Every now and then something quite interesting pops up on JamesList, and this is indeed one of them. It is Michael Schumacher’s first world championship winning car, which is a Ford-Benetton, available for you to purchase. The price? well the owner is asking €1,500,000 for it. The car’s powered by a 3,5l Ford-Cossworth ZETEC R air valve V8 engine, but that doesn’t matter much since you are not going to use it. What matters, is that it features the original livery and is the world champion of 1994, and most importantly it was the great Schumi’s company car!

We were all very excited when Mercedes announced they’ve signed with Michael Schumacher and his coming back to Formula 1 in 2010. We thought it’s going to be a great season and that Schumy will teach all these new kids a good lesson! But no, he was a big disappointment. We sat watching him struggle as Red Bull won everything. Now as it turns out it’s all Jensen Button’s fault, by his own admission!

In a recent interview with Germany’s Sport Bild, the British reigning world champion revealed that the car Schumacher is currently driving was set up for him. You see Button was a Brawn driver and when they were acquired by Mercedes he was supposed to drive for them and so had the car made to his own specs. But when McLaren formed a new team Button switched to them, and Mercedes didn’t really have time to redevelop the car for Schumacher.

So the seven time world champion ended up with a car that was set to understeer, just as Button wanted it to be! But we all know that Schumy is old school and he prefers oversteer. If you watch some of his old races you’d know what we are on about.

Button explains : “Michael likes a very pointy car. But the Mercedes understeers pretty strongly. I was always happy with it that way,”. “He will have more influence on the development of the next car. This year (the 2010 car) was quite late for him — the fundamental characteristics were in place long before his signature,” he said.

So there you go, if you are a Schumacher fan and you are looking for someone to blame for his poor results, no one’s better than Jensen Button! We just hope he stays in F1 and next season shows up with a proper car.

GMM, Picture: Guardian.co.uk

Michael Schumacher is apparently so mad that he is not winning anything at this year’s Formula 1 championship that he puts one of his beloved cars up for sale to punish himself! It’s a Bugatti EB 110 SS (Sport Stradale) which reportedly is in a perfect condition and has only 5000 km on the speedo. Schumi asks 600,000 Euro for his yellow supercar.

It seems to be a reasonable price you know, because apart form the fact that the car has a magnificent 3.5 liter quad-turbo V12 engine capable of developing 661 hp, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 355 km/h, it was a property of the best racing driver of all time for over ten years, how cool is that!

Daimler AG confirmed that Mercedes GP Petronas Formula 1 team will unveil their car for 2010 season in Stuttgart on January 25 at Mercedes Museum in Untertürkheim. Now if it wasn’t for the fact that Michael Schumacher has joined the team, they could just have a small party, unveil the car and go home. But because of the huge media attention Schumi brings along, they gonna have a big ceremony! Schumacher, who is currently testing a GP2 car at Jerez, and the other driver Nico Rosberg will unveil the car in the presence of some VIP guests.

As we reported a few hours ago, Michael Schumacher, returning to Formula 1, has officially signed a deal with Mercedes GP Petronas team for 2010 season. So the German team has a German lineup as well with Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, just like their ex-partner McLaren who signed Jensen Button and Lewis Hamilton. Now BBC is the first media getting to talk with Schumi about the deal and his comeback. Hit the jump to watch the interview…

Well, apparently Michael Schumacher’s neck injury is totally gone now and while he couldn’t make a comeback for Ferrari earlier this year, he is in good shape to race again in F1, this time for Mercedes GP. The new Mercedes team has also recently signed Malaysian oil company Petronas as the main sponsor for 2010 season. 40-year-old Schumi who has seven Drivers’ World Championships, 248 Grand Prix starts, 91 victories, 154 podium finishes and 68 pole positions in his resume, used to be a Ferrari made man. But now he is going to do his best to beat the old team! Although it’s hard for Ferrari fans to accept this, but it is really fantastic to have the best driver ever back on track. Good Luck big Schu!

Official Statements:

Michael Schumacher: “MERCEDES GP PETRONAS represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context. It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme. I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula 1 World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula 1 career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star.”

Nico Rosberg: “It is fantastic that Michael is returning to Formula One and will be my team-mate at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS. It’s a great challenge for me to be up against one of the best drivers of all time. I’m sure that we will form a very strong partnership as he will have lost none of his speed! It is also great news for our sport and the fans.”

Ross Brawn, Team Principal of MERCEDES GP PETRONAS: “I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for our MERCEDES GP PETRONAS team. As seven-time World Champion, Michael’s outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again. With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone at MERCEDES GP PETRONAS is extremely excited about the challenge ahead. With the investment and support in our team provided by Daimler, Aabar and our new title partner Petronas, and with two such exciting drivers, we have all of the building blocks in place to have another successful season in 2010.”

Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports: “In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: “It’s about time that I got into Formula 1″. Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven World Championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver. As part of the Mercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael’s talent and they went on to win all seven of his Drivers’ World Championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula 1. It didn’t happen in 1995, it didn’t happen in 1998 and it didn’t happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our ‘apprentice’ of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time.”

picture: lefigaro

Since Mercedes announced acquisition of Brawn GP and re-branded as Mercedes GP formula 1 team, rumors been flying around about their drivers lineup for 2010. And with Jensen Button signing with McLaren creating a double-champ super team with Lewis Hamilton, word got out that Mercedes too is going to make an all-German super team with Nico Rosberg and the retired seven time world champion, Michael Schumacher. That seems unlikely now, as Mercedes team boss Norbert Haug rules out Schumi’s comeback possibility.

But he promises that we all will be surprised by their lineup, and we will like it as well! He said that they have confidentially agreed with their candidates. Herr Haug believes that Schumacher’s return is more like a dream, which they might not be able to fulfill!

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has also seriously doubted Schumi’s big comeback. He says that there’s no reason for Michael to do such thing, and that if something was going on, he would have heard about it so far!

And to kill the last bits of hope for the fans, Schumacher’s management people have also confirmed that there is no negotiation whatsoever!

GMM

picture: autobild

Car enthusiasts and specially Ferrari lovers in the United Arab Emirates and all of Gulf countries had an amazing weekend! The city of Abu Dhabi has also enjoyed some great days as it was on the top of motoring news everywhere, not only because of its inaugural Formula1 Grand Prix on their new circuit, also due to the new Ferrari Theme park which attracts a lot of attention. Officials say that it’s completion and will be opened in 2010.

Anyway, to make these days unforgettable, Ferrari also planned a parade the day before the race, in which more than a hundred Ferraris took part. The parade started from Dubai and went through the country to the Marina circuit at Yas Island. Michael Shumacher and Ferrari president Don Luca were also present at the event.

Press Release:

Followed by a gala evening of celebration at the Yas Hotel with the Ferrari Chairman Luca Di Montezemolo and Michael Schumacher

Dubai, 30th October 2009 – Almost 100 Ferraris blazed a trail across the United Arab Emirates today. Starting out from Dubai, they ended their journey in Abu Dhabi, taking in the stunning Corniche en route. The cars finally pulled up to the Yas Marina Circuit where the participants watched free practice sessions for the first Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The parade was organised by Ferrari Middle East in association with Al Tayer, the official Ferrari importer for the UAE, and the Emirates’ Ferrari Owners’ Club.

Numbering both new and classic Prancing Horse cars, the parade was led by the brand-new Ferrari California, the Maranello front-engined 8-cylinder that is enjoying great success in the Middle East. The cars also stopped off at the showroom of another Made in Italy icon, Poltrona Frau, which is, of course, the official supplier of the luxury leathers used to trim Ferrari interiors.

Here all the participant had the opportunity to meet the Brasilian driver Felipe Massa. Also taking part in the event was Italian Ambassador Claudio Doniosi.

The parade, in fact, was welcomed in celebratory fashion by the area’s entire population.

