VetteDrmr

ESPN reported this morning that Schumi is going to announce his retirement this weekend. Saw it both on the tube and at espn.com.

I think it's good timing. He's going out near the top of his game, in the hunt for a championship. It also works well for Ferrari, freeing a way for both Raikkonen and Massa to drive for them next year.

Thoughts?

Cali

WOW.... that will be weird to see him gone. I hope he is able to add one more title before the year ends!

meldog21

Ferrari should hire Valentino Rossi !!!

Dog

0Randy@DRM

He said about 3 years ago that he would quit when he stopped winning everything.

Randy

AU N EGL

Dont Ross Braun also say he will not be back in 2007 also?

xsiveone

They want to badly, but Rossi turned it down for next season. He said that he wants the challenge of the 800cc bikes. That's code btw for "I'm not ready to jump to F1 racing". It might still happen in the future though.

This weekend is the deadline for Schumi deciding whether to continue on racing or retire. He had wanted to stretch his decision out even further than he has already, but Ferrari finally put their foot down and said that they are making the decision this weekend if Schumacher makes one or not.

xsiveone

Not sure, but I don't think he's back. That might've been one of the major contributing factors to Schumi retiring. If in fact that Schumi is going to retire. It's not official yet.

VetteDrmr

That's for sure! We'll find out in a couple of days. Last I heard Ross' statement was "I haven't decided yet."

It's going to be interesting seeing:

a. What MS does in retirement
b. What Ferrari does with MS (and maybe Ross Braun) gone

and....who's going to be the big dog/spawn of Satan/Savior of F1 when MS leaves?

F1 fans either love MS or hate him, no one "doesn't care".

BrianCunningham

Makes sense, now he can chase after other titles.

I wonder when he'll start racing in ALMS?

John Shiels

heading towards NASCAR hope he wins one more title. Kimi needs to know where he's going so it is time.

xsiveone

Pretty much anything he wants to do with the money and fame that he has. I wouldn't expect to see him back in racing. At least not right away.

I think that Ross Brawn is definitely gone and possibly Jean Todt. One thing is for sure, if Schumacher retires, Jean Todt will retire.

BTW.. We should find out this weekend what Kimi's doing next season. We'll know if he's going to Ferrari or not. If not Ferrari, it means that there's a very good chance that he'll go to Renault, even if they don't announce it this weekend. Where else is there besides McLaren, Ferrari and Renault if you want to win an F1 championship.

So.. That means that if Schumacher is gone, most of the team (the important members anyway) will be gone as well. If Kimi signs with Ferrari, he won't be assured that Ferrari will be the same caliber of team next season.

If I were Kimi, I'd sign with Renault. The only person not there next season is Alonso. The only disadvantage that Renault will have next season is that they have to work on developing the car with the Bridgestone tires when Michelin leaves. Ferrari should have a nice advantage because they've been the principle team on Bridgestone's.

XPC5R

With their technical, tactical, and organizational skills, Brawn and MS (and Todt) could start a new team in a year or two. MS no longer needs to drive, he would still be a valuable asset as a team manager/strategist.

Bink

Rossi's times at Fiorano were not great. And he did many laps/days. He's smart to stay with the bikes.

ghoffman

NASCAR! If he came over here and won Daytona (like Mario did) then he could truly be considered the best ever.

Bink

He couldn't win Daytona.

Stage7

I agree. Tony Stewart would punt him into the fence...you know- got to teach them rookies some respect...

xsiveone

Or.. The CRASHCAR officials would throw a "phantom yellow" at the most inopportune time to make him lose.

ghoffman

I was thinking how much fun it would be to see MS, JPM, Smoke, and the Gordons all racing at the Glen and Infineon. It might motivate NASCAR to add a couple of more road races.

Stage7

Now there's a great thought!

AU N EGL

Who knows. Ferrari may say forget GT1 we will turn our 599GT into a Cup Car.