Schumacher Returns!!

If you thought BMW quitting F1 was big news, this shocker will please fans more than anything else. Seven time World Champion Michael Schumacher will return to the F1 cockpit as Felipe Massa's replacement for the Valencia GP, and probably the rest of the season. With F1 going through one of it's worst years you can be sure this will lift the sport to no ends. Talk about a dream pairing with Raikkonen and Schumacher coming together, one thing you can be sure of, there will be fireworks.

Schumacher has done driven an F1 car for over a year now and the question is how long will it take him to get to grips with the car, I believe Schumacher wont make this move without being confident of running with the leaders. He will not put himself in a position to run at the back of the grid. At the same time it will not be easy and am sure everyone will be eager to see what he can do at the next race. The Ferrari's have had podium finishes for the last couple of races and maybe it is Michael that will give them their first win. But with the McLaren resurgence, it could be a Hamilton vs Schumacher vs Raikkonen. Now that would be great for racing. And I am quite sure he can do a lot more with KERS than the other two drivers have done.

There will be people flocking to Valencia to see Schumacher race, not knowing whether he will do any more races this year. With Renault and Alonso banned from Valencia, this might be the boost they need to sell tickets. Still hard to understand how they have banned him from racing at his home GP in Valencia. Anyway that we will save for another day. Speaking of Alonso, he will quite definitely be announced as a Ferrari driver for 2010 alongside Raikkonen.

I am dreaming of Spa 2009 - Alonso vs Schumacher vs Hamilton vs Raikkonen vs Button vs Vettel - NOW that is a race we are all looking forward to..

BMW to quit Formula One at the end of the year

In a shock statement, BMW today announced their exit from Formula One and will not be on the grid from 2010. This is a big blow to the F1 fraternity and their loss is definitely a huge one. With Honda and BMW out, and rumours about Toyota quitting gaining ground, F1 is looking at a grim future.

BMW entered the sport in 1999, supplying Williams with engines for a good six years. Under the abled leadership of Mario Theissen, the team came close to winning the Championship with Williams in 2003, with Juan Pablo Montoya at the wheel. In 2005, the German manufacturer decided to go on their own and bought the Sauber team to form BMW Sauber. While they had some competitive seasons, 2008 gave them their best possibility to win the Championship. They recorded their only win in Canada last year with Robert Kubica as they looked to be genuine title contenders. However, they stopped developement of the 2008 car to concentrate on the 2009 car and were heavily criticized as Kubica came 4th in the Championship. This year the car has been nowhere as competitive as they expected to be, and have languished at the back of the grid for most of the races.

BMW's failure to win the Championship and the current economic crisis have attributed to the German manufacturer pulling the plug on its F1 project. Let us hope that they will be the only manufacturer leaving F1 this year.

Tragedies of Formula One

The last two weeks have been tough times in the world of motorsport. First the tragic death of Formula 2 driver Henry Surtees and then the 'freak' accident involving Felipe Massa. All said and done it is pretty easy to say that is has been one of the worst years in motorsport. Henry Surtees, son of Former Formula One champion, John Surtees was killed at Brands Hatch last Sunday when he was struck on the head by a wheel and tyre of Jack Clark.

This tragedy shook the racing world as safety in motorsports was being questioned again. At the Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying Ferrari's Felipe Massa was hit by a spring from the damper of Rubens Barrichello's Brawn. Both drivers were unconscious and went straight into the barriers ahead. While Surtees was unlucky, Massa is slowly recovering from his crash, not knowing if he will ever race again.

We have all taken safety in racing for granted, as it has been ages since there has been a serious crash. What people have to remember is that motorsports has always been dangerous and will continue to be. Yes these are freak accidents but when you are driving at 200mph the word 'freak' gets taken out. Accidents are inevitable and drivers know that more than anyone else. After Senna's death desperate measures were taken and seem to have paid off, that is until now.

Let us hope that Massa is back next year on the grid in Melbourne and we will all pray to ensure that happens!!

Reporting Live from Nurburgring

As I am actually sitting in the beautiful Eifel Mountains near the town of Nurburg I will try to update the blog as much as possible as we go into this weekends race. As I type the brief rain showers have ceased and the track is dry again for Practice 2. Kovalained has just gone fastest and am sure that is the last time we are gonna see him there for the rest of the weekend. Standing near the first corner Massa just ran wide almost hitting the Toyota in front of him.

Anyway let us not get distarcted here. Karun finished 10th in practice and is all set for qualifying which will start in an hour. The big question there is will it rain? I predict changing conditions which will make it a lottery out there.

Ok will be back later...