I know Michael is already a legend of F1, but what do you think is his chances this 2010 F1?

I think he has as good a chance at the title as anyone else does. He's already proved he's lost non of his speed by putting himself well inside the top 5 in testing at Valencia. And this is after 3 years away from the sport and having never driven one of the current cars.

A freshly motivated Schumacher against Hamilton who be out to prove he fears no one, and against Alonso trying to prove he's still the best out there.

I think he'll get a few race wins this year but i think the championship will be between hamilton an alonso i think it gonna b a great season whoever wins the championship Can't wait

I was positively surprised over how good MS was in Bahrain, not bad at all from a guy who hasn't raced in F1 for three years and in his age

My prediction is that he will get better and better race by race and we haven't seen anything yet. The combination MS-RB can't fail in my opinion.

If he can keep it cool without trying too hard he will prove us that there is a reason for him being 7 times WDC

Going by the pace that Alonso and Vettel had in Bahrain, it'll be tough, and when Hamilton gets sorted he'll be another one to try an catch. But if anyone can catch them and beat them I'm sure Schuey can

Yup, the more he is underestimated, the better! It will be interesting to see since the maybe hungriest and most competitive driver on the grid is Hamilton. So driver-wise the toughest competition would probably be between those two.

The cars again are a different story

If Merc give MS a competitive car this year, I believe that he will be up there on the podium again, with even a possibility of a few wins.

Will he win the championship this year? I don't think so.

I think he is taking this year to get back into the swing of things, learn how Merc operates, build his trust in the team and they with him, and basically see how things really work now in F1.

Once he has all that under his belt, then I believe he will really be able to challenge for the championship next year, as long as he is given that competitive car...

It will be interesting to see, when Schumi wants driver number one status from Brawn. Nico started this year even better than I thought. It is also possibly that Schumi miss the touch if can't beat Nico in few next races.

I hope that Schumi and Nico are allowed to race equally without cabinet game.

I agree with you, moominpappa. I'm for Schumi but I really hope that both him and Nico are treated equally in the team.

Nico is the future of F1 and it would be sad if he is not allowed to reach his full potential.

With Keke Rosberg in the picture I don't see it happening.

If Schumi gets driver number one position then Keke will say

And when thinking of last year, Barrichello didn't have a proper contract, it was made up every 4 races if I remember correctly? Nico again has a 3-year contract in his pocket.

I think the lack of testing through the year will hinder Michael at first, but I'm sure he'll be back up the front come mid season, that's if Mercedes can give him the car of course. It will be great to watch as the season goes on.

He'll have to get up to speed soon though, Mercedes wont want three years of Schumacher being unable to get out of the midfield. Schumacher has to watch out for Vettel, there's no doubting that that's who Mercedes really want in the long run.

Yeah, he will have to get back up to speed soon. I am sure that Merc would not want all the hype about Schumi's return to go down the drain.

I don't know if he should really be worried about Vettel even if I think that Merc is eyeing him. Unless they do what Ferrari did to Kimi and cut his contract, I think he may really be too old to renew his contract after 3 years.

Pauline, looks like Schumi is already working for getting the speed up

SCHUMI'S WORK IS ALREADY PAYING OFF

Turun Sanomat 26.3 2010 15:28:40

The peaceful harmony in Mercedes is on trial if one is to believe experts following Michael Schumacher's and Nico Rosberg's battle against each other.

When Schumacher squeezed past Rosberg on Friday in practice and Ross Brawn told that the setups went wrong in Nico's car, many sighed and said that now it has began.

– They have started to take Mercedes W01-car in the direction that suits Schumi's driving style, many from the media said.

Yet Rosberg immediately dismissed the claim that his setups would have gone to the wrong tracks.

– We didn't exactly go in the wrong direction, we simply just couldn't get forward in the setups during this driving session. We will learn and we know what we have to do before Saturday, Rosberg emphasized.

– So far we have been able to improve every time. Now it didn't work.

