would be like armstrong all over again except he'd prob nick a couple of wins

As much as I'd like to see it I don't think it will happen. Gene will probably step up from test driver.

Or Alonso could be drafted in? Would seem like an odd thing for Renault to do though, depending I suppose on who they'd get in to partner Piquet (if he's still there!)

…seeing as Piquet has just said Flavio 'doesn't know shit about F1', then you can be pretty certain he'll be watching the next race on telly!

Between Marc and Luca I'd say.

I can't imagine for a moment Renault letting Alonso drive for Ferrari in Valencia

There's absolutely no chance of anyone other than Marc Gené or Luca Badoer stepping in [at least in the short term]

This is a story as a result of Nikki Lauder saying he'd [Shumacher] be the best bet

Alonso may now be in for 2010 though if Massa is out for good

Good Lord NO!!!!!! Boring, boring, boring!

Remember the Scumacher years when everyone watched the race for 2nd or 3rd? No thanks!

…seeing as Piquet has just said Flavio 'doesn't know shit about F1', then you can be pretty certain he'll be watching the next race on telly!

Ha! Actually I do kind of feel sorry for Piquet but you can't blame Renault for getting rid of him really, he's consistently under-performed this season (even allowing for last season to settle in).

As unlikely as it is, I'd love to Schumacher return. The reason he was winning constantly for such a long time was partly because he was/is a brilliant driver but also because Ferrari were years ahead of the other teams in their car design. Be interesting to see how "Schumy" would get on with the cars of today, just for a race or two.

Whilst Piquet's results haven't been great he is up against the best driver in F1 with Alonso and the worst boss in F1 with Briatore. I hope he gets a chance with another team where he's more comfortable.

I wonder if Grosjean knows what he's letting himself in for?

Anyone that thinks Schumacher could jump in a car on a Friday morning & be up to speed with it by Saturday afternoon is living in cloud cuckoo land.

He was [is] a very good driver but part of what made him so good was the attention to detail & everyone around him embraced his [& Ross Brawn's] MO
He couldn't just take over Massa's people & gel with them that quickly – if at all.

If he were to jump in the car in 3 weeks time, I think he'd be lucky to make it into quali 2

& for that reason, I think he's out

I wonder if Grosjean knows what he's letting himself in for?

Briatore really is a cock – he didn't even bother watching Piquet last weekend, as soon as Alonso retired he got in his plane & went home

Schumacher like a bad smell that never goes away, I can't take away his achievements, but I could not stomach seeing that smug arrogant **** racing again.

autosport…
Manager rules out Schumacher return

By Jonathan Noble and Michele Lostia Tuesday, July 28th 2009, 12:50 GMT

Michael Schumacher's manager Willi Weber has moved quickly to deny speculation that the German driver could make a shock return to Formula 1.

With Ferrari set to begin its hunt for a temporary replacement for the injured Felipe Massa, Schumacher's name has been mentioned because of his long-standing links to the Italian team.

The rumours intensified after his spokeswoman said that he would 'consider' any offer to drive the car if the team approached him.

However, following meetings between Schumacher and Weber at the seven-time world champion's Geneva home on Monday, talk of the German making a racing comeback has been dismissed.

Weber told The Daily Mail: "Whoever sits in the car at the next race in Valencia, it will not be Michael Schumacher. I am not 100 per cent sure; I am 200 per cent sure.

"The pressure on him would be huge. He would be expected to win, but he has not driven this car. When Michael was racing he would get as close to perfection as possible. In this case, it would not be perfection; it would be a gamble – and that's not Michael's style."

The news about Schumacher comes on the back of encouraging progress with Massa's recovery at the AEK Hospital in Budapest.

The Brazilian's personal doctor Dino Altman said on Tuesday that he was hopeful Massa's eye had not suffered any damage in the crash – as had been initially feared.

"Felipe has opened his left eye and he can see," Altmann told ANSA. "There's no apparent damage. The eye is morphologically healthy."

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali visited Massa in hospital on Tuesday and was upbeat about how the driver was.

"He has recognised me and told me he can't remember anything," he said. "Felipe is making encouraging progress so we look forward to his return soon. The future? We'll try to understand how he reacts, then we'll take our decisions."

Impossible for Schu to return for many many reasons.

Remember when Mansell returned? 😆 forgetting the fat comments on Mansell- the cars have changed since Schu's last season. It'd take him a few races to adjust. I bet you a tenner hes secretly testing but I think it'll reveal that hes a couple of seconds adrift.

Wild card……. Valentino Rossi?????????

Wild card……. Valentino Rossi?????????

That would be cool… does he have a licence?

Trolling zoo fighter, master of cars

Who is going to test cars for top gear then? 😉

Rossi? That would be way cool!

