Official 2013 Formula 1 Season Thread

[HonestTea]

11am press conference from Grenoble

[StylinRed]

NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO

OMFG PLEASE PULL THROUGH!!!!

In an email to the Associated Press news agency, Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm said the former champion was on a private skiing trip, and "fell on his head."
"We ask for understanding that we cannot give running updates on his condition. He wore a helmet and was not alone," Kehm said without providing further details.

I don't know about him wearing a helmet... there are lots of pictures of him on ski trips all without a helmet




but they look to be from his younger days




There was a warning not to ski off-piste yesterday due to avalanche risks and a string of recent deaths.... -_-

Skiers warned not to go off-piste as Alps resorts put on high avalanche risk
Authorities frustrated that many ignore warnings despite a string of recent deaths


Skiers were on Saturday warned to exercise extreme caution after a series of deadly avalanches across resorts in the Alps claimed seven lives in just two days.

...

An avalanche risk of four to five (out of a maximum five) is expected to remain in place for the next few days and skiers and snowboarders have been warned to stick to marked slopes rather than venturing off-piste.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...nche-risk.html

[E-40six]

I am a huuggee schuey fan and it pains me to hear that he's in critical condtion

[boostfever]

get well soon Michael

[Berzerker]

I know you can't go through life wrapped in a bubble but I would think people like him and others that are in the peak of their sport would show some restraint in their personal activities. Not saying don't have fun but to suffer that kind of brain trauma WHILE wearing a helmet leads me to be believe he was probably skiing at a pretty high rate of speed and lost control. When your entire career relies on your physical health I would be scared to do anything that might jeopardize that. Hell I'm not famous and I'm still conscious of the effect an injury would have on my personal and family life.

Here's hoping a full recovery is in his future.
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[westopher]

The peak of his career? He retired for the second time last year. The guy was skiing and hit his head on a buried rock. Its no more than a freak accident. As well as the fact that if his personality was one of showing restraint, he'd probably be pretty shit as an F1 driver.

[Speed2K]

I hope he pulls through!

[godwin]

He might be not the best driver but as always it is the confluence of a great team, his hard work (he is known to be the first one on the track for testing and last one off) then his talent as driver to get his career record.

Originally Posted by westopher

The peak of his career? He retired for the second time last year. The guy was skiing and hit his head on a buried rock. Its no more than a freak accident. As well as the fact that if his personality was one of showing restraint, he'd probably be pretty shit as an F1 driver.

[westopher]

Originally Posted by godwin

He might be not the best driver but as always it is the confluence of a great team, his hard work (he is known to be the first one on the track for testing and last one off) then his talent as driver to get his career record.

I didn't say he wasn't a good driver? He's an incredible driver. I was merely stating in response to berz that if he wasn't willing to take risks, he wouldn't have been such a good driver. You can't win that much without pure talent, as well as luck, support of a good team, etc.

[pissedoffe55]

sucks to hear this

[StylinRed]

He underwent another surgery last night where they drilled holes in his skull to relieve pressure

[Senna4ever]

"Doctors treating ex-F1 champion are keeping him in a state of hypothermia to cool his brain and reduce pressure from swelling."

Michael Schumacher at critical stage in treatment for head injury | Sport | theguardian.com

C'mon, man....don't go out like this. Recover, live a long life, THEN go up there and race for eternity with Senna, Villeneuve, Clark, Hill, Fangio, Moore, McCrae, Wheldon.....

[!Kodamu]

Schumacher, condizioni critiche: tutti gli aggiornamenti in diretta


Picture of where the accident happen

schumi: ecco Il luogo dello schianto
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[Noran]

Horrible to hear. Pull through, Mike.

[mb_]

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[!Kodamu]

From David Coulthard :


I only hope Michael Schumacher pulls through so that he can see all the nice things people are saying about him
With hindsight I know now that I was never on the seven-time world champion's level but he gave my career as a Formula One driver credibility

The outpouring of concern for Michael Schumacher’s wellbeing over the past 36 hours, not only from the world of Formula One but from the wider sporting, and indeed non-sporting, community has been wonderful to see. In my opinion it constitutes long-overdue recognition of Michael’s status as a true sporting great. I only hope and pray that he pulls through to see what nice things people have been saying about him.
The truth is I do not believe that Michael has ever truly received the praise or recognition that his stunning achievements merited. And I say that now with the benefit of hindsight.

For years Michael was the perfect pantomime villain, particularly in this country; German, of course, ruthlessly efficient, ultra-aggressive. Whereas previous greats such as Sir Jackie Stewart or Juan Manuel Fangio left the door open to their rivals when racing, for fear of making what could easily have been fatal contact, Michael went all out in his pursuit of victory.

Sometimes he overstepped the mark – Jerez in 1997 and Rascasse in 2006 spring to mind – and those indiscretions made him unpalatable to the sporting purist. He was marked down by some, including me, as a tainted champion. But you cannot argue with his achievements.
At the end of the day he had the same rules and the same race marshals as the rest of us. And he destroyed us.

He could be infuriating. I had numerous run-ins with Michael, most famously at Spa in 1998 after we collided on a wet track and he stormed over to the McLaren garage and accused me of trying to kill him. I asked him later, in exasperation, whether he had ever been wrong about anything at any point in his life. “Not that I can remember,” he replied. To me that summed him up.

He had complete and utter self-belief. It was what made him a champion.
And what a champion: 91 grand prix victories and seven drivers’ world titles. I can say now, and again it is with the benefit of hindsight, that I was never on his level. You cannot admit that, even to yourself, during your career because you need to have self-belief but I have no trouble admitting it now.

