The Unofficial Formula 1 Blog

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1. Haas 10.15.06 / 10am

   When Senna died and Prost retired everyone said the samething that F1 will find it hard to recover and it did thanks to Michael. In 2007 when Michael leaves I guess the pecking order will sort itself out. Frankly I consider worrying about this quiet pointless, no matter what we have to wait atleast 6 months(maybe 1 year) to get a good answer.

   With regard to who might be a big star. Alonso still has the language barrier, he is not that confident speaking english but the upside is that he has earned a lot of respect from his collegues. He was practically pushed into the chairman’s seat(which was held by Michael) in the GPDA, which is ironic considering he had not attended a single meeting in a long time! He seems to be taking over from Michael from more that one place, maybe he will do well here as well. I would not put my money on that though.

   Button is a better bet. He is experienced and has a very good charm factor going for him. Not to mention he is popular and very vocal and diplomatic in the way he speaks. Button would be a great new face for F1 in my opinion.

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2. JTM 10.16.06 / 7am

   I agree Button seems like a good candidate for the GPDA head, but I doubt the fans care about that, really. They want to see the stars duking it out all over the world. “Part-time” fans might lose interest because of Michael’s departure, but then again they might get interested again because they want to see if anyone can fill his shoes. If we see close championships between Alonso and Kimi over the next couple of years it might be great for the sport. For the past decade it has almost been a foregone conclusion that Michael is the best driver out there, now there may be actual competition for that title!

   I for one am looking forward to the post Michael era. He has proven himself to be the best ever (argue if you must, but the win total says it all), but it’ll be nice to see some new faces and new rivalries.

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3. Shashank 10.17.06 / 8am

   Well, Micheal had a lot of charisma which will be suddenly gone. I don’t see Alonso or Raikonnen to be that charismatic. I doubt if they would be good ambassadors of the sport. Button does seem to possess a hint of it, but he’s not world champion material. But given the circumstances, I feel that Button could very well rise to the occassion.

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4. Virtual Dave » Formula One 2007 10.18.06 / 7am

   [...] So the Unofficial Formula One Blog is asking what the future holds for Formula One; specifically what will happen to the “star” power now that Michael Schumacher is retiring. This is along the lines that I have been thinking about: predicting for next year. [...]

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5. Neeraj 10.18.06 / 3pm

   The question is “Will Button rise to the occasion ?” Frankly I don’t see that happen, he’s been in sport for long and really hadn’t risen to the hype that was created around him initially.

   Alonso [atleast currently] is too hot-headed, he will get the spotlight for 3 reasons. First when he wins a GP in McLaren, which would be a miracle looking at McLaren’s performance this year. Second, when everyone will compare his drive for Renault and McLaren and that is bound to happen. And thirdly, whenever he will open his mouth [as he did this year].

   We feel Kimi is too cold to keep himself in spotlight for long. Whatever he will get will be comparison with Schumacher driving for Ferrari by the German & Italian press.

   The new lot [Heiki, Kubica, Hamilton, etc] will take around one year [atleast] to get themselves settled down. There are going to be a few flash-in-the-pan like Nico, but that’s what it might be.

   All said, we still believe we will see Schumacher next year as well in Ferrari overalls in the circuits, though not in the race seat. He is too valuable a person for Ferrari [motivationally & from sponsors point of view] to give him the pleasure to watch GPs from the luxury of his home. So everyone will get an extended period of an year [nearly] to prove themselves as true replacement for Schumacher.

   There is going to be someone who will replace him, undoubtly, The million-dollar question for us is WHEN ?

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6. Taker 10.20.06 / 4pm

   If we are talking about a replacement for Michael on track, we already have Alonso and Kimi. Kimi is yet to win a championship but is known to be fast and ALonso has proven himself to be one of the coolest customer on track. So , if people are looking for on track excitement , they are not going to be disappointed. But if we need someone to replace Michael off the track as a general ambassador for the sport, I think we would be waiting a long long time. In my opinion, Michael is perhaps the most complete driver ever in Formula 1 ( and that includes the fiercely competitve spirit that sometimes lead him to do unsportive acts on the track ). He was a true team player who could galvanize the team around him and push them to perform at the best level. I dont think ALonso or Kimi to be at that level. Alonso is good when everything is going well for him but his comments against his team recently werent the kind of motivation a team needs. Kimi on the other hand is too cool and thinks that his job is only to drive the car as fast as he can.
   Love him or hate him, you cannot deny the fact that Michael was a crowd puller and a great ambassador to the sport. You cannot expect a driver who says he doesnt think F-1 is a sport anymore when things go against him , to be a good ambassador for the sport.
   In a few years probably, ALonso is going to be a good ambassador for the sport. But as of now , he is a superb racer on the track but a JV style big mouth off it. Kimi is a good racer and little else. Button is a good ambassador for the sport but isnt good enough on the track to be a representative of the sport. The others are either too old or too young an inexperienced to represent the sport.
   So, in my opinion, people are going to miss Michael more for what he was to the sport off the track than for what he was on the track. On the track, the driving would still be of the level that you could expect from a sport that calls itself the pinnacle of motorsport.

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7. Cyrus Poncha 11.12.06 / 2am

   let the 2007 season begin, we wil be engrossed in the new teams due to the driver changes as well as the new engine and tyre rules.

   its enuf to keep us occupide

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8. Cyrus Poncha 11.12.06 / 2am

   maybe valentino rossi shud join 2007 midway if we are getting bored

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9. Formula 1 news, comment and analysis from F1Fanatic » Blog Archive » F1 in the blogs 2.6.07 / 10pm

   [...] happens the irreplacable Schumacher will leave behind a enduring legacy at Ferrari – and can expect one hell of a [...]

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