Michael Schumacher stays silent as rumours of return with Mercedes gather pace
So long as there remains a chance that Michael Schumacher might return to Formula One, the speculation and rumours about the sport’s most successful driver are not going to go away.
The moment Jenson Button announced his strange decision to leave Mercedes Grand Prix — formerly Brawn GP — for pastures new at McLaren, the Formula One grapevine started humming with suggestions that Button’s former team principal, Ross Brawn, had approached Schumacher to replace him.
It would, after all, be another one of those Schumacher fairytales. In the summer, he wanted to help out at Ferrari when his friend Felipe Massa suffered serious head injuries in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. But that comeback was ultimately thwarted by a neck injury that the German legend sustained while racing a motorbike this year.
Now the seven-times world champion has the chance to do a favour for his former technical director at Ferrari in Brawn, who is short of high-quality options in his search for a team-mate for Nico Rosberg. And who is to say he will not answer the call, even if — at the age of 41 — a full 19-race season in 2010 could well be testing Schumacher’s resilience to the limits?
In Germany yesterday, a little more fuel was added to the fire. With the famously taciturn driver away at a karting event in Las Vegas, it fell to his long-time manager, Willi Weber, to keep the guessing game alive. Speaking to a German press agency, he said he was sure that Schumacher had had talks with Dr Dieter Zetsche, head of Mercedes-Benz and Norbert Haug, who runs the company’s motor-sport division, at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
From the former Brawn team there was no word yesterday. Ross Brawn is believed to be on holiday and a final decision may not be made for some time. In addition to Schumacher, the team are known to have taken soundings with Kimi Raikkonen’s management, and Nick Heidfeld, and it will also be watching the situation at Renault carefully. If the French car manufacturer pulls out of Formula One, Brawn may snap up Robert Kubica, the highly rated Polish driver, who is signed up to the Renault team.
Schumacher’s official spokeswoman, Sabine Kehm, was hedging her bets last night. “My personal opinion has really not changed,” she said. “I can see lots of tempting things in it for Michael, but I can also see a lot of non-tempting things. I don’t know. It is as it was in August [with the Ferrari comeback] when you couldn’t tell what was going to happen. Then I was convinced Michael would never come back and, suddenly, all the circumstances were right for him. I still think it is unlikely, but you never know.”
Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone reiterated yesterday his view that next year’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone is perilously close to being scrapped from the schedule. “They had a contract in place that they could have signed if they’d wanted to, but they haven’t,” Ecclestone, Formula One’s commercial rights-holder, said of Silverstone’s management. “At the moment there is no British Grand Prix.
“I think December 9 is when the Formula One commission meets, so that’s when it will be taken off the calendar. If there’s no contract in place, there won’t be a British Grand Prix.”
Eddie Jordan has said the same thing which Michal's manager Willi Weber is saying that Michal have meetings with Haug, Dieter Zetsche and Brawn in Abu Dhabi in an interview to 5live in England. Now if they have talks with Michal before the last GP of previous season then why Brawn and Nick Fry were shocked to see Button left the team to join McLaren because there are rumours Mercedes have told Button they don't need him or Mercedes don't want Button but Nick Fry and Brawn wants him. Also there is another rumour that Nick Fry is about to be fired from the team.
Another far fetched rumour is Mercedes are trying to buy Vettel from RedBull in return they will provide Mercedes engines to RedBull. As Mercedes has decided to sell their McLaren shares they don't need McLaren's approval for supplying engines to another customer team.
So, Kamui Kobayashi could be joining Robert Kubica in Renault next season. Here are the original link and google translation of that:
Kamui Kobayashi chez Renault en 2010 ?
Révélation de la fin de saison 2009, le pilote japonais Kamui Kobayashi pourrait rejoindre le Renault F1 Team en 2010. Suite au départ de Toyota de la F1, le pilote aurait le soutien de plusieurs sponsors japonais.
Réalisant de superbes débuts en Formule 1 lors du GP du Brésil, à Interlagos, ou il disputera une bonne position avec le - futur - champion du monde Jenson Button ; mais aussi à Abu Dhabi, marquant ses premiers points en F1, le pilote japonais Kamui Kobayashi serait bien placé pour rejoindre Robert Kubica au sein du Renault F1 Team la saison prochaine, annonce AutoHebdo cette semaine. Plusieurs anciens sponsors de Toyota seraient prêts à le suivre.
Parmi ces sponsors japonais, le géant de l’électronique grand public Panasonic, très investi chez Toyota avant son arrêt. On parle également de KDDI, un grand opérateur de télécommunications.
Un point à ne pas négliger pour Renault, en manque de sponsors importants pour 2010.
Google Translation
Revelation of the end of 2009 season, the Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi may join the Renault F1 Team in 2010. Following the departure of Toyota F1, the driver would have the support of several sponsors of Japan.
Realizing stunning debut in Formula 1 at the Brazilian GP at Interlagos, where he will play a good position with the - future - world champion Jenson Button, but also in Abu Dhabi, marking its first points in F1, the Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi is well placed to join Robert Kubica in the Renault F1 team next season, announced this week Autohebdo. Several former sponsors Toyota would be willing to follow.
Among these Japanese sponsors, the giant consumer electronics, Panasonic, very invested in his Toyota before stopping. It also speaks of KDDI, a leading telecommunications.
A point to be considered for Renault, lack of major sponsors for 2010.
