Op-Ed: Why Schumacher’s return is bad for F1
December 23, 2009 by SJ Skid
Filed under F1B Op-Ed, Parc Fermé, People & Events, SJ Skid
Earlier today, I conceived of this post as a companion piece / counterpoint to Victoria’s piece on Michael Schumacher’s return.
My headline played off hers: Why Schumacher will return (but I hope he won’t).
I guess I should have posted it when I had the chance, instead of letting it sit and stew a bit.
Still, the points below stand, I think.
We know at this point, unless there is an act of God — or Michael hits another bump, which makes him fall — we will have a Schumacher return. There is now too much smoke for there to be no fire, the latest being the Bild report that the deal is signed. Ferrari is talking about it; Schumacher, second-hand, is talking about.
Every last journalist and blogger is talking about it.
And that will continue until sometime in January when the official announcement is supposed to occur, unless all the leaks force an earlier unveiling.
Who am I kidding, it will continue long after that. And that gives us reason No. 1 why I think this comeback is bad for Formula 1.
1. Schumacher’s return will overshadow the truly interesting Formula 1 stories of 2010: the new teams and the compelling new drivers, most notably Kamui Kobayashi and Bruno Senna.
Without a Schumacher return, these story lines would have room to develop and would get the media attention they deserve. Leave it to Schumacher to blot out the return to F1 of the Senna name and the Lotus brand.
2. Nico Rosberg’s career will be destroyed before it has a chance to bloom.
Face it, it is poor Nico who is being handed the no-win situation, not Schumacher. Nico will be expected to outpace Schumacher, who’s old enough to be his (youngish) father. If he does outdrive the seven-time champ, he won’t get any credit.
And if he doesn’t? He’ll be out of F1 faster than Sebastien Bourdais. To not be able to hustle the car around the track than a 40-year-old man? Inexcusable, no matter who that old man is.
3. The young lions vs. the old master storyline will be more boring than the Hungarian GP.
We already get it. Lewis Hamilton wants a piece of Michael Schumacher. Sebastian Vettel, who probably is smart enough not to say so publicly, wants a piece. Fernando Alonso wants to prove again he was faster than Schumacher. Jenson Button, Felipe Massa, Robert Kubica, etc. all want the same thing.
4. The main reason I think Schumacher’s return will be bad for F1: It will falsely prop up Formula 1, which needs a serious crisis — i.e. declining viewership, ticket sales, merchandise purchases — to make significant, lasting and fan-centered change.
With Schumacher, 2010 will be a banner year for Formula 1 and for Bernie Ecclestone, in particular. And he’ll see no reason to do anything different from what he’s been doing.
Now, to quote Victoria from her piece: “Cue boos, hisses, and general throwing of rotten vegetables.”
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I totally agree. I hate that Schumi is coming back. It spoils what should be a very interesting year otherwise.
I hope he’s a big failure, and that it tarnishes his image. Serves him right for not letting the new teams and drivers have their chance for glory and visibility.
A better story for Schumi would have been him switching to Le Mans sports car racing. Now that I would like to see. Schumi battling the likes of Mr. Le Mans and Allan McNish for 24 Hrs. glory.
I thought I’d be in minority on this but SJ completely agree with you and point 4 is very very valid, for a long term F1 sustainability F1 needs a “Surgery” and not superficial bandage like Return of seven time champion.
1. I can’t decide who I care less about: Bruno or banana-face-Mick.
2.Rosberg’s career was seen-off by his stunning lack of initiative whilst racing.
3.I quite like Hungary.
4. The more that the rotting fly-blown corpulent hulk that is corporate Formula 1 is propped up, so much more delicious will be the crashing collapse; perhaps, and only then, can we go sodding racing.
Totally agree with racetripper…
I was really looking forward to 2010 (yes, even with Kimi gone) for positive reasons (fernando vs felipe; jenson vs lewis; ferrari vs mclaren vs redbull vs mercedes; lotus vs virgin, …). Now it turns out the thing I’ll hope for the most in 2010 is for scummaker to do a mansell out of himself. And I’m sure I’m not the only one in hoping that, so how could that be good for the actual F1 FANS ???
I make that distinction, since I’ve read elsewhere the argument that, with michael back, it could bring back FANS that deserted F1 when he retired in 2006. Well, good for those fanboys, but what about us ??? What about fans that could see and enjoy a post-Micheal Formula One ???
No offense Steve, but judging from how many stories you guys ran on Michael in the last 2-3 weeks, I think it’s fair to say that he’ll monopolize worldwide medias’ attention all through the season, whatever his results. I can already imagine the sports news headlines: ”7-time world champion Michael Schumacher finishes 7th in Malaysia; Alonso won the race”. Meanwhile, Lotus scores its first points, but who cares, The Kaiser is back. That sells.
Nico Rosberg. Pfff, I won’t even go into that.
So here’s to 2010 !!! For all the wrong reasons.
the chin won’t dominate f1b because I won’t let him. this place was fairly anti-Fred when I arrived but the folks/fans here were open minded enough to see the biases.
I make it my charge to call NC out whenever he’s being a silly fanboi…
You want to know what Schumacher’s return will mean to F1. those who hateed him will complain about him even if he does turn out to be better than thee rest of the field and those who love him will fall over themselves to congratulate him even if he finishes last on the grid. That’s why his return matters so much. It will allign fans more with one driver or one team more than they may have this year and that is always good for F1.
Good comments folks.
And, yes, we’ve had our share of Schumacher stories… and like it or not, he generates interest. I thought Kimi was “gold,” but Schumacher really gets people’s attention.
Hopefully we’ve also balanced those with Force India tech developments, Red Bull holiday wishes, Bernie comments on the new teams, potential drivers for the new teams and my personal favorite: Danica. With JPM a close second!
Admittedly, I have been posting a lot of Ferrari pieces, for two reasons: People seem to react to them and Ferrari puts out news. A lot of the other teams aren’t doing so.
Also, for Noddy: Boo Fred! :)
“3. The young lions vs. the old master storyline will be more boring than the Hungarian GP”
Maybe my idea of entertainment is messed up, but that paragraph has me pumped for next season. How ISN’T that going to be a fun storyline to watch?!?!?! Alonso in Michael’s old seat having a go at him (potentially for the title) for the first time since Alonso last won the title from Michael and Ferrari… Hamilton (or at least his father) finally getting a chance to put up or shut up about being gods greatest gift to F1…Vettel having the chance to live up to the hype of being the “next Schumacher” by beating Schumacher (and potentially earning a future seat at Mercedes once his Redbull deal is up)…Isn’t this the best class of quality drivers all in potentially competitve cars that F1 has seen in a long time? Oh, and Button too…
On second thought, yes, I too would rather watch Senna and Kobayashi battle for 18th place, while worrying about Nico’s feeling being hurt by Schumachers performances, and what the developing teams are doing to save some money (and who they will sell their team to the following year due to the absurd costs of operating a team). And most certainly I will be watching for Force India, because lord knows if a weather disaster strikes during a race weekend, maybe they will score a couple points…all these thoughts have me so pumped I think I am going to hug my life sized carboard cut out of Esteban Tuero, throw on my Minardi pit shirt, and get excited for what should make all “real fans” happy: the ass end of the grid
Caleb, I totally understand your points, I’m just not looking forward to the barrage of coverage about it.
Also… no matter how well MS performs, it won’t be the true battle of drivers in their primes. So I’m a little less interested.
It’d be like Kobe vs. MJ or Beckham vs. whoever the hot footballer is today. It sounds good, but it isn’t what it’s made out to be.
And Force India was legit at the fast tracks! :)
Regardless of Schumacher’s current tallent level, it will still be adding a top driver to a otherwise mixed bag of drivers among the top teams. Not trying to write him off early, but I really don’t think Nico would have been consistent enough to make Hamilton or Alonso take notice. Yes, Jenson was champ last year, and yes Massa almost took the title the year before, but it’s really hard to put them in the same class based on an even playing field with Alonso/Hamilton/Schumacher. And either way the current situation is going to allow us to see who comes out on top.
Also I think F1 is quite a different beast over the NBA. Yes, MJ wouldn’t be able to come back and take on Kobe in a fair battle, but in F1 older drivers have managed to still do big things. F1 may require certain physical exsursion, but to compare it to Basketball or Soccer is a bit like comparing Oranges to Hand Grenades.
Overall I think the “storyline” of the season will get annoying, but not due to the actual action itself or who is driving. It will more likely be terrible on the television end of things where certain announcers get into the bad habbits of repeating the same damn thing about the same driver over and over (If I have to hear about LewHam’s dad every frikin race, I’m gonna go nuts, and same goes for having to hear of Schueys comeback)
Come on: Do you honestly think anyone cares about the “development” of Bruno Senna or Kobayashi?
And if Rosberg’s career is destroyed, it’s his fault. He has enjoyed a pampered trip into F1, with Daddy’s name behind him. He was a clear and ordained No. 2 behind Webber at Williams and then a clear and ordained No. 1 at Williams behind two stiffs.
This will be the first time that Rosberg truly will be made to stand up in the seat, so we’ll really see how good he is. If he can’t stay within sight of Schumacher, then he doesn’t deserve his seat with a top team.
If the old master is kicking the asses of the young turks, especially the overrated Button, how won’t that be interesting? It either will say much about Schumacher’s talent or little about the so-called brilliance of the current crop of F1 youngsters if a 41-year-old returns to the sport after a three-year hiatus and whips them all. I can’t wait to see it unfold.
As for significant change in F1, that won’t happen until Bernie Ecclestone heads for the great refuelling stop in the sky. It doesn’t matter who is in the seat turning the wheel and pushing the pedals.
I think in the end the return of the chinned one has definte benefits for Rosberg. No one expected this kid to win the championship in 2010 anyway. Michael will develop that car and communicate with the engineers and do all the things he did at ferrari that surely benefited Massa while he was a number 2.
And the beneficiary? Not Nico.
Der Seb!