and it feels very narrow and enclosed, like a true street circuit. We've made a good step forward with the car in the last few races and I hope we can take advantage of that again next weekend in Singapore."

[Anna]

Michael Schumacher thinks dust could make overtaking tough in Indian Grand Prix
By Edd Straw Friday, October 28th 2011, 11:13 GMT

Michael Schumacher suspects that the dusty track surface at the Buddh International Circuit could make overtaking difficult in Sunday's Indian Grand Prix.

Formula 1 cars ran on the track for the first time today, with a total of three hours of practice. Even though this went a long way to cleaning up the track surface on the racing line, it remains very dusty off it.

This means that even though the track configuration should be conducive to overtaking, the lack of grip off-line could make it more of a challenge.

"It is a little issue because it will never properly clean up and off-line it remains very slippery," Schumacher told AUTOSPORT. "So overtaking is going to be very difficult.

"A lot of people will have to go through dusty areas, which also puts it [the dust] back on the main line so it becomes slippery again. It's tricky."

Overall, Schumacher was impressed with the new circuit despite enduring a difficult hour-and-a-half of running in the afternoon.

The Mercedes driver ended up 21st fastest, 6.098 seconds off pacesetter Felipe Massa's fastest time, and admitted that he struggled to find the right balance.

"It is a very interesting track and quite a good challenge," he said. "But it is very important to get a good balance for the car.

"This morning, it was okay, but in the afternoon it certainly wasn't."

[Anna]

2011 end of term report – Michael Schumacher


76 points, 8th in the drivers’ championship

Thursday 22 December 2011 - 15h13, by Sandrine Bouchard
Michael Schumacher was more impressive this season and silenced his critics with some good performances in 2011. The seven-time World Champion was more comfortable and was closer to his teammate Nico Rosberg.

Season review

Despite a tough and disappointing 2010 season, Michael Schumacher stayed with Mercedes GP for another campaign. The winter testing went well and hopes were high on the eve of the season. However, the results didn’t match the expectations.

In Australia, Schumacher qualified just outside of the top ten. He was touched by Jaime Alguersuari in the opening lap of the race and had to pit for fresh tyres. He rejoined at the back of the field but eventually retired on lap 21 with suspension damage. He scored points in Malaysia and China. At Istanbul, he qualified eighth but collided with Petrov in the race. He had to pit for a new front wing and crossed the finish line in 12th place. He had a strong weekend at Barcelona and finished 6th. At Monaco, he out-qualified Rosberg for the first time of the season. However, he had a bad start and was down in 10th place at Turn 1. He made a brilliant move on Lewis Hamilton at Loews. His race ended on lap 33 with engine problems.

At the next race, in Canada, the Mercedes driver showed glimpses of speed. He made the most of the wet track and was up to 2nd place after the second restart. On the drying track, however, he couldn’t maintain the same pace and lost positions to Jenson Button and Mark Webber in the final laps. He still finished in a strong 4th place – which was Mercedes best result of the season.

At Valencia, the German had another coming together with Vitaly Petrov. They collided and Schumacher had to pit for a new front wing. He crossed the line way down the order. He had another collision in Great-Britain, this time with Kamui Kobayashi’s Sauber. He was given a stop-and-go penalty for causing the collision. He raced strongly and scored two points.

He was once again in the points in Germany, despite a spin on lap 23. Gearbox problems forced him to retire from the Hungarian Grand Prix. In Belgium, Schumacher celebrated his 20th anniversary but had a disastrous qualifying session. He lost a wheel, which forced him to start from the back of the field… for the very first time of his long career. Determined to get a good result, Schumacher made a great start and was 5th under the chequered flag.

He took another top-five finish in Italy, after a tough fight with Lewis Hamilton. His fierce defense was criticized as many observers thought he went a bit too far at times. He suffered two consecutive retirements at Singapore and Yeongam.

