The legend returned, but will he reach the top again?

Monday, 31 January 2011 10:20

Seven time world champion Michael Schumacher’s announcement that he planned to return to Formula 1 with the Mercedes team was met with a mixed response;

delight from his legion of fans worldwide, curiosity from those interested as to whether he still had what it takes to be competitive, and sadness from those who didn’t want to see him possibly tarnish his legacy, and for him to diminish in the eyes of the public.

Schumacher has since made the headlines for being almost routinely out qualified by his team-mate Nico Rosberg and for overly aggressive driving, as exemplified when a blocking move at Hungary (Hungaroring) almost put Rubens Barrichello into the wall. Pundits and fans alike have criticised him for his return to the sport and there have been many suggestions that he is past it, and that a re-retirement was on the cards.

So, why has Michael’s return to the sport not been the dazzling comeback a lot of people expected? Firstly, the ban on testing will have strongly affected him. Former racing driver John Watson remarked that “Felipe Massa clearly struggled at the start of the season and he’d only missed half a dozen races. Michael had three years out and came back without any testing.” Michael himself admitted that fact that testing was not allowed had not helped him. Formula 1 technology develops at an immense rate, and if a driver has not driven with the current developments for a long period of time, then it is bound to take him more time to completely catch up. Secondly, the current specification of Bridgestone tyres have not seemed to suit Michael’s driving style. Furthermore, the car that Michael was driving for the 2010 season was one that was essentially built around Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button. One of the Michael’s greatest strengths has been his ability to build a team around him, and to cater the car to his specific needs. This is a luxury he has not had over the past season and it reflects in his racing performance.

Even the staunchest critic of Schumacher would have allowed him the leeway of at least half the season to attune himself to the rigours of racing again. A sixth place finish at the start of the season in Bahrain allowed the optimists amongst us to truly get excited at the prospect of Michael building on this momentum and challenging for podiums in 2010. However, it was only towards the end of the 2010 season that we saw flashes of the old master at work. Michael has batted off all of the swirling criticism around him, and seems to be simply enjoying himself. When asked to comment upon the past Formula 1 season, he stated, “In the history of Formula 1, when does it ever happen that you come back straightaway from this level to win in just one year? Very rarely.” The German is highly optimistic about the forthcoming season as he commented, “I'm here on a mission and I want to succeed. I want to perform and I'm going to put 100 per cent into it”. Michael is a perfectionist and as much as he has seemed to have a more relaxed attitude over the past season, there can be no denying that he will want to be mixing it up with the rest at the top of the grid, not battling in the midfield. Perhaps with the introduction of the Pirelli tyres and a chassis designed to suit him, this can become a reality.

The forthcoming 2011 season will see five world champions lining up the grid. The prospect of Schumacher winning an eighth world title seems unlikely, but that is the beauty of Formula 1, the expected rarely occurs. By Jessica Murphy

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