Thank You Massa!!!!!

[evorobin]

Massa has to be the unluckiest driver in F1 ever (apart from perhaps Lauda and, of course, those who died), - he should have been champ last year.

The luckiest man in F1 in recent times has to be Hamilton, and in past times Damon Hill, Villeneuve, and Alonso. Why - because although they are all excellent drivers, they lucked into the best cars on debut and didn't have to work too hard for their titles.

The best driver of recent memory is Schumacher, M - why? because he did not luck into the best car at any time in his career, but developed a Ferrari shocker into a multiple winning car over multiple seasons. Only the usual measure of F1 misfortune prevented him from winning perhaps another 3 titles.

I for one will be pleased to see what he can do with the current dog of a car, although it seems to have found a bit of pace at the last race. It's a bit of an ask, though, for a 40yo, but if he doesn't do too well the haters will no doubt be out in force.

In F1 the car will turn you from hero to zero or vice versa in the blink of an eye - just look at this year with Hamilton out of the top 10 for the first half of the season, suddenly up the front, and Jenson Button suddenly nowhere.

What I know about F1 fits onto a postage stamp but didn't Mike drive under Brawn for most of his careet the guy that gave Jenosn Button hope after it took him 150 starts to win a race?

I've seen Schumi drive a kart he's a winner through and through but he's had the right backing also...

[gerhard]

Damo Hill was extremely unlucky the same time The Schue was lucky in 94...You get that when a cheating German drives into you, but his luck changed in 97 when he tried to do it to Villeneuve and ended up taking himself out...Lucky Patrick Head strengthend the suspension for those later encounters!!

Back in those days it was normal to crash and bash. Senna was the worst around that time.

Today's drivers are pussies in comparison.

Cheating German???? I guess for every winner on earth there are thousands of clueless people who "know" they are "cheats".

You should give credit where it's due - and Shumi was the best, his tally of pole positions, wins, titles, podiums - denying it just shows prejudice.

[Arctra]

I'm a Schumi fan, and am very happy to see him make a return to fill Massa's shoes. But lets not kid ourselves. Than man's been out of the sport for a few years, and the reason he was as formidable as he was before retirement had a lot to do with the fact that he was in peak physical condition.

He may still be fit and all, but he can never be in the match-fit state that the other drivers are, and because of that I think we should not expect much more than a great qualifying session, and a good start to the race. After that I reckon the lack of track time, less than ideal car, and improved performance of the Red Bulls and Brawns of this world will get the better of him. I'll be impressed if he manages to podium more than once or twice if he drives teh rest of the season.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see. I'll say one thing though... his return will create an awesome amount of media buzz around the next GP!

[team_v]

It will be good to see what he can do since he has been away from it for so long.

However at the Race of Champions this year he didn't do too well so i assume he will provide a mediocre performance for the races he is in.

[TopBloke]

I'm not saying MS isn't a great driver, I'm with most of you, he is one of or the best driver in F1 but alot has changed and he isn't "match fit". There might be glimpse's of his incredible skills behind the wheel but highly unlikely it will make any difference to the season, which i believe has been the best one for a long time

[Blitzen]

Back in those days it was normal to crash and bash. Senna was the worst around that time.

Today's drivers are pussies in comparison.

Cheating German???? I guess for every winner on earth there are thousands of clueless people who "know" they are "cheats".

You should give credit where it's due - and Shumi was the best, his tally of pole positions, wins, titles, podiums - denying it just shows prejudice.

Hahahaha...I know he was a great driver, but I don't believe he was the greatest...There is only one driver that is, and that is Andrea De Cesaris!!
But maybe I am just prejudice...
To me, MS is like Anthony Mundine, he is great, but you don't want to admit it., and you can't wait to see him fall on his face!!

[Dubdubdubdot]

Rumors that he will receiving 3mil a race.
MS has still been driver and is a key tester and developer in both Ferrari's f1 and normal cars. I reckon he'll freakishly grab a win!

[Spyda]

As if it wasnt boring enough, he has to come back. I was looking forward to see webber on the podium a few more times.

[WABIT]

wow! All these haters!!! I even read a few people calling him a cheat lol, for what? The whole time he has been racing? Wouldnt you think after the 20 odd years of racing and the come and gone drivers who raced against him youd think there would be some body, anybody elce that would either match or beat his performance? Those 7 world titles dont get thrown at you, he obviously earned it.......

its funny because preseason testing this year showed MS the fastest out of both massa and raikonnen

[Rocket36]

LMAO!!! Webber is a one hit wonder... I think it's so funny he has so many Australian fans (most of who don't even watch F1) just because he's Australian.

As for Schumacher not being "match fit", he has been as involved in testing and developing the car as both Massa and Raikonnen. He may not have had any F1 race experience in a few years but there are three huge practice sessions to get used to being around other F1 cars before qualifying and then the race. Not only that, he has always had the ability to start average or poor and finish on the podium.

I think most of the people against Schumacher just don't like that he's as good as he is. But for me, he's a true champion... Sure he has made some poor decisions on and off the track over the years but show me a driver that hasn't.

Can't wait for him to finish near the top of the Championship ladder!