The Official F1 2021 silly season *contains speculation*
Discussion
MontyPythonX said:
Tripe Bypass said:
Would Schumacher's management want him to go to Alfa Romeo and see what happens when he goes up against Bottas? At this stage in his career he is likely to be out-qualified nearly every race. It's not impossible that Schumacher will never be at Bottas' level, let alone absolute top-flight.
I agree that for the first part of the season he'd probably be out-qualified, but I think Mick would be able to learn so much from sharing a garage with Bottas that it would be the better option of the 2 in my opinion.It's not like Schumacher has been promoted to F1 prematurely. I hope I'm wrong but I can't see him ever going to Ferrari and matching Leclerc.
He has taken a couple of years each time to progress, so I can see this is in "those who control his destiny"'s thinking.
We've heard Sainz say that a new team is like racing in a different category. Two average year-1s in a team could be enough to get Mick shown the F1 door as a nice side story. Two years to build, in a team he has got used to, decent move.
Not sure how much bs it is but heard a clip of Mazepin's interview with Tom Clarkson on Beyond the grid - there seems to be some conciliatory words coming out. He also admitted the last goof was his fault and i was right he got penalised.
Wondering if Gunther has had "the chat" and Mick thinks it will subside a bit next year as Mazepin calms down a bit. But if you've only got one person to race, you're sure as hell going to race them.
We've heard Sainz say that a new team is like racing in a different category. Two average year-1s in a team could be enough to get Mick shown the F1 door as a nice side story. Two years to build, in a team he has got used to, decent move.
Not sure how much bs it is but heard a clip of Mazepin's interview with Tom Clarkson on Beyond the grid - there seems to be some conciliatory words coming out. He also admitted the last goof was his fault and i was right he got penalised.
Wondering if Gunther has had "the chat" and Mick thinks it will subside a bit next year as Mazepin calms down a bit. But if you've only got one person to race, you're sure as hell going to race them.
I would guess that possibly there's money to be made from the Schumacher name, provided he is in F1.
Having a relatively easy to beat teammate will avoid him looking bad, so keeps him in the paddock.
If he was dropped in next to Bottas and didn't perform well, it might start to draw unfavourable comparisons with his father - who is after all a nearly impossible talent to live up to.
At some point though he'll have to be promoted to a better team and won't be able to get an easy ride - I guess the hope is he'll have achieved a decent enough level of skill that even if he's not as good as his father (how many are?) he at least won't embarrass himself. A Hulk or a Perez rather than a Mazepin or Nissany.
Having a relatively easy to beat teammate will avoid him looking bad, so keeps him in the paddock.
If he was dropped in next to Bottas and didn't perform well, it might start to draw unfavourable comparisons with his father - who is after all a nearly impossible talent to live up to.
At some point though he'll have to be promoted to a better team and won't be able to get an easy ride - I guess the hope is he'll have achieved a decent enough level of skill that even if he's not as good as his father (how many are?) he at least won't embarrass himself. A Hulk or a Perez rather than a Mazepin or Nissany.
Leithen said:
I suspect the last thing Mick Schumacher wants is an easy ride. He, rather like his father, wants to win, and given the right machinery will do so.
I think that is the case for all F1 drivers 
But my point is that his track record is not like e.g. Russell who won F4 first time out, GP3 first time out and F2 first time out (and didn't do too badly in F3). Schumacher needed a learning year each time. Couple that with the extra attention from his name and I think it makes sense to give him time to get those "learning years" out the way when no-one expects him to achieve much. Not many casual viewers really notice the F2 or F3 results so his track record at the moment can be "Schumacher's son, who has toiled in a team that sits at the back of the grid and comprehensively beat his team mate".
If he was thrown straight into Alfa this year and came off poorly compared with Bottas then the narrative would be more awkward. It's less about the driver and more about the sponsors, who I suspect would much prefer to be able to tout "Son of the GOAT, next big thing, serving his apprenticeship at the back of the grid" instead of "good but not great driver in a midfield team who might grab a win here or there, if his teammate doesn't get there first"
That's what I'm driving at - the money behind the scenes and how PR people can spin it when negotiating for sponsorships. Does that make sense?