Michael was the reference point for me. I can see that now. If I beat him to a win or a podium, I knew I had done a very good job. He gave my career credibility.
As I said, we did not always see eye to eye but there were two sides to Michael.
He was a ruthless competitor but at the same time he was a family man; generous, kind. If you were part of his trusted circle then he was loyal. If you were not, he could cut you off completely.

I never knew exactly which camp I belonged to but our shared relationship with Mercedes-Benz meant that we were thrown together regularly.
I can vividly recall being invited to Michael’s private parties after the German Grand Prix and staying up smoking cigars with him, late at night after a few drinks, talking about just how lucky we were to be doing what we loved.

There was always that underlying respect. When Michael retired at the end of 2006 he approached me and suggested we swap helmets. It had never even occurred to me to ask him. Why would he have wanted my helmet? But he knew that I collected them and I was honoured that he offered me his. It remains one of my prized possessions and I know he keeps mine at his home in Switzerland.

I think Michael might have got more credit before now had he not burnt his bridges so completely with the British media, to whom he was completely closed, at least during his first career. I think Sebastian Vettel may have learnt from that experience.
In any case, Michael’s comeback with Mercedes showed he had a more human side. And in a funny way, it cemented his legacy rather than harmed it.
Watching him struggle to match Sebastian and Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, not always through fault of his own, proved that time waits for no man. It was too easy during his first career to assume that he simply swept all before him.

Those struggles with Mercedes gave us, certainly me, a new-found appreciation for the unbelievable levels of consistency he achieved in his first career.
This skiing crash has connected Michael to the rest of us on a human level once and for all. Here is a father, like any other, his wife and children at his bedside praying for him to pull through. It is something to which we can all relate.

The awful thing is that so often it takes something like this before we say what we truly feel about someone.
I hope that in this instance, with Michael having received such swift medical attention, and given the fact that he continues to receive the very best treatment possible, he is going to emerge victorious once again. And when he does he is going to realise in what esteem he is held.
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[StylinRed]

surprised we havent heard from ross brawn heck even Jean Todt was at hospital edit nevermind according to Bild Brawn is in Grenoble too


Interview with Lauda regarding Michael
Michael Schumacher: Niki Lauda describes skiing accident as 'shocking and unexplainable' as racing world prays for former world champion - Motor Racing - Sport - The Independent

[HonestTea]

Johnnie Walker Step Inside: Jenson Button The Ultimate Walk - YouTube

[godwin]

So they should do a whole song and dance about how sad they are about shuey? They are private citizens, they don't have to answer to us and turn this into an American gong show.

Originally Posted by StylinRed

surprised we havent heard from ross brawn heck even Jean Todt was at hospital edit nevermind according to Bild Brawn is in Grenoble too

[Speed2K]

Happy Birthday Michael!

FANS CONVERGE ON HOSPITAL TO HONOUR SCHUMACHER ON BIRTHDAY

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GRENOBLE, France -- Michael Schumacher's friends and family took turns by his hospital bed Friday, as fans rallied outside the hospital to support the critically injured Formula One great on his 45th birthday.

Schumacher has been in a medically induced coma since Sunday, when he fell while skiing and struck his head on a rock. His manager, Sabine Kehm, said Friday that his condition remains stable but critical.

The German driver and his family typically celebrate Christmas, New Year and his birthday at their ski house in the French resort of Meribel, where the accident happened.

Instead, they have been keeping watch over the retired champion at his bedside in a Grenoble hospital.

"They take turns to watch him: Michael's wife, children, his brother," said former Formula One driver, Philippe Streiff, who is one of several members of the F1 community to visit the hospital. "They are very traumatized. It's very upsetting to see that for the family."

About 100 fans also converged on the hospital Friday, arriving by bus from Italy or by car from northern France and other places, saying they felt compelled to honour a man who had given them so many reasons to celebrate in the past.

At nightfall, some fans used a projector to screen the words "STAY STRONG!" and "KEEP FIGHTING!" on the hospital's wall.

"With all the joy he has given us, it was important for us to return the favour and be here for Michael," said Gulio Carissomi, who drove four hours from Italy to reach Grenoble.

One group of fans quietly assembled in view of the hospital's windows, unfurling a large banner for Ferrari, the racing team that Schumacher had anchored.

A fan as far away as India carved a likeness of Schumacher in sand on a beach in Puri and wrote "Get Well Soon" below it.

The family, which has been periodically posting messages on Schumacher's website, wrote Friday night that they were "overwhelmed" by the show of support.

"The incredible sympathies shown today by the Ferrari Fans outside the hospital has utterly overwhelmed us and moved us all to tears," it said.

The seven-time F1 champion has undergone two brain operations since the accident. Doctors are keeping him sedated and his body at an artificially low temperature to help with the healing. The physicians have refused to give a prognosis for Schumacher, saying they are focused on his immediate care.

Schumacher, known affectionately as Schumi by fans, is the most successful F1 driver in history, racking up a record 91 race wins. He retired in 2012.

Ferrari on Friday sent special birthday greetings to Schumacher, recalling the 72 victories he won from 1996-2006.

"Today is Michel Schumacher's birthday. In these hours he's on the most important race of his life and we want to dedicate a special honour to him," the statement said. "Forza (Come on) Michael!"

[Noran]

BBC Sport F1 2013 - A Record Breaking Year - Video Dailymotion

hour long season review from the BBC. Highly recommend you get comfy and give it a watch.