SCHUMACHER RETURN THOUGHTS

Here's another thought on the Schumacher return which is not like the others and more like mine. See, I'm not a Schumi fan nor am I a hater (like some people who pretend to be neutral about Lewis Hamilton but are in fact haters). I'll admit that Schumi is a good driver, most drivers are damn good, if not they won't be F1 drivers in the first place.

But I have a feeling that Schumacher might find the going tough as James Allen has put it:

"As e ex F1 driver put it to me last week, “I don’t care if he is Michael Schumacher, when he’s wheel to wheel against Hamilton into a corner his brain is going to say, ‘I’m 41, he’s 24, I’m going to be the one who lifts off here. ‘ It’s human nature and you cannot fight against it.”

And I also agree on some points raised by DoctorVee especially the one about it being a marketing ploy by Mercedes. The name Schumacher generates a lot of interest and it will definitely bring a lot of benefit for Mercedes and their sponsors.

But personally, as much as I'm convinced that Schumacher will have a tough time next year there is also this nagging feeling that he might just surprise everybody with some good performances because of the Mercedes engine and the package that Ross will have put together. Here's hoping that McLaren will do better and Lewis will outgun everybody.

SCHUMACHER : THE RETURN

Well, it had to happen. After all the rumours and posturing, it has been confirmed, by the man himself no less, that Michael Schumacher - the 7 time F1 world champion and undisputed greatest driver of all time (so far, although some people do beg to differ), will return to racing.

He of course will drive for Mercedes GP, even after Norbert Haug and some people at Mercedes/Daimler have said before that they are not looking at an all German team. Hmm, we now have an all German team.

What do I think of his return? It's great news as the show will get interesting. It would definitely be interesting to see whether he still has it in him and how he will adapt to the new cars. Do I think he will be competitive? He certainly seems to think so. But then again all F1 drivers are supremely confident of themselves, if not they won't be where they are. But personally, I'm not so sure he will be competitive unless the car is supreme again like this year. if Button can win it in that car then Schumacher can too.

What I am looking forward to is watching Lewis take on Schumacher. I've always wanted to know how that would work out as does Lewis. Now we'll get our chance and Schumi will be in a good car...hopefully.

Anyway, good luck to Herr Schumi and here's looking forward to seeing him being beaten by Hamilton, Vettel and Rosberg.

Yoong speechless at Petronas deal

Well, finally Petronas signs back into F1 after flirting with a possible move to Sauber to Lotus F1. I knew somehow Petronas wanted to stay in F1 and that the strongest candidate would have been Sauber but I did not expect this at all.

Now all Mercedes will have to use Syntium instead of Mobil 1 and Petronas ads will use Mercs instead of BMW cars. Should be exciting times for Petronas staff as they'll have new merchandise to use. I can't wait to see the new livery and merchandise.

The best piece of news is that Alex Yoong is speechless. Ha ha..what did he expect? That Petronas would just roll over and obey? Support a so called national team? Petronas is not stupid, they have been left in the dark before by these useless glamour hungry idiots and they won't repeat the same mistake.

Yoong said on Twitter:

"Petronas signs with Mercedes GP," he wrote. "Words fail me. Mercedes is a good team, no doubt, but what Lotus is doing is completely ground-breaking and brave and Petronas not seeing that fills me with shame."

What fills me with shame is having the name Alex Yoong associated with F1 and Malaysia in one sentence. BTW Alex, what Lotus is doing is not "ground-breaking and brave", it is either foolhardy or just plain stupid, expecially with all the marketing statements made by the people in the team who have no knowledge of F1. Shame.

Lotus F1 names Trulli, Kovalainen and Fairuz

Finally, the drivers have been named. It was not so much of a surprise to see Trulli confirmed but I was surprised to see Kovalainen there. I'm not sure he'll fit in comfortably though but then again, he has nowhere to go. Better here then nowhere.

Fairuz I think deserves his place now as test and reserve driver. I think he has what it takes and just needs a chance. At least he's better than Alex Yoong as has been proven many times in A1GP and the World Series by Renault.

The funny part of the announcement and I should use the word "stupid" really is that an F1 team line up was made by a Prime Minister of a country. The Lotus F1 driver announcement was actually made by PM Najib with his speech read out by the Sports Minister. Didn't I say it's about glamour?