Flooble said:
But my point is that his track record is not like e.g. Russell who won F4 first time out, GP3 first time out and F2 first time out (and didn't do too badly in F3). Schumacher needed a learning year each time. Couple that with the extra attention from his name and I think it makes sense to give him time to get those "learning years" out the way when no-one expects him to achieve much. Not many casual viewers really notice the F2 or F3 results so his track record at the moment can be "Schumacher's son, who has toiled in a team that sits at the back of the grid and comprehensively beat his team mate".
Exactly, the best drivers (excluding Max who never really won anything before F1) seem to win GP3 first time, progress to F2 and win that first time, think George, Lewis and Charles.The drivers who take a couple of years to learn each championship and then win tend to not be that good in F1, think Jolyon Palmer.....
MontyPythonX said:
Tripe Bypass said:
Would Schumacher's management want him to go to Alfa Romeo and see what happens when he goes up against Bottas? At this stage in his career he is likely to be out-qualified nearly every race. It's not impossible that Schumacher will never be at Bottas' level, let alone absolute top-flight.
I agree that for the first part of the season he'd probably be out-qualified, but I think Mick would be able to learn so much from sharing a garage with Bottas that it would be the better option of the 2 in my opinion.Piginapoke said:
I can't see anything that Schumacher has done to mark him out as a special talent. Have I missed something?
He has one more F2 Championship to his name than you? But seriously it's impossible to judge in a Haas. Until he gets into a proper car that will either cement or undermine his reputation. See Bruno Senna
Oh and before everyone piles in with nuances of how his championship was not definitive enough the history books only record who won. Remember Rosberg Sr in 1982
Edited by cgt2 on Friday 24th September 20:49
Stan the Bat said:
Piginapoke said:
I can't see anything that Schumacher has done to mark him out as a special talent. Have I missed something?
He beat Mazepin.
If he happened to be the finest F1 driver ever to live, he would still be at the back only able to beat his comedy team mate.
And the poor sod has another year of this arrangement now!
(for the record, after following his junior career - I don't actually think he's anything special. Commercially attractive because of the name though).
Leithen said:
I’d also be very surprised if Mick’s management weren’t also working hard to keep as many options open as possible. It’s not only Ferrari that they have strong links to….
The problem for any FDA driver, Mick included, is that LeClerc is definitely the present and future top dog in the Ferrari team. With a long career ahead and with his level of talent (outstanding 2019 against Vettel) anyone else is competing for an eventual #2 spot in the big team.TheDeuce said:
In fairness it's impossible to demonstrate any level of skill in F1 when your car is an absolute turd and your team mate is worse than turd.
.
George Russell managed to look pretty competent against Kubica (who is arguably better than turd) in the definitely turd Williams .
Nickp82 said:
TheDeuce said:
In fairness it's impossible to demonstrate any level of skill in F1 when your car is an absolute turd and your team mate is worse than turd.
.
George Russell managed to look pretty competent against Kubica (who is arguably better than turd) in the definitely turd Williams .
Mick may just be a slow burner... his name will give him the time so we'll see. Nothing to see right now though.
Joey Deacon said:
Flooble said:
But my point is that his track record is not like e.g. Russell who won F4 first time out, GP3 first time out and F2 first time out (and didn't do too badly in F3). Schumacher needed a learning year each time. Couple that with the extra attention from his name and I think it makes sense to give him time to get those "learning years" out the way when no-one expects him to achieve much. Not many casual viewers really notice the F2 or F3 results so his track record at the moment can be "Schumacher's son, who has toiled in a team that sits at the back of the grid and comprehensively beat his team mate".
Exactly, the best drivers (excluding Max who never really won anything before F1) seem to win GP3 first time, progress to F2 and win that first time, think George, Lewis and Charles.The drivers who take a couple of years to learn each championship and then win tend to not be that good in F1, think Jolyon Palmer.....
Teddy Lop said:
it deserves to be said Mick absolutely monstered the second half of last years F2 championship for a pretty emphatic win and earnt himself some respect over here. Can he convert it to F1? Who knows, but it'll be interesting.
That's exactly what I saw, I wonder what other people were watching. And he did it against strong competition in a closer field than F1.Gassing Station | Formula 1 | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff