Friday, September 01, 2006
Next years drivers line up
The guardian has a story that at Monza Ferrari will announce three drivers for next year. Kimi, Massa and Michael.
This would fit with the earlier stories about Michael not having to decide until the end of the year.
According to a Spanish magazine "AS" (sorry no link) at Monza Renault will also be making an announcement about its driver line up. As apparently Kimi has also signed with them for next year. This contract apparently stands if Michael remains at Ferrari.
Part of the oddity is that Telefonica have upped their sponsorship commitment to Renault next year quite substantially at a time when Renault have less star power and no Spaniard. Although some people have taken it as a sign that Pedro de la Rosa will be moving over to Renault I wouldn't want to see what Pedro would look like after he'd tried to wriggle his way out of one of Ron's contracts!
A lot of commentators have been mentioning that Michael's raggedness is a sign that he wants this championship worse than ever and that's a sign that he's determined to resign this year. Maybe it's true, but I don't think you would have found anyone in a previous season who would have argued that Michael didn't want to win the championship so badly it hurt. He always wants to win. I just don't think he's been under as much pressure for a while.
And with the team clearly being a bit fairer between drivers maybe they are letting Michael know, and the rest of the world, that next year when he's racing Kimi he'll properly be racing Kimi.
This would fit with the earlier stories about Michael not having to decide until the end of the year.
According to a Spanish magazine "AS" (sorry no link) at Monza Renault will also be making an announcement about its driver line up. As apparently Kimi has also signed with them for next year. This contract apparently stands if Michael remains at Ferrari.
Part of the oddity is that Telefonica have upped their sponsorship commitment to Renault next year quite substantially at a time when Renault have less star power and no Spaniard. Although some people have taken it as a sign that Pedro de la Rosa will be moving over to Renault I wouldn't want to see what Pedro would look like after he'd tried to wriggle his way out of one of Ron's contracts!
A lot of commentators have been mentioning that Michael's raggedness is a sign that he wants this championship worse than ever and that's a sign that he's determined to resign this year. Maybe it's true, but I don't think you would have found anyone in a previous season who would have argued that Michael didn't want to win the championship so badly it hurt. He always wants to win. I just don't think he's been under as much pressure for a while.
And with the team clearly being a bit fairer between drivers maybe they are letting Michael know, and the rest of the world, that next year when he's racing Kimi he'll properly be racing Kimi.
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I just read something that's not really worth a post on its own:
http://www.autosport.com/journal/article.php/id/721
He suggests something quite interesting: Michael built his reputation on being vastly superior to his team-mate, and fighting alone against superior cars, but this year it is Alonso fighting alone against superior cars (and winning, so far). Suggesting, thus, that it is Alonso who is the better driver, and Michael feels uncomfortable about it.
On another note, he does always seem to falter in the close championships: the last race of 2003 in Japan he was all over the place to get that one point he needed.
http://www.autosport.com/journal/article.php/id/721
He suggests something quite interesting: Michael built his reputation on being vastly superior to his team-mate, and fighting alone against superior cars, but this year it is Alonso fighting alone against superior cars (and winning, so far). Suggesting, thus, that it is Alonso who is the better driver, and Michael feels uncomfortable about it.
On another note, he does always seem to falter in the close championships: the last race of 2003 in Japan he was all over the place to get that one point he needed.
I think it's possible that Michael has, to an extent, started to believe his own press. That he is the great thinker of Formula 1 and he is always thinking about something else.
When it's really tight he seems sometimes to be concentrating on everything else other than the road.
I also have a theory that the first two Herman Tilke tracks were designed for Michael's style with his input because he was seen as the greatest racer of the day. And I think China and Turkey have been designed to go against Michael Schumacher's style because by the time they were being built Michael was winning everything and so they designed them to be more difficult for him.
Obviously this is just a theory.
When it's really tight he seems sometimes to be concentrating on everything else other than the road.
I also have a theory that the first two Herman Tilke tracks were designed for Michael's style with his input because he was seen as the greatest racer of the day. And I think China and Turkey have been designed to go against Michael Schumacher's style because by the time they were being built Michael was winning everything and so they designed them to be more difficult for him.
Obviously this is just a theory.
Actually, I had thought China and Turkey were designed for him: China's first turn is a lot like Suzuka's, which Michael loves, and Turkey is a lot like Spa, again which he loves. So I don't know either - especially as both seem to be difficult tracks for him.
Now, however, we go to Monza, where Ferrari seem incapable of ever losing (except last year), China, Japan and Brazil. All of which, I think, favour Michael and Ferrari, but then they were clearly faster in Turkey and couldn't win, so I might be thinking about changing who I'm betting on...
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Now, however, we go to Monza, where Ferrari seem incapable of ever losing (except last year), China, Japan and Brazil. All of which, I think, favour Michael and Ferrari, but then they were clearly faster in Turkey and couldn't win, so I might be thinking about changing who I'm betting on...
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