Testing! Testing!

[Ralf's Girl]

Didn't he just get a bit too large for the cars?

[JohnSSC]

No offense, but Schumi Lite's ego got too large for the car some time ago and yet he remains a possibility for Force India or somewheres!

Probably easier for a driver to lose a stone or two than to retain a true picture of their actual market value...

[Ralf's Girl]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

No offense, but Schumi Lite's ego got too large for the car some time ago and yet he remains a possibility for Force India or somewheres!

This, of course, is based entirely on rumour and speculation, as nobody has actually said whether they're considering Ralf for a drive or not. Of course, if they are, they can do worse (Sakon Yamamoto, anybody?) than take on somebody with his experience for a year or two. It remains to be seen whether he actually is going to test for Force India (that's going to take some getting used to), a lot of people are just assuming that that's the case.

[av8rirl]

Anyone got a link to todays timed sessions?

[rocketracer]

Originally Posted by JohnSSC

don't forget that Nigel Mansell never officially retired...

haha! yes, quite right you are John!

and neither did Channoch Nissany!

Word has it that the queues are lining up outside the Force india garage, and there are lots of cameras around with the possibility it'll be televised as a reality tv series called 'Formula Idol'...

[Bononi]

Oh my...

[crmalcolm]

Originally Posted by rocketracer

Word has it that the queues are lining up outside the Force india garage, and there are lots of cameras around with the possibility it'll be televised as a reality tv series called 'Formula Idol'...

Do we get to vote the winner?? Maybe a Ten-Tenths poll to decide.

[Ralf's Girl]

Well that's Ralf out of the running, then.

[ljakse]

Originally Posted by av8rirl

Anyone got a link to todays timed sessions?

http://en.f1-live.com/f1/en/headline...13184922.shtml

[mrsweety]

http://www.duemotori.com/news/f1/198...m_-_report.php

[Ralf's Girl]

I really don't see it - I think Schumacher's test is just a test so that Ferrari can make use of his expertise. He has a job for life at Ferrari, he's not going to come out of retirement to join a rival team.

[jab]

He's still under contract until 2009, isn't he?

He was top again today

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1.21.486 90
2. de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:21.857 60
3. Kovalainen Renault (B) 1:21.894 65
4. Massa Ferrari (B) 1:22.044 56
5. Paffett McLaren-Mercedes (B) 1:22.293 57
6. Rosberg Williams-Toyota (B) 1:22.333 64
7. Coulthard Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:22.555 74
8. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber (B) 1:22.946 102
9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota (B) 1:23.031 77
10. Vettel Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.187 74
11. Chandhok Red Bull-Renault (B) 1:23.255 57
12. Button Honda (B) 1:23.358 79
13. Trulli Toyota (B) 1:23.465 54
14. Kubica BMW-Sauber (B) 1:23.488 37
15. Davidson Super Aguri-Honda (B) 1:23.547 80
16. Filippi Honda (B) 1:23.596 74
17. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari (B) 1:23.753 72
18. Montagny Toyota (B) 1:23.977 45
19. Klien Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:24.446 56
20. Sutil Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:23.537 105
21. Liuzzi Force India-Ferrari (B) 1:24.555 55

[Bononi]

Just for fun...

[Davhut]

Honda's got a lot of money too, don't they? And Ross Brawn.
I don't think we've seen the last of MS racing an F1 car.
If Ladbrooke's are offering odds, I might take McL/Merc first and Honda #2.

[jab]

I think you're being very hasty. The 2008 car is already built. Prawn won't make a difference until mid-2008, if not until 2009 itself. I don't expect to see Honda regularly winning races until then at the earliest. That said, we don't even know how he'll manage as boss. He could be crap. Perhaps it'll end up like his first time - FARCE/Beatrix Potter/Ass-Lola-Ford

[Davhut]

I do think Brawn will have a significant influence on this years car.

Originally Posted by jab

like his first time - FARCE/Beatrix Potter/Ass-Lola-Ford

I saw that Beatrice car race twice and I truly believe without the chaos of the backing corporation changing chairmen (kind of like Renault), they had a competitive form for the next year. It was bloody fast and I think one of those two guys, maybe AJ, finished on the podium. There was nothing wrong with that effort, the chassis was right on and the motor was coming good.

Back to MS though. If he's just playing around, it's the ultimate toyland!

[Chiefy]

Could you just confirm that Klien finished ahead of Sutil? Their best laps (as written) suggest Sutil was the quicker.

Chandhok looks to be giving it some welly down there. Not much of an effort from Kubica where speed goes, it seems - but he did only do a few laps relative to most runners (including Schumacher and the aforementioned Sutil, who looks to have passed the ton).

On the Brawn issue, I would say: Spyker managed to introduce a 'B' spec car halfway through 2007 - but Honda has bucketloads of cash waiting to be spent, so I don't see why Ross Brawn can't introduce something decent (more decent than the Spyker B spec) by mid-season 2008, at the latest. The drivers are capable of good results in good cars - so Brawn's influence will tell when Button and Barrichello start hasslin' the top eight.

Interesting stuff, as always!

[ss_collins]

Financially a Schumacher return in '08 makes a lot of sense, media interest in the Schumacher vs Hamilton showdown will be huge! Lewis has already stated hes up for taking on the German fellow, I think he needs to issue a statement that basically says , come and have a go if you think your fast enough!

[JohnSSC]

But not financially for Michael!

I think that like everything else, once Michael has made up his mind about something, especially retirement, that is it. He has nothing left to prove and as he gets older, he will simply be less able to consistently demonstrate his abilities.

He retired at a good time: he had shown he still was more than capable of hanging with the best rather than circulating with the rest.

PS - nice to see Ant's times holding up against the newcomer, S Bourdais and that they were solidly mid-pack...

[JeremySmith]

Good post JohnSSC..I agree Michael is done and he retired with dignity.

[FPV GTHO]

Originally Posted by Chiefy

On the Brawn issue, I would say: Spyker managed to introduce a 'B' spec car halfway through 2007 - but Honda has bucketloads of cash waiting to be spent, so I don't see why Ross Brawn can't introduce something decent (more decent than the Spyker B spec) by mid-season 2008, at the latest.

I think Brawn and Honda alike would rather a more traditional development route. The B spec idea i think is more the working of Gascoyne than Spyker as a whole. He liked doing them with Toyota afterall.

[rocketracer]

Originally Posted by FPV GTHO

I think Brawn and Honda alike would rather a more traditional development route. The B spec idea i think is more the working of Gascoyne than Spyker as a whole. He liked doing them with Toyota afterall.

yeah exactly, and neither did they work when at toyota or when at spyker.

It always smacks of an underdone, and inadequate 'A' spec car IMO... add to that - usually, when the 'B' spec car comes, a team never has enough time to understand it to extract enough performance out of it (or the car tends to be unreliable)...

the 'B' spec car has proven itself to be a poor recipe for success... and i would be very suprised if Brawn does choose that path rather than just being patient and developing a watertight car for 09.

[FPV GTHO]

Well the extra development needed to take such a large step usually comes at the cost of the teams normal development rate. Spyker last year i think originally wanted the B spec to be more revolutionary than it eventually was, but chose to go with something a bit toned down so they could still bring in some updates leading into the debut of the revised car .

[Red Bulldog]

Today's Test Times
http://www.pitpass.com/fes_php/pitpa...s_art_id=33405

[Red Bulldog]

Kovalainen cut the chicane on his fast lap so he is now listed as 2nd.