All of the participants will also be guests at the Evening At the Races, an event organised by Ferrari at the Yas Hotel, where the Chairman of Ferrari Luca di Montezemolo will be present with the 7 times World’s Champion Michael Schumacher, the Scuderia Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Giancarlo Fisichella and Piero Ferrari. This unique event will be attended by 500 selected guests, including the Prancing Horse’s local partners and its clients from the Region.

This video here actually has a funny story! You probably remember the first episode of the last Top Gear season in which Michael Schumacher smashed the lap record of their test track in his Ferrari FXX. Apparently the makers of Ultima GTR, an old school but modern built British supercar, were watching that and got thinking they can do better! However Top Gear crew didn’t give them a chance to prove themselves, so they tricked them and hired the track while TG was off and got busy braking Schumi’s record! Watch it for yourself.

]]> http://www.motorward.com/2009/10/video-ultima-gtr-around-top-gear-test-track/feed/ 0 http://www.motorward.com/2009/09/video-ferrari-458-italia-walkaround-with-schumi/ http://www.motorward.com/2009/09/video-ferrari-458-italia-walkaround-with-schumi/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:43:17 +0000 Arman Barari http://www.motorward.com/?p=7454

Ferrari 458 Italia is about to be revealed at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show and the company is kinda creating the hype for it via promotional pics and videos. This one is a sort of walkaround and who can grab your attention to it better than Ferrari’s tame racing driver, seven time Formula1 world champion, Michael Schumacher himself!

This is bad news and I’m afraid it’s official: Michael Schumacher won’t be able to return to Formula1 because of a neck injury he picked up during a bike race earlier this year! On his own website, Schumi said: “Yesterday evening, I had to inform Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and team principal Stefano Domenicali that unfortunately I’m not able to step in for Felipe”.

He added : ” I really tried everything to make that temporary comeback possible, however, much to my regret it didn’t work out. Unfortunately we did not manage to get a grip on the pain in the neck which occurred after the private F1-day in Mugello, even if medically or therapeutically we tried everything possible.

The consequences of the injuries caused by the bike-accident in February, fractures in the area of head and neck, unfortunately have turned out to be still too severe, That is why my neck cannot stand the extreme stresses caused by Formula 1 yet. These are the clear results of the examinations we did on the course of the past two weeks and the final examination yesterday afternoon. As there were no improvements after the day in Mugello, I decided at short notice on Sunday to do that thorough examination already yesterday.

I am disappointed to the core. I am awfully sorry for the guys of Ferrari and for all the fans which crossed fingers for me. I can only repeat that I tried everything that was within my power. All I can do now is to keep my fingers crossed for the whole team for the coming races.”

Ferrari test driver Loca Badoer is the candidate to fill Massa’s empty position in the upcoming Grand Prix at Valencia.

picture: telegraph

When it was confirmed that Michael Schumacher will take Massa’s position in Scuderia Ferrari for the upcoming race in Valencia, since it’s not legal for teams to have in-season tests, Ferrari asked FIA and FOTA for permissions so Schumi can have a one-off test with the 2009 F60 car before the actual event. FOTA said yes, but now as it turned out, Williams has used its veto power to stop Michael from testing, How pathetic!

According to Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, RedBull and ToroRosso teams also joined Williams in saying no to Ferrari. So Schumi has to continue his practice with his 2007 model car. He will also use Fiat’s Turin simulator, but he has to wait for the Grand Prix to try out the somehow problematic F60!

Since Michael Schumacher is back on track for tests and practices in order to get in shape for the upcoming European Grand Prix in Valencia, he’s been driving a privately owned 2007 F1 car provided by the team’s ‘F1 Clienti’ division. But following Ferrari’s request, FOTA has agreed that Schumi can have a one-off test at the wheel of 2009 F60 car belonging to Felipe Massa.

However teams expect Ferrari to respect their sympathy and do not use Schumi’s test for development purposes! This test would be only a chance for Michael to acquaint with the car.

