Michael Schumacher (born 3 January 1969, in Hürth-Hermülheim, West Germany[1]) is a seven-time Formula One World Drivers’ Champion, currently driving for Mercedes GP. According to the official Formula One website he is “statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen”,[2] he holds many of the formula’s driver records, including most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season - 2004
The 458 is the first in Ferraris range that wont be offered with a manual transmission.
There are hearts breaking all over Italy, and the biggest one of all is that which beats in the chest of Ferrari head Luca de Montezemolo. Michael Schumacher is still under contract to The Prancing Horse as a global ambassador and consultant for their road cars. However, given the opportunity to return to a Formula One cockpit and prove a thing or ten, he appears keen on racing no matter the color of the car.
Neither Schumacher nor the Mercedes F1 team is revealing anything public about the German’s chances of driving, but it’s been in the press for a few weeks now. Last week, Schumacher phoned Montezemolo and told him there was a “very, very, very strong possibility” he’d end up as a driver for Mercedes. Speculation is that the final say is only waiting on Schumacher’s neck to be declared fully healed after his motorcycle accident earlier this year.
If the 41-year-old Schumy does race again with Mercedes, it will be with the company that put him on the road to becoming one of the greatest racing drivers ever. And it will come at the expense of a muy doloroso de Montezemolo, who is so torn up about Michael switching camps that he has taken to calling the former Ferrari driver “the real Michael Schumacher,” and the potential Mercedes pilot, “the new Michael Schumacher.”
The Daily Telegraph is reporting that seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher is close to signing on with the newly formed Mercedes Formula 1 team. Mercedes is the new name of the former Brawn GP team, the current Constructors Champion. After a stellar rookie season that saw this former Honda team clinch not just the Constructors Championship, but also the Drivers Championship for Jenson Button, they had a bit of a dropoff as Button bolted for rival McLaren.
That left a seat to fill at Mercedes and if BBC Sport’s Eddie Jordan is to be believed, none other than Michael Schumacher is about to sign a one-year contract to return to racing in that very car. The deal, which would net Schumacher the same salary that Button turned down at Brawn GP in favour of McLaren, would finally see the German teaming up with Mercedes, who were in the past unsuccessful in their bids to lure him away from Ferrari.
Ferrari almost lured the retired champ back this season when Felipe Massa went down following the infamous spring incident in Hungary. The Champ’s sore neck put a stop to that comeback, but apparently it got Schumi’s juices flowing again. Signing with Mercedes would create something of a German dream team with Nico Rosberg in the other car. If the deal goes through, MS will be reunited with Brawn GP-namesake and current Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn, the man who guided Michael to all seven of his World titles.
Still just a rumor for the moment, the deal is said to give Schumacher the same salary Button turned down when he defected to McLaren. The Schumacher deal is just the latest volley in the silly season melee that has seen Kimi Raikkonen vacate his seat in order to make room for Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, which lost adviser Michael Schumacher as well. Whatever the future holds, it is only going to get more interesting. We’ll keep you posted as things develop.
Automotive records can be funny things. While everyone seems to be interested in knowing what vehicle is the quickest, fastest, most expensive or rarest, there always seems to be plenty of dissent when one automaker claims its product takes the coveted prize away from another. Such is the case with the Ultima GTR720.
There’s no doubting that both the Ferrari FXX and the Ultima GTR are fast cars. Which car is actually faster around a race track, though, is currently up for debate. The track in question is the Dunsfold aerodrome circuit, better known to many as the Top Gear test track. Not long ago, the crew from TG invited one Stig impersonator by the name of Michael Schumacher in the super high-test Ferrari racer to take a lap around its circuit, and the tame racing driver managed to set a new record at one minute 10.7 seconds.
Here’s where the mine-is-bigger-than-yours part comes in. Ultima reportedly contacted Top Gear to let them know its car could go ’round the track faster than the aforementioned Prancing Horse, but the show apparently never responded. Taking matters into its own hands, then, Ultima borrowed the track for itself and is claiming to have completed a lap in one minute 9.9 seconds - less than one full tick quicker than the Ferrari, but quicker nonetheless. Plus, Ultima says, the GTR720 was both cheaper and fully road legal while the
If you checked out the images we posted of Felipe Massa’s return to Maranello, you may have spotted the returning Brazilian driver chatting with one Jean Alesi and wondered what he was doing there.
The French driver raced for the Scuderia from 1991 through 1995, scoring a handful of podiums and a solitary grand prix victory in Montreal. Along with longtime team-mate Gerhard Berger, Alesi switched places with Michael Schumacher to Benetton-Renault in 1996, then bounced between a few other teams before retiring from Formula One at the end of 2001. Since then he’s been competing in DTM and then headlined the new Speedcar Series.
With the ill-fated Asian stock car series now deceased, however, the racing world has been wondering what the retired F1 driver would try his hand at next, and on Tuesday they got their hint when Alesi showed up at Fiorano to test the Ferrari F430 GT2. Alesi’s slated to race for AF Corse, the team run by Amato Ferrari, who shares strong ties with both Maranello and Maserati but no direct familial relation despite the common name.
AF Corse is the reigning two-time champion in the FIA GT series, but is reportedly preparing to tackle the European Le Mans Series, including its headline event, next year. The test session apparently exceeded expectations, paving the way for the 45-year-old driver to race Ferraris once again, for the first time in fourteen years, next season.
Michael Schumacher, who will replace Felipe Massa in Formula One at the European Grand Prix next month, is preparing for his return by driving an old F1 car. Schumacher went to Ferrari’s factory in Maranello to use the team’s simulator to learn the cockpit controls of the latest car.
The next day, he borrowed an F2007 car and tested it at the Mugello circuit. The current test ban forbids him from testing the current machinery at this point of the season. Ferrari has asked rival teams for permission to have Schumacher test this year’s car. Ferrari has written to the FIA and to its rival teams asking to allow Schumacher to test for a day with this year’s F60 car in order to arrive better prepared for the Valencia race. Schumacher admitted that he is trying to get as much mileage as possible before his return, even if it means driving old cars.
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro intends to put Michael Schumacher in Felipe Massa’s car untill the brazilian driver will be able to race again. Michael Schumacher said he is ready and, over the next few days, will undertake a specifc training programme at the end of which confermation will be given of his participation in the Championship with effect from the European Grand Prix on the 23rd of August.
The seven-times World F1 Champion took to the track to try out the improved handling offered by the new set-up which emphasises the performance of this, Ferrari’s most powerful berlinetta.
The Handling GT Evoluzione package includes a lower, stiffer ride, a new tyre compound offering even better levels of grip, modified magnetorheological damper settings that improve body control and an even more sporty exhaust sound. The HGTE package also includes a number of styling touches that distinguish it from the standard production car, including a more aggressive front grille, specific 20″ rims and abundant use of carbon-fibre trim in the cockpit.
Schumacher took the 599 GTB HGTE to its very limits at the Fiorano track during one of the factory’s Pilota Ferrari driving courses. These are organised exclusively for Ferrari owners and four levels of courses are available - Basic, Advanced, Evolution and Challenge, along with a special On Ice course and a dedicated one for those wishing to race in the traditional one-make racing series, the Ferrari Challenge. The courses have been run in Italy for over 15 years and, more recently, courses have also been set up in the USA, China and, from 2009, in Japan.
With its Pilota Ferrari driving courses, Ferrari offers owners a comprehensive range of expert tuition designed to progressively instruct drivers in the art of performance driving, enabling them to appreciate even more the handling characteristics of their cars, and help them use their full potential in absolute safety, both on the track and on the road.
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