He scored more points in Japan, India and Abu Dhabi. The Mercedes driver briefly led the Japanese Grand Prix and wrote another piece of history. In fact, he became the oldest driver to have ever led a Grand Prix. He finished the season on a disappointing note, with a 15th place.

Conclusion

Michael Schumacher’s second season with Mercedes was much better than the previous one. He raced strongly but still showed some weakness in qualifiying. Fortunately, he was more than often able to make up for it with quick starts. Indeed, he gained no less than 27 places in the opening laps of the races in the course of the season. He is still to get back on the podium but came really close to it in Canada. He finished the year in 8th place in the championship, 13 points adrift of Rosberg. It was a massive improvement compared to 2010 – Rosberg had scored 70 more points than his experienced teammate.

Highs
Improving
Excellent races in Belgium, Italy and Canada
Stunning opening lap at Spa

Lows
Out qualified by Nico Rosberg
Several collisions
Still no podium

Nextgen-Auto.com marks:
Olivier Ferret : 13/20
D.Thys : 14/20
Sandrine Bouchard : 14/20
Jean-Michel Setbon : 13/20
Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 14/20
Total : 68/100

[Anna]

Rivals cannot write off Schumacher - Glock


"You can’t underestimate him in any way"

Wednesday 25 January 2012 - 09h33, by GMM
It is a mistake to write off Michael Schumacher.

That is the claim of the seven time world champion’s countryman Timo Glock, who drives for the back-of-the-grid Marussia team.

43-year-old Schumacher, meanwhile, is looking ahead to the third and final season of his comeback contract, having so far failed to score a single podium with the Mercedes team.

"You can’t underestimate him in any way," Germany’s Sky Sports News HD quotes Glock as saying.

"He is highly motivated and still someone who you always have to take into consideration."

Former driver Derek Warwick, however - the new president of the Silverstone-owning British Racing Drivers’ Club - is not so sure.

He predicts the great German will be having "sleepless nights" as he looks ahead to another year of being beaten by his teammate Nico Rosberg.

"I think the Mercedes will be quick this year as they continue to develop their challenge to the big three at the front," he told the Sun.

"So can Schumacher win a race? Yes, but it will probably at the default of Rosberg, because Rosberg has now shown what a magnificent grand prix driver he is," said Warwick.

According to Glock, the obvious favourite for 2012 is Sebastian Vettel.

"What he did in the past two years was phenomenal," Glock is quoted as saying by SID news agency. "In terms of consistency, he will be hard to beat."

1980 world champion Alan Jones hopes Vettel’s teammate Mark Webber can match that form.

"He probably knows that he’s got to do it this year, and he’s at his fittest and most determined," the Australian told Fox Sports News. "I put him down as a real dark horse to be honest."

[Anna]

Michael Schumacher fully dedicated again


”I am fully on the schedule with preparations for the new season”

Tuesday 24 January 2012 - 17h33, by Olivier Ferret
Michael, how did you spend your winter break?

As always, we have been in the snow with the family and were enjoying the winter time. We just like to be in the mountains, it is cozy on one hand and at the same time you can be active in many different ways.

When did you start with your training regime again?

I deliberately had a break mid-december when I nearly didn’t do anything. But since the week after christmas I am in my daily schedule again, and I think I would not have made it longer without. My feeling is that the timing was perfectly right as I am totally on schedule. Saying that, I think the time until we can finally get back into the car is really long this year. My anticipation is growing with every day that is passing; and I am starting to become a bit impatient about it.

So what are you expecting from the season ahead?

It would be much too early to speak about any kind of forecast now. We have seen prior to last season that the truth is only on the pitch, as they say in football. The exprience from last year shows that you cannot judge the situation properly even after the test days in february. That’s why this year I really want to wait until after the first races. What I can say in any case is that all our programms go on full gear, that back in the factory there is no wheel not turning, that we all are working hard in preparation of the new season – and that I cannot wait to get it started.

Source : Schumacher’s official website