GUESS SCHU’S BACK…
The return of Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher is a great PR coup for Ferrari and F1, but is it actually a good thing?
After it was revealed that Felipe Massa is out for the rest of the season following his horrific crash in the Hungarian GP, the rumours about his replacement soon started doing the rounds.
In the end, just hours after his manger said he was ‘’200%’’ sure Schumacher would not be making a return, the 40-year-old confirmed he would be driving in place of stricken Massa.
You can’t deny it will be great for the sport – and for the F1 bigwigs - especially after a year that has seen the sport plagued with bad press.
I have never been a fan of Schumacher – his smugness is far too much for me to bear, but his name is one which even those who aren’t fans of F1 are familiar with.
And I would like nothing more than to see Lewis Hamilton and Schumacher finally get the chance to battle it out on the track.
But he is going to face a huge amount of pressure – he is seen as a legend and the best driver of our time.
However, this season has proven you are only as good as the car you are in.
The last time Schumacher was behind the wheel, Ferrari were consistently at the top of their game - it was nigh-on impossible to get within passing distance of them, let alone beat them.
This year however has been a different story.
Ferrari, and even defending World Champion Hamilton, have been propping up the bottom of the championship table, and are only just starting to get competitive.
Instead, this season has seen Jenson Button and Red Ball ruling the track and battling it out for the top spot.
While he may have won an amazing amount of races, Schumacher isn’t a miracle worker.
He has bound to be rusty after several years off the track and to add to that, he’s in a car he’s never driven before.
It’s going to be a bit of a culture shock for him when he’s not fighting it out at the front, but simply making up the numbers at the back.
I also can’t help but wonder how his new team mate Kimi Raikkonen feels about the news.
It’s going to take a while to get used to going from the Ferrari No.1, to driving in Schumacher’s shadow.
Written by Gemma
72Point Blog
72 Point are national news PR & survey specialists. Achieving daily print & online news exposure for the UK’s largest brands and PR agencies.