Schumacher is working hard so that the car would be changed to suit him better so he could strike. He wants that the front obeys his steering precisely and lets the rear slide a bit.

If the front doesn't go into a corner in a stable way, then Schumacher can't get everything out of the car.

Rosberg's driving style differs so that he can use a wider window so to say and get out everything from a pushing car.

- I have good memories from these corners and good results from this race. Hopefully I'll get one more, Schumacher said.

Schumacher admitted that he worked in the afternoon so that he could sharpen his quali-laps.
– We didn't have a heavy fuel load but it wasn't that light either. I finished the stints during 7-8 laps and was looking for a suitable compromise for Saturday.

Schumacher was asked if he can win on Sunday.
– You can always win, he nodded.

Turun Sanomat, Melbourne

HEIKKI KULTA

What a difference! not a fan of Schumacher, but I have the greatest respect for the guy! Even when the car is not great, he keeps his head down, working HARD, REALLY HARD to make things happen. He could seat on the side, eat a magnum and have a martini and then complain because his race engineer tells him something while he is driving; instead he gets his hands at it as deep as he can so that the team, his team, can move forward.

Unbelievable! Don't think he has a shot at the title, not even at a race, but that dedication, that sacrifice, from someone who has win it all and something more is really breathtaking; specially when compared to what other so called "superstars" have done.

Thanks for the article, Nikki!

I really, really wish that he proves all the MS-bashers wrong! (oh no, why do I always go for the drivers who get bashed a lot? LOL )

@ken_li - I agree with what you said. MS has always been known to be one of the most hardworking drivers in F1. If one talks about passion and motivation, he's got it!

Pauline, he is getting my sympathies too...

It makes me think of Kimi's words about Italian tifosi: One day you're a hero and the next day you're a zero.

All of a sudden there's no gratitude or respect shown to a man who served them very well for 7 years

ITALY IS NOW GLOATING AT SCHUMI

Turun Sanomat 30.3 2010 18:36:11

The Italian media gloated at Schumi after Australia GP using the same words they used for Kimi Räikkönen when season 2008 ended.

According to papers Schumi's twinbrother is now driving the car and he is so bad that he even is stuck behind a junior like Jaime Alguersuar by laps.

Schumacher became a victim in Australia GP's start when Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso collided and the Ferrari came in front of the Mercedes so that it broke the front wing.

Turun Sanomat, Kuala Lumpur

HEIKKI KULTA

The thing is with both Kimi and MS, a lot of the time it's not just the Italian tifosi, it's the global press

I was pretty surprised how they really hit out at MS for moving to Merc. They really have forgotten that Schumi put Ferrari back on top of F1 racing.

I must admit the tifosi in the Ferrari forum who may not have been for Kimi, still actually showed a lot more respect for him than for Schumi.

In fact, many of them really wanted him to stay.

With Schumi it's different. They are now really out to get him.

But i've learned to just ignore these things and just concentrate on what makes him great.

Whether he wins another title or not, he's proven himself and (just like with Kimi) as long as he's happy with what he's doing, I'm happy too.

MS did not put Ferrari back on top. LdM Todt brawn Byrne and MS along with a number of other highly skilled people, a lot of which are still at Ferrari, put Ferrari back on top.

If you support Liverpool Football club you would have loved Michael Owen. You would have worshipped him.

How many Liverpool fans support Michael Owen not that he is a Man Utd player? I'll tell you. None.

I think people often mistake Tifosi's as fans of Ferrari drivers. Thats simply not true. They support what for them is the national team, something no other country can claim to have in any way that approaches what Ferrari means in Italy.

Therefore when a driver moves on, he is the enemy.

There are also a number of fans that loved a certain team when their driver drove for them but do not want that team to win at all now that their driver has moved team.

It's no big deal.

I must say that MS has guts to comback and compete with all the younger guys after three years off.

The Mercedes car is at the moment lacking a little speed compared to the other big teams, but they will improve and so will MS.

Lets see.

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