That would be cool… does he have a licence?

No, but he has done a fair few testing miles, so it would not be out of the question.

I suspect it will either be Gene, Bourdais or Hülkenberg. Would love to see Alonso, but probably a 1% or less chance of that happening.

Briatore really is a cock – he didn't even bother watching Piquet last weekend, as soon as Alonso retired he got in his plane & went home

Would have done the same, he is a cocky little shit who simply isn't up to scratch, with by all accounts a very irritating and medaling father. Flav's success speaks for itself.

…could be a chance to get a Villeneuve back in a Ferrari!

Schtmacher lost his superlicense earlier this year

They should give the ex-champions a drive in the Ferrari, Schui, Mansell, Hill, Etc.. Or at least do a F1 ROC.

I don't think Schu will return, would be bloody brilliant if he did!

Schtmacher lost his superlicense earlier this year

Careless of him . . . bet its down the back of his sofa.

lol @ muffinman

They should give the ex-champions a drive in the Ferrari, Schui, Mansell, Hill, Etc.. Or at least do a F1 ROC.

I don't think Schu will return, would be bloody brilliant if he did!

Yeah then he could cheat against Hill again. Any one who cheats to win loses any respect. I wonder how many of his cheats back then werent detected compared to his black flags, secret launch control on his Beneton (that wasnt active honest when it was found), swerves into other drivers inc Hill and Villneuve, etc? Someone who would win at almost any cost. Pity. He did have talent but it was shrouded by what he would do to win.

Glad to see the back of him.

Looks like Kubica could be a free agent as well!!…

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/77398

…I wonder when Toyota will pull out!?

Even if Rossi did get a super license (which given his lack of 4 wheel circuit racing experience is doubtful) there's no way he could do F1 and MotoGP.

I'm sure Schumacher could get a super license no trouble.

I bet you a tenner hes secretly testing

I'll take you up on that, hora.

To be perfectly fair to you, I should point out that this year's rules mean that he's not allowed to do any testing other than in a straight line (I doubt it would be possible for him to get away with doing it secretly – Ferrari certainly wouldn't take the risk). That indeed is one of the problems he has – unless he's spent any time in the car pre-season, the first time he'd get to corner in it would be on the Friday of race weekend.

Those rules also explain why Alguersuari had only driven an F1 car in a straight line. That and why it's very difficult to get anybody in who hasn't already either driven for another team, or done pre-season testing.

Alguersuari did very well after all IMO. How many rookies have crashes out/DNF even with testing under their belt?!! 🙂

aracer – there are ways round it (i'm guessing though)- test last seasons car and compare lap times to current drivers prev times (and Ferrari testdrivers times)?

He doesnt have to be podium material- the sponsor's/fans will go crazy for the merchandise!

Sorry for the rant. I had to endure watching him against Hill. Arguably a double British World Champion.

aracer – there are ways round it (i'm guessing though)- test last seasons car and compare lap times to current drivers prev times (and Ferrari testdrivers times)?

Is the bet on then?

I don't think you can even test last year's cars & as the cars aren't similar I'm unsure what that would achieve anyway

Why on earth would he come back to finish 10th or something?

oh, & if you have another tenner – I'll take it

It would at least make sure he is race fit.

I bet you a tenner hes secretly testing

Yep, I'll take that bet too. I'd love to know where he's testing an F1 car with no one noticing – maybe Ferrari's secret underground circuit? 🙄

Alguersuari did very well after all IMO.

Never said he didn't – was just providing the explanation for why he'd only driven an F1 car in a straight line, as was being widely reported. Of course if he had driven round some corners before Friday, he might have done rather better.

Yeah there is no way he is, it would be a blatant contravention of the rules.

You can test older cars (IIRC not last years) but testing an old car is kind of useless.

He is a cheating c***, but imo one example of his cheating was NOT Adelaide 1994, it was a dumb lunge from Hill, Shuey would have had to retire, he should have just waited.

You can test older cars (IIRC not last years) but testing an old car is kind of useless.

That must get kind of funny, since it would be an easy way to bend the rules by testing something new.

In any case, it would be pretty useless – totally impossible to determine by doing that whether Schumi would be as fast as the current test drivers at driving the current car, since it ignores the familiarity they have with the current car.

If Schuey comes back then he might take out Button;-)

Seriously, MS I understand was really fit when he was in F1, unlikely he is still in that condition after a couple of years out. Can't see him settling to be an alsoran.

2+2 doesn't = 5. All this speculation has come about because Massa can't race at the next GP (at least) so some bright spark suggests Schumacher and there you go, it's a fact. Can you imagine Kimi playing 2nd fiddle to him? "move over Kimi and let the glorious ex-champ through" "Er th adio nt rking….".