I think there's something here that 'normal' people like us don't understand. I don't think he was trying to come across as being cocky but it's just that he doesn't think it's worthwhile. I think he was slightly too 'German' with his reply though which might upset some people.

Nascar for him, I'd suppose just isn't a challenge and to be honest, I don't think it would be. At the end of the day, what would he achieve? He's done sports cars (with Mercedes when Peter Sauber ran their group C team), he's done go-karts, he's done a bit of the lower formulars IIRC and there's virtually no technology in those things.

I seriously don't think Michael is one of those drivers who will lose the skill without the technology (like a certain Canadian). Like I said, he's been in F1 before it had the gadgets, when it had all the gadgets and had the gadgets taken away again.

For those of you who haven't seen it: http://www.raceofchampions.com/ [michael is not doing it this year]....

The King is dead .Long live the King. Now give Scott speed a good drive so us U.S. fans can have more to cheer about.
Maybe Schumi can replace that Draconian Schlep Ecclestone and make the rules more consistant.

Not a huge fan, but after so long of seeing him racing this is sad to here. He's become a staple of F1 for so long. It's kinda exciting to see if anyone steps to fill the gap he leaves behind

I suppose there could be a bit of a cultural difference there that could easily be misinterpreted. I don't doubt his skill, but his actions can definitely push the limits of respect at times. Perhaps that's what rubs me the wrong way...

Regardless, there's still lots of folks here who see many good things in him.


Cabo

I think it is more then ironically that Alonso cried in the press that Schumacher is not a sporting person. The same day Tiger Woods when asked about being the best he states that Schumacher is sportsman being the most consistent year after year, etc.

Funny that Woods who makes more and is a great sports figure in his own right would concede being the best to Schumacher.

And the whole NASCAR thing, please. I guess you can lower your opinion of me too because I totally agree with him. (even though he did not mean it to belittle)

In case you didn't notice they drive around in circles.

Did anyone notice Christian Klien turned down a sponsored ride in CART to try and stay in Formula 1? I am sorry but it's not even in the same ballpark. How many people have gone between and done anything in recent history? Villenuvue (sp?) is the only one but where did that get him? JPM sucked so bad he took off early from his seat. DiMattea had a hell of a career in F1.

You want a comparison pick any Nascar driver and put them in F1 for a year. Half of them won't fit in the car.
Physical conditioning alone is vastly different to drive an F1 car race after race.

The only reason I really defend NASCAR is because it gets a bad rep for no good reason. Too many people use the series as cannon fodder -- so they can feel sophisticated. The sport may have been born from "redneck" roots, but these days you're just as likely to see a BMW parked at a race as a beat up pickup or 80's Thunderbird. In my opinion the teams and fans in the sport have a great sense of humor and can laugh about the "left only" aspect of the sport while getting some true enjoyment out of it. The "euro" type race series participants (teams and fans alike) would appear to take themselves too seriously in comparison.

If we were to judge a style of racing based purely on the variety of dynamics it requires, those Top Fuel guys would be considered the least skilled of all. In reality, they just require a different skill set than NASCAR, F1, WRC etc. If you try and make a judgement based on this you just end up comparing apples to oranges within motorsports. All motorsports require skill -- that's why people pay to see it.


Amen. It drives me nuts when I hear it referred to as "stock car racing". I feel the same way about WRC too. A 200 MPH Taurus off the show room floor would be impressive.

No clue -- I don't keep up with it much lately. I'm quite curious myself...


Cabo

They don't know but they would like him to keep some roll in the team as a consultant. What he should do is teach Massa everything he knows about Ferrari and driving. Then when Massa does really well it will shut the world up on just how talented he is.

I think it is more likely he will end up running a team or becoming an owner. It's the perfect move for him to use Ferrari engines and possibly previous year Chassis to get that start. He has the money to by Stryker out right now if he chose. But I agree, Draconian Schlep Ecclestone.

Actually, I did notice, and it's one of the reasons why the series makes so much money:

-easy for new fans to understand
-easy to set up and "fill" a venue for the race
-easy to provide coverage for the race.

There is something to be said for simplicity. If you get bored, then check out a different race series.

Please -- get off your high horse and make a mature contribution to the discussion.


Cabo

The top WRC guys have a bigger set then any other sport. The skill it takes to drive on the edge within inches of trees and everything else is amazing.

Schumacher in Nascar would be like the second coming of Earnhardt, he'd hit everyone out of his way since it's legal in Nascar.

Raikkonen has reportedly been signed for a long time (2005). So I agree they wanted him out because if they wait around for him to decide they would end up with no good driver to take his place.

Unfortunately Sunday was a clear indication that he is still capable in the car and last year was more a product of poor performance of the car (read tyres) then the driver. I think they panicked over last years result.

I honestly believe that part of the deciding factor was that they keep Massa as the teammate to Raikonnen. There seems to be a quick friendship there and he for one did not want to take the spot from Massa. We won't even go into he being teammates with Raikonnen.

On a side note, I think it is very possible that Kovaleinen will be winning by mid-season.

-It's not my fault the fans are not intelligent.
-Again the fans know to go inside or outside the cirkle.
-Formula 1 has no problem providing coverage it just costs more and is more elaborate.

High horse? I have been to Nascar races years ago and decided it was way too boring to stand for 5 hours. Sorry.
And I have been to Formula 1 races too and I have to say there is a big difference in fan base.

I understand you are from the hot bed of Nascar so I can't blame you for being so angry that some people believe it is not the best race series.

Earnhardt was about the only one who could get away with it. The officials wouldn't give Schumacher a chance...



Cabo