New points system to be launched in 2010

It is a foregone conclusion that next season will see a change in the points awarded for races. Since there will be more cars on the grid, the FIA has seen it fit to increase points collection positions from 8 to 10 and the points collected for each position also increases.

This is how it works out:

1st: 25

2nd: 20

3rd: 15

4th: 10

5th: 8

6th: 6

7th: 5

8th: 3

9th: 2

10th: 1

This probably will make it more interesting but it would be a chore to be calculating the points and drivers positions on the fly. We'd definitely need a paper and pen handy everytime during a race.

BRITISH GP SAVED

One good news today is that the British GP has been saved with Silverstone being given the rights to host the race for the next 17 years, although it seems that there is a clause for both parties to go separate ways after 10 years. Whatever it is, it's still good news as Silverstone not only has the history of being the first race in the history of the official F1 series but is also a pretty good track.

Lewis Hamilton is happy that the track has been saved and will host more races in future. He won there convincingly in the rain. It would be great to see him racing Button there next year too.

"The place has an atmosphere money can't buy and I have some fantastic memories of the track, winning both races in GP2 in 2006, getting an incredibly emotional and satisfying pole in 07 and winning in the wet in my championship year (2008). "

Lotus F1 appoints Yoong, two others to key posts

Well, it was bound to happen, just a matter of when the announcement would be made. And here it is:

"..former Malaysian F1 driver Alex Yoong as Head of Driver Development (Asia).."

"Yoong and Judge will co-host Lotus F1 Racing’s driver development programme with the aim of nurturing young drivers for future development in Malaysia, Asia and Europe."

I wonder what kind of advice would Yoong be giving - how to spin more than 8 times in a single race perhaps. Or how to be snot nosed in public.

OPINIONS

Well, it has been some time since I've been writing here, it feels like an eternity. I think I stopped just before I went to Abu Dhabi for the inaugural race there. We had 4 simulators going and placed at the new track for Etihad, the title sponsor of the race. It was a blast and I will definitely have to post a story on that with pictures after this.

I guess my 'disappearance' so far has something to do with my personal life. I apologize to my readers for the absence but it seems that my mind has been filled with thoughts of a certain young lady who has captured my heart and attention. F1 being in the off season didn't help either. But I will try to post regularly as much as I can, starting with my opinions on some recent news.

1. Silverstone announcement on Monday

One of the hottest topic around for some time is whether Britain will host a race or not next year. With Donnington bitting the dust, I for one favor Silverstone as it is a challenging track, not to mention the history. And you can't have 2 British world champions back to back and no British GP. Where's the sense in that?

2. Alonso 'better' for Ferrari claims Domenicali

This is a hot one. Stefano Domenicali seems to think that Alonso is in the Schumacher mould and would be better to carry Ferrari development and winning ways. He says that Alonso won't have a problem at Ferrari like he had at McLaren because "At Maranello that will not happen. I can guarantee that." Hmm..a guarantee like that means that Massa has or needs to be tied down and put in his place. What irony then after all the heated exchanges Massa had with Alonso in the past. I like this as Massa is not known to take it sitting down.

3. Ecclestone confident Renault will remain in F1

The rumblings at Renault based on what has happened this year in F1 and in the car world does not bode well for their continued participation. The borad of Renault will meet soon to discuss their position and personally I don't see them continuing next year. The boss of Renault Carlos Ghosn is not known as spending man. I see Renault pulling out, the team being bought by Prodrive (that would be fantastic) and Renault supplying engines.

4. Brawn on Button's McLaren challenge

Again, the topic of Jensen Button leaving Brawn GP and putting his reputation at risk by joining McLaren and jumping into Lewis Hamilton's cage is being talked about. Personally, I don't think Button will survive at McLaren although he will be better at bringing the points home compared to Kovalainnen. even without McLaren being built around Lewis, Button is not of the same calibre and Lewis will run rings around him.

5. Raikkonen inks Citroen WRC deal

Ah Kimi. No surprise this, we all knew that he was forced out of F1 because of his couldn't care less attitude. He is fast but not a team player and he can't talk much. What else was he supposed to do? If you're a Finn and a previous world champion, go rallying.

6. Sauber confirmed as 13th entry

This is a happy piece of news. I'm glad that Sauber got a spot. I think they have a good car for next year and a good team. Hopefully they'll be able to find some good drivers too. Petronas will definitely follow Sauber and not Lotus as they know as much as we do what a disaster Lotus will be with all those political crap attached to it.