Meanwhile Schumacher is busy endlessly lapping the Mugello circuit. He said to Ferrari website: “It’s a great thing getting back on the track with an F1 even if this was a car from 2007 from the F1 Clienti department with slicks usually used in GP2 and obviously there is no real point of reference” He added “After a couple of laps I was able to drive constant times and I’m happy with the performance. Now we’ve got to see how my body and the muscles respond in the next days”.

Schumi visits Felipe Massa at the hospital

Today Michael has also paid a 30 minute visit to his old (and kinda current!) teammate Felipe Massa at the AEK hospital in Budapest. Jean Todd, former Ferrari F1 boss and FIA presidential candidate also visited Massa Saturday morning

Fortunately massa is healing fast, he is gaining his full consciousness as he speaks three languages and even cracking jokes occasionally! He will be heading to Brazil soon for a long imposed vacation!

GMM

Michael Schumacher’s come back to Formula 1 is great news for all of us, well save the other drivers on the grid! But most of all it’s good for Schumi himself, because not only he’ll be back on the job he does best and loves most, reportedly he will be getting a very fat salary as well! £3m for every race, that is a cool £1m per day in every Grand Prix!

As you know Michael Schumacher will take Felipe Massa’s position in the Scuderia Ferrari, following Massa’s horrific crash at Hungaroring which left him badly injured. Schumi is now getting on with hard training to sharpen his undeniable skills, in order to be in good shape for the time of European Grand Prix at Valencia.

Michael’s return to F1 will also be a huge publicity opportunity both for Formula1 organization and Ferrari, regardless of his performance in the race.

source: Autotrader.co.uk

Ferrari has confimred that Michael Shumacher will be the one who fill Felipe Massa ‘s empty seat in European Grand Prix in Valencia. Apparently Schumi has been keen to return to F1, but Massa’s crash kinda made him to finalize his thoughts and make the big comeback! 7 times world champion commented:”The most important thing first: thank God, all news concerning Felipe is positive. I wish him all the best again,…

… “I was meeting this afternoon with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo, and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe.

“Though it is true that the chapter of Formula 1 has been completely closed for me for a long time, it is also true that for loyalty reasons to the team I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation. But as the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge.”

Schumi will start training soon to get more accoustomed with the new car and make sure he is still fit enough for a full Grand Prix! So for the first time we will see Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen racing toghether. Specially now that the Ferrari F60 is showing a bit of improvment, it is a great ocassion for the team to score some vital points for the championship.

GMM

Well, that’s what Top Gear’s transmission blog says! Tomorrow night the first episode of the new series 13 of Top Gear, the most coveted car show in the world, will be aired and they say it’s gonna be the best thing ever played on television! It certainly is, but The Stig revealing his identity? You think that’s such a good idea? We know and like him the way he is, and unmasking him would kill all the fun. I don’t care how plays Stig’s role, I just wanna see him hot-lapping supercars! That’s all! But of course this being Top Gear they probably have thought of something truly extraordinary, so it very well can double the fun! A rumor has spread in the web that Stig is the great Michael Schumacher himself! It’s a big claim, but after all, nothing’s impossible! We’ll find out tomorrow Sunday June 21 on BBC2. DON’T MISS IT!

From Top Gear Transmission Blog:

The Mole’s not usually one for open self-congratulation, but since claiming yesterday on this very blog that tomorrow night’s telly show is ‘going to be the best thing that’s ever been on television ever‘, Jeremy has spilled a bean or two about the programme that makes me, well, right.Clarkson has revealed in his Sun newspaper column today that Stig finally shows the world his face.

He said ‘the Stig barges into the studio and in an atmosphere you could cut with a knife, removes his helmet’.

‘As a television moment, it’s up there with Neil Armstrong walking on… the corpse of JR Ewing.’

So, if you needed any more persuasion to tune in at 8pm tomorrow night on BBC 2, this is it.

A year ago Michael Schumacher, world’s best known driver and Formula1 icon, had a go on the track with a Honda CBR superbike which didn’t go very well! He fell off the bike and even had a brief time in hospital. Now though rumor has it that he is bored with his peaceful job in Ferrari and wants to give superbiking another try by competing in German Championship!

According to the source, Willi Weber, Michael’s manager has told German newspaper “Bild” that he will start the season May 29 at Nurburgring!

Everybody knows that Michael Schumacher is the man of track and racing and at 39 he might be too old for Formula but is young enough to be in the business for another couple of years. GT and Le Mans series are good examples where Schumi could participate and satisfy his need for speed and thirst for wining, but apparently he went for the ultimate adrenaline rush, the Superbikes!

If it’s true, it’ll be great to see Schumi back,  but we’d rather see him on four wheels than two!

source: Go-F1 via caradisiac

The great Michael Schumacher,despite being a German, has been a Ferrari made man during his Formula1 time with the family, Since his retirement from racing though, it seems that he is promoted to Capo and he will be the Underboss very soon. Not that I’m likening Ferrari to Mafia! but that’s the way it is! Anyways, It’s been a while since we saw Schumi behind the wheel of a Ferrari, so watching this video of him driving the Scuderia 430, the car he helped developing, is really cool. You find it after the jump …

via egmcartech

Scuderia live picture courtesy of AlainClass

In another soaking wet Grand Prix of 2009 season where the Red Bull team enjoyed a one-two win, Sebastian Vettel made history and became the youngest GP winner of all times. His victory and pole position aside, his flawless driving and his precision, promise a new Michael Schumacher!

Honestly, the track was a mess, there was no visibility at all and safety car had to be deployed many times because of numerous crashes. But the kid was so good and so confident he even overtook the championship leader Jensen Button, after he took the lead when Vettel was in pit, in a very dangerous corner and did it perfectly. In 60 percent of the race he had such a comfortable lead, but he didn’t back off, and kept working hard. He might not be as daring as Lewis Hamilton but his German precision gave him the edge and bought him the title while Hamilton was all over place! Despite being a kid, Vettel acts like a full blooded professional.

After Vettel and Webber with their Red Bulls, came Button and Barichello of the Brawn GP. Still nobody knows how in the world Ross Brawn could make such a winning combination out of a bankrupted team and two losers called Jensen and Rubens! Whatever it is, they are scoring points rapidly and nobody can stop them!

Unfortunately,  the biggest name in the business, Ferrari still has huge troubles with their car. Massa had to retire when his F60 stopped working under safety car again, and Kimi Raikkonen after being humulated by Hamilton three times, finished in 12th position!

We hope the Italian horse get a full recovery for next race in Bahrain, and hopefully there will be no bloody rain this time!

Here’s the race result for 2009 Formula1 Grand Prix of China:

1 Vettel (Red Bull-Renault) 1h57:43.485

2 Webber (Red Bull-Renault) +10.970

3 Button (Brawn GP-Mercedes) +44.975

4 Barrichello (Brawn GP-Mercedes) +1:03.704

5 Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) +1:05.102

6 Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) +1:11.866

7 Glock (Toyota) +1:14.476

8 Buemi (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +1:16.439

9 Alonso (Renault) +1:24.309

10 Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) +1:31.750

11 Bourdais (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) +1:34.156

12 Raikkonen (Ferrari) +1:35.834

13 Kubica (BMW Sauber) +1:46.853

14 Fisichella (Force India-Mercedes) +1 lap

15 Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) +1 lap

16 Piquet (Renault) +2 laps

DNF:

Sutil (Force India-Mercedes)

Nakajima (Williams-Toyota)

Massa (Ferrari)

Trulli (Toyota)

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prince of Dubai, gave retired Formula1 super star a little Christmas present, an Island in the World! If you have no idea what I’m all about, World is an ongoing project at Dubai coast to make a number of man made Islands in shape of the world map. Schumi’s island is reportedly worth $7million and will be located in the southern hemisphere, part of the “Antarctica” island cluster, combine that with multi million dollar ‘Michael Schumacher Skycraper’ in Abu Dhabi, and you realize that UAE governors are huge fans of Micheal !! So Emirates could be the new home for the German?!

source : Jalopnik