Who's pushing Schumacher to retire from F1 again?

Greater minds than mine, at this newspaper and others, have discussed whether or not it’s such a good idea to publish/broadcast public opinion polls and I say go right to it – but with two provisos:

1. Who paid for the poll?

2. In what order were the questions asked and what were they?

For instance, let’s say a public opinion poll is issued (and with the 24-hour news cycle on radio, TV, newspapers and the Internet demanding non-stop content, I guarantee just about anything will get published/broadcast somewhere these days) and it suggests (no poll ever proves anything; it’s a snapshot of a moment in time) that a majority of people don’t think the construction of a new speedway in the Niagara peninsula is a good idea.

(I’m making this up, remember.)

Chances are that the poll was commissioned, and paid for, by people who don’t want such a speedway to be built. And the way they rig the result is that the questions start out relatively neutral but as they get closer and closer to the subject of the poll, they become more alarming, to wit:

"Are you aware that automobile racing is bad for the environment?" (No, actually; I wasn’t.)

"Are you aware that automobile racing can result in death and/or injury to the participants? (Well, uh, yeah, maybe.)

"Did you know that if a new speedway is built that the sky will fall right down on your head and knock you out?" (Holy cow!)

"Do you think construction of a new speedway in the Niagara peninsula is a good idea?" (Hell, NO!)

So all you read in the papers or on the web or hear on radio and TV is that a majority of people don’t want a new speedway to be built. Nobody – or very few, anyway – tells you the rest.

I’m bringing this up today because there’s a new poll out in Germany in which nearly half of all German sports fans (they only ever ask a couple of people, by the way, and apply the statistic to the general population) think that Michael Schumacher should not sign another contract to race for Mercedes.

Yes, 47.2 per cent of the sample said he should call it a day after the third season of his comeback.

Apparently, just 32.2 per cent said he should continue to race in 2013 while 8.5 per cent said he should move to the German Touring Car Championship and race there with his brother Ralf.

What a strange poll, particularly since the old warrior has driven two excellent races the last two times out, finishing fifth both times.

So where did it come from?

Is this the work of Mercedes F1 team boss Ross Braun, who maybe doesn’t want the seven-time world champion to continue in 2013?

Maybe Mercedes itself is behind it. Perhaps the company, celebrating 125 years of automobile development this season, would like Schuey to move on so they can hire Sebastien Vettel?

Or maybe the people who run the DTM commissioned it. I mean, they have all those rejects from F1 racing there now. Maybe they think it would be a good idea to get somebody into a car who could actually still race.

Whatever. Somebody commissioned that poll – but for what purpose?

It didn’t just come out of the blue.

I’ve always thought that Michael Schumacher was pushed out of the sport the first time he retired. I’d "suggest" it’s starting to happen again.

Comments

[Ken Chevis]

As an old road race warrier myself, I watched with disbelief as Schumacher applied his usual blocking tactics against Hamilton on one of the fastest tracks on the schedule. The problem being that when he was younger he had the necessary reflexes. Now, not so much. Perhaps if he refrained from injecting himself with his usual dose of "stupid" before the race I would not be so inclined to say "retire, before you kill someone".

[APP]

Where have we seen something like this before? Two instances immediately come to mind and what Schumacher is allegedly experiencing could be termed the Brett Favre Syndrome. As with the Green Bay Packer management trying to get Brett to retire and represent that team as a hallowed icon (because they had a young talented QB to take his place), you can bet that it’s the Mercedes (corporate) management wanting Sebastian Vettel to drive for them. The second instance and one readers should recall is the hatchet job Dave Richards did on Jacques Villeneuve when he was at BAR. That one was not so subtle and there was no straw poll to dump Jacques. Richards even employed that fat s_ob, Matt Bishop, the former editor of the F1 Racing Magazine to continuously dump on Villeneuve. When Jacques was finally gone and did a few drives for Renault after, even Flavio Briatore remarked that he was surprised that Jacques was not the ogre he was made out to be and far more technically competent on car set up than what was his believed reputation. It all gets interesting from here (as this actually a 2013 issue). Supposedly Jenson Button will sign with Ferrari then and now Renault and Williams are making Kimi Raikonnen noises (….and you doubted me Norris) for this upcoming year if Kubica cannot make a comeback. The deck chairs are shuffling……

[DJL]

I think 2012 and 2013 will be interesting years in terms of driver's seats.

I think Massa is safe for 2012 (as long as internal Ferrari politics don't do him in - which is always possible). But when his contract expires at the end of 2012, he'll be done at Ferrai (and maybe in F1) But whichever way it goes (2012 or 2013), I think it will be interesting to see who ends up in the 2nd car at Ferrari. I think most of the top drivers will refuse to play second fiddle to Alonso and that a lot of drivers will be worried about the quality of Ferrari's car (they haven't done all that well lately), especially when they move to the smaller engines (I know Mercedes and Renault can build a reliable high performance V6 turbo, but can Ferrari?).

I feel sorry for Rubins, he did a stand up job for Brawn Racing, but it looks like the move to Williams killed his career. I think it will take a minor miracle for him to find a race seat next year, especially with so many teams turning to paid drivers to shore up their finances.

Speaking of money, I can't help wondering when Williams will get the money to pay Kimi - do you think he'll work for peanuts like Sutil?

Speaking of Sutil - do you think he'll still be at FIF1 in 2012? Supposedly he's only getting paid $500k, do you think they can get somebody better for the same money?

I'd be very surprised if Schumi is still around in 2013. The only thing that might save him is if Mercedes ends up building a killer car in 2012 and Schumi ends up with a bunch of podiums. But I think the chances of that are slim.

[CARSPH]

he should retire before he kill himself he